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Chronicle AM: NJ and NY Legalization Bills Appear Stalled, US Funds Colombia Peace Process, More.... (5/14/19)

New Jersey and New York efforts to legalize marijuana this year are faltering, New Jersey expands its medical marijuana system, USAID sends $160 million to Colombia, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Illinois Legalization Bill Could Remove Home Cultivation. The marijuana legalization bill filed last week, SB 002, may see its home cultivation provision stripped out in a bid to appease critics, bill sponsor Sen. Heather Steans (D) has confirmed. Illinois NORML said if that happens, it will have to reconsider whether to support the bill.

New Jersey, New York Marijuana Legalization Bills Stalled. In both states, efforts to get a legalization bill through this year appear to have run out of steam. When New Jersey was unable to gets its bill through in March, that took pressure off of neighboring New York, and now momentum has stalled there, too.

Cincinnati Moves to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession. The city council on Wednesday voted to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. The council approved two separate measures, one that would decriminalize up to 200 grams, the other that would decriminalize up to 100 grams. There would be no fine or jail time, but the person would be guilty of a “minor misdemeanor” of marijuana possession even though the ordinance says that doesn't "constitute a criminal record." A final vote on the possession limit will come later.

Medical Marijuana

Democratic Presidential Candidate Seth Moulton Files Three Veterans' Medical Marijuana Bills. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who recently announced he is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, filed three House bills concerning medical marijuana for military veterans on Friday. The bills are identical to ones he has filed in the past. One would direct the VA to survey marijuana use by vets, a second would require the VA to train doctors and other primary care providers in the therapeutic use of marijuana, while the third would direct the VA to create a medical marijuana policy.

Maryland Governor Signs Bills Allowing Edibles. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Monday signed into law a bill legalizing edible medical marijuana products. That should lead to increased sales in the state's dispensaries.

New Jersey to Expand Medical Marijuana Program. Starting next week, the Health Department has new legal authority to expand the supply and demand for medical marijuana in the state. The department will be able to create a permit-granting system that splits the industry between growers, manufacturers and retailers. That should open the door to smaller players, help the industry grow, and generate more medicine. Also, the health commissioner will be empowered to add qualifying medical conditions. This does away with the cumbersome Marijuana Review Panel.

Hemp

Iowa Governor Signs Hemp Bill. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Monday signed into law SF 599, which legalizes hemp production in the state. She warned, however, that the measure “does not legalize the sale or manufacturing of…CBD."

Foreign Policy

US Announces Funding for Colombia Peace Process. The US Agency for International Development announced Monday that it will provide $160 million in funding to Colombia to help implement the historic peace accord signed between the state and now-disarmed FARC rebels. "These funds are destined for important work, for the implementation of peace, to promote reconciliation, to help rural communities, to improve security for citizens and to strengthen the protection of human rights," said US AID Administrator Mark Green.

International

St. Kitts And Nevis Court Rules Adults Can Legally Use Marijuana in Private. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has ruled that parts of the country's drug laws regarding marijuana unconstitutionally infringe on citizens' privacy and religious freedom rights. The ruling makes it legal for Rastafaris to use marijuana for religious purposes. The court has given the government of the two-island Caribbean nation 90 days to "remedy these constitutional defects."

(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 web site. 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.)

Chronicle AM: Denver Votes for Mushroom Decrim, Ivanka Trump Comments on Colombia Policy, More... (5/9/19)

Denver's magic mushroom decriminalization initiative comes from behind to win, Ivanka Trump voices support for crop substitution in Colombia, the Alabama legislature is busy, and more.

magic mushrooms (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Alabama House Committee Rejects Decriminalization Bill. The House Health Committee voted Wednesday to kill HB 96, which would have decriminalized the possession of five grams or less of marijuana. Several committee members worried that decriminalizing would let people get caught with pot multiple times and never have to go to drug court.

Medical Marijuana

Alabama Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill. The Senate on Thursday approved a restrictive medical marijuana bill, SB 236. The bill allows for medical marijuana use for specified conditions if other treatments are not working. At least two physicians must sign off on the recommendation, and patients must submit to random drug testing. The bill now goes to the House.

