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

State & Local Executive Branches

RSS Feed for this category

Chronicle AM: Yang on Safe Injection Sites, Bloomberg on Marijuana, More... (12/5/19)

Michigan pot shops see high demand on opening day, Democratic contenders stake out drug policy positions, Maine finally has all pot business applications ready, and more.

Andrew Yang wants to decriminalize opiates and fund safe injection sites like this one in Vancouver. (vch.ca)

Marijuana Policy

Michael Bloomberg Backs Decriminalization as Marijuana Views Evolve Amid Presidential Run. Faced with criticism over his past positions on marijuana, former New York City mayor and Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg has now come out in support of decriminalization, which still leaves him lagging behind most of the Democratic pack. "He believes no one should have their life ruined by getting arrested for possession, and, as a part of his reform efforts that drove incarceration down by 40 percent, he worked to get New York State laws changed to end low-level possession arrests," a spokesman said. "He believes in decriminalization and doesn’t believe the federal government should interfere with states that have already legalized."

Maine Says All Marijuana Licenses are Now Available. More than three years after voters legalized marijuana, the state has finally made available all applications for marijuana cultivation, products manufacturing and retail facilities. That means the state could see pot shops open by the spring.

Michigan Pot Shops Forced to Impose Purchase Limits as Demand Overwhelms. High customer volume is forcing marijuana retailers to limit purchases so there will be enough weed to go around. The four shops that opened Sunday saw combined sales of $221,000 that first day. Each of the four shops has had to turn customers away, too. Some customers waited as long as four hours to get inside.

Medical Marijuana

Florida Senator Introduces Bill Providing Broad Employment Protections to Medical Marijuana Users. A bill recently introduced by state Sen. Lori Berman (D) Would provide various protections to job applicants and employees who use medical marijuana. The measure is Senate Bill 962.

Harm Reduction

Andrew Yang Calls for Investments in Safe Injection Sites. Entrepreneur and Democratic presidential contender Andrew Yang says he supports government funding for safe injections sites as part of an effort to counter the country's overdose epidemic. "I would not only decriminalize opiates for personal use but I would also invest in safe consumption sites around the country," Yang said Thursday.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. 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.)

Global Drug Executions Jumped Last Year, the Border Bomb That Wasn't, More... (3/17/23)

Medical marijuana is killed in Kansas but survives in Kentucky, cocaine production hits an all-time high, and more.

The border "bomb" turned out to be a ball stuffed with sand wrapped in duct tape. (CBP)
Medical Marijuana

Kansas GOP Lawmakers Kill Medical Marijuana Bill. Medical marijuana is dead for this session after Republicans in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee voted to "table" the medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 135. Both Democrats on the committee voted to keep the bill alive. The vote came after two days of hearings on the bill, including a full opposition slate of Republican state leaders, health officials, and law enforcement on Thursday.

Kentucky Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill. On the last day to keep the bill alive, the Senate voted Thursday to approve a medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 47. The bill allows for the use of medical marijuana for a list of specified medical conditions, but does not allow for smokeable marijuana. It does set up a system of taxed and regulated medical marijuana production and sales. The House could vote on the bill when the legislature returns for a one-day session at the end of the month.

Foreign Policy

Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims Cartels Left Bomb at Border; It Was a Ball of Sand. MAGA political arsonist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told her two million Twitter followers Wednesday that Mexican drug cartels had planted bombs on US soil at the border to terrorize Americans and kill or injure Border Patrol agents. She posted a picture of what turned out to be a ball stuffed with sand and covered with duct tape and claimed it was "explosive" and a "bomb," adding that "this changes everything" and calling on the US military to "take action" and "end this Cartel led war against America!" But Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz quickly shot down Greene's incendiary claim, tweeting that "During a Jan. briefing, leadership was notified that Agents found a duct-taped ball filled with sand that wasn't deemed a threat to agents/public." Greene has not deleted her post and instead doubled-down on her theory in response to the fact check. "That’s not what the border patrol agents are telling me," she retorted on Twitter. But the "bomb" is still just a bag of sand.

Harm Reduction

Mississippi Governor Signs Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill into Law. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has signed into law House Bill 722, which decriminalizes fentanyl test strips by removing them from the state's definition of drug paraphernalia. Use of the strips is aimed primarily at reducing drug overdoses by letting users know what is in their drug supply. As Reeves signed the bill into law, he could not resist taking a jab at the Biden administration: "I’ve signed HB 722 which decriminalizes fentanyl testing strips," he said. "It’s a sad reality that fentanyl overdoses are skyrocketing as a result of an open border." In reality, .fentanyl's role in fatal drug overdoses began about a decade ago and has increased steadily through both the Trump and the Biden administrations.

International

Cocaine Production at Highest Level Ever, UNODC Says. In a new report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) finds that cocaine production is at its highest level ever as demand rebounded after the pandemic and new trafficking hubs emerged. Production rose a whopping 35 percent between 2021 and 2022, at least in part because of innovations in cultivating the coca plant and in converting coca leaf into cocaine. "The Covid-19 pandemic had a disruptive effect on drug markets. With international travel severely curtailed, producers struggled to get their product to market. Night clubs and bars were shut as officials ramped up their attempts to control the virus, causing demand to slump for drugs like cocaine," the report said. "However, the most recent data suggests this slump has had little impact on longer-term trends. The global supply of cocaine is at record levels," it said. UNODC said nearly 2,000 tons of cocaine were produced in 2020, a continuation of a "dramatic uptick in manufacture that began in 2014, when the total was less than half of today’s levels."

