Ohio's Republican Senate leader is threatening to mess with a marijuana legalization initiative if it passes, the Israel-Hamas war has caused a pause in Germany's march toward marijuana legalization, and more.

A new opioid overdose reversal drug, OpVee, has hit the market.

Ohio GOP Senate President Vows to Mess with Marijuana Legalization Initiative If It Passes. The GOP-dominated state Senate has already passed a resolution opposing the Issue 2 marijuana legalization initiative (as well as the Issue 1 abortion rights amendment), and the Republican Senate leader now says that while the legislature would not try to repeal the initiative if it passes, it is likely to try to modify it.

In the Senate, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said that passage of the initiative would cause a "mental health crisis," adding that "this initiated statute is coming right back before this body."

When pressed after the session about precisely what he meant, Huffman clarified. "I will advocate for reviewing it and repealing things or changing things that are in it," he said.

He said he was perturbed about a social equity provision that allocates some marijuana tax revenues for programs aiding people with marijuana convictions to get licenses and financial assistance.

Harm Reduction

New Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug Opvee Comes to Market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new opioid overdose reversal drug, Opvee, back in June, and now, the manufacturer, Indivior, has begun shipping the drug to pharmacies and first responders.

Opvee is a nasal spray containing the opioid receptor-blocking drug nalmefene. It is approved for use in people 12 and over and requires a prescription.

While the market for overdose reversal drugs is growing crowded, with Narcan already widely available and now available without a prescription at major drug store chains a second naloxone nasal spray, RiVive from Harm Reduction Therapeutics aimed at community groups coming soon, Opvee aims to position itself as being better able to respond to fentanyl overdoses. The company says it is a better match against fentanyl because its formulation is more powerful than Narcan or other forms of naloxone.

Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams called Opvee a "fentanyl fighter" and another tool for public health officials to counter illicit fentanyl driving the nation's overdose deaths. "It's as if it was designed to combat fentanyl," Adams said. "It matches up well with the potency and the longevity of fentanyl, so it's a new valuable tool that is available."

But as with other opioid overdose reversal drugs, cost is an issue. Opvee will go for $75 per kit for public interest and government purchasers and $98 for others with no insurance. Narcan now goes for $44.99 for a two-dose kit, while RiVive will go for $36.

Sentencing

Rate of Imprisonment for Black Men Has Dropped by Nearly Half Since 2000, Report Finds. The Sentencing Project released a new report, "One in Five: Ending Racial Inequity in Incarceration," that presents an overview of trends in incarceration and community supervision. The report identifies the progress made in the 21st century in reducing the US prison population and its racial and ethnic disparities, while sounding the alarm about the future of reforms. One in five Black men born in 2001 is likely to experience imprisonment within their lifetime, a decline from one in three for those born in 1981. But rather than accelerate the pace of reforms, pushback from policymakers threatens further advancement.

According to the report, the imprisonment rate of Black men in 2021 declined substantially, falling by almost half (48%) since 2000, yet Black men were still imprisoned at 5.5 times the rate of white men. The imprisonment rate of Black women declined even more, by 70% since 2000, but Black women remained imprisoned at 1.6 times the rate of white women.

The report also found that the total prison population has declined by 25% after reaching its peak level in 2009; while all major racial and ethnic groups experienced decarceration, the Black prison population has downsized the most; and American Indian and Latinx people were imprisoned at 4.2 times and 2.4 times the rate of whites in 2021, respectively.

The momentum for continued progress is precarious. We've seen a backlash to the progress we've made on criminal justice reform. In fact,preliminary data from the Department of Justice shows that the prison population increased for the first time in almost a decade between 2021 and 2022.

In an effort to protect and expand the progress, The Sentencing Project is producing the "One in Five" series of four reports to examine both the narrowing and persistence of racial injustice in the criminal legal system, as well as to highlight promising reforms.

International

German Marijuana Legalization Debate Delayed Because of Israel-Hamas War. The Bundestag was set to take up debate on a government-backed bill to legalize marijuana Friday, but that debate is now delayed because of the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The "global political situation" is the reason for the delay, said lawmakers Carmen Wegge and Dirk Heidenblut of the Social Democratic Party, but lawmakers "will make sure that everything gets done somehow in the next week."

But Thorsten Frei, a member of the minority Christian Democratic Union -- not a member of the governing coalition -- said the debate cancellation was "surprising" and reflected internal concerns about the bill more than foreign wars.

Any delay could make it more difficult to get the bill passed by a December 15 deadline, and if that does not happen, further consideration would be pushed back to next February at the earliest. But a revised parliamentary schedule suggests that it could get done by mid-November.