Psychedelics

Denver Decriminalizes Magic Mushrooms. Hours after numerous media outlets (including us) had the Denver magic mushroom initiative going down to defeat Tuesday night, it managed a near-miraculous last-minute comeback to squeak out a victory by a margin of 50.56% to 49.44%, late Wednesday afternoon, according to unofficial Denver Election Division results. With passage of I-301, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Initiative, voters have told the city they want to "deprioritize, to the greatest extent possible, the imposition of criminal penalties on persons 21 years of age and older for the personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms." The measure also "prohibits the city and county of Denver from spending resources on imposing criminal penalties on persons 21 years of age and older for the personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms."

Foreign Policy

Ivanka Trump Is Interested in Supporting Crop Substitution Programs in Colombia, first daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump is interested in US support for for a UN-monitored crop substitution program for coca farmers, according to Colombia's vice-president. Under Trump, the US has refused to support such programs, which are part of the peace treaty between the FARC and the Colombian government, because they employ some former FARC guerrillas. Even though the FARC transitioned from guerrilla army to political party in 2017, the US still labels it a terrorist organization. Trump officials have insisted on forcibly eradicating and fumigating coca crops, a strategy widely considered ineffective.

International

Canada Grants More Exemptions for Religious Groups to Import Ayahuasca. Health Canada has granted three more exemptions for religious groups in Ontario and Quebec to import the psychoactive brew ayahuasca. It had granted exemptions in 2017 to the Eclectic Centre for Universal Flowing Light and the Beneficient Spiritist Center Uniao do Vegetal. Now, Health Canada announces it has granted three more exemptions, to the Ceu da Divina Luz do Montreal, the Église Santo Daime Céu do Vale de Vida in Val-David, Quebec, and the Ceu de Toronto. "These exemptions provide these applicant's designated members, senior members and registrants with the authority to possess, provide, transport, import, administer and destroy Daime Tea (ayahuasca), as applicable, when carrying out activities related to their religious practice, subject to the terms and conditions of the exemption," said Health Canada spokesperson Maryse Durette.

Chronicle AM: CO Drug Defelonization Bill Advances, Mexico Murders, Colombia Massacres, More... (4/23/19)

Drug prohibition is engendering new levels of violence in Mexico and Colombia, the Denver city council deals a blow to would-be social consumption business operators, the FDA approves generic naloxone, and more.

The black market in cocaine is fueling violence in Mexico and Colombia. (USCBP)
Marijuana

Denver City Council Rejects Easing Restrictions on Social Consumption. A resolution to make it easier for businesses offering on-premises consumption by halving the 1,000-foot buffer between them and daycare centers, drug treatment centers, and city-owned parks has failed in the city council. The council voted 7-5 to approve the measure, but because it would have amended the city's voter-approved 2016 social consumption, it needed nine votes to pass.

Harm Reduction

FDA Approves First Generic Naloxone. The Food and Drug Administration announced last Friday that it has approved the first generic formulation of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug. The agency also said it will prioritize its review of other applications for generic variants of products intended to treat opioid overdoses. "In the wake of the opioid crisis, a number of efforts are underway to make this emergency overdose reversal treatment more readily available and more accessible. In addition to this approval of the first generic naloxone nasal spray, moving forward we will prioritize our review of generic drug applications for naloxone," the FDA said.

Sentencing Reform

Bipartisan Drug Defelonization Bill Advances in Colorado Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill 3-2 Monday that would reduce the penalties for drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. The bipartisan legislation, HB19-1263, which was approved by the full House on April 18, will now advance to the Senate Finance Committee.

International

UN Report Finds Massacres on the Increase in Colombia. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has issued a report revealing a large increase in massacres carried out in Colombia, reflecting new criminal dynamics in key areas of the country. OHCHR noted just 11 massacres in 2017, but that number nearly tripled to 29 cases last year. Most of the massacres occurred in the departments of Antioquia, Cauca, Norte de Santander and Caquetá, areas particularly affected by Colombia's ongoing armed conflict. In the wake of the peace agreement between the FARC and the government, old and newly emerging criminal groups are fighting over who will control coca and poppy-growing areas and distribution.

Mexico Murder Rate Keeps Increasing. Data released this week from the National System for Public Security show that the homicide rate in the country has soared in the first two months of this year. Some 8,493 people were killed between January 1 and March 3, a 9.6% jump over the same period in 2018. Most -- but not all -- of the violence is related to fighting between rival cartels and clashes between cartels and members of the state security apparatus. The previous two years had both seen record numbers of killings, with some 33,341 reported last year, but if the rate seen in early numbers this year continues, the toll could reach 50,000 by year's end.

