The National Governors Association has a plan for dealing with drug overdoses, Peru and the US have renewed an agreement to force down drug smuggling aircraft, and more.

GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy breaks with Republican orthodoxy on drug policy. (CC -- Gage Skidmore)

South Dakota Activists to Try Again with 2024 Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Local activists are hoping the third time is the charm when it comes to legalizing marijuana possession in the state. A 2020 legalization initiative was approved by voters only to be shot down by a state Supreme Court acting at the behest of Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and her political allies, and a 2022 legalization initiative was narrowly defeated at the polls.

Now, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws has filed initial papers for a 2024 legalization initiative. This measure would legalize the possession of up to two ounces by people 21 and over and allow for the home cultivation of up to six plants. The initial draft contains no mention of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce.

The public now has until August 21 to comment on the draft. Once state authorities have okayed petitions for circulation, supporters will need 17,509 valid voter signatures by May 7, 2024 to qualify for the 2024 ballot.

Drug Policy

National Governors Association Releases Roadmap for Tackling Drug Overdose Epidemic. The National Governors Association (NGA) released a roadmap to help support Governors and state officials in developing policy solutions to address unprecedented opioid overdose rates. Titled Implementing Best Practices Across the Continuum of Care to Prevent Overdose, the roadmap outlines concrete solutions across the full spectrum of health services: foundations, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.

Developed in coordination with the O'Neill Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, the roadmap is based on the contributions of more than 30 subject matter experts and 20 states and territories -- providing Governors with 17 specific, actionable recommendations to prevent overdose across five pillars of the Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care.

An update to NGA's 2016 roadmap, the new publication reflects the evolving nature of the ongoing drug overdose epidemic and includes strategies specific to the rise of illicitly manufactured fentanyl. The roadmap highlights 10 states' initiatives that exemplify best practices and innovative strategies in overdose prevention.

Vivek Ramaswamy Breaks with GOP Pack on Drug Decriminalization. Republican presidential nomination contender Vivek Ramaswamy is creating some space in a crowded field by edging away from the Republican consensus on a hardline drug policy. While on the campaign trail, he has frequently addressed issues around the war on drugs and the toll of fentanyl overdose deaths.

"You don't hear me talk about the war on drugs. I'm not a war on drugs person," Ramaswamy said while appearing at an event in New Hampshire in June. "I am probably the only person in the modern history" of the party to talk about "off ramps" for people trying to get off drugs, including the use of "psychedelics, from ayahuasca to ketamine," he said.

"I'm eyes wide open and willing to be bold in crossing boundaries we haven't yet crossed to address the demand side of this as well," Ramaswamy said. "I think in the long run, and I'm talking about over a long run period of time, decriminalization, serially, is an important part of the long run solution here… That's gotta be part of the solution," he later added.

Similarly, last month, he said that rather than being "a war on drugs guy," he was "actually a path to legalization guy for a lot of different drugs, and a path to reasonable decriminalization. Many veterans are dying of fentanyl. I think fewer would be dying if there was access to ayahuasca, if there was access, legal access, to psychedelics more broadly. We can talk about, we can have a reasonable conversation about ketamine and others. So, I'm in that direction," he said.

He also argued that marijuana should be decriminalized now. "We got to catch up with the times. It's not a popular position in the Republican Party, but I'd just, again, I guess I'm going to speak the truth. Whether you vote for me or not is your choice. I think the time has come to decriminalize it," he said.

International

Peru, US Revive Air Security Agreement to Combat Drug Trafficking. The government of President Dina Boluarte has announced an air security agreement with the US that aims to prevent drug smuggling aircraft from entering Peruvian airspace. The agreement revives a bilateral security agreement with the US that was ended 20 years ago after Peruvian fighter jets downed a civilian aircraft with American missionaries aboard, killing one missionary and her infant daughter.

It will different this time, said Peruvian Defense Minister Jorge Chaves, who emphasized that any interdictions of aircraft under the agreement will be carried out through nonlethal means.

"With this, Peru will be able to exercise and use non-lethal air interdiction. Drug gangs and cartels are notified," said Alberto Otárola Peñaranda, President of the Council of Ministers. "The country will start an intense fight against the entry of illegal planes that violate our sky. We will act without contemplation to intercept them," he stressed.