A House committee has again blocked an amendment to stop pre-employment marijuana testing for federal job applicants, a Michigan ban on pre-employment marijuana testing of most state workers has gone into effect, and more. 

There are a lot fewer opium poppies in Afghanistan these days. (UNODC)

House Rules Committee Again Blocks Amendments to End Marijuana Testing for Federal Job Applicants. Rep. Robert Garcia's ongoing attempt to end the practice of drug testing for marijuana for federal job applicants has again been blocked, this time by the GOP-led House Rules Committee, which declined to allow a floor vote on his amendments to the spending bills for the Departments of Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies, as well as for the legislative branch.

Garcia has tried repeatedly and to no avail to attach his amendment to various spending bills, including the departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA, State and Foreign Operations, and Veterans Affairs.

The amendments say that, with certain exceptions, the agencies and departments in question cannot use their funding "for testing applicants for marijuana."

Michigan Ban on Pre-Employment Drug Testing for State Workers Now in Effect. A new rule barring pre-employment drug testing for all state workers except those subject to random drug testing went into effect October 1.

Some safety-sensitive and other state positions are still subject to pre-employment testing and all state employees are still subject to drug testing based on impairment suspicion, random selection and post-accident, according to the commission.

Safety-sensitive positions include those operating certain vehicles, equipment and machinery. The ban also doesn’t apply to law enforcement positions, health care workers and prison employees.

Workers can still be disciplined or fired if they have impaired levels of drugs or alcohol, including marijuana, while at work. 

Harm Reduction

Sen. Markey, Rep. Lee Urge Biden Administration to Enact Comprehensive Fentanyl Harm Reduction Strategy, Including Safe Injection Sites. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today led 18 of their colleagues in urging the Biden-Harris administration to develop and publicly announce a national fentanyl harm reduction strategy specifically focused on enhancing public health infrastructure and addressing the collateral consequences that stem from drug arrests and convictions.

The lawmakers emphasized that this strategy should support increased availability of local overdose prevention centers (OPCs) and expanded access to vital medical interventions, including naloxone, drug testing strips, sterile syringes and pipes, methadone, and buprenorphine.

The lawmakers urged the administration to:

• Deploy federal resources to enable agencies to better identify and repeal collateral consequences that result from drug possession arrests and convictions, such as the drug felony ban on federal food security programs;
• Improve equitable access to effective harm reduction services — which involves an examination of barriers that community-based syringe services programs may face in applying for federal funds, such as reporting requirements that incorporate personally identifiable information — and adopt policies that minimize those barriers; and,
• Close research gaps and undertake a comprehensive evidence review on the role of distribution of safer smoking supplies in harm reduction measures, including engagement and retention, risks for overdose and infectious diseases, referral and linkage to other services, and health equity.

"Furthermore, strong evidence indicates that OPCs reduce the transmission of HIV and hepatitis, prevent overdose deaths, reduce public injections and the volume of shared or discarded syringes, and increase the number of drug users who enter treatment programs. The Biden-Harris administration should set forth federal policy to support the availability and expansion of OPCs as effective harm reduction tools," the lawmakers wrote.

"Further criminalizing fentanyl and doubling down on punitive drug policies only complicates our efforts to address the overdose crisis; people are deterred from seeking needed medical help, and illicit drug manufacturers and sellers are incentivized to create new and increasingly deadly drugs that aren’t covered by existing criminal laws," they continued. "With the Biden-Harris administration’s recent announcement of a plan to address the growing threat of fentanyl, we urge you to take every opportunity to prevent fentanyl-related overdoses from claiming scores of American lives daily."

International

Afghan Opium Poppy Cultivation Drops 85 Percent, New Analysis Finds. A satellite analysis of the Afghan opium crop by the geographic information services company Alcis estimates that opium cultivation has declined by 85 percent since the Taliban re-took power and decreed a ban on it.

Poppy cultivation was nearly half a million acres in 2022 but dropped below 75,000 acres this year, leading experts to describe the ban "as the most successful counter-narcotics effort in human history."

The key opium-producing province of Helmand saw a whopping 99 percent reduction in cultivation, while Farah saw a 95 percent reduction, and Nimroz say a 91 percent reduction.

The US and Colombian governments lay out areas of agreement in drug policy, new research shows that drug decriminalization did not increase overdoses in Oregon and Washington--but did cause arrests to drop--and more. 

The Senate is set to vote on a long-awaited marijuana banking bill. (Creative Commons)

SAFER Banking Act Passes Senate Banking Committee, Heads for Floor Vote. The long-desired bill aimed at opening the banking and financial sector to state-legal marijuana businesses is moving. The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee voted Wednesday to approve the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act (S.2860), clearing the way for a Senate floor vote.

