Logo created for our Philippines campaign by artist Cesar Maxit. It combines the universal human rights logo with imprisoned Senator Leila de Lima's famous hand gesture.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our global advocacy program on the human rights crisis in the Philippine drug war. Below you will find detailed discussion of work through s, with video and links to statements or news articles, but only updated through July 2018.
Work done since then, about which we'll be adding in detail to this page soon, includes:
February 2019 "soft launch" of "Stand with Human Rights and Democracy: Global Campaign for the Philippines";
March 2019 forum at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna;
July 2019 forum at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York;
December 2019 forum at the International Criminal Court's Assembly of States Parties in The Hague;
speeches and other participation in allied groups' events in Washington;
community meeting on International Human Rights Advocacy at the International Conference on Drug Policy Reform;
work we are doing in the US Congress; and
other help we are providing to allies.
Material we will be posting from these activities includes but is not limited to:
highlights from February campaign events;
video footage of the three forums (which bring our total number of events to date to six);
presentations on the disinformation and social media manipulation campaigns that underpin Duterte's drug war and moves toward autocracy; and
photos from various events.
One particular highlight we will mention here is that our March 2019 event drew significant media in the Philippines, due to the participation by Skype of Law School Dean and then senatorial candidate Chel Diokno, who criticized the "erosion of the Philippine justice system." This in turn drew a public response from the government's Justice Secretary, their equivalent of Attorney General.
As noted above, the video and other resources we will be posting broadens our efforts to include exposing the disinformation and social media manipulation campaigns being carried out by President Duterte and his allies, which are a key plank of his drug war and moves toward authoritarianism. Presentations done for our events including cutting edge academic research and journalism on how appearances are being manipulated through concerted paid online efforts by "trolls" and others.
While much of the world moves toward compassionate drug policy reform, a populist would-be dictator has led one country cruelly backwards.
Since taking office, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has orchestrated a brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings, mainly as part of his "drug war." Credible estimates for the number of dead range from at least 12,000 to a likely 30,000 or more since mid-2016.
Ominously, a "Duterte effect" in the region has led to extrajudicial drug war killings in Indonesia and Bangladesh, and high-level officials in Malaysia and Turkey have also called for killings or other extrajudicial violence. In a move that has comforted human rights violators everywhere, President Trump has praised Duterte's drug war, twice.
funeral for victim of Duterte's drug war killings
Other abuses in have affected hundreds of thousands, and killings of activists, priests, even mayors are growing as well. In July 2019, the administration filed sedition cases against 35 opposition figures, including Catholic priests and Bishops, current and former Senators and candidates, even Vice President Leni Robredo. After the International Criminal Court announced a preliminary examination of allegations about the Philippine drug war, the administration withdrew the Philippines from the ICC's Rome Treaty.
Duterte is aggressively attacking his critics and the nation's democratic institutions as he seeks to bring about dictatorship. If he succeeds, there's no knowing where or how far the killings may go.
"There are 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I'd be happy to slaughter them. If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have..." [points at himself]
Our UN events have been high-profile. The first, in March 2017, triggered a major political incident in the Philippines, after Vice President Robredo, a human rights lawyer and opposition leader, sent us a speech by video which criticized the President's drug policies. Our March 2019 event drew headlines in the Philippines and forced a response from the nation's Justice Secretary. Full information on the series appears below.
The "Stand with Human Rights and Democracy" campaign links drug policy reform in general terms to big issues of the day including democracy, human rights, rule of law, and the fight against internet-powered disinformation and authoritarianism.
Our work in this area grew our of advocacy we've done at the United Nations since late 2014. As part of a global community of reform-minded NGOs, we call for people-centered approaches to drug policy governed by human rights. Initially this aimed at the April 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS). When Duterte was elected and the Philippine slaughter began, we turned our attention there.
Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo recorded a powerful video for our March 2017 UN event.
The pro-Duterte forces have noticed us. Duterte allies including the (now former) Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives have attacked Philippine opposition leaders for working with us. Orchestrated online troll armies have descended on our videos. One of our events even prompted fake news stories.
We are currently crafting plans for moving forward in this campaign in an even bigger way. Please subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don't miss any announcements about it. If you have a particular interest in the Philippines and want to be in touch about this, please email us.
Under the auspices of our UN-accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit, DRCNet Foundation, we have organized events in conjunction with the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) meetings in Vienna, the 2018 and 2019 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development meetings in New York, and the 2019 Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
TIME magazine did the first posting of the vice president's video, embedding it from our YouTube account.
