Seattle will join San Francisco is expunging past petty pot possession convictions, the HHS secretary denies the reality of medical marijuana, the DOJ wants to toughen up a bill aimed at opioid makers and distributors, Colombia and the US reach an agreement on drug policy goals, and more.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar, formerly of Eli Lilly, says "there is no such thing as medical marijuana." (Wikipedia)

New Jersey Pot Legalization Hearing Today. The Assembly Oversight Committee is holding a hearing today on marijuana legalization, the first step in getting a legalization bill through the legislature. Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D) has filed Senate Bill 380, which would legalize the possession of small amounts of pot and allow for taxed and regulated sales, but other bills could also be filed, including bills that only decriminalize—not legalize—marijuana.

Oregon Senate Approves Bill to Fund Enforcement Against Black Market Operations. The state Senate voted last Friday to approve Senate Bill 1544, which would create the Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement Grant Program within the Criminal Justice Commission. The program would offer $1.5 million a year over six years to help local governments with costs incurred in going after illicit cultivation and production. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Seattle to Expunge Misdemeanor Pot Possession Convictions. Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes announced last Thursday that they will clear the records of people who were prosecuted for misdemeanor pot possession prior to the legalization of marijuana in 2012. The city estimates some 500 to 600 convictions dating back to 1977 will be overturned.

Medical Marijuana

Health and Human Services Secretary Says "No Such Thing" as Medical Marijuana. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar refused last Friday to acknowledge that marijuana has any medicinal uses. In response to a question at an Ohio press conference about opioids about the role of medical marijuana in treating them, he replied: "There really is no such thing as medical marijuana," he said at an Ohio press conference on opioids. "There is no FDA-approved use of marijuana, a botanical plant. I just want to be very clear about that."

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Justice Department Wants Congress to Stiffen Opioid Legislation. In a letter last Wednesday to the head of a congressional committee investigating the opioid industry, Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd urged Congress to rewrite a bill passed with the pharmaceutical industry's blessing that the DEA says undermines its efforts to go after companies suspected of violating the drug laws. The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act was pushed through Congress in 2016 by a small group of lawmakers backed by drug companies, including then Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), who was forced to back away from a nomination to head the drug czar's office after a CBS News investigative report on the law last fall.

Oregon House Approves Opioid Treatment Access Bill. The House last Thursday approved House Bill 4143, which "requires Director of Department of Consumer and Business Services to study barriers to effective treatment for and recovery from substance use disorders, including addictions to opioids and opiates, and to report and make recommendations to Legislative Assembly not later than June 30, 2018." The bill now goes to Gov. Kate Brown (D) for her signature.

Pennsylvania Governor Says State Will Ease Access to Opioid Treatment Medications. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced last Thursday that the state is ending a policy that slowed treatment for people addicted to opioids. The state's Medicaid program will no longer require doctors to get prior approval when prescribing drugs such as Suboxone and Vivitrol, used in what's known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT). "MATs work — they’re part of an overall strategy that can help all kinds of people," Wolf said. "This step that I’m announcing today is going to increase access to this lifesaving treatment for those who suffer from substance use disorder across the commonwealth."

Foreign Policy

US, Colombia Agree to Expand Anti-Drug Cooperation, Set Goal of 50% Coca Reduction. The United States and Colombia reached an agreement last Friday on cooperation in their joint anti-drug campaigns. The two countries pledged to expand their anti-drug cooperation, which has as an expressed goal or reducing the country's coca and cocaine production by 50% by 2023.

The proposed FY 2019 Trump budget features more drug war and cutting the drug czar's office, a legal marijuana bill gets a hearing in New Hampshire, Oregon's governor declares a public health emergency over opioids, and more.

The president's proposed budget has billions for more drug war. (Creative Commons)

Georgia Bills to Reduce Penalties Filed. A pair of bills filed in the legislature seek to reduce the criminalization of marijuana users. House Bill 865 would make possession of up to two ounces a misdemeanor. Under current law, possession of more than one ounce is a felony. Senate Bill 105 would decriminalize the possession of up to a half ounce. Legalization bills were filed earlier in the session, but they are not expected to go anywhere.

