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San Francisco Drug Crackdown Generating Arrests, Belize Coca Plantation Found, More... (9/1/23)

The DA in Houston takes a step back from a softer touch on drug charges, Colombia sets goals for voluntary coca crop substitution, and more. 

The Tenderloin in San Francisco. The city is three months into a crackdown on drug use and sales there. (SFPD)
Drug Policy

Harris County, Texas, Reverses Policy on Low Level Drug Charges. Citing an "increasing public safety threat due to fentanyl," Harris County (Houston) District Attorney Kim Ogg has announced that she is reversing an April policy change that required police to have drugs tested before charges could be filed if the amount of drugs in question was less than four grams. That effectively meant that many miniscule drug possession cases were never charged.

Under the new policy, which went into effect this week, the DA's Office will again evaluate every drug possession case regardless of the amount of drug seized as long as probable cause is established "through the expert testimony of two officers with drug enforcement experience."

But the cops will still be responsible for submitting "seized substances to the appropriate lab and to request testing and analysis, for presentation of the case to a grand jury," according to a memo setting out the changes. In the memo, DA Ogg acknowledged that the change could cause some delays in case filings and that district courts have "regularly" dismissed pending drug cases that did not move because of slow evidence processing.

"We need labs that work," Ogg said. "The courts are ready. The State of Texas, my office representing the people, are ready. The police are ready. And we need a crime lab that gives us evidence."

San Francisco Provides Update on Crackdown on Open Air Drug Markets. A crackdown on the drug trade and public drug use in the Tenderloin and SOMA (South of Market Street) neighborhoods of the city that began June 1 has resulted in "significant increase in drug seizures and arrests in the first three months of the City’s efforts to shut down open-air drug markets," the city said Friday.

During the last three months, both local and state law enforcement agencies combined have made hundreds of arrests under drug laws and for outstanding warrants, and seized 103 kilos of narcotic, including 56 kilos of fentanyl. These numbers don’t include additional federal efforts being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The SF District Attorney’s Office has seen a record number of felony narcotics cases.    

Some 300 of the arrests were for drug sales and another 123 were arrests of wanted fugitives. Another 450 arrests were made using public intoxication laws against public drug users. Additionally, playing a support role in the city, the California Highway Patrol and National Guard have made another hundred drug arrests.

As a result of this operation the District Attorney’s Office has seen a record number of felony narcotics cases presented and filed year to date since 2018. Through August 23, of this year 656 felony narcotics cases were presented of which 566 were filed (86% filing rate) compared to the previous record of 574 cases presented in 2018 and 476 cases filed.   

"Shutting down open air drug markets is critical to the safety of our neighborhoods and the overall health of our City," said Mayor London Breed. "The work that our city agencies and state and federal partners are doing to confront this crisis has to be sustained and expanded and we can’t continue to accept the existence of these drug markets on our streets. I want to thank Governor Newsom for his support in delivering resources, as well as our federal leaders, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. We will continue to offer help to people in crisis, but we must hold people accountable who are hurting our communities."    

While it is clear that more people are being funneled into the criminal justice system, whether more arrests and prosecutions will result in fewer overdoses and better quality of life remains to be seen.

International

Belize Police Discover Coca Plantation with Half Million Plants. Police on Tuesday announced that they had discovered a coca plantation in the Toledo region that held an estimated 500,000 coca plants. The raid comes weeks after police destroyed a cocaine manufacturing lab in the south of the country.

Cocaine has traditionally been grown in three Andean nations—Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru—but in recent years plantings have been discovered in Belize, Guatemala, and southern Mexico. A small number of labs have also been uncovered.

The plantings and labs are believed to be the work of Mexican drug trafficking organizations, which largely control the flow of cocaine to the north.

Colombia Sets Coca Crop Substitution Goal of a Thousand Square Kilometers Over Next Four Years. Government officials said Thursday that the country is aiming for the voluntary substitution—not forced eradication—of a thousand square miles of coca crops over the next four years. The announcement marks a policy shift that emphasizes seizing cocaine over destroying coca plants.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), coca cultivation in 2021 (the last year for which data is available) covered some 787 square miles, so if the government removes 250 square miles per year from the crop, it should reduce the crop each year by about one-third.

Felipe Tascon, the director of the government's illicit crops substitution program, said Colombia and the U.S. had committed to replacing 50% of 2021 crop levels. "Everyone says this goal is crazy," Tascon said. "If you look at it as a policing issue, coercing people, it's impossible. If you look at it as an economic issue, about giving economic opportunities to those families to produce something else, it's achievable."