Vienna 2017: Our March 2017 event, coorganized with the Manila-based Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, drew massive attention in the Philippines, due to a speech by video from Philippines Vice President Leni Robredo that led to unfair attacks on her by Duterte allies and an (ultimately unsuccessful) impeachment drive. The video also garnered US and international coverage. Robredo's video strongly criticized Duterte's drug war, as well as Duterte-led moves in the Philippines Congress (also so far unsuccessful) to reinstate the death penalty, including for drug offenses, and to lower the age of criminal liability to nine.
We released the video on Monday March 13, three days before our event, offering TIME magazine the exclusive first posting. TIME followed up with an interview with Robredo. Along with extensive coverage in Philippine mainstream media, discussion of the video trended on Twitter, and was covered by wire services and outlets throughout Asia and the Gulf.
Unfortunately though not surprisingly, Duterte's forces hit back. The Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives and the president's Spokesperson both claimed the vice president's office (OVP) must have timed the video's release to coincide with other events that week. They principally pointed to an impeachment complaint a congressman filed against Duterte the day after we released the video, as well as a resolution in the European Parliament calling for the release of Duterte critic Sen. Leila de Lima. They presented this as evidence Robredo was engaged in a "destabilization campaign" against the government.
Robredo's opponents used the video to attack her politically.
While still in Vienna, we released a statement to media refuting those claims. It documented that UN staff had scheduled side events for the CND nearly two months earlier, and attested that OVP had made no requests of us. (Our event appears on page ten of the 2017 CND side events list; a screenshot of that document's properties page shows it was published on January 23, compared with the event's March 16 date.) Sen. Kiko Pangilinan distributed the statement to the Liberal Party's media list, and we also contacted Philippine media. CNN Philippines, on which the president's spokesperson had first made the false claim about the role of the video, published the most extensive story about our debunking of it. (See news links below.)
coverage of our statement defending the vice president, CNN Philippines mobile home page
While our statement helped to defuse the specific charge of a coordinated campaign by the vice president, Duterte's team had ignited a political firestorm over the video which already had its own momentum, and which turned into a campaign to impeach Robredo. At the height of the furor, opportunistic celebrities even held a concert and rally against Robredo. (Their campaign reached the US west coast, when a Filipino American group in Hayward, California held an affinity rally.)
The political heat that Robredo, a human rights lawyer, took for participating in our event is unfortunate. But she has continued to speak out against the killings, and remains a popular figure.
News reports on our event, the vice president's video, and its fallout, are too numerous to link here, and media continued for a long time to refer to them when discussing the vice president's political trajectory. One example is this analysis in the prominent Philippine news outlet Rappler, as of late 2019 ranked as the 10th more read web site in the Philippines. We post here a selection of key news links, as well as links for video footage of our entire event and other resources.
Philippine officials provided the government's response. (photo by Joey Tranchina)
Event footage is available online here. Along with the Robredo statement and an Amnesty International video, it includes presentations by Chito Gascon, Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines; Abhisit Vejjajiva, former Prime Minister of Thailand and current chair of event cosponsor the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (video); Lousewies van der Laan, former leader of the Dutch D66 party (Skype); Alison Smith, lead counsel and head of international criminal justice programs at the NGO No Peace Without Justice; Marco Perduca, former Senator from Italy and a member of our board of directors; and a written statement from US Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). We also have transcripts and a detailed summary.
Co-moderator Marco Perduca, former senator of Italy, and David Borden speaking with Amnesty International's Daniel Joloy, other speakers Alison Smith (just off screen) and Lousewies van der Laan (on Skype). (photo by Joey Tranchina)
Following are some key news article and related links:
The Philippines' largest broadsheet newspaper and 8th most read web site in the country as of this writing, The Inquirer, interviewed our executive director David Borden, as well as fellow event speaker Alison Smith, two weeks after the event. The interview, titled "Group says Duterte, not Robredo, upsetting int'l community," was widely read, shared by Inquirer readers nearly 9,000 times.
Vienna 2018: A year almost to the day after our 2017 event (and in the same room at the UN), we held another event featuring outspoken opposition Philippine Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV. (Duterte has said of Trillanes, "I [will] destroy him, or he will destroy me.")