Last Year Saw a Surge in Drug Executions Worldwide. The number of people executed for drug offenses surged in 2022, according to a new report from drug policy reform group Harm Reduction International (HRI). The 1 cited at least 285 executions for drug offenses last year, more than double the 131 people executed in 2021. The number of people being handed out death sentences for drug offenses also grew, with at least 303 people in 18 countries facing the ultimate sanction. That is a 28 percent increase over 2021. The number of people currently on death row for drugs globally is now more than 3,700. HRI warned that the figures are low-balled because of the extreme secrecy surrounding the death penalty in countries that frequently resort to it, such as China, North Korea, and Vietnam.  

BC Company Awarded License to Make and Sell Cocaine, Voting Underway for OK Pot Initiative, More... (3/3/23)

A Florida marijuana legalization initiative is about halfway home on signature gathering, Arizona politics is roiled by an unsubstantiated charge that the Sinaloa Cartel is bribing state and county officials, and more.

A BC company has been awarded a license to make and distribute cocaine. (Pixabay)
Marijuana Policy

Florida Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign Nears Halfway Point on Signature Gathering. Smart & Safe Florida, the group behind a marijuana legalization constitutional amendment, is nearing the halfway point in signature gathering, according to the state Division of Elections. The campaign had 420,000 valid voter signatures as of the end of February; it needs 891,589 valid voter signatures by February 1, 2024 to qualify for the 2024 ballot. That is, provided that the initiative passes muster with the state Supreme Court. In January, the campaign handed in enough signatures to trigger a Supreme Court review to ensure that the text does not violate the state's single subject rule and does not mislead voters. That analysis is still pending.

Early Voting Now Underway for Oklahoma Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Early voting is now underway for the State Question 820 marijuana legalization initiative. Election Day itself is next Tuesday. SQ 820 would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and eight grams of marijuana concentrates and grow up to six plants and six seedlings at home. It also protects parents from losing custody or visitation rights solely because of marijuana use and states that parolees and probationers cannot be punished for marijuana use. Nor could the odor of marijuana or burnt marijuana be used as probable cause for police to infer that a crime had been committed. And it includes a provision for the expungement of some past marijuana offenses.

Politics

Bizarre Charge That Arizona Governor, Other State Leaders Are Taking Bribes from Sinaloa Cartel. Last week, the Joint Elections Committee led by Republican election conspiracy theorist Sen. Wendy Rogers heard completely unsupported testimony from a local insurance agent that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, Democratic Attorney General Adrian Fontes, and the Republican-led Maricopa County Board of Supervisors were among state officials taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. Since then, even Republican officials have been distancing themselves from the charge, while Democrats are blasting Republicans for turning the legislature into a "circus show" that provides a forum for outrageous election fraud conspiracies. "It is dangerous," Hobbs said. "It makes the legislature, quite honestly, a laughing stock, and Arizona by extension, and I hope folks are held accountable for this."

International

Health Canada Issues License to British Columbia Company to Make and Sell Cocaine. Health Canada has issued a license to a British Columbia company, Adastra Labs, to produce, sell, and distribute cocaine. The agency said Adastra is licensed to use cocaine for "scientific and medical purposes only" and that it "cannot sell products to the general public." Last week, Adastra announced that it had received approval to "interact with" up to 250 grams of cocaine and to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the drug. It said it is exploring "commercialization" of cocaine to provide a safe supply of the drug. But Health Canada said Adastra can only sell cocaine to other controlled drug dealer's license holders, such as pharmacists, practitioners, hospitals, or researchers. The province has decriminalized the possession of up to 2.5 grams of cocaine and other drugs, but BC's decriminalization does not envision legal cocaine sales. 

Virginia Adult Retail Marijuana Sales Quashed By House GOP [FEATURE]

Elections have consequences, as Virginia voters are finding out.

The state capitol in Richmond. (Amadeust/Creative Commons)
Two years ago, a Democratically-controlled Senate and House  passed legislation legalizing marijuana, and the Democratic governor signed it into law. That law mandated that legal adult use sales commence by January 1, 2004, and left it to state lawmakers to figure out the regulatory details so that goal could be met.

But Republicans won the governorship and control of the House last November, and now they are refusing to move forward on getting the retail market going. Last week, the still Democratically-led Senate approved a regulation bill, Senate Bill 1133, on a 24-16 vote, but this week, the House General Laws Subcommittee killed it on a party line 5-3 vote.

The vote "was entirely expected, but is still disappointing, and it spotlights House Republicans’ continued failure of leadership on cannabis policy," NORML Development Director and Virginia NORML Executive Director JM Pedini said in a statement.

Not only did the House kill the Senate bill, Pedini noted, also failed to advance multiple marijuana retail sales bills out of its own chamber. Republican backbones were stiffened by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's opposition to the implementation bills. He said he was instead focused on regulating products containing intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC.

Virginians now find themselves in the odd position of being able to legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to four plants but not legally buy it—for now and the foreseeable future.

"Without access to a regulated marketplace, consumers won’t know whether they’re getting a safe, tested product or one contaminated with potentially dangerous adulterants,"Pedini added.

Sponsored by Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), the bill just killed in the House would have allowed sales to begin on January 1, 2024 and take place at existing medical marijuana dispensaries as well as new enterprises operated by people from "historically economically disadvantaged communities." It also included a provision for resentencing people currently serving time for marijuana convictions.

The bill foresaw a 21 percent excise tax on retail transactions, with localities being able to impose an additional three percent local tax. Tax revenues would have been earmarked for historically economically disadvantaged communities, pre-k education for at-risk youth, and addiction prevention services. An independent Cannabis Control Authority would have regulated the industry.

The bill also would have established regulations for hemp-derived cannabinoid products such as delta-8 THC, which Gov. Youngkin claims to be worried about. It would have established testing and labeling requirements for such products.

