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House, Senate Bills to Schedule "Tranq" Filed; KY MedMJ Bill Faces Crucial Votes Today, More...(3/30/23)

A State Department drug diplomat heads to Mexico City, the Missouri House gives initial approval to a therapeutic psilocybin study bill, and more.

Shops like this could be popping up soon in Kentucky if a medical marijuana bill passes today. (Creative Commons)
Medical Marijuana

Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill Advances in House. A bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, Senate Bill 47, that has already passed the Senate advanced in the House Wednesday just ahead of the final day of the legislative session today. To pass this session, the bill must now clear the House Licensing, Occupations & Administrative Regulations Committee and then pass a House floor vote today. If it does, the bill will go to the desk of Gov. Steve Beshear (D).

Psychedelics

Missouri House Approves Therapeutic Psychedelic Study Bill. The House has voted to approve House Bill 1154, which would require the state to conduct a study on using psilocybin for treating depression, substance use, or in end-of-life care. The bill still needs a final housekeeping vote in the House, but passed overwhelmingly this time. The bill would mandate that the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) provide grants totaling $2 million for the research, subject to lawmakers approving the appropriation. The state would work with a medical center operated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs or with a state university hospital.

Drug Policy

House and Senate Bills Filed to Schedule Xylazine. A bipartisan bill to schedule the animal tranquilizer xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance was filed in both the House and Senate on Tuesday. The drug, known colloquially as " tranq," is a powerful sedative and the subject of growing concern over its use by opiate and opioid users. While it has opioid-like sedative effects, it is not an opioid, so it does not respond to opiate overdose reversal drugs such as naloxone. It has been associated with soft-tissue wounds and necrosis that can lead to amputation. The DEA recently warned that "xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier."

Foreign Policy

Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs  Todd D. Robinson Travels to Mexico City. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Todd D. Robinson will travel to Mexico City, Mexico March 28-31 to open the U.S.-Mexico Synthetic Drug Conference and meet with INL’s partners in justice and law enforcement. The conference, co-hosted by INL and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will take place March 29-30, and will be attended by Assistant Secretary Robinson and Ambassador Kenneth Salazar, with recorded remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  The conference will focus on strengthening U.S.-Mexico bilateral cooperation to counter the health and security threats posed by illicit synthetic drugs. While in Mexico, Assistant Secretary Robinson will also hold meetings with Mexican government officials to discuss shared security goals.

International

Suspected ELN Militants Kill 9 Colombian Soldiers Near Venezuelan Border. At least nine soldier were killed and nine more injured in an attack on a military post in the state of Norte de Santander Wednesday. The military said it believed leftist rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) carried out the attack. The ELN is among a number of armed groups involved in the cocaine trade but has also been involved in peace talks with the government of left-wing President Gustavo Petro. If the ELN is shown to have carried out the attack, that could seriously complicate his effort to bring "total peace" to the country. Whoever carried out the attack is "absolutely far from peace and the people," Petro said. 

Federal Marijuana Cases Continue to Decline, Britain Plans to Ban Nitrous Oxide, More... (3/28/23)

A Montana bill would turn back the clock on legal marijuana sales, a House bill to increase fentanyl penalties but also ease scientific research on Schedule I substances wins a House committee vote, and more.

"Whippets"--used nitrous oxide containers. Laughing gas could soon be banned in Britain. (CC)
Marijuana Policy

Federal Marijuana Trafficking Prosecutions Continue to Decline. The US Sentencing Commission reports that federal marijuana trafficking cases continued a long-term decline in 2022. There were about 5,000 federal marijuana cases in 2013, but only 806 last year. The most prosecuted drug was meth, with nearly 10,000 cases. Powder cocaine saw just under 4,000 cases, while fentanyl accounted for around 3,000. There were fewer than 2,000 prosecutions for crack cocaine and for heroin.

