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Chronicle AM: CA Pot Party Bus Bill Advances, Bolivia Coca Cultivation Decline, More... (8/23/19)

Top White House drug officials signal a laissez-faire stance toward marijuana legalization in the states, a bill to allow pot smoking and vaping on party buses advances in California, the world's third largest coca producer sees a slight decline, and more.

Marijuana party buses could be coming soon to the Golden State. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

White House Drug Officials Say Legal Marijuana Is Up to States. A pair of top federal drug officials said this week that marijuana legalization should be left up to the states. Jim Carroll, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) said he considers legalization a states' rights issue. Carroll's remarks were echoed by Anne Hazlett, a senior ONDCP advisor, who said marijuana legalization is "a state decision."

California Marijuana Party Bus Bill Advances. A bill that would allow passengers on party buses to smoke and vape marijuana products was approved Wednesday by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Senate Bill 625 would allow passengers 21 and older to use the products on a bus, limousine, or modified limousine as long as the driver's compartment is sealed off by a physical barrier and ventilated separately from passenger areas. The bill now heads for an Assembly floor vote.

Florida Sees New Industry-Backed Marijuana Legalization Measure Filed. A major player in the legal marijuana industry, the multi-state dispensary chain MedMen, is leading the charge for a second marijuana legalization initiative campaign in the Sunshine State. A political committee linked to MedMen, Make It Legal Florida, filed the initiative earlier this month. It would legalize the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and allow recreational sales through medical marijuana dispensaries. There is no mention of home cultivation.

International

Bolivian Coca Production Drops, UN Says. The land area under coca cultivation in the world's third largest coca producer declined 6% last year, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported Thursday. UNODC said cultivation was some 57,000 acres, down from a little more than 60,000 acres in 2017. But UNODC also noted that cultivation was still above what is legally allowed by Bolivian law, which is some 54,000 acres.

Chronicle AM: Outside Lands Festival to Allow Pot, Colombia Cocaine Conflicts Creating Refugees, More... (8/9/19)

There will be legal pot smoking at Outside Lands in San Francisco this weekend, the Trump administration moves forward with plans to allow drug testing of unemployment recipients, fighting over coca farms and cocaine smuggling routes in Colombia is generating large refugee flows, and more.

Prohibition-related violence in Colombia's cocaine trade is generating tens of thousands of refugees. (Pixelbay)
Marijuana Policy

Outside Lands Becomes First Major US Music Festival to (Officially) Allow Marijuana. San Francisco's Outside Lands music festival, set for this weekend, will allow marijuana sales and consumption, making it the largest music festival of its size to do so. Some 200,000 people attended last year. Final approval from the state Bureau of Cannabis Control came on Wednesday.

Medical Marijuana

DC Will Now Accept Medical Marijuana Cards from Any State. In a press release Thursday, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced that the District will now accept medical marijuana cards from any US state. "Non-residents needing their medication while they are visiting the District will be able to patronize the District's regulated marijuana dispensaries and obtain their medication," the press release said. Previously, the District recognized 19 other states' medical cards. Now, at least 27 states' cards will be recognized by the District's dispensaries.

Drug Testing

Labor Department Rule to Allow States to Drug Test Unemployment Recipients Now Under Review at White House. The White House budget office is reviewing a final Department of Labor rule that would allow states to drug test unemployment insurance recipients. The rule would allow states to drug test applicants in occupations where the employer "regularly conducts drug testing."

International

Colombia Cocaine Trade Fighting Generates Tens of Thousands of Refugees. According to a new report from Human Rights Watch, illegal armed groups fighting for control over the lucrative cocaine trade have forced some 40,000 people to flee their homes in the country's Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border. The groups are fighting over territory armed by the former leftist guerillas of the FARC, who laid down their arms in a peace accord in 2016. The three groups named by Human Rights Watch are the Popular Liberation Army, the National Liberation Army, and a small group of FARC dissidents. Human Rights Watch accused the Colombian government of "not meeting its obligations" to protect civilians in the area.

Chronicle AM: US & China Spar Over Fentanyl, Honduran President Named Trafficking Conspirator, More... (8/5/19)

Federal prosecutors accuse the president of Honduras of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, the US and China squabble over fentanyl, Colombia coca production declined slightly last year, and more.

