Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

Marijuana Policy

RSS Feed for this category

Amsterdam Bans Outdoor Pot Smoking in Red Light District, AK Drug Sentencing Bill Advances, More... (5/15/23)

The House passes a bill to fund research into the veterinary-drug-turned-fentanyl-supplement Xylazine, a former Filipina president introduces a medical marijuana bill, and more.

You're going to have to go inside if you want to smoke pot in Amsterdam's Red Light District. (Creative Commons)
Drug Policy

House Passes Bill to Fund Research into Xylazine. The veterinary drug Xylazine, also known as Tranq, has entered illicit drug markets, leaving behind a toll of disease, amputations, and overdoses. Now, the House has responded by passing H.R. 1374, the Tranq Research Act. The bill would fund research into the drug at the National Institute of Science and Technology. Companion legislation in the Senate, S.1280, is currently before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Meanwhile, another effort to address Xylazine by making it a Schedule III controlled substance, S.993, is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Alaska House Approves Bill to Increase Drug Distribution Sentences. The House last Thursday approved House Bill 66, which would increase penalties for people who distribute fentanyl, other opioids, and methamphetamine. The bill would allow for second degree murder charges for people who distribute those drugs if someone suffers a fatal overdose on them. Previously, people only faced a manslaughter charge. A second degree murder conviction has a maximum 99-year prison sentence. The bill also increases penalties for people who distribute a broad class of drugs, including Adderall and psychedelic mushroom, to people under 19 and incapacitated people. The bill is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee and must pass the full Senate this week because the session ends at the end of this week.

International

Amsterdam Bans Outdoor Pot Smoking in Red Light District. The city council has announced that as of mid-May, the city's famous Red Light District, home to legal prostitution and numerous cannabis coffeeshops, is going smoke-free when it comes to marijuana. That means pot smoking will be restricted to the cannabis cafes, but the council also said he could extend the ban to outdoor seating areas of the cannabis cafes if necessary. The move is part of the city's effort to create a more calm and comfortable environment for residents, who have been complaining for years about the high volume of tourists in the city center -- about 18 million annually. The council also mandated that sex workers shut down by 3:00am instead of 6:00am and that bars and restaurants will have to close at 2:00am on weekdays and 4:00am on weekends. Also, liquor outlets in the central city will be barring from selling alcohol from 4:00pm Thursday through Sunday.

Philippines Medical Marijuana Bill Filed. Former president and current Senior Deputy House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez have joined forces to file House Bill 7187, which would legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The measure is identical to a medical marijuana bill she filed in the previous congress. That bill never got a House floor vote.

"I really believe in medical cannabis. As you know I have my problem here (cervical spine) and when I'm in a country that allows it, I put on a pain patch, but here in the Philippines I cannot do it," Maccapagal-Arroyo said. "I authored that bill because I believe that it can help me and many other people, but there was a lot of objection to the bill from the House and from the Senate. That's why we are just letting the legislative process take its course," she explained.

NH Senate Kills Legal Pot Bill, Philippines Drug War Critic Acquitted on Drug Charge, More... (5/12/23)

New Hampshire's governor changes his tune on marijuana legalization, the Connecticut House approves psilocybin decriminalization, and more.

Marijuana Policy

New Hampshire Senate Again Kills Marijuana Legalization Bill. As in years past, the Senate has once again killed a marijuana legalization bill, House Bill 639, leaving the state the only one in New England to still maintain marijuana prohibition. Republicans, who control the Senate, killed the bill on a near party-line vote, with one Democrat joining with them. They cited an ongoing drug addiction and overdose crisis in the state.

"Recreationalizing marijuana at this critical juncture would send a confusing message, potentially exacerbating the already perilous drug landscape and placing more lives at risk," Republican Senate President Jeb Bradley said in a written statement.

New Hampshire Governor Now Ready to Support Marijuana Legalization. Gov. Chris Sununu (R), a longtime opponent of marijuana legalization, is ready to change his tune -- as long as legalization is on his terms. In a press release Friday, he touted his signing of a decriminalization bill and the expansion of medical marijuana under his administration, but signaled his openness to some form of legalization in the near future.

"In the past, I said now is not the time to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire. Across this country and in the midst of an unprecedented opioid crisis, other states rushed to legalize marijuana with little guardrails. As a result, many are seeing the culture and fabric of their state turn," he said.