Chronicle AM: Louisiana Cannabis Poll, Feds Raid Appalachian Opioid Prescribers, More... (4/18/19)

A new poll finds Louisianans are ready to free the weed, Georgia medical marijuana patients will soon be able to access CBD cannabis oils, a Peruvian clash that left two coca-growers dead raises international concern, and more.

A new Louisiana poll suggests the Bayou State is ready to legalize marijuana. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Louisiana Poll Has Majority Support for Legalization. A new Louisiana State University poll has support for marijuana legalization at 55%. Four out of five (80%) of 18-29-year-olds were down with it, as well as two-thirds (67%) of people aged 30 through 49. Only people over 65 were opposed, with 69% rejecting legalization.

Medical Marijuana

Georgia Governor Signs Bill Improving Access to CBD Cannabis Oil. Gov. Brian Kemp has signed into law HB 324, which makes it legal to possess CBD cannabis oil and bring it across state lines. The bill also sets up a framework for the growth and sale of CBD cannabis oil in the state. Currently, state law allows the use of CBD oil, but there is no way for patients to obtain it.

Pennsylvania Patient Loses Bid to Gain Section 8 Housing. An Indiana County medical marijuana patient whose Section 8 housing voucher was previously denied because of her medical marijuana use lost again in Common Pleas Court Wednesday, even though the judge in the case expressed sympathy for her plight. He acknowledged that medical marijuana is legal under state law, but said federal law doesn't allow the use of federally illegal drugs in federal housing programs. The patient will now appeal to the Commonwealth Court.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

DEA Conducts Massive Raids Against Appalachian Opioid Prescribers. Federal agents led by the DEA raided doctors' offices and pharmacies across five Appalachian states Wednesday, arresting 60 people, including 31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners, and seven other licensed medical professionals. They are accused of writing or fulfilling more than 350,000 illegal prescriptions to 24,000 people in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and West Virginia.

The DEA press release says that resources are available to help patients caught up in the situation, but for most of the states included in the listings, only addiction services are listed, not physicians or clinics with expertise in pain control, much less who are willing to provide it to patients so close to an alleged criminal situation.

Reporting notes that the indictments allege physician misconduct including performing unnecessary dental work to justify prescribing opioids, and exchanging prescriptions for sex. But there is no detail yet available for assessing whether the charges are justified, whether conduct of that type has been alleged for all the professionals targeted in the indictments, or how many people receiving prescriptions may be actual pain patients.

International

Human Rights, Policy Groups Call for Transparent Investigation of Peru Coca Farmer Killings. In a letter to Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra and anti-drug agency leader Ismael Ruben Vargas, dozens of human rights groups, drug policy groups, and individual academics and researchers have demanded a "transparent investigation" into the killings last week of two protesting coca-growing peasants in a confrontation with police and coca eradication forces. The letter cites a local witness who says police fired "indiscriminately" during the confrontation between growers and newly-arrived eradicators. The letter also called on the government to create a new coca registry in the region to allow farmers to participate in the country's legal coca industry.

Chronicle AM: No Cannabis Lounges for Oregon This Year; Drug Eradication Clashes in Peru, Mexico, More... (4/15/19)

A set of Michigan bills would do some post-legalization cleanup, a decriminalization bill advances in Missouri, an Oklahoma bill protecting patient rights is signed by the governor, drug crop growers clash with authorities in Mexico and Peru, and more.

Peruvian coca farmers clashed with police and eradicators last Friday, leaving two dead. (deamuseum.org)
Marijuana Policy

Michigan Bills Would Cut Sentences for People Jailed for Possession. State Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) has filed a package of bills that would reduce prison, parole, and probation sentences for people jailed for marijuana possession. SB 262 through SB 265 are now before the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. "After the passage of Proposal 1, it's time we rethink drug sentencing laws in Michigan, so let's start with marijuana offenses, since those are no longer considered crimes under current law," Santana said.

Missouri Decriminalization Bill Advances. The House Special Committee on Criminal Justice last Thursday unanimously approved HB 1095, which would decriminalize the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana. The measure would also make possession of less than 35 grams from a felony to a Class D misdemeanor. The measure now heads for a House floor vote.

Oregon Social Consumption Bill Dies. A bill that would have allowed marijuana consumption lounges, SB 639, was among hundreds of bills that died in the legislature after failing to move out of committee by April 9. The bill's failure is a blow to the state's legal marijuana industry, which is faced with chronic oversupply.

