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

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

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

Medical Marijuana

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

Drug Testing

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

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

International

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

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

Eleven senators urge the Trump administration to leave legal marijuana alone, a federal legalization bill gets introduced, Justin Trudeau says yes to marijuana legalization but no to drug decriminalization, the INCB rips the Philippines' bloody drug war, and more.

Eleven US Senators Urge Trump Administration Not to Mess With Legal Marijuana. Eleven senators, led by Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions Thursday urging him to uphold the Obama administration policy of letting states implement their own marijuana laws. "We respectfully request that you uphold DOJ's existing policy regarding states that have implemented strong and effective regulations for recreational use," they wrote. "It is critical that states continue to implement these laws."

Republican Congressman Files Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill. Freshman Virginia Republican Rep. Thomas Garrett has filed a legalization bill, House Resolution 1227, that is identical to the one filed last year by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Unlike the Sanders bill, which garnered no cosponsors, this one already has three. Garrett played up the states' rights angle in announcing the bill: "Virginia is more than capable of handling its own marijuana policy, as are states such as Colorado or California," he said.

New Mexico Senate Passes Bill Lowering Marijuana Penalties. The Senate Thursday approved Senate Bill 258, which would make possession of less than a half ounce an administrative offense punishable by no more than a $50 fine. Possession of between a half ounce and an ounce would be a misdemeanor, punishable by no more than a $100 fine. The bill now goes to the House.

Medical Marijuana

Mississippi Bill to Let Pharmacies Dispense CBD Cannabis Oil Goes to Governor. The House Thursday approved Senate Bill 2610, which would amend the state's existing CBD cannabis oil law to allow pharmacies to join the University of Mississippi Medical Center in dispensing the medicine. The bill has already passed the Senate and now heads to the desk of Gov. Phil Bryant (R).

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Maryland Governor Declares Opioid State of Emergency. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Wednesday that he is declaring a state of emergency around the state's heroin and opioid abuse problem. "I will be signing an executive order declaring a state of emergency in response to rapid escalation of the heroin and opioid crisis in our state," Hogan said. "With this continuing threat increasing at such an alarming rate, we must allow for rapid coordination with our state and local emergency teams." Hogan said issuing the emergency notice would give the state and local emergency agencies more flexibility to deal with the problem.

Asset Forfeiture

Idaho House Passes Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill. The Republican-controlled House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve House Bill 202, which would bar police from seizing cash or property merely because it was in close proximity to an illegal substance. The bill also bans seizing vehicles unless they are connected to drug-dealing offenses, requires judicial approval for police to keep assets, and requires police to report on seizures. The bill passed despite opposition from the Idaho Sheriffs' Association. It now goes to the Senate.

International

US to Pressure Colombia to Cut Coca Crop. American drug officials will go to Bogota next week to "engage in serious discussions with the Government of Colombia" about the sharp increase in coca cultivation and cocaine production in the country in recent years, they said in a press briefing on Thursday. Colombia has seen a spike in coca cultivation in 2014 and 2015, the last years for which data is available. "We are working on the problem. It is a serious problem," said William R. Brownfield, assistant secretary of the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, during Thursday's press briefing. "Both governments recognize this fact. Both governments realize that it is neither in the interest of Colombia, nor in the United States of America, nor, frankly, any country in the Western Hemisphere or the world, that there be more than a doubling of cocaine production coming from Colombia over the last four -- three or four years."

Justin Trudeau Says Marijuana Legalization Coming, But Rejects Drug Decriminalization for Canada. The Canadian prime minister said Thursday he hoped to have a marijuana legalization bill before parliament this summer, but rejected calls from British Columbia public health officials to decriminalize drug possession in a bid to reduce overdose deaths. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who is on the front lines," he said. "I always listen very carefully to what they have to say. But at the same time, I can absolutely confirm that we are moving forward on a framework to regulate and control marijuana to protect our kids and keep our communities safer from organized crime, and we are not planning on including any other illicit substances in the movement toward legalizing, controlling and regulating."

International Narcotics Control Board Rips Philippines Drug War. In its annual report, released Thursday, the INCB said President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drug users and sellers violates international drug control treaties. "The Board wishes to bring once again to the attention of all Governments that extrajudicial action, purportedly taken in pursuit of drug control objectives, is fundamentally contrary to the provisions and objectives of the three international drug control conventions, under which all actions must be undertaken within the due process of law,"the report said. The INCB said that it had issued a statement calling on the Philippines government to issue an immediate and unequivocal condemnation and denunciation of the killings of individuals suspected of involvement in the illegal drug trade. It also called on the government to put an immediate stop to such actions and bring the perpetrators of such acts to justice.

The uproar is deafening in the wake of White House press secretary Sean Spicer's hint Thursday that Trump could crack down on legal weed, Virginia's governor signs a needle exchange bill into law, the Arizona House unanimously passes asset forfeiture reform, and more.

Needle exchange programs are coming to Virginia under a new law just signed by the governor. (Creative Commons/Wikimedia)

Marijuana Industry, Advocates React to Spicer Threat. White House press secretary Sean Spicer's statement Thursday that he expects the Justice Department to crack down on recreational marijuana in states where it is legal has excited a firestorm in the industry and among advocates. "To have Mr. Spicer say in one sentence that they're a states' rights administration and in the very next sentence say they're going to crack down... it just defies logic," said Robert Capecchi, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, an organization that lobbies for pot-friendly changes to drug-related legislation. Click on the link for more reaction.