The new crop substitution goals come amid a crash in coca prices in the country caused by oversupply and contested drug trafficking routes, providing farmers with an economic incentive to try something new. 

San Francisco Jail Being Filled with Drug Law Violators, Partisan Gap in Support for Legal Weed, More... (8/9/23)

The man who was once Colombia's most powerful cocaine traffickers gets decades in US prison, New Hampshire will study the state liquor store model for potential legal marijuana sales, and more.

Open-air drug scene in San Francisco's Tenderloin. There is a crackdown going on. (AdamChandler86)
Marijuana Policy

Gallup Poll Now Has Republican Majority for Marijuana Legalization but Partisan Gap Remains. New polling data from Gallup on partisanship among the American electorate shows that a majority of Republicans -- 55 percent -- now support marijuana legalization, but Democrats supported it at a much higher level -- 83 percent. Support among independents was not measured.

While Democrats have historically been more likely to be legalization supporters, the partisan gap has widened over the past decade because support among Democrats has risen much faster than among Republicans. Overall, though, support for legalization among all Americans remain near or at an all-time high -- with majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all backing legalization.

New Hampshire Governor Signs Bill for Commission to Study State Marijuana Sales. Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has signed into law House Bill 611, which will create a commission to study on how the state could handle legal marijuana sales in a way similar to the state liquor store model already in place in the Granite State.

"New Hampshire has an opportunity to safely regulate the sale of marijuana with a model few others can provide," Sununu said. "By establishing a commission to study state-controlled sales, this bill will bring stakeholders from across New Hampshire together to ensure that preventing negative impacts upon kids remains our number one priority."

The state-control model of cannabis legalization the governor favors was met with widespread skepticism from both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature earlier this year, but the legislature has failed to pass any form of legalization so far.

Drug Policy

Former Leader of Colombia's Gulf Clan Cartel Sentenced to 45 Years in US Prison. On Wednesday, Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, known by various aliases, including "Otoniel," a citizen of Colombia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 45 years’ imprisonment for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise as a leader of the multibillion-dollar paramilitary and drug trafficking organization known as the "Clan del Golfo" (CDG -- the Gulf Clan).

Úsuga David was also sentenced to 45 years' imprisonment for engaging in a maritime narcotics conspiracy and 45 years' imprisonment for engaging in a narcotics importation conspiracy. The sentences will run concurrently. As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Úsuga David to pay $216 million in forfeiture. The defendant pleaded guilty to all three charges in January 2023.

Úsuga David controlled an armed force of about 1,800 men, mainly recruited from former rightist paramilitary groups and operated Colombia's biggest drug trafficking organization until his arrest in 2021 by the government of Conservative then-President Ivan Duque. He was then extradited to the US to face charges, although there are also suggestions that he was extradited to avoid having him answer questions that could link rightist paramilitaries to Conservative Party politicians.

"Otoniel led one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the world, where he directed the exportation of massive amounts of cocaine to the United States and ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian law enforcement, military officials, and civilians," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. "This sentence sends a clear message: the Justice Department will find and hold accountable the leaders of deadly drug trafficking organizations that harm the American people, no matter where they are and no matter how long it takes."

San Francisco Jail Population Jumps as Drug Arrests Mount. For the first time in years, the jail population in the city has hit the 1,000 mark, driven largely by a renewed emphasis on drug arrests. The average daily jail population was 1,277 in 2019 and dropped to 850 in 2020 amidst the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

Even though crime reports in the city are down slightly over last year, drug arrests are up a dramatic 36 percent, especially since the city launched an initiative on May 30 to arrest people for public drug use. That push tipped the jail population past the 1,000 mark; it hit 1,001 on Tuesday.

David Mauroff, executive director of a nonprofit called the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, which provides resources to people who are awaiting criminal trial, said the increase in arrests has squeezed his organization's ability to properly serve clients.

"The city has now decided that arrest, prosecution and incarceration is the answer to our public safety issues," Mauroff said. "It's been demonstrated by volumes of research and science that the war on drugs failed."

Drug arrests are not the only thing fueling the jail population jump. The Public Defender's Office has been holding sit-in all summer to protest court backlogs that have denied more than 1,100 people the right to a speedy trial. The office said 115 people have been held in jail for months or even years past their speedy trial deadlines.

NH Residents Ready for Legal Weed, NY Safe Injection Site Bill Advances, More... (5/24/23)

San Francisco's mayor is ready to roll out a pilot program to arrest public drug users, yet another federal bill aimed at the fentanyl trade gets filed, and more.