The Trump administration and China are sparring over fentanyl exports and who is responsible for the opioid crisis. (CC)
Medical Marijuana

Iowa Panel Backs Including Chronic Pain, But Not PTSD, Opioid Dependency. The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board last Friday approved a recommendation to add chronic pain as a qualifying condition under the state's medical marijuana law. But the board drew criticism from patients advocates for not making the same recommendation regarding PTSD, opioid dependency, and other medical conditions. The board could revisit the issue in November if more data or research is available.

Nebraska Attorney General Argues Legalizing Medical Marijuana Is Unconstitutional. State Attorney General Doug Peterson (R) issued an opinion last Thursday saying federal law preempts state medical marijuana laws and that an effort to legalize medical marijuana in the state "would be, therefore, unconstitutional." On the other hand, more than 30 states have legalized medical cannabis since 1996, but the Supreme Court has never ruled that state legalization regimes are preempted by federal law. [Ed: This Cato brief by Vanderbilt law profession Robert Mikos explains why federal law probably does not preempt state law in ways that would interfere with state legalization laws. -DB]

Foreign Policy

Trump Accuses China of Failing to Halt Fentanyl Exports to US. President Trump last Thursday accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of failing to honor a pledge to stem the flow of fentanyl from Chinese chemical factories to the United States. "My friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of fentanyl to the United States -- this never happened, and many Americans continue to die," Trump said in a tweet. "We're losing thousands of people to fentanyl," he later told reporters. Xi had promised Trump in December that he would act, and China announced on May 1 that it had expanded its list of narcotics subject to state control to include more than 1,400 known fentanyl analogues.

China Rejects Trump Criticism on Fentanyl. Chinese state media fired back at President Trump on Sunday, with Xinhua editorializing that "the United States has only itself to blame" for the country's opioid crisis. A day earlier, Liu Yaojin, deputy director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission also hit back, saying "China is not the main resources of fentanyl in the United States… I think that the United States should solve the problem of the widespread abuse of fentanyl domestically."

[Ed: I've never been inclined to accept the word of China's government, much less of their counternarcotics officials. Nor, however, can one rely on President Trump's word about anything either. On this one, the Chinese are probably more right than wrong. As this commentary by RAND scholars Beau Kilmer and Bryce Pardo suggests (following a report on Asian drug policy, link a few paragraphs in), China's regulatory capacity (unlike its surveillance capacity) falls very far short of what's needed to monitor all the chemical companies that could be involved in fentanyl, some of which produce it legally for the medicinal market. If they were to succeed in stamping out illicit production by such businesses, it could have unintended consequences, such as sparking increased activity by groups operating entirely outside the law. -DB]

International

UNODC Reports Slight Drop in Colombia Coca Production Last Year. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported last Friday that coca production had declined by a modest 1.2% in 2018 from record levels the year before. In areas where voluntary and forced eradication took place, production dropped 18%, but that was largely offset by increases in areas dominated by violent drug trafficking organizations.

Honduran President Accused of Drug Conspiracy by US Prosecutors. In documents filed in federal court in New York City last Friday, prosecutors refer to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez as a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking scheme with his brother, Juan Antonio Hernandez, and former President Porfirio Lobo "to use drug trafficking to help assert power and control in Honduras." It says that the president and his predecessor "relied on drug proceeds" to fund political campaigns and cites "evidence of high-level political corruption." The US government has been a staunch supporter of Hernandez's government, pouring millions of dollars into security cooperation to stop cocaine headed to the US from South America.

Chronicle AM: Fed Court Orders DEA to Respond to Pot Research Lawsuit, Colombia Violence Rising, More... (7/31/19)

A federal appeals court has ordered the DEA to promptly respond to a lawsuit over stalled medical marijuana research applications, a Florida legalization initiative passes an early milepost, a psychedelic activist group goes national, and more.

SPORE is taking its psychedelic activism nationwide through a new nonprofit. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Federal Court Orders DEA to Explain Marijuana Research Block. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Monday ordered the DEA to respond to a lawsuit about stalled applications for research-grade marijuana growers. The lawsuit was filed by the Scottsdale Research Institute, which has submitted an application that has never been acted on. The court on Monday ordered that the DEA "file a response to the amended mandamus petition, not to exceed 7,800 words, within 30 days of the date of this order."

