San Francisco gets a cannabis czar, the Border Patrol reminds Mainers that pot is still illegal federally, Maryland's medical marijuana grower picture is getting clarified, and more.

Maryland is lining up growers to fill dispensary shelves. (Sandra Yruel/DPA)

Border Patrol Tells Mainers It Will Still Seize Marijuana Despite Legalization. Even though the state legalized marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law, and Border Patrol officials in the state have just reminded Mainers of that fact. Border Patrol Chief Daniel Hiebert said that agents aren't actively looking for pot, but they will seize it if they find it.

San Francisco Appoints Cannabis Office Director. The city has named Nicole Elliot to head its new Office of Cannabis, which will oversee commercial marijuana regulation in the city. Elliot is a long-time city staffer, having worked under both current Mayor Ed Lee and former Mayor Gavin Newsom. Under Lee, she served as the director of government affairs and liaison to the Board of Supervisors. "She is uniquely qualified to assist The City with developing cannabis regulations and equity programs at a time when the state is moving swiftly in preparation for 2018 rollout of commercial cannabis," City Administrator Naomi Kelly wrote in a press release. Elliot's salary will be $149,000 before benefits.

Medical Marijuana

Maryland Issues Three More Medical Marijuana Grower Licenses. The state Medical Cannabis Commission on Monday issued final licenses to three more medical marijuana growers. The move came despite the growers missing a deadline earlier this month. Two other grower applicants were granted formal extensions. The state had given 15 companies a shot at the licenses; nine had already been approved. None of them belong to African-Americans, which has become a point of contention in the state. Now, with Monday's action, all but one of them are on track to supply the market.

Drug Testing

Oklahoma Has Spent More Than $2 Milling on Drug Testing Welfare Applicants. In the past five years, the state has spent almost $2.2 million to drug screen and drug test people applying for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, commonly known as welfare. The testing generated a positive drug test result rate of 2.8%, meaning the state got about a hundred people a year knocked off the program for its efforts.

Drug overdoses are at an all time high, drug war dinosaur senators want to return to harsh sentencing, Wisconsin's GOP governor moves forward with first in the nation plan to drug test Medicaid applicants, and more.

Fatal drug overdoses totaled nearly 60,000 last year, the New York Times reports. (Wikimedia)

Connecticut House Debates Legalization, But There is No Vote. The House debated the pros and cons of marijuana legalization Tuesday night, but Democratic leaders then ended debate without any vote. They said a legalization bill would have failed in the House, but the debate could increase the chances of legalization being included as part of a budget bill, although observers describe that prospect as "a long shot."

Wichita Reduces Pot Penalties. The city council voted Tuesday to adopt an ordinance that would reduce the penalty for possession of up to 32 grams (slightly more than an ounce) of marijuana to $50 plus court costs.

ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance Sue Southern California City Over Pot Cultivation Ordinance. The ACLU of California and the Drug Policy Alliance are suing Fontana, claiming that the city's marijuana ordinance conflicts with rights granted to all Californians under Proposition 64. Under Prop. 64, every Californian 21 or older has a right to cultivate up to six marijuana plants for personal use. But the law also says cities or counties can ban outdoor gardens and "reasonably regulate" indoor grows.Fontana -- a city of 200,000 people that sits 50 miles east of Los Angeles -- passed an ordinance in January that requires residents who want to cultivate up to six plants inside their home to first get a $411 permit from the city and not have any drug convictions within the past five years, a policy the groups describe as both illegal and "egregious."

Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Finalizes Process for Medical Marijuana Applications. In a meeting Tuesday, the state Medical Marijuana Commission finalized the process for accepting applications for medical marijuana growers and sellers. The move comes after the commission developed a more detailed scoring system for ranking applicants. The application period will open June 30 and go on for 90 days. The commission will distribute 32 dispensary licenses and five cultivation facility licenses.

Florida Lawmakers Reach Agreement on Implementing Medical Marijuana. Lawmakers on Wednesday came to agreement on how to implement the state's voter-approved medical law. Under the agreement, ten new growers will be licensed this year, with five licenses going to previous applicants, five going to new applicants, and at least one reserved for a black farmer. The state current licenses only seven commercial grows. The agreement also caps the number of dispensaries each grower can operate at 25.

