Marijuana legalization bills advance in Hawaii and New Mexico, a pot prisoners' group calls on President Biden to grant clemency to federal marijuana offenders, a California bill to end mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses advance, and more.

Marijuana legislation is popping up all over the place. (Creative Commons)

Last Prisoner Project Calls on Biden to Grant Clemency to Federal Marijuana Prisoners. The Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis-related criminal justice reform, has launched 'A Time To Heal,' an advocacy campaign calling on President Biden to leverage his clemency power to commute the sentences of thousands of people unjustifiably incarcerated due to federal marijuana-related violations. The advocacy organization is also encouraging the President to issue grants to the tens of thousands more still struggling because of the collateral consequences of a federal cannabis conviction. "President Biden himself has acknowledged that 'nobody should be in jail for a nonviolent crime'. We're encouraging him to turn his words into action and use the most immediate tool at his disposal to provide this desperately-needed relief," said project director of strategic initiatives Natalie Papillion.

Arkansas Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Filed. State Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) on Monday filed SB499, which would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana an infraction punishable by a $200 fine. Possession is currently a Class A misdemeanor.

Hawaii Senate Approves Expanded Decriminalization, Marijuana Legalization Bills. The state Senate approved two separate marijuana policy reform bills on Tuesday. Senate Bill 767 would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by people 21 and over, while Senate Bill 758 would expand the amount of marijuana that is currently decriminalized from three grams to 30 grams. Both measures passed by veto-proof margins. The bills now head for consideration by the House.

New Mexico Senate Committee Approves Two Marijuana Legalization Bills. The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee on Tuesday approved a Senate bill to legalize marijuana, Senate Bill 288 on a unanimous vote and also approved a House bill to legalize marijuana, HB 12, on a 7-4 vote. Two other legalization bills were shelved by sponsors as the legislature seeks consensus on a final measure. The two remaining bills now head for the Senate Judiciary Committee. Legislation must be approved there and on the Senate floor before the session ends on March 20.

New York Coalition Forms for Final Marijuana Legalization Push. Dozens of organized labor groups, progressive organizations, and businesses are set to launch on Wednesday a coalition to make a final push for the legalization of adult-use cannabis products in New York. All told, more than 40 groups are signing onto the coalition called New Yorkers for New Revenue & Jobs, highlighting what advocates contend is one of the main selling points of legalized marijuana in New York: the millions of dollars in revenue the measure would provide in the coming years for the state and local governments. The coalition includes the New York AFL-CIO, as well as the New York Cannabis Industry Association and the Long Island Progressive Coalition.

Texas Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed. Rep. Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) filed a marijuana legalization bill, HB 3248, on Monday. The bill would legalize the possession of up to 2 ½ ounces and 10 ounces at home. It has not yet been assigned to a committee.

Medical Marijuana

Florida Bill to Cap THC Levels for Medical Marijuana Wins Committee Vote. The House Professions and Public Health Subcommittee voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would cap THC levels in medical marijuana at 10% and 15% for edibles. The vote to advance HB 1455 came despite testimony from doctors and patients that the measure was an assault on medicine. It still needs to be approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Health Care Appropriations Committee before going to a House floor vote.

Psychedelics

New York Bill to Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms Filed. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D) filed a bill to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms on Monday. AO6065 is similar to legislation Rosenthal filed last year that went nowhere. It would remove psilocybin and psilocin from the state's list of controlled substances. It is now before the Assembly Health Committee.

Harm Reduction

Coronavirus Relief Bill Includes Funding for Addiction Treatment, Harm Reduction. The American Rescue Plan Act, the coronavirus relief bill passed this week by Congress, includes nearly $4 billion for substance abuse disorder and mental health, including funding for harm reduction activities such as needle exchange services, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) said Wednesday. In addition to $1.5 billion for block grants for prevention and treatment of substance use disorders, the act includes $30 million in community-based funding for local substance use disorder services like syringe services programs and other harm reduction interventions.

New Jersey Harm Reduction Bills Filed. Far-reaching harm reduction expansion legislation was introduced in the Senate Health Committee earlier today. The bill package, sponsored by Senator Joe Vitale and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, would reduce overdose deaths, prevent infectious disease, and connect people who use drugs to non-judgmental support. It would do this by creating a statewide standing order for naloxone (brand name Narcan), the medicine that reverses an overdose (S3491); lifting the onerous municipal ordinance requirement that limits harm reduction services (S3009); decriminalizing syringes and expunging previous convictions (S3493); making HIV prophylaxis medication available at pharmacies without a prescription (S1039); and allowing harm reduction programs to offer mail-based services (S3065). Companion measures have been filed in the House.