Florida Activists Clear First Hurdle to Putting Marijuana Legalization on 2020 Ballot. Sensible Florida, the group behind the legalization initiative, announced Monday that it had met an early requirement in the process of getting the measure on the November 2020 ballot. The group has gathered some 76,000 valid voter signatures, or one-tenth of the number required to put the measure on the ballot. This triggers a state Supreme Court review of the initiative's language.

Psychedelics

Psychedelic Activists Group Goes Nationwide. The group that organized the successful Denver psychedelic mushroom decriminalization initiative is going national. SPORE, the Society for Psychedelic Outreach and Reform and Education, announced Tuesday that it will apply for 501(c)(3) status, allowing the organization to reach more people. "Our mission is to transform public opinion to normalize and decriminalize the responsible use, possession and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms and other psychedelic plants and fungi," said Kevin Matthews, the group's executive director. "We offer resources like education, community and organizational support, policy guidance, and we're also advocates for individuals, communities and organizations that are interested in pursuing or exploring psychedelic drug policy reform both here in Colorado and nationwide."

International

Colombia Homicides Jump as Traffickers, Rebels Fight Over Former FARC Areas. The national homicide rate rose for the first time in a decade last year, driven largely by battles for control over coca-growing areas that had previously been controlled by the leftist guerrillas of the FARC. The FARC demobilized as part of the 2016 peace accords, but that left a vacuum in coca-growing areas it once dominated. Now, FARC dissidents, other guerrilla groups, and criminal drug trafficking groups are fighting over who will control the fields.

Chronicle AM: FL Pot Initiative Nears Early Mile Post, Colombia Drug Reform Push, More... (7/25/19)

Arkansas sees yet another marijuana legalization initiative filed, the Florida legalization initiative campaign nears a milepost, Colombian legislators seek to block their rightist president's repressive drug policies, and more.

Colombian legislators want to block President Duque's plan to dump herbicides on coca fields (and farmers). (DEA)
Marijuana Policy

Arkansas Sees Second Legalization Initiative Filed. A group calling itself Arkansas True Grass has filed a marijuana legalization initiative with the secretary of state's office. The Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment would legalize the use of the drug and expunge any previous criminal convictions for marijuana possession. Earlier this month, another pro-legalization group, the Arkansas Drug Policy Education Group, separately filed two legalization initiatives.

Florida Legalization Initiative Nears Early Signature Benchmark. Regulate Florida, the group trying to put a legalization initiative on the 2020 ballot, says it has nearly enough signatures to trigger a review of the ballot summary by the state Supreme Court. The court will look at whether the summary follows state ballot guidelines. The trigger point is just over 10% of the 766,200 valid voter signatures required to make the ballot. Reaching the trigger point also requires state economists to conduct an economic impact study of the initiative.

New York City Council Passes Two Marijuana Reform Resolutions. The city council on Tuesday approved a pair of marijuana reform resolutions as part of a package of marijuana legislation the council's Progressive Caucus is seeking to advance. The first resolution calls on the city's child services department to clarify that "finding that a person's mere possession or use of marijuana does not by itself create an imminent risk of harm to a child, warranting the child's removal," while the second calls on the legislature to pass a bill requiring the New York Department of Health to create hospital drug testing regulations for pregnant women or those giving birth, "including informing patients of their rights before any discussion of drug use or drug testing."

International

Colombian Congress Presents Bills to Decriminalize Drug Use, Ban Glyphosate. In a slap in the face to President Ivan Duque, the legislative opposition and the center-right bloc presented four bills that seek to decriminalize drug use and ban glyphosate, the chemical the government wants to use to fumigate coca. The package of bills seeks to reverse Duque's repressive drug policies, which have the support of only a minority of conservative and far-right parties. What opposition lawmakers want is to curb drug abuse by strengthening health care and to fight drug trafficking via voluntary crop substitution and rural development.

Chronicle AM: First Step Sentence Cut Prisoners Walk Free, Drug Czar Touts OD Decline, More... (7/19/19)

More than 2,000 federal drug prisoners walk free today under First Step Act reforms, the drug czar touts declining drug overdose numbers and blames Obama, Texas prosecutors balk at low-level pot prosecutions now that hemp is legal, and more.

