An Ohio signature-gathering campaign to put marijuana legalization on the November ballot is about to get underway, Wisconsin Republicans kill the governor's marijuana legalization proposal and a whole bunch more, and more.

The DEA is rolling back a pandemic-era rule that eased access to buprenorphine, and doctors and advocates are worried.

Ohio Activists Ready for Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign. The legislature has until tomorrow to act on a petition to legalize marijuana. It is not expected to do so, clearing the way for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol to conduct a signature gathering campaign to put its marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot. A successful initial round of signature gathering put the issue before the legislature, and the legislature's failure to approve it gives proponents one more chance to take the issue directly to the voters. The campaign will have until July 5 to come up with 124,000 valid voter signatures from at least half of the state's counties to qualify for the November ballot. The initiative would legalize and regulate marijuana commerce, allow for the home cultivation of six plants per adult or 12 per residence, and impose a 10 percent retail sales tax.

Wisconsin Republicans Kill Marijuana Legalization Amid Mass Slaughter of Democratic Governor's Budget Proposals. The legislature's Republican-controlled budget committee on Tuesday killed off more than 500 budget proposals from Gov. Tony Evers (D), including marijuana legalization, with a single vote Tuesday. The state has a $7 billion budget surplus, but the Republicans refused to allow it to be used for renovations to the Milwaukee Brewers' stadium, a paid family leave program, a 10 percent income tax cut targeting middle- and low-income earners, spending $270 million to add more mental health providers in schools, or to freeze enrollment in the state's private school voucher program, let alone marijuana legalization.

"These aren't fringe ideas, controversial concepts, or Republican or Democratic priorities -- they're about doing the right thing," Evers said as he listed more than a dozen items being killed. "With a historic surplus comes historic responsibility, and today, when we can afford to do more, this vote is foolish and a wasted opportunity."

Opiates and Opioids

DEA's Proposed Rollback of Pandemic-Era Loosening of Restrictions on Buprenorphine Has Doctors, Advocates Worried. With the pandemic public health emergency set to end in 10 days, doctors and advocates worry that a DEA proposal to roll back a pandemic policy allowing people taking the opioid substitute medication buprenorphine to get it prescribed remotely will harm people recovering from addiction. More than a million Americans use bupe to stop cravings for opiates and block withdrawal symptoms, and since 2020, the federal government has allowed them to have it prescribed via telehealth. The DEA wants to reimpose a requirement that an in-person visit first take place before allowing re-prescribing via telehealth. DEA has received more than 2,900 public comments on the proposed rule, and says it will consider them before it releases final rules after the public health emergency ends next week.

Psychedelics

California Natural Psychedelic Legalization Bill Heads for Senate Floor Vote. A bill that would legalize the possession of small amounts of natural psychedelics, Senate Bill 58, is now headed for a Senate floor vote after clearing the Senate Appropriations Committee without a hearing. The chairman of the committee invoked a rule allowing him to send it directly to the floor because it would have a negligible fiscal impact. The bill was earlier approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee. The bill would legalize the "possession, preparation, obtaining, transfer as specified, or transportation of" personal use amounts of psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline, but not synthetics such as LSD or MDMA. A similar bill passed the Senate last session, only to be pulled by its sponsor, Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) after being watered down in the Assembly.

International

German Officials Circulate Draft Bill for First Part of Marijuana Legalization Plan. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has distributed a draft bill to legalize marijuana possession, cultivation, and social clubs to cabinet officials. Once the cabinet weight in, the government will finalize the bill and send it to lawmakers. Under the proposal, adults could possess up to 25 grams via the social clubs and adults over 21 could purchase up to 50 grams a month. People 18 to 21 would be limited to 30 grams per month. People would also be allowed to grow up to three plants for personal use. The social clubs would not be allowed to offer on-site consumption but could distribute up to seven seeds or five clones per month to each member for home cultivation. Plans for a national legal commercial market for marijuana have been scaled back in the face of concerns from the European Union, but it is expected that a pilot program to allow marijuana sales in select jurisdictions will be a second phase of legalization.

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

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

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

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

Criminal Justice

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

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

Foreign Policy

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

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

A federal veterans' medical marijuana bill gets refiled, an Oklahoma fentanyl test strip bill advances, and more.

Bipartisan Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana for Military Veterans Refiled. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and 12 bipartisan cosponsors refiled the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act Wednesday. The bill would legalize medical marijuana for military veterans. The bill would amend federal law to allow vets to legally possess and use medical marijuana in accordance with state laws and with a doctor's recommendation. It would also allow doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend medical marijuana. Earlier versions of the bill were filed in the last three Congresses.