Drug activity in San Francisco's Tenderloin. (AdamChandler86 via Flickr)
Marijuana Policy

New Hampshire Poll Has Strong Support for Marijuana Legalization. After Gov. Chris Sununu (R) last week signaled he was now open to marijuana legalization and as the legislature for the last time this session attempts to pass a marijuana legalization bill, a new Granite State poll shows strong popular support for doing just that. The poll had 72 percent supporting legalization -- 52 percent strongly and 20 percent somewhat -- and only 21 percent opposed -- 13 percent strongly and eight percent somewhat. Seven percent were neutral.

Opiates and Opioids

Federal Fentanyl Bill Would Get US Military Involved. The ongoing fentanyl crisis has generated yet another bill in Congress, this one led by Sens. oni Ernst (R-IA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in the Senate and Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA) in the House of Representatives. The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 would:

  • Declare fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels in Mexico,
  • Direct the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with Mexican defense officials,
  • Require the Secretary of Defense to increase security cooperation with the Mexican military, and
  • Address coordination efforts between the military and federal law enforcement agencies.

Drug Policy

San Francisco to Set Up Pilot Program to Arrest Public Drug Users. On Tuesday, the city's Department of Emergency Management confirmed that a pilot program that would allow police to arrest people using drugs in public and "address situations when someone is so far under the influence of drugs that they may pose a danger to themselves or others" will be part of Mayor London Breed's budget proposal due June 1.

The move came just hours before Breed was forced to cut short a UN Plaza news conference on the topic as she faced protestors and heckling, including one protestor who threw a brick, injuring a teenager.

Breed's approach to the rising clamor over public drug use and disorder is drawing critics not only in the street but on the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Dean Preston called the pilot program "reactionary, cruel and counterproductive."

Harm Reduction

New York Safe Injection Site Bill Wins Committee Vote. The Senate Health Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to authorize the establishment of state-approved safe injection sites, S. 00399. Companion legislation is also moving in the Assembly. The bill would require the Department of Health to authorize at least one safe injection site with medical personnel on hand that also must provide syringe exchange services, educate clients on safe consumption practices, provide naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses and collect aggregate data on participants and their experiences. Staff and participants would be given immunity from prosecution for the sanctioned activities.

"Harm reduction works. Harm reduction is a modality -- a way to approach dealing with an issue which assumes, first, that a person who uses drugs is a person, and that they have to be met where they are," bill sponsor Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D) said at the hearing. "Fact number two, criminalization has not worked. Over decades of the drug war, it is pretty clear that we have lost said war," he said. "The notion that we could arrest our way out of addiction -- that we could arrest our way out of overdoses and deaths -- has been proven to be a lie based on all of these years of experience. Criminalization does not work."

Two city-sanctioned safe injection sites in New York City have been operating since the end of 2021.

Portland Shroom House Busted, Mexico Opium Poppy Production Up, More... (12/12/22)

A Denver rabbi busted for using magic mushrooms in his healing sees charges dropped, US drug wholesalers are leaving some psychiatric patients in the lurch as a crack down on distributing controlled substances rolls out, and more.

Psilocybin mushrooms. You still can't sell these legally to the public in Oregon, as Shroom House found out. (Pixabay)
Psychedelics Denver Drops Charges Against Mushroom Rabbi Who Promotes Religious Psychedelic Use. In the wake of voters' decision last month to legalize psilocybin, the chemical compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, the Denver district attorney announced last week that his office was dropping charges against Ben Gorelick, who had been arrested in February on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Gorelick operates Sacred Tribe,, a multifaith community that combines psilocybin use and ideas rooted in Jewish tradition. The DA's office said it dropped the charges against Gorelick "in light of voters' decision" to pass Proposition 122, which legalized the growing and sharing of psilocybin by people 21 and over. While the February bust put an end to psilocybin ceremonies for the rest of this year, Sacred Tribe continued to hold Shabbat dinners and other activities

Portland Police Raid Shroom House, Store Where Psychedelic Mushrooms Were Being Sold Openly. Shroom House, a Burnside Avenue herbal shop that had been openly selling psilocybin mushrooms for the past two months amidst a rising crescendo of publicity is no longer selling psilocybin mushrooms after Portland police raided it last Thursday. Police said they seized 22 pounds of psilocybin, along with $13,000 in cash and made four arrests, including store owner Steven Tachie Jr., 32. Oregon voters passed on initiative in 2020 that decriminalized the mushrooms within narrow therapeutic confines and another initiative that decriminalized drug possession in general, but they didn't pass anything that allowed for the unlicensed sale of psilocybin mushrooms. Tachie and one other person are facing 10 felony counts of money laundering and 10 counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, police said.

