Welfare drug testing bills are under consideration in Florida and North Dakota, Massachusetts legalizers warn lawmakers not to mess with the state's voter-approved pot law, Bolivia is set to defend its new coca law, and more.

Bolivian government officials head to Vienna to defend the country's new law expanding legal coca cultivation. (deamuseum.org)

Massachusetts Initiative Campaign Tells Lawmakers to Back Off. The Yes on 4 Committee, the people behind the successful campaign to legalize marijuana in the state, is now urging legislators to back away from meddling with the state's new marijuana law. "The new law requires no fixes," said Yes on 4's Jim Borghesani. The legislative committee charged with "fixing" the law is set to open public hearings on possible revisions of the law next week.

Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Senate Again Rejects Ban on Smoked Medical Marijuana. For the second time in a week, the Senate has rejected Senate Bill 357, which would have banned smoking of medical marijuana. The Senate rejected the bill Monday night on a 15-11 vote and slapped down a later motion to allow it come back for yet another vote by a margin of 11-0.

Drug Testing

Florida Welfare Drug Testing Bill Advances. A bill that would require adults previously convicted of drug offenses to undergo drug screening and possible drug testing before their families could receive welfare payments passed the House Children, Families, and Seniors Subcommittee on Monday. The measure, House Bill 1117, is still before two other committees in the House.

North Dakota Welfare Drug Testing Bill Gets Trashed in Hearing. A welfare drug testing bill that has already passed the House came under sustained attack at a hearing in the Senate Human Services Committee Monday. The measure, House Bill 1308, would require welfare applicants to undergo drug screening and possible drug testing, but various witnesses testified it was not the way to go. One, Mandan small business owner Susan Beehler, said she had been on welfare in "It's a complicated issue, and it's not going to be solved by a pee cup," said Beehler, adding she's seen no hard data proving that drug screenings for TANF would be cost-effective for the state. The committee took no action on the bill.

International

Bolivia Will Defend New Coca Law at UN Meeting This Week. A Bolivian government delegation is headed for Vienna to attend the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) meeting this week to defend its new coca expansion and drug trafficking laws. The European Union has questioned the new coca law, which almost doubles the amount of legal coca cultivation in the country, but President Evo Morales said Bolivia has "all the arguments" it needs to justify the increase.

German Medical Marijuana Cultivation Will Begin in 2019. Germany will begin state-regulated medical marijuana growing operations in 2019, German authorities said. The parliament voted to allow medical marijuana in January, but it will take time to get things up and running. Until then, medical marijuana prescriptions will be filled by imports from Canada and the Netherlands.

Yet another national poll has a strong marjority for marijuana legalization, Trump administration cost-cutters eye the drug czar's office, Arizona pot legalizers refine their 2018 initiative, and more.

Going, going, gone?

Quinnipiac Poll Has Support for Legalization at 59%. A new Quinnipiac poll has support for marijuana legalization nationwide at 59%, with an even larger number -- 71% -- saying the federal government should respect state marijuana laws. The poll also finds support for medical marijuana at stratospheric levels, with 93% in support.

Arizona Initiative Campaign Refines Its Proposal. Safer Arizona has refiled its marijuana legalization initiative after receiving criticism of some parts of it after it was originally filed last week. The new version adds a mandatory 1,000-foot buffer between schools and marijuana operations, makes it a crime -- not a civil offense -- to sell marijuana to minors, makes possession by minors a crime, but with only a $50 civil fine for a first offense, and allows local authorities to impose "reasonable zoning restrictions." The initiative needs 150,000 valid voter signatures by July to qualify for the 2018 ballot.

Wyoming Marijuana Edibles Penalties Bill Gets Tightened. A bill that originally created a tiered penalty system for both marijuana and marijuana edibles earlier had its provisions relating to marijuana removed, and now a Senate committee has further tightened the bill to make possession of more than three grams of edibles a felony and has increased the period for which past offenses would be considered from five years to 10 years. The committee taking a hatchet to House Bill 197 is the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill had passed the House largely intact.

Medical Marijuana

North Dakota Senate Okays Changes to Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana Initiative. The Senate voted Wednesday to approve Senate Bill 2344, which imposes tougher restrictions and more oversight than the initiative approved by voters in November. The bill sets steep fees for patients and providers and allows the Health Department to inspect patients' homes with 24-hour notice and medical marijuana facilities with no notice. On the upside, it also allows for smoking medical marijuana and lowers the age for classification as minor from 21 to 19. The bill now heads to the House.

Drug Policy

Trump Considers Eliminating ONDCP, the Drug Czar's Office. The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed cutting nine government programs, including the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office). Unsurprisingly, the move is generating pushback from law enforcement, the drug treatment complex, and some legislators. Stay tuned.