Medical Marijuana

Oklahoma Governor Signs Patient Protection Bill. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) has signed into law HB 2612, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act. The measure protects patients' rights to possess firearms under state law and allows the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to hire its own investigators to probe alleged violations. The law will go into effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns, which will be at the end of May.

Washington Senate Approves Allowing Medical Marijuana in School. The state Senate on Saturday overwhelmingly approved SB 5442, which would allow parents to administer medical marijuana to their children at school, on the school bus, and at after-school activities. The bill limits the kind of marijuana used to infused products and extracts.

International

Mexico Poppy Farmers Detain Soldiers in Eradication Protest. Residents of a rural town in Guerrero state said they detained 40 soldiers last week to demand they halt opium poppy eradication efforts. The farmers said they set up roadblocks to prevent soldiers from leaving the region and called on the state and federal governments to provide assistance to local farmers so they aren't forced to grow opium. The farmers said the state government had promised in November that their poppy crops would not be destroyed and alternative means of support would be provided, but neither happened.

Peru Clashes Over Coca Eradication Leave Two Farmers Dead. Two coca growers were killed in clashes with a large eradication team last Friday. The team, which consisted of 72 police officers and158 civilian eradicators, had arrived in the area near the Bolivian border to destroy illegal coca fields, but reported that they were attacked by people wielding machetes and sticks as they set up camp. But the mayor of the town of San Gaban said witnesses told him police fired indiscriminately. "They were shooting right and left. That's why we have this bloodshed," the mayor said.

The War on Cocaine Only Strengthens Drug Cartels, Study Finds [FEATURE]

If you've spent nearly a half-century and $250 billion trying to stop the flow of cocaine into the US and the white powder is now cheaper and more plentiful than ever, maybe it's time to rethink. That's the implicit lesson lurking behind a new study on the impact of drug interdiction efforts on drug trafficking organizations.

cocaine interdicted by US Customs (dhs.gov)
Interdiction is the supply side approach to reducing drug use. Rather than reducing demand through education, prevention, and treatment, interdiction seeks to reduce the supply of drugs available domestically by blocking them en route to the US or at the border.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and conducted by scientists from a half-dozen American universities, the study relied on a computer model called NarcoLogic that shows how drug traffickers respond to interdiction strategies and tactics. More sophisticated than previous attempts to simulate the drug trade, NarcoLogic models local- and network-level trafficking dynamics at the same time.

"Our team consists of researchers who worked in different parts of Central America during the 2000s and witnessed a massive surge of drugs into the region that coincided with a reinvigoration of the war on drugs," David Wrathall of Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences said in a press release announcing the research results. "We asked ourselves: did drug interdiction push drug traffickers into these places?"

The short answer is yes, and that has implications that go far beyond drug policy. The Central American migrants who are at the center of the current "border crisis" are fleeing not only poverty but also high levels of violence generated by the movement of Mexican drug trafficking groups into the region a decade ago as they faced increasing interdiction efforts at home and from US authorities.

In fact, although it is not addressed in this new research, it was earlier interdiction efforts aimed at Colombian cocaine trafficking groups in the 1980s that led directly to the transformation of formerly small-scale Mexican cross-border smuggling organizations into the Frankenstein's monster of drug prohibition that the cartels are today. With the Colombians under intense pressure, Mexican traffickers rose to the occasion and have been making billions of dollars a year ever since.

This despite five decades of US interdiction efforts with an average annual expenditure of $5 billion. Instead of curbing the flow of cocaine into the United States, all that has been accomplished is making the drug trafficking operations more widespread and harder to eradicate. Putting pressure on one route or location simply leads traffickers to scatter and regroup. This is the "balloon effect," where suppressing traffic or production in one area prompts it to pop up elsewhere, and the "cockroach effect," where traffickers simply decentralize their operations.

"Between 1996 and 2017, the Western Hemisphere transit zone grew from 2 million to 7 million square miles, making it more difficult and costly for law enforcement to track and disrupt trafficking networks," Wrathall said. "But as trafficking spread, it triggered a host of smuggling-related collateral damages: violence, corruption, proliferation of weapons, and extensive and rapid environmental destruction."

And for all that effort, the impact on cocaine price and availability has been negligible -- or even perverse.