Swiss Court Rules That Small Amounts of Drugs Should No Longer Be Confiscated. The Federal Tribunal, the country's highest court, ruled recently that people caught with "small amounts" of illicit drugs should be able to keep them. The decision came in a marijuana case, but is likely to also be applied to other drugs, such as cocaine, according to Swiss legal experts.

It is unclear, however, what "small amounts" means for different drugs. And it is important that the different cantons develop coordinated definitions and approaches since they are the government units that will implement the changes.

(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.)

Wisconsin's Democratic governor signs a bill heightening penalties for fatal drug overdoses, Israel's Health Ministry says patients can be prescribed marijuana beginning in December, and more.

Ron DeSantis tries to pick up some steam by threatening to violently attack Mexican drug cartels. (myflorida.com)

San Francisco Magic Mushroom Churches Have Authorities Befuddled. At least two magic mushroom churches where residents can purchase the hallucinogenic fungus have opened this year in the city, and the city has yet to figure out how to respond. One is Zide Door, an offshoot of a similar operation across the bay in Oakland; the other is the Living Church in Lower Nob Hill.

Magic mushrooms are illegal under both state and federal law, but were declared a lowest law enforcement priority in the city in 2022. Last December, police raided a Haight Street storefront for illegally selling magic mushrooms, but that raid generated criticism from Supervisor Dean Preston, who questioned why city police " chose to use extensive resources on a drug bust for substances the city considers to be of lowest priority." That case remains unresolved.

City officials have yet to move against the magic mushroom churches amid speculation that the churches may resort to a religious exemption defense to any potential charges. A handful of churches across the country have won the right to use psychedelics ceremonially, although San Francisco attorney Graham Pechenik, who specializes in marijuana and psychedelic law, warned that the religious argument is not all-encompassing.

"Merely claiming to be a church and having customers 'join' the church is unlikely to provide a shield against prosecution, and even providing church services under a defined set of beliefs may be insufficient to win in court," he said.

Sentencing Policy

Wisconsin Governor Signs Drug Dealer Murder Bill into Law. Gov. Tony Evers (D) last Friday signed into law Senate Bill101, which increases the penalty for first-degree reckless homicide involving drugs. The bill moves the offense from a Class C felony to a Class B felony and makes drug dealers and userseligible for sentences of up to 60 years if they are involved in a fatal overdose.

The bill has been criticized for lacking protections for people who use drugs with others, including Good Samaritans who call for help when someone overdoses. The ACLU of Wisconsin blasted Evers for signing it into law.

"The decision by Gov. Evers today to sign SB 101 into law represents a step in the wrong direction in Wisconsin's fight against drug overdoses. If we've learned anything from the failed War on Drugs, it's that we cannot incarcerate our way out of addiction and drug use. Yet, after decades of abject policy failure, we are still repeating the same mistakes," said James Stein, deputy advocacy director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.

"The law enacted today is deeply misguided and counterproductive. It further entrenches us in destructive cycles of criminalization and punishment that devastate our communities -- particularly Black and Brown communities -- while doing little to nothing to combat drug problems. While purporting to crack down on drug distribution, SB 101 could lead to an increase in fatal overdoses, as people might be less likely to seek medical attention for someone overdosing out of fear of prosecution. In addition, an extensive body of research -- as well as our own lived experiences -- tells us that punitive drug laws don't reduce drug use, addiction, or overdose," Stein continued.

Foreign Policy

DeSantis Doubles Down on Deadly Force Promise Against Mexican Drug Cartels. As he continued to pursue the Republican presidential nomination last Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on an earlier commitment to use force against Mexican drug cartels to block the flow of fentanyl coming through the southern border.

"Day one, we're declaring it to be a national emergency," DeSantis said. "I'm going to do what no president has been willing to do. We are going to lean in against the cartels directly, and we are going to use deadly force against them."

That would involve the use of the US military in lethal offensive operations in Mexico, something that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has angrily rejected. But it is only one of a panoply of increasingly aggressive policy prescriptions aimed at the cartels coming out of Republican precincts as the death toll from fentanyl overdoses rises.

International

Israel Health Minister Says Patients Can Be Prescribed Medical Marijuana Beginning in December. The Health Ministry has announced that doctors will be able to prescribe marijuana to patients beginning in December. Currently, patients need a license to use medical marijuana.

