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

DEA

RSS Feed for this category

NCAA Moves to End Marijuana Ban, Study Finds Mexican Cartels a Major Employer, More... (9/25/23)

A pair of Republican senators file a bill to require congressional approval to down-schedule marijuana, the House Rules Committee advances a pair of psychedelic research amendments to the defense spending bill, and more.

College basketball under the aegis of the NCAA. An end to the weed ban could be coming soon. (Creative Commons/Phil Roeder)
Marijuana Policy

GOP Senators File Bill to Block Marijuana Legalization Without Congressional Approval. Last Friday, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), joined by her colleague Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), introduced the Deferring Executive Authority (DEA) Act to give Congress final approval over the legalization of marijuana. 

According to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has signaled it will follow a recommendation issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This would, in essence, legalize marijuana federally. 

This recommendation was issued after President Biden requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HHS evaluate marijuana’s status as a Schedule I substance.  The Deferring Executive Authority (DEA) Act will require congressional review of rules rescheduling marijuana. 

"Congress makes the laws in this country, not DC bureaucrats," said Lummis. "The American people through their elected representatives in the Senate and House should have the final say on such a momentous change as the legalization of marijuana. The Biden administration’s rush to reschedule marijuana without compelling scientific evidence appears to be political, not about what’s best for the American people."  

NCAA Committee Recommends Legislation to Remove Marijuana from Banned Substances List in All Three Divisions. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports recommended legislation that would remove marijuana from the NCAA's list of banned drug classes at all three divisions, the organization announced last Friday. The recommendation calls for a "robust educational strategy" for college athletes when it comes to marijuana.

"Cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm-reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level," the NCAA said in a statement following midweek meetings in Indianapolis. 

The committee reasoned that removing marijuana from the list of banned substances achieves several aims: acknowledging the ineffectiveness of the current policy of banning, testing, and penalizing; affirming that NCAA drug testing is aimed only at performance-enhancing substances; and emphasizes the importance of moving toward a harm reduction strategy.

The recommendation now goes to the governing structures of the NCAA's three divisions.

"When making a decision on an important topic like this, we agree that the membership should have an opportunity to vote on the final outcome," committee chair James Houle, lead sport psychologist at Ohio State, said in a statement. "We are recommending a big shift in the paradigm when it comes to cannabinoids. We want to modernize the strategy with the most up-to-date research to give schools the best opportunity to support the health of student-athletes."

Psychedelics

House Rules Committee Clears Pair of Psychedelic Research Amendments to Defense Spending Bill. The House Rules Committee last Saturday approved two psychedelic research amendments for inclusion in the must-pass defense spending bill. It also cleared the larger defense bill for a House floor vote this as a government spending deadline looms.

One amendment, sponsored by Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), would provide $15 million in funding for DOD to carry out "Psychedelic Medical Clinical Trials."

The other amendment, also from Crenshaw, would require the Defense Health Agency to "submit a report to Congress on options to ensure that active-duty service members who are suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are able to participate in clinical trials under the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purposes of studying the effectiveness of psychedelic substances."

International

Mexican Drug Cartels Employ 175,000 People, Study Finds. Mexican drug trafficking organizations—the so-called cartels—employ roughly 175,000 people, according to new research findings published in the journal Science. That makes organized crime the fifth-largest employment sector in the country. 

The study examined a decade of data on murders, missing persons, and imprisoned people and used a mathematical model to determine overall cartel membership and which policy responses would best reduce violence. Homicides in the country have tripled since 2007, when then-President Felipe Calderon escalated the domestic drug war by sending in the army.

The study authors argue that the best way to reduce violence is not to lock up more gang members, which they argue would actually increase the murder rate, but to cut cartel recruitment.

"More than 1.7 million people in Latin America are incarcerated, and adding more people to saturated jails will not solve the insecurity problem," wrote the authors.

The analysts identified 198 armed criminal groups in the country, although two of them, the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, battle for national domination.

DEA Hired "Legacy" Job Applicants Despite Failed Polygraph Tests, DeSantis Rejects Legal Weed, More... (8/28/23)

Republican presidential contenders burnish their anti-drug reform credentials, and more.