New Hampshire Legalization Bill Gets Hearing Today. The House Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing on a limited legalization bill today. House Bill 656 would legalize the possession of up to a quarter ounce of weed and grow up to six plants, but would not set up a system of legal marijuana commerce.

Virginia Senate Approves Arrest Expungement Bill. The Senate voted 38-2 on Monday to approve Senate Bill 954, sponsored by Sen. Tommy Noment (R-James City). The bill would allow people charged with first-time possession to later pay $150 to have the charge expunged. The measure must now be approved by the House.

Medical Marijuana

Iowa Poll Has Overwhelming Support for Medical Marijuana. A new Selzer & Company poll has 78% in favor of medical marijuana, with 19% opposed, figures that are roughly unchanged over the past couple of years. What has changed is support for recreational marijuana, now at 39%, up from 28% four years ago.

New Mexico Lawmakers Eye Marijuana in Fight Against Opioids. Lawmakers and supporters gathered at the state capitol in Santa Fe Monday to urge state officials to add opioid addiction to the list of disorders qualifying for medical marijuana. And advisory panel has twice considered petitions seeking to add medical marijuana as a tool against opioid abuse, the most recent last November, but the state Health Department has yet to act.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Oregon Governor Declares Addiction a Public Health Crisis. Gov. Kathleen Brown (D) on Tuesday released an executive order declaring opioid addiction to be a public health crisis in the state. She said she would soon set a deadline for the state Alcohol and Drugs Policy Commission to come up with a plan to fight the problem.

Drug Policy

Trump Budget Doubles Down on Drug War. The Trump administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget is heavy on drug war spending, with an additional $400 million for the DEA, $334 million in the law enforcement-oriented Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program, $50 million for the once-discarded anti-drug media campaign, $43 million for drug courts, and a cut of $20 million in offender reentry programs. The budget includes $18 billion over two years for the Mexico border wall, which Trump justifies on both drugs and immigration grounds, which is more than the $13 billion the administration says it is allocating to fight opioid abuse.

Trump Budget Would Gut Drug Czar's Office. The Trump FY 2019 budget would also dramatically slash funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office), primarily by moving two grant programs elsewhere. Under the proposal, the Drug Free Communities Support Program and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program would be moved into the Health and Human Services Department and Justice Department, respectively. The move is opposed by some lawmakers and a coalition of more than 150 advocacy organizations, but more radical critics on both the left and the right would like to see the agency go away altogether.

Sentencing

New Jersey Governor Revives Sentencing Commission. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is reviving the Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission, which was created by the legislature in 2009 to examine racial disparities in sentencing, but remained dormant under former Gov. Chris Christie (R). Christie never appointed any members to the commission. "We can and must do better," Murphy said in a statement. "A Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission can undertake the important review of our sentencing laws and recommend reforms necessary to ensure a stronger, fairer, and more just state." Murphy has already appointed two people to the commission's 13-member board, which must issue a report within a year of its first meeting.

Safe injection sites are coming to San Francisco, House Democrats want a hearing on Sessions' backwards-looking marijuana policies, CBD bills pass in Indiana and Virginia, and more.

Kellyanne Conway. This is who is effectively running White House opioid policy. (Twitter)

House Judiciary Committee Democrats Demand Hearing on Sessions Marijuana Policy. In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), eleven Democratic members of the committee called on him to hold a hearing of the full committee to discuss recent moves by Attorney General Sessions to roll back laissez-faire Obama-era policies regarding enforcement of federal drug laws in marijuana-legal states. In the letter, the Democrats said they feared new Justice Department policies "will promote an inefficient use of limited taxpayer resources and subvert the will of voters who have clearly indicated a preference for legalized marijuana in their states."