Montana Bill Would Dismantle State's Legal Marijuana Industry. A Republican state senator, Keith Regier, has filed a bill that would effectively dismantle the state's legal marijuana industry. The measure, Senate Bill 546, primarily focuses on "eliminating adult-use dispensaries," but also reduces the number of plants adults can grow from two mature plants to one. It also takes aim at the state's medical marijuana program by doubling the state tax on it, and limiting medical marijuana potency and the amount patients could possess. The bill, which has no cosponsors, will get a hearing in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

Drug Policy

House Bill to Increase Fentanyl Penalties, Streamline Marijuana and Psychedelics Research Wins Committee Approval. The House Energy and Commerce Committee last Thursday approved HR 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or HALT Fentanyl Act. The bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The bill also establishes a new, alternative registration process for Schedule I research that is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs or that is conducted under an investigative new drug exemption from the Food and Drug Administration. Drug reform advocates generally oppose the bill because it ramps up mandatory minimums for fentanyl offenses even as they would welcome the language easing drug research barriers.

International

British Government Plan to Criminalize Laughing Gas Draws Criticism. Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a plan to tackle "anti-social behavior" that includes criminalizing the possession of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) as a Class C drug. In doing so, he rejected the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which recently said it should not be banned. It also drew criticism from the scientific non-profit Drug Science, which said a ban is "is completely disproportionate" and "would likely deliver more harm than good." But Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Parliament there was still "emerging evidence that [nitrous oxide] does cause serious harm to health and wellbeing" and that the measure "put an end to hordes of youths loitering in and littering parks with empty canisters." Labor, for its part, criticized the government crackdown as "too little, too late," but said it supported the nitrous oxide ban. 

Sheriffs' Group Call on Congress to Act Against Cartels, DE Legal Pot Bill Advances, More... (3/16/23)

The Texas Senate has approved a bill raising fentanyl penalties, a Delaware Senate committee advances a pair of marijuana legalization and regulation bills, and more.

Fentanyl. Texas is the latest state to experiment with charging sellers with murder if an overdose happens. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Delaware Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization, Regulation Bills. Marijuana legalization is one step closer after the Senate Health and Social Services Committee approved a pair of House bills that would legalize marijuana ( House Bill 1) and regulate legal marijuana commerce (House Bill 2). Last year,a similarly bifurcated legalization effort came up short, with the House failing to pass the regulation bill and Gov. John Carney (D) vetoed the legalization bill. But this year, House bill sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski (D) says he is "optimistic" and feels "pretty good" about being able to override any veto. Meanwhile, HB 1 now heads for a Senate floor vote, while HB 2 must first get past the Senate Finance  Committee.

Drug Policy

Texas Senate Approves Bill to Increase Fentanyl Penalties. The Senate on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 645, which would open the door for prosecutors to charge people who make and sell fentanyl with murder. The bill does so by classifying fentanyl overdoses as "poisonings." The bill would also make delivery of less than one gram of fentanyl a third-degree felony. It is currently a lower-level state jail felony. If someone dies because of that delivery, it becomes a second-degree felony. State jail felonies have a maximum sentence of two years, third-degree felonies garner up to 10 years, and second-degree felonies can earn up to 20 years. The bill now heads to the House.

Foreign Policy

National Sheriff's Association Calls on Congress to Take Immediate Action Against Mexican Cartels. In the wake of the killing of two US citizens in Matamoros, Mexico, last weekend and the ongoing fentanyl overdose crisis, an association representing some 3,000 county sheriffs is calling on Congress to act now against Mexican drug cartels. "The nation’s sheriffs strongly support the American people’s continued demand that our federal government use whatever means appropriate to combat these deadly cartels," Sheriff Jim Skinner, chair of the National Sheriffs’ Association Government Affairs Committee, said in a statement. The group is calling on Congress to use its authority to create a "comprehensive system of further manpower and other tools that prevent any illicit drugs from being produced, smuggled and sold on American streets." Some members of Congress have been calling for more action, including designated the cartels as foreign terrorist organization and even calling for US military action inside Mexico. 

House GOP Members File Bill Designating Cartels as Terrorist Groups, Germany to Move Ahead With Legal Pot Proposal, More... (3/15/23)

A Kentucky medical marijuana bill faces a looming Senate deadline, Vermont lawmakers file a number of drug reform bills, and more.