"Forcing legal businesses to operate in all-cash is dangerous for our communities ... passing the SAFER Banking Act through committee is a historic moment in this body," said bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

"At this juncture, we believe this piece of legislation is ready for prime time after having had seven votes out of the House in the past," said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve Cannabis. "Realizing this first vote out of the Senate signals strong bipartisan support from both chambers of Congress."

Drug Policy

Decriminalizing Drug Possession Not Linked to Higher Overdose Death Rates in Oregon or Washington. In recent months, several media outlets have investigated an Oregon law that decriminalized possession of small amounts of controlled substances, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, for some persons. The articles have included information suggesting that the law may be responsible for continued increases in overdose deaths.

Wednesday, new research led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine published online in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that in Oregon and Washington, two states that implemented drug decriminalization policies in early 2021, there is no evidence of an association between decriminalization and fatal drug overdose rates.

The findings are the result of a collaboration between the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policyy at NYU Langone, the Network for Public Health Law, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The research team’s goal was to investigate whether fully or partially decriminalizing drug possession changed rates of overdose deaths in either state in the first year after the policy change.

"Our analysis suggests that state decriminalization policies do not lead to increases in overdose deaths," said Corey Davis, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a member of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy, and the study’s senior investigator.

Another study published by Davis and colleagues last month found that the Oregon and Washington decriminalization policies dramatically reduced arrests for drug possession and did not lead to increased arrests for violent crimes.

"These two studies show that drug decriminalization measures in Oregon and Washington reduced arrests and did not increase overdose deaths. Taken together, these findings signal reduced harm to people who use drugs and possibly their communities as well," said Davis.

Foreign Policy

US, Colombia Counternarcotics Working Group Issues Joint Statement. After the third meeting of the US-Colombia Counternarcotics Working Group Monday and Tuesday, the two governments issued a joint statement touting their "common efforts to address the development of this group’s work, taking into account the strengthening of democracy, the fight against corruption, the protection of human rights, peace efforts, climate action, public health, and a comprehensive approach to address the global drug problem."

The two governments called for "an approach based on public health and human security, with a long-term vision focused on saving lives and building a better future."

In particular, both parties agreed to the following:

• Increase interdiction efforts in both countries, significantly increase joint training, capacity building activities, and intelligence sharing to strengthen Colombia’s ability to combat transnational organized crime and multi-crime groups and enhance human security.
• Expand efforts to combat money laundering and crimes against natural resources and the environment.
• Reaffirm the will of both governments to continue cooperation to confront the global drug problem, including issues related to criminal activities associated with cocaine and synthetic drugs.
• With regard to rural security, strengthen and increase judicial and police presence in rural areas.
• Strengthen the implementation of strategies aimed at promoting the transition to licit economies in rural areas and Areas of Special Environmental Importance, such as the 3T model (Titling, Transition, Transformation) in municipalities to be prioritized for the implementation of a holistic approach to territorial transformation.
• Provide licit economic development opportunities as alternatives to illicit crops, in conjunction with continued strategic eradication efforts.
• Implement strategies to reduce the consumption of psychoactive substances and their associated impacts.
• Strengthen metrics measuring the underlying causes of drug production and the dismantling of transnational narco-trafficking criminal networks.
• Continue to work with the Colombian Ministry of Justice and Law and Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards identifying a coordination mechanism for the bilateral holistic strategy within the Colombian government.

International

Scottish Authorities Approve UK's First Safe Injection Site. Authorities in Glasgow have approved the first safe injection site in the United Kingdom. Glasgow's Integration Joint Board, which consists of National Health Service representatives and council officials, approved the planned facility Wednesday.

There is an opening target date of next summer for what will be a three-year pilot program.

The facility will "reduce drug-related harms" for individuals as well as providing them with "opportunities for treatment, care and recovery," said Dr Saket Priyadarshi, associate medical director of Glasgow alcohol and drug recovery services.

A safe injection site has been discussed for years to address the estimated 400-500 people injecting drugs in the city center and was able to move forward now after Scotland's senior law officer said users would not be prosecuted for possessing drugs while at the facility and the Home Office in London said it would not interfere.

A proposed California initiative would warn fentanyl dealers they could be charged with murder in the event of an overdose death, clashes kill four Colombian soldiers ahead of scheduled peace talks with leftist rebels, and more.