"This bill fixes a major public health, consumer safety and public safety issue—and it does what more than 60 percent of Virginia voters want us to do: Regulate these products, ensure they’re safe for consumers and also generates hundreds of millions of dollars from revenue for the Commonwealth," Ebbin told his fellow senators ahead of their vote to approve it last week.

But Republicans in a House committee dashed that dream this week, just as earlier this month, they killed a meek and modest proposal to have the Cannabis Control Authority—which already exists and is funded—begin to draft regulations for legal sales. That bill, House Bill 1464, was also killed by Republicans in a subcommittee.

"All this bill does is says the [Cannabis Control Authority], that y'all have propped up and funded, should do its job of advising you guys of what a market could look like next year," said Greg Habeeb, a former legislator turned lobbyist who represents the Virginia Cannabis Association.

But even that was too much for legislative Republicans, who have made abundantly clear that they are not in the least interested in allowing legal retail marijuana sales to get going. It may take another election for any progress to occur. 

VA Lawmakers Nix Medical Psilocybin, SC MedMJ Bills Filed, More... (1/20/23)

A Montana bill would block child welfare workers from removing children simply because of a parent's drug use, San Francisco is ready to move forward on safe injection sites, and more.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is now pushing for safe injection sites. (Creative Commons)
Medical Marijuana

South Carolina Sees Second Medical Marijuana Bill Filed. A bipartisan medical marijuana bill, the Compassionate Care Act (HB 3486/SB 423), has been filed in both houses this week. It would allow physicians to recommend marijuana to patients with debilitating medical conditions and have them purchase it from state-licensed and -regulated businesses. This is the second medical marijuana bill filed this year. The first, the No Patient Left Alone Act (HB 3215) is similar, but would allow dispensaries to grow their own product. The Compassionate Care Act got through the House last year only to die in the Senate.

Psychedelics

Virginia GOP Lawmakers Block Bill Legalizing Magic Mushrooms for Medical Use. A bill that would allow the use of magic mushrooms for medical purposes, House Bill 1513, has been killed by a subcommittee vote of the House Committee for the Courts of Justice. The bill would have allowed doctors to prescribe the drug for the treatment of depression, PTSD, or end of life anxiety. A bill that would direct Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) to create a psilocybin study committee remains alive, however.

Child Welfare

Montana Bill Would Block Child Removals Based Solely on Parental Substance Use. An omnibus child protective reforms bill, House Bill 37, aimed at making the removal of children from parental households more difficult includes a provision that bars child welfare workers from removing a child for neglect or abuse based only on "substance use by a parent or guardian, disorderly living conditions, other factors closely related to economic status, or a child's obesity." The GOP-championed bill came after a year of study in the bipartisan Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee. It passed the House Judiciary Committee Friday and now heads for a House floor vote.

Harm Reduction

San Francisco Mayor Looking Again at Safe Injection Sites. Mayor London Breed (D) said Wednesday that she is working with Supervisor Hillary Ronen (D) to undo a city law that is an obstacle to nonprofits setting up safe injection sites in the city. Breed and other city officials say they are ready to move forward with privately-funded sites, but to do so, the Board of Supervisors will have to repeal a 2020 ordinance that prohibits safe injection sites. While city politicians had been fearful of a federal reaction to a safe injection site, they have been impressed by New York City's pair of safe injection sites that have operated for more than a year without federal harassment. "The Biden administration and the Newsom administration… are not going to throw San Franciscans in jail or cut off our federal funding because we're saving lives and stopping open-air drug use," Ronen told city staffers.

More Asset Forfeiture Reform Bills Filed, SD MedMJ Expansion Bill Advances, More... (1/19/23)

The US Virgin Islands legalizes marijuana, a Mississippi fentanyl test strip bill is moving, and more.

Reefer in paradise. The US Virgin Islands have legalized marijuana. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

US Virgin Islands Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization, Expungement Bills. Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D) has signed into law a pair of bills legalizing marijuana and setting up an expungement process for people with marijuana convictions. "From the beginning of the Bryan-Roach Administration, we have worked towards the legalization of the adult use of cannabis, and today, with the hard work of the members of the 34th Legislature and prior Legislatures and the efforts of my team, we are finally here and finally signing into law the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act," the governor said.

Separately, the governor also proclaimed that "all criminal convictions for the simple possession of marijuana" are fully and completely pardoned. The legalization bill allows people 21 and over to possess up to two ounces of buds, 14 grams of concentrates, and one ounce of marijuana products such as edibles and ointments. The bill has no provision for home cultivation, except for people who use marijuana for religious purposes. It also creates a regulatory agency for marijuana commerce and sets a minimum 18 percent tax on dispensary sales, and it includes several equity components.

Medical Marijuana

South Dakota Bill to Allow for Wider Use of Medical Marijuana Heads for Senate Floor Vote. A bill that expands the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use to include PTSD, multiple sclerosis, and glaucoma, Senate Bill 1was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday and now heads for a Senate floor vote. The bill came out of the "Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee,"which met in the interim after the 2022 legislative session. That committee is made up of state lawmakers and officials, law enforcement officers, medical professionals, and industry experts from across the state. The bill passed the committee on a 6-1 vote.

Asset Forfeiture

Mississippi Bill Would End Civil Asset Forfeiture and Opt State Out of Federal Program in Most Cases. Rep. Dana Criswell (R) has filed House Bill 622, which would end civil asset forfeiture and effectively opt the state out of a program that allows police to do an end run around state forfeiture laws by handing cases off to the federal government (and getting a big cut of the proceeds). The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary B Committee.