The Rio Grande River. There be cartels on the other side, and the GOP wants to call them "terrorists." (C)
Medical Marijuana

Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill Wins Senate Committee Vote, Must Pass Full Senate Tomorrow or Die. A bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, Senate Bill 47, was approved by the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee on Tuesday. It must pass the Senate by Thursday, the last day of the session before the veto period, or it dies. If it passes the Senate, it would then go to the House, which returns for a final day of legislative action on March 30. The House has passed medical marijuana bills twice in recent years and is thought to still have support for it.

Drug Policy

Vermont Lawmakers File Four Different Drug Policy Reform Bills. Drug policy reform is on the agent in Montpelier this session, with four separate drug policy reform bills already filed. House Bill 423 would decriminalize the possession of personal use amounts of all drugs, as would Senate companion legislation, Senate Bill 119. The bills would also decriminalize "dispensing" drug amounts below the personal use threshold as well as establishing a pilot drug checking program.

Two other bills focus specifically on psychedelics. House Bill 439 would effectively legalize the possession of psilocybin, mescaline, and peyote by removing them from the states definition of hallucinogenic drugs, while Senate Bill 114, would remove only psilocybin from the state’s definition of hallucinogens.

The first three bills are destined for judiciary committees in the respective chambers, while the fourth bill is before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. If any of them pass out of the legislature, they face possible vetoes from Gov. Phil Murphy (R).

Foreign Policy

House Republicans File Bill Designating Mexican Drug Cartels Terrorist Organizations. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and 20 House Republicans have introduced a bill designating four Mexican drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). The four groups are the Gulf Cartel, the Cartel Del Noreste, the Cartel de Sinaloa, and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act would also require the Department of State to issue a report to Congress within 30 days of enactment on the cartels listed above and any additional cartels that meet the criteria for designation as an FTO. For each additional cartel that meets the criteria of an FTO, the Department of State is required to designate each of those cartels as an FTO within 30 days after the report is submitted to Congress. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has threatened to file similar legislation in the Senate but has yet to do so.

International

Germany to Move Forward with Marijuana Legalization After "Very Good Feedback" from the European Union. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Tuesday that the government would bring a revised marijuana legalization proposal before legislators "in the next few weeks" after receiving "very good feedback" from European Union (EU) officials. Germany has conditioned its advance of marijuana legalization on approval from the EU to ensure it would not put it in violation of international obligations. Lauterbach said some changes would be made to the bill to "take into account European regulations and what should or should not be notified," but did not specify what those changes would entail. 

Bolivia to Seek End to UN Ban on Coca Leaf, Biden Budget Keeps Ban on DC Pot Sales, More... (3/14/23)

A trio of psychedelic research bills is filed in Texas, a Maine bill would allow for marijuana consumption at pot shops, and more.

Coca leaf chewing is a traditional practice in Bolivia. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Biden Budget Maintains Ban on Allowing DC Marijuana Sales. The Biden administration's Fiscal Year 2024 proposed budget retains an appropriations rider blocking the Justice Department from interfering in legal marijuana states, but also, for the third year in a row, retains a rider blocking the District of Columbia from allowing legal marijuana sales. The rider blocks the District from using local tax dollars to implement a system of regulated adult marijuana sales. "For the third time in his presidency, the president’s proposed budget would, unfortunately, block D.C. from spending its own local funds to commercialize marijuana," said Del. Eleanor Holmes (D).

Maine Bill Would Allow Social Consumption Lounges. A bill that would allow people to consume marijuana products in stores that sell them, LD 839, got a hearing Monday in the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs. No vote was taken. Current state law allows only for marijuana use on private property, and businesses are not included. Use in public places is prohibited. When voters approved marijuana legalization in 2016, on-site consumption was included, but legislative action removed that. "In that citizen's initiative, there was a component for onsite consumption, social clubs. Unfortunately, that got voted away in the legislative process but it’s time to restore that," Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland) said.

