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Safer Injection Sites

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Supervised Injection Sites Could Be Coming Soon to California [FEATURE]

This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here.

As we mark International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, California is on the verge of taking a serious, yet controversial, step to cut down on drug deaths. A bill that would allow a number of counties in the state to set up supervised drug consumption sites -- Assembly Bill 186 -- is now only a Senate floor vote away from landing on the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown (D).

The long-operating InSite safe injection site in Vancouver (Creative Commons)
Such facilities, also known as safe injection sites, typically allow drug users to inject their own drugs under medical supervision on premises with needles and related equipment provided by the site. The sites also serve as a point of contact between injection drug users and social service and treatment providers. But they infuriate social conservatives, who see them as coddling or condoning illicit drug use.

Although such facilities operate in a number of European countries, as well as Australia and Canada, and have been shown to provide numerous public health benefits, including a reduction in overdose deaths, no sanctioned supervised drug consumption sites are operating in the US.

Which is not to say there are none operating: Earlier this month, two researchers published a report on an unsanctioned -- and potentially illegal -- supervised drug consumption site operating since 2014 in an unnamed US city. They offered little data, but their main finding was that no one had died injecting drugs at the site. Two people overdosed, but were revived with naloxone administered by on-site medical staff.

And efforts are well underway in Seattle and surrounding King County, Washington, to get sites up and operating there. But no state has passed a law authorizing the widespread use of the facilities. California came close last year, and of the six states where such legislation has been filed this year, it's the nearest to victory.

That's only somewhat consoling to Assemblywoman Susan Eggman Talamantes (D-Stockton), the author of the bills both this year and last. In a Tuesday conference call, she decried the legislature's blocking of this proven public health policy intervention in 2016 and pointed to the cost of a year's delay.

California Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) is leading the fight. (ca.gov)
"The studies show they work. Treatment goes up, overdoses go down, and we also see a reduction in street use around facilities, as well as reductions in HIV and Hep C," Eggman noted. "But that doesn't always make sense in politics. Some 3,600 Californians have died of drug overdoses since we couldn't pass this last year."

The bill allows eight counties -- Alameda, Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Mendocino, San Francisco, San Joaquin, and Santa Cruz -- or cities within those counties to establish safe injection sites under a pilot program that would expire in January 2022. Sites would be required to do the sorts of things sites are supposed to do: "provide a hygienic space supervised by health care professionals, as specified, where people who use drugs can consume pre-obtained drugs, and provide sterile consumption supplies;" administer needed medical treatment; provide access to referrals for drug treatment, mental health, medical, and social services; and provide education on overdose and infectious disease prevention.

The bill also bars safe injection workers and clients from being charged with drug-related crimes for actions within a safe injection site program.

"I'm a social worker," Eggman explained. "During the 1980s, I did drug and alcohol counseling, and I saw the epidemic g from heroin to crack to meth. And now we're seeing more and more suffer from addiction. I had to ask myself what made sense from a public policy perspective."

A clean, well-lit place to shoot dope. (vch.ca)
Safe drug consumption sites are one response that do make sense from a public policy perspective, but they can be a hard sell, and not just with social conservatives. In laid-back Santa Cruz, a preemptive NIMBY campaign has appeared.

"Santa Cruz is known as a progressive place, willing to try new things, so I was surprised at the pushback," Eggman confessed. "I think some activists found out about it early and were very vocal, but we've been working very carefully with them since then. We've had to explain the bill doesn't force them to do anything, that there has to be a lot of input before anything happens, that there has to be public hearings and a vote by an elected body."

But before any of that happens, the bill needs to actually pass the Senate, where its prospects are good, and then be signed into law by Gov. Brown, who has not pronounced one way or the other on it.

"We're trying to provide data for the governor to get a signature for this pilot program," Eggman said. "It's not for everybody, but it is a tool for saving lives and reducing addiction."

Will California actually get it done this year? Stay tuned.

CA
United States

Chronicle AM: AZ Forfeiture Challenge Advances, Paraguay MJ Production Surges, More... (8/22/17)

There is a boycott against a Los Angeles marijuana business expo over the presence of Roger Stone, Seattle safe injection site supporters sue to block a NIMBY initiative, a federal judge rules that an Arizona case challenging civil asset forfeiture can proceed, and more.

