Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

Electoral Politics

RSS Feed for this category

Trump Calls for Military Force Against Mexican Cartels, India Pols Call for Legal Opium, More... (8/22/23)

A Republican congressman threatens an Indian tribe over marijuana legalization, some surprising talk from politicians in the Punjab, and more

Mexican President Lopez Obrador does not think much of the tough talk coming from GOP politicians. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

GOP Congressman Threatens North Carolina Tribe with Loss of Federal Funding over Marijuana Legalization. The state's Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is set to vote on a referendum to legalize marijuana on tribal land in September, but now US Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) is warning that it could pay a price if it does. Edwards said the plans to introduce a bill—he says he will call it the Stop Pot Act—in Congress that would "defund governments that ignore federal law.

"I proudly consider the tribe my friends, and I respect their tribal sovereignty," the freshman House member wrote. "But there are times when friends disagree, and I must do so regarding this question of legalizing recreational marijuana. The tribe’s rights should not infringe on the overall laws of our nation. To allow our citizens to travel only a few miles to buy and use this common gateway drug would be irresponsible, and I intend to stop it."

Edwards, who opposed all efforts to reform marijuana laws while in the state legislature, including even medical marijuana, warned that legalization would lead to impaired driving, "drug tourism,"  hard drug sales, and unspecified "criminal activity that would inevitably follow."

"It is important that the tribe understands they will be voting on a measure that, if enacted, could soon be very costly," Edwards wrote. But only if his yet-to-be-filed bill actually becomes law..

Drug Policy

Trump Would Deploy US Military to Fight Drug Cartels. As part of a broader strategy to crack down on immigration and the border that includes vetting migrants to ensure that no "Marxists" are let it, Donald Trump plans at least two policies that take direct military aim at Mexican drug cartels.

The first policy would deploy Coast Guard and US Navy ships to stop drug smuggling boats and the second would designate drug cartels as "unlawful enemy combatants," which would allow the US military to target them in Mexico. That is the same designation used to detain 9/11 suspects for decades at Guantanamo.

Trump is only the latest Republican presidential contender to seek GOP political points by taking aggressive aim at the Mexican cartels, and none of it is going over very well with Mexico. Amidst similar talk earlier this year, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador warned that Mexico is "not going to permit any foreign government to intervene in our territory, much less that a government’s armed forces intervene."

International

Politicians in India's Punjab Call for Legal Opium Production, Sales. Amidst rising drug overdose deaths and growing drug mafias, some politicians in Punjab are calling for the legalization of opium and other drugs.

Former Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi, who had in 2016 even moved a private member’s bill in Parliament seeking to decriminalize opium, marijuana and poppy husk, said legalizing the sale of such drugs can severely wound drug mafias. "It will cut the ground from under their feet," he said. "It would also add to the state's revenue. Let there be an atmosphere of fearlessness that users can get the drugs from a reliable, legal, authenticated legal force," he said.

"This is the history of opium—that no one died by consuming it, nor anyone had to sell his house and property," said senior Alkali leader Sikander Singh Maluka, comparing its relatively mild effects to those of heroin and other synthetic drug. "There could be a rare exception who may have consumed it in large quantity."

"A user is never a promoter," said Gandhi. "The promoter of drugs is mafia which has vested interests. Crores of rupees are at stake. Not all, but many police officers, renowned politicians and many bigwigs are involved in drugs, not only in India but all across the world. It is the drug mafia, be it in Latin America, North America, South America, India, Brazil, or other countries for that matter. There are drug lords. And whatever success people have got against them is only after decriminalizing drugs. Portugal is one great example. The Portuguese government has done this. There was lot of crime because of drugs, lot of HIV and other communicable diseases by the use of intravenous injections and it (Portugal) had topped this table in entire Europe, but now it is at the bottom only because of decriminalizing all drugs."

(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.)

OH to Vote on Marijuana Legalization in November, CA Natural Psychedelic Bill Advances, More... (8/17/23)

Oregon's governor has vetoed a bill that would have moved toward a state bank to serve marijuana businesses, a coalition of public health and drug reform groups calls out the way some of the opioid settlement money is being spent, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Ohio Will Vote on Marijuana Legalization in November. The Secretary of State's Office announced Wednesday that the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol had gathered sufficient valid voter signatures to qualify its marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot. The group had originally come up short on signatures but used a 10-day window to find more signatures to go over the top.

The proposal would legalize the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or 15 grams of extract by adults. It would also legalize the home cultivation of up to 12 plants. It also envisages a taxed and regulated market in legal marijuana, with retail pot sales taxed at 10 percent.