There is some tarnish on that DEA badge after a new Justice Department Office of the Inspector General report. (DEA.gov)
Marijuana Policy

DeSantis Doubles Down on Opposition to Marijuana Legalization. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential contender, reaffirmed his opposition to marijuana legalization as he campaigned in Iowa on Saturday. He argued—contrary to the facts—that legalization has increased the size of the black market in Colorado, the first state to legalize it.

Responding to a question about children experiencing "cannabis inducted psychosis," DeSantis clarified that he "would not legalize" in an echo of earlier comments on the topic. "I think what’s happened is this stuff is very potent now. I think when young people get it, I think it’s a real, real problem, and I think it’s a lot different than stuff that people were using 30, 40 years ago," DeSantis said. "I think when kids get on that, I think it causs a lot of problems and then, of course, you know, they can throw fentanyl in any of this stuff now."

While fentanyl has been encountered as a contaminant in various powder drug substances, every case of alleged fentanyl contamination of marijuana has so far been shown to be false. It, too, is a white powder, which could not be easily disguised in marijuana buds.

He also said he would opposed a proposed marijuana legalization initiative poised to make the ballot in Florida. "I would not do that," DeSantis said on Saturday. "And the places that legalized it like Colorado and California, you know, the argument was—and honestly it wasn’t a crazy argument—’Look, we know people are going to use marijuana. It is a drug. If you legalize it, then you can tax it, regulate it, and it’s going to end up being safer for people."But what’s happened in Colorado, the black market for marijuana is bigger and more lucrative than it was before they did the legalization," the governor said. "So the legalization I don’t think has worked."

But one report on the marijuana industry in Colorado found to the contrary that 99 percent of marijuana sales in the state took place within the legal framework.

Foreign Policy

Nikki Haley Calls for Siccing US Special Forces on Mexican Cartels in Mexico..Former UN Ambassador and current Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley has doubled down on earlier calls to use US military forces inside Mexico to go after Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

"When it comes to the cartels, we should treat them like the terrorists that they are," Haley said. "I would send special operations in there and eliminate them just like we eliminated ISIS and make sure that they know there's no place for them. If Mexico won't deal with it, I'll make sure I deal with it," she added.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has firmly rejected any use of US military forces inside Mexico.

Haley also took aim at China for its role in the production of fentanyl, saying the US president has to "go to the true source" of the problem. "China knows exactly what they're doing when they're sending that fentanyl across the border. And we need to tell them we will stop all normal trade relations with you until you stop killing Americans," Haley said. "We lost 75,000 Americans last year, and we can't continue to allow that to happen."

Law Enforcement

DEA Hired "Legacy" Job Applicants Despite Failed Lie Detector Tests. According to a new report from the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has hired dozens of job applicants who failed lie detector tests as its polygraph unit faced pressure to approve "legacy" candidates related to senior officials.

Besides favoritism toward friends and family members of DEA officials, the report found that agency bosses ignored admissions of criminal behavior that should have been reported for further investigation, including one case where the applicant "admitted to pedophiliac tendencies" during the lie detector exam.

Also providing evidence about DEA lie detector practices is an agency whistleblower who has filed a federal lawsuit alleging misconduct within the DEA. The whistleblower alleged that when the pedophiliac applicant made his incriminating statements, supervisors pooh-poohed them, saying "there was nothing that could be done" and that the whistleblower "would be liable" for making an anonymous complaint to local law enforcement.

In a letter sent to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram last week, the OIG said it had "identified numerous concerns," including the use of loopholes to avoid complying with a policy enacted in 2019 that specifically bars the agency from hiring applicants who fail a polygraph or show signs of "countermeasures" to cheat the test.

(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.)

Biden Administration Rolls Out Plan to Confront Xylazine-Fentanyl Phenomenon [FEATURE]

In its latest move to confront the rapidly rising incidence of overdose deaths and other deleterious consequences of the combination use of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine ("tranq") and fentanyl, the Biden administration on Tuesday released a National Response Plan to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to the threat.

The veterinary tranquilizer and pain reliever xylazine is bad news in combo with fentanyl. (NY OASAS)
The plan calls for a public health campaign of increased testing and treatment and more data collection to see how the drug combo spreads and contributes to overdose numbers. But it also calls for looking into whether to schedule xylazine and includes the reflex resort to law enforcement to try to suppress supply.