Roger Stone. The legalization-loving Trump confidant is sparking some pushback from the industry. (Wikimedia)
Marijuana Policy

Pot People Boycott Los Angeles Cannabis Expo Over Presence of Trump Confidant Roger Stone. Numerous speakers and exhibitors are boycotting the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exhibition set for September 13 because of the inclusion of former Trump campaign strategist and political dirty trickster Roger Stone. Led by the Minority Cannabis Business Association, more than 30 speakers and exhibitors have pulled out. There is also a Change.org petition calling on event organizers to drop Stone. "Inviting Mr. Stone to speak to the crowd, especially as we see the rise of overt racism and anti-semitism, is an affront to the very movement you purport to promote," the Change.org petition says.

Asset Forfeiture

Arizona Federal Court Rules Asset Forfeiture Challenge Can Proceed. Last Friday, a federal court ruled that a far-reaching lawsuit challenging the profit motive at the core of Arizona's civil asset forfeiture law can move forward because the plaintiff has properly asserted that policing for profit violates her constitutional rights. The case was filed by the ACLU, the ACLU of Arizona, and the law firm Perkins Coie on behalf of Pinal County resident Rhonda Cox, whose pickup truck was seized and kept by local law enforcement even though she was never convicted of a crime. "For too long, Arizona's civil asset forfeiture laws have motivated law enforcement officials to line their pockets rather than fight crime," said Emma Andersson, staff attorney with the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project. "The court's order is a huge step towards protecting our client from this perverse system that is fundamentally incompatible with the right to have due process before the government can deprive you of your property."

Harm Reduction

Seattle Safe Injection Site Supporters Sue to Block King County NIMBY Initiative. Safe injection site supporters have filed a lawsuit to invalidate an initiative that would ban the facility in suburban King County. Under a plan supported by local officials, the Seattle area would see two such facilities, one in the city and one in the county, but Initiative 27 would ban them in the county. In the lawsuit, site supporters argue that citizen initiatives should not override public health decisions. Unless the lawsuit, filed by a group called Protect Public Health, is successful, the initiative will go to voters in February. Initiative supporters had sought a November vote, but slow action by King County officials resulted in the initiative not being certified in time for a vote this year.

International

Paraguay Marijuana Production Surging. It's long been "the Mexico of South America," given its history of mass producing low-quality marijuana for consumption by wealthier neighbors, but a new report from the country's National Anti-Drug Secretariat says pot production is booming, and it blames poverty and a lack of viable substitute crops. Authorities there have seized 1.4 million pounds of pot this year, more than double what they seized last year.

Chronicle AM: First India MedMJ Research Grow License, Filipino Drug War Slammed, More... (8/21/17)

Philippines bishops and citizen demonstrators alike take aim at Duterte's lethal drug war, the US Civil Rights Commission takes aim at the Trump administration's embrace of federal civil asset forfeiture, and more.

India's first medical marijuana research grow license holders, the CSMR and the Bombay Hemp Group.
Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Gets First Dispensary Application. The state Department of Finance and Administration reported that it received its first medical marijuana dispensary application last Friday. The state will issue up to 32 licenses for dispensaries, but the deadline for applications is September 18.

Asset Forfeiture

US Civil Rights Commission Criticizes Trump/Sessions on Asset Forfeiture. As part of a multi-pronged critique of the Trump administration, the Civil Rights Commission issued a statement condemning Attorney General Sessions' decision to reverse Obama-era policy and return to full-throated embrace of civil asset forfeiture. "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, by unanimous vote, strongly disagrees with the Department of Justice's recent decision to expand federal participation in the practice of civil asset forfeiture. Civil asset forfeiture, defined as the taking of property by law enforcement without a criminal conviction, was sharply curtailed by the Department in 2015. Efforts to limit the practice have bipartisan support," the commissioners noted in its statement. The commission issued similar statements criticizing the administration's stances on voting rights and transgender people in the military.

Harm Reduction

Washington King County NIMBY Anti-Safe Injection Site Initiative Qualifies for Ballot, But Maybe Not for November Election. An initiative that aims to block safe injections from being set up in Seattle's suburban King County has qualified for the ballot, county officials confirmed last Thursday. But because county officials were slow to get around to counting signatures, it missed a deadline for appearing on the November ballot, and now, the Metropolitan King County Council will have to decide whether to put the measure, known as Initiative 27, on the November ballot or delay it until a February election. Initiative supporters have said they fear it will be too late by February.