There's a bit more room in the federal prisons today after 2,200 inmates walked free under the First Step Act. (Supreme Court)
Marijuana Policy

Texas Governor Tells DAs Not to Drop Misdemeanor Marijuana Possession Cases. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) sent a letter Thursday to all county prosecutors urging them to continue to enforce state marijuana laws even though since the state legalized hemp this year prosecutors have no means of testing the amount of THC in a cannabis sample. Their current drug tests only detect the presence of THC, not whether it exceeds the 0.3%, and prosecutors in some of the state's largest counties have announced they will not prosecute small-time pot possession cases. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot is one of them, and he said he's not changing his mind: "I have the responsibility to protect the rights of our citizens and ensure that people are not prosecuted for possessing substances that are legal. The concentration of THC is a statutory element of an offense that we must prove to establish a person's guilt. Our office will not charge a person with a marijuana offense without a laboratory report stating that the substance has an illegal concentration of THC."

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Trump Drug Czar Touts Progress Against Opioid Crisis. Jim Carroll, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) gave his boss, the president, credit for an apparent decline in drug overdose deaths reported earlier this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "This president has made this a priority since day one and we're beginning to see results. As you know, the billions of pills that were released, without any control or oversight about what was going on in the last administration has resulted in thousands and thousands of people dying," he said. Still, nearly 70,000 people died of drug overdoses last year on Trump's watch.

Sentencing Policy

More Than 2,000 Federal Drug Prisoners Walk Free Today Under First Step Act. The federal Bureau of Prisons is set to release today 2,200 inmates who had their release dates recalculated following passage of the First Step Act in December. The measure created an easier pathway for inmates to participate in programs designed to prevent recidivism and earn reductions in their sentences. It also reduced mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders with the goal of accelerating the rehabilitation of criminals and improving their chances for success after release.

International

Colombia Court Upholds Ban on Spraying Coca Fields With Herbicide, but Gives Government an Out. The country's constitutional court on Thursday upheld its restrictions on the aerial spraying of glyphosate to kill coca crops, but also said spraying could be reinstated if the government met certain conditions. The country ended the spraying in 2015 after the World Health Organization linked glyphosate to cancer, and the court ratified that decision. But now, rightist President Ivan Duque wants to overturn that decision. While the court upheld the ban for now, it said it will be up to the national narcotics council to decide whether spraying can resume based on conditions it set in its 2017 ruling.

Chronicle AM: Arizona 2020 Initiative Gearing Up, Land Mines in the Coca Fields, More... (7/3/19)

Arizona marijuana legalization supporters prepare to try again, New Jersey is set for a big medical marijuana expansion, tension in Colombia's coca fields, and more.

Things are heating up in Colombia's coca fields. (DEA)
Marijuana Policy

Arizona 2020 Legalization Initiative Campaign Getting Underway. Marijuana legalization supporters are set to try once again to legalize weed via the popular vote after coming up short in 2016. Proponents argue the scenery has shifted enough since then that they can win next year. They will need some 237,000 valid voter signatures by next summer to qualify for the November 2020 ballot.

Medical Marijuana

New Jersey Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Tuesday signed into law signed the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (S 10). The bill greatly expands the state medical marijuana program by increasing the number of qualifying conditions, raising caps on the amount that may be purchased and possessed, and increasing the number of grower permits.

Asset Forfeiture

Hawaii Governor Faces Pressure to Not Veto Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill. After hinting last week that he might veto civil asset forfeiture reform legislation, Gov. David Ige (D) is facing rising pressure from lawmakers and others to change course. The measure, HB 748, which would end civil asset forfeiture, passed both houses of the legislature without a dissenting vote. But Ige called civil asset forfeiture "an effective and critical law enforcement tool that prevents the economic benefits of committing a crime from outweighing consequential criminal penalties and punishment." Lawmakers such as bill sponsor Rep. Joy San Buenaventura (D-Puna) countered that the bill is necessary to protect "innocent people whose property was seized because of legalized theft by the government." The practice amounts to "policing for profit," she added. The ACLU of Hawaii is also calling on Ige to not veto the bill.