Sentencing

California Bill to End Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Advances. The Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve SB 73, which would repeal state laws enacted in the midst of the drug war that created mandatory minimum sentences for many drug offenses. It now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Idaho activists are already eyeing 2022, President Trump and Michigan Governor Whitmer pardon drug offenders, and more.

Former marijuana prisoner Weldon Angelos, who was pardoned by President Trump on Tuesday. (FAMM.org)

Congressional Progressive Caucus Calls for Marijuana Legalization in First Six Months of 2021. In its platform, unveiled Monday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus called for marijuana to be legalized in the first half of next year. The call for legalization, as well as other criminal justice reforms, comes as part of the platform's racial justice plank. Congress must "reduce criminalization and incarceration through sentencing reform, legalizing cannabis, expunging records, and providing restorative justice" in order to address racial inequities, the platform says.

Idaho Activists Eye Marijuana Legalization as Well as Medical Marijuana in 2022. State activists are preparing a twofer for 2022, preparing to try to place marijuana legalization as well as medical marijuana on the ballot then. The campaign for the newly proposed Idaho Marijuana Legalization Act will be led by veteran activist Russ Belville, who was the campaign spokesman for the medical marijuana effort that was abandoned this year because of complications from social distancing measures necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sentencing Policy

President Trump Pardons Drug Sentencing Poster Boy. It wasn't just war criminals and felonious political flunkies that the president pardoned Tuesday. Among the 15 people getting presidential pardons was Weldon Angelos, who became a cause celebré when he was sentenced in 2004 to 55 years in prison for selling marijuana. He got the extreme sentence because he carried a pistol in an ankle holster during some of his weed transactions. Even the judge who sentenced him pleaded for a sentence commutation. Angelos was released from prison in 2016 after serving 13 years. Angelos has been a criminal justice reform advocate since his release. "His story has been cited as an inspiration for sentencing reform, including the First Step Act, and he participated in a Prison Reform Summit at the White House in 2018," White House staff wrote in announcing the pardon. "In his own words, Mr. Angelos wants 'to become whole again and put the bad choices in the past and continue changing the world for the better.'"

Michigan Governor Commutes Sentences for Four, Including Three Drug Offenders. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has commuted the sentences of four men imprisoned for decades, including three drug offenders. Lawrence Cadroy had been serving a life sentence for drug possession since 1999, Lorenzo Garret had been serving a sentence of between 29 and 170 years for drug dealing since 1999, and Larry McGhee had been serving a 20 to 30-year sentence for drug dealing since 2004. "As a former prosecutor, I recognize how critical it is to take steps toward a smarter and more equitable justice system," Whitmer said. "Over the last two years, we’ve worked with leaders on both sides of the aisle to make tremendous progress to give people a second chance, from reforming civil asset forfeiture to becoming a national leader on expungement."

A man who has done 39 years in federal prison for pot gets out tomorrow and faces an uncertain future, Arizona activists lay plans for a 2020 legalization initiative, so does the New Zealand government, and more.

A CBD expansion bill advances in the Texas House.

Nation's Longest-Serving Marijuana Prisoner to Be Freed Tomorrow. A Cuban national who has served more than 39 years in federal prison on marijuana trafficking charges is set to be freed Wednesday -- but then faces possible deportation. Antonio "Tony" Bascaro had been trained in aviation by the CIA as it worked with rightist Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro and later turned his skills to marijuana smuggling. He's hoping his time aiding the CIA will help him avoid deportation.

Arizona 2020 Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign Gearing Up. Marijuana activists are gearing up with another initiative effort after one in 2016 narrowly failed. Strategies 360, which is running the campaign, says it plans to launch signature-gathering in July. The group has a 12-month window to gather 237,645 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November 2020 ballot.