International

India Issues Its First Medical Marijuana Grow License. The Indian government last week issued its first license to grow medical marijuana for research purposes. The license went to the Council of Scientific and Medical Research, which will collaborate with the Bombay Hemp Company. The two groups seek to develop marijuana-based drugs.

Philippine Bishops Speak Out on Duterte's Bloody Drug War. With an uptick in Duterte's war on drugs leaving 81 dead in four days last week, Filipino bishops are raising the alarm. Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos said most of the killings in his diocese were "extrajudicial killings" and wondered why the police had to kill so many so fast. "We do not know the motivation of the police why they had to do the killings in one day, maybe to impress the President who wanted more," he told Vatican Radio. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of the Kalookan diocese said just as people were labeled "communists" before killing them in the last century, now being labeled a "drug suspect" leads to the same result. "I don't know of any law in any civilized society that says a person deserves to die because he or she is a "drug suspect," Bishop David said.

Hundreds Demonstrate in Manila Over Drug War Killing of Teenager. Protestors gathered at the People Power monument in Manila Monday to demand an impartial investigation of drug war killings. The death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos at the hands of narcotics police last week was "a tipping point" for demonstrators, they said. "He has become a central figure because his death is the only one that has evidence [against the police]," Shamah Bulangis, secretary general of Akbayan Youth, told the Inquirer. "It gives us more balls to say that this government is corrupt in its war on drugs."

Uruguay Legal Marijuana Faces Banking Problem. Some banks in Uruguay are refusing to do business with pharmacies that sell legal marijuana because they say it would put them in conflict with international financial laws. And the problem could get worse since a government official last Friday warned banks that they ran the risk of violating laws that ban handling money tied to the marijuana trade.

Chronicle AM: BC Calls for Radical Opioid Response, 2nd MI MJ Init, More... (8/17/17)

BC health officials present some revolutionary recommendations for dealing with the opioid crisis, Alaska officials defend marijuana legalization, a second Michigan legalization initiative is okayed for signature gathering, and more.

British Columbia health officials say users should be provided drugs to take home, be able to grow opium poppies. (Wikimedia)
Marijuana Policy

Alaska Officials Defend Legalization in Letters to Sessions. Gov. Bill Walker (I) and Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth have sent two letters to Attorney General Sessions defending their state's marijuana law and the wishes of state voters. Their letters are a response to a letter Sessions sent to governors of legalization states in July. "Marijuana regulation is an area where states should take the lead," they said in the first letter, dated August 1. "We ask that the DOJ maintain its existing marijuana policies because the State relied on those assurances in shaping our regulatory framework, and because existing policies appropriately focus federal efforts on federal interests," they said in the second letter, dated August 14.

Second Michigan Legalization Initiative Gets Okay for Signature Gathering. The state Board of Canvassers on Thursday approved a second marijuana legalization initiative for signature gathering. The initiative, from a group called Abrogate Prohibition Michigan, would end "all prohibitions on the use of cannabis in any form by any person" and specify that no taxes could be imposed. Another group, MI Legalize, is already halfway through the signature gathering phase for its initiative, which envisions legalization, taxation, and regulation.

Los Angeles Gets a Cannabis Czar. The city council voted on Wednesday to approve Cat Packer as executive director of the city's newly fashioned Department of Cannabis Regulation. Packer is a former Drug Policy Alliance state policy coordinator for California. She was also a campaign coordinator for Californians for Responsible Marijuana Reform, part of the Prop 64 campaign. She will be charged with rolling out regulations for legal marijuana in the city.

Harm Reduction

Washington King County Initiative to Ban Safe Injection Sites Likely Won't Make Ballot. A measure to ban safe injection sites in Seattle's suburban King County is unlikely to be on the November ballot. Petition organizers handed in sufficient signatures on time, but it took two weeks for the petitions to get from the King County Council clerk to King County Elections, so the initiative has missed an August 1 deadline to be certified for the ballot. It could go on the ballot in a February special election, but initiative sponsors say they fear it will be too late to prevent safe injection sites by then.