Opiates and Opioids

Drug Wholesale Crackdown in Response to Opioid Crisis Is Making Access to Some Psychiatric Drugs Problematic. US drug wholesalers who have been hit with huge cash settlements over their role in the country's opioid crisis are responding by cracking down on "suspicious" orders from pharmacies. That move is preventing some pharmacists from being able to dispense a combination of stimulants and sedatives commonly prescribed by psychiatrists for patients suffering conditions such as anxiety and ADHD. The move by AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson Corp came after a $21 billion nationwide opioid settlement in July. Now, pharmacists are reporting that they are being cut off from distributing any controlled substances by the distributors after filling prescriptions for psychiatric drugs such as the stimulant Adderall, used for treating ADHD, and Xanax, used as an anti-anxiety drug. The distributors imposed the bans because pharmacies had filled prescriptions written by doctors who were frequent prescribers of controlled substances or who had filled prescriptions for both stimulants and sedatives for the same patients. Some members of the American Psychiatric Association complained that pharmacies were no longer comfortable filling some combination prescriptions out of fear of being blacklisted. "This is detrimental potentially to many patients who have comorbid anxieties along with ADHD, or sleep issues along with ADHD,"said Matthew Goldenberg, president-elect of the Southern California Psychiatric Society. "I think it's a trickle-down effect from the opiates."

International

Mexican Opium Poppy Production is Up, New Report Finds. A joint report this week from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the government of Mexico finds that opium poppy cultivation increased by 12 percent in the 2019-2020 season over the year before. Cultivation is occurring in areas that have long seen poppy crops, such as Oaxaca and Guerrero in the southwest, Nayarit in the west, and the northwestern Golden Triangle within the states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Sinaloa. Faced with rising resort to the synthetic opioid fentanyl, opium production had been declining since the 2016-2017 season, but that trend was broken in 2019-2020. "Despite the eradication campaigns by the Mexican government, the opium gum market persists and continues to be a very profitable activity," the report stated. "Opium gum can be stored for long periods of time, allowing it to be marketed when conditions are optimal for the farmer."

More Than 300,000 Pot Arrests in 2020, FDA Points Toward OTC Naloxone, More... (11/17/22)

Congress passes a marijuana research bill, a bipatisan pair of senators file a psychedelic research and rescheduling bill, and more,

The FDA is moving to make the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone over-the-counter. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Despite Legalization in Nearly Half the Country, More Than 300,000 People Were Arrested for Marijuana in 2020. Some 317,79 people were arrested on marijuana charges in 2020, according to the FBI. That is a 36 percent decline from 2019, but it still the equivalent of arresting every resident of a mid-size city such as Orlando, Corpus Christi, or Riverside, California. The marijuana arrest figure is also for the first time not the most common cause for a drug arrest, with 36 percent of drug arrests for stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, compared to 27 percent for arresting marijuana. Black Americans continued to bear the brunt of marijuana law enforcement, accounting for 38 percent of all pot arrests despite making up only 13 percent of the population.

Congress Passes Marijuana Research Bill. With a final vote in the Senate Wednesday, both houses of Congress have approved the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (HR 8454). The bill now goes to the desk of President Joe Biden (D). If he signs it, it will open the way to further research into the medical benefit of marijuana and CBD. Under the bill, the DEA must allow registered entities to manufacture, distribute, dispense, and possess marijuana for research purposes. "There is substantial evidence that marijuana-derived medications can and are providing major health benefits. Our bill will make it easier to study how these medications can treat various conditions, resulting in more patients being able to easily access safe medications,: said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who introduced the bill along with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI). Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) introduced the bill in the House.

Harm Reduction

FDA Announces Preliminary Assessment that Certain Naloxone Products Have the Potential to be Safe and Effective for Over-the-Counter Use. The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday issued a Federal Register notice, Safety and Effectiveness of Certain Naloxone Hydrochloride Drug Products for Nonprescription Use, that may help facilitate the development and approval of certain nonprescription naloxone drug products, including through the switch of certain naloxone drug products from prescription status to nonprescription status. Naloxone is a medicine that can help reduce opioid overdose deaths and when administered timely, usually within minutes of the first signs of an opioid overdose, can counter the overdose effects. "Today’s action supports our efforts to combat the opioid overdose crisis by helping expand access to naloxone," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. "The agency will keep overdose prevention and reduction in substance use disorders as a key priority and area of intense strategic focus for action as rapidly as possible."