The change is intended to make it easier for patients to get access to the drug and to remove bureaucratic obstacles. The ministry said it will review the changes after one year.

(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.)

It looks like Ohioans will get to vote on marijuana legalization this year, Singapore hangs yet another drug offender, and more.

Cocaine -- an Australian lawmaker says legalize it. Black market cocaine also finances conflict in Colombia. (Pixabay)

Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign Hands in Final Signatures. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has handed in an additional 6,545 raw signatures after it came up 679 valid voter signatures short in its initial round of signature gathering. That should guarantee that their proposed marijuana legalization initiative will be on the November 2023 ballot.

"Today, our Coalition submitted 6,545 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State, well above the 679 required to get on the ballot this November. I cannot express our thanks enough to everyone who came out to support this effort," said coalition spokesperson Tom Hare. "This submission validates what we've said all along: Regulating marijuana is popular in Ohio," he said. "We're looking forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot this fall."

Under the initiative, people 21 and over can purchase and possess up to 2 ½ ounces of marijuana and grow up to six plants, or 12 plants per household. The initiative also envisions a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce with a 10 percent tax on sales.

The initiative would need 50 percent of the vote plus one to win. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll last month had support at 58.6 percent.

International

Australia New South Wales Lawmaker Calls for Cocaine Legalization. In the wake of a series of high-profile shootings and killings in Sydney in the past month, a New South Wales Green member of the state parliament is calling for cocaine legalization.

"The worst thing for the drug lords right now would be a legal market, that's what they would fear the most," MP Cate Faehrmann said on Tuesday. "The war on drugs has well and truly failed. We're just doing the same thing day in day out. I think the only people who think that what we're doing is good is the criminals themselves."

The comments come as the Labor Party plans to hold a drug summit in the near future. In the meantime, NSW Liberal Party Shadow Health Minister Matt Kean said calls for legalization undermined the efforts of police and argued that policymakers' focus should be on "strong law and order policies."

Brazil Police Raids Kill At Least 45 People in Past Week. In a series of raids against drug trafficking gangs carried out after the killing of a police officer a little more than a week ago, police have killed at least 45 people. Ten were killed in the Complexo da Penha favela in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, 19 were killed in clashed with military police between Friday and Monday in Salvador, and the death toll has risen to 16 in an ongoing operation in the Baixada Santista region of Sao Paulo.

Human rights groups denounced the action in Baixada Santista as a revenge-motivated massacre, with residents also reporting threats and cases of torture.

"What happened in Guarujá was a massacre. The deaths were deliberate… The state of São Paulo must contain this wave of violence," said Dimitri Sales, president of the state council on the defense of human rights (Condepe).

The raids are all part of something called Operation Shield, which is aimed at the drug trade. The governor of Sao Paulo has said the operations were "clean" and that all the victims were suspected criminals, sparking even more concern from human rights groups.

"It is extremely concerning that the governor and security secretary declare that there were no [human rights] abuses before an investigation is even held… [This] is effectively an endorsement of arbitrary practices," said Oscar Vilhena, a lawyer and member of the Arns Commission, a human rights organization.

Colombia Signs Truce Agreement with National Liberation Army. The left-leaning government of President Gustavo Petro and the leftist guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional -- ELN) began a six-month truce Thursday, marking the beginning of an effort to reach a permanent peace agreement with the country's last remaining rebel group.

The government reached a peace agreement with the leftist guerrillas of the FARC, a much larger force, back in 2017, but FARC dissidents remain in the field. Like the ELN and rightist paramilitaries, all of the groups are involved in the lucrative cocaine trade.

More than 450,000 Colombians are estimated to have been killed in the multi-sided conflict that has gone on since the 1960s, much of it financed by the cocaine trade. The ceasefire is supposed to end attacks between guerrillas and Colombian security forces and can be extended in January if progress is made during peace negotiations.

Singapore Executes Third Drug Offender in Little More Than a Week. For the third time in less than 10 days, Singapore has executed a person convicted of a drug offense. Mohamed Shalleh Abdul Latiff, 39, was hanged at Changi Prison for trafficking under two ounces of heroin.