Medical Marijuana

Texas House Passes CBD Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill. The House voted Monday to advance HB 1365, which would add Alzheimer's, Crohn's disease, muscular dystrophy, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism and a bevy of other illnesses to an existing state program that currently applies only to people with intractable epilepsy who meet certain requirements. The bill would also increase the number of dispensaries the state can authorize from three to 12, as well as authorizing marijuana testing facilities. The state's medical marijuana law allows only for the use of CBD. The bill still needs one final House housekeeping vote before heading to the Senate.

Sentencing

Justice Department Fights Compassionate Release of Terminally Ill Inmate Because He's Not Dying Fast Enough. A federal drug prisoner with terminal brain cancer has won early compassionate release under a provision of the First Step Act, but only after the Bureau of Prisons twice denied it and federal prosecutors argued against it. Steve Brittner, 55, who is wheelchair-bound, was diagnosed with the cancer in January 2018 and his oncologist described his prognosis as "poor," recommending he begin hospice care in November 2018. But prosecutors argued he wasn't dying fast enough to qualify for early release. "This is a very telling case," said Families Against Mandatory Minimums president Kevin Ring. "On one hand, the First Step Act's reforms to compassionate release worked as intended and this family prevailed. On the other hand, it blows my mind that the Justice Department and BOP still fought tooth and nail to keep a low-level drug offender who is dying of brain cancer and bound to a wheelchair away from his family for the final weeks of his life. They'll say they were just doing their jobs, but their job is to do justice."

International

Brazil Police Kill Eight in Rio Drug Raid as Police Killings Jump Dramatically Under Bolsonaro. At least eight people were killed Monday in a police raid aimed at drug trafficker in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. The raid triggered a massive shootout between police and suspected gang members. Police said all the dead were gang members. It's only the latest of hundreds of killings by police since Rio Governor Wilson Witzel, an ally of President Jair Bolsonaro, took over on January 1. Since then 434 people have been killed by Rio police, an 18% increase from last year and the highest figure recorded since state records began in 1998.

New Zealand to Vote on Marijuana Legalization Next Year. The three political parties that make up the country's governing coalition announced Tuesday that they had agreed on the basic elements of a binding referendum on marijuana legalization to be held during the 2020 elections. "Officials are now empowered to draft the legislation with stakeholder input, and the Electoral Commission will draft the referendum question to appear on the ballot," Justice Minister Andrew Little said.. "The voters' choice will be binding because all of the parties that make up the current Government have committed to abide by the outcome. We hope and expect the National Party will also commit to respecting the voters' decision," he said, referring to the leading opposition party that is not part of the governing coalition.

A US territory legalizes weed, a US state decriminalizes it, Florida medical marijuana battles continue, and more. 

Federal Lawmakers Reintroduce STATES Act. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has refiled the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act, or STATES Act, in both the House and Senate. Presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was joined by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) in filing the Senate bill, while Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and David Joyce (R-OH) sponsored the bill in the House.

Guam Legalizes Marijuana. Gov. Leon Guerrero (D) Thursday signed a marijuana legalization bill into law, making Guam the first entity to legalize marijuana this year and the second US territory to do so, after the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. The law will create a system of taxed and regulated sales, with a 15% excise tax.

New Mexico Decriminalizes Marijuana. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has signed into law a bill decriminalizing the possession of up to a half ounce of marijuana. The maximum penalty will be a $50 fine. The legislation also reduces penalties for pot paraphernalia.

Medical Marijuana

Florida House Committee Votes to Limit Strength of Smokable Marijuana. The House Health and Human Services Committee voted Wednesday to cap the amount of THC allowed in smokable marijuana flowers at 10% despite the objections of patient advocates who noted that much stronger buds are already available on the market. The move comes less than a month after the legislature removed a ban on the use of smokable marijuana.

Florida Judge Rules Patients Have No Right to Grow Their Own. The 1st District Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a Tampa patient does not have the legal right to grow his own medicine. The decision overturns a lower court ruling that held the patient could grow plants to be juiced as part of his treatment for cancer.

Drug Policy

Democratic Presidential Contender Andrew Yang Calls for Legalized Marijuana, Commutations for Non-Violent Drug Offenders.  Presidential contender Andrew Yang said Wednesday he would issue mass commutations for imprisoned non-violent drug offenders on 4/20. "I would legalize marijuana and I would pardon everyone who's in jail for a non-violent, drug-related offense," Yang said. "I would pardon them all on April 20, 2021, and I would high-five them on their way out of jail."

(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.)