Psychedelics

Cory Booker, Rand Paul File Bill to Reschedule Psychedelic Breakthrough Therapies and Remove Research Barriers. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) filed a bill on Thursday that would require the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to transfer breakthrough therapies like psilocybin and MDMA from Schedule I to II, while also removing research barriers for strictly controlled substances, the Breakthrough Therapies Act. The move came on the same day that House lawmakers announced the formation of psychedelic caucus aimed at promoting new treatments from currently controlled substances. The bill would amend the Controlled Substances Act to create a procedure where current Schedule I drugs could be designated as breakthrough therapies could be transferred to a lower schedule that would make it easier to research them and promote drug development.

Colombia President's Drug War Heterodoxy Draws Critics, Belgian Drug Trafficker Threats, More... (9/27/22)

Singapore arrests its citizens for doing drugs outside the country, Colombian President Petro's frank talk about the need for a new model drug policy is activating critics, and more.

Cocaine prohibiion is getting some renewed attention these days. (Pixabay)
Foreign Policy

Pair of GOP Senators Question Colombian President's Commitment to Cooperating with US on Drugs. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have sent a letter to Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONCDP -- the drug czar's office), expressing their concerns with Colombian President Gustavo Petro's drug policy changes and intentions to modify extradition policy with the United States. They are upset that Petro has initiated peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), which they specify is "a left-wing Foreign Terrorist Organization" and that he has resumed diplomatic relations with neighboring Venezuela, or "the Maduro narco-regime," as they put it.

"Petro's favorable actions toward actors working closely with drug traffickers in our hemisphere call into question the Colombian president's commitment to cooperating with the United States to prevent the flow of drugs crossing our border," they charged. They also took issue with Petro's proposal to limit extradition to people who refused to cooperate with the Colombian state, saying it "incentivizes criminals to avoid extradition by bribing or coercing the sitting political regime."

The Colombian president has vocally called for an end to the US's current drug policy in Colombia and his government is considering -- but has not yet enacted -- significant drug policy reforms, such as decriminalizing small-scale coca production.

Colombia Ex-President Warns Petro's Call to Change Course in Drug War Could Make Country a "Narco-State." Ivan Duque, the rightist predecessor to current Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has warned that Petro's call to make a radical change in the war on drugs could turn the country into a "narco-state" that could threaten the security of the US and other countries in the region.

"Now, what worries me is that there is now the possibility of getting into the permission, or the legalization of cocaine and consumption," said Duque. "I think that it will be very bad for Colombia and that will be very bad for the countries in the hemisphere, and I think that could generate also a major security threat to the United States. So by no means I'm in favor of the legalization of the cocaine trade… But I also have to say it, Colombia cannot turn into a narco state. I think the world now has unified in the concept of prohibition, and I think if just one country, let's say Colombia, decides to legalize cocaine, it'll turn itself into a narco state."

The Petro government has so far rejected cocaine legalization, but it is considering the decriminalization of small-scale peasant coca cultivation.

International

Belgian Prime Minister Condemns Threats Against Justice Minister from Drug Traffickers. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Saturday condemned serious threats against the country's justice minister as "totally unacceptable" after a car containing firearms was found near his home. Belgian media says the threats could involve kidnapping by drug traffickers, who have been angered by a recent ramping up of Belgian enforcement activity after an unprecedented flare-up of violence among traffickers this summer. Belgium and the neighboring Netherlands are the main European hubs for cocaine trafficking, with 90 tons of the drug being seized in the Belgian port of Antwerp last year.

Singapore Arrests Citizens for Using Drugs in Other Countries. The city-state's Central Narcotics Bureau announced Saturday that authorities had arrested 41 citizens so far this year for using drugs outside the country. Under Singaporean law, citizens who use drugs outside the country face the same punishment as those caught using drugs inside the country. A first offense can garner up to 10 years in prison, but most people charged with the crime are sent to rehabilitation if there are no other charges against them. The policy is in line with the city-state's draconian drug policies, which include the death penalty for trafficking as little as 15 grams of heroin or 500 grams of marijuana.

The Public Stands Behind Oregon's Drug Decrim and Addiction Funding Law [FEATURE]

It has been nearly two years since Oregon voters approved Measure 110, a sweeping drug decriminalization and public health services funding initiative, and it still has strong public support. That could be because it is producing the kinds of results Oregonians want to see.

