The District of Columbia is challenging Congress on marijuana legalization, Sens. Feinstein and Grassley complain about administration drug policy, a plethora of pot bills have bill filed in Oregon, and more. Let's get to it:

DC Sends Legalization Measure to Congress. DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) Tuesday sent to Congress the District's voter-approved Initiative 71 legalization measure, in effect challenging the body to either block it or let it stand. Mendelson's move starts a 30-day clock during which time Congress must act or the measure becomes law. In December, Congress voted to block funds to implement the measure, but DC maintains that that move does not stop the District from enacting it. Stay tuned.

Anchorage Mayor Wants to Ban Public Consumption. Mayor Dan Sullivan has proposed an ordinance that would ban pot use in public places. But his plan is running into opposition, with opponents claiming it is too broad. Click on the link for more details.

Oregon Legislature Sees a Bundle of Marijuana Bills. You'd think legalizing marijuana would quiet the issue at the statehouse, but you would be wrong. At least 16 marijuana-related bills were introduced Monday, ranging from limits on physician prescribing to limitations on retail sales locations to warnings to pregnant women, and more. Click on the link for a fuller rundown.

Medical Marijuana

Connecticut Medical Marijuana Program Recommends Expanding List of Qualifying Conditions. The state's Medical Marijuana Program Board of Physicians voted today to include sickle cell disease, chronic back pain after surgery, and severe psoriasis as qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, but not Tourette's Syndrome. The recommendations now go to the Consumer Protection Commissioner, who would then decide whether to accept the recommendation, then draft a new regulation that would go to another public hearing before going to the General Assembly's regulation-review committee for a final decision. It could take months or even years.

Drug Policy

Senators Feinstein and Grassley Criticize Obama's Policy on International Drug Control Treaties. Senate octogenarians Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have teamed up to express their dismay over the Obama administration's "flexible interpretation" of UN drug control treaties and their concern over whether allowing states to legalize marijuana puts the US in conflict with the treaties. They sent one letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and another letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. The co-chairs of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control complained that administration forbearance in the face of state-level legalization could let states "implement policies that legalize other, even more harmful drugs, without recourse" and that administration approaches to the issue may "weaken US standing as an international leader on drug control issues."

Drug Testing

Maine Governor Gets Go-Ahead for Welfare Drug Testing. Gov. Paul LePage's (R) plan to begin drug testing some welfare applicants has won final approval from the state attorney general, his office said Tuesday. The state will begin drug-testing convicted drug felons who are applying for or receiving welfare benefits. Those who fail will lose benefits unless they enroll in a drug treatment program. Civil rights and poverty activist groups have criticized the measure as an intrusion on privacy and an attack on poor people.

Harm Reduction

Tennessee Cops Now Carrying Overdose Reversal Drug. Police in the Volunteer State are now beginning to carry the overdose reversal drug naloxone in a bid to reduce overdose deaths. The first training seminars for law enforcement personnel began last Friday. The move comes after the legislature last year passed a law allowing for broader distribution of the drug, including law enforcement and emergency medical personnel.

International

Walid Jumblatt Again Calls for Lebanese Hash Legalization, Cites Terror Fight. Senior Druse leader and Lebanese MP Walid Jumblatt has reiterated his call to legalize the hash trade in the country and he has tied it the country's fight against terrorism. The government needs to increase security and stability in the Bekaa Valley, a leading hash cultivation area, he said. "The treatment cannot be a security one only, but it should be backed by development (projects), and thus I still believe that the cultivation of hashish should be legalized because the theory of alternative crops has failed," Jumblatt said.

Cuomo rejects legalization, Christie talks treatment instead of prison, New Hampshire takes a step toward getting dispensaries going, Lebanon's hash trade is booming, and more. Let's get to it:

In Lebanon, the hash crop grows unimpeded. (cannabisculture.com)

New York Governor Rejects Legalizing Pot, Cites Myth. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) Sunday reiterated his opposition to freeing the weed. "I do not favor legalized marijuana," he said in a radio interview. "I do believe it can be a gateway drug." The "gateway theory" is widely considered to be a myth.

South Carolina Decriminalization Bill Pre-Filed. Rep. Mike Pitts (R-Laurens) has pre-filed a bill that would decriminalize marijuana in the Palmetto State. Under the bill, possession of less than an ounce would be a civil infraction with a fine of between $100 and $200 for a first offense. Fines increase with subsequent offenses. The bill is H 3117.

Medical Marijuana

California Appeals Court Rules Concentrates Qualify as Medical Marijuana. The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled last week that "concentrated cannabis" qualifies as marijuana for purposes of medical use. The ruling came in People v. Mulcrevy, in which medical marijuana patients and probationer Sean Patrick Mulcrevy was accused of violating his probation because he was caught in possession of cannabis oil. Concentrated cannabis "is covered by the Compassionate Use Act, and there is insufficient evidence Mulcrevy violated his probation in light of that conclusion," the appeals court held unanimously.