Drug Testing

Arkansas Welfare Drug Testing Bill Passes House. A bill that would make permanent a pilot program requiring people seeking help from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to undergo drug screening and drug testing if deemed likely to be using drugs has passed the House. Senate Bill 123 has already passed the Senate, but now goes back for a housekeeping vote before heading to the governor's desk. The bill passed even though state Health Department officials testified that only two people had actually failed the drug test under the pilot program.

International

Edmonton Awaits Approval of Safe Injection Sites from Canadian Government. The province of Alberta and the city of Edmonton are ready to move ahead with safe injection sites and are now awaiting federal government approval. Local officials unveiled the locations of the proposed sites Wednesday. Last year, the Alberta government announced it would seek a federal exemption to set up "medically supervised injection services," and now it awaits action from the Liberal government in Ottawa.

Vermont's GOP governor throws up an obstacle to marijuana legalization, the House GOP is set to vote to force unemployed workers to take drug tests before receiving their earned benefits, the rightist mayor of South America's largest city turns his back on harm reduction, and more.

House Republicans want laid off workers to have to undergo suspicionless drug tests before receiving their earned benefits.

Oregon Bill Would Limit Pipe, Bong Sales to Pot Shops. Minority whip Rep. Jodi Hack (R-East Salem) has filed a bill that would only allow pot paraphernalia to be sold a licensed marijuana shops. Hack said the measure, House Bill 2556, was aimed at stopping minors from buying the stuff at gas stations, minimarts, and tobacco shops. But smoke shop operators and other retailers are vowing a fight.

Vermont Governor Demands Tough Driving Provisions Before He Will Support Legalization. Gov. Phil Scott (R) says he will not support a legalization bill before the legislature unless it has provisions allowing police to determine is someone is driving while impaired. "Certainly it's still problematic from the standpoint of public safety," said Scott. "I want to make sure that we address those concerns I talked about on the campaign trail in terms of impairment on our highways." He also acknowledged that current tests don't provide clear evidence of impairment, but used that uncertainty to say Vermont should wait and see how other states deal with the issue.

Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Medical Marijuana "Fix" Bills Advance. The House voted Monday to approve two bills aimed at tidying up the state's new medical marijuana law. The measures, both authored by Rep. Doug House (R-North Little Rock) are House Bill 1371, which requires that Arkansans hold 60% ownership interest in pot businesses in the state, and House Bill 1298, which requires that persons, not corporations, hold the licenses. The bills now head to the Senate.

South Dakota CBD Bill Advances. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to approve Senate Bill 95, which would reschedule CBD as a Class 4 drug in the state and remove it from the definition of marijuana under state law. The bill would legalize the possession and use of CBD, but only upon approval by the FDA. That requirement was added in committee.

Drug Testing

House to Vote on Drug Testing the Unemployed. The House was prepared to vote as early as today on House Joint Resolution 42, which would undo Obama administration limits on drug testing people seeking unemployment benefits. Under a compromise to extend unemployment benefits in 2012, the Obama administration agreed to limited drug testing, but only once the Labor Department had identified industries and sectors that "regularly require drug tests." People receiving unemployment benefits are people who have been laid off from work, not people who have been fired for cause, including drug use. People who are fired for cause don't qualify for unemployment benefits.

Arkansas Senate Approves Bill Making Welfare Drug Testing Permanent. The Senate Tuesday approved Senate Bill 123, which would make permanent a welfare drug testing pilot program approved two years ago, even though the pilot program had only two people fail a drug test and 11 decline to take it out of more than 3,000 people who applied for welfare last year. Under the Arkansas law, the children of people who fail a drug test lose their benefits unless their parent undergoes drug treatment at his or her own expense. The bill now goes to the House.

International

Sao Paulo's New Mayor Turns Back on Successful Harm Reduction Program. New Mayor Joao Doria will scale back a successful harm reduction program that provided housing and jobs to people with problematic crack cocaine use and replace it with a coercive and abstinence-based program. The Restart program Doria likes involves the involuntary "hospitalization and confinement of those who are victims of crack so that with medical treatment, they can stay away from drugs," he explained.

Venezuela VP Shrugs Off US Drug Sanctions. The Venezuelan government Tuesday condemned US sanctions imposed a day earlier on Vice President Tareck El Aissami as a "highly dangerous" infringement of Venezuelan sovereignty, while El Aissami himself called it a "miserable and defamatory aggression" that wouldn't distract him from his job. The US accuses El Aissami of facilitating cocaine shipments while he was a provincial governor.