Oregon Bill to Let Medical Growers Sell Up to 20 Pounds in Recreational Market Advances. A bill that seeks to reshape the state's medical marijuana program so it can coexist with legal recreational marijuana is advancing. House Bill 2198, which would let medical growers sell up to 20 pounds in the recreational market in a bid to stay viable, passed the Joint Committee on Marijuana Regulation last week and is now before Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

New York Times Investigation Finds Drug Overdose Deaths Reached All-Time High in 2016. The New York Times published on Monday an investigative report that found that drug overdose deaths last year reached an all-time high, suggesting that the country's long-term opioid crisis continues to worsen and that younger age groups in the U.S. are experiencing record numbers of opioid overdoses than in the past. The Times looked at preliminary overdose data for 2016 provided by hundreds of state and local health authorities, concluding: "Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50, and all evidence suggests the problem has continued to worsen in 2017." The report estimates that more than 59,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2016 -- an increase of 19% from 2015. The report does not elaborate on which drugs are behind the estimated jump in overdose deaths last year, nor does the report indicate which age groups under 50 saw the largest increase in overdose deaths over prior years.

Senate Drug Warriors Feinstein and Grassley Prepare Bill With Tough New Penalties for Synthetic Opioids. The senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are preparing a bill that would create tough new penalties for people caught with synthetic opioids. A draft of the bill would give the attorney general the power to ban all kinds of synthetic drugs and it would impose a 10-year maximum sentence on people caught selling them for a first offense. A second offense would see the sentence double. The bill would penalize people selling drugs at a low level in the US, critics said.

Drug Testing

Wisconsin Submits Request to Drug Test Medicaid Applicants. Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Wednesday officially submitted a request for a federal waiver to become the first state in the country to drug test applicants for Medicaid benefits. Walker said the plan would provide drug addicts with treatment and make them employable. "Healthy workers help Wisconsin employers fill jobs that require passing a drug test," Walker's administration said in a press release Wednesday announcing the waiver. But critics called the notion a waste of money and an insult to people who need Medicaid.

Nevada marijuana stores get an okay for early openings, Georgia's governor signs a CBC cannabis oil expansion bill, Chris Christie says drug czar budget cuts aren't going to happen, and more.

Peruvian police attack medical marijuana marchers in Lima last Saturday. (Facebook)

Nevada Recreational Marijuana Sales Can Begin as Early as July 1. The Nevada Tax Commission voted on Monday to approve temporary licenses for qualifying pot shops so that they can open without waiting for the commission to draft rules, a process that must be completed by January 1. The marijuana retailers must, though, have state and local licenses to operate, and most counties have yet to approve their own regulations.

Medical Marijuana

Georgia Governor Signs CBD Cannabis Oil Expansion Bill. Gov. Nathan Deal (R) on Tuesday signed into law Senate Bill 16, which expands the number of qualifying conditions for the use of low-THC cannabis oil and allows patients in hospice care to possess it. The new qualifying conditions are AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, autism, epidermolysis bullosa, peripheral neuropathy and Tourette's syndrome.

Drug Policy

Chris Christie Says Cuts to Drug Czar's Office Won't Happen. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who was named by President Trump to head an advisory group on the opioid epidemic, said on Tuesday that a widely-reported deep cut in funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) is "not going to happen." The governor added that: "I believe there will be funding and I believe funding will take different forms." But he also criticized the office, saying the opioid epidemic was evidence it wasn't doing its job.

International

Australia Welfare Recipients to Be Subject to Drug Testing. The federal government is aiming to cut welfare expenses, in part by going after people affected by drugs and alcohol. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison said in his budget speech that a pilot drug testing program will be run on 5,000 welfare recipients. Anyone who tests positive will have his or her benefits locked to a cashless card that can only be used for "essential living expenses" and will also be "subjected to further tests and possible referral to treatment."