This is just the latest in a series of steps the administration has taken since late last year to address the emerging phenomenon. Last December, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) head Dr. Rahul Gupta hosted a listening session with public health and public safety leaders and subject matter experts from several states and territories about trends they are seeing related to xylazine and efforts to address these trends. In January, Dr. Gupta convened the Evolving and Emerging Threats Committee to discuss the emergence of fentanyl adulterated with xylazine in the illicit drug supply.

In February, the Food and Drug Administration took action to restrict the unlawful entry of xylazine active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished dosage form drug products into the country and in March, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert to warn the American public of a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine. In April, Dr. Gupta named the xylazine-fentanyl combination an emerging public health threat, the first time such a designation has been used since Congress authorized it in 2018.

"Since we announced the emerging drug threat earlier this year, we've been working tirelessly to create the best plan of attack to address this dangerous and deadly substance head-on," said Dr. Gupta in a statement. "Now, with this National Response Plan, we are launching coordinated efforts across all of government to ensure we are using every lever we have to protect public health and public safety, and save lives. As a doctor, I have seen the devastating consequences of xylazine combined with fentanyl firsthand. And as President Biden's drug policy advisor, I am laser-focused on finding every tool we have and following the best evidence-based practices to take on this new challenge. This will be an all-hands-on-deck effort -- but I am confident we can take action together and eradicate this emerging threat."

Fentanyl first emerged as a significant actor in the illicit drug market in the early to mid-2010s, while xylazine entered the scene in the late 2010s. Now, xylazine has been detected in nearly every state in the country, and xylazine-involved overdose deaths are skyrocketing, albeit from very low initial levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported last month that the monthly percentage of fentanyl deaths with xylazine detected jumped from 2.9 percent in January 2019 to 10.9 percent in June 2022. CDC also found that the death rate from xylazine overdoses jumped 35-fold from 2018 to 2021.

Xylazine is a tranquilizer, not an opioid, and thus does not respond to opioid overdose reversal drugs such as naloxone. It also has other serious potential health effects, including wounds that may eventually require amputations, as well as breathing difficulties.

"If we thought fentanyl was dangerous, fentanyl combined with xylazine is even deadlier," Dr. Gupta said in a press call previewing the plan Monday.

But he warned that the plan will need Congress to step up with funding if it is to be be fully implemented. He noted that the Biden administration Fiscal Year 2024 budget request includes funding for emerging threats.

"We will do what we can with what we have until we get the resources from Congress," Dr. Gupta said. "It's a matter of utilizing what we have right now in order to save lives while we're encouraging Congress to pass the president's budget and provide those resources as quickly as possible. We're going to move ahead as quickly as possible because the fact is that lives are on the line."

SAFE Banking Act to Get Committee Vote Soon, Study Finds Opioid Busts Could Increase ODs, More... (6/8/23)

A federal bill to fund university research on medical maerijuana gets filed, a federal asset forfeiture reform bill moves, and more.

Overdose deaths are prompting old punitive responses and possible new, more effective responses. (Pixabay)
Marijuana Policy

SAFE Banking Act to Get Senate Committee Vote Within Weeks, Chairman Says. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has said that the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S. 1323) would get a committee vote within weeks. "We’re looking at markup on the fentanyl issue, the executive compensation issue, and the Safe Banking Act issue and we want to do all that in the next two or three weeks,"Brown said.

The bill would give state-legal marijuana businesses access to the American banking system. Previous efforts to advance the bill stalled in the last few congressional sessions. But Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) refiled the bill in their respective chambers in April.

Medical Marijuana

New Federal Bill Would Appropriate Millions for Medical Marijuana Research. This week Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) and Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced the Higher Education Marijuana Research Act of 2023, legislation that would eliminate obstacles to the academic research of cannabis, protect universities and researchers who study it, and promote the responsible study of marijuana.

While 38 states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use and 23 states including Nevada and Colorado have legalized it for recreational use, myriad federal rules and regulations create barriers to academic research. The bill would establish a new grant program within the National Institutes of Health to fund studies assessing cannabis’ medical benefits. It would appropriate up to $150 million in federal funding for university-sponsored medical cannabis research. The legislation also permits academic institutions to purchase state-licensed cannabis products for the purpose of "biological, chemical, agricultural, or public health research."

Asset Forfeiture

House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Approves Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government on Tuesday voted to advance the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act of 2023 (HR 1525). The bill passed the subcommittee with bipartisan support and now awaits a full committee vote.