International

British Columbia Health Authorities Call for Revolutionary Approach to Opioid Crisis. The BC Center for Disease Control has issued a set of recommendations for dealing with opioid use and overdoses that includes providing users with drugs they can take home with them and allowing people to grow their own opium. The current approach to addiction is backwards, BCCDC Executive Medical Director Mark Tyndall told the Globe and News: "We strongly advise people to stop using street drugs, and if they can't do that, then we offer them… Suboxone or methadone, and if that doesn't work, we basically tell them to go and find their own drugs even though there is a very real possibility of dying," he said. "What we should be doing -- especially in an environment of a poisoned drug supply -- is to start with access to uncontaminated drugs so at least people don't die, then move on to substitution therapy and eventually recovery."

Chronicle AM: CA Judge Rules for Growers, CT Judge Rules for Patient, More... (8/11/17)

Federal judges stuck up for California marijuana growers and a Connecticut medical marijuana patient, another Seattle suburb goes NIMBY on safe injection sites, and more.

Connecticut fed judge: Medical marijuana user denied job for positive drug test can sue. (Wikimedia.org)
Marijuana Policy

California Federal Judge Blocks Prosecution of Marijuana Growers. A federal district court judge in San Francisco ruled on Tuesday that federal prosecutors cannot move forward with their prosecution of two Humboldt County pot growers because the pair was in compliance with state laws. Judge Richard Seeborg held that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment blocked such prosecutions, and the case is closed unless or until that amendment expires.

Nevada Opens Up Marijuana Distribution Rights. The state Department of Taxation concluded Thursday that there weren't enough liquor distributors who wanted to transport marijuana to pot shops and decided to open the business up to other potential distributors. "The capacity of only liquor wholesalers to serve the market seems lacking," said Deonne Contine, executive director of the tax department, in remarks reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I think the evidence is fairly clear today that this market needs to be opened up," she said.

Medical Marijuana

Connecticut Federal Judge Rules Employee Not Hired Because of Medical Marijuana Can Sue. A federal district court judge in New Haven ruled on Tuesday that a woman who was using medical marijuana in compliance with state law can sue an employer who rescinded her job offer after she tested positive for marijuana. The woman had previously disclosed her medical marijuana use and had quit her former job when, one day before she was supposed to begin her new job, the company notified her it was rescinding the offer. The ruling echoes one last month in Maine's Supreme Judicial Court, and may signal the beginning of judicial recognition of the employment rights of medical marijuana users.

Arkansas Hasn't Seen Any Grow or Dispensary Applications Yet. With the state halfway through its application period for medical marijuana grow and dispensary licenses, state officials said Friday that they had yet to receive any applications, but they weren't worried. "We are not concerned, as we understand the applications require detailed and specific information that will take time to complete," Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin told the Associated Press. "Applicants are likely performing their due diligence to provide quality applications." The deadline for applications is September 18.

Harm Reduction

Another Seattle Suburb Rejects Safe Injection Sites. The city council in south suburban Federal Way voted Tuesday night to ban safe injection sites in the city. The vote comes after a King County task force recommended opening two safe injection sites in the county, which includes Seattle. Another Seattle suburb, Bellevue, approved a similar NIMBY ban just days ago. One safe injection is set for Seattle; the other is supposed to open in one of the suburbs.

Chronicle AM: Trump Wants More Drug War to Fight Opioids, New Pot Poll, More... (8/9/17)

A new Quinnipiac poll has support for marijuana legalization at a record high, Trump calls for a return to tough drug war policies to fight opioids, Hawaii gets its first dispensary, and more.

#WINNING in the polls.
Marijuana Policy

Quinnipiac Poll Has Record 61% for Legalization. A new Quinnipiac poll has support for marijuana legalization at 61%, the highest figure ever reported by Quinnipiac and up two points since February. Support was above 50% for all demographic groups except Republicans (37%) and people over 65 (42%). The poll also found that fully three-quarters (75%) of respondents thought the federal government should not enforce federal marijuana laws in states where it is legal. Support for medical marijuana was even higher a near-unanimous 94%.

Medical Marijuana

Hawaii Gets First Dispensary. Maui Grown Therapies opened for business on Tuesday in Kahului. It's the first dispensary in the state to be permitted and open its doors. The store was only open for a couple of hours Tuesday, with the owners saying they were doing a "soft opening." A second dispensary, Aloha Green, was set to open in Oahu on Wednesday.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Trump Wants More Drug War, But No State of Emergency for Opioid Crisis. President Trump said Tuesday that a stronger law enforcement is necessary to fight the opioid crisis and criticized the Obama administration for prosecuting fewer drug offenders. He also critically highlighted shorter average sentences for drug offenders under Obama and advocated for abstinence-based drug treatment. But he did not act on a recommendation from his opioid panel headed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) that he declare a national state of emergency.