New Hampshire Now Taking Dispensary Applications. The Department of Health and Human Services Friday released its request for applications for people who want a shot at operating one of the four "alternative treatment centers" contemplated under the state's medical marijuana laws. The state is divided into four geographic areas; each will be allowed one dispensary.

Heroin and Prescription Opiates

Christ Christie: Drug War Has Failed, Treat Addiction as an Illness, Mandatory Treatment Needed. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has spoken out again on drug policy, saying the state needs to embrace a dramatically different approach to drug use and addiction. "I think what we've seen over the last 30 years is it just hasn't worked," he said. "And there are some people who make one bad choice to try drugs one time and their particular chemistry leads them to be an addict from the minute they try it. So we need to treat it as a disease. And not having mandatory incarceration for non-violent offenders but having mandatory treatment is something that's going to yield a much greater result for society in general and for those individuals in particular." There's much more at the link.

International

Lebanese Hash Trade Booming in Shadow of Syrian Civil War. Distracted by the civil war next door in Syria, Lebanese security forces have for the past two years refrained from their annual hash eradication campaigns, and now, well-armed leaders of the trade are confident enough to tell troops to stay away if they don't want trouble. "We are selling hashish, and if anyone from the government tries to come close to it, we'll kill them," said Ali Shamas, a spokesman for growers and sellers. "This year we had a good year." Because of oversupply due to lack of eradication, prices have dropped dramatically, but the trade is still lucrative, Shamas said. "All of my main growers made at least half a million dollars this year," he told The Daily Telegraph. Much more at the link.

Brazil Will Study Legalizing High CBD Medical Marijuana. The Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency said Friday it is going to start discussing whether to reclassify the marijuana derivative cannabidiol (CBD). The announcement came one day after several dozen people protested in Brazilia to demand its reclassification and less than a month after the Federal Medical Council authorized neurologists and psychiatrists to prescribe CBD to epileptic children and teens who haven't responded to other treatments.

First Medical Marijuana Trials Get Underway in New South Wales. The state government announced Sunday that it has authorized clinical trials for medical marijuana. Those will be the first ever in Australia. NSW Premier Mike Baird said he expected hundreds of people to take part in the trial, and if it is successful at relieving pain and suffering, the government would consider importing marijuana or allowing it to be grown in the state.

New South Wales Bar Association Law Committee Calls for "Radical Rethink" of Drug Policy. The bar association's Criminal Law Committee is calling for a drug summit that will "radically rethink" Australia's approaches to drug use and the drug trade. The committee said that marijuana decriminalization is a start, but that "this would not remove the black market in drugs or respond to what we had found with respect to other illicit drugs." Instead, the best way to reduce drug- and prohibition-related harms would be "to replace the black market for drugs with a form of legal availability under a highly regulated system."

The Monitoring the Future teen drug use survey is out, the "CRomnibus" bill also killed highway drug use surveys, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) wants better information on police killings, a damning report is released in Mexico, and more. Let's get to it:

If Walid Jumblatt has his way, this Lebanese hash field could be legal. (cannabisculture.com)

Drug Use Survey Finds Teen Marijuana Use Declining Even as States Legalize. The annual Monitoring the Future survey of teen habits is out today, and it finds that legalization has not sparked an increase in teen pot smoking. The survey found that 24% of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders reported past use marijuana last, down from 26% the year before. And among 12th graders, the number who reported daily use also declined from 6.5% last year to 5.8% this year. There's much more to the survey; click the survey link to see it.

Medical Marijuana

Iowans Organize to Push for More Effective Medical Marijuana Law. The legislature this year passed a bill allowing for the use of low-THC cannabis oil to treat people with epilepsy, but that's not good enough for a new group, Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis. The group today announced it had formed to push legislators to make it possible to produce and dispense medical marijuana.

Driving

Omnibus Spending Bill Cut Funds for NHTSA Roadside Drug Use Surveys. The $1.1 trillion spending bill that has gotten so much attention over its marijuana provisions also bars the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from using funds to complete its "National Roadside Survey." It was a voluntary survey that only collected data from people willing to participate, but came under congressional criticism after a Texas TV station aired a program about a Fort Worth checkpoint where police ordered motorists off the road at random to collect samples.

Law Enforcement

Federal Bill Filed to Increase Reporting of Deadly Force by Police. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) has filed HR 5866, which would "require the Attorney General to issue rules pertaining to the collection and compilation of data on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers." The bill next was not available at press time. The bill has five cosponsors -- all Democrats -- and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Drug Testing

WorkForce West Virginia Drug Testing Doesn't Find Many Dopers. In its annual report to the legislature, WorkForce West Virginia, the state's employment services program, reported that it had subjected 1,205 people to drug testing upon their seeking tuition reimbursement for employment training programs. Only 1% of them failed. No word on the cost of drug testing all those people.