Harm Reduction

Oklahoma Bill to Legalize Fentanyl Test Strips Heads for Senate Floor Vote. A bill to legalize fentanyl testing strips by declaring that they are no longer considered drug paraphernalia, House Bill 1987, has passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on a unanimous vote and is now headed for a Senate floor vote. The bill has already been approved by the House by a vote of 58-22.

Law Enforcement

DEA Head Investigated for No-Bid Contracts to Past Associates. In the latest scandal to rock the DEA, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General is investigating whether DEA Administrator Anne Milgram improperly awarded no-bid contracts worth millions of dollars to past associates. Under scrutiny is $4.7 million the agency spent for "strategic planning and communication," much of which went to people Milgram knew in her capacity as New Jersey's attorney general and as a New York University law professor and who were paid at far higher rates than government officials.

Also under scrutiny is a $1.4 million contract given to a Washington, DC, law firm to review the DEA's scandal-plagued foreign operations. That review was widely panned for downplaying agent misbehavior. It was written by Boyd Johnson, a former assistant to former New York City US Attorney Preet Bharara, one of Milgram's closest friends.

Federal contracting is not supposed to bypass the government hiring process and is supposed to take place without preferential treatment for anyone. If the Inspector General finds wrongdoing, it could lead to administrative or even criminal charges.

Sentencing Policy

Push for California Ballot Initiative to Increase Penalties for Fentanyl Dealers Gets Underway. An Orange County group calling itself Fentanyl Solution has $2.2 million in initial funding and plan to draft a ballot initiative that would increase sentences for people convicted of fentanyl distribution. The groups says it will begin with a public opinion poll on the issue to help figure out the best way to draft the proposed initiative.

"We want to let the legislators, who voted against every form of penalty for these drug dealers, know that we are holding them accountable," said Janice M. Celeste, President & CEO of Fentanyl Solution.org. "We believe that drug dealers who sell fentanyl and murder their customers must pay the price for their actions. The Poll-to-Prop initiative is a crucial step in our efforts to raise awareness about the need for stricter penalties for these criminals."

It's a long way from here to an initiative qualifying for the 2024 ballot. Once an initiative is approved by state officials, backers will have 180 days to come up with more than half a million valid voter signatures, but that must happen by July 2024 to get on the November 2024 ballot.

A bipartisan bill aims to lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization, Oregon naloxone access bills are moving, and more.

Oregon lawmakers are moving a pair of bills aimed at broadening access to naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug. (CC)

Bipartisan Bill to Prepare for Federal Marijuana Legalization Filed. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) filed a bill to lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization Thursday. The Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act would not legalize marijuana but would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what's currently in place for alcohol. While passage of marijuana legalization appears unlikely in this Congress, but some members think this more incremental measure may be able to pass.

Psychedelics

Arizona Psychedelic Research Bill Stalled in Committee. A bill that would lead the way to the first state-sponsored controlled clinical trials of psilocybin mushrooms, House Bill 2486, is currently stalled in the House Appropriations Committee. The bill's fate depends on ongoing budget negotiations for the next fiscal year. The bill would award up to $30 million in competitive research grants through 2026 for Phase I, II, and III clinical trials using whole mushrooms. The Food and Drug Administration approved synthetic psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy in 2019 but has yet to approve any treatments with whole mushroom psilocybin.

Foreign Policy

US, Mexico Issue Joint Statement on Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities. With fentanyl and arms trafficking across the border on their minds, delegations of US and Mexican officials met and issued a joint statement Thursday on "new collaborative efforts to counter fentanyl trafficking and consumption and combat arms trafficking across North America." Both countries "committed to continue joint work to dismantle the fentanyl supply chain and the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on both sides of the border," the statement said, while Mexico highlighted "an April 12 presidential decree that permits the creation of a presidential commission to fight the trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs, firearms, and ammunition." Officials from both countries "committed to increase cooperation to combat illegal firearms trafficking," with the US vowing "to target southbound firearms flows and working with Mexican counterparts to increase firearms tracing to identify and choke off the source of firearms flows into Mexico."

Harm Reduction

Oregon Senate Approves Bill to Fight Opioid Overdoses. The Senate on Thursday approved Senate Bill 1043, which would provide patients with a history of using opioids increased access to overdose reversal medications such as naloxone. Backed by Gov. Tina Kotek (D), the bill would mandate that hospitals and other care providers provide two doses of the medication when patients check out if those patients have a history of opioid use or a prescription to an opioid. The bill passed the Senate unanimously. It now goes to the House. A separate proposal, House Bill 2395, would make naloxone kits more widely available in different settings, including public buildings, schools and for first responders. It has already passed the House and is now before the Senate.