Harm Reduction

Seattle Suburb Votes to Ban Safe Injection Sites. The Bellevue City Council voted Monday night to ban safe injection sites even though none had been proposed for the city, the second-largest in Kings County after Seattle. Members said the vote was driven by fears the site could hurt development of a homeless center now being planned. But it is also a sign of broader objections to such facilities in the area and comes after the Metropolitan King County Council voted in July not to spend money setting up sites unless a locale's elected officials first approved it. Safe injection supporters said that vote effectively kills any sites outside the city of Seattle.

International

Tillerson Offers to Help Duterte Fight Drugs -- If Philippines Leader Changes Tactics. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday and told him the US would provide anti-drug assistance if he would rein in his brutal tactics. Tillerson obliquely noted harsh criticisms of the Philippines' bloody drug war by human rights groups and others and suggested the US could help find more suitable tactics. Duterte was noncommittal.

Chronicle AM: Secret Safe Injection Site in US City, VT "Blue Ribbon" MJ Panel, More... (8/8/17)

The body representing state legislatures again calls for marijuana reforms, Vermont's governor is about to empanel on commission to study legalization issues, a safe injection site has been operating secretly in a US city for the past three years, and more.

The Vancouver safe injection site has a hidden counterpart somewhere in the US. (vch.ca)
Marijuana Policy

National Conference of State Legislatures Urges De-Scheduling Marijuana. The National Conference of State Legislatures has approved a resolution calling for marijuana to be removed from the Controlled Substances Act. The resolution approved on Monday specifically references access to banking, saying such a move would result in "… enabling financial institutions the ability to provide banking services to cannabis related businesses." This marks the third year in a row the conference has passed a resolution on marijuana, going a bit further each time. In 2015, it resolved that federal laws should be amended to allow states to set their own pot policies, and last year, it resolved that marijuana should be down-scheduled.

Vermont Governor About to Convene "Blue Ribbon Commission" on Legalization. Gov. Phil Scott (R) says he will shortly convene a commission to study issues around marijuana legalization, but it looks like his emphasis will be on how to detect marijuana impairment in drivers rather than examining models for legalization. Earlier this year, Scott vetoed a legalization bill, citing concerns about driving and youth, and he says now that he will not sign a bill that doesn't have stringent standards on impaired driving.

Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates Split on Decriminalization. Democratic nominee Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam sent a letter Monday to the State Crime Commission, which is studying decriminalization, in support of the notion. That position contrasts with Republican nominee Ed Gillespie, who says he opposes legalization or decriminalization, but is open to exploring reforms to ensure that penalties are commensurate with the offense committed. Polling shows a majority of Virginians favor decrim. Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra, meanwhile, says just tax and legalize it.

Medical Marijuana

Indiana Republican Will File Medical Marijuana Bill to Fight Opioid Overdoses. State Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) says he plans to file a medical marijuana bill in a bid to combat opioid abuse. He said he was acting after hearing from constituents. "People telling me their personal stories, how they've been helped by this product, how far behind Indiana is on this issue," he told the Indianapolis Star. "That right there, we have a responsibility to at least investigate it and determine the facts, and if there is something positive out there, we have to pursue that."

Asset Forfeiture

Arizona Asset Forfeiture Reforms Go Into Effect Wednesday. A new law limiting civil asset forfeiture reform goes into effect Wednesday. House Bill 2477 does not end civil asset forfeiture, but raises the standard of proof necessary for seizures from "a preponderance of the evidence" to "clear and convincing evidence."

Harm Reduction

Underground Safe Injection Site Has Been Operating in a US City for Three Years. In a report released Tuesday, two researchers revealed that they've been studying an unpermitted safe injection site in operation since 2014. They reported that no one died while using drugs at the site and that two overdoses were reversed by staff members administering naloxone. The report comes as pressure to authorize such sites is mounting, with lawmakers in states like California and New York and cities including San Francisco, Seattle, and Ithaca, New York, backing such efforts.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org"s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. 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.)

Chronicle AM: MA Legal MJ Bill Heads to Gov, DOJ Restarts Forfeiture Sharing, More .... (7/20/17)

Massachusetts lawmakers approve the legal marijuana bill, the Justice Department officially resurrects "adoptive sharing" for asset forfeitures, Gallup says more Americans have smoked pot than ever, and more.

