The Justice Department is open to Sentencing Commission marijuana guideline reforms, a Texas bill to remove jail time for pot possession advances, and more.

It's not just opiates. A settlement between drug distributors and states is leaving lots of patients in the lurch. (DEA)

Justice Department Backs Proposed Marijuana Sentencing Guideline Reform to Treat Past Convictions More Leniently. The Justice Department is in agreement with a US Sentencing Commission proposal to update sentencing guidelines to treat past marijuana possession offenses more leniently. Such a move would align with the Biden administration's "sentiment" toward reforming marijuana policy. The backing by DOJ came last Wednesday when a federal prosecutor testified at a public hearing on the proposal in support of it. The Sentencing Commission had made the recommendation back in January. The commission's proposal does not remove marijuana convictions as a criminal history factor, but it would "include sentences resulting from possession of marihuana offenses as an example of when a downward departure from the defendant’s criminal history may be warranted."

Bipartisan Bill Punishing Illegal Marijuana Grows Filed. Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) have filed the Targeting and Offsetting Existing Illegal Contaminants (TOXIC) Act, which would provide funding to clean up toxic wastes at marijuana grows on federal lands and increase criminal penalties "for using banned pesticides in illegal cannabis cultivation to a maximum of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in criminal fines to establish parity with the criminal penalties for smuggling banned pesticides into the US." The same pair filed the same bill in the last Congress, but it went nowhere.

Maryland House Approves Legal Marijuana Regulation Bill. The House voted last Friday to approve a measure to create a legal framework and tax structure for legal marijuana sales, House Bill 556. The bill now goes to the Senate, which is also advancing its own separate regulatory measure. If the legislature can come to agreement, legal sales could begin as early as July 1. The bill passed by the House would allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to obtain dual licenses to sell recreational marijuana. The bill also contains equity provisions giving licensing priority to minority owners in communities adversely affected by the war on drugs.

Texas Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Wins Committee Vote. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee voted unanimously last week to approve a bill to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, House Bill 218. Possession of less than two ounces is currently a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Under this bill, possession would still be a misdemeanor (so not technically decriminalization), but without the possibility of arrest of jail time. Instead, offenders would be cited and fined up to $500. The bill now awaits a House floor vote.

Opiates and Opioids

US Opioid Settlement Causing Problems for Patients. The $21 billion settlement between pharmaceutical distributors and attorneys general in 46 states over the companies' role in the early stages of this century's opioid epidemic is having unintended consequences not only for opioid patients, but also for people trying to obtain controlled substances to treat many conditions, including anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and addiction. As a result of the settlement, the distributors are now tightening rules for these drugs, resulting in the cancellation of tens of thousands of drug orders and leaving patients in the lurch. The new controls have created "havoc in pharmacies, said Ilisa Bernstein, chief executive of the American Pharmacists Association. "They have patients coming in to get medication, and they can’t have it. It's disrupting patient care." 

A long-shot marijuana legalization bill is filed in Florida, a fentanyl test strip decriminalization bill gets a hearing in Arkansas, and more.

The Washington Senate has approved a bill upping sentences for drug possession, including short mandatory minimums. (Pixabay)

Florida Marijuana Legalization Bill with Home Grow Filed. State Sen. Victor Torres (D-Kissimmee) has filed a marijuana bill that includes both home cultivation and social consumption spaces. The measure, Senate Bill 1576, would legalize the possession of up to 2.5 ounces and allow for home grows of up to six plants. Usage would be allowed in a "non-public space" with violators subject to a $100 fine. A "Division of Cannabis Management" within the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services would regulate legal marijuana commerce. The bill has not yet received a committee assignment, and its prospects are dim in the Republican-controlled legislature. On a different track, a marijuana legalization initiative campaign is in the midst of signature gathering.