Psychedelics

Texas Lawmakers File Trio of Psychedelic Research Bills. The legislature has a trio of psychedelic research bills before it. House Bill 4288, sponsored by Rep. Richard Peña Raymond (D), would amend an existing state law mandating a study of the risks and benefits of ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin for therapeutic use in veterans; House Bill 4423, sponsored by Rep. Josey Garcia (D), would create a Psilocybin Research Advisory Council to advise the Health and Human Services Commission and the legislature on psilocybin research and treatment; and House Bill 4561, sponsored by Rep. Julie Johnson (D), would create a new Alternative Mental Health Therapy Research Consortium that would be charged with researching "the efficacy of providing mental health care through the provision of psychedelic drugs and ketamine, focusing on the provision of mental health care to veterans in this state through the use of those alternative therapies."

International

Bolivia Tells UN It Will Launch Bid to End International Coca Leaf Prohibition. Bolivia told a United Nations drug policy meeting in Vienna that it will move to end the international prohibition on the coca leaf, which has traditionally been used by people in the Andes to combat hunger and altitude sickness for thousands of years, but was banned by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. "A historic mistake was made in 1961," Bolivian Vice President David Choquehuanca said at the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). Choquehuanca said Bolivia will exercise its right as a signatory to that treaty and seek a "critical review" of the coca leaf's properties and its classification. Colombia has already said it will support Bolivia in its effort.

Opioid Settlement Causing Problems for Patients, MD Legal Pot Regulation Bill Passes House, More... (3/13/23)

The Justice Department is open to Sentencing Commission marijuana guideline reforms, a Texas bill to remove jail time for pot possession advances, and more.

It's not just opiates. A settlement between drug distributors and states is leaving lots of patients in the lurch. (DEA)
Marijuana Policy

Justice Department Backs Proposed Marijuana Sentencing Guideline Reform to Treat Past Convictions More Leniently. The Justice Department is in agreement with a US Sentencing Commission proposal to update sentencing guidelines to treat past marijuana possession offenses more leniently. Such a move would align with the Biden administration's "sentiment" toward reforming marijuana policy. The backing by DOJ came last Wednesday when a federal prosecutor testified at a public hearing on the proposal in support of it. The Sentencing Commission had made the recommendation back in January. The commission's proposal does not remove marijuana convictions as a criminal history factor, but it would "include sentences resulting from possession of marihuana offenses as an example of when a downward departure from the defendant’s criminal history may be warranted."

Bipartisan Bill Punishing Illegal Marijuana Grows Filed. Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) have filed the Targeting and Offsetting Existing Illegal Contaminants (TOXIC) Act, which would provide funding to clean up toxic wastes at marijuana grows on federal lands and increase criminal penalties "for using banned pesticides in illegal cannabis cultivation to a maximum of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in criminal fines to establish parity with the criminal penalties for smuggling banned pesticides into the US." The same pair filed the same bill in the last Congress, but it went nowhere.

Maryland House Approves Legal Marijuana Regulation Bill. The House voted last Friday to approve a measure to create a legal framework and tax structure for legal marijuana sales, House Bill 556. The bill now goes to the Senate, which is also advancing its own separate regulatory measure. If the legislature can come to agreement, legal sales could begin as early as July 1. The bill passed by the House would allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to obtain dual licenses to sell recreational marijuana. The bill also contains equity provisions giving licensing priority to minority owners in communities adversely affected by the war on drugs.

Texas Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Wins Committee Vote. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee voted unanimously last week to approve a bill to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, House Bill 218. Possession of less than two ounces is currently a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Under this bill, possession would still be a misdemeanor (so not technically decriminalization), but without the possibility of arrest of jail time. Instead, offenders would be cited and fined up to $500. The bill now awaits a House floor vote.