"Wholesale cocaine prices in the United States have actually dropped significantly since 1980, deaths from cocaine overdose are rising, and counterdrug forces intercept cocaine shipments at a low rate. More cocaine entered the United States in 2015 than in any other year," Wrathall said. "And one thing people who support interdiction and those who don't can agree on is that change is needed. This model can help determine what that change should look like."

The main takeaway from the study is not that drug trafficking became more widespread and resilient because of ineffective interdiction efforts, but because of interdiction itself. The policy aimed at suppressing the drug trade has only made it stronger and wealthier.

"The study is a victory for observation and theory. This model successfully recreates the dynamic our team had observed," Wrathall said. "It tells us that increased interdiction will continue to push traffickers into new areas, spreading networks, and allowing them to continue to move drugs north."

Maybe it is time to try something different.

This article was produced by Drug Reporter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

Chronicle AM: NM Legal Pot Bill Advances, House Dems Slam Trump Drug Policies, More... (3/11/19)

Another Democratic presidential contender gets behind a federal marijuana legalization bill, pot legalization is moving in New Mexico but faces a ticking clock, the Florida smokable medical marijuana bill advances, and more.

The Land of Enchantment is on the verge of becoming even more enchanting. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, Don Young File Bill to End Federal Pot Prohibition. Democratic presidential contender Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has partnered with Rep. Don Young (R-AK) to file a bill to remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances. The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act would leave marijuana policy to the states. The bipartisan pair of legislators also filed the Marijuana Data Collection Act, which would evaluate the effects of marijuana legalization in states that have already legalized it. Neither of the bills is yet available on the congressional website.

Hawaii House Approves Decriminalization Bill. The House last Thursday passed HB 1383, which would decriminalize the possession of up to three grams of weed. Under current state law, possession is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail. The bill would also expunge criminal convictions for people caught with less than three grams in the past. It now goes to the Senate.

New Mexico House Approves Legalization Bill. The House voted last Thursday to approve HB 356, which would legalize marijuana for adults and set up a system of taxed and regulated production and sales. The bill now heads to the Senate, where progress is possible but faces a ticking clock. The session ends on Thursday.

New Mexico Senate Committee Approves Legalization Bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Saturday approved SB 577, the companion bill to the legalization bill approved by the House. The bill must still get through two more committees and a floor vote by Thursday to pass because the session ends then.

Medical Marijuana

Florida Senate Approves Bill Allowing Smokable Medical Marijuana. The Senate last Thursday overwhelmingly approved SB 182, which would repeal the legislature's ban on smokable medical marijuana. The effort is being pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has vowed to act if the legislature fails to. The measure now goes to the House, which must approve it by Friday or DeSantis will drop the state's appeal of a lower court ruling ending the ban.

Drug Policy

House Democrats Blast Trump Administration's Lack of National Drug Control Strategy. Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee blasted the Trump administration for failing to release a drug control strategy in either 2017 or 2018, even as the nation battled the opioid crisis. "It is absolutely inexcusable that the administration did not bother to issue a National Drug Control Strategy during the first two years that he was in office," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). "More than 70,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses in 2017 alone," she said. "As many as 140,000 Americans have died from overdoses in the first two years of the Trump administration."

Drug Testing

Alabama Bill Would Require Drug Testing for Food Stamps. Rep. James Haynes (R-District 23) has filed HB 3, which would require applicants for food stamps to be screened for possible drug use and subjected to pre-approval drug testing if there is a "reasonable suspicion that the person uses or is under the influence of a drug." That reasonable suspicion would include having a drug conviction within the previous five years. A first failed test would result in a warning a re-test. A failed second test would result in temporary ineligibility for food stamps. A third failed drug test would result in permanent ineligibility. The bill is currently before the House Judiciary Committee.

International

Colombia's Rightist President Wants to Return to Aerial Spraying of Coca Crops. President Ivan Duque has asked the country's Constitutional Court to ease restrictions on spraying coca crops with glyphosate, a weed killer that has been linked to cancer. Former President Juan Manuel Santos banned the use of glyphosate to destroy illegal crops after the World Health Organization classified it as a likely carcinogen. But Duque says that expanding coca production has consequences to significant for the country for the government to limit the tools it has available to fight the crop.

(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.)

Chronicle AM: Beto, Bernie Talk Criminal Justice Reform; FDA Oks Ketamine for Depression, More... (3/6/19)

Democratic presidential contenders begin staking out criminal justice reform positions, yet another poll has a national majority for marijuana legalization, the FDA approves ketamine for depression, and more.

