A global coalition is calling on UN drug bureaucracies to condemn the sudden resumption of drug executions in Saudi Arabia, a new Gallup poll has continuing high support for marijuana legalization, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Gallup Poll Finds Support for Marijuana Legalization Steady at 68 Percent. A new Gallup poll finds that support for marijuana legalization remains at a record high 68 percent for the third year in a row. It's a remarkable evolution in public opinion over the past half-century, with support at a measly 12 percent in 1969, rising to 31 percent in 2000, and achieving majority support in 2013. In every Gallup poll since 2016, at least 60 percent have supported legalization.

Rhode Island Recreational Marijuana Sales Have Begun. As of today, five existing medical marijuana dispensaries are now "hybrid" stores, selling recreational as well a medical marijuana. The first sale was shortly after 5 a.m., when Mother Earth Wellness in Pawtucket opened its doors.

Harm Reduction

Ohio House Approves Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill. The House on Wednesday approved a bill to try to reduce drug overdose deaths by decriminalizing the possession of fentanyl test strips, House Bill 456. Ohio saw 5,204 people die of drug overdoses in 2020, 81 percent of them involving fentanyl. Similar legislation has been filed in the Senate.

Psychedelics

Berkeley Health Commissioners Recommend Decriminalization of Use of Hallucinogens, Including LSD. The Bay area city's health commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to recommend that the city council decriminalize the use of psychedelics, and they did not limit themselves to natural psychedelics, explicitly embracing the decriminalization of LSD as well. The city is now in line to become the first to decriminalize LSD if the city council approves it. Fifteen cities across the country have decriminalized natural psychedelics, but those measures excluded synthetic psychedelics such as LSD.

International

Global Coalition Calls on International Bodies to Condemn Saudi Arabia Drug Executions. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Harm Reduction International, and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty along with 32 other NGOs have called on the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to act on urgent measures in response to the series of drug-related executions carried out by the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia since November 10, 2022. The groups called on both organisms to seek confirmation from the Saudi government of the status of dozens of people on death row and at imminent risk of execution and to demand that the Saudi government immediately halt all drug-related executions. The Saudi government had halted drug executions in January 2020, but suddenly and without warning resumed them on November 10 and announced 20 such executions on November 24. 

California's governor signs another batch of marijuana bills, a Pennsylvania doctor and medical marijuana patient sues over the ban on medical marijuana patients buying handguns, and more.

Marijuana Policy

California Governor Signs Another Batch of Marijuana Bills. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sunday signed into law 10 marijuana bills, including a bill to allow interstate marijuana commerce, a bill to provide employment protections for marijuana users, a bill to make it easier to seal records of prior marijuana convictions, and a bill barring localities from banning medical marijuana deliveries. For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach," Newsom said. "These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe and sustainable legal cannabis industry. I look forward to partnering with the legislature and policymakers to fully realize cannabis legalization in communities across California."

Medical Marijuana

Pennsylvania Doctor Who Is Medical Marijuana Patient Sues ATF, FBI After Being Denied Right to Purchase Handgun. Dr. Matthew Roman, a registered medical marijuana patient, was turned down for a handgun purchase after truthfully telling the clerk that he had a medical marijuana card. The clerk, in compliance with federal law, refused to make the sale. Roman has now filed a federal lawsuit against the ATF and the FBI. In 2011, ATF issued a statement clarifying that a 1968 law barring anyone who uses an "unlawful" substance indeed applies to medical marijuana users even in states where it is legal. Roman's suit argues that "this strict, rigid, blanket prohibition violates the fundamental constitutional rights of tens of thousands of non-violent, law-abiding citizens, and thus violates the Second and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution." In 2016, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff in a similar case.

Drug Policy

At Ohio Campaign Rally, Trump Again Calls for Death Penalty for Drug Dealers. The defeated former president used a campaign rally for Ohio Republicans in Youngstown Saturday to reiterate his call to execute drug dealers. Painting an oratorical portrait of a country awash in crime, he said that "much of the crime wave is caused by drug dealers who during the course of their lives, will kill an average of 500 American citizens not to mention the destruction of millions of American families who are so devastated by drugs. It's an invasion of crime," he added. "And remember much of the crime that we talk about is caused by drugs. And I'm calling for the death penalty for drug dealers and human traffickers." Trump falsely claimed that the death penalty for drug dealers would "reduce drug distribution and crime in our country by much more than 75 per cent. That's in one day

"Every place that has a real death penalty ... they don't have any people dying of drugs. I mean, literally nobody, because these drug dealers are smart," he said. "They say ‘you know what, if I want to keep doing drugs, if I'm going to continue to sell them, I'm not doing them in China. I'll go someplace else like how about the United States of America where nothing happens?’ We would reduce crime in our country by much more than 75 per cent in one hour. In one hour, the day it's passed, it's got to be meaningful, but you would reduce it in one hour," he claimed. "I say it because it's very hard. Nobody ever talks this way. Nobody talks about the death penalty. It's a horrible thing to say. Even for me, it's a horrible thing."