In a sign of the times, the day before our event when Senator Trillanes arrived at the UN, President Duterte transmitted one-year notice of the Philippines withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, in retaliation for the ICC's preliminary investigation of his drug war. The night before our event, prosecutors in the Philippines indicted the senator on a spurious sedition charge.
Tania Ramírez and Natalie Ginsberg read Senator de Lima's statement. Alessandro de Luca also pictured. (photo by Joey Tranchina)
Senator Leila de Lima contributed a written statement to our event as well. Joining Senator Trillanes as featured speaker was Ellecer Carlos, well-known spokesperson for the iDEFEND Philippine human rights coalition. The event was again co-moderated by David Borden and Marco Perduca.
speaker meeting before the forum (photo by Joey Tranchina)
Roughly 70 people attended, many forced to stand outside the 30-person capacity meeting room. Attendees represented a range of governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and members of the local Filipino community.
While the sedition charge became the main news story, driving out much of the coverage our event might otherwise have gotten, we did get some media including television:
- Trillanes not backing down on sedition case (The Philippines' top news outlet, ABS-CBN, filmed for this report at our event. The sedition indictment, which was issued the night before, became the main story.)
fake news story with fabricated statement attributed to us
In another sign of the times, Filipinos working in Vienna attended our event, including both supporters and critics of President Duterte. One member of the "Die Hard Duterte Supporters contingent (DDS -- a play on the infamous "Davao Death Squad" Duterte operated as mayor) challenged Senator Trillanes on the number of killings during the discussion time, while others videorecorded. The pro-Duterte media forces selectively edited the video in order to create an appearance that Trillanes didn't have an answer for him (as the senator and his staff had predicted). An example from a local newspaper in the Philippines appears here. Our Facebook Live video shows that Senator Trillanes did respond, however, and that the encounter was a civil one. The two spoke at length following the event.
Our visit to the UN cafeteria the day before the event led to a series of misleading and fake news stories. A Filipino cashier noticed Senator Trillanes was wearing an NGO badge, rather than one issued by the Philippines' Mission to the UN, and sent a picture to a pro-Duterte blogger. The blogger's post, which misidentified us as a Filipino American NGO, is online here, and has over 7,700 shares. An article posted on two Philippines-focused sites (here and here) "confirmed" that the senator had entered the UN through our auspices.
This information in these pieces isn't fake per se, but they attempt to imply a scandal or problem where there was none. A fake news story followed on the blog post, includes a photo of us on the lunch line with Trillanes, but claims falsely that the senator was "scolded" by a UN security guard who told him to "eat last." A follow-up fake news piece features a fabricated statement attributed to our organization. >A third piece by the same writer provided video from our event of a Filipino Duterte supporter contesting Trillanes' information, but implied falsely that the senator fell silent instead of responding to him.
The Facebook Live video stream from this event follows below. We will post an edited playlist copy and transcript in the near future. In the meanwhile, a realtime transcript from the CND Blog can be read here, and individual speeches can be accessed by going to the following points in the video. (We're not able to link to specific times within Facebook videos.)
Statement of Senator Leila de Lima, read by Tania Ramírez and Natalie Lyla Ginsberg (13:38)
David Borden (20:17)
Marco Perduca (21:03)
Senator Antonio Trillanes (26:42)
Ellecer Carlos (27:12)
Discussion (59:20)
See our September 2018 statement regarding another attempt by the Duterte administration to imprison Trillanes, their most serious one yet.
New York 2018: On July 16, we hosted the third event in the series, "Human Rights Challenge: Judicial and Extrajudicial Killings in a Time of Authoritarianism," expanding the scope of the discussion to include the death penalty for drug offenses. The event was held at the Church Center of the United Nations, in conjunction with the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Prominent opposition leader Senator Risa Hontiveros of the Philippines provided a video for our event, calling for international solidarity for human rights and an end to Duterte's drug war. The two hour event also featured Professor Jason Wright of the Washington & Lee Law School, speaking on behalf of the California-based group Death Penalty Focus; and Justine Balane, International Secretary for Akbayan Youth in the Philippines, via Skype.
The largest Philippine news outlet, ABS-CBN, filmed the event, and a report ran on their US station, Balitang America.