The bill would require that before seizing cash or property law enforcement show "a substantial connection between the property and the offense" and that the owner "used the property with intent to facilitate the offense" or "knowingly consented or was willfully blind to the use of the property by another in connection with the offense."

The bill would also eliminate the "equitable sharing" program under which state and local law enforcement agencies circumvent state asset forfeiture laws by turning cases over to the feds, who return 85 percent of the proceeds to the state or local law enforcement agency. And it would require that seizures be approved by a federal judge, not an administrative agency, such as the DEA, and that any funds go to the Treasury's general fund, not the fund of the seizing agency.

Drug Policy                                                       

Wisconsin Legislature Approves Bill to Increase Penalties in Overdose Deaths. With a final vote in the Assembly Wednesday, the legislature has approved a bill that increases maximum prison sentences for people who produce or sell drugs that cause another person's death, Senate Bill101. The bill would increase the maximum penalty from 25 years to 40 years in prison and increase the maximum period of supervision from 15 years to 20 years.

The bill comes as the state reported a record high number of overdose deaths in 2021 and easily passed both chambers. The only opposition to the bill comes from the ACLU of Wisconsin

"While reducing rates of overdose deaths is certainly an urgent priority, SB 101 won't alleviate the crisis," ACLU of Wisconsin policy analyst Jon McCray Jones said. "An extensive body of research - as well as our own lived experiences - tells us that punitive drug laws don't reduce drug use, substance abuse disorder, or overdoses."

Law Enforcement

. A new study found that when law enforcement agencies seize illicit opioids, fatal overdoses in the vicinity of the seizure increase over the next three weeks.

"This casts doubt on the core assumption of state and federal drug policy and suggests that police officers intending to protect the public’s health and safety may be inadvertently exacerbating harms such as fatal overdose," the study’s authors wrote.

The report does not say that drug raids caused the uptick in overdoses, but one of the study’s authors laid out a potential reasoning in a tweet: a person addicted to drugs does not simply stop using because police disrupt their supply. Instead, they go into withdrawal. They get more and more desperate, more willing to acquire drugs from dealers they don’t know. By the time they get new drugs, their tolerance likely decreased, putting them at risk of an overdose.

"Unknown tolerance, unknown potency, reduced risk aversion, and no margin for error in safely dosing fentanyl can all lead to increased fatal overdose observed in our study," Brandon del Pozo, an assistant professor of health services, policy and practice and an assistant professor of research at Brown University, wrote on Twitter.

Almost 1 million people have died from an overdose across the US in the past 20 years. The report proposes forming public safety partnerships where organizations can step in and assist people who use drugs after police perform a seizure; such groups could provide overdose prevention services, outreach and refer people to care.

"As drug markets become less predictable and morbidity and mortality among people who use drugs increases, it is critical that communities not only create low barrier access to evidence-based treatment but also implement harm reduction strategies that directly address supply-side drivers of accidental overdose," the report reads. "Naloxone distribution, drug-checking, and overdose prevention sites are strategies first developed and implemented by people who use drugs that can be facilitated or enhanced by law enforcement cooperation through exceptions or ‘carve-outs’ of drug criminalization to protect public health."

House Passage of HALT Fentanyl Act Slammed, DEA Jerks Opioid Distributor's License, More... (5/26/23)

The Louisiana House votes to radically quicken expungements for pot possession offenses, a Texas medical marijuana bill is dead in the water in the state Senate, and more.

Yet another drug distributor gets punished for its role in the opioid crisis. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Louisiana House Approves Bill Streamlining Marijuana Expungements. The House on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve House Bill 286, which would streamline the expungement process for people with first-offense marijuana possession convictions. Under the bill, people convicted of possessing less than 15 grams of marijuana can petition the courts to expunge their records after 90 days from the date of conviction. Under current state law, people must wait at least five years before seeking expungement. The bill sponsored by Rep. Delisha Boyd (D) now goes to the Senate.

Massachusetts Shelves Pilot Program for Social Consumption Spaces. The state Cannabis Control Commission has scrapped a pilot program to allow on-site marijuana consumption shops in 12 municipalities, saying it will instead focus on developing broader regulations for onsite consumption and how to license such businesses. That means the Bay State is unlikely to see any consumption spaces open this year. A state law allowing limited consumption areas in existing pot shops went into effect nine months ago. Commissioner Nurys Camargo said dropping the pilot program would encourage municipalities to decide whether or not they want to allow on-site consumption.