Measure 110 is bringing addiction recovery services not just to Portland, but to places like this, too. (Pixabay)
In voting for Measure 110, Oregonians sought to move the emphasis of drug policy from law enforcement to a public health approach, and that is what they are getting. Drug possession arrests, which had already dropped by half in 2020 because of the pandemic, significantly decreased after Measure 110 took effect on February 1, 2021, according to data from the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, falling another 65 percent from the 2020 levels in the first six months of 2022.

And Measure 110, which tapped into marijuana tax revenues to fund a broad spectrum of addiction services -- from low-barrier drug treatment and peer support and recovery to overdose prevention and housing and employment support (but not drug treatment covered by Medicaid or insurance) -- is setting the stage for a massive expansion of those services by pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the field.

Late last month, the Oversight & Accountability Council, the body tasked with overseeing the distribution of the funding, approved the remainder of the initial $302 million made available under Measure 110, and on Tuesday, the Oregon Health Authority announced that it had finished awarding that money to more than 237 service providers in the form of grants.

With the state suffering more than a thousand overdose deaths in the past year, there is criticism that authorities have moved too slowly. Oregon Health Authority behavioral health director Steve Allen acknowledged as much, saying the agency had learned it needed to give more support and technical assistance to the volunteer committee tasked with grantmaking decisions.

"We understand the frustration this caused in our communities," Allen said. "When you do something for the first time you're going to make mistakes."

But now the money is out there, and it will help fund 237 service providers in 36 Behavioral Health Regional Networks (BHRNs), aimed at ensuring that help is available in even the most remote rural corners of the state. That includes 111 groups providing screening and behavioral health needs assessments, 112 groups doing individual intervention planning, 113 groups doing low-barrier drug treatment, 172 groups doing peer support and mentoring, 88 groups providing housing services, 84 groups providing harm reduction services, and 51 groups doing job support.

The money is going to allow these groups to expand their services by hiring and training new staff, securing additional facilities, buying vehicles for mobile support services, and even purchasing housing.

"Measure 110 changes the system so that there is no wrong door to access services," said Tera Hurst, Executive Director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance. "Thanks to Measure 110, you don't have to get arrested before you are maybe offered help. Measure 110 is changing the addiction recovery service landscape so that regardless of the path, supportive services will be more readily available closer to home."

"It's been a long road, but we're ecstatic to see all of the Measure 110 funding for the 2021-2023 biennium finally being approved and going out to service providers to expand critical addiction services in Oregon communities. This is the first step in ensuring Oregon delivers on its promise of replacing a criminal legal approach to drugs with a public health approach and offering the rest of the country a glimpse of what is ultimately possible when we offer people support instead of punishment," said Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which was a key supporter of Measure 110 and which is partnering with the Health Justice Recovery Alliance on implementation.

Even with the slow rollout, Oregonians are liking what they are seeing. A poll released this month by Data for Progress found majority support for Measure 110 in every region of the state -- even the conservative eastern an southwestern areas -- and a strong bipartisan majority who agree that problematic drug use should be treated as a public health issue, not one for the criminal justice system.

When asked whether Measure 110 should remain in place, 58 percent said yes. That included 82 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents, but only 31 percent of Republicans.

The polling suggests that tying drug decriminalization to the expansion of recovery services is key to getting it over the finish line. When asked about individual components of the program, 91 percent supported peer mentoring, 90 percent supported employment help, 86 percent supported funding addiction recovery, 84 percent supported housing assistance, but only 62 percent supported harm reduction measures and only 61 percent supported decriminalization itself.

It is almost as if Oregonians made a bargain with themselves: Give us strong measures to aid recovery and we will grudgingly accept such vanguard measures as harm reduction and decriminalizing drugs. These pollsresults should send a clear message to people contemplating future decrim initiatives about how to broaden support for them.

Big Increase in Injection Drug Use, House Passes Another Spending Bill with SAFE Banking, More... (7/18/22)

British Tories audition a new scheme for punishing drug users that effectively decriminalizes somebody's first two drug busts, a new study finds racial disparities in Pennsylvania marijuana arrests are increasing, and more.

The number of Americans injecting drugs increased five-fold in the past decade. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

House Passes Defense Spending Bill with Marijuana Amendments. The House last Thursday approved the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes nine amendments pertaining to marijuana and other drug policies. Included in the House version of the bill is language from the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, language allowing Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to allow medical marijuana recommendations, and two psychedelic research amendments. The SAFE language, which the legal marijuana industry is clamoring for, has been passed in the House as part of several earlier omnibus spending bills, only to be killed in the Senate by Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and his allies, who have been holding out for passage of a full-blown marijuana legalization bill. We shall see if it turns out any differently this time.

