A push is on to get marijuana on the ballot in Ohoi next year, the UNODC warns Bolivia about synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, and more.
Poll: Nearly Three in Four Likely Voters Support "Ending the Federal Ban" on Marijuana, Other Federal Reforms [19]. A new poll from the progressive-leaning Data for Progress finds 74 percent of likely voters say that they "support ending the federal ban on marijuana." Eighty-five percent of Democrats, along with 74 percent of Independents and 63 percent of Republicans, endorsed repealing federal prohibition. Similar levels of support were evidenced for allowing state-legal marijuana programs "lawful access to US financial systems," not barring workers in the marijuana industry from accessing federal benefits, and not removing people from federally assisted housing in jurisdictions where marijuana is legal.
Ohio Advocates Push to Get Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Measure on 2023 Ballot [20]. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has begun signature gathering to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the November 2023 ballot. The campaign now has about eight weeks to collect 130,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. In the meantime, under a court settlement, the legislature will take up the measure in January, and i-- it fails to pass it, it will go before voters—provided the campaign has come up with the required signatures. The initiative would allow people 21 and over to possess and consume marijuana, which would come with a 10 percent sales tax.
Harm Reduction
Ohio Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill Wins Committee Vote [21]. A bill to try to reduce drug overdose deaths by decriminalizing the possession of fentanyl test strips, House Bill 456 [22], won a final House committee vote Monday before heading to a House floor vote Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kristin Boggs(D-Columbus)described the change as "one more avenue"to avoid overdose. Ohio saw 5,204 people die of drug overdoses in 2020, 81 percent of them involving fentanyl. Similar legislation has been filed in the Senate.
International
UN Says Growth of Bolivian Coca Crop Slows but Warns of Synthetic Drugs [23]. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union warned Bolivia about the presence of synthetic drugs in the national market even as they acknowledged a slow-down in the increase of coca production. UNODC said coca cultivation had increased 4 percent in 2021, the lowest increase in recent years, but the Bolivian government challenged that figure, saying there had actually been a slight decrease. But fentanyl was also on the UNODC's mind: "There were seizures of synthetic drugs including fentanyl, an opioid that causes a large number of deaths in Europe. There is a national market. This is a problem for us and it will be for Bolivia", said Trolls Wester, UNODC Bolivia representative.