The remarks were met with cheers from the crowd, which also cheered a Q-Anon anthem played at the rally's end and raised their arms in a one-finger Q-Anon salute to it. Trump was campaigning for Republican senatorial candidate JD Vance, who he said was "kissing my ass" to maintain his support It is not clear what Vance's position on the death penalty for drug dealers is.

Psychedelics

Native American Church Leaders Ask Congress for Money to Support Peyote Cultivation and Preservation. Leaders of the Native American Church, whose members can lawfully use the psychoactive cactus peyote, held multiple meetings with members of Congress last week in a bid to garner federal funding for efforts to preserve the limited habitats where peyote can be grown. The supply of peyote is limited and under strain, and Native American Church members want assistance to ensure that it remains available for future generations. Peyote is a slow-growing crop that takes 10 years to mature, and it is stressed by climate change, unsustainable agricultural practices, and increase non-Native use of the hallucinogen.Specifically, church leaders and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) are lobbying lawmakers to allocate $5 million in funding from USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program or Interior’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to provide compensation to landowners who agree to convert their property to protected peyote habitats.

International

Peru Reports Coca Crop Grew by 30 Percent Last Year. The area devoted to coca cultivation increased by more than 30 percent last year, reflecting rising coca cultivation in the country ever since 2015. Ricardo Soberon, head of the drug agency DEVIDA, said cultivation had reached 200,000 acres in 19 coca zones, up from 14 in 2020. Soberon said Peruvian producers were responding to high demand from the United States and Europe. "How can we act to reduce the supply if there is a growing demand to buy cocaine," he asked, pointing out that at a kilo of cocaine goes for $1100 in Peru, but nearly $45,000 in London or Paris. 

(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.)

Indonesia has more than 200 people on death row for drug offenses, an effort by a Nebraskas medical marijuana campaign to block part of the state's signature-gathering requirements is rejected by an appeals court, and more

Marijuana Policy

California Governor Has a Pile of Marijuana Bills on His Desk. Lawmakers were busy as the legislative session came to an end Wednesday, sending another batch of marijuana-related bills to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Now, there are more than a dozen bills awaiting his signature. One would bar localities from banning medical marijuana deliveries, another provides employment protection for off duty marijuana-using workers, another streamlines record-sealing procedures for past marijuana offenses, another would allow the state to set up interstate cannabis commerce, another would authorize medical marijuana for pets, another would protect the rights of marijuana-using parents, another would allow for insurance coverage for marijuana businesses, another changes the state's cannabis tax policy, another would bar doctors from discriminating against registered patients for a positive THC test, another amends the state law requiring medical facilities to accommodate medical marijuana use, another would allow cannabis beverages to be packaged in clear containers, another would add advertising and labeling requirements for vape products, another would bar marijuana regulators from denying temporary event license applications solely because the licensee also has a liquor license, and, last but not least, one would require reporting on marijuana tax revenues distributed to a youth education and prevention program.

Medical Marijuana

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Attempt by Medical Marijuana Campaign to Block Nebraska Ballot Process. As medical marijuana campaigners ran into problems with signature gathering earlier this summer, they sued, arguing that the state's requirement that initiative campaigns not only reach a certain statew0ide signature threshold but also get signatures from at least 5 percent of voters in at least 38 of the state's 93 counties violated free speech and equal protection rights. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and the ACLU prevailed in district court in June, winning a temporary injunction suspending the 5 percent requirement. But state officials appealed, and the US 8th Circuit quickly put a hold on the judge's order pending an appeals court ruling. That ruling came Wednesday, when a split panel of the court ruled for the state. "The district court abused its discretion by granting the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction,” Judges Raymond Gruender and David Stras ruled. Judge Jane Kelly disagreed, writing that "if the right to vote is fundamental, I see no reason why it should not apply equally to the initiative process at the heart of Nebraska’s electoral and legislative system." The campaign and the ACLU said the effort would continue and that they may seek a ruling from the full 8th Circuit.