"NH is the only state in New England where recreational use is not legal. Knowing that a majority of our residents support legalization, it is reasonable to assume change is inevitable. To ignore this reality would be shortsighted and harmful. That is why, with the right policy and framework in place, I stand ready to sign a legalization bill that puts the State of NH in the drivers seat, focusing on harm reduction  -- not profits. Similar to our Liquor sales, this path helps to keep substances away from kids by ensuring the State of New Hampshire retains control of marketing, sales, and distribution  -- eliminating any need for additional taxes. As such, the bill that was defeated in NH this session was not the right path for our state.

"New Hampshire must avoid marijuana miles  --  the term for densely concentrated marijuana shops within one city or town. Any city or town that wants to ban shops should be free to do so. The state would not impose any taxes, and should control all messaging, avoiding billboards, commercials, and digital ads that bombard kids on a daily basis."

Opiates and Opioids

Senators Hassan and Shaheen Cosponsor Bipartisan Bill to Combat Fentanyl Crisis. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have cosponsored the bipartisan Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act. This bill targets the illicit fentanyl supply chain by strengthening current law and allowing the Treasury Department to increase penalties for synthetic opioid trafficking and money laundering. The FEND Off Fentanyl Act is a sanctions and anti-money laundering bill that will allow US government agencies to more easily go after illicit opioid traffickers. The bill would:

  • Declare that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency.
  • Require the President to impose sanctions on transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels' key members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking
  • Enable the President to use proceeds of forfeited, sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to further law enforcement efforts
  • Enhance the ability to enforce sanctions violations thereby making it more likely that people who defy U.S. law will be caught and prosecuted
  • Require the administration to report to Congress on actions the U.S. government is taking to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids
  • Allow the Treasury Department to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering
  • Require the Treasury Department to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions and include descriptions of drug cartels' financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports

Psychedelics

Connecticut House Approves Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill. The House on Wednesday voted to approve House Bill 6734, which would decriminalize the possession of psilocybin mushrooms. The bill decriminalizes the possession of up to half an ounce of 'shrooms, with the only penalty being a $150 fine on a first offense and fines of up to $500 for subsequent offenses. Currently, possession of psilocybin is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. The bill now goes to the Senate.

International

Philippine Court Acquits Duterte Critic Leila de Lima of Drug Charges. Former Senator Leila de Lima, who has been held prisoner for six years after criticizing former President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug, was acquitted Friday of a drugs charge that was laid after Duterte accused her of taking bribes from drug gangs in prisons in the wake of her Senate investigation of his drug crackdown that left thousands dead. This is the second charge on which she has been acquitted; a third remains, but critics of the campaign against her have called for the remaining charge to be dropped.

"I had no doubt from the very beginning that I will be acquitted in all the cases the Duterte regime has fabricated against me based on the merits and strength of my innocence," she said in a statement. "I'm still asking for even more prayers for another case," she added as she returned to prison pending resolution of that charge.

SAFE Banking Act Gets Senate Hearing, Iran Hangs Three Cocaine Traffickers, More... (5/11/23)

Kansas becomes the latest state to legalize fentanyl test strips, the Arizona Senate folds psilocybin research funds into a budget bill, and more.

They were talking marijuana and banking on the Hill Thursday. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

SAFE Banking Act Gets Senate Committee Hearing. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing Thursday to discuss marijuana banking issues with a focus on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S.1323). No votes were taken at the hearing, which was announced as "Examining Cannabis Banking Challenges of Small Businesses and Workers." Testifying before the committee were bill sponsors Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT), as well as representatives of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC), United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Dama Financial and Smart Approaches To Marijuana (SAM).

"The cannabis landscape looks far different than it did a few short years ago," Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said in opening remarks. "Cannabis has been legalized or decriminalized in almost every state. States and localities have established licensing and social equity programs to ensure that small businesses and communities impacted by the War on Drugs are part of the growing legal cannabis industry."

Harm Reduction

Kansas Governor Signs Fentanyl Test Strip Legalization Bill into Law. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) on Thursday signed into law Senate Bill 174, which legalizes fentanyl test strips by removing them from the state's definition of drug paraphernalia. Last year, a similar bill passed in the House only to stall in the Senate.

"Overdoses caused by fentanyl have devastated communities across Kansas and the nation," Gov. Kelly said. "By decriminalizing fentanyl test strips, we are providing the resources needed to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic so that families and loved ones no longer have to feel the pain of a preventable death."