New Hampshire Bill Would Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Process and Take Steps to Opt Out of Federal Program. Reps. Dan McGuire (R) and Daniel Popovici-Muller (R) have filed House Bill 593, which would require a prior criminal conviction before asset forfeiture could occur in most cases. The state has a special asset forfeiture process for drug offenses, and this bill would require prosecutors to obtain a criminal conviction in most cases before proceeding with asset forfeiture. It would also take steps to opt the state out of a program that allows police to do an end run around state forfeiture laws by handing cases off to the federal government (and getting a big cut of the proceeds). The bill is now before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Harm Reduction

Mississippi Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill Wins House Committee Vote. The House Drug Policy Committee on Wednesday approved House Bill 7, which would decriminalize fentanyl test strips by removing them from the state's definition of drug paraphernalia. Under current state law, possession of fentanyl testing devices is punishable by up to six months in jail. Committee Chairman Lee Yancey (R) said the measure is not encouraging drug use, but aimed at saving lives. "We're just trying to prevent a mistake from becoming a fatal mistake," Yancey said. The bill must pass the full House by February 9 to stay alive.

Eleven States Where Psychedelic Reform Bills Are on the Agenda This Year [FEATURE]

This year's state legislative season is just beginning, and there is already evidence that the psychedelic renaissance now underway is reaching into statehouses across the land. In at least eleven states, reform bills ranging from therapeutic psilocybin to the decriminalization of natural psychedelics have already been filed, and more states are likely to join the list as the year goes on.

What started with a successful local psilocybin decriminalization initiative in Denver in 2019 has now spread to a number of cities, including Oakland and Santa Cruz, California; Cambridge, Somerville, and Northampton, Massachusetts; Seattle; and Washington, DC. At the state level, Oregon led the way with the 2020 passage of Measure 109, which both decriminalized psilocybin and created a framework for its therapeutic administration, and Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession of all drugs, including psychedelics. And in November, Colorado voters passed Measure 122, which decriminalizes natural psychedelics and creates a framework for psilocybin "healing centers."

Here (with a tip of the hat to Marijuana Moment) is what could be coming this year:

California

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has filed Senate Bill 58, which would legalize the possession of small amounts of DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocyn, but not synthetic psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA. A previous version of the bill included those synthetic psychedelics. That bill passed the Senate only to die at the last minute in the Assembly.

Colorado

After voters approved the legalization of natural psychedelics and the creation of psilocybin "healing centers," Gov. Jared Polis (D) is calling for the legislature to pass enabling legislation "to set it up in a way that prevents any negative consequences and honors the will of the voters." It is unclear what Polis is seeking, but he has previously said he was "excited" about the reforms and called psychedelics a "promising" treatment possibility for some mental health conditions.

Connecticut

Rep. David Michel (D) has filed House Bill 5012, "[t]o allow the use of psilocybin for medicinal and therapeutic purposes, including, but not limited to, the provision of physical, mental or behavioral health care." That bill has been referred to the joint Public Health Committee. Michel told Marijuana Moment this week that he will also cosponsor a psychedelic decrim bill with Rep. Josh Elliott (D).

Illinois

Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) has filed House Bill 1, the Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens (CURE) Act, which would remove psilocybin from the state's list of controlled substances, effectively legalizing it. The measure would also allow expungement of certain psilocybin-related convictions and create an advisory board for psilocybin therapeutic services.

Missouri

Rep. Tony Lovasco (R) plans to file a revised psychedelics bill after a broader psychedelic reform bill he filed last year died in the House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee. The new version will be a narrowly tailored bill to allow people with serious mental health conditions therapeutic access to psilocybin.

Minnesota

Rep. Andy Smith (D) has announced that he is "currently working on a bill forming a psychedelic medicine task force so Minnesotans can have access to these life affirming treatments. For decades scientific research into the positive effects of psychedelic medicine has been muzzled by the 'war on drugs,' but that is [starting] to change," he said. The bill has not yet been filed and the text is not yet available.

Montana.

Two bills are currently being drafted by legislative staff at the request of members. LC 1208, requested by Sen. Jill Cohenour (D)would "[l]egalize psilocybin use for PTSD/mental health treatment," while LC 2311, requested by Rep. George Nikolakakos (R) would more incrementally mandate an interim study on the use of psilocybin for the treatment of mental illness.

New Jersey

Last year, Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D) filed Senate Bill 2934, which would legalize the possession, home cultivation, and gifting of psilocybin mushrooms by people 21 and over, as well as setting a system of licensed psilocybin services in supervised settings. That bill has been carried over into the current session and now has a companion version, Assembly Bill 4911, in the Assembly filed by three key lawmakers, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Raj Mukherji (D) and Health Committee Chairman Herb Conaway (D).

New York

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) has pre-filed Assembly Bill 00114, which would legalize the "possession, use, cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing by or between natural persons of twenty-one years of age or older of a natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogen." That would include DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocyn. The bill would also allow people to use such substances in religious ceremonies or engage in psychedelic services "with or without remuneration."

Oregon

State voters already approved both therapeutic psilocybin and broader drug decriminalization, but legislators have filed a pair of bills aimed at adjusting the psilocybin services program. Senate Bill 303, filed by Sen. Elizabeth Steiner (D), would mandate that psilocybin businesses and therapists collect and report data such as average psilocybin doses and demographics of their client base. Senate Bill 302, filed by Sen. Kim Thatcher (R), would mandate that psilocybin business applicants provide certain information about ownership and location of their operations.