Medical Marijuana

Texas Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Appears Dead. A bill from Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) that would have expanded the state's low-THC Compassionate Use Program to include chronic pain patients who otherwise would be prescribed opioids, House Bill 1805, appears dead in the Senate after passing the House. The bill was referred to the Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee but did not get a committee hearing.

Opioids and Opiates

House Slammed for Passing HALT Fentanyl Act in Rerun of "Failed Drug War." The House's passage Thursday of HR 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act generated strong condemnation from drug reform, civil and human rights groups as well as pleas for the Senate to kill it. The bill would classify all fentanyl analogues as Schedule I drugs and resort to mandatory minimum sentences for those found guilty of their distribution. The bill passed with near-unanimous GOP support (only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted "no"), but also with the "yes" votes of 70 House Democrats.

"It's sad to see lawmakers revert to over-criminalization once again when we have 50 years of evidence that the war on drugs has been an abject failure," said Laura Pitter of Human Rights Watch, one of nearly 160 advocacy groups that signed a letter earlier this week imploring Congress to reject the HALT Fentanyl Act.

"By passing this bill, the House has signaled that Congress is entering a new carceral era," said Liz Komar, sentencing reform counsel for the Sentencing Project. "The federal prison population has been on the rise since the beginning of the Biden administration after seven years of decline," said Komar. "The passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act would deepen that trend by doubling down on failed drug policies that prioritize prisons over drug treatment and overwhelmingly harm Black and Brown communities.

"If mandatory minimums and harsh sentences made communities safer," Komar added, "the overdose crisis would not have occurred. We urge the Senate to reject this bill and all expansions of mandatory minimums and reverse this punitive trend."

"Our communities deserve real health solutions to the overdose crisis, not political grandstanding that is going to cost us more lives," said Maritza Perez Medina, director of the office of federal affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, as she urged the Senate to kill the bill.

Prodded by AP Story, DEA Yanks Drug Distributor's License Over Filling of "Suspicious" Orders During Opioid Crisis. The DEA on Friday revoked the license of one of the country's largest drug distributors to sell opioid pain relievers because it failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders amid the opioid crisis. The move comes nearly four years after a judge recommended the harshest penalty for Morris & Dickson for its "cavalier disregard" of rules aiming at thwarting opioid abuse and two days after the Associated Press reported that the DEA had allowed the company to keep shipping opioids despite the judge's ruling.

In the 68-page order, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the company did not accept responsibility for its past actions, including shipping 12,000 "unusually large" orders between 2014 and 2018 and only flagging three of them as "suspicious."

The loss of the distribution license could drive the company out of business, but Morris & Dickson said it had spent millions of dollars in recent years to upgrade its compliance systems and looked to be holding out hope of reaching a settlement with DEA.

The company's larger competitors -- AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson -- have already agreed to pay the federal government more than $1 billion in fines and penalties for similar violations, as well as paying out $21 billion to settle claims from a nationwide settlement. The actions of the drug distributors played a contributing role in this century's opioid crisis, but the reaction to that crisis has also contributed to problems for chronic pain patients in obtaining the medicines they need.

CA Natural Psychedelic Bill Heads for Senate Floor Vote, German Legal Weed Plan, More... (5/2/23)

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.
Marijuana Policy

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.

RI Safe Injection Site to Open Early Next Year, NC Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed, More... (4/20/23)

Dozens of advocacy groups urge the White House to end federal pot prohibition, Brazil's new president reinstalls civil society representatives on the national drug policy council, and more.

The people from Project Weber/RENEW who will staff Rhode Island's first safe injection site. (PWR)
Marijuana Policy

Over 80 Groups Urge Biden Administration to End Federal Marijuana Prohibition and Support Comprehensive Reform. In an open letter to President Biden, as well as the heads of the Justice Department, the DEA, and the Food and Drug Administration, more than 80 drug policy, social justice, civil liberties, and civil rights organizations called on the administration to legalize marijuana and enact comprehensive marijuana law reforms. "We urge you and your administration to take the steps necessary to deschedule marijuana in conjunction with other administration actions that center Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities," they wrote. "Additionally, we implore your administration to support comprehensive marijuana reform legislation in Congress, such as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), a bill that deschedules marijuana, repairs the past harms of prohibition, and provides a regulatory framework for marijuana markets."

