Wisconsin Democrats roll out a marijuana legalization bill, a Pennsylvania medical marijuana expansion bill passes the Senate, and more.

Members of the Sinaloa Cartel parading through San Gregorio Chemic in Chiapas state, near the Guatemalan border. (YouTube)

House Democrats Reintroduce Comprehensive Marijuana Reform Legislation. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), along with Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) have reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act (HR 5601), one of the most comprehensive marijuana reform bills ever introduced in the U.S. Congress.

Following efforts led by states across the nation, the MORE Act decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level. The bill also aims to correct the historical injustices of failed drug policies that have disproportionately impacted communities of color and low-income communities by requiring resentencing and expungement of prior convictions. This will create new opportunities for individuals as they work to advance their careers, education, and overall quality of life. The MORE Act also ensures that all benefits in the law are available to juvenile offenders.

The bill:

• Decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level by removing the substance from the Controlled Substances Act. This applies retroactively to prior and pending convictions, and enables states to set their own policy.
• Requires federal courts to expunge prior convictions, allows prior offenders to request expungement, and requires courts, on motion, to conduct re-sentencing hearings for those still under supervision.
• Authorizes the assessment of a 5% sales tax on marijuana and marijuana products to create an Opportunity Trust Fund, which includes three grant programs:
  • The Community Reinvestment Grant Program: Provides services to the individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, including job training, re-entry services, legal aid, literacy programs, The Cannabis Opportunity Grant Program: youth recreation, mentoring, and substance use treatment.  
  • Provides funds for loans to assist small businesses in the marijuana industry that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals
  • The Equitable Licensing Grant Program: Provides funds for programs that minimize barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for the individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.
• Opens up Small Business Administration funding for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers.
• Provides non-discrimination protections for marijuana use or possession, and for prior convictions for a marijuana offense:
  • Prohibits the denial of any federal public benefit (including housing) based on the use or possession of marijuana, or prior conviction for a marijuana offense.
  • Provides that the use or possession of marijuana, or prior conviction for a marijuana offense, will have no adverse impact under the immigration laws.
• Requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on the demographics of the industry to ensure people of color and those who are economically disadvantaged are participating in the industry.

The MORE Act has the support of a broad coalition of civil rights, criminal justice, drug policy, and immigration groups, including: the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Drug Policy Alliance, NORML, Better Organizing to Win Legalization, and Minorities for Medical Marijuana, the Center for American Progress, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Wisconsin Democrats File Marijuana Legalization Bill. State Sen. Melissa Agard and state Rep. Darrin B. Madison have introduced a marijuana legalization bill. This bill would allow Wisconsin to join thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia that have passed laws broadly legalizing cannabis in some form. Republican majorities in the legislature have blocked any progress on such bills in the past.

"I’ve said this time and time again – we know that the most dangerous thing about cannabis in Wisconsin is that it remains illegal," said Sen. Agard. "For the past decade, I have worked to undo Wisconsin’s antiquated and deeply unjust marijuana policies and put our state on a prosperous path forward.  

"Legalizing cannabis is a matter of public safety and racial justice here in Wisconsin," said Rep. Madison. "People in Wisconsin indulge in cannabis use and deserve the ability to buy safe cannabis and use it responsibly without being criminalized. According to the ACLU, Black people were 4.24 times more likely to be arrested than white people in Wisconsin during 2018. Similar disparities exist in convictions, leading to immeasurable harm to black communities in Wisconsin. The bill we’ve introduced today lays a solid foundation for those that have been harshly convicted for non-violent possession charges and the ramifications of those convictions." 

Under the proposal, adults in Wisconsin aged 21 and older could legally have marijuana in their possession. The measure would also lay the groundwork for a regulated cannabis market to launch in the state.

Medical Marijuana

Pennsylvania Senate Passes Bill to Expand Medical Marijuana Program. The Senate has approved a bill that would expand the state’s medical marijuana program by allowing growers to sell directly to patients despite ongoing federal cannabis prohibition. The bill was approved last Wednesday on a 44-3 vote.

Sen. Chris Gebhard and a bipartisan coalition of senators introduced Senate Bill 773  earlier this year. The current state medical law authorizes licenses for 25 businesses growing and processing medical marijuana, but only five of those licensees can sell directly to patients through vertically integrated dispensaries. SB773 would allow all medical marijuana growers and processes to sell directly to patients.

The bill now goes to the House, where it may become a vehicle for broader reforms, from allowing for patient home cultivation to converting the bill into a full-on legalization bill. But changes too profound could endanger an amended bill's prospects back in the Senate, which would have to address any changes.

"There will certainly be vigorous discussions there on what shape this bill will come back to the Senate in said Sen. Dan Laughlin (R). "If this becomes a vehicle for adult use, I doubt that it would pass this chamber. However, I think if they do add home-grown to this bill, it would strengthen the bill and I believe that we would be able to get it through this chamber as well."

