The Texas House gives preliminary approval to a marijuana decriminalization bill, Senate Republicans block a veterans' medical marijuana bill, and more.

The Insite safe injection site in Vancouver. Pennsylvania GOPers want to criminallize such facilities. (vch.ca)

California Bill to Crack Down on Illegal Marijuana Grows Advances. The Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to approve Senate Bill 820, which would authorize law enforcement to seize cultivation and manufacturing equipment from unpermitted marijuana operations. The bill from Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil would not only allow for asset forfeiture; it would also invest the proceeds in the Cannabis Control Fund to support equity programs.

"It is critical to ensure that the limited resources used to enforce against unlicensed cannabis operations be impactful, and removing the equipment they use is a big step towards that goal," said Alvarado-Gil. "We must support those cannabis manufacturers who operate in a lawful manner and adhere to producing a safe consumable product." The bill comes as the state's legal marijuana industry struggles to compete with the illicit market.

Texas House Gives Initial Approval to Marijuana Decriminalization Bill. The House on Wednesday gave initial approval to a marijuana decriminalization bill, House Bill 218. The bill now heads for a second, final vote in that chamber. The bill would make possession of up to one ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor, removing the risk of jail time and instead imposing a maximum fine of $500. It also specifies that possession of up to two ounces of marijuana would not result in arrest and that people with simple marijuana convictions could seek to have their convictions expunged after paying a small fee.

Medical Marijuana

Senate Republicans Block Veterans' Medical Marijuana Bill from Advancing. After a "spirited debate" in the Senate Republican policy lunch shortly before a vote to advance S. 326 -- a bipartisan bill that would have the Veterans Affairs Department do studies and clinical trials on the use of medical marijuana to treat veterans'' chronic pain and PTSD -- a group of those Republican senators voted against allowing the bill to move forward, at least for now. The bill needed 60 votes to advance, but with the Republican defections, it failed 57-42.

Republicans cited several reasons for the "no" vote, including that passage of the bill could be seen as a win for Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, who is up for reelection next year in red state Montana. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), ranking minority member on the committee, said negotiations on the bill will continue and described Wednesday's vote as "hitting the pause button."

Psychedelics

Minnesota House Passes Omnibus Health Bill That Includes Creation of Psychedelic Task Force. After an omnibus health passed the Senate earlier this session, it was amended in the House to include a provision creating a task force to prepare the state for the possible legalization of psychedelic substances. Now, the House has also approved that omnibus health bill with the psychedelic task force provision intact. Since it was amended in the House, the bill will now go to conference committee, where members will attempt to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

Harm Reduction

Pennsylvania Bill to Criminalize Safe Injection Sites Advances. A bill that would make it a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison for people operating safe injection sites, Senate Bill 165, is advancing in the Republican-controlled legislature. The bill would make it a crime for any clinic or other establishment to allow people to "inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the person's body a controlled substance" and also includes a $500,000 fine for individuals and $2 million for establishments.

The bill advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and is now before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The ACLU of Pennsylvania notes that the criminal penalties in the bill "EXCEED the statutory maximum penalties for a first-degree felony. In other words, the penalty for providing a space that can save people from deadly overdoses is more severe than the punishment for murder."

Sentencing Policy

Federal Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act Filed. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) have introduced the Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act in the Senate and House. The bill would provide federal funding as an incentive to state governments to reduce incarceration while reducing crime. State prisons hold 87% of the nation's prison population. The Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act would provide funding for states to identify and address the sources of unnecessary incarceration in their systems, while investing in ways to lower crime and keep people safe.

The act would create a $2 billion grant program to reward states that shrink their prison populations by 20% over three years. It would offer participating states a wide variety of policies and programs for supporting people who have been in prison so they don't return, making communities safer, providing alternatives to incarceration, and more. For the length of the funding period, the bill would prohibit participating states from enacting excessively punitive sentencing legislation, such as mandatory minimums, truth-in-sentencing laws, and habitual offender laws.

Another year of no marijuana legalization for Louisiana, the European Union sanctions Syrian officials and entities for trafficking in a Middle Eastern amphetamine, and more.

The Middle Eastern amphetamine Captagon. The EU sanctions Syrian officials for their role in the trade. (narcanon.us)

Louisiana Marijuana Legalization Bill Killed in Committee. A bill that would have legalized marijuana, House Bill24, is dead after failing to win support in the House Criminal Justice Committee Tuesday. The measure garnered only three "yes" votes in the committee. Bill sponsor Rep. Candace Newell (D-New Orleans) has introduced the bill for the last several sessions and has vowed to continue filing it until it passes.

Minnesota House Votes to Legalize Marijuana; Senate Vote Coming Friday. The House on Tuesday gave final approval to a marijuana legalization bill, House File 100, on a vote of 71-59. The Senate is set to vote on its version of the bill on Friday. There are some differences between the two bills which will have to be ironed out in conference committee if and when the Senate bill also passes.