The bill also increases criminal penalties for those who manufacture or distribute fentanyl.

Psychedelics

Arizona Senate Approves Psilocybin Research Grants as Part of Budget. The Senate on Wednesday approved an appropriations bill that includes $5 million in funding for psilocybin research. A standalone bill introduced earlier this year would have also funded psilocybin research at a higher level, but Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) and top lawmakers agreed to slide the provision into the budget bill. Another budget measure that passed the Senate Wednesday contains detailed requirements for the clinical trials funded by those dollars. The House has already given initial approval to a companion version of the legislation, with a final vote coming soon.

International

Iran Hangs Three Cocaine Traffickers as UN Warns of Rising Number of Executions. Iranian state media reported that three men who were members of the "largest cocaine distribution cartel" were hung for cocaine trafficking on Wednesday. Their names are Hossein Panjak, Abdolhossein Emami Moghadam, and Babak Aghaei. They had been arrested in a 2014 raid in which 2.2 pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine, and opium were seized.

A day earlier, UN human rights chief Volker Turk criticized Iran's "abominable" record of executions this year, saying that it had hanged an average of 10 people a week so far this year. If the current rate of executions continues through the year, it would reach the highest number since 2015 when 972 people were hung. Back then, a large number of executions were for drug offenses, but Iran changed its drug laws in 2018, radically reducing the number of drug executions. It is not clear how many of this year's executions were for drug offenses, but the regime has been executing political opponents amid months of sustained civic unrest.

DEA Extends Telehealth for Buprenorphine, Colombia Legal Pot Bill Advances to Senate, More... (5/10/23)

Washington State bans discrimination against potential new hires over off-the-job marijuana use, Senate drug warriors file a bill aimed at counterfeit pills, and more.

Legal marijuana is one step closer in Colombia after it won approval in the Chamber of Representatives. (irin.org)
Marijuana Policy

Washington Becomes Latest State to Ban Pre-Employment Tests for Marijuana. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has signed into law Senate Bill 5123, which bars employers from using a positive test for marijuana to disqualify potential new hires. As of January 1, 2024, it will be "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." Employers can, however, still punish employees for positive marijuana test results even if the use was off-the-job and there are exemptions for certain safety-sensitive employers.

Drug Policy

DEA Extends Pandemic Telehealth Prescribing Rules, Including for Buprenorphine. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has extended under November 11 rules created during the pandemic that allow for the prescribing of controlled substances via telehealth. The agency says it will make a final decision on whether to make the changes permanent before the current extension expires. The rule has drawn the interest of drug reformers because it allows for telehealth access to buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder.

Senators File Bill to Attack Counterfeit Pill Production. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control co-chair Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Sen. Maggie Hasan (D-NH) have filed a bill that seeks to halt a surge in counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, or fentanyl analogues, the Stop Pills that Kill Act.

The bill does not mandate new or increased criminal penalties but requires the DEA to come up with a plan to address the problem within 180 days and requires the agency, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office), and the attorney general to file an annual report "on information regarding the collection and prosecutions of counterfeit fentanyl and methamphetamine substances." The bill would, however, "ensure that existing penalties for possessing paraphernalia used to manufacture methamphetamine would also apply to possessing paraphernalia used to make counterfeit pills that contain methamphetamine, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues."

The bill is endorsed by a variety of anti-drug groupings, including the National Narcotic Officers' Associations Coalition, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Song for Charlie, Victims of Illicit Drugs, Major Cities Chiefs Association and National District Attorneys' Association. But the bill's purpose, if not its precise language, could be consistent with the harm reduction approach as well, in in this case by helping drug users avoid taking pills that they think are one thing but are really another.

International

Colombia Chamber of Representatives Approves Marijuana Legalization; Bill Now Heads to Senate for Final Votes. A marijuana legalization bill has won final approval in the Chamber of Representatives and now heads to the Senate, where it must win a committee vote before heading for a final Senate floor vote. The bill passed the lower chamber by a vote of 98-57. A legalization bill passed both chambers last year but since it is in the form of a constitutional amendment, it has to be passed by both chambers in two separate calendar years.

OH Legalization Init Gathering Signatures, CA Drug War Reparations, More... (5/9/23) Blacks

Marijuana legalization hits a bump in New Hampshire, Jordan kills a Syrian drug trafficker in a cross-border air strike, and more.

