At least five governors have marijuana on their minds this week, Canada allows marijuana edibles and vapes to go on sale, a South Carolina judge rules the state's civil asset forfeiture law unconstitutional, and more.

Marijuana is on the minds of governors in the Northeast -- and New Mexico, too. (Creative Commons)

Governors of Four Northeastern States Hold Summit to Coordinate Marijuana Legalization Plans. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) have been joined at a Thursday meeting by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) as the state chief executives discuss how best to move forward with marijuana legalization. The governors' marijuana summit is divided into five sessions: on vaping and related issues, market regulation and social justice issues, public health consequences of cannabis, public safety issues and a "best practices" panel led by Colorado representatives.

New Mexico Governor's Working Group Releases Marijuana Legalization Proposal. A working group on marijuana legalization appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) released its recommendations Wednesday. The group is recommending, among other things, the automatic expungement of past marijuana convictions, exempting medical marijuana patients from taxation, a low-income subsidy program for patients, and either a ban or a licensing requirement for home cultivation. The state will see a 30-day legislative session early next year, and the release of the recommendations could pave the way for passage of a legalization bill then.

Asset Forfeiture

South Carolina Judge Rules Civil Asset Forfeiture Unconstitutional. A South Carolina circuit court judge in Horry County has ruled the state's civil asset forfeiture law unconstitutional, in violation of the US Constitution's 4th, 5th and 14 amendments. 15th Circuit Court Judge Steven H. John found that South Carolina's forfeiture laws violate both the federal and state constitutional protections against excessive fines by allowing the government to seize unlimited amounts of cash and property that aren't proportionate to the alleged crime. The ruling sets the scene for an appeals court ruling down the road.

International

Australian Plan to Drug Test Welfare Recipients Passes First Parliamentary Hurdle. A government bill to begin a pilot program requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug tests has been approved by the lower house and is now on its way to the Senate -- where it is likely to be defeated.

Canada Legalizes Marijuana Derivatives. One year after legalizing marijuana, Canada has now finalized regulations for marijuana products such as edibles, marijuana-infused beverages, and vape products, and those products will now be available to Canadian consumers as the country moves to "Legalization 2.0."

Johns Hopkins University is opening a psychedelic research center, hemp cultivation in the US quadruples over last year, Guatemala declares a state of seige after suspected drug traffickers killed three soldiers, and more.

The psilocybin molecule. They'll be taking a look at the new Johns Hopkins psychedelic studies center. (Creative Commons)

Hemp Farming Quadrupled in Tte US This Year, New Report Shows. In a report released Thursday, the advocacy group Vote Hemp announced that the amount of land devoted to legal hemp cultivation in the country has more than quadrupled this year. Since passage of the farm bill last year federally legalized hemp production, the amount of land licensed for cultivation -- primarily female plants for CBD production -- was 511,442 acres, up from 78,000 acres grown last year and less than 10,000 acres cultivated in 2016.

Law Enforcement

St. Louis Cop Kills Armed Man in Small-Time Marijuana Bust. Early Thursday morning, a St. Louis police officer shot and killed a man he was trying to arrest in a small-time marijuana bust after the man allegedly tried to pull a gun from his pocket. Officers were patrolling an area "known for drug activity" when they noticed several people around a parked car. Approaching the vehicle, they found a man with marijuana on his lap. Police said he refused their commands to exit the vehicle, so they pulled him from the car and one of the officers "notice[d] there [was] a gun that the person [wa]s trying to remove from his pocket" and then shot him. The victim, described as a 28-year-old black man, has not yet been identified.

Psychedelics

Johns Hopkins Launches Center for Psychedelic Research. A group of private donors has given $17 million to start the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine, making it what's believed to be the first such research center in the US and the largest research center of its kind in the world. The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research will focus on how psychedelics affect behavior, brain function, learning and memory, the brain's biology, and mood. At Johns Hopkins, much of the early work with psychedelics has focused on psilocybin, the chemical found in so-called magic mushrooms. Further studies will determine the chemical's effectiveness as a new therapy for opioid addiction, Alzheimer's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (formerly known as chronic Lyme disease), anorexia nervosa, and alcohol use in people with major depression. Researchers hope to create precision medicine treatments tailored to individual patients' specific needs.

Harm Reduction

Washington State Health Officer Okays Standing Order for Naloxone. Late last week, State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy signed a statewide standing order for the overdose reversal drug naloxone. The order allows any person or organization in the state to get naloxone from a pharmacy. The state Department of Health encourages anyone who is at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose to carry naloxone. People who want to get naloxone can use the standing order at any pharmacy in the state without a prescription from a health care provider.