Drug Testing

Missouri Measure to Outlaw "Drug Masking Products" Gets Senate Committee Hearing. A measure that has already cleared the House as part of a larger crime bill, House Bill 1108, would make it harder to cheat on drug tests by criminalizing the distribution and sale of synthetic urine or any other "drug masking product." The bill would make the offense a Class A misdemeanor with a maximum one year in jail and $2,000 fine. The bill get a hearing Monday in the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, where it heard testimony from a lobbyist for Quest Diagnostics, the largest drug testing company in the country. No vote was taken.

International

UN Asks Singapore to Halt Execution of Man for Two Pounds of Marijuana. The United Nations Human Rights Office called Tuesday for Singapore to "urgently reconsider" the looming Wednesday execution of a man convicted of abetting a conspiracy to distribute two pounds of marijuana. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to death in 2018. Under Singapore law, crimes involving more than one pound of marijuana merit the death penalty.

"The death penalty is still being used in a small number of countries, largely because of the myth that it deters crime," the UN Human Rights Office said. "We have concerns around due process and respect for fair trial guarantees. The UN Human Rights Office calls on the authorities not to proceed with his execution," it added.

British billionaire Richard Branson, who sits on the Global Commission on Drug Policy, has also called on Singapore to halt the execution, prompting the Singapore Home Affairs Ministry to push back, saying Branson showed "disrespect for Singapore's judges and our criminal justice system with such allegations." Singapore resumed executions in March 2022 after a hiatus of more than two years. If Tangaraju is hanged, it would be the country's first execution in six months. Eleven executions were carried out last year, all for drug offenses.

Council of Europe Sanctions Syrian Officials, Companies over Captagon Trafficking. The Council of Europe, the executive organ of the European Union, has issued sanctions against 25 individuals and eight entities for their role in the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, notably Captagon, an amphetamine popular in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The trade in amphetamine has become a regime-led business model, enriching the inner circle of the regime and providing it with revenue that contributes to its ability to maintain its policies of repression against the civilian population," the Council said. "For this reason the Council designated various members of the Assad family - including multiple cousins of Bashar al-Assad, leaders and members of regime-affiliated militias and businesspeople with close ties to the Assad family, as well as persons associated with the Syrian army and the Syrian military intelligence."

Sanctions on Syria were first introduced in 2011 in response to the violent repression of the civilian population by the Assad regime. EU sanctions in place regarding Syria target the Assad regime and its supporters, as well as sectors of the economy from which the regime was making profit.

There will be no marijuana law reform in Alabama this year, senior senators introduce a package of criminal justice reform bills, and more.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro was at the White House Thursday to discuss drug policy, among other topics. (Creative Commons)

Alabama Legislative Leaders Dismiss Any Action on Marijuana Legalization. Even as the Alabama Cannabis Coalition demonstrated outside the capitol on Thursday to call for marijuana law reform, Republican House and Senate leaders made clear that reform bills filed this year are going nowhere. "I have zero interest in that legislation coming up," Sen. President Pro Tem Greg Reed said, adding "I don't see any appetite for the legislature being able to modify or change expanding anything associated with marijuana in this session." House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter also said those bills won't come up in the House. Indeed, they have not even been scheduled for committee.

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Gets House Floor Vote Monday. After a final committee vote in the House Ways and Means Committee this week, the House version of the state's marijuana legalization bill, House File 100, is set for a House floor vote Monday. The Senate version of the bill is also nearing the finish line, with just one more committee vote remaining before it, too, heads for a floor vote. The bills are expected to pass in both chambers and then be signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, who also supports legalization.

Criminal Justice

Durbin, Grassley Reintroduce Criminal Justice Reform Bills. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the lead sponsors of the landmark First Step Act (FSA), reintroduced three pieces of criminal justice reform legislation today to further implement the FSA and advance its goals. The First Step Act, which was signed into law in 2018, is bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation designed to make our justice system fairer and our communities safer by reforming sentencing laws and providing opportunities for those who are incarcerated to prepare to reenter society successfully. On Thursday, Durbin and Grassley reintroduced the First Step Implementation Act, the Safer Detention Act, and the Terry Technical Correction Act.

The first bill allows courts to apply the FSA sentencing reform provisions to reduce sentences imposed prior to the enactment of the FSA and broadens the safety valve provision to allow courts to sentence below a mandatory minimum for nonviolent controlled substance offenses, if the court finds the defendant's criminal history over-represents the seriousness of the defendant's criminal record and the likelihood of recidivism. The second bill would reform the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program and compassionate release by clarifying that good conduct credits should be included in the calculation of time served and expanding eligibility to include nonviolent offenders who have served at least 50 percent of their terms of imprisonment. The third bill clarifies that all offenders who were sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 can apply for its retroactive application under Section 404 of the First Step Act, including individuals convicted of the lowest level crack offenses.

Foreign Policy

US and Colombian Presidents Issue Statement After White House Meeting. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States and President Gustavo Petro Urrego of the Republic of Colombia met Thursday to advance bilateral cooperation on issues of mutual interest, including climate change, clean energy transition, migration, drug trafficking, and peace. President Biden reiterated his support for President Petro's peace efforts, and for rural and agricultural development in Colombia, as essential to effectively advance the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement in its international accompaniment of the accord's Ethnic Chapter.