Ohio voters could vote on marijuana legalization in November -- if activists come up with signatures first.
Marijuana Policy

New Hampshire Senate Committee Rejects House-Backed Marijuana Legalization Bills, but Floor Votes Still Coming. The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted against two marijuana legalization bills, deeming them "inexpedient to legislate." The committee rejected a full-blown commercial legalization bill sponsored by bipartisan House leaders, House Bill 639, as well as a second bill that would only have led to non-commercial legalization. Despite the committee votes, the bills are still technically alive and could see Senate floor votes as early this week, but given the rejection by the committee, the prospects for passage in the Senate are dim.

Ohio Activists Begin Second Round of Signature Gathering to Put Marijuana Legalization Initiative on November Ballot. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol has commenced a new round of signature gathering to put its marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot. The coalition earlier gathered enough valid voter signatures to put the issue before the legislature, which under state law had four months to approve it but failed to do so, clearing the way for organizers to take the issue directly to voters if it comes up with enough signatures in this round. The coalition now has 90 days to come up with 124,046 valid voter signatures to get on the November ballot and it says it is confident it will do so.

Drug Policy

California Task Force Recommends $228 Billion in Drug War Reparations for Black Residents. A task force empaneled by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has recommended that the state legislature pass reparations legislation to compensate about two million Black state residents to the tune of $228 billion for racially disproportionate harms caused by a half-century of drug war. The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans voted Saturday to submit its recommendations to the governor.

The task force "recommends that compensation for community harms be provided as uniform payments based on an eligible recipient's duration of residence in California during the defined period of harm (e.g., residence in an over-policed community during the 'War on Drugs' from 1971 to 2020)," the report says. The task force also recommended that "the Legislature enact an individual claims process to compensate individuals who can prove particular injuries, for example, an individual who was arrested or incarcerated for a drug charge during the war on drugs, especially if the drug is now considered legal," i.e. marijuana. The reparations figure comes out to $2,352 per Black Californian for each year of residency in the state during the 50-year period.

"African American residents in California who were incarcerated for the possession or distribution of substances now legal, such as cannabis, should additionally be able to seek particular compensation for their period of incarceration, as discussed above," the task force said. The racially biased war on drugs in the state resulted in "massively disproportionate incarceration of African Americans" and also contributed to "unemployment and houselessness in many economically depressed African American communities once incarcerated African Americans were eventually released."

International

Jordan Carries Out Air Strikes on Syrian Drug Factory, Drug Trafficker. A pair of air strikes carried out by the Jordanian Air Force Monday hit an abandoned drug factory in the southern Syrian province of Deraa and the home of a Syrian "drug kingpin" in neighboring Sweida province. The strikes destroyed the drug factory and killed Syrian trafficker Marie al-Ramthan and his family at their home.

Intelligence sources said the drug factory was a meeting place for Hezbollah drug traffickers and that Ramthan had recruited hundreds of Bedouins to transport drugs and enlisted them in the ranks of militias sympathetic to Iran. Ramthan faced several death sentences in Jordan for drug trafficking. Jordan has declined to confirm the strikes, but "two regional intelligence and a Western diplomatic source who tracks the situation in southern Syria" confirmed they had occurred. War-ravaged Syria is a center for the production and distribution of the amphetamine captagon, but the Syrian government denies any involvement in the drug trade, as do Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

NIDA Issues $5 Million Grant to Study Safe Injection Sites, Massive Honduras Coca Plantation, More... (5/8/23)

A New York bill increasing civil penalties for illicit pot shops is signed into law, Oregon regulators approve the nation's first licensee for therapeutic psilocybin services, and more.

Fentanyl test strips. The Florida legislature has become the latest to decriminalize them. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

New York Governor Signs Bill to Increase Civil Penalties for Illicit Pot Shops. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) last Wednesday signed into law Assembly Bill 3281, which increases civil and tax penalties for unlicensed marijuana retailers, including fines of up to $20,000 a day. The move is aimed at reigning in an illicit marijuana market in the state that exploded in the months-long gap between marijuana being legalized and licensed retail sales that only recently began. At this point, there are only a handful of licensed marijuana outlets in the state compared to more than a thousand unlicensed outlets in New York City alone.