Bernie Sanders talks criminal justice reform, but he's not the only Democratic doing so. (senate.gov)
Marijuana Policy

Quinnipiac Poll Has Strong Support for Legalization. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday has support for marijuana legalization at 60% nationwide, with only 33% opposed. An even larger number of respondents (63%) said old marijuana arrest records should be expunged.

Texas Decriminalization Bill Gets Hearing. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee held a hearing Monday on House Bill 63, which would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) has been pushing the issue since 2015. No vote was taken.

Medical Marijuana

Georgia House Approves CBD Access Bill. The House on Tuesday approved HB 324, which would allow for the sale of CBD cannabis oil to patients through dispensaries. The state legalized CBD cannabis oil for medicinal use in 2015, but there is no legal way to buy, sell, or obtain it. This bill would fix that. It now heads to the Senate.

Hawaii Will Allow Out of State Patients to Obtain Medical Marijuana. As of Tuesday, people with medical marijuana recommendations from other states are able to purchase medical marijuana while in the state. Officials said the change will ensure that visitors and part-time residents can get their medicine.

New Mexico Temporarily Boosts Plant Limits for Producers. The state health department issued an emergency rule last Friday to temporarily boost the number of plants producers can grow. The rule lifts the maximum from 450 plants to 2,500 plants through the end of August. The department will initiate a rule-making process to determine what the final plant count should be. The move comes amidst concerns over lack of supply.

Ketamine

FDA Approves Ketamine for Depression. The Food and Drug Administration approved a prescription treatment for depression that is derived from ketamine. The new treatment, called esketamine, is a nasal spray developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and will be sold under the brand name Spravato. The approval comes even as the FDA acknowledges that ketamine's anti-depressant properties are not well understood. Ketamine is an old anesthetic but has also been used as the club drug Special K in recent years.

Drug Policy

Beto O'Rourke Calls for Broad Drug, Criminal Justice Reforms. The Democratic presidential contender called for marijuana legalization and a "criminal justice system that is more fair and that urgently puts our country closer to the words written above the highest court in our land: equal justice under law" in an email to supporters this week. He also lambasted "the new Jim Crow" and the "school to prison pipeline," he said disproportionately targeted black children. He also called for an end to cash bail and the use of private prisons.

Bernie Sanders Calls for an End to the War on Drugs. In campaign rallies last weekend in Brooklyn and Chicago, the Vermont senator called for legalizing marijuana and ending the war on drugs, while calling for the need to address racial disparities in the emerging legal marijuana industry. "No more war on drugs that has destroyed so many lives," Sanders. "When we talk about criminal justice reform, we are going to change a system in which tens of thousands of Americans every year get criminal records for possessing marijuana, but not one major Wall Street executive went to jail for destroying our economy in 2008," he said. "No, they didn't go to jail, they got a trillion dollar bailout."

International

Colombia Coca Farmers Clash with Police. Farmers in Cordoba province's Alto Sinu region who are returning to coca cultivation after two years of waiting for economic and security assistance that never arrived clashed with riot police as they protested the national government's failure to support the shift to substitute crops. They said they had been left no choice but to go back to coca. Coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia has reached an all-time high, having risen to 171,000 hectares in 2017 from 48,000 in 2013.

(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.)

Chronicle AM: CND Delays Vote on Pot Rescheduling, RI Drug Defelonization Push, More...(2/26/19)

San Francisco moves to expunge more than 9,000 pot convictions, Rhode Island's attorney general wants to defelonize drug possession, Peruvian farmers are leaving the coffee fields for the coca fields, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Baltimore Mayor Pressed to End Marijuana Arrests. Fourteen local advocacy groups have sent a letter to Mayor Catherine Pugh urging her to direct the police commissioner to stop arresting people for small-time pot offenses. The letter comes after Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced a new policy of not prosecuting such cases, only to have interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle, a former DEA agent, refused to order police to stop making the arrests. Tuggle is gone now, but it's unclear what his replacement, Michael Harrison, will do, thus the letter to the mayor urging her to lead on the issue.

San Francisco Will Expunge More Than 9,000 Marijuana Convictions. City prosecutors announced Monday that they would move to expunge some 9,300 marijuana possession convictions dating back to 1976. The move comes after a yearlong review of pot convictions in the city. The effort was bolstered by the city's decision to work with a Code for America, a nonprofit that uses technology to make government more efficient. Coders created an algorithm that combed through the city's decades worth of criminal records in minutes—and automatically filled out the required forms to be turned in during the expungement process.