Peru Police Attack Medical Marijuana Rally Marchers. Activists calling for the legalization of marijuana announced Monday they had filed a lawsuit against the National Police after officers violently attacked marchers in a peaceful demonstration last Saturday. "We were just marching peacefully when the police started attacking us with tear gas, including our children, regardless of the fact that some of them were in wheelchairs," said Looking for Hope leader Ayde Farfan. Police also arrested eight activists, although they released them the next day. The Peruvian Congress is set to debate a medical marijuana bill next week, but it doesn't include a provision for growing your own, which is what the marchers were calling for.

Support for marijuana legalization is at an all-time high in the CBS poll, Philadelphia's mayor joins the legalization chorus, Massachusetts drops more than 20,000 tainted drug convictions, and more.

New CBS Poll Has Legalization Support at All-Time High. A New CBS poll has support for marijuana legalization at 61%, up an impressive five points over the same poll last year. Even more people -- 71% -- want the federal government to butt out of marijuana policy in states where it is legal.

DC Activists Arrested for 4/20 Capitol Hill Joint Giveaway. Eight DC-based marijuana reform activists were arrested last Thursday on the capitol grounds after police raided their "joint session" where the planned to give away joints to anyone with a valid congressional ID. Only two of the activists, including lead gadfly Adam Eidinger, were actually charged, but those charged now face local marijuana charges in DC. Police had recommended federal charges.

Philadelphia Mayor Calls for Legalization. Mayor Jim Kenney (D) has come out in favor of freeing the weed. "The real solution to this is legalizing it in the state of Pennsylvania as they did in Colorado," said Mayor Kenney. "We won't have to use police resources in these kinds of activities and actions." The mayor's comments came as he responded to questions about a Saturday raid on a marijuana "smokeasy" where 22 people were arrested.

Medical Marijuana

Iowa Legislature Approves Last-Minute CBD Expansion Bill. In the space of four hours early last Saturday, the legislature saw a CBD cannabis oil bill introduced, considered, and approved by both houses. The bill would allow a sunsetted CBD law to continue to be in effect.

Maryland Begins Open Enrollment for Patients. People who want to register as medical marijuana patients can now do so, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has announced. The commission has further information at its website, mmcc.maryland.gov.

Montana House Approves Medical Marijuana Regulatory Bill. The House on Monday approved Senate Bill 333, which will set up a tax and regulatory structure for medical marijuana in the state. The Senate approved the bill, with amendments, last week, but the House now has to hold one more vote before sending the bill to the governor.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

New York Allocates $200 Million to Fight Heroin and Opioid Abuse. Budget legislation just signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) devotes some $200 million to fighting the state's opioid crisis. About $145 million will go to in- and out-patient treatment services, $6 million will fund the use of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, and the balance will go to prevention.

Drug Policy

Drug Policy Researchers and Advocates Join March for Science. Dozens of drug and public health policy researchers and advocates took part in last Saturday's March for Science in downtown Los Angeles. "I can't believe I have to march for objective reality," one sign at the march read. The scientists of all stripes marched to demand that policy be made on empirical evidence, a demand increasingly fraught as science faces the Trump administration.

Drug Testing

Maine GOP Lawmakers Are Back With Another Welfare Drug Testing Bill. Packaged as part of a campaign against welfare fraud, a new welfare drug testing bill has been filed in Augusta. The bill would require screening of welfare applicants, with those who have drug felonies or who are suspected of drug use being required to undergo drug testing.

Law Enforcement

Massachusetts Drops 21,000 Tainted Drug Convictions. The Supreme Judicial Court last Thursday vacated some 21,587 drug convictions after prosecuting attorneys said they would be unable or unwilling to prosecute them. The convictions are all tainted by links to a disgraced state chemist who admitted faking test results in 2013.

International

US Offers to Help Fund Mexico Opium Eradication. US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs ("drugs and thugs") William Brownfield said in an interview last Friday that the US has offered Mexico help in eradicating opium poppies. "We would be prepared to support (opium eradication efforts) should we reach a basic agreement in terms of how they would do more and better eradication in the future," Brownfield said. "That is on the table, but I don't want you to conclude that it's a done deal, because we still have to work through the details," he added. Mexico supplies the vast majority of heroin consumed in the US.