Bipartisan Bill to Encourage State-Level Marijuana Expungements Refiled. A Republican and a Democrat, Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), on Tuesday reintroduced a bill that would provide incentives to states to expunge marijuana arrest records in their jurisdictions. The Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act would provide federal grants to states engaged in expungement programs. The State Expungement Opportunity Grant Program would be managed by the Justice Department. "The vast majority of petty, non-violent cannabis law violations take place on the state and local level, precluding millions of Americans from fundamental opportunities such as housing and employment," Joyce said in a press release. "As both a former public defender and prosecutor, I understand firsthand how these barriers can negatively impact families and economic growth in Ohio and across the nation."

North Carolina Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed. Rep. Kelly Alexander (D) and a handful of cosponsors have filed a marijuana legalization bill, House Bill 626. The bill would legalize the possession of up two ounces by people 21 and over, allow for the home cultivation of up to six plants, and create a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce, including social equity provisions. The state has yet to pass even a medical marijuana bill, although this year one has been approved by the Senate. It has not moved in the House since it was sent there six weeks ago.

Harm Reduction

Rhode Island Safe Injection Site Coming Next Year. A harm reduction group, Project Weber/RENEW, in partnership with CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, announced Wednesday that it will open the country's first state-regulated overdose prevention center in early 2024. The center was authorized by legislation passed recently by the state legislature, sponsored by State Senator Josh Miller and State Representative Jay Edwards. The law will sunset in March 2026, after the amount of time needed to open and operate the facility and to do an evaluation.

According to a news release from the project, the overdose epidemic claimed 435 lives in Rhode Island in 2021. The center, to be located in Providence, will provide services including the ability to use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of trained staff. Funding for the center's first year of operations comes from opioid settlement funds distributed to Rhode Island, totaling $2.6 million. Project Weber/RENEW and clinical partners CODAC were selected for the project by the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

International

Brazil Civil Society Groups Reinstated to National Council on Drug Policy. For years, civil society groups had been able to have an impact on national drug policy by participating in the National Council on Drug Policy (CONAD), but rightist former President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree barring those groups from participating in CONAD. Now, the new (or rather, returned) leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- Lula -- has reinstated them. Under a presidential decree issued last week, CONAD will be composed of 10 elected and five appointed seats for civil society, as well as members of the government. The move is welcome news from Lula, who had done little in the field of drug policy since taking office in January.

DEA Head Under Investigation Over No-Bid Contracts, CA Fentanyl Sentencing Ballot Measure, More... (4/19/23)

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

Medical Marijuana

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.

DEA Warns on Fentanyl Laced with "Tranq," Taliban Bans Marijuana Cultivation, More... (3/21/23)

That Minnesota marijuana legalization bill keeps rolling toward final passage, Colombia's president suspends a ceasefire with a rightist drug trafficking group, and more.

Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akundzada announced on ban on cannabis cultivation Sunday. (CC)
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Again, with Big Amendment. The House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee has approved the marijuana legalization bill, House File100, but only after members accepted an amendment that overhauls various aspects of the bill—mainly at the request of marijuana industry players. The industry is operating under a law enacted last years that allows low-THC edibles, and the amendment eliminates some of regulations in the current bill that don’t make sense in the low-dose hemp market. The Senate adopted a similar amendment last week, but there are differences that will have to be resolved in conference committee. For instance, the House bill now has a lower personal possession limit than the Senate bill and is more expansive when it comes to who qualifies as a social equity license applicant.

Opiates and Opioids

DEA Reports Widespread Threat of Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine. The DEA is "warning the American public of a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine. Xylazine, also known as "Tranq," is a powerful sedative that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for veterinary use. "Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier," said Administrator Milgram. "DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine." Xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. Because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) does not reverse its effects. Still, experts always recommend administering naloxone if someone might be suffering a drug poisoning. People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation"

.[Editor's Note: This sounds like a good argument for a "safe drug supply," or a "legal and regulated supply of drugs with mind/body altering properties, as the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs put it in their "Safe Supply: Concept Document."]