Medical Marijuana

Missouri Publishes First Draft Medical Marijuana Rules. The state Department of Health and Human Services has posted its first draft rules for the state medical marijuana system approved by voters in November 2018. The first batch of draft rules deals with requirements for ID cards for the program. There will be public hearings before the rules are finalized. The state has until June 4 to begin taking applications for ID cards.

Treatment

West Virginia House Approves Drug Treatment Bills. The House on Monday passed two bills related to drug treatment and amended a third. HB 3132 exempts certain providers from some of the medication-assisted treatment licensing requirements. HB 3133 would mandate that probationers with history or symptoms of addiction to attend support services for at least 60 days. The bill that was amended was HB 2991, which authorizes the continuation of an addiction prevention and recovery fund. That bill requires any proceeds from settlements with drug manufacturers or distributors to go into the fund; the amendment would allow state agencies to recover reasonable administrative costs.

Sentencing

Rhode Island Attorney General Plans Bill to Defelonize Drug Possession. State Attorney General Peter Neronha has announced plans to introduce legislation that would make possession of up to an ounce of any drug other than marijuana a misdemeanor. "There is a significant difference between those who traffic in drugs and those who possess them," explained Neronha at a press conference at the attorney general’s office in Cranston. "I learned how difficult it is for somebody getting out of prison, or somebody with a felony conviction to get back into the workforce. To get housing. To get back on their feet," he said.

International

UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs Delays Vote on WHO Marijuana Rescheduling Recommendation. The Commission on Narcotic Drugs will not vote on the World Health Organization's marijuana recommendations during its March session in Vienna That news comes after the release of the recommendations, which had been expected in December, was delayed. Several counties asked for more time to consider the recommendations saying they only received the rescheduling recommendation in late January. If the recommendations had come out in time, countries would have had three months to study them before the Vienna meeting.

Peru Farmers Are Abandoning Coffee Crops to Work in Coca Fields. Slumping coffee prices and delays in certifying organic beans are pushing Peruvian coffee growers out of the business and into the coca fields, the country's main coffee growers' association said Monday The Junta Nacional del Café said farmers started migrating to coca growing regions in December and hundreds have since abandoned their coffee fields. "Coffee ... exports are in real trouble, and we lack the support of the government with clear actions to overcome them," said the JNC’s head, Tomas Cordova. "This foments poverty, unemployment and the expansion of illegal crops."

Chronicle AM: James Carroll Approved as Drug Czar, Tijuana's Bloody 2018, More... (1/3/19)

Pennsylvania lawmakers are moving on marijuana legalization, the Trump administration finally gets a permanent drug czar, Tijuana saw a bloody year last year, and more.

Colombian coca farmers have been busy expanding their crop, and the US is concerned. (DEA)
Marijuana Policy

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Get Moving on Legalization. On Wednesday, legalization proponent Sen. Daylin Leach (D) revealed that he and Sen. Sharif Street (D) are in the final stages of preparing a bill to legalize marijuana. On Thursday, Rep. Jake Wheatley Jr. (D) sent out a cosponsorship memo seeking support for a soon-to-filed House bill he described as "the most comprehensive legalization legislation to date."

Drug Policy

Senate Approves James Carroll as Drug Czar. James Carroll, who has been acting head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) since February, was confirmed as director Wednesday in one of the last acts of the lame duck Senate. Now, after nearly two years without a drug czar, the White House finally has a top drug policy advisor other than Kellyanne Conway.

Foreign Policy

Pompeo "Concerned" Over Colombia Coca Cultivation Increase. In a meeting with Colombian President Ivan Duque Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is deeply concerned about rising levels of coca cultivation there. He also said the US would work with Colombia to cut production in half within five years.

International

Tijuana Saw 2,500 Murders Last Year as Drug Wars Raged. The state attorney general's office released a year-end report on December 31 saying that Tijuana had seen 2,499 registered homicides in 2018, but more bodies were found before day's end, bringing the toll past 2,500. The report said about 85% of the killings were related to the drug trade, especially a turf war between the New Generation Tijuana Cartel (aligned with the New Generation Jalisco Cartel) and the Sinaloa Cartel. But some of the killings are a result of factional fights within the Sinaloa Cartel over lucrative street-level markets and smuggling routes to the US.

Drug War Issues

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