Medical Marijuana

North Carolina Medical Marijuana Bill Filed. House Democrats Wednesday introduced House Bill 185, a full-fledged medical marijuana bill that contains generous provisions on the amount of marijuana patients may possess (up to 24 ounces or "an adequate supply" as determined by a physician) and grow (up to 250 square feet of canopy), as well as providing for caregivers and establishing a system of dispensaries and commercial medical grows. Similar bills died in the 2015-2016 session, with one issued an "unfavorable report," meaning its subject matter could not be considered by the House for two years.

Asset Forfeiture

Arizona House Unanimously Passes Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill. The House voted unanimously Thursday to approve House Bill 2477, which sets a higher evidentiary standard for prosecutors to overcome before they can seize cash or property under civil asset forfeiture. Currently, prosecutors need prove only "a preponderance of the evidence," but under this bill, they would have to provide "clear and convincing evidence" the property or cash was linked to a crime. The bill doesn't abolish civil asset forfeiture, but does tighten it. It would also bar prosecutors from doing an end-run around state laws by passing cases off to the feds. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Harm Reduction

Virginia Governor Signs Needle Exchange Bill. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has signed into law House Bill 2317, which authorizes the state health commissioner to establish and operate needle exchange programs after declaring a public health emergency. Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine and Gov. McAuliffe declared that emergency last year.

International

Bolivian Congress Approves Near Doubling of Legal Coca Cultivation.The lower house approved a bill Thursday that would nearly double the amount of land allowed for legal coca cultivation, and the Senate approved it Friday. The bill would allow farmers to plant up to about 50,000 acres with coca, up dramatically from the 30,000 acres currently allowed. Even that new, higher limit was too much for some coca farmers, who want no limits, and clashed violently with police earlier this week.

A federal bill to let states experiment with marijuana policy is back, CBD cannabis oil and medical marijuana study bills advance at the statehouse, trouble is bubbling up in Morocco's hash-producing regions, and more.

California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is again introducing a bill to give states the lead on marijuana policy. (house.gov)

Republican Congressman Files Federal Bill to Let States Set Own Marijuana Policies. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) Tuesday filed House Resolution 975, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act. The bill would resolve conflicts between state and federal laws by exempting people and entities from certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act if they are acting in compliance with state laws. Rohrabacher authored similar legislation in the last Congress, garnering 20 cosponsors, including seven Republicans.

Minnesota Legalization Bill Filed. Rep. Jon Applebaum (DFL-Minnetonka) filed a bill Wednesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use. "Minnesotans are rightfully developing different attitudes on marijuana," Applebaum said in a news release. "Other states' successes, along with the failed prohibition attempts of others, validated the need for a statewide conversation," he added. The bill is not yet available on the legislative website.

Medical Marijuana

Georgia Bill to Lower THC Levels, Add Autism Advances. A bill that would add autism to the list of qualifying conditions for using CBD cannabis oil, but would also lower the amount of THC in cannabis oil was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Medical marijuana advocates like Senate Bill 16 for its autism provision, but don't want the lower THC provision. The bill would drop allowable THC levels from 5% to 3%.

Utah House Passes Medical Marijuana Research Bill. The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to pass House Bill 130, which would allow universities in the state to study medical marijuana. The bill is a fallback after legislators retreated from earlier plans to push an actual medical marijuana bill. The bill now advances to the Senate.

Wisconsin Senate Approves CBD Cannabis Oil Bill. The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve a bill allowing for the use of CBD cannabis oil to treat seizures. Senate Bill 10 now heads to the House.

Sentencing

Maryland Bill Would Set Criminal Penalties for People Who Sell Drugs Linked to Fatal Overdoses. A bill that would set criminal penalties of up to 30 years in prison for people who sell heroin or fentanyl where "the use of which is a contributing cause to the death of another" has been filed in the House. The measure, House Bill 612, aims not only at the person who directly sold the drug, but also anyone in the supply chain. It's scheduled for a committee hearing on February 28.

International

Morocco Drug Control Policy Sparking Unrest in Country's North. The death of an illegal fish vendor in November has sparked months of widespread protests and unrest in Morocco's Rif, but that unrest has been brewing for years thanks to a lack of economic development and the government's harsh treatment of cannabis growers, one of the few economic activities available to area residents: "This situation in which Rifans are left with few other economic options than to engage in illicit activities and risk criminal sanctions is aggravated by the harsh provisions of the Moroccan narcotics law. While drug use is punished with two months to one year in prison, the law allows for up to 30 years for drug trafficking offenses. The average sentence is around 10 to 15 years, even for minor, non-violent offences."

Philippines President Insults Former Colombia President Over Drug Policy Criticisms. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte called former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria "an idiot" for publishing an article in the New York Times criticizing Duterte's murderous crack down on drugs. "To tell you frankly... they say that Colombia leader has been lecturing about me. That idiot," Duterte said.

Colombia Gives Land Titles to Families Abandoning Coca Crops. The Colombian government announced Monday it will grant land titles to some 10,000 peasant families that have given up on coca production. The program will take place in southern Cauca, Nariño and Putumayo provinces, where about half the country's coca is grown. The move comes after the government and the leftist guerrillas of the FARC agreed to a crop eradication and substation program last month.