Delaware's Governor Remains Opposed to Marijuana Legalization. After months of meeting with legalization supporters, Gov. John Carney (D) has rebuffed their efforts to get him on board. "There are a lot of people who are pushing that. I don't think it's a good idea to be out ahead of that, [to be] one of the lead states there," Carney told WHYY-TV. "I've talked to my colleagues, governors from Colorado and the state of Washington, and they talk about some of the unintended negative consequences." While he did not say he would veto a legalization bill, he remains strongly opposed: "I just don't think we ought to be a leader there. Again, as we're trying to strengthen our workforce, create an environment where companies can be successful to make Delaware stronger, I don't think that will do it."

California Bill Would Allow For Consumption at Special Events. Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) has filed a bill that would allow for the sale and consumption at temporary special events. Assembly Bill 2020 would allow a state agency to issue temporary event licenses allowing sales and consumption. "These events support local economies and small businesses," Quirk said in a statement. "Despite the fiscal and communal benefits such events bring to a city or local community, current law prohibits local governments from approving applications for cannabis sales at special events if they are held anywhere but county property," he added. The measure is also sponsored by the city of Oakland.

Medical Marijuana

Indiana Senate Joins House in Passing CBD Bill. The Senate voted 35-13 Monday to approve Senate Bill 294, which would allow any state resident to purchase and use CBD cannabis oil. Similar legislation passed the House last week on a unanimous vote.

Virginia Senate Passes CBD Bill. The Senate voted unanimously Monday to approve Senate Bill 726, which would allow doctors to recommend the use of CBD cannabis oil or THC-A oil. The House passed a companion bill, also unanimously, last Friday. The bill now awaits the governor's signature.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Drug Czar's Office Frozen Out of Trump Administration's War on Opioids. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has effectively taken control of the administration's opioids agenda, largely sidelining the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office), according to a report in Politico. The report says Conway is "quietly freezing out drug policy professionals and relying instead on political staff to address" the opioid crisis. The main response so far has been to demand a border wall and to suggest a sort of "just say no" program. The administration is expected to propose massive cuts in the drug czar's office this month.

West Virginia Governor Sets New Plan, Names New Drug Policy Director. Gov. Jim Justice (D) said Monday the state will take a different approach to the opioid crisis by focusing a pilot program on two of the state's hardest hit counties. Justice said there wasn't enough funding to fight the crisis in all 55 counties, but that statewide efforts would continue. "We know that everything we've tried so far has failed," he said. Justice also announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Brumage as the new director of the state Office of Drug Control Policy.

Drug Testing

Vermont GOP Bill Would Require Drug Screening, Testing for Public Assistance. House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) has filed a bill, House Bill 866, that would require people seeking public assistance to undergo screening for substance abuse and undergo drug testing if the screening process suggests drug use. Those who failed drug tests cold still receive assistance if they agreed to and completed drug treatment, but refusing treatment or failing to complete it would result in loss of benefits.

Harm Reduction

San Francisco Should See Safe Injection Sites by July.San Francisco Department of Public Health Director Barbara Garcia said Monday the city is on track to open its first two safe injection sites around the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1. She said she is working with six to eight nonprofits that already operate needle exchanges and other drug addiction services and will choose two of them to open safe injection sites. The sites will initially be privately funded, which will help the city avoid liability, since intravenous drug use is a crime under both state and federal law. Opening the sites will not require the approval of the city's Board of Supervisors or other city officials, she said.

International

British Columbia Sets More Legal Pot Rules. The provincial government announced Sunday that marijuana will not be sold in the same stores as alcohol and that in urban areas, licensed retailers would only be able to sell marijuana and accessories -- not other products, such as food, gas, clothing, and lottery tickets. Rural areas will qualify for exceptions to the general rule. Also, people 19 and over will be able to possess up to 30 grams in public, and smoking will generally be allowed in public spaces where smoking is allowed. Adults will be able to grow up to four plants per household, but landlords will be able to bar tenants from growing.

Colombia Says Armed Groups Impeding Coca Crop Substitution. Colombian Post-Conflict Minister Rafael Pardo said Sunday that illegal armed groups are impeding the country's efforts to replace illicit coca crops with legal ones. The comments came after a United Nations verification team was attacked last week by dissident FARC guerrillas. Pardo also pointed a finger at Marxist ELN guerrillas. Both groups, as well as rightist paramiitaries, continue to try to benefit from the illicit coca and cocaine trade.