Opiates and Opioids

US Opioid Settlement Causing Problems for Patients. The $21 billion settlement between pharmaceutical distributors and attorneys general in 46 states over the companies' role in the early stages of this century's opioid epidemic is having unintended consequences not only for opioid patients, but also for people trying to obtain controlled substances to treat many conditions, including anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and addiction. As a result of the settlement, the distributors are now tightening rules for these drugs, resulting in the cancellation of tens of thousands of drug orders and leaving patients in the lurch. The new controls have created "havoc in pharmacies, said Ilisa Bernstein, chief executive of the American Pharmacists Association. "They have patients coming in to get medication, and they can’t have it. It's disrupting patient care." 

DE House Approves Marijuana Regulation Bill, Federal Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed, More... (3/10/23)

Nevada lawmakers filed a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, bipartisan senators file a federal asset forfeiture reform bill, and more.

Mexican President Lopez Obrador flatly rejects calls from GOP lawmakers for US military force in Mexico. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Delaware House Passes Legal Marijuana Regulation Bill. The House on Thursday voted 27-13 to approve House Bill 2, which would set up a regulatory framework for adult-use marijuana sales. The move comes just days after the House approved House Bill 1, which would legalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for adults. Last year, the legislature passed marijuana legalization, only to see it vetoed by Gov. John Carney (D). This year, however, HB 1 passed with a veto-proof majority, and HB 2 passed with one fewer vote with one member absent. That single vote is the difference between a veto-proof majority and a lack of one. The bills must now pass the Senate being going to the governor.

Psychedelics

Nevada Magic Mushroom Legalization Bill Filed. State Sens. Rochelle Nguyen (D) and Fabian Donate (D) filed Senate Bill 242 Thursday. The measure would legalize the possession of up to four ounces of fungi containing psilocybin or psilocyn, the hallucinogenic compounds in magic mushrooms. The bill would also allow a research facility to ask for state approval to study the therapeutic effects of magic mushrooms as well as MDMA for mental health conditions. The bill also has two joint sponsors in the lower chamber, Assemblymembers Max Carter (D) and Elaine Marzola (D). It is currently pending in the Senate Health and Humau Services Committee.

Asset Forfeiture

Bipartisan Federal Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed. US Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)  and Tim Walberg (R-MI) on Thursday reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act), a comprehensive reform to our nation's civil asset forfeiture laws. The FAIR Act raises the level of proof necessary for the federal government to seize property, reforms the IRS structuring statute to protect innocent small business owners, and increases transparency and congressional oversight. Joining Walberg and Raskin as original co-sponsors of the FAIR Act are Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Joe Neguse (D-CO). "The lawless seizure and ‘forfeiture’ of people’s private property by police officers is becoming standard operating procedure in many parts of the country," said Rep. Raskin. "We want to restore the presumption of innocence, fair judicial process, and the opportunity to be heard. I’m proud to introduce this important bipartisan legislation with my friend Rep. Walberg to rein in civil asset forfeiture and restore due process rights."

International

International Narcotics Control Board Warns on Marijuana Legalization. As it launched its annual report Thursday, the International Narcotics Control Board issued a press release emphasizing its concerns with marijuana legalization. "Moves by a small number of governments to legalize the non-medical use of cannabis have led to increased consumption without explaining the potentially serious health dangers that users face from the drug" the INCB warned. That is leading to "negative health effects and psychotic disorders," the drug watchdog continued. In all jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, data show that cannabis-related health problems have increased," INCB said. It pointed out that between 2000 and 2018, "global medical admissions related to cannabis dependence and withdrawal increased eight-fold. Admissions for cannabis-related psychotic disorders have quadrupled worldwide."

Mexico President Tells GOP Lawmakers Urging US Military Force Against Cartels in Mexico to Take a Hike. Aiming directly at Republican lawmakers who have urged the Biden administration to unleash the US military against Mexican drug cartels on their own territory, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday flatly rejected the notion. "We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene and much less foreign armed forces to intervene in our territory," López Obrador said, adding that he would ask Americans of Mexican and Hispanic origin not to vote for Republicans if their "aggression" continued. Lopez Obrador also downplayed Mexico's role in fentanyl production and said Americans needed to solve their drug problem on their side of the border. Pressure to do something about the cartels has only risen as the US overdose death toll has risen and was ratcheted up this week by the kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros, two of whom were shot and killed by members of a Gulf Cartel-affiliated gang. 