International

Colombia Complains Armed Groups are Planting Land Mines to Protect Coca Crop. Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace Miguel Ceballos told the Organization of American States Tuesday that the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) and the rightist paramilitary force the Urabeños have both resumed planting land mines to protect coca crops from manual eradication efforts. Ceballos said the mining is increasing the isolation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and undermining the peace process. "Planting landmines again stalls the adequate implementation of the peace accords, because it prevents populations from returning to their territories," he told journalists. Since 1990, more than 400 crop eradicators have been wounded by land mines and 46 killed.

Chronicle AM: Senate Fight Over Fentanyl Analogues Bill, New Laws Now in Effect, More... (7/2/19)

A battle over fentanyl analogues is brewing on Capitol Hill, various new drug laws went into effect yesterday, North Dakota marijuana advocates plan another initiative, and more.

Fentanyl and its analogues are the subject of a brewing battle in the Senate. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Delaware Lawmakers Ease Marijuana and Alcohol Laws. The legislature has passed a bill expanding marijuana decriminalization to include juveniles. Under current law, small time possession is decriminalized for adults, but people under 18 face a misdemeanor charge. The new bill makes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense in all cases for a first or second offense. A third or subsequent offense would subject anyone under 21 to a misdemeanor criminal charge. Lawmakers also approved a bill making consumption or possession of alcohol by a minor a civil offense for the first and second offenses. Both bills now head to the desk of Gov. John Carney (D) for his signature.

New Mexico Marijuana Decriminalization Now in Effect. As of July 1, the possession of up to a half ounce of marijuana is no longer a criminal offense but is now a civil infraction punishable by a fine of no more than $50. Paraphernalia possession is also now decriminalized.

New Mexico Governor Forms Working Group on Marijuana Legalization. Gov. Michelle Luhan Grisham (D) announced last Friday that she will form a working group to study strategy for legalizing marijuana in the state next year. She "will place the matter of legalization on her call for the Second Session of the 54th Legislature, a 30-day session which will begin January 2020," her office said in a press release. In the meantime, she announced the formation of the Cannabis Legalization working group, comprised of lawmakers, stakeholders, and law enforcement officials. "This group will ensure we begin the next session with a credible, equitable and cohesive legalization proposal that will incorporate all public safety concerns, workplace regulations, labeling requirements that protect underage children and all manner of other issues," Lujan Grisham said. "There are open questions about how legalization can work best for New Mexico. This group will answer those questions, and we will arrive at the next session prepared."

North Dakota Legalizers Roll Out New Ballot Proposal. Legalize ND, the folks behind the failed 2018 marijuana legalization initiative, are back with a new ballot proposal for 2020. Unlike the 2018 initiative, which was very wide open, this new draft sets limits on marijuana possession, bans personal cultivation, and establishes a 10% excise tax on sales. The group will spend the next two weeks reviewing the proposal before presenting it to state officials to begin the official initiative process. Another group is already planning a 2020 constitutional amendment to end marijuana prohibition.

Medical Marijuana

Florida Governor Signs Bill Allowing CBD for Child Epilepsy Patients. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last Friday signed into law HB 7107, which allows for the use of Epidiolex to treat seizures in children. Epidiolex, from GW Pharmaceutical, is "the first FDA-approved drug that contains a purified substance derived from marijuana." The new law changes the drug's classification from Schedule I to Schedule IV.

Georgia CBD Access Law Now in Effect. Four years after the legislature approved the use of CBD for registered patients but failed to provide any means of access to the substance, a law that aims to do that is now in effect. HB 324 allows six private companies to grow medical marijuana to produce low-THC CBD cannabis oil and allows pharmacies to sell it to patients.

Virginia Medical Marijuana Changes Now in Effect. Three new laws intended to expand patient access to medical marijuana went into effect July 1. SB1557 will allow medical marijuana providers to create products such as capsules, topicals, lozenges, and suppositories, as opposed to just oils. SB1719 adds "registered agents" for those patients physically unable to pick up or receive delivery of their medical cannabis, like those in hospice, assisted living facilities, and those who rely on home healthcare providers. HB1720 allows school healthcare providers to administer medical marijuana to registered student patients just as they would any other medication.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Fight Brewing Over Bill to Keep Fentanyl Analogue Plan in Place. Justice Department officials are squaring off against some Democrats and criminal justice and drug policy reformers over a bill that would keep fentanyl analogues in the same category as heroin, making it easier for the government to prosecute traffickers. An emergency ban on the substances is set to expire in February. The Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act (S 1622), sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has caused some Democrats to worry whether the blanket rescheduling of fentanyl-related substances could create barriers for researchers. Meanwhile, groups including the Drug Policy Alliance and the ACLU are opposing the bill, arguing that it would create harsher sentencing and more targeting of communities of color without reducing overdoses.