Hawaii Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins Committee Votes. A marijuana legalization bill, Senate Bill 669, is advancing in the Senate, having been approved by both the Consumer Protection and Ways and Means committees last Thursday. It now heads for a Senate floor vote. The bill emphasizes small operations, limiting grows to no more than 5,000 square feet. It includes a home grow provision, allowing for up to six plants, of which three can be flowering. The bill is expected to pass the Senate this week, but faces an obstacle in the House. House Speaker Scott Saiki (D) says the state is not ready for marijuana legalization and he plans on asking House committee chairs to work on it this summer—after the current session has ended. "It’s not as easy as just flipping a switch and saying marijuana is now legal," Saiki said. "There are a lot of issues related to how you set up the system how do you regulate the system."

Drug Policy

Washington Senate Approves Bill Upping Drug Possession Penalties. After hours of contentious debate, the Senate voted last Friday night to approve Senate Bill 5536, which increases penalties for drug possession. The bill is a response to a 2021 state Supreme Court ruling striking down the state's felony drug possession law because people could be prosecuted for unknowingly possessing drugs. Lawmakers responded by temporarily making drug possession a misdemeanor, but that measure expires in July. With this bill, drug possession remains a misdemeanor, but moves from a plain misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor, meaning violators face stiffer penalties than under the current system. The bill includes options for diversion out of the criminal justice system at each stage of the judicial process, but also includes mandatory minimum sentences of 21 days for a second offense and 45 days for a second offense if the person "willfully abandoned" or consistently failed to apply with treatment. The measure passed on a 28-21 vote and now heads to the House.

Harm Reduction

Arkansas Fentanyl Test Strip Bill Gets Hearing Today. A bill to clarify that fentanyl test strips are not classified as drug paraphernalia, Senate Bill 40, is set for hearing today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Under current state law, possession of fentanyl test strips is a felony. That has not stopped groups like Northwest Arkansas Harm Reduction from distributing hundreds of the test kits, but harm reductionists are seeking formal legal protections. 

California legal marijuana sales revenues decrease for the first time ever, a fourth Michigan city endorses natural psychedelic decriminalization, and more.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says DOJ is "still working" on marijuana policy. (DOJ)

Attorney General Says DOJ Still Working on Federal Marijuana Policy Approach. In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland (D) said the Justice Department is "still working on marijuana policy" and that a broader review of marijuana's scheduling status was being led by federal health officials. "I think that it’s fair to expect what I said at my confirmation hearing with respect to marijuana and policy, that it will be very close to what was done in the Cole Memorandum," he said, referring to an Obama-era policy that directed federal prosecutors to generally not interfere with state cannabis laws but which was later rescinded by Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "We’re not quite done with that yet,"Garland said of the marijuana policy review. Garland added that the Justice Department had prioritized finalizing a memo of crack cocaine prosecutions, which has now been completed.

In Sign of Legal Industry's Woes, California Marijuana Sales Declined for First Time Since Legalization. According to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration, legal marijuana sales totaled $5.3 billion last year, down 8.2 percent from the $5.77 billion in 2021. That marks the first time sales have decreased since the state launched its recreational marijuana market five years ago. Industry observers point to high taxes and the limited number of pot shops for the decrease. As one Emerald Triangle pot farmer, Johnny Casali of Huckleberry Hill Farms explained: "Most of us farmers have been trying to tell the state [regulators] that the marketplace is imploding,"says Casali. "The drop in retail sales means the customer is tired of paying the exorbitant taxes and are now buying it from a friend of a friend or the guy on the corner."

Medical Marijuana

Tennessee Medical Marijuana Bill Killed in Committee. No medical marijuana for you, Tennesseans! At least not yet. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a near party-line vote Wednesday to kill Senate Bill 1104, which would have set up a system of medical marijuana access in the state. Meanwhile another medical marijuana bill, House Bill 172,was "taken off notice" last week, meaning it is effectively dead for this session. Maybe next time.