Virginia

Last year, Del. Dawn Adams (D) filed House Bill 898, which would decriminalize a broad array of psychedelics, but the House bumped it to 2023. It's now 2023, and that bill is still alive. Adams has this year also filed House Bill 1315, which would legalize psilocybin possession for people who have an "order" from a health care professional to treat "refractory depression or post-traumatic stress disorder or to ameliorate end-of-life anxiety." The bill would also reduce the penalty for non-medical possession of psilocybin to a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by no more than 30 days in jail. Meanwhile Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) has pre-filed Senate Bill 932, which would down-schedule psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule III and create a Virginia Psilocybin Advisory Board to "develop a long-term strategic plan for establishing therapeutic access to psilocybin services and monitor and study federal laws, regulations, and policies regarding psilocybin."

And this is only January.

CT Legal Adult Pot Sales Begin Tomorrow, OH Governor Signs Fentanyl Test Strip Decrim Bill, More... (1/9/23)

A Mexican judge has blocked the extradition of El Chapo's son to the US, you can now get a license to grow your own marijuana in Missouri, and more.

You can grow your own pot plants in Missouri -- if you get a license from the state. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Connecticut Adult Marijuana Sales Begin Tomorrow. Adult legal marijuana sales are set to begin tomorrow, January 10. At least nine existing medical marijuana dispensaries have undergone the bureaucratic steps necessary to transition to adult sales tomorrow, with up to another 40 that could open by the end of the year. Initial sales will be limited to a quarter ounce of buds or its equivalent per transaction. The restrictions are in place to ensure adequate supply for medical marijuana patients and will be reviewed over time. Dispensaries in New Haven, Branford, Torrington, Newington, Stamford, Willimantic, Danbury, Montville and Meriden successfully completed the necessary steps to convert to a "hybrid license" and will be allowed to sell to all adults beginning tomorrow.

Missouri Home Cultivation Licenses Now Available. People who want to grow their own under the state's new marijuana legalization regime will have to be licensed to do so, and those licenses are now available. Personal cultivation application forms and instructions are available from the Missouri Cannabis Regulation Division. The license costs $100 and must be renewed annually. People can grow up to six clones, six nonflowering plants, an six flowering plants at the same time. Missouri is the only state to impose a licensing requirement on home growers.

Harm Reduction

Ohio Governor Signs Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill into Law. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has signed into law House Bill 456, which decriminalizes the possession of fentanyl test strips as part of an effort to reduce overdoses. The new law exempts the test strips from the definition of drug paraphernalia. The move makes Ohio the 32nd state to move to decriminalize fentanyl test strips, with a half dozen doing so last year.

International

Mexican Judge Halts Extradition of El Chapo's Son to US. A day after 29 people, including 10 soldiers, died in a wave of violence following his arrest in Culiacan, the extradition of Ovidio Guzman, the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to face charges in the United States has been blocked by a Mexican judge. In the ruling last Friday, the federal judge also suspended a ban on Guzman from communicating with his legal team and family. Guzman faces charges on a US warrant dating back to September 2019. He had been arrested in Culiacan in October 2019 but was quickly released on orders of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador because of violent cartel retaliation.

MD Pot Decrim Now in Effect, CO Natural Psychedelic Decrim Now in Effect, More... (1/3/23)

The Justice Department is suing a major pharmaceutical distributor over its role in the opioid crisis, a Virgin Islands marijuana legalization bill goes to the governor, and more.

Magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics are now decriminalized in Colorado. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Maryland Marijuana Possession No Longer a Crime. With the advent of the new year, possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana is no longer a crime in the state. People who possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana, however, face a maximum $100 fine, while those caught with up to 2.5 ounces face a $250 fine. The reduced penalties are the results of voters approving a referendum in November that directs the legislature to create rules for legal adult sales. That referendum also triggered the implementation of a bill decriminalizing pot possession, which is what went into effect on January 1.

US Virgin Islands Marijuana Legalization Bill Goes to Governor. The US territory's Senate last Friday approved a marijuana legalization bill on a an 11-1 vote, as well as passing separate expungement legislation. The bill has already passed the House. Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D), who has repeatedly called on lawmakers to pass such a bill, is expected to sign both bills into law.

Opiates and Opioids

Justice Department Sues Pharmaceutical Distributor for More Than $1 Billion for Role in Opioid Epidemic. The Justice Department last Thursday filed a lawsuit in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen, which Justice alleges "fueled" the country's opioid epidemic. The complaint claims the company, one of the country's largest drug distributors, failed to fulfill its legal obligation to report suspicious orders or to report suspicious customer behavior to the DEA. The complaint also alleges that AmerisourceBergen constantly violated the Controlled Substances Act by failing to follow the proper steps for distributing opioids under the Act. The DOJ filed the complaint in civil court and seeks over $1 billion in damages.

Psychedelics

Colorado Psychedelics Decriminalization Takes Effect. Natural psychedelics including psilocybin (magic mushrooms) are now decriminalized after Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a proclamation that the voter-approved initiative that decriminalized them had received a majority of votes in the November election. "Coloradans voted last November and participated in our democracy," Polis said in a statement from the governor's office. "Officially validating the results of the citizen and referred initiatives is the next formal step in our work to follow the will of the voters and implement these voter-approved measures." The measure creates a state-regulated system for therapeutic access to natural psychedelics and it decriminalizes the possession, cultivation, and sharing of the naturally occurring psychedelic drugs.

New York Lawmakers File Bill to Legalize Natural Psychedelics. Assembly members Linda Rosenthal (D), Jo Anne Simon (D) and Karines Reyes(D) have filed a bill, A00114, that would legalize the use and possession of a number of natural plant- or fungi-based psychedelics, including DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin and psilocyn, recategorize them and eliminate their status as prohibited substances. The bill would: "Legalize adult possession and use of certain natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens; Grant certain protections for individuals lawfully using such hallucinogens; Remove such hallucinogens from the list of Schedule I controlled substances; Make related provisions."