"As New York State continues to roll out a nation-leading model to establish its cannabis industry, these critical enforcement measures will protect New Yorkers from illicit, unregulated" Hochul said. "Unlicensed dispensaries violate our laws put public health at risk and undermine the legal cannabis market. With these enforcement tools, we're paving the way for safer products, reinvestment in communities that endured years of disproportionate enforcement, and greater opportunities for New Yorkers."

Medical Marijuana

Florida Lawmakers Approve Bill to Allow Telehealth Renewals for Medical Marijuana, Help Black Farmers Get Grow Licenses. With a final vote in the Senate last Wednesday, the legislature approved House Bill 387. The measure allows doctors to renew approvals for medical marijuana patients via telehealth. New patients will still require an in-patient exam. The measure could also help Black farmers get medical marijuana grow licenses after years of delays. Only one license has been issued to a Black farmer, and this bill could lead to the Department of Health issuing additional licenses to Black farmers.

Psychedelics

Oregon Regulators Approve Nation's First Psilocybin Service Center. The Oregon Health Authority has awarded a license to EPIC Healing in Eugene to provide therapeutic psilocybin services, where people can use the psychedelic in a supervised and facilitated environment. This is a national first and comes after state voters approved therapeutic psilocybin services in 2020. Now, the state has issued at least one license in all four licensing categories -- facilitators, testing labs, psilocybin manufacturing, and therapeutic services.

"This is such a historic moment as psilocybin services will soon become available in Oregon, and we appreciate the strong commitment to client safety and access as service center doors prepare to open," Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) Section Manager Angie Allbee said in a press release.

Harm Reduction

Federal Government Provides Grant to Study Safe Injection Sites. New York University and Brown University announced Monday that they had received a four-year, $5 million grant to study whether safe injection sites can prevent drug overdoses, estimate their costs, and weigh potential savings for health care and criminal justice systems. This marks the first time the federal government has paid for such a study. The study will focus on two safe injection sites already operating in New York City and one set to open next year in Rhode Island and hopes to enroll a thousand adult drug users. The grant comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Studies from the 14 countries that currently allow safe injection sites have found they radically reduce drug overdose deaths.

"There is a lot of discussion about overdose prevention centers, but ultimately, we need data to see if they are working or not, and what impact they may have on the community," said NIDA director Dr. Nora Volkow.

Florida Lawmakers Pass Bill to Decriminalize Fentanyl Test Strips. The House last Wednesday gave final, unanimous approval to a bill that decriminalizes fentanyl test strips by removing them from the state's list of drug paraphernalia, Senate Bill 164. More than 6,000 Floridians died in drug overdoses implicating fentanyl in 2020. A similar bill failed last year after some critics claimed that legalizing the test strips would incentive drug use.

International

Honduran Police Seize a Million Coca Plants, Rustic Labs. The Honduran National Police announced that a raid last Friday in a protected forest reserve in the eastern part of the country resulted in the seizure of more than one million coca plants, two million seedlings, and "four rustic structures" used to extract alkaloids from the coca leaf and store chemicals used in the process. While coca has traditionally been grown almost exclusively in its native Andean region of South America, Honduran authorities have been encountering small coca plantations on their soil since 2017, but never one approaching this size.

Maryland Governor Signs Legal Marijuana Commerce Bill Into Law [FEATURE]

Last November, Maryland voters made it abundantly clear that they wanted marijuana legalization by approving a referendum to that effect. On Wednesday, with the signing of enabling legislation by Gov. Wes Moore (D), the legislature and the executive branch have enacted the expressed will of the voters, laying the groundwork for a state system of taxed and regulated marijuana sales.

They had to hustle to get something in place before the legalization of marijuana possession goes into effect in July, and with the passage of Senate Bill 516/House Bill 556, they have done so. It did not happen without a bunch of wrangling at state house, as the House and Senate modified the bills and then had to compromise to reach agreement, but now it has happened.

"The criminalization of marijuana harmed low-income communities and communities of color in a profound way," Moore said at a signing ceremony Wednesday. "We want to make sure that the legalization of marijuana lifts those communities now in a profound way." The new law will "ensure that the rollout of recreational cannabis in our state drives opportunity in an equitable way," he added.

