Iowa's Democratic attorney general calls for legalizing fentanyl test strips, GOP senators file a bill to go after drug cartel "spotters," and more.

The Rio Grande River marks the US-Mexico border in this remote region of Texas. Can you spot any spotters? (Pixabay)

GOP Senators File Bill to Target Cartel Spotters. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and cosponsors Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK) have filed the Transnational Criminal Organization Illicit Spotter Prevention and Elimination Act, which "increases penalties for those who aid cartels in illegal activity by transmitting information about the positions of Border Patrol or destroying Border Patrol communication devices." The bill would stiffen penalties on spotters by increasing fines and imposing a maximum prison term of 10 years on those convicted of helping cartels.

Harm Reduction

Iowa Attorney General Calls for Legalizing Fentanyl Test Strips. Faced with rising drug overdose deaths in the state, Attorney General Tom Miller (D) said Thursday he wants to see legislation introduced next year to legalize fentanyl test strips. He also said he wants to expand access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone. "There's no one thing that's going to solve this problem, but the pieces of different solutions are going to really, really make the difference," Miller said. Miller's remarks came a week after Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) held a news conference about rising fentanyl overdoses and offered up a public messaging campaign aimed at younger Iowans. Iowa saw 470 drug overdose deaths last year, up from 419 in 2020 and 350 in 2019.

Psychedelics

Colorado Psychedelic Legalization Psilocybin Therapy Initiative Qualifies for November Ballot. The Natural Medicine Health Act has qualified for the November ballot. The Natural Medicine Colorado campaign, backed by the national New Approach PAC, turned in about 100,000 more raw signatures than needed to qualify after a short, three-month signature-gathering campaign. The initiative would legalize possession of certain psychedelics, establish a therapeutic model for supervised psilocybin treatment and provide a pathway for record sealing for prior convictions. There are no explicit possession limits for natural psychedelics, including psilocybin, ibogaine, mescaline (not derived from peyote), DMT and psilocyn. There is no provision for recreational sales. A second psychedelic legalization initiative, sponsored by Decriminalize Nature Colorado, that would simply allow people 21 and over to possess, cultivate, gift and deliver psilocybin, psilocyn, ibogaine, mescaline and DMT is still in the signature-gathering phase.

International

Singapore Hangs Drug Offender, Fifth Execution in Four Months. Singapore authorities executed Nazeri bin Lajim for heroin trafficking on Friday. It was the fifth execution in less than four months, all of drug offenders. "Five people have been hanged this year in Singapore, in a period of less than four months. This relentless wave of hangings must stop immediately. The use of the death penalty in Singapore, including as mandatory punishment for drug-related offences, violates international human rights law and standards," Amnesty International's death penalty expert Chiara Sangorgio said. "Everyone executed in Singapore in 2022 has been sentenced to the mandatory death penalty for drug-related offenses. Rather than having a unique deterrent effect on crime, these executions only show the utter disregard the Singaporean authorities have for human rights and the right to life. We call on governments, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Narcotics Control Board to increase pressure on Singapore so that international safeguards on the death penalty are respected and drug control policies are rooted in the promotion and protection of human rights. Singapore's highly punitive approach does neither."

It looks like they will be voting to free the weed in North Dakota this year, Customs officers nail a 5,000 load of methamphetamine near the Mexican border, and more.

The former president lauded China for executing drug offenders and suggested we should do the same. (Creative Commons)

New York Cracks Down on Grey Market Pot Shops. The state's Office of Cannabis Management has sent cease and desist letters to 52 shops across the state it has identified as illicitly selling marijuana. While the state legalized marijuana in March 2021, licensed sales have yet to commence, and the shops have been taking advantage of the interregnum to peddle weed without a permit. Now they must stop or face the prospect of being blocked from ever obtaining a retail marijuana sales license.

North Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign Hands in Plenty of Signatures. Legalize ND, the group behind this year's marijuana legalization initiative, handed in more than 25,000 raw signatures Monday morning. The initiative requires 15,582 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot, meaning it has a cushion of some 10,000 signatures in case some of the raw signatures are invalidated. That is a big cushion that should ensure North Dakotans get a chance to vote on the issue in November. The initiative would legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for people 21 and over and allow for its sale at registered businesses.

Law Enforcement

Trump Again Urges Death Penalty for Drug Dealers, Claims China Has No Drug Problem. In a campaign speech for his preferred gubernatorial candidate in Nevada last Friday, former President Donald Trump said the US should follow the lead of China on drug policy and swiftly execute drug dealers. "If you look at countries all throughout the world... the only ones that don't have a drug problem are those that institute the death penalty for drug dealers. They're the only ones, you understand that? China has no drug problem," Trump said to applause from the Republican crowd. Trump said he had asked Chinese Premier Xi Jinping whether China had a drug problem, then made up what he said XI was thinking: "Why would you have such a dumb question is that no, no, no, we don't have a drug problem. Why would we have a drug problem? There is no problem. Drug dealers get the death penalty. The trial goes very quickly. So instead of coming into China, they go someplace else. We've had big drug problems over the centuries, but we don't have a drug problem at all. Now, they don't deal in China," the former president said. Trump prefaced his remark by saying he would either "get a standing ovation" or "people are going to walk out of the room." In fact, China has rising levels of drug use, according to its own National Narcotics Control Commission.

Massive Meth Bust at Otay Mesa Border Crossing. US Customs officers seized a record-breaking 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine from a box truck that had crossed the border from Mexico into the US at the Otay Mesa border crossing near San Diego last Thursday. They tailed the vehicle to nearby National City, where they observed four men unloading dozens of boxes from the truck and into a van. They four men, all Tijuana residents, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute meth, which exposes them to possible life sentences. The DEA crowed that the bust was "another win against drug cartels," but the cross-border drug trade remains very dynamic, with seizures accounting for only a small percentage of all drugs moving across the border.