International

Taliban Announces Ban on Marijuana Cultivation. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada announced on Sunday issued an official order prohibition marijuana cultivation across the country. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan is the world's second largest cannabis producer, after Morocco. The ban includes non-psychoactive hemp. "Cultivation in the whole country is completely banned and if anyone grows them, the plantation will be destroyed. The courts have also been ordered to punish the violators as per Sharia laws,"the statement reads.

Colombia President Suspends Ceasefire with Gulf Clan. President Gustavo Petro on Sunday suspended a ceasefire with the Gulf Clan, the country's biggest drug trafficking organization, after accusing it of attacking civilians. "I ordered the security forces to resume all military operations against the Gulf Clan,"he said on Twitter. "I will not allow them to keep sowing distress and terror in the communities,"Petro added. At the end of last year, Petro had declared a bilateral ceasefire with several armed drug trafficking groups, including the Gulf Clan, as well as the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents. It was the first step in Petro's "total peace" plan to end decades of violence through negotiation with the criminal groups. The Gulf Clan consist of former rightist paramilitaries and is estimated to control between 30 percent and 60 percent of the drugs exported from the country.

Peru Clash with Shining Path Remnants in Coca Valley Leaves Six Dead. Five Shining Path members and one army soldier were killed in a clash between the remnants of the 1980s leftist Shining Path insurgency and a military patrol in a coca-growing valley in the VRAE (Valleys of the Apurimac and Ene Rivers). The army patrol was looking for Victor Quispe Palomino, alias Comrade Jose. They didn't find him. Since the Shining Path was defeated militarily in the early 1990s, remnants of the group have remained in coca-growing areas in the VRAE where they are allied to cocaine trafficking groups. 

MN Legal Pot Bill One Step Closer, Feds to Start Limiting Telehealth Prescriptions, More... (3/1/23)

North Carolina's Senate gives initial approval to a medical marijuana bill, New Jersey lawmakers pass a bill giving pot businesses the ability to take state business tax deductions, and more.

Benzodiazepines such as Valium will be subject to tighter telehealth prescribing rules as the COVID emergency ends. (CC)
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Yet Again. The Senate version of the bill, Senate File 73, passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday, bringing the number of Senate committees to approve the bill to six. A companion bill in the House has already passed 10 House committee. Democratic-Farm-Labor (DFL) Party officials, who control both the legislature and the governor's office, are confident the bill will pass and be signed into law in short order.

New Jersey Lawmakers Ease Tax Penalty for Marijuana Businesses. Legislators in Trenton gave final approval Monday to a bill that would allow the state's legal marijuana industry to take state business tax deductions like any other legal business in the state, Senate Bill 340. The measure would uncouple the state's corporate business tax from federal rules that bar marijuana businesses from getting deductions and credits on federal taxes. The Senate took a final vote Monday, months after the House passed a companion version of the bill last October. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy (D).

Washington Bill to Bar Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Advances. The state Senate has approved Senate Bill 5123, which would end almost all pre-employment marijuana testing in the state, on a 28-21 vote. There are exceptions for the airline industry, federally regulated jobs that require drug testing, and "safety sensitive" positions. The bill now heads to the House.

Medical Marijuana

North Carolina SenateGives Initial Approval to Medical Marijuana Bill. The state Senate on Tuesday voted to approve  Senate Bill 3, the North Carolina Compassionate Use Act, on a second reading. It still needs to be approved in a third reading before being sent to the House, and that is expected to happen within a few days. House leaders said they were positioned to pass the bill, too, despite having blocked a similar bill last year. The bill would allow patients with a specified list of ailments to use medical marijuana and buy it from licensed dispensaries. The bill contains neither home cultivation nor social equity provisions.

Drug Policy

Feds Will Start Limiting Telehealth Prescriptions for Painkillers, ADHD Drugs. Federal officials are tightening access to certain drugs with a potential for abuse after rules were loosened during the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration will require an in-person appointment rather than a telehealth appointment for patients to obtain an initial prescription for opioid pain relievers and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Refills could be obtained via telehealth, though. The DEA is also tightening up access to drugs such as codeine, Xanax, Ambien, and buprenorphine. People will be able to get an initial 30-day prescription for such drugs via a telehealth appointment but will have to see a doctor in person to get a refill. The new rules are set to go into effect on May 11, when the coronavirus public health emergency ends.

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