Nearly six in 10 state voters support marijuana legalization. If it passes in November, Ohio will become the 24th state to free the weed.

Oregon Governor Vetoes Bill to Create State Bank for Marijuana Businesses. Gov. Tina Kotek (D) has vetoed House Bill 2673, which would have created a State Bank Public Task Force as the first step in an effort to create a state-owned bank to help the state's legal marijuana industry. As in other states, the industry is blocked from accessing most financial institutions because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

The bill would have directed the task force to make recommendations regarding the establishment of a state bank and directed the task force to investigate the provision of financial services for marijuana businesses.

In her veto message, Kotek wrote only that: "While the Governor supports exploring the creation of a state bank, this bill has several logistical challenges, including directing the Oregon Business Development Department (OBDD), which already manages over 80 programs, to manage a new task force, establish an RFP process, and finalize a substantive report on an abbreviated timeline."

Drug Policy

Organizations Oppose "Problematic" Use of Opioid Settlement Money, Want "Evidence-Based" Solutions. A coalition of more than 130 public health and reform groups is charging that the ways some states are using funds from massive settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors are "problematic" and is demanding that states use the settlement funds for "evidence-based solutions."

The coalition, which includes the Drug Policy Alliance and AIDS United, wants the funds to be used for easing access to all FDA-approved medications for addiction treatment (methadone, buprenorphine) and the whole panoply of harm reduction measures, including safe injection sites. They also call for expanding housing, outreach, and wraparound services for current drug users and people with drug convictions, and supporting second-chance employment opportunities, recovery-to-work programs, and expungement of criminal records.

"Secured through the suffering of people who use drugs and their loved ones, these funds should be used to help individuals directly impacted by the failed 'War on Drugs,'" according to a brief from the organizations. "Sadly, in many places, people are not seeing opioid settlement dollars put toward things that would actually improve their lives."

Based on the drug companies' role in the opioid addiction crisis of the past quarter-century, the settlements are estimated to amount to at least $50 billion over the next 18 years and require recipients to spend at least 85 percent of the funds to "abate the opioid epidemic." But the coalition points to a program in Louisian where 20 percent of the funding is going to sheriffs, one in Wyoming that is buying new police cruisers, and one in New York that is paying overtime for narcs as evidence that the terms of the settlement are not always being followed.

Psychedelics

California Natural Psychedelic Legalization Bill One Step Closer to Final Assembly Committee Vote. A bill that would legalize the possession and facilitated use of certain natural psychedelics is one step closer to a final Assembly committee vote after clearing a procedural hurdle Wednesday. The bill, Senate Bill 58, has already passed the upper house.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced the measure to its suspense file, meaning it is set for final action to see whether it advances to the floor. That decision should come by September 1.

The bill would legalize the "possession, preparation, obtaining, transfer, as specified, or transportation of" specific amounts of psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline for personal or facilitated use. The bill would legalize up to two grams of DMT, psilocybin, and psilocyn, as well as up to four ounces of "a plant or fungi containing psilocybin or psilocyn. It would also legalize the possession of up to 15 grams of ibogaine.

Ramaswamy Talks Drug Decriminalization, SD 2024 Legal Pot Initiative Coming, More... (8/15/23)

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)
Marijuana Policy

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.)

Supreme Court Puts Hold on Sackler OxyContin Settlement, Ecuador Killing Linked to Drug Gangs, More... (8/11/23)

The NAACP reiterates its call for marijuana legalization and adds a call for workers' rights, Ron DeSantis doubles down on harsh rhetoric directed at Mexican drug cartels, and more.

OxyContin (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

NAACP Renews Support for Marijuana Legalization, Adds Call to Protect Industry Workers' Rights. That National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has adopted a resolution reiterating its support for federal marijuana legalization and added a new call to protect workers' rights in the fledgling industry. The resolution was adopted late last month at the NAACP's 114th National Convention.

"NAACP calls for the legalization and de-scheduling of cannabis at the federal level and reaffirms its past resolutions on cannabis, the cannabis industries, decriminalization, and equity, and expresses an intent to advocate for federal, state, and local medical and adult-use cannabis legislation that includes labor peace agreements as a condition of licensure," the resolution says.

In the call to protect workers' rights, the resolution points out that "the majority of people in the cannabis industry will be workers rather than owners" and advocates that "the workers who grow, process, test, distribute, and sell cannabis deserve a fair and safe workplace and family-sustaining job like every other worker."

And that means union representation, the resolution said: "Access to union representation, training and apprenticeship will help ensure that a broad range of workers can benefit from the cannabis industry, especially workers from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition in the past," it says.