Marijuana-related legislation is moving in several states, the HIA is suing the DEA over hemp foods, Philippines Catholic bishops speak out against drug war killings, and more.

The Hemp Industry Association is suing the DEA (again) over hemp foods. (thehia.org)

Alaska On-Site Consumption Not Dead Yet. Last Wednesday, the Marijuana Control Board shot down a proposal that would have allowed for Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes, but a day later, the state's Department of Economic Development clarified in a press release that the decision didn't amount to a permanent ban on such businesses. The department encouraged marijuana businesses that want to allow on-site consumption to continue filing relevant paperwork, even though there is not yet an alternative proposal to regulate businesses allowing on-site consumption.

After Legalization, California Faces a Plethora of Pot Bills. The passage of Prop 64 appears to have left as many questions as answers, and legislators in Sacramento are working to address them with at least nine bills filed already. The proposals range from efforts to reconcile the medical marijuana and legal marijuana regulatory systems to protecting non-union workers to helping pot businesses gain access to financial services and beyond. Click on the link to see the full list of bills and accompanying discussion.

New Mexico Legalization Bill Wins House Vote. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee voted to allow a legalization measure, House Bill 89, to keep advancing through the House. The committee made no recommendation for or against. The bill still faces to more committee votes before it can head for a House floor vote. "This is the one thing we can do this year that will instantly inject a massive amount of money into our economy and create jobs right away," said bill sponsor Rep. Bill McCamley (D-Mesilla Park).

New York Legalization Bills Filed. A pair of identical bills to legalize marijuana for adults and allow for legal, taxed, and regulated marijuana commerce have been filed in Albany. They are Senate Bill 3040, with Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) as primary sponsor, and Assembly Bill 3506, with Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo) as primary sponsor.

Wyoming House Votes to Cut Pot Penalties. The House voted Saturday to approve House Bill 197, which would reduce the penalty for possession of three ounces of marijuana or less. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Medical Marijuana

Washington Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana Use at School Wins Committee Vote. The House Health Care and Wellness Committee approved "Ducky's Bill," House Bill 1060, last Friday on a 13-3 vote. The bill is named after an elementary school student who can only attend half-days of class because of intractable epileptic seizures. It would require school districts to allow students to use medical marijuana on school grounds, on a school bus, or while attending a school-sponsored event. A companion measure has been filed in the Senate, but has not moved yet.

Hemp

Hemp Industries Association Sues DEA Over Illegal Attempt to Regulate Hemp Foods as Schedule I Drugs. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) has filed a motion to hold the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in contempt of court for violating an unchallenged, long-standing order issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, prohibiting the agency from regulating hemp food products as Schedule I controlled substances. Specifically, the HIA asserts that the DEA continues to operate with blatant disregard for the 2004 ruling made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which permanently enjoined the DEA from regulating hemp fiber, stalk, sterilized seed and oil, which are specifically exempted from the definition of "marijuana" in the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Asset Forfeiture

Colorado Bill Would Close Federal Asset Forfeiture Loophole in Most Situations. A bipartisan group of four senators has filed Senate Bill 136, which would require state law enforcement to comply with extensive reporting requirements, but would also prohibit them from entering into agreements to transfer seized property to the federal government unless it amounts to more than $100,000. Law enforcement agencies use federal sharing programs to get around state laws aimed at reining in asset forfeiture procedures. The bill is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Drug Testing

Colorado Companies Shedding Marijuana Drug Tests. The Associated Press is reporting that in the past two years, seven percent of Colorado companies have dropped marijuana from pre-employment drug tests. Would you test someone for alcohol or something like that I mean it's legal like alcohol is. Why would you test someone for marijuana especially if it's legal?" said one small business owner.

Rhode Island Random Welfare Drug Testing Bill Filed. State Sen. Elaine Morgan last Thursday filed a bill that would allow the Department of Human Services to conduct random, suspicionless drug tests on welfare recipients. The bill heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It has yet to appear on the legislative website.

International

Israeli Ministers Endorse Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana Exports. The Ministerial Committee on Legislation has endorsed a draft bill to allow the export of medical marijuana. That means the measure will now move forward as a government bill.

Tel Aviv Marijuana Legalization Demonstration Draws Thousands. As the Knesset and the Israeli cabinet ponder marijuana decriminalization, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv Saturday night to call for full legalization. At least two Knesset members, Likud's Sharren Haskel and Meretz's Tamar Zandberg, were present.

Philippines Catholic Bishops Issue Pastoral Statement Condemning Drug War Killings. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral statement Sunday expressing opposition to President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign of killings of drug users and sellers. The bishops called on Filipinos to follow the basic teaching of the Church. The full text of the statement is available at the link.