International

Mexico Prison Assault Leaves 14 Dead, 24 Escaped Prisoners. Presumed cartel gunmen in armored vehicles attacked a prison in Ciudad Juarez Sunday morning, opening fire on guards and other security personnel and leaving 10 guards and four prisoners dead. Another 24 prisoners managed to escape during the mayhem. This same prison also saw violence erupt last August where Mexican army troops had to intervene in a clash between prisoners from the rival Juarez and Sinaloa cartels that led to a riot and shootout with a death toll of 11 people.

Asset Forfeiture Shenigans Down in Houston [FEATURE]

Law enforcement officers and prosecutors systematically violate the constitutional rights of innocent property owners and interstate drivers, seizing cash and other valuable items without legitimate probable cause, which deprives individuals of much-needed funds in their possession. Police agencies seize additional property like vehicles, houses, businesses, and other tangible items, then auction these items off by executing a well-planned civil forfeiture lawsuit even if a person who owned the property or properties hadn't been convicted of a crime. State and local governments then split the proceeds with the law enforcement agency that made the seizure.

"In the United States, the basic tenet of the criminal justice system is that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty," wrote Rebecca Vallas and her team at the Center for American Progress. "However, over the past several decades, many thousands of people have had their property seized by the government without being charged with a crime."

That is civil -- as opposed to criminal -- asset forfeiture. Civil forfeiture law only requires prosecutors to prove a mere preponderance of the evidence, a lesser threshold than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard required in criminal cases. In practice, property targeted under civil forfeiture is usually seized unless the property owner hires an attorney to contest the proceeding, but people whose monies or properties have been seized often lack the means to challenge such actions.

Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association, said the lower standard allows police to hit criminals in their pocketbooks even if they can't place them behind bars. "Civil asset forfeiture is intended to try and take a bite out of organized criminal syndicates by getting at their profit margin," he told KERA TV. "If we do away with civil asset forfeiture, who benefits the most? It's organized crime."

Documentation of thousands of asset forfeiture cases by the Institute for Justice (IFJ), a Washington, DC-based public interest law firm, challenges Lawrence's line because it found police confiscated small amounts of money from individuals instead of big hitters who are involved with organized crime which means not everyone who has their money taken is into high-level crimes. Many aren't guilty of anything except for having a substantial amount of cash when police erroneously profile them as criminals.

Forfeited assets including cash proceeds are lucrative for government and law enforcement agencies. In 2018 alone, reports IFJ, 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government seized over $3 billion; $500 million was forfeited under state law and the government seized $2.5 billion within the Department of Justice and the Treasury forfeiture program.

IFJ is fighting tooth and nail against alleged abusive practices in Texas by filing a class-action lawsuit last year against the Harris County District Attorney's Office headed by elected Democrat Kim Ogg and Ed Gonzalez the elected Harris County sheriff.

"Texas has some of the worst civil forfeiture laws in the country, and what's driving this is the fact that police and prosecutors get to keep the property they seize. They can use it to buy better equipment, to buy better automobiles, and pay salaries, IFJ attorney Scott Bullock said more than a decade ago. Little has changed since then.

Ovid Ned can attest to Harris County's questionable seizure tactics. On January 31, 2016, Houston Police patrolmen stopped Ned while he was driving a new Jeep Compass in the 10700 Block of Bentley Street in far North Houston. Since Ned didn't have a state driver's license he was arrested on the spot. While conducting an inventory of the vehicle for towing purposes the officers discovered 26.98 grams of hydrocodone inside a pill bottle in the vehicle's glove box. Police confiscated $948.00 tucked in Ned's pants pocket. A charge of possession with intent to deliver hydrocodone was filed against Mr. Ned. As a bonus, the officers seized Ned's cash claiming the funds were the result of illegal narcotic sales.

But while he potentially faced a stiff prison sentence, Ned's luck was as hot as a pair of winning craps dice because a Harris County prosecutor dismissed the drug charge on June 15, 2016. To the prosecutor's surprise, Ned had a valid prescription for the hydrocodone, but in a second go-round, Ned crapped out. Harris County asset forfeiture prosecutors filed a case against his money and managed to grab every red cent without convicting the alleged member of the 5th Ward Circle Street gang of anything.

Houston Police stated in the seizure report they believe the cash was drug money because Ned was a documented gang member with a lengthy criminal history involving narcotics, and they further allege finding three boxes of plastic sandwich bags in the trunk of the vehicle.

Prosecutor Angela Beaver argued that Ned "was selling the pills." Beaver explained how opioid dealers often obtain several prescriptions from pain clinics.

"All they have to do to make the criminal case go away is to produce one of these prescriptions so that the possession is not illegal," Beavers said. "It does not mean the money seized is not contraband."

What Beavers failed to mention is all her office had to do was contact Ned's doctor to verify the authenticity of the prescription. Nor did Beavers show proof that Ned engaged in scouting for doctors to write bogus prescriptions to account for the drugs he possessed at the time he was arrested.

"Taking property without a criminal conviction is a violation of the owners' civil liberties," said IFJ attorney Arif Panju. "There is a principle of being innocent until proven guilty, and forfeiture just takes that and flips it on its head. That raises all sorts of constitutional problems."

The IFJ scored a victory at the US Supreme Court that limits forfeitures in state cases where the value of what is seized outweighs the seriousness of the connected crime.

US Supreme Court Justices Weigh In

US Supreme Court justices realize how civil forfeitures can become excessively punitive and that in such cases the constitutional protections must attach to balance the law. Forfeitures of property without proof of the owner's wrongdoing, merely because it was 'used' in or was an instrumentality of crime has been permitted in England and this country, both before, and, after the adoption of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

In the case of Leonard vs. Texas, Justice Clarence Thomas questioned: "whether the Court's treatment of the broad modern forfeiture practice can be justified by the narrow historical one."