Following is the Balitang America's YouTube copy of the TV report:
Following is full video of the event. An edited playlist copy and transcript will be posted in the near future. In the meanwhile, individual sections can be accessed by clicking on the time indications in this list:
Welcome and Acknowledgments by David Borden, Executive Director, StoptheDrugWar.org (0:00)
For the one-year mark of the jailing of Duterte critic Senator Leila de Lima on spurious drug charges, we organized a protest at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC. The event featured street theater with Duterte and Philippine National Police figures arresting Senator de Lima and pretending to shoot attendees.
Allies in the Philippines helped to promote the event's Facebook Live video stream, and it went viral in the Philippines, with nearly 470,000 views as of this writing. Among our cosponsors in the action were Amnesty International, the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance and the Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines.
Other Philippines-focused groups such as Gabriela-DC and the International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines-US were participated as well. The event represented a step for Philippines-focused groups with various different ideological roots working together. Video of the action went viral in the Philippines, and has garnered nearly 470,000 views. Since that time our executive director, David Borden, has been a go-to person about the drug war for demonstrations organized by Filipino American groups.
In the lead up to the November 2017 Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was hosted by Duterte in the Philippines, we organized a global sign-on statement which calls for a UN-led investigation of the drug war killings; for the leaders of ASEAN member states and other world leaders attending to speak up about the issue; and for international aid donor governments to impose human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines, while funding positive programs that could serve as an alternative to the Philippine drug war, and funding the work of human rights advocates.
InterAksyon article
Nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals endorsed the statement. Of the 240 NGO endorsers, more than 50 are based in Asia, including a majority of ASEAN member states as well as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There are also several Asia-wide networks devoted to issues such as HIV, transgender and drug user concerns, and youth democracy activism.
Some notable signatories on the document include the National Organization for Women (NOW), Doctors of the World, the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG, a nationwide Philippines human rights lawyers group founded during the Marcos dictatorship years), Treatment Communities of America, prominent human rights advocate and actor of MASH fame Mike Farrell, former police chief of Seattle Norm Stamper, and others.
A political component of the statement's outreach efforts, which was in its early stages at the time of the statement's release, secured endorsements from legislators in Canada, Italy, Cambodia, and Washington State, as well as other political and governmental officials from Singapore, Canada and the UK.
The statement was covered by four important Philippines news outlets:
The Interaksyon article credited our coalition with renewing global calls for a UN-led probe into the drug war killings.
Legislative Lobbying
April 2018 lobbying coalition
A bipartisan bill in the US Senate, "The Philippine Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017," would enact human rights conditions on some law enforcement assistance to the Philippines, based on certifications by the US State Dept., while funding public health programs to address substance issues as well as human rights work. There is similar language in the current version of the Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. We are working with a coalition that includes Filipino American organizations and faith networks, to pass this legislation as part of the upcoming appropriations process, or if not then later during the 2018 session of Congress.
In April 2018, StoptheDrugWar.org's executive director David Borden was invited to join a lobbying group that included advocates visiting from the Philippines as part of the Stop the Killings Speaking Tour 2018 of the Caravan for Peace and Justice for the Philippines, as well as representatives of Filipino American organizations, faith groups participating in the Ecumenical Advocacy Days the weekend before, and others. Key organizers of the lobbying effort were the Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines US Chapter. Borden is regularly asked by Filipino American advocates to address the drug war in meetings and demonstrations.
An update and action alert we published is online here, and includes information on what the most key states and congressional districts are. We have a write-to-Congress form supporting S. 1055 online here.
We view this legislation as important not only for its potential impact on the Duterte administration's political cost-benefit analysis on this issue, but also because of the inconsistent approach to the matter taken by the current US administration. While the State Department has raised some concerns about the drug war killings, President Trump has made comments which seem to green-light them.
Specifically, in December 2016 Trump and Duterte spoke on the phone, after which Duterte claimed that Trump praised his drug policies. While Duterte could have made that up, the Trump team never rebutted the claim.
After Trump and Duterte spoke again in April 2017, a statement on the White House web site said they discussed " fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs," with no qualification of that statement to exclude extrajudicial killings from Trump's apparent praise. A transcript of the April conversation leaked to Rappler quotes Trump congratulating Duterte for doing an "'unbelievable job' in the war on drugs."
Finally, Trump was silent about the issue during his appearance at the ASEAN Summit, at least publicly. A White House spokesperson said that Trump and Duterte talked briefly about human rights, but did not elaborate. Duterte has recently claimed that a White House visit is in the works, pending scheduling.