Here are key provisions of the new law:

  • A new, independent Maryland Cannabis Administration will be responsible for regulating the program.
  • Sales will begin on July1, with existing medical marijuana dispensaries being licensed to sell to the adult recreational market. Licensing of additional marijuana businesses will come no later than July 1, 2024.
  • Licenses will be capped at 300 retail shops, 100 processors, and 75 growers. Additionally, there will be 10 retail, 100 processor, and 100 grower licenses for "microbusinesses."
  • Retail marijuana sales will be taxed at 9 percent, with 35 percent of those revenues going to a community reinvestment fund. Counties, the Cannabis Public Health Fund and the Cannabis Business Assistance Fund will each get five percent of revenues. Localities cannot impose additional taxes.
  • Applicants claiming social equity status will have to have 65 percent ownership by people who lived at least half of the last decade in disproportionately impacted areas or who attended public school in one of those areas for at least five years. Social equity applicants will be eligible for a Capital Access Program to provide low interest loans and promote industry opportunities. Additionally, beginning in 2025, existing medical marijuana dispensaries that form "meaningful partnerships" with social equity applicants will be eligible for grants for which $5 million will be appropriated each year.
  • Delta-8 hemp products will no longer be sold in the open market, but will have to be sold through licensed marijuana businesses.
  • Medical marijuana patients will see the number of plants they can grow double from two to four, but only patients will be able to grow their own.
  • New marijuana retailers will face geographic restrictions. They will have to be at least 1,000 feet apart from each other and cannot be within 500 feet of a school, childcare facility, playground, recreational center, library or public park.
  • To avoid monopolization, a single business will not be able to operate more than four retail shops.
  • Marijuana smoking will not be allowed indoors at consumption lounges, but only outdoors.
  • Smoking will not be permitted indoors at on-site consumption facilities, but people could do so on outdoor patios at licensed facilities.

And Maryland now hops with both feet on the legal marijuana bandwagon.

SAFE Banking Act Hearing Looms, FL Lawmakers Approve Fentanyl Test Strip Bill, More... (5/5/23)

A Vancouver man's experiment with "safe supply" drug sales is quickly ended by police, a Pennsylvania marijuana legalization bill is filed, and more.

The SAFE Banking Act could get a hearing as early as next week. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Key Senate Committee Chairman Says Marijuana Banking Bill Could Get Hearing Next Week. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said Thursday that lawmakers are ready to "move quickly" on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S.1323)and that a hearing on it could be scheduled as early as next week. No hearing has yet been formally scheduled, but both Democratic and Republican senators are pushing for quick action on the bipartisan bill. The bill is aimed at providing state-legal marijuana businesses with access to financial services. Similar legislation failed in the Senate last year despite repeatedly passing the House.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers File Marijuana Legalization Bill with State-Run Stores. Rep. David Delloso (D) and 20 cosponsors have filed a bill that would allow legal marijuana sales through state-run stores, House Bill 1080. Delloso filed similar legislation last year. The bill would also provide permits for growers to cultivate marijuana once adult-use sales are approved. The bill sets a retail marijuana sales tax of 19 percent with all revenues going to the state's general fund. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has proposed marijuana legalization with a private commercial system as part of his budget request in March and has yet to take a position on this legislation.

Psychedelics

Washington County Effectively Decriminalizes Natural Psychedelics as State Grapples with New Drug Possession Laws. The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners voted earlier this week to pass a resolution effectively decriminalizing natural entheogens as the state faces a looming deadline to enact a new drug possession law after the state Supreme Court threw out the old one. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has called a special session of the legislature to take up the matter after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus during the regular session. If lawmakers fail to act before July 1, the state will again have no drug possession law.

Harm Reduction

Florida Lawmakers Approve Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill. With a final vote in the House Thursday, the legislature has approved a bill that decriminalizes fentanyl test strips by removing them from the state's list of drug paraphernalia, Senate Bill 164. More than 6,150 Floridians died of fentanyl overdoses in 2020. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

International

Vancouver Man Opens Shop Selling "Safe Supply" Hard Drugs, Gets Arrested. Canadian activist Jerry Martin wanted to encourage a "safe supply" of drugs for the safety of drug users, so on Wednesday he opened a mobile storefront offering up to 2.5 grams of lab-tested drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin for sale. "Providing a safe, clean supply is going to hopefully stop a lot of the overdoses and a lot of the injuries and stop girls from having to do certain things just to get their drugs," he said.

With permission from the federal government, British Columbia has decriminalized the possession of up to 2.5 grams of those substances, but it has not okayed legal sales, and on Thursday Vancouver police arrested Martin. Martin and his supporters have responded to the arrest by starting a Go Fund Me campaign to finance a constitutional challenge to the federal drug laws.