International

Mexican Federal Police Accused of Collaborating With Local Cops in Case of Missing Student Teachers. In an article published over the weekend, the respected Mexican political weekly Proceso reported that federal police worked together with Iguala police in the September attack on teachers' college students that left 43 missing and presumed dead and which has sparked protests across the country. Proceso also reported that federal police likely tortured key witnesses whose testimony was critical in the federal attorney general's investigation of the case. "We have information that proves the federal government knew what was happening in the moment it was happening, and participated in it," Anabel Hernández, the lead reporter for the Proceso piece, said in an interview. "The government has tried to hide this information." There's much more at the link.

Armed Civilians Block Western Mexico Highways Seeking Crackdown on Cartels, But… Hundreds of armed men blocked highways around nine cities in the Western state of Michoacan over the weekend as a means of pressuring the government to crack down on the Knights Templar cartel. They unfurled banners calling for the arrest of cartel leaders. But at least some of the armed men were identified as members of Los Viagras, a group of gunmen who had once served as the Knights Templar's armed wing and who are now trying to displace them from the drug trade in the state.

Canadian Federal Government Loses Again in Bid to Block Home Medical Marijuana Cultivation. Health Canada earlier this year issued new medical marijuana rules that prohibited home growing and shifted production to commercial operations, but it has so far been blocked by the courts from implementing them, and now it has been blocked again. Patients won an injunction earlier this year to allow them to continue growing their own. Health Canada appealed that decision, but the Federal Court of Appeal has now upheld the injunction.

Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Calls Again for Legal Hash in Lebanon. Veteran Lebanese power-broker Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze community, has renewed his call for legal hash production. "It's time to allow hash to be grown and to overturn arrest warrants against people sought for doing so," wrote in Arabic on his Twitter feed. He expanded his comments in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV. "Never in my life have I smoked marijuana, but I support growing cannabis for medical use and to improve the living conditions of farmers in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. Let's legalize cannabis and regulate its cultivation."

A key California sentencing reform bill gets a final Assembly vote tomorrow, the Oregon legalization initiative gets some organized oppositions, Delaware gets a step closer to its first dispensary, Marc Emery gets to go home, and more.

Canadian "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery is reunited with wife Jodie after spending five years in US prison. (wikipedia.org)

Oregon Legalization Initiative Gets Organized Opposition. The Oregon District Attorneys Association and the Oregon State Sheriff's Association are gearing up to do combat against Measure 91, the state legalization initiative. The two groups say they are deciding right now how much money to spend trying to defeat the initiative, which has already raised more than a million dollars.

Federal Judge Throws Out Case Challenging Washington's Authority to Tax Marijuana. US District Judge Marsha Pechman has dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction. Dispensary operator Martin Nickerson, who was being prosecuted on federal marijuana charges filed the suit, arguing that he couldn't pay the state tax without incriminating himself. His attorney, Douglas Hiatt, said he will refile the lawsuit in state court.

Wichita City Council Votes Against Putting Decriminalization on November Ballot, But Maybe in April. After a decriminalization initiative signature drive came up short, the city council declined last night to put the measure on the November ballot, but said it would work with organizers to put it on ballot next April.

Medical Marijuana

Delaware Officials Sign Contract for First Dispensary in the First State. Finally, a dispensary is coming to Delaware. Officials have signed a two-year contract with First State Compassion Center. A growing operation for it will begin this fall, and sales should commence sometime early next year. Delaware passed a medical marijuana law in 2011, but Gov. Jack Markell (D) balked at allowing dispensaries, fearing federal intervention. Last year, he decided to move forward with one dispensary, instead of the three called for in the state law.

Oklahoma Governor Says She Supports Limited CBD Cannabis Oil Access. Gov. Mary Fallin (R) today asked lawmakers to support the legalization of high-CBD cannabis oil, but only for limited trials. She says CBD could be "potentially life-saving" for some children.

Harm Reduction

With New Law in Effect, Minnesota Cops Start Carrying Overdose Reversal Drug. Sheriff's deputies in Hennepin County (Minneapolis) have become the first in the state to start carrying the overdose reversal drug naloxone after a new law went into effect August 1. The law also contains a 911 Good Samaritan provision providing limited immunity for people who seek medical assistance for those suffering drug overdoses. Last year, 56 people died of heroin overdoses in the county and another 29 died in the first six months of this year.

Sentencing

California Fair Sentencing Act Gets Assembly Floor Vote Tomorrow. The bill, Senate Bill 1010, would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. It has already passed the state Senate. Click here to contact state legislators; click the title link for more bill information.

International

Marc Emery is Now Back Home in Canada. Canadian "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery is now back home in Canada after serving nearly five years in US federal prison for selling marijuana seeds. He landed in Windsor, Ontario, right around 4:20pm yesterday after leaving a private US deportation detention facility where he had been held after being released from US prison last month. He has vowed to wreak political vengeance on the Conservatives, who allowed him to be extradited to the US.

Algeria Has Seized More Than 95 Tons of Moroccan Hash so Far This Year. That's up over the same period last year by about 25 tons. Morocco is the world's largest hash producer, with most of its product headed for European markets.