Opiates and Opioids

Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Deal that Protects Sackler Family. The US Supreme Court on Thursday put a hold on a bankruptcy deal with Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, that capped liability for the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, at $6 billion and would have shielded family members from any further civil lawsuits over the opioid epidemic sparked by the introduction and massive marketing of OxyContin.

The Supreme Court issued the order in response to a Justice Department filing objecting to the settlement. The department argued that it allowed Sackler family members to hide behind legal protections meant for debtors in "financial distress," not billionaires. It said it would hear arguments in December to seek whether the settlement complies with the US bankruptcy code.

Under the deal, the Sacklers had agreed to pay billions in exchange for full immunity from all civil cases. The Supreme Court's order is likely to delay payments to the thousands of plaintiffs who have sued Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers.

Foreign Policy

Ron DeSantis Says He Is Open to Using Drones Against Mexican Drug Cartels. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has once again identified Mexican drug cartels as one of his favorite targets as he seeks to gain traction against former President Donald Trump. At a campaign event in Iowa Thursday, he said he would be open to using drone strikes against Mexican drug cartels.

"We will absolutely reserve the right if they're invading our country and killing our people," DeSantis said in response to a voter's question. When asked to clarify, he said: "I said I would use whatever force we need to defend the country. We'd be willing to lean in against them, and we reserve the right to defend our country," he added.

Earlier in the campaign, DeSantis called for the use of deadly force against migrants suspected of trafficking drugs, a call he reiterated Thursday. "We're authorizing deadly force. They try to break into our country? They will end up stone-cold dead," he said to a rousing round of applause.

International

Ecuador Presidential Candidate's Assassination Linked to Local Drug Gangs with Ties to International Drug Trafficking Organizations. Anti-corruption crusader, journalist, and former legislator Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed at a campaign event in Quito Tuesday evening not long after receiving threats from local gangs tied to Albanian, Colombian, and Mexican drug cartels.

The assassination came amid a rising tide of violence linked to conflicts betwee two gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos. Los Choneros are linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, while Los Lobos have ties to competing international drug organizations. In recent months, judges, prosecutors, journalists, politicians and political candidates have been killed in gang attacks, with the mayor of the western city of Manta assassinated just two weeks ago. Gang-related violence has also roiled the country's overcrowded prisons, with some 600 inmates killed in three separate bouts of prison rioting.

Ecuador is not a producer of cocaine, but is bordered by leading producer countries Colombia to the north and Peru to the south and is an increasingly important transshipment point for cocaine headed to North America and Western Europe.

"The killing of Fernando Villavicencio is a wake-up call for Ecuador's democracy," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The rise of organized crime is putting the lives of Ecuadorians and their institutions at risk. Urgent, rights-respecting security policies are needed to protect them effectively."

In response to the violence, President Guillermo Lasso has declared a range of localized states of emergencies, suspending constitutional rights. The government has also deployed the military and conducted prison raids. After the killing of Villavicencio, Lasso expanded the state of emergency across the entire country.

But Human Rights Watch said what the country needs is to address the root causes of criminality, including high levels of poverty and social exclusion. The authorities should seek to permanently reduce the power of organized crime groups, including by considering alternative approaches to drug policy that would reduce the profitability of the illegal drug trade, the group said.

"The ongoing states of emergency have not made Ecuadorians safer," Goebertus said. "The government needs to put in place an effective and legitimate security policy that protects them and seeks to dismantle organized crime groups.

(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.)

San Francisco Has Magic Mushroom Churches, DeSantis Doubles Down on Cartel Threats, More... (8/7/23)

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)
Psychedelics

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.)

Florida AG Opposes Legalization Init, Montreal Mushroom Shop Raided Again, More... (8/4/23)

There have been a couple of hiccups as marijuana legalization rolls out in Minnesota, Florida's attorney general thinks voters are too stupid to know that pot would remain federally illegal if the state legalized it, and more.

Magic mushrooms. You can't buy them in Montreal anymore. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Florida AG Reaffirms Opposition to Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Claims Floridians Too Stupid to Know Pot Would Remain Federally Illegal. Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) on Wednesday submitted a new brief to the state Supreme Court arguing that it should reject the marijuana legalization initiative from Smart and Safe Florida because its summary does not explicitly say that marijuana is illegal under federal law.

That could deceive state voters who may be ignorant of the policy conflict between the states and the federal government on marijuana, Moody argued. "Most Americans cannot name a single Supreme Court justice," she claimed to support her position.

Smart and Safe Florida found Moody's position incredible, saying it "strains credulity well past the breaking point to think that the average voter is unaware that marijuana is illegal at the federal level."