Drug Policy

San Francisco Mayor Proposes Mandatory Drug Treatment for Cash Assistance Programs. Trying a new tack in the city's ongoing effort to get a grip on open air drug use and an overdose crisis, Mayor London Breed is now proposing that city residents with addiction issues who receive cash assistance be required to undergo drug treatment in order to keep receiving payments. The proposal would have to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

Under the proposal, people who apply for County Adult Assistance Programs would have to undergo screening for substance use disorder and participate in a treatment program if they're found to have an addiction. People who refuse or who "do not successfully engage in treatment" would not be eligible for cash assistance.

"We fund a wide range of services, and we want to help people get the care they need but under current state law, local government lack tools to compel people into treatment," Breed said. "This initiative aims to create more accountability and help get people to accept the treatment and services they need."   

Some, but not all, supervisors are on board. Board President Aaron Peskin demurred, saying that Breed should focus on stopping dealers and open-air drug markets rather than "drug testing people on welfare."

"If she can't find the way to prevent several hundred brazen criminals from selling deadly drugs -- how does she think she will find the resources to drug test thousands of welfare recipients?" Peskin said

Drug Testing

Washington Department of Corrections Sued Over Faulty Drug Tests, Harsh Punishments. Columbia Legal Services (CLS) filed a class action complaint against the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC), challenging the widespread practice of imposing harsh discipline on people in DOC facilities based on unreliable drug testing. People have faced months in solitary confinement, delays in release from prison, loss of visitation, and other cruel punishments after colorimetric tests have returned "presumptive" positive results on incoming mail and other possessions.

Clifton Bell, et al. v. Washington State Department of Corrections, filed in Thurston County Superior Court last Friday, alleges that DOC’s actions violate plaintiffs' rights under Washington State law and the Washington State Constitution.Plaintiff Gregory Hyde was placed in administrative segregation (another term for solitary confinement) for almost five months after a presumptive positive test result. The item that tested positive for drugs was a packet of crossword, word search, and Sudoku puzzle books sent by Mr. Hyde’s father and stepmother.

After facing months of irreversible disciplinary actions, DOC returned the books in question to Mr. Hyde with no explanation or expungement of the infraction. His father’s name remains on DOC’s records as having mailed drugs to the prison.

"I think DOC is using its power to punish people who can’t fight back," said Mr. Hyde."My elderly father just wanted to send me some puzzle books. Now they’re saying he’s a drug dealer. Now my father is too far away to see because I got transferred to a different facility. My father is impoverished and on a fixed income. I think it’s an abuse of power. I don’t think DOC should be doing this."

Manufactured by companies like DetectaChem and MMC International, the colorimetric tests (also called roadside tests or field tests) are designed to be initial screening testsand the manufacturers are clear that they require confirmatory testing to be valid. Similar test technologies have been found unlawful in many settings, including in other state prison systems. In 2021, a Massachusetts court forced that state’s DOC to stop using similar colorimetric tests from another manufacturer, with the court describing them as "only marginally better than a coin flip"at identifying drugs. The tests in that case were found to deliver false positives nearly 40 percent of the time.

International

Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel Lauded by Chiapas Townspeople for Rescuing Them from Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Townspeople in San Gregorio Chemic, Chiapas, near the Guatemalan border, cheered a 20-vehicle convoy of Sinaloa Cartel fighters as they paraded through the city after having driven out the rival Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNGC).

JNGC fighters had seized the town and blocked the only highway access to it for nearly two weeks, killing and extorting local residents along the way. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced over the weekend that he was sending 800 National Guard troops to the area. He also implored local youth not to be seduced by the Sinaloa Cartel.

'It turns out that on the border with Guatemala, in Comalapa, towards Motozintla, there are organized crime groups that are fighting for the territory (Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel) to have spaces, to store drugs that enter from Central America, to have control of that territory and they will confront each other, fortunately there have not been many murders,' López Obrador said during his daily presser with the media.

A local Catholic priest said that local residents may have been intimidated into cheering on the Sinaloa Cartel. "Others will say that they have already allied themselves with drug traffickers. They line them up," he said. "It's not that they want to. There will be people who do it on their own, but people are being forced and that is not worth it. People are being forced to defend one cartel, to fight for another and they are being used as cannon fodder."

A Minnesota Native American reservation will have marijuana for sale on the first day of legalization (unlike most of the rest of the state), the US government quietly quits monitoring coca cultivation in Colombia, and more.

The US has suspended its satellite monitoring of Colombian coca leaf cultivation. (Creative Commons)

Minnesota Tribe Will Have Pot Shop Open on Day One of Legalization. The Red Lake Reservation already has an existing medical marijuana dispensary, and when marijuana legalization goes into effect on August 1, it will switch to adult-use recreational marijuana sales. For the vast majority of the state that is not sovereign Native American territory, adult-use sales are not expected until 2025, when the fledgling Office of Cannabis Management sets up a regulatory framework.

Under the state's new marijuana law, adults will be able to buy and possess up to two ounces in public. They will also be able to grow up to eight plants, with up to four of them in flowering state, and possess up to two pounds from their harvest.