Drug Testing

Michigan State Police Say Tests for THC in Drivers Actually Showed CBD; Thousands of Cases Could Be Impacted. State police notified prosecutors late last month that drug tests designed to detect THC in the blood of drivers instead alerted to the presence of non-psychoactive CBD and that they have now halted the blood toxicology testing program. "After further review, we now believe this discrepancy may impact cases that occurred on or after March 28, 2019, where the alleged violation is based on the finding of THC alone and there is insufficient evidence of impairment, intoxication, or recent use of marijuana to otherwise support the charged offense," state police said Wednesday. "Laboratory data indicates there are approximately 3,250 laboratory reports that may be impacted," state police said. "These are reports in which there was a THC-confirmed result without other drugs present or alcohol detected above the 0.08% blood-alcohol content legal threshold." March 28, 2019, is when CBD became legal in the state.

International

Indonesia Has More Than 200 People on Death Row for Drug Offenses. There are 404 death row inmates in the island archipelago, and more than half of them are there for drug offenses. It has already executed another 80 drug offenders since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic out of 94 executions overall. Those executed include seven foreign nationals. The resort to the death penalty comes even as the country has since 2009 softened its drug laws, allowing judges to impose rehabilitation instead of prison for drug users and health authorities established guidelines for rehabilitation and treating drug use. 

The House approves a medical marijuana research bill, Switzerland and Zimbabwe open up to medicinal cannabis, and more.

Senate Democrats' Marijuana Legalization Bill Gets Hearing. Led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NY), one of the original cosponsors of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing Tuesday on the bill and the broader topic of marijuana legalization. The bill would legalize marijuana by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act, expunge nonviolent marijuana convictions, and impose a federal tax on marijuana sales. Marijuana sales in states that have not legalized medical or recreational marijuana would remain a federal crime. States would still set their own marijuana policies. Sen. Booker said marijuana prohibition had "miserably failed," creating a "festering injustice" of racially disproportionate marijuana law enforcement. But Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) opposed the bill, bizarrely arguing that legalization would benefit "gangs and cartels." No vote was taken, and the bill's future remains uncertain.

Medical Marijuana

House Approves Bipartisan Medical Marijuana Research Bill. The House on Tuesday approved HR 8454, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act. The bill sponsored by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris (R-MD) passed on a vote of 325-95, exceeding the two-thirds supermajority required for a vote that takes place under a procedure known as suspension of the rules. Under suspension of the rules, no amendments are allowed and debate is limited. The bill passed with unanimous Democratic support, but Republicans were split over it. "This bill makes it easier to do the necessary, rigorous medical research -- just like is done for any other drug that has a claim of efficacy in this country," Harris, who opposes legalization but favors expanded studies, said on the floor. "The American public deserves to know what medical marijuana is useful for because, for anyone with those conditions where it is found to be useful, it could be a godsend -- but for other conditions where the claims won't be found to be valid with rigorous research, it would be found to be ineffective."

Drug Policy

Trump Calls for Death Penalty for Drug Dealers. Former President Donald Trump called Tuesday for the death penalty for drug dealers during a speech that painted a dark portrait of contemporary America. "The penalties should be very, very severe. If you look at countries throughout the world, the ones that don't have a drug problem are ones that institute a very quick trial death penalty sentence for drug 'dealers," Trump said at the America First Policy Institute. "It sounds horrible, doesn't it? But you know what? That's the ones that don't have any problem. It doesnt take 15 years in court. It goes quickly, and you absolutely -- you execute a drug dealer, and you'll save 500 lives," Trump continued. "It's terrible to say, but you take a look at every country in this world that doesn't have a problem with drugs, they have a very strong death penalty for people that sell drugs," he said.

The former president, who is now under investigation for various crimes related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, unironically called for a broad and harsh crackdown on crime, including police cars parked on every corner, giving police greater qualified immunity, "We're living in such a different country for one primary reason: There is no longer respect for the law, and there certainly is no order. Our country is now a cesspool of crime," Trump said, calling for efforts to defeat violence and to "be tough and be nasty and be mean if we have to."

International

Switzerland Fully Legalizes Medical Cannabis and Allows Export. Beginning August 1, Swiss patients will be able to legally obtain medical marijuana with a medical prescription. Until now, patients were forced to seek individual permission from the Federal Office of Public Health. This comes after the Federal Council (the executive branch) amending the Swiss Narcotics Act approved by parliament in March 2021. Although cannabis for medical purposes will be legal next week, the law only allows products containing less than 1% THC, the limit set for the country's hemp industry. The new law also will allow for exports.

Zimbabwe Allows Cannabis Use in Medicines for First Time. The country's Medicines Control Authority has invited licenses cannabis and hemp producers, as well as importers, exporters, manufacturers, and retail pharmacists to apply for licenses to sell hemp-based products for use as medicines. "Unlicensed sellers of cannabis will be prosecuted for selling unapproved" medicines, the authority added. Would-be licensees must provide product samples and allow official inspections. The move is largely driven by the country's search for ways to boost income in its agricultural sector. The Treasury Department estimates the crop has the potential to reach $1.25 billion a year.