She also argued that the initiative is crafted to unfairly benefit the marijuana company Trulieve, which is the main financial backer of the campaign.

"This carefully curated ballot summary misleads in ways that, though sometimes subtle, are likely to influence voters -- and to do so in a way that entrenches the Sponsor's monopolistic stranglehold on the marijuana market to the detriment of Floridians," it says. "In its pursuit of a larger customer base and greater profits, Trulieve has invited millions of Floridians to join it in reckless violation of federal criminal law. Trulieve may be reckless enough to stake an entire business model on the whims of federal prosecutors," it continues. "But it cannot invite Florida voters to permanently amend their governing charter by promising that the amendment will do something ('allow' recreational marijuana) that it will not do."

It's not immediately clear what the next steps are in the case. It's possible the court may schedule oral arguments now that both sides have laid out their main arguments in written briefs.

Minnesota Legal Marijuana Hiccups. The first days of marijuana legalization in the state -- beginning August 1 -- have brought at least two police raids on shops they said were skirting the law. Police raided a tobacco shop in Mahnomen on the White Earth Reservation that was selling marijuana and a shop in Faribault that was selling plants.

While non-native parts of the state must wait for regulators to come up with regulations to guide legal marijuana commerce, sales have already begun on one reservation, Red Lake. The White Earth Band, however, says sales are illegal without a permit from the tribe.

Meanwhile, in Faribault, Total Tobacco was raided on August 1 when local law enforcement seized 22 pot plants. The store said it thought it was selling legal plants because the seedlings had not yet reached a state of maturity when THC levels would rise enough to be illegal.

Charges are pending in both cases.

International

Montreal Police Raid Magic Mushroom Shop for Third Time in Three Weeks. The FunGuyz magic mushroom shop is shut down again after being raided Thursday for the third time in three weeks. Police said they seized four kilograms of psilocybin in bulk form, 753 grams of psilocybin edibles, 1,643 psilocybin tablets and slightly more than $10,000 in cash.

Police first raided the shop on July 11, the day it opened and arrested four people. But the owners, who said they were advocating for psychedelic legalization, reopened, sparking a second raid on July 20, with five people arrested. One person was arrested in this latest raid.

Quebec law enforcement is growing tired of the game, and the provincial Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions says police have been granted an injunction to seize the building and prevent it from opening for a fourth time.

OH Legal Weed Initiative Hands in Final Signatures, Brazil Drug Raids Leave 45 Dead, More... (8/3/23)

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)
Marijuana Policy

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.

SAMSHA Seeks Comment on Harm Reduction Draft, MN Era of Legal Weed Begins, More... (8/2/23)

An effort to repeal South Dakota's voter-approved medical marijuana law gets underway, the Red Lake Reservation sees the first legal recreational marijuana sales in Minnesota, and more.

Welcome to weed world, Minnesota!
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Now in Effect. Today is day two of legal marijuana in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Legalization went into effect on August 1 after the legislature approved it earlier this year. The state is now the 23rd to have freed the weed.

Now, people 21 and over can possess and grow their own marijuana, although most retail sales are still months away. People can grow up to eight plants, though only four may be in flowering. The plants must be grown in an enclosed, locked space that is not open to public view, whether that's indoors or in a garden.

And they can possess up to two ounces of marijuana flower, eight grams of concentrate, and 800 milligrams of THC-containing edibles, such as gummies or seltzers.

Minnesota Tribe Launches First Legal Marijuana Sales in State. The first legal marijuana sale in the state took place Tuesday on the Red Lake Reservation, with the first sale going to a tribal employee as journalists, tribal leaders, and more than a hundred lined up customers looked on.

The reservation's NativeCare dispensary is the only legal adult sales dispensary in the state. State officials have yet to establish a licensing system for recreational use sales, but because the reservation is sovereign native land, the shop there did not have to wait for the state to get its system up and running.

"We're proud to be the first," Red Lake Tribal Secretary Sam Strong said. "We're excited for people to come onto the reservation."

Medical Marijuana

South Dakota Effort to Repeal Medical Marijuana Launches. Rural Butte County famer Travis Ismay has taken time off from harassing the local county commission over various issues, including a medical marijuana dispensary in the country to submit a proposed ballot initiative that would repeal the state's medical marijuana program, outlaw the dispensaries currently in operation, and make all use and possession of marijuana a crime.

He faces an uphill battle. Voters in the state approved a medical marijuana program via a 2020 initiative that garnered 68.5 percent of the vote. The measure would need some 17,000 valid voter signatures by the first Tuesday next May to qualify for the 2024 ballot, and beyond Mr. Ismay, there is no sign of any organized campaign to get it done.