Mohamed Shalleh's hanging comes only days after authorities in the city-state executed Saridewi Binte Djamani, 45, and Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, 57, for drug trafficking, prompting an outcry from the United Nations and human rights organizations. At least 16 people have been hanged for drug offenses since Singapore ended a pandemic-related moratorium on the death penalty.

A Georgia prosecutor's bid to seize a landlord's rural trailer beause a tenant got caught with meth gets thrown out of court, Colombia's president proposes buying up the coca crop, and more.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro proposes buying up the coca crop and turning it into fertilizer. (Creative Commons)

Two Fentanyl Bills Pass Senate as Part of Defense Spending Bill. The Senate approved the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (S.2226) late last week. Because of its must-pass nature, the bill was loaded with other measures sponsors sought to get through the Congress, including a pair of fentanyl-related bills.

Sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), the Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life (END FENTANYL) Act (S.206) would require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to regularly update its drug interdiction guidance. Currently, many CBP policies that outline drug interdiction practices are outdated and do not provide guidance on how to handle drugs such as fentanyl. Sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, which would require the President to sanction drug rings involved in international drug trafficking, including suppliers in China and cartels from Mexico.

Psychedelics

California Initiative Would Fund Psychedelic Research to Tune of $5 Billion. A group calling itself TREAT California has filed a proposed initiative for the 2024 ballot that would allocate $5 billion for a new state agency that would fund and promote psychedelic research with an eye toward accelerating the progress toward federal legalization of certain psychedelics, such as psilocybin and ibogaine.

The campaign is not led by magic mushroom fans but by seasoned initiative campaigners. They want to create an agency they are calling the Treatment, Research, Education, Access and Therapies (TREAT) Institute to identify opportunities for advancing science into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics to address serious mental health conditions like depression and addiction.

"The TREAT Institute will not be a typical government agency; it will be an innovative, effective, and lean organization that will provide a consistent, sustainable funding source," the text of the proposed constitutional amendment says. "TREAT California is not a direct decriminalization or legalization effort; and it is not an initiative driven by an elected official," it continues. "Rather, it is a path for citizens to authorize legislative change."

Meanwhile, another initiative campaign already underway seeks to put psilocybin legalization on the 2024 ballot. That campaign recently got approval from the state to begin signature gathering.

Asset Forfeiture

Georgia Prosecutor's Bid to Seize Landlord's Property over Tenant's Drug Possession Rejected. An effort by the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney's Office to seize the property of a landlord because of her tenant's arrest for drugs has gone up in flames. The tenant of a trailer and utility shed on a small rural property had been arrested on methamphetamine possession charges in January but has never been indicted or even had her case appear before a grand jury.

But prosecutors moved to seize the property through civil asset forfeiture even though the woman arrested was not the property owner. District Attorney Daphne Totten and ADA Barclay Black argued in the filing that the property is 'contraband and subject to forfeiture' because the property "was found in close proximity to the controlled substance, namely methamphetamine" and "was possessed, used, or available for use to facilitate a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act."

The landlord responded that she was not privy to the criminal conduct, did not consent to the criminal conduct, did not know of the criminal conduct, could not have reasonably known that criminal conduct was going to occur, and thus the property should not be forfeited. The judge in the case agreed.

"No evidence was adduced at trial that Walker was privy to Keaveny's criminal conduct, consented to or had any knowledge of criminal conduct, had any reason to believe it would or was occurring, or derived any financial benefit from the conduct," Judge Roland Thompson wrote, dismissing the seizure request.

International

Colombia President Proposes Buying up Coca Crop to Use for Industrial Purposes. With the country's rural coca economy in crisis because of years of overproduction, President Gustavo Petro has proposed buying up the crop and using it to make fertilizer. He also called for strategies to boost infrastructure development for the project.

"And that is done with research and technology and the form has already been invented. The Government proposes at the national level in the regions with the highest production of coca leaf used in another way, to set up factories to buy that coca leaf and turn it into carbonless fertilizer, decarbonized fertilizer, or if we want another word, 'biofertilizers,' Petro said. "So, I propose to SENA [the National Training Institute] to see if with the Government we can put these industrial complexes of cooperatives, indigenous peoples and neighbors, in order to use the coca leaf in a different way, which is to produce fertilizer for food in Colombia, zero carbon. That is, in the conditions that are needed in the 21st Century," he added.