A Florida marijuana legalization initiative has passed its first hurdle on the way to the ballot, a new Texas poll shows very strong support for marijuana reforms, and more.

Luke Scarmazzo. Freed after 14 years for running a California medical marijuana dispensary. (Mission Green)

Florida Marijuana Legalization Initiative Passes Initial Hurdle. A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana has passed the first hurdle on the way to the ballot. The Smart & Safe Florida initiative first challenge was to come up with 222,298 valid voter signatures to trigger a judicial and financial impact review. On Thursday, it reported that it had 294,000 valid signatures. If the measure now gets through the reviews, organizers would then have to gather an additional 891,589 valid signatures to get the issue to ballot position. And if it manages to qualify for the ballot, it will need 60 percent of the vote to be approved.

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins Another Committee Vote. The marijuana legalization bill, House File 100, continues to advance. On Thursday, it was approved by the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, the sixth House committee to advance it. That puts the bill at the half-way point in the chamber, where another six committee votes are anticipated. Companion legislation has also been moving in the Senate, although a Senate committee hearing set for Thursday was postponed. Gov. Tim Walz (D) has called on supporters to join lawmakers and the administration in their push legalize marijuana this session.

Texas Poll Finds Supermajority for Medical Marijuana and Decriminalization, Two-Thirds for Legalization. A new YouGov/University of Houston poll has support for legalizing medical marijuana at 82 percent, support for decriminalization at 81 percent, and support for legalization at 67 percent. On medical marijuana, 93 percent of Democrats, 79 percent of independents, and even 73 percent of Republicans were in favor. Similarly, one legalization, 80 of Democrats, 66 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans were on board. The Republican-dominated state legislature, however, has balked at advancing reform legislation.

Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana POW Luke Scarmazzo Freed After 14 Years in Federal Prison. Luke Scarmazzo, sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for operating a California medical marijuana dispensary is scheduled to walk free today after winning a case for compassionate relief in federal court in the Eastern District of California. He was most recently imprisoned at the federal prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Scarmazzo and business partner Ricardo Montes opened California Healthcare Collective in Modesto in 2004, operating a business legal under state law. But the DEA raided his operation in 2006, arresting the pair, and they were charged with manufacture of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, and operating a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years. Scarmazzo is believed to be the last California medical marijuana provider to be held in federal prison. 

Delaware bills to legalize marijuana are moving, a North Carolina medical marijuana bill is filed, and more.

A Colombian coca farmer. The Petro government is moving away from forced eradication efforts. (dea.gov)

Delaware Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins Committee Vote. The House Health and Human Development Committee on Wednesday approved House Bill 1, which would legalize marijuana. The vote comes just one day after another committee approved House Bill 2, which would set up a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce. Rep. Ed Osienski (D), sponsor of the bills, said he expected House floor votes in March.

DC Council Files Bill to Allow Legal Marijuana Sales. Despite an ongoing congressional ban blocking the District of Columbia from allowing legal marijuana sales, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and six other council members have introduced a revised bill, Bill 25-0052,  to create a regulated legal marijuana commerce market. DC voters legalized marijuana in 2014, but the congressional rider in place since then has thwarted efforts to allow legal sales. The bill would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of weed and grow up to six plants, three of which could be mature. It also creates a regulatory agency, which would approve licenses for cultivators, manufacturers, microbusinesses, retailers, and testing facilities, and sets a tax rate of up to 13 percent (6 percent for medical marijuana).

Medical Marijuana

North Carolina GOP Senators File Medical Marijuana Bill. On the first day bills could be filed in the new General Assembly session, Senators Michael Lee (R-New Hanover) and Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) filed Senate Bill 3, which would legalize medical marijuana in the state. Known as the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, the bill allows the use of medical marijuana for a specified list of debilitating conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, Crohn’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The pair filed a similar bill last year that passed the Senate but never got any traction in the House.

Drug Policy

Massachusetts Drug Decriminalization Bill Filed. Rep. Samantha Montaño (D) has filed HD 2741, which would eliminate a section of state stature that prescribes criminal penalties for drug possession. Instead of fines or jail, people caught with drugs would be required to participate in "a needs screening to identify health and other service needs, including but not limited to services that may address any substance use disorder and mental health conditions, lack of employment, housing, or food, and any need for civil legal services." Anyone who provided proof they had completed a screening within 45 days would see their citations dismissed.