Harm Reduction

SAMHSA Invites Comments on Draft Harm Reduction Framework. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy calls for integrated programs to address the syndemic of HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis, and substance use and mental health disorders. This includes facilitating the linkage of HIV services to substance use disorder treatment, syringe services programs, and other evidence-based harm reduction programs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently published its draft Harm Reduction Framework and invites public comments via web form, no later than August 14, 2023 at 5:00pm ET. Further information about submitting comments here.

CA Initiative Would Have State Fund Psychedelic Research, Fentanyl Bills Pass Senate, More... (7/31/23)

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)
Opiates and Opioids

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.

FL Supreme Court Marijuana Initiative Fight, Peru Coca Expansion, More... (7/26/23)

Singapore has executed one drug offender with another set for later this week, the Florida ACLU joins the fight for a marijuana legalization initiative, and more.

The gallows. Singapore's implement of choice for dealing with drug traffickers, even small-time ones. (Pixabay)
Marijuana Policy

Florida Supreme Court Grants AG's Request for More Time to Challenge Marijuana Legalization Initiative. The state Supreme Court on Monday granted a request from Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) for more time to challenge a marijuana legalization initiative from Smart & Safe Florida. She now has until August 2 to make her argument that the initiative does not meet state requirements to be on the November 2024 ballot.

Smart & Safe Florida opposed the seven-day extension, arguing instead for a two-day extension, but the Supreme Court gave Moody the whole seven days.

If the high court approves the initiative or fails to issue a ruling by April 1, 2024, would be set to appear on the November 2024 ballot. Since it takes the form of a constitutional amendment, it will need 60 percent of the vote to pass.

Florida ACLU Joins Fight Over Getting Marijuana Legalization Initiative on the Ballot. The ACLU of Florida filed a brief on Monday backing the Smart & Safe Florida marijuana legalization initiative and calling out the state Supreme Court for the way it has handled ballot initiatives in recent years, turning the process into an "acrobatic exercise."

"The ACLU is arguing that the Supreme Court now has a history over the last several years in Florida of striking down these initiatives," ACLU attorney Will Cooper said. "If the Supreme Court really does want to let the people speak and get out of the business of striking these initiatives down and acted by the people of Florida, I think they certainly have a sufficient basis to let it stand," he added.

In the past five years, the Supreme Court has reviewed nine initiatives, striking down four of them, as well as refusing to review another initiative, effectively killing it. In the five year period before that, the high court reviewed seven initiatives and struck down none of them.

International

Peru's Surging Cocaine Trade is Overrunning Remote Indigenous Territories. In Ucayali department, which is a lowland jungle region bordering Brazil, coca has arrived, and the trade is threatening the reserves of the isolated tribespeople who inhabit the area. It is an area largely bereft of state services, including an anemic state security apparatus, a situation that has created "an open door" for the drug trade, say drug experts and indigenous communities.

Coca production has expanded from the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM) to far Ucayali, where land under cultivation has spiked nearly five-fold in the past five years. Nearly 35,000 acres of coca was grown on land belonging to some 295 native communities. Nationally, coca cultivation increased by 18 percent from 2021 to 2022.

"Ucayali has practically wide open borders and strategic positioning," said Frank Casas, an expert on Peru's drug trade. "Within the last three years, the region has become a high production area, and not only in terms of coca, but also in the production and commercialization of cocaine to international markets."

Singapore Hangs Drug Offender, Another Hanging Set for Friday. Singapore authorities hanged a 56-year-old man, Mohammed Aziz Hussain, after he was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking less than two ounces of heroin. And it is set to hang a woman, Saridewi Djamani, 45, on Friday for trafficking slightly more than an ounce of heroin in 2018.

The local Transformative Justice Collective and international human rights groups called on the government to halt the pending execution and end the resort to the death penalty. It had been under a moratorium during the coronavirus pandemic, but has returned with a vengeance last year with 15 drug offenders executed since then.

"Singaporean authorities must immediately stop these blatant violations of the right to life in their obsessive enforcement of misguided drug policies," Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary-general of the International Federation of Human Rights, said in a statement.

A joint statement by Transformative Justice Collective and other groups noted that Law Minister K. Shanmugam reportedly acknowledged in a 2022 interview that Singapore's harsh policy on drugs has not led to the arrest of the so-called drug kingpins.

"Instead of disrupting drug cartels… the government of Singapore deliberately retains capital drug laws that, in practice, operate to punish low-level traffickers and couriers, who are typically recruited from marginalized groups with intersecting vulnerabilities," the statement said.

Drug War Issues

Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School