Psychedelics

Fourth Michigan City Decriminalizes Natural Psychedelics. Move over, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Hazel Park—Ferndale has now joined the group of Michigan cities to embrace psychedelic reform. On Monday night, the city council voted unanimously to approve a resolution decriminalizing "entheogenic plants and fungi," such as psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and its chemical compound, DMT. The resolution makes the "investigation and arrest of persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing Entheogenic Plants or plant compounds which are on the Federal Schedule 1 list" the lowest law enforcement priority for the city The ordinance was pushed by the local Decriminalize Nature affiliate, Decriminalize Nature Ferndale. 

The Republican-led Virginia House kills another drug reform bill, Iowa House Democrats roll out a marijuana legalization bill, and more.

Genaro Garcia Luna. The former Mexican top cop found guilty in federal court in of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel (CC)

Iowa House Democrats File Marijuana Legalization Bill. House Democrats introduced a marijuana legalization bill Tuesday, part of a broader "People over politics" agenda that also includes lowering taxes, protecting abortion rights, and supporting public over private education. The bill, which is not yet available on the legislative website, would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use and "use new tax revenue to invest in education and local communities." But Republicans control both houses of the legislature and there is as yet no indication they will be willing to advance the bill.

Virginia House Kills Marijuana Business Tax Relief Bill. A bill to provide tax relief for marijuana businesses by allowing them to claim exemptions at the state level they are barred from claiming at the federal level under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E has died in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates. Senate Bill 1095 had already cleared the Senate, only to be killed on a 4-2 party line vote in a House Finance subcommittee. The House this year has been where drug reforms go to die. Earlier last week, it killed a bill to start adult-use marijuana sales and a measure to reschedule psilocybin and create a therapeutic use advisory board.

Virginia Poll Has Solid Majority Support for Retail Marijuana Sales. When House Republicans last week killed a bill to allow adult-use retail marijuana sales, they were going against the will of the voters, according to a new poll. The survey from Christopher Newport University had support for legalizing the retail sale of marijuana products at 60 percent, with only 34 percent opposed. But in killing the bill, the House Republicans were enacting the will of Republican voters, who narrowly opposed allowing retail sales by a margin of 47 percent to 44 percent.

Harm Reduction

New Mexico Safe Injection Site Bill Wins Committee Vote. A bill to provide for the creation of state-funded "overdose prevention centers," House Bill 263, is advancing, having won its first committee vote Monday. The bill passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on a 5-3 party line vote. The vote came after Republican Rep. Harlan Vincent called safe injection sites "drug dens." The measure would protect participants and workers from criminal liability "for any action or conduct that occurs on the site of a harm reduction program or overdose prevention program," but expressly bars drugs from being sold, purchased, traded, or "otherwise provided" to program users. After the vote, the House Republican Campaign Committee echoed Rep. Vincent, saying in a tweet that the Democrats "passed legalized drug dens."

Law Enforcement

Mexico's Former Top Cop Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking in NYC Trial. Genaro Garcia Luna, who acted as head of Mexico's equivalent of the FBI and was Public Security Minister under former President Felipe Calderon, was found guilty Tuesday of taking millions of dollars from the Sinaloa Cartel in a trial in federal court in Brooklyn. It was Calderon and Garcia Luna who launched the modern era of Mexico's drug war by sending in the armed forces, unleashing more than a decade of deadly violence as drug cartels fought each other and various law enforcement and military formations allied with those factions. Garcia Luna is the highest-ranking Mexican official ever to be tried for drug offenses. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

International

Australia's Queensland Moves to Depenalize Drug Possession. The government of the state of Queensland told the state parliament Tuesday that it will amend its drug laws so that people caught carrying small quantities of any illicit substances will not be subject to criminal charges until a fourth offense. A first offense would merit a warning, while second and third offenses would see police offering up drug diversionary programs. This is the same approach that the state uses for small-time marijuana possession and that most other states already use for all illicit substances. Only the Australian Capital Territory has formally decriminalized drug possession.