Republican legislators are gumming things up in Maine and Virginia, a big coalition calls for preserving the drug czar's office, Amnesty International warns the Philippines, and more.

Duterte's bloody drug war is drawing heat from Amnesty International, but not so much from the State Department. (Wikimedia)

Maine Republicans Set to Delay Adult Use Sales. With a moratorium on legal marijuana sales set to expire Thursday, the state GOP is moving to push back the date legal sales can begin. The Senate Tuesday approved Republican Sen. Roger Katz's bill to delay sales until the spring, but Republican House Leader Ken Fredette is calling for a delay in recreational sales until next year. Gov. Paul LePage (R) has also been an obstacle to implementing the will of the voters, who approved legalization in November 2016, some 14 months ago now.

Virginia Senate Republicans Kill Decriminalization Bill. Nine Republicans on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted Monday to kill Senate Bill 111, which would have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The Senate action followed action in the House, where Republicans already killed a similar bill.

Asset Forfeiture

Idaho Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed. The House Judiciary and Rules Committee is taking up a bill that would reform, but not eliminate, civil asset forfeiture in the state. The bill would prevent forfeiture in cases of simple drug possession and would prevent forfeiture of large quantities of cash unless there is evidence of criminal activity. The measure is RS25826, which is not yet available on the legislative website. A similar bill passed the legislature last year, only to be vetoed by Gov. Butch Otter (R).

Drug Policy

Coalition Calls for Trump Not to Gut Drug Czar's Office. More than 150 groups have signed onto a letter sent Monday to the White House opposing the Trump administration's proposed plans to radically cut funding the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) and move its grant programs to other agencies. The move would "create an unnecessary distraction from efforts to save our lives," the groups said. Signatories include groups from the prevention, treatment, recovery and criminal justice communities, and more. "Not only would such a move drastically weaken these vitally important programs, and force them to compete for priority, direction, and funding in larger agencies with competing and higher priorities, but it would significantly impact ONDCP's ability to effectively carry out its mission," the groups, led by the Addiction Policy Forum, wrote.

Harm Reduction

New York Activists Press Lawmakers to Approve Safe Injection Sites. Drug policy reform advocates gathered in Albany Monday to urge lawmakers to act on a bill that would allow for the creation of safe injection sites in the state. Legislation was filed last year by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), but never acted on. If state Sen. Fred Akshar (R-Binghamton), head of the Senate Heroin Task Force, has his way, it won't be acted on either. "Our state dollars should not be going to a facility that is allowing people to continuously inject drugs," he told the New York Daily News.

International

Amnesty International Demands Philippines Hold Police to Account for Unlawful Drug War Killings. Responding to news that the Philippine National Police have resumed their role in waging President Duterte's bloody war on drugs, Amnesty International warned that police killers must be held to account. "The Philippines neither can nor should try to solve its drug problems at gunpoint," said James Gomez, the group's director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "Since President Duterte came to power, police have unlawfully killed thousands of people, the vast majority of them from poor and marginalized communities, in attacks so extensive and brutal they may well amount to crimes against humanity. Now that police are once more returning to the forefront of anti-drug operations, the government must make sure that there is no repeat of the bloodshed seen during the past 18 months."

State Department Drug Agency Vows to Support Duterte's War on Drugs. The State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs ("drugs and thugs"), says it will continue to support the Philippines drug war. "We are aware that the police are continuing the resumption of their operations. Many folks have been tracking the EJKs (extrajudicial killings) and the Philippines. There are some [encouraging things] that were seen, some of our human rights training [is] working and so I would describe [the] United States being cautiously optimistic... when it comes to a good, appropriate way of [carrying out the anti-]drug campaign," Deputy Assistant James Walsh said in a Tuesday press briefing. "And so we'll just monitor that and we'll continue supporting the government of the Philippines with our rule of law, our demand reduction programs and our maritime assistance," Walsh added.