Leonard vs. Texas entails a story of two men, vehicle driver James Leonard and passenger Nicosa Kane. Police stopped the men in Texas as they headed down an interstate known for heavy drug trafficking. When the officer saw a locked safe in the trunk he questioned the men about the contents of the safe. According to the officer, both men gave conflicting stories about the safe. James told the officer the safe belonged to his mother and that he was to buy a house in Pennsylvania. Once the safe was opened the officers discovered the mother lode, a cool $201,000. A bill of sale for a house was also found in the safe.

The state immediately seized the funds. Leonard's mother, Lisa Olivia Leonard, filed a lawsuit listing herself as the innocent owner of the cash-filled safe. At the trial court hearing, the presiding judge issued a forfeiture order meaning Ms. Leonard lost the cash. She appealed the verdict. Rejecting Leonard's innocent-owner defense the court of appeals, citing the suspicious circumstances of the stop and the contradictory stories between James Leonard and Nicosa Cane, court concluded that the government proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the money in the safe was either the proceeds of a drug sale or intended for such activity.

The US Supreme Court denied Leonard's petition for certiorari on March 6, 2017. No news reports are showing whether Leonard won her money back.

Meanwhile, states like Arkansas and Michigan have passed legislation to require that a person must first be convicted of a crime before forfeiture proceedings can start. Texas state Republicans and Democrats have proposed similar legislation.

Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Forfeiture Asset Law

The key feature of Texas civil forfeiture law is how it shifts the burden of proof onto the person who had their property seized to prove their property wasn't connected to a crime. Unlike a criminal trial where the evidence is brought against an individual, in civil forfeitures, the government proceeds against the property (or seized cash) as if the property itself assisted in the commission of a crime.

For instance, when it comes to civil law forfeitures the government only needs to meet a lower preponderance of the evidence to snatch away someone's property which means a person can have their property taken without being convicted of a crime.

"Who could afford to have their life savings taken away for more than two years with no hearing and no opportunity to go before a judge?" asked IFJ Senior Attorney Wesley Hottot.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office has declined to comment publicly about the IFJ lawsuit.

Harris County DA Office Dismisses Dope Cases by Corrupt Houston Police Narcotic Officers And Keeps the Seized Tainted Cash

Harris County prosecutors in Houston dismissed numerous drug cases and recommended the reversal of the cases of other defendants arrested by terribly corrupt Houston police narcotic officers Gerald Goines and Stephen Bryant, the narco officers responsible for one of Houston's most scandalous acts of sheer violence when Goines lied to obtain the January 2019 search warrant that led to the shooting deaths of two innocent people, 59-year-old Dennis Tuttle and Tuttle's wife, 58-year-old Rhogena Ann Nicholas. They were gunned down by police after Goines fabricated a search warrant and executed the same warrant at the couple's home.

Goines claimed his informant purchased heroin from the couple when no informant had entered the home and made a drug buy. Five additional officers were shot during the raid as well as what became the sensational, deadly raid on Harding Street in the East End of town. There have been at least three dozen instances in recent years when Goines' Narcotics Squad #15 seized lots of cash, jewelry, and vehicles based on misleading statements and even outright lies to justify narcotic search warrants.

Despite the criminal cases being dropped or dismissed, the Harris County Civil Asset Forfeiture Division still seized the "crime-tainted" cash and property. For example, on July 24, 2018, Andrew Hebert, of 4524 Alvin Street in Houston was strolling over to his 2017 Buick Lacrosse parked in the driveway when police swarmed him like flies. Narcotic officers Goines and Bryant said they saw Hebert make a hand-to-hand dope delivery to an individual. A search of Hebert's residence yielded assorted narcotics and $10, 965.00. Police seized the funds and Hebert had a second seizure of $1,765.00. When news broke about the scandal involving Goines and Bryant's involvement in the death of the East End couple the District Attorney's Office dropped the dope case against Hebert but still, the prosecutors kept his money.

The same thing happened to Christopher White's $2,465 and Andre Thomas's $2,700. Criminal charges were dropped due to Goines's involvement in their narcotics cases, but they never saw the money again. Goines and Bryant are facing a laundry list of federal civil rights criminal charges ranging from obstruction of justice, making false statements, falsifying records, and depriving the deceased victims of their constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable searches. State charges against Goines include first-degree murder. That trial remains pending.

Transporting Cash to Buy a Truck Isn't a Crime

Included in the Institute for Justice class action lawsuit is the case of Ameal Woods and Jordan Davis from Natchez Mississippi, who lost $42, 300 to Harris County Civil Asset Forfeiture Enforcement. Ameal Woods was traveling from Natchez to a suburb outside Houston called Katy, Texas, -- when he happened to encounter a Harris County Sheriff Patrol Sergeant on May 19, 2019. The sergeant pulled Woods over in the 2300 block of I-10 driving a new Nissan Sentra for allegedly "following a tractor-trailer too closely."

The Sergeant allowed Woods to sit in his patrol car while he checked Woods' license and prepared a warning citation. As these transactions took place, the sergeant wrote the following in his offense report: "Mr. Woods was having facial tremors, labored breath, shifting around in his seat, licking his lips and belching, all signs of stress," the officer wrote in his report.

Whether the officer first asked Woods if he was transporting dope or money or if anything out of the ordinary triggered the officer's suspicion remains unclear. In the officer's report, he said that Woods claimed to be carrying $30,000 in his rented vehicle and that his girlfriend Jordan Davis rented the car. Woods said the money was to buy a used tractor-trailer to expand his trucking business back home in Mississippi.