Black Pennsylvanians See More Racial Bias in Marijuana Arrests. A new study from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) finds that racial disparities in marijuana arrests jumped upward in 2020, even though overall pot arrests declined. Black Pennsylvanians were five times more likely to be arrested for marijuana statewide. The largest disparity was in Cumberland County, where Blacks were 18 times more likely to be arrested for pot than Whites. "I will say that the numbers moving in the wrong direction is certainly a concern," said Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition Meredith Buettner. "This is all the more reason that we really need to dig into adult use policy here in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvanians." The Republican-controlled state legislature has so far blocked any moves toward legalization.

Drug Policy

CDC Finds Huge Increase in Number of People Injecting Drugs. A new study from the Coalition for Applied Modeling for Prevention (CAMP) and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a rapid increase in the number of people shooting up drugs in the past decade. The most recent data, from 2018, put the number of injection drug users at about 4 million, five times the number in 2011, the last previous estimate. The study also found that overdoses -- both fatal and non-fatal -- had also increased dramatically, with deaths related to injection drug use rising threefold during that period, which was before the current spike in overdose deaths, now around 100,000 a year. For every fatal injection drug overdose, there were 40 non-fatal ones, the study found. The CDC estimates that a third of people who inject drugs share syringes, needles or other drug injection equipment.

International

British Tories Plan to Punish Drug Users, Could Seize Their Drivers' Licenses, Passports. The Home Office has announced a scheme to punish drug users in a bid to "tackle the scourge of drug abuse in society." Under the "three-strikes" proposal, first-time illicit drug offenders, including marijuana offenders, would have to pay for and attend a drug awareness course. A second offense would merit a formal warning, another drug awareness course, and up to three months of mandatory random drug testing. For a third offense, people would be criminally charged and, upon conviction, could be banned from nightclubs and other entertainment venues and could have their drivers' licenses and passports confiscated. But, hey, that is effectively decriminalization for the first two offenses. The proposal will now undergo a three-month consultation period before being amended or implemented as is.

Germany Takes First Steps Toward Legal Weed, Australia's NSW AG Calls for Drug Decriminalization, More... (6/13/22)

Brazil's annual march for marijuana is back, a bill legalizing medical marijuana just landed in the Ukrainian parliament, and more.

Up to a gram of cocaine (and other drugs) could be decriminalized in Australia's New South Wales. (Pixabay)
International

Australia's New South Wales Attorney General Proposes Drug Decriminalization. Saying that the state's drug policies are "clearly not working," New South Wales Attorney General Mark Spearman has proposed decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. Reports list a threshold of one gram for amphetamines, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as threshold amounts for Ecstasy, ketamine, and LSD, but not for opiates. It is unclear if opiates will be decriminalized as well. Under the proposal, police would the discretion to issue up to two fines to an individual, with the fine waived if the person undertakes counseling or some other health intervention. The move comes just days after the Australiana Capital Territory (Canberra) announced it was moving to decriminalization. The proposal comes more than two years after a special commission on methamphetamine addiction issued a report  calling for reforms, but the state government had yet to act on that report—until now.

Brazilians March for Marijuana Legalization. After a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, Brazil's annual "Marcha da Macohna" (March for Marijuana) returned over the weekend, with hundreds of people marching in Sao Paulo. Marijuana has been decriminalized since 2006, but remains illegal and use is allowed only for medical reasons. "We really need to have marijuana legalized because that way it will be accessible to anyone. It's not fair for a child to have 80 seizures a day and not have access to the treatment because the family can't pay for the treatment with cannabidiol. They don't have access to it, said demonstrator Barbara Gael. "Yes, legalize it, because all uses are medicinal, even smoking for those who have pain, for example, will relieve the pain. It’s past time to legalize. We’re way behind on this, it’s fundamental."

Germany Moves Toward Marijuana Legalization. The Health Ministry announced Monday that it will begin a series of expert hearings on marijuana legalization beginning Tuesday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government has promised to enact legalization, and the hearings will see more than 200 witnesses from the fields of law and medicine, as well as officials from various levels of government and international experts. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he planned to draw up legislation in the second half of the year, after the hearings finish up.