MN Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Again, WA Senate Approves Psychedelic Research Bill, More... (3/9/23)

Indiana marijuana reform bills appear dead in the water, Lindsay Graham will file a bill designating Mexican cartels as terrorists organizations, and more.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is ready to go to war with Mexican cartels. (senate.gov)
Marijuana Policy

Indiana Marijuana Legalization, Medical Marijuana Bills Not Moving. Lawmakers filed both a marijuana legalization bill, House Bill 1039 and a medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 237, in January, but neither of them is moving. The legalization bill has been referred to the House Committee on Public Health, and the medical marijuana bill has been referred to the House Committee on Health and Provider Services, but neither has seen any action and none is scheduled.

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins Two More Committee Votes. The marijuana legalization bill, House File 100, has been approved by the House Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee, marking the 12th committee it has passed. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill, passed its ninth committee, bringing the bill ever closer to final floor votes in each chamber. Gov. Tim Walz (D) is pushing lawmakers to get it done this session, and lawmakers are confident it will happen.

Psychedelics

Washington Senate Approves Scaled-Back Psychedelic Research Bill. The Senate has approved Senate Bill 5623, which originally would have set a therapeutic psychedelic services regime similar to the one now in place in Oregon, but was amended to merely creating a task force to promote research into psilocybin and developing a path toward legal access to the drug. After being amended, the bill passed the Senate on a 41-7 vote, and now heads to the House.

Foreign Policy

Lindsay Graham to File Bill Designating Cartels as Terrorist Groups, Setting Stage for Military Force. Sen, Lindsay Graham (R-SC) said Monday that he plans to file a Senate bill that would designate Mexican drug trafficking organizations as terrorist groups, clearing the way for the US to use military force against the heavily-armed cartels. Appearing on Fox New in the wake of the killing of two Americans by apparent drug gang members in Matamoros last weekend, Graham said: "I would do what Trump did. I would put Mexico on notice. If you continue to give safe haven to fentanyl drug dealers, then you’re an enemy of the United States. Seventy to one hundred thousand people have died from fentanyl poisoning coming from Mexico and China and this administration has done nothing about it," he claimed falsely. Citing an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last week by former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr, Graham unveiled his plan for the bill: "[Following Bill Barr’s idea,] I’m going to introduce legislation, to make certain Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law and set the stage to use military force if necessary to protect America from being poisoned by things coming out of Mexico." Barr's op-ed called for "a far more aggressive American effort inside Mexico, including a significant U.S. law-enforcement and intelligence presence, as well as select military capabilities."

DE House Approves Marijuana Legalization, Anti-Cartel Resolution Filed in House, More... (3/8/23)

The Oklahoma marijuana legalization initiative gets crushed at the polls, a bipartisan federal bill to ease the rescheduling of therapeutic psychedelics gets filed, and more.

A congressional resolution would authorize the use of military force against Mexican cartels on the Mexican side of the border.
Delaware House Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill; Marijuana Regulation Bill Pending. The House on Tuesday gave final approval to House Bill 1, which legalizes the possession of up to an ounce by adults. Bill sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski (D) is also sponsoring House Bill 2, which would set up a regulatory system for marijuana commerce. That bill has passed out of committee and is awaiting a House floor vote. Last year, Osienski took a similar bifurcated path, with the legalization bill passing but the regulatory bill failing. Gov. John Carney (D) then vetoed the legalization bill. This year, the legalization bill passed with a veto proof majority.

Hawaii Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill. The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a marijuana legalization bill, Senate Bill 669. The bill would legalize the possession of up to 30 grams, allow for the home cultivation of up to six plants, expunge past possession convictions, and reduce penalties for unlicensed cultivation and sales. The bill also contemplates the existing medical marijuana industry morphing into a full-fledged adult use marijuana market under the aegis of a Hawaii Cannabis Authority. The bill is now before the House.

Oklahoma Marijuana Legalization Initiative Defeated. Voters on Tuesday decisively defeated a marijuana legalization initiative, State Question 820 by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. See out feature story later today for full coverage.