A federal circuit court puts the hurt on a Nebraska medical marijuana initiative, DC residents can now self-certify as medical marijuana patients, and more.

Downtown Washington, DC. Adults there can now self-certify as medical marijuana patients. (Pixabay)

Arkansas Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign to Turn in Massive Signature Cache Tomorrow. Responsible Growth Arkansas, the group behind a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana, the Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment, is handing in signatures Friday and the group says it has collected more than double the number of signatures required. These are just raw signatures, but initiative campaigns typically seek a cushion of excess signatures of 10, 20, or 30 percent to make up for any that are invalidated, and this is a cushion of 100 percent, so it looks very likely that Arkansans will be voting to free the weed in November. The amendment would allow people 21 and over to purchase and possess up to one ounce of marijuana but would not allow for home cultivation. It does not contain provisions to expunge past records or to address social equity.

Medical Marijuana

Federal Court Rules Against Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiative Campaign in Signature-Gathering Case. The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay to the state of Nebraska in a case regarding signature-gathering requirements for a pair of linked medical marijuana initiatives. The group behind the campaign, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, had successfully challenged the state's requirement that initiatives must obtain signatures from at least five percent of registered voters in at least 38 of the state's 93 counties, having won a preliminary injunction on the issue in federal district court. The 8th Circuit's ruling stayed that preliminary injunction, meaning the old requirements are once again in effect.

DC Mayor Signs Bill to Allow People 21 and Over to Buy Medical Marijuana Without a Doctor's Recommendation. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Wednesday signed into law a bill that allows DC residents to "self-certify" their need for medical marijuana, removing the need for obtaining a doctor's recommendation. "We know that by bringing more medical marijuana patients into the legal marketplace in a timely manner and doing more to level the playing field for licensed medical marijuana providers, we can protect residents, support local businesses, and provide clarity to the community," Bowser said. The move comes as Congress continues to block the District from being able to allow recreational marijuana sales and as the District grapples with the proliferation of unregulated marijuana "gifting shops," where people pay high prices for items such as t-shirts and then receive marijuana as a "gift."

International

Amnesty International Calls on Singapore to End Wave of Drug War Executions. "End the wave of hangings and immediately impose a moratorium on executions," the human rights group demanded Thursday after Singapore executed two men on drug charges. Responding to the execution of Malaysian national Kalwant Singh in Singapore, together with that of another man, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for Research Emerlynne Gil said: "Singapore has once again executed people convicted of drug-related offenses in violation of international law, callously disregarding public outcry. Going against a worldwide trend towards abolishing the death penalty, Singapore is just one of four countries known to have executed people for drug-related offenses in recent years. The death penalty is never the solution and we oppose it unconditionally. There is no evidence that it acts as a unique deterrent to crime."

The Nebraska medical marijuana initiative campaign is in a final frantic push to come up with additional signatures, the Oklahoma marijuana legalization initiative campaign hands in beaucoup signatures, and more.

President Biden is being pushed to deschedule marijuana via executive action. (whitehouse.gov)

Senate Democrats Press Biden to Use Existing Authority to Take Step Forward on Marijuana Legalization. A trio of leading progressive senators are among those who are pressing for President Biden to use his authority to deschedule marijuana. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) signed on to a letter Wednesday that called on the administration to "use its existing authority to (i) deschedule cannabis and (ii) issue pardons to all individuals convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related offenses.

The senators said the letter was the second time they had asked the administration to move on descheduling. The first time was in October 2021, and they described the administration's response as "extraordinarily disappointing." "The Administration's failure to coordinate a timely review of its cannabis policy is harming thousands of Americans, slowing research, and depriving Americans of their ability to use marijuana for medical or other purposes," they wrote in the letter, which was addressed to President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Oklahoma Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign Hands in Signatures. Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws has handed in nearly double the number of raw signatures needed to get a measure legalizing adult use marijuana, State Question 820, on the November ballot. The group needed some 94,000 valid voter signatures to qualify and handed in more than 164,000 raw signatures. A companion measure, State Question 819, faces a higher signature threshold because it is a constitutional amendment, but is also expected to qualify for the November ballot. It needs 177,957 valid voter signatures to qualify and it has until August 1 to hand them in.

Medical Marijuana

Arizona Medical Marijuana Regulators Must Revise Fee Structure, Auditor's Review Finds. State auditors recommended three years that the Department of Health Services needed to make changes in how it manages the state's medical marijuana fund, and in a new report released late in June, the auditors said the department had failed to act on the initial recommendations. The auditors said the department had followed other of its 2019 recommendations, including performing medical marijuana facility inspections and addressing complaints and noncompliance issues, but has not adequately audited its fee structure nor addressed funding allocations for specific programs outlined in the medical marijuana law.

Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiative Campaign Says It Is Near Signature Goal. State Sen. Anna Wishart (D), who is working with Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana to put a pair of linked initiatives on the November ballot, said Wednesday that "overwhelming number of Nebraskans have turned out and signed our petitions in the last ten days" and that the campaign has gathered some 87,000 raw signatures. It needs that amount of valid voter signatures to qualify. Initiative campaigns typically seek a cushion of 10, 20, or 30 percent more raw signatures than needed to account for signatures found to be invalid. But the campaign only has until Friday to come up with additional signatures, and it is pleading with Nebraskans to come up with at least 5,000 more signatures (a cushion of only about 4 percent) by then, which may or may not be sufficient to offset signatures found to be invalid.