International

British Home Office Backs Move to Let Hard Drug Users Test Their Stashes. The Home Office has announced that it will license a series of laboratories where users of Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine can test their drugs for purity and quality without fear of arrest. Under the plan, drug users could take dose-sized quantities of their drugs to be tested, and then would have a 20-minute consultation about drug use and paths to treatment.

Philippines Medical Marijuana Bill Reintroduced. A bill to legalize medical marijuana was filed in the House on Monday. Similar bills have been filed each year since 2014. Last year, the bill passed the lower house but failed to get out of the Senate.

Peruvian Rebel Remnants Kill Three Soldiers in Key Coca Zone. Remnants of the 1980s guerrilla group the Shining Path killed three soldiers in ambushes in the Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro (VRAEM) region of central Peru late last month. The VRAEM is Peru's largest coca growing area, and the military has vowed "total pacification" there, but the Shining Path remnants, who mainly subsist off the coca and cocaine trade, apparently beg to differ.

Chronicle AM: Afghan Opium Down, Colombian Coca Leveling Off, More... (6/29/19)

The UN says Afghan opium production is down, the US says Colombian coca production has leveled off but is still at high levels, Louisville passes a lowest law enforcement priority ordinance for marijuana, and more.

Colombian coca production is leveling off, the US says, but there's still plenty of cocaine to go around. (CBP)
Marijuana Policy

Hawaii Governor Won't Veto Decriminalization Bill. Gov. David Ige (D) said this week that he will not veto HB 1383, which decriminalizes the possession of up to three grams of marijuana. Under current law, possession is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Once the bill is signed, it will become a non-criminal violation punishable by a $130 fine.

Louisville Passes Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Ordinance. The Louisville Metro Council has passed an ordinance making "investigation, citations, and arrests" relating to adult possession of a "small amount of marijuana" the lowest law enforcement priority. The ordinance defines adults as 21 or older and says "personal use" could be a half ounce or less of marijuana.

Asset Forfeiture

Alabama Senate Approves Bill Mandating Law Enforcement Reporting on Seizures. The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a bill making it mandatory for law enforcement to report on how often it resorted to civil asset forfeiture to seize property from people not convicted of a crime. The bill now goes to the House.

Harm Reduction

Florida Authorizes Expansion of Syringe Access Statewide. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Wednesday signed into law a bill that will allow legally authorized needle exchange programs across the state. The Infectious Disease Elimination Act (SB 366) was approved by the legislature in May after the Drug Policy Alliance worked with local stakeholders to get it through. Florida now becomes just the 22nd jurisdiction in the country to legally authorize syringe exchange programs. Many still operate underground and face daily risk of closure, further fueling the spread of blood-borne diseases and overdose rates.

International

UN Says Afghan Opium Harvest Declines, Thanks to Drought. Opium production fell last year in Afghanistan, by far the world's leading opium producer, because of severe drought, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported Wednesday. UNODC said the drop was about 25%, leaving output at just under 8,000 tons of raw opium.

US Says Colombian Cocaine Production Leveling Off. According to a 2018 estimate released Wednesday by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia remains high but is leveling off. The estimate states cultivation in Colombia saw a minor decrease in 2018 to 208,000 hectares from 209,000 hectares in 2017. Similarly, potential pure cocaine production also saw a minor decrease in 2018 to 887 pure metric tons from 900 pure metric tons in 2017. Although coca cultivation in Colombia remained at historically high levels in 2018, it was the first year the crop did not increase since 2012.

The Drug Policy Alliance is a funder of StoptheDrugWar.org.

Chronicle AM: No NY Legalization (Yet), Colombia to Resume Aerial Coca Spraying, More... (6/19/19)

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)
Marijuana Policy

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.

Drug War Issues

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