California is on the verge of approving a state law to allow supervised injection sites to operate in the state. (vch.ca)
Marijuana Policy

Gallup Poll Has Number Who Say They've Used Marijuana at All-Time High. Some 45% of American adults have tried marijuana, according to Gallup. That's an all-time high, and it's more than ten times the number (4%) who admitted smoking pot in 1969, the first year Gallup asked the question. About 12% said they currently use marijuana.

Massachusetts Legislature Approves Compromise Legalization Bill. The House and Senate both approved a compromise measure to implement marijuana legalization Wednesday. House Bill 3818 now heads to the desk of Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who is expected to sign it. The bill increases taxes from 12% to up to 20%, and would allow authorities in localities that didn't vote in favor of the legalization initiative to ban pot businesses without a popular vote.

Medical Marijuana

Texas Bid to Expand Medical Marijuana Defeated. An effort to expand medical marijuana in the state was stopped by the House State Affairs Committee Wednesday. Rep. David Knoll (R) had tried to add an amendment to a special session bill authorizing the Texas Medical Board and other agencies, but the amendment never got enough support to come up for a vote.

Asset Forfeiture

Justice Department Brings Back Aggressive Asset Forfeiture Policy. As Attorney General Sessions vowed earlier this week, the Justice Department on Wednesday formally unrolled a revamped "adoptive forfeiture" policy that will allow state and local law enforcement agencies to hand drug cases over to the feds to ensure that the cops get the great bulk -- 80% -- of the proceeds from seizures, in many cases doing an end-run around state asset forfeiture law. The program was halted by then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2015 after a rising outcry over abuses. The move was praised by law enforcement but criticized by civil rights groups and even some members of Congress.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Rhode Island Governor Signs Package of Bills to Fight Opioid Epidemic. Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) Wednesday signed into law three bills aimed at the state's opioid problem. One allows law enforcement to access an electronic prescription database without a warrant, one requires doctors to discuss the risks of addiction with patients when prescribing opioids, and one expands the kind of drugs that can be electronically prescribed. "Every Rhode Island community has been touched by this crisis, and I'll take every step I can to fight back," Raimondo said in a signing statement.

Harm Reduction

California Safe Injection Site Bill Awaits Senate Floor Vote. A bill that would allow supervised injection sites in the state has already passed the Assembly and has now been approved by both the Senate Health Committee and the Public Safety Committee. Assembly Bill 186, sponsored by Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) now awaits a Senate floor vote. If the bill passes, it will go back to the Assembly for concurrence, and then to Governor Jerry Brown's desk.

Chronicle AM: Canada Expanding Safe Injection Sites, FL Sued Over MedMJ Smoke Ban, More... (7/6/17)

Canada is expanding the use of safe injection sites, the man behind Florida's successful medical marijuana constitutional amendment is suing the state over a smoking ban enacted by lawmakers, Massachusetts lawmakers continue to struggle with how to implement marijuana legalization, and more.

Vancouver's Insite supervised injection facility (vch.ca)
Marijuana Policy

Massachusetts House Speaker Wants Marijuana Talks Suspended Until Budget is Passed. Legislators locked in a battle over how to implement the state's voter-approved pot legalization law are being told to put the issue on hold until solons can get a budget passed. House Speaker Roberto DeLeo (D), whose chamber is backing a plan that radically increases taxes and would allow localities to ban marijuana businesses without a popular vote, called Wednesday for setting the issue aside to take on the budget. But Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D) countered that the Senate could work on both bills and that "mischief makers are once again at work."

Nevada Opening Pot Sales Exceed Store Owners' Expectations. Legal marijuana sales that began just after midnight Saturday have exceeded the expectations of pot shop operators. Long lines formed in the wee hours Saturday morning, and shops are continuing to report heavy interest, with lines forming again before shops opened for business on Monday. "I'm very happy with the way sales have gone and continue to go, especially when you consider that the word didn't really get out ahead of time," Andrew Jolley, president of the Nevada Dispensary Association and a store owner told Leafly. "The public really only had a couple of weeks' notice, whereas Colorado had a full year to prepare."