Medical Marijuana Update

Senate Republicans play politics with a veterans' medical marijuana bill, and more.

National

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

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Governor Signs into Law Bill Cracking Down on Illegal Medical Marijuana Grows. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Wednesday signed into law House Bill 2095, which puts the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation full enforcement authority over the state's medical marijuana laws. The bill is aimed at cracking down on a plethora of illegal marijuana grow operations and says that authorities can seize and destroy marijuana that was "not properly logged in inventory records or untraceable product not required to be in the system." The bill also makes it a misdemeanor for a licensed medical marijuana commercial grower to hire undocumented immigrants to work anywhere on the property where medical marijuana is grown.

Luxembourg Unveils Marijuana Legalization Plan, WA Governor Calls Special Session on Drug Charging, More... (5/3/23)

A Maryland bill implementing legal marijuana commerce is signed into law, an Oklahoma bill cracking down on illicit medical marijuana grows is signed into law, and more.

A change in DOT drug testing rules could eliminate marijuana false positives. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Maryland Governor Signs into Law Bill Implementing Marijuana Legalization. Gov. Wesley Moore (D) on Wednesday signed into law Senate Bill 516, which implements a voter-approved referendum to legalize marijuana. The bill allows currently operating medical marijuana dispensaries to apply for licenses to sell to the adult market beginning in July and mandates that licenses for up to 300 marijuana retailers by July 2024. The bill also sets a 9 percent sales tax on marijuana products, except for registered medical marijuana patients, who are exempt. The bill also allows patients to grow up to four plants at home and increases the amount of marijuana patients can possess.

Medical Marijuana

Oklahoma Governor Signs into Law Bill Cracking Down on Illegal Medical Marijuana Grows. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Wednesday signed into law House Bill 2095, which puts the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation full enforcement authority over the state's medical marijuana laws. The bill is aimed at cracking down on a plethora of illegal marijuana grow operations and says that authorities can seize and destroy marijuana that was "not properly logged in inventory records or untraceable product not required to be in the system." The bill also makes it a misdemeanor for a licensed medical marijuana commercial grower to hire undocumented immigrants to work anywhere on the property where medical marijuana is grown.

Drug Policy

Washington Governor Announces Special Session to Take Up Drug Possession Law. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced Tuesday that will call a special session to begin May 16. The session will focus on passing a new drug possession law. Inslee set the date after conversations with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders. In 2021, the Washington Supreme Court overturned the state's felony drug possession law in the Blake case. Legislators adopted a temporary misdemeanor policy that expires July 1. The so-called "Blake fix" was the only remaining must-do item legislators did not finish during the regular legislative session that ended April 23. In the absence of a statewide policy, several cities and counties have announced their intent to pass their own ordinances which would create a confusing patchwork of policies, treatment options and penalties.

Drug Testing

Department of Transportation Finalizes New Marijuana Testing Policies to Reduce False Positives. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) on Tuesday finished work on a rule that will allow oral saliva drug testing as an alternative to urine-based tests. Urine tests detect THC metabolites for weeks or months after consumption, leading to positive test results for people who are not actually impaired on the job. Oral testing, on the other hand, usually detects THC in saliva for no more than 24 hours after use.

"Allowing employers to use oral fluid testing may improve the effectiveness of drug testing," DOT said. "Oral fluid testing can detect the recent use of some drugs, including marijuana and cocaine, while urine drug testing has a longer window of detection." This will be good news for the trucking industry, which has suffered from driver shortages, including thousands of drivers who have been dismissed because of positive urine-based tests.

International

Luxembourg Releases Two-Phase Plan for Marijuana Legalization. A group of experts appointed by the government has released a report detailing plans for a legal marijuana regime. The report, "An Experimental System of Legal Access to Marijuana for Non-Medical Purposes," lays out the outlines of a legal marijuana market for those over 18. It would allow for possession of up to three grams, the home cultivation of up to four plants, and the development of a legal framework where adults could buy up to five grams a day, but no more than 30 grams in a month. Legalization will come in two phases, with the first requiring that the country's drug law be amended. Once that happens, home cultivation can commence. The second phase will be the development of a state system for the commercial cultivation and sale of marijuana. That will involve the launching of a pilot program to see how commercialization can work.

Drug War Issues

Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School