Ukraine Medical Marijuana Bill Goes to Parliament. The executive branch has filed a medical marijuana bill, No. 7457, with the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. The draft law regulates marijuana for medical, industrial, scientific, and technical purposes in order to create conditions for expanding patient access to the plant, including for post-traumatic stress disorders linked to the Russian invasion of the country. The bill does not legalize marijuana for recreational use. 

Peru Announces Plan to Buy Up Entire Illegal Coca Crop, NH Senate Kills Legal Pot Bills Again, More... (4/29/22)

The White House announces more money for drug law enforcement, GOP senators file a bill to reduce but not eliminate the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, and more.

British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie -- busted on drug charges in Florida (bvi.gov.vg)
Marijuana Policy

New Hampshire Senate Again Rejects Marijuana Legalization Bills. The Senate on Thursday rejected two different marijuana legalization bills. House Bill 1598 would have created a state-run monopoly for retail marijuana sales, while House Bill 629 would have legalized personal possession and home cultivation of the plant. In recent years, the House has repeatedly passed marijuana legalization bills, only to see them die in the Senate. On reason is paternalistic politicians like Sen. Bob Guida (R-Warren), who said he was "proud" of defeating legalization. "It may be what people want, but it's not what we as a Senate should enable them to do because it will cause harm," he said.

Law Enforcement

White House Announces $275 Million for Law Enforcement in HIDTAs. The White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) announced Thursday that it has allocated $275 million for law enforcement in designate High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) to tackle black market opioid trafficking. ONDCP said the funds would go to 33 regional HIDTAs to "reduce violence associated with drug trafficking, improve interdiction efforts through enhanced data sharing and targeting, and dismantle illicit finance operations." Some of the money will also support public health and safety partnerships, like the Overdose Response Strategy, which works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce overdose. But the bulks of the money is going to prohibitionist law enforcement.

Sentencing

GOP Senators File Bill to Reduce but Not Eliminate Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity, Stiffen Some Penalties. US Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Lee (R-UT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) to introduce the SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act, which would reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenders tried in federal courts. The bill would reduce the current crack-to-powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 18:1 to 2.5:1. It would reduce the volume required to trigger five-year mandatory minimum sentences for powder cocaine from 500 grams to 400 grams, and from 5 kilograms to 4 kilograms for 10-year mandatory minimum sentences. For crack cocaine, the volume triggering a five-year mandatory sentence would be increased from 28 grams to 160 grams; the volume for the 10-year mandatory sentence would be lifted from 280 grams to 1,600 grams.

International

British Virgin Islands Leader Busted in Florida Drug Sting Operation. The elected head of government of the British Virgin Island, Premier Andrew Fahie, was arrested in a drug sting operation in Florida Thursday. Fahie went down after an undercover informant posing as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel sought his help in moving cocaine through the territory and on to the United States and Fahie agreed to help in return for $500,000 paid up front and accepted $20,000 in cash as good faith money. The Caribbean island nation's port director and her son were also charged. Fahie and the other two all face charges of conspiracy to import at least five kilograms of a cocaine mixture and conspiracy to launder money.

Mexico Sends 200 More Soldiers to Tijuana to Fight Cartel Violence. Mexico has deployed an additional 200 National Guard troops to join the 3,500 already deployed in the border city of Tijuana, which has been ravaged by prohibition-related violence in recent weeks. "The conflict over control of production, distribution and sales of drugs led by organized delinquents within the state of Baja California has generated a large number of homicides as a result of these activities,"said General Francisco Javier Hernández Almanza, the head of the Mexico's National Guard in Baja California. The soldiers will man vehicle checkpoints across the city. But the entry of Mexican soldiers into areas of cartel violence has often led to more -- not less -- violence.

Peru Announces Plans to Buy Up Entire Illicit Coca Crop. The government has announced a plan to buy up the nation's entire supply of illegal coca leaf as part of its battle against drug trafficking. The Andean nation is one of the world's three major cocaine producers, along with Bolivia and Colombia. The country has a legal coca market and produced an estimated 160,000 tons of coca leaf last year, but 95 percent of that was grown illegally and was destined for illegal markets, where it was converted into about 400 tons of cocaine. The country's coca monopoly, ENACO, has 95,000 registered licit coca growers, but there are an estimated 400,000 illicit coca growers that the government wants to bring into the fold. "It is imperative, for at least a year, to buy coca leaf from existing registered producers and from those that will make up the newly created register," Cabinet Chief Anibal Torres said on Wednesday when presenting the initiative. The plan would also end the military occupation of the VRAEM (Valleys of the Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers), the country's main coca production area, which has had a military presence since 2006.

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