DC Law Barring Employers from Punishing Most Workers for Marijuana Use Is Now in Effect. A Washington, DC, law that bans most private employers from firing or otherwise punishing workers for off-duty marijuana use went into effect Thursday. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the bill into law exactly a year ago, and it survived a 60-day congressional review period. The new expands employment protections enjoyed by government workers who use medical marijuana by covering workers of private businesses. Some categories of workers are excluded, such as those safety-sensitive positions in construction, police officers, and people whose jobs require a commercial drivers license or work with childcare and patients.

The law will "prohibit employers from firing, failing to hire, or taking other personnel actions against an individual for use of cannabis, participating in the medical cannabis program, or failure to pass an employer-required or requested cannabis drug test, unless the position is designated safety sensitive or for other enumerated reasons."

Foreign Policy

Biden Administration Halts Satellite Monitoring of Colombian Coca Crops. Without explanation, the Biden administration has suspended satellite monitoring of coca crops in Colombia, a program the US has maintained for years. According to the State Department, the suspension is "temporary," but no timeline for resumption was given, nor was any reason for it articulated.

"We are constantly assessing the effectiveness of various counternarcotics efforts and make changes to our efforts as needed," a State Department spokesperson said. "We continue to work with the Government of Colombia on the monitoring of illicit coca crops."

The government of President Gustavo Petro has deemphasized coca crop eradication even as cocaine production in the country remains at record levels and is instead seeking to refocus law enforcement efforts away from the countryside and instead go after large scale traffickers and money launderers.

Congressional Republicans, some of whom have been calling for Colombia to be decertified for failing to cooperate in US anti-drug efforts, have said they are outraged by the move. "This is a gift to the Petro Administration," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "It's another example of the Biden Administration giving concessions to far-left governments in the region."

President Petro has pushed back, saying the US would be best served by dealing with the fentanyl crisis, as well as noting that nothing is forever. "Things change. The structure of drug consumption is changing for the worse, reducing [US] demand for cocaine, which is starting to flow to other parts of the planet."

International

Ghana Parliament Approves Medical Marijuana, Hemp Production. The parliament has approved amending the Narcotics Control Commission law, clearing the way for cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes. The Ministry of the Interior has been given the responsibility for regulating the nascent industry.

A Florida marijuana legalization initiative will get a state Supreme Court review, Washington's governor signs into law a bill protecting pot-smoking employees, and more.

Cops will still be able to arrest people for drug possession under a Washington state compromise. (Creative Commons)

Florida Marijuana Legalization Initiative Gets State Supreme Court Review. State Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) on Monday formally submitted the marijuana legalization initiative from Smart and Safe Florida for vetting by the state Supreme Court. Proposed initiatives need more than 222,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for review by the court, and the Smart and Safe Florida initiative has already wildly exceeded that number. The high court will determine issues such as whether the proposed ballot language is clear and whether it is limited to a single subject. When Moody filed the initiative for review Monday, she signaled that she would oppose it, writing that "the proposed amendment fails to meet the requirements" of part of state law. Opponents successfully used Supreme Court review to block two legalization initiatives in 2021.

Minnesota Lawmakers Finalize Adult-Use Legalization Language, Prepare to Send It to Governor's Desk. With the legislative session set to end this week, lawmakers have resolved differences between the legalization bills passed by the two chambers, Senate File 73 and  House File 100, and each chamber is now preparing for final floor votes, which could happen as early as Wednesday. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz will sign it into law once it reaches his desk. The final agreement sets possession limits at two ounces for flowers and allows for the home cultivation of up to eight plants, four or which can be mature. The measures also include the automatic review and expungement of certain marijuana-related offenses and sets up a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce. Retail sales will be taxed at 10 percent and onsite consumption will be allowed at permitted events.

Washington Governor Signs Bill Protecting Employees from Drug Testing for Marijuana. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has signed into lawSenate Bill 5132 to lay out broad protections for employees who consume marijuana while imposing limitations on employment drug testing for marijuana. There are exemptions for exemptions for jobs that involve federal security clearances or background investigations, in law enforcement, the fire department, first responders, corrections officers, the airline or aerospace industries, or in safety-sensitive positions.

The law says: "It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in the initial hiring for employment if the discrimination is based upon: (a) The person's use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace; or (b) An employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids."

Drug Policy

Washington State Lawmakers Reach Deal to Keep Drug Possession a Crime. Faced with a July 1 deadline to replace the state's felony drug possession law, which was invalidated by the state Supreme Court in 2021, bipartisan legislative leaders announced Monday that they had reached a deal under which simple drug possession would be a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that. Police and prosecutors, though, would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment and other social services, and the compromise includes millions of additional dollars to pay for that. Prosecutors would have the ability to ask courts to end pre-trial diversion if defendants fail to make substantial progress. The legislature is set to vote on the proposal today. Lawmakers earlier rejected efforts both to reinstate the felony drug possession charge and to decriminalize drug possession.

Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) called it "a fair compromise that addresses urgent concerns about public disorder but follows evidence-based practices in helping people in need."

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.