The deputy recovered the money wrapped in separate packages. When asked where he got the funds Woods said his wife gave him part of it, and that a niece loaned him some as well. The deputy also claimed Woods had explained to him that his girlfriend Jordan Davis had given him part of the money from her tax returns.

To verify Woods's story, the deputy sergeant said he called Jordan Davis from his cell phone while sitting on the road with Ameal Woods and that Davis said she hadn't gotten her tax return yet. Ameal Woods denied his girlfriend had talked with the sergeant about her tax return. Once the money was taken, the sergeant gave Woods an incident report number detailing the seizure and Woods was cut loose at the scene.

Ameal Woods recalled seeing no drug dog at the scene. But in a final seizure report submitted to the county by a different deputy, the deputy stated a drug dog made a hit on the money Woods was carrying, which means the dog detected an odor of illegal drugs on the seized money.

National Geographic and several more prominent news media outlets reported in 2009, that a definitive study showed "Nearly nine out of ten bills circulating in the United States are tainted with cocaine." In 1994, the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that in Los Angeles, out of every four banknotes, on average more than three are tainted by cocaine or another illicit drug.

Questions swirled among the IFJ attorneys as to why it took slightly over two years before the Harris County District Attorney's Office in Houston served Ameal and Jordan with legal notification of the forfeiture.

IFJ attorneys said there is a scheme by Texas lawmen and the District Attorney's Office to take cash from travelers without legit probable cause, particularly if the individuals are African Americans and Mexicans.

Forfeiture Complaints Raise Suspicion

What infuriates the IFJ attorneys was the suspicious composition of the forfeiture complaint by a Harris County Deputy Sheriff identified as Greg Nason, who, according to the lawsuit "was not at the scene when the money was seized from Ameal Woods."

The Attorney's investigation uncovered more peculiar activities. Unsurprisingly, IFJ attorneys identified 113 seizure affidavits rife with errors and misspelled words "written by an officer who was not at the time and place of seizure." At least 80 of those affidavits were written by the same Officer Greg Nason. Just as the discovery of some of the poorly worded sentences wasn't enough, the attorneys noticed 'cut and paste' testimony with different fonts, and erroneous dates and the deputy even referred to tangible cash when the seized property was a vehicle.

Dog Makes Alert on Proceeds Later; Not At The Scene

IFJ attorneys also discovered 92 cases (including the Ameal Woods case) where a drug dog reportedly alerted "after police seized property." The key word is "after" the incident took place, not at the scene. Ameal assured his attorneys that no dog sniffed his money at the scene.

"The government cannot copy-and-paste its way to probable cause," said IFJ. Managing Attorney Arif Panju. "Probable cause means more than simply having a large sum in cash and an after-the-fact dog alert."

Retired Harris County Sheriff Department Narcotic Detective Joe Harris told Drug War Chronicle, "Unless there was an ongoing investigation that hasn't been revealed, what we used to do is if we target a person for carrying lots of money, money suspected to be from selling drugs we would have a dog come to the scene to see if the dog hit on the money. If the dog hits on the money we seize it right then", not later on unless a person is arrested with drugs and carrying money at the same time," Harris said.

Harris went on to explain that when a dog makes a hit on a vehicle this is when to get a warrant to search for narcotics.

Between 2018 and 2020, the Harris County District Attorney Forfeiture Division collected $15.9 million in forfeiture revenue. Over $7.5 million was spent on police salaries and overtime.

Texas Gunslingers Battle for Reform

Harris County prosecutors in Houston unified with their compatriots in law enforcement against proposed laws to restrict civil asset forfeiture over the last few years. Several bills have been filed in the state's legislature by Democrats and Republicans to prevent Texas prosecutors from seizing citizens' money and other assets unless they'd been convicted of a crime.

During one 2019 legislative hearing at the state capitol in Austin, Harris County Civil Forfeiture prosecutor Angela Beaver said criminal charges were filed in all but 5% of Harris County seizure cases in 2018. State Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), who has filed legislation to require convictions for forfeiture. Scoffed at Beavers' numbers.

"I'm going to tell you as a practicing lawyer in Harris County, I don't think you're being honest with this committee," he said.

"Well, we have the stats," she shot back.

But a study of Harris County statistics by the Texas Tribune suggested the prosecutor's numbers were wrong. The Tribune found that during the first six months of 2016, 15 percent of asset seizures did not include criminal charges connected to the stated reason for the seizure -- such as a drug crime -- and nearly 40 percent of seizures did not result in a related conviction or guilty plea.

Proposed Changes to Modify the Way Property is Seized in Texas

To add an extra boost to eliminate civil asset forfeitures against a person's property, although the person hasn't been criminally convicted in a court of law, State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) and then-Republican Senator Konni Burton filed identical bills requiring law enforcement and prosecutors to secure a criminal conviction before property can be legally seized, instead claiming the seized property was more likely than not connected to a crime.

Texas Civil asset forfeiture law needs much reform to equal the playing field for defendants to have a better shot at proving their money or property wasn't intended for criminal activities. The biggest stake in the foray is how prosecutors and law enforcement abuse civil forfeitures to tilt the scales in their favor and undermine the constitutional rights of American citizens.

Democratic State Reps. Harold Dutton and Senfronia Thompson will attempt to re-introduce House Bill 251 in the legislative session beginning in January 2023, to reform Texas civil asset forfeiture Law. Their goal is to make it so that state prosecutors must first convict a person in criminal court to legally seize the individual's property that may or may not be connected to the crime with which they were charged.

Drug War Chronicle contributor and news reporter Clarence Walker can be reached at [email protected]

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