Psychedelics-                                                                                          

Bipartisan "Breakthrough Therapies Act" Updated and Filed. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) on Thursday filed the "Breakthrough Therapies Act," which would streamline the federal rescheduling of drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA for therapeutic purposes. The bill would amend the Controlled Substance Act to create a pathway for current Schedule I drugs that could be deemed breakthrough therapies by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to qualify for a waiver under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and be moved to Schedule II, which is reserved for drugs with "currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions."

Missouri Therapeutic Psychedelic Bill Advances. The House Veterans Committee on Tuesday approved House Bill 1154, which would promote research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin. The bill passed out of committee on a unanimous vote. The bill now awaits a possible House floor vote, which is yet to be scheduled.

Foreign Policy

.Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and Tim Walz (R-FL) on Monday filed a resolution, HJ Res. 18 "to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for trafficking fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance into the United States or carrying out other related activities that cause regional destabilization in the Western Hemisphere." The resolution is cutely titled "Authorization for the Use of Military Force to Combat, Attack, Resist, Target, Eliminate, and Limit Influence Resolution" or the "AUMF CARTEL Influence Resolution." The bill specifically lists nine Mexican drug trafficking organization to be targeted, including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and Los Zetas. 

Attorney General Garland Talks Pot on Capitol Hill, TN MedMJ Bill Killed, More... (3/2/23)

California legal marijuana sales revenues decrease for the first time ever, a fourth Michigan city endorses natural psychedelic decriminalization, and more.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says DOJ is "still working" on marijuana policy. (DOJ)
Marijuana Policy

Attorney General Says DOJ Still Working on Federal Marijuana Policy Approach. In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland (D) said the Justice Department is "still working on marijuana policy" and that a broader review of marijuana's scheduling status was being led by federal health officials. "I think that it’s fair to expect what I said at my confirmation hearing with respect to marijuana and policy, that it will be very close to what was done in the Cole Memorandum," he said, referring to an Obama-era policy that directed federal prosecutors to generally not interfere with state cannabis laws but which was later rescinded by Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "We’re not quite done with that yet,"Garland said of the marijuana policy review. Garland added that the Justice Department had prioritized finalizing a memo of crack cocaine prosecutions, which has now been completed.

In Sign of Legal Industry's Woes, California Marijuana Sales Declined for First Time Since Legalization. According to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration, legal marijuana sales totaled $5.3 billion last year, down 8.2 percent from the $5.77 billion in 2021. That marks the first time sales have decreased since the state launched its recreational marijuana market five years ago. Industry observers point to high taxes and the limited number of pot shops for the decrease. As one Emerald Triangle pot farmer, Johnny Casali of Huckleberry Hill Farms explained: "Most of us farmers have been trying to tell the state [regulators] that the marketplace is imploding,"says Casali. "The drop in retail sales means the customer is tired of paying the exorbitant taxes and are now buying it from a friend of a friend or the guy on the corner."

Medical Marijuana

Tennessee Medical Marijuana Bill Killed in Committee. No medical marijuana for you, Tennesseans! At least not yet. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a near party-line vote Wednesday to kill Senate Bill 1104, which would have set up a system of medical marijuana access in the state. Meanwhile another medical marijuana bill, House Bill 172,was "taken off notice" last week, meaning it is effectively dead for this session. Maybe next time.

Psychedelics

Fourth Michigan City Decriminalizes Natural Psychedelics. Move over, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Hazel Park—Ferndale has now joined the group of Michigan cities to embrace psychedelic reform. On Monday night, the city council voted unanimously to approve a resolution decriminalizing "entheogenic plants and fungi," such as psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and its chemical compound, DMT. The resolution makes the "investigation and arrest of persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing Entheogenic Plants or plant compounds which are on the Federal Schedule 1 list" the lowest law enforcement priority for the city The ordinance was pushed by the local Decriminalize Nature affiliate, Decriminalize Nature Ferndale. 

Drug War Issues

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