Did profits matter more than lives for Emergent BioSolutions? (Creative Commons)

Arizona Pot Workers On Strike Against Curaleaf. Workers at Curaleaf's Dispensary Midtown in Phoenix voted more than a year ago to unionize and seek a labor agreement with the company, but that has not happened yet. Instead Curaleaf has refused to begin union negotiations and fired worker Christian Tallabas for his union activity, so on Friday the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 led a day-long Unfair Labor Practices strike.

"It really grinds my gears how we have corporate from Curaleaf standing right behind this window," said Tallabas at a rally in front of the dispensary. "I personally think it is really disgusting and you should see the look on their faces. "We deserve to know what percentage of our tips we make when our customer service is making this company millions of dollars," he said.

"Not only do we not have a contract despite it being over a year, but there's so many different labor violations already on the books that the National Labor Relations Board has found that Curaleaf is responsible for," said Curaleaf employee Nick Fredrickson.

Joining the UFCW and Curaleaf workers at the rally were representatives of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Opiates and Opioids

California Initiative Would Warn Fentanyl Dealers They Could Be Charged with Murder. Organized by parents who have lost children to drug overdoses, an initiative that would warn fentanyl sellers they could be charged with murder in the event of a fatal overdose has been filed with the state attorney general. Judges would be required to tell people convicted of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, possession of illicit drugs for sale, this:

"You are hereby advised that it is extremely dangerous and deadly to human life to illicitly manufacture, distribute, sell, furnish, administer, or give away any drugs in any form, including real or counterfeit drugs or pills. You can kill someone by engaging in such conduct. All drugs and counterfeit pills are dangerous to human life. These substances alone, or mixed, kill human beings in very small doses. If you illicitly manufacture, distribute, sell, furnish, administer or give away any real counterfeit drugs or pills, and that conduct results in the death of a human being, you could be charged with homicide, up to and including the crime of murder."

The proposed initiative also includes criminal penalties of 10 to 12 years for a subsequent conviction or guilty plea.

The initiative campaign comes after grieving parents were unable to get a bill to the same effect through the legislature. The bipartisan bill had 41 cosponsors but died in the Senate Public Safety Committee.

"This is a disgusting display of a legislative committee holding hostage 40 million people and their safety and security, all in the name of political, ideological gameplay," fumed Matt Capelouto, who lost a daughter to a fentanyl overdose. "What all of us want here is to protect people from the enduring, the never-ending pain of someone being killed by a drug dealer selling poison. And they won’t do it. They won’t even pass a bill that contains a warning — a freaking warning."

The initiative takes the form of a statutory amendment, which means it will need some 874,641 valid voter signatures within 180 days of the beginning of signature-gathering, or by the first week of July 2024 at the latest.

Harm Reduction

Narcan Maker Blocked OTC Sales for Years in Bid to Boost Profits. Emergent BioSolutions, the manufacturer of the opioid overdose reversal product Narcan, has finally allowed it to be sold over-the-counter (OTC), but only after delaying for five years.

"I’m not sure that OTC is the answer," Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, then Emergent’s top executive, told investors during a November 2018 earnings call. In December 2018, the company’s then president, Robert Kramer, cautioned "against a rush to an over-the-counter solution for this current crisis," citing concerns about Narcan awareness and insurance coverage.

But the head of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said the bottom line was profits. "I think the problem is that the financial model doesn’t appear to be working for the company, so they’re not motivated to do it," FDA head Robert Califf said at a 2022 conference. "We can’t order companies to go over-the-counter."

Emergent only relented late last year after a competitor prepared its own bid for OTC approval of naloxone. That came after Emergent spent years using the courts and regulatory agencies to stop other naloxone products from entering the market. It had also moved to lock up lucrative state contracts, "hindering broader distribution of the antidote while the opioid crisis worsened," the Washington Post reported Monday.

"It’s a strategy that’s cost lives," said Jennifer Plumb, a doctor and Democratic state senator in Salt Lake City who serves as medical director of the Utah naloxone program.

International

Four Colombian Soldiers Killed in Clash with FARC Dissidents Ahead of Peace Talks. Peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC dissidents known as Estado Mayor Central were set to begin Monday, but their prospects were clouded by a weekend clash that left four soldiers dead.

The Estado Mayor Central broke with the FARC in 2016, when the main body of the leftist guerrilla group signed a peace agreement with the government and has been involved in coca and cocaine trafficking. They had agreed in April to hold talks with the government about a ceasefire.

The soldiers were killed in a clash in Narino, close to the Ecuadorian border and the region of the country with the most coca production. Colombia is the world's largest producer of coca and cocaine. Control over the lucrative drug traffic has fomented conflict in the area for decades, where left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and apolitical drug cartels spend their time fighting each other and the Colombian state.