Medical Marijuana

Florida Sued Over No Smoking Provision in Medical Marijuana Law. Orlando attorney John Morgan, the mastermind and chief funder of the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law, filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a legislative ban on smoking medical marijuana. He is asking the courts to throw out the implementing law, saying legislators violated the will of the voters by altering the constitutional amendment they approved last November. "Inhalation is a medically effective and efficient way to deliver Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and other cannabinoids, to the bloodstream," the lawsuit argues. "By redefining the constitutionally defined term 'medical use' to exclude smoking, the Legislature substitutes its medical judgment for that of 'a licensed Florida physician' and is in direct conflict with the specifically articulated Constitutional process."

West Virginia Medical Marijuana Law Now in Effect. The state's Medical Cannabis Act went into effect Wednesday, but it could still be months or years before Mountain State patients are able to medicate with marijuana. But now an advisory board has been appointed to create a regulatory framework for medical marijuana regulations, and it could be 2019 before patients are able to legally purchase their medicine.

Drug Testing

Colorado Employers Begin to Walk Away from Testing for Marijuana. Changing social attitudes and a tight labor market are pushing employers in the state to drop screenings for marijuana from pre-employment drug tests, said a spokesman for the Mountain States Employers Council. "We're finding that for employers, it's such a tight labor market, that they can't always afford to have a zero-tolerance approach to somebody's off-duty marijuana use, Curtis Graves told Colorado Public Radio.

Harm Reduction

Mississippi Law Easing Naloxone Access Now in Effect. As of July 1, health care providers can write "standing prescriptions" for the opioid overdose reversal drug for family members of people strung out on opioids. "This will save many lives," said Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Water Valley).

International

Canada Expanding Safe Injection Sites. Once there was only InSite, the Vancouver safe injection site under constant assault from the Conservative federal government. But now, the Liberals are in power, and the number of safe injection sites has expanded to seven, including three in Montreal and another in Vancouver. Another Montreal site is set to open soon, and so are three in Toronto, with more than a dozen other potential sites being considered.

Chronicle AM: Mexico Legalizes MedMJ, China Bans More Synthetic Opioids, More... (6/20/17)

New Jersey pols look to legalize pot next year, Vermont pols look to legalize it this week, China bans more synthetic opioids, Mexico officially embraces medical marijuana, and more.

Medical marijuana is now officially legal in Mexico, but rules and regulations will take some time.
Marijuana Policy

New Jersey Legalization Bill Gets Hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a legalization measure, Senate Bill 3195, on Monday. The testimony was largely favorable, including from a former state Republican Committee head, the head of a doctors' organization favoring legalization, and from a long-time municipal prosecutor. "I believe by legalizing and regulating it and discouraging, officially as official government policy, like we do with tobacco and alcohol, we will be far better off than the status quo," prosecutor J.H. Barr told the committee. No vote was taken. The bill is strongly opposed by Gov. Chris Christie (R), but he'll be gone in January.

Vermont Legislators Will Try to Get Weed Legalized in Special Session This Week. Gov. Phil Scott (R) vetoed the legalization bill in May, saying he had public safety concerns. Supporters of legalization have come back with a bill that now has stiffer penalties for drugged driving, smoking pot in cars with kids, providing pot to kids, and selling pot in school zones -- all in a bid to win the governor's support. The bill does not include "impairment testing mechanism" requested by Scott, largely because there are no marijuana breathalyzers on the market. Scott has declined to comment on the revised bill. The special session begins Wednesday.

Harm Reduction

Boston Ponders Supervised Injection Sites. With six people a day dying of opioid overdoses in the city so far this year, the city council has set a hearing next Monday to explore the potential impact of supervised injection sites. The move comes after the Massachusetts Medical Society urged state officials to open at least two of the facilities.

International

China Bans Synthetic Opioids Linked to US Overdose Deaths. China announced on Monday that it is banning the ultra-potent synthetic opioid U-47700 and three others. The DEA says China is the chief source of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and carfentanil, which China has already banned. U-47700, MT-45, PMMA, and 4,4-DMAR will be added to the country's list of controlled substances as of July 1, said Deng Ming, deputy director of the National Narcotics Control Commission.

Mexico Legalizes Medical Marijuana. President Enrique Pena Nieto issued a decree on Monday officially legalizing medical marijuana in the country. Legislation authorizing medical marijuana sailed through the Senate in December and passed the lower house on a 347-7 vote in April. Now, the Ministry of Health will be tasked with drafting and implementing rules and regulations.

Drug War Issues

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