New York Drug Decriminalization Bill Filed. Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D) has filed a bill, Senate Bill 2340, that would eliminate criminal and civil penalties for drug possession while also creating a task force that’d be responsible for studying and making recommendations about additional reforms. Under the bill, people caught with drugs could either pay a $50 fine or take part in a "needs screening to identify health and other service needs, including but not limited to services that may address any problematic substance use and mental health conditions, lack of employment, housing, or food, and any need for civil legal services." The bill also calls for a drug decriminalization task force that would be charged with making "recommendations for reforming state laws, regulations and practices so that they align with the stated goal of treating substance use disorder as a disease, rather than a criminal behavior."

International

Colombia Will Reduce Forced Coca Eradication Efforts. The government of President Gustavo Petro announced Tuesday that it will be reducing coca eradication efforts in what would be a major shift of policy for Colombia. A new National Policy will reduce forced eradication efforts by 60 percent as the government experiments with alternative approaches to the coca cultivation problem. The Petro government is considering implementing a program agreed to a part of the 2016 peace deal with the FARC that provides subsidies to coca farmers in exchange for voluntary eradication. Although that agreement was part of the deal, it was never implemented by former President Duque, who opposed the overall treaty. 

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)

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.

A New York bill would end civil asset forfeiture, a Utah bill would decriminalize fentanyl test strips, and more.

Evo Morales may no longer be president of Bolivia, but he still has his eye on the region. (Creative Commons)

GOP Congressman Files Bill to Protect Gun Rights of Medical Marijuana Patients. The first piece of marijuana reform legislation in the new Congress is a bill that would allow medical marijuana patients to purchase and possess firearms. Sponsored by Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), along with Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), the Second Amendment Protection Act seeks to amend federal law around the "sale, purchase, shipment, receipt, or possession of a firearm or ammunition by a user of medical marijuana." Under current law, people who use marijuana can't buy or possess guns because they're considered to be "an unlawful user of or addicted to"a federally controlled substance. Mooney filed a similar bill in 2019, but it did not advance.

Psychedelics

New Hampshire Bill to Legalize Possession of Psychedelics Filed. Rep. Kevin Verville (R) has filed House Bill 328, which states that the "possession or use of a hallucinogenic drug by a person 21 years of age or older shall not be an offense."It would also reduce penalties for LSD manufacturing and possession by people under 21. The bill does not name specific drugs, but state statute lists mescaline, peyote, psilocybin, and LSD as examples of hallucinogenic substances. The bill has been referred to the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Asset Forfeiture

New York Bill Would End Civil Asset Forfeiture and Opt State Out of Federal Forfeiture Program. Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter (D) and eight Democratic cosponsors have filed Assembly Bill 641, which would end civil asset forfeiture in the state and replace it with a criminal process. Passage of the bill would also effectively opt the state out of a program that allows police to circumvent more strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Under the bill seizures could occur only if the "prosecuting authority secures a conviction of a crime that authorizes the forfeiture of property and the prosecuting authority establishes by clear and convincing evidence the property is an instrumentality of or proceeds derived directly from the crime for which the state secured a conviction." The bill would also require that seized funds be deposited in the state's general fund. Under current law, police can keep up to 60 percent of asset forfeiture proceeds, creating an incentive for "policing for profit." The bill is now before the Assembly Codes Committee.

Harm Reduction

Utah Bill to Decriminalize Fentanyl Test Strips Filed. State Sen. Jenifer Plumb (D) has filed Senate Bill 86, which would legalize the use and possession of fentanyl test strips. Under current state law, the test strips are criminalized as drug paraphernalia, but the bill would create an exemption from liability under the state Controlled Substances Act. Test strips are an increasingly popular harm reduction measure in the fight to reduce fentanyl-related drug overdoses. The bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee.

International

Former Bolivian President and Coca Grower Setting Up Regional Organization. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, forced out of office in the wake of disputed elections in 2019, will set up the headquarters of his plurinationalist, indigenist movement in the region in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The movement will convene next week with coca growers from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as Bolivia as Morales commences what he described as a struggle for the "plurinational peoples of Latin America." Continuing strife in Peru after the arrest and jailing of leftist President Castillo in December, as well as continuing strife in Bolivia's Santa Cruz province after the arrest of rightist Gov. Luis Fernando Camacho have placed Bolivian coca growers under unprecedented hardships. Morales rose to power as a Bolivian coca grower leader and still controls six coca grower unions in the Chapare.