On drugs, Biden and Petro committed to a holistic approach to address the harmful impacts of drug use and drug trafficking on both our peoples' health, safety, the environment, the economy, rule of law, and the strength and transparency of democratic institutions. They vowed to redouble efforts in terms of demand reduction through science-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support. They did not address Petro's oft-stated critique of US prohibitionist drug policy.

Canada's Supreme Court upholds a Quebec ban on home marijuana cultivation, the Illinois Senate approves bills deepening marijuana legalization, and more.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signs a bill creating lengthy mandatory minimums around fentanyl. (ar.gov)

Candidate Trump Suggests "Genetically Engineered" Marijuana May Be Linked to Mass Shootings. During a campaign speech before America's most powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), former President Donald Trump suggested that "genetically engineered" marijuana could be behind some mass shootings. But marijuana is just one of the blame agents Trump pointed to instead of addressing the proliferation of weapons in the country. "We have to look at whether common psychiatric drugs, as well as genetically engineered cannabis and other narcotics, are causing psychotic breaks" that lead to gun violence, he said. He would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate, he added. He also pointed a finger at "transgender hormone treatments and ideology," Above all, he argued, don't blame the guns: "This is not a gun problem. This is a mental health problem," he said. "This is a social problem. This is a cultural problem. This is a spiritual problem."

Illinois Senate Approves Marijuana Search, Probation Bills. The Senate has passed a pair of bills aimed at deepening marijuana legalization in the state. Senate Bill 125 would bar police from searching a vehicle based solely on the odor of marijuana, while Senate Bill 1886 would allow some people on probation to consume marijuana and alcohol. Both bills now await action in the House.

South Dakota Poll Suggests Marijuana Legalization Could Win in 2024. A South Dakota State University poll released Monday had support for marijuana legalization at 49 percent, with 41 percent opposed. State voters approved a marijuana legalization initiative in the 2020 election by a margin of 54-45 only to have the measure overturned by the state Supreme Court. Legalization was on the ballot again last year, only to be defeated 53-47. The pollsters noted that 2022 turnout was much lower than 2020 and that a higher turnout in 2024 could lead to another marijuana legalization victory.

Psychedelics

Nevada Senate Committee Approves Bill to Create Psychedelic Working Group. The Senate has approved Senate Bill 242, which would create a working group to study psychedelics and create a plan to allow for access for therapeutic purposes. The bill originally would have legalized psilocybin and promoted research on it, as well as MDMA, but was significantly narrowed in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Now, instead of legalization, the bill would create a Psychedelic Medicines Working Group to examine the use of the substances "in medicinal, therapeutic, and improved wellness." The bill now awaits a Senate floor vote.

Sentencing Policy

Arkansas Governor Signs Bill Allowing for Drug Sellers to Be Charged with Murder in Cases of Overdose Death. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) has signed into law House Bill 1456, popularly known as the "Death by Delivery" bill. Under the bill, people who sell a drug that leads to an overdose death face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The same sentence applies to those who package fentanyl in a way that "entices" minors or who sell to minors, regardless of whether a fatal overdose takes place.

Harm Reduction

Vermont Senate Committee Amends Overdose Prevention Bill to Include Drug-Checking Sites. The Senate Health Committee has amended an overdose prevention bill, House Bill 222, to include a statewide network of drug-checking sites where street drugs can be tested for deadly concentrations of illicit drugs. Approved by the committee last Friday, the amendment would grant immunity from arrest and prosecution for people running the sites and collecting samples, as well as the drug users who bring their stashes to be tested. If the bill now passes the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a concurrence vote on the new language.

International

Canada Supreme Court Rules Quebec Ban on Home Marijuana Cultivation Can Stand. Under federal marijuana law, people can grow up to four plants at home, but the province of Quebec barred home grows in 2019. Now, after a Quebecer challenged the ban, the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that the provincial ban is constitutional. "The Quebec legislature saw the possession and personal cultivation of cannabis not as a social evil to be suppressed, but rather as a practice that should be prohibited in order to steer consumers to a controlled source of supply," the court held. That controlled source of supply is held by the state -- in this case, the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), the government agency that operates cannabis stores in the province.

The court also held that even though the federal law permits growing up to four plants at home, there is no "positive right to self-cultivation," writing that: "It is true that, in everyday language and even in the speeches of some parliamentarians, the creation of exceptions or exemptions under a scheme of criminal offences is often described as a 'legalization effort,'" the ruling reads. However, this way of speaking is incorrect and falsely suggests that positive rights authorizing particular conduct have been granted to the public."

Taiwan Reaffirms Strong Opposition to Marijuana Legalization. Responding to street demonstrations calling for marijuana decriminalization, the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice on Saturday reaffirmed the government's strong opposition to marijuana legalization. The reformers, organized as Wave Green, rallied in front of the presidential office in Taipei Saturday, urging the Justice Ministry to "stop the war against cannabis." But the ministry said prohibition would remain and is aimed at keeping people healthy and keeping society safe and stable. It asserted that long term marijuana use damages people's health and causes other harm to them. Under current law, marijuana use is punishable by up to three years in prison, while growers and sellers face up to life in prison and a $491,000 fine.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)