International

Guatemala Declares State of Emergency After Narcos Kill Soldiers. The Guatemalan government on Wednesday declared a state of siege in five northeastern provinces in the wake of an attack by suspected drug traffickers that left three soldiers dead. The provinces are Alta Verapaz, El Progreso, Izabal, Peten and Zacapa provinces, a drug-trafficking corridor that runs from the Honduran to Mexican borders. The measure will impose a curfew, prohibit demonstrations and make it easier for the armed forces to detain people. It must be approved by Congress.

Congress heard testimony today challenging marijuana's criminalization, a Democratic House rising star and Senate presidential contender team up on a federal housing bill, Hawaii's governor vetoes a bill to end civil asset forfeiture, and more.

Marijuana got a hearing on Capitol Hill today. (Creative Commons)

Congress Hears Testimony Challenging Marijuana Criminalization. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is holding a hearing today on "Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform." Witnesses are discussing alternative policy options, including ending marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance.

Medical Marijuana

Florida Appeals Court Finds Law Limiting Medical Marijuana Companies Unconstitutional. The state's 1st District Court of Appeal has ruled that Rick Scott-era rules are unconstitutional and violate Amendment 2, the ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana in the state. The current vertically integrated system that requires companies to grow, process, package, and sell their own medical marijuana violates the amendment, the court ruled, and so does the system that caps licenses. The ruling upholds in part a 2018 Leon County Circuit Court decision that also ruled the system unconstitutional.

Asset Forfeiture

Hawaii Governor Vetoes Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill. Gov. David Ige (D) on Tuesday vetoed HB 748, which would have ended asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction in the state. Ige acted at the behest of law enforcement agencies statewide, who strongly opposed the bill.  The law would "be too restrictive," Ige said.

Housing

Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez File Bill to Protect Rights in Federal Housing. House upstart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and presidential contender Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) have teamed up to file the Fair Chance at Housing Act of 2020, which would make it harder to evict tenants for a single criminal offense and would prevent the eviction of family members who didn't know about a guilty person's criminal acts. The bill would also limit criminal record queries by housing authorities screening potential tenants. Under the bill, drug offenses resulting in a sentence of less than 10 years would no longer bar someone from seeking federal housing assistance. The bill is not yet available on the congressional website.

(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.)

The House could vote on a series of marijuana amendments soon, New York's bid to legalize marijuana this year runs out of time, Colombia's president says the spraying of coca crops (and farmers) with herbicides will recommence soon, and more.

Colombian coca farmer (DEA)

House Rules Committee Sends Marijuana Amendments to Floor Vote. The House Rules Committee approved a series of marijuana amendments on Tuesday, setting them up for a House floor vote. They include a rider blocking the Justice Department from interfering in state-legal marijuana programs, a proposal shielding tribal marijuana laws, and a proposal to let vets receive medical marijuana recommendations from Veterans Affairs doctors. They are all part of an appropriations bill that funds large parts of the federal government.

New York Fails to Legalize Marijuana as Session Ends. The legislative session ended today with lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) unable to come to an agreement that would allow them to pass the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (SB 1527). Key issues still unresolved included how tax revenues would be spent, whether past marijuana convictions should be expunged, and whether localities could opt out of allowing pot shops or would have to opt in.

Kratom

Oregon Legislature Punts on Regulating Kratom. Lawmakers have mooted a bid to regulate kratom in the state. The Senate Judiciary Committee had amended a series of rules and restrictions on kratom into an unrelated bill in April, but this week, the Joint Ways and Means Committee reversed the earlier action and removed all references to kratom in the bill. That means kratom will remain unregulated -- at least until the next legislative session.

Drug Testing

Maine Repeals Failed Food Stamp Drug Testing Requirement. Gov. Janet Mills (D) on Monday signed into law a bill that repeals the state's controversial and unsuccessful drug testing requirement for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) beneficiaries. Since imposed by Tea Party Republican former Gov. Paul LePage in 2015, the program found a total of fewer than ten people who actually tested positive out of thousands forced to submit to the test.

International

Colombia to Resume Aerial Spraying of Coca Crops, President Says. President Ivan Duque has said aerial spraying of coca crops will resume "within weeks," and Defense Minister Guillermo Botero adds that the herbicide glyphosate will be used. But there is an obstacle: The Constitutional Court suspended the practice back in 2015 until the government could convince it the herbicide was safe.