Coalition Building
As the above sections show, we have actively sought partners in this campaign, both in the Philippines and in the Filipino American community, including groups spanning a range of the ideological spectrum. But we have also sought to bring others in to the effort -- from drug policy reform, international criminal justice advocacy, the anti-death penalty movement and others.
In March before heading to Vienna for our event with Senator Trillanes, we organized a panel for the Students for Sensible Drug Policy conference in Baltimore, "Human Rights Challenge, Responding to extrajudicial killings in the Philippines." Our panel featured Eric Lachica of US Filipinos for Good Governance; and Shamah Bulangis and Justine Balane, National Secretary General and International Secretary respectively of Akbayan Youth, who are also SSDP Ambassadors for the Philippines.
The panel was well attended, and following it, we brought signs from Philippines-related demonstrations (our 2/28 embassy protest and others) to the plenary hall, where conference attendees, following a group picture, took a second group pictures with the signs, while holding hands up in a Philippines protest symbol. The photo, posted to Facebook by an attendee, went viral in the Philippines.
The energy of the event and level of interest in this campaign that was shown there, following our successful protest a week earlier, makes us believe that a larger movement can be built on this issue, capable of bringing greater pressure on the Duterte administration over the killings. Please subscribe to our email list to be updated as plans progress, and feel free to contact us directly in the meanwhile.
David Borden met with members of the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance San Francisco chapter in July 2018. In this video, filmed by FAHRA leader Ago Pedalizo, Borden remarks on the recent awarding of the prestigious "Prize for Freedom" award to Senator de Lima:
These efforts, which continue into 2018, are part of a global drug policy reform program StoptheDrugWar.org has pursued decisively since fall 2014. Much of that involves the United Nations, and our 501(c)(3) US nonprofit organization, DRCNet Foundation Inc., is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Our international drug policy program is headed by our founder and 24-year executive director, David Borden, who tweets as @stopthedrugwar, and who starting in the near future will tweet on Philippines matters as @BordenUNEventPH. In the near future our organization's blog and newsletter will have a significant focus on the Philippines as well. Our Philippines-related content can also be accessed through our category archive at https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines.
A leading critic of former Philippines President Duterte's drug war has been freed from prison after being jailed for nearly seven years on bogus drug charges, Vietnam sentences 18 people to death for drug offenses, and more.
The bill would create a pilot program to study the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans. The program would be run through the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where a multidisciplinary psychedelics research division has been in place since 2021.
"Wisconsinites, especially our veterans struggling with treatment-resistant PTSD, deserve the 'Right to Try' the best possible care and support," Gustafson said. "I am proud to work across the aisle to propose a bipartisan bill to create a medicinal psilocybin treatment pilot to fulfill our moral duty to our veterans, who have selflessly served our country."
"The mental health of our veterans is incredibly important. Increasing treatment opportunities for veterans with PTSD is something we should all agree on," Anderson said. "I'm proud of this bipartisan bill to support those who served our country."
Massachusetts Governor Proposes Bill to Study Psychedelic Treatments for Veterans. Gov. Maura Healey (D) filed a bill on Veterans Day to increase benefits and promote inclusivity for veterans in the state that includes a provision that would create a "public-private working group to study the health benefits of psychedelics as treatment for veterans suffering from physical or mental health disorders related to their service."
Healey's bill comes after various legislators have already been discussing psychedelic legalization, and two versions of a psilocybin initiative petition have been filed in the state by the group Massachusetts for Mental Health Options.
"I know this is a huge disappointment for many," said Wegge, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). "That's why this decision wasn't easy for anyone. However, well-designed improvements are in all of our interests."
A member of the allied Green Party, Kirsten Kappert-Gonther, explained the delay on social media by saying that "some wording still needs to be worked on." Legalization will come, she emphasized, "just a little later."
"I am confident that the law will become significantly better as a result of the discussions," Green Party lawmker Kirsten Kappert-Gonther said. "This is for a good cause, quality comes before time pressure. Some wording still needs to be worked on," she said, adding that legalization will come, "just a little later."
As she left prison, she was greeted by dozens of supporters. De Lima thanked her supporters, the news media, and the administration of Duterte successor Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "for respecting the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law."
De Lima is a global cause celebre. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that her imprisonment was arbitrary and without legal basis.
She was jailed in 2017 after starting a Senate probe into Duterte's drug war. Earlier, she had clashed with Duterte when, as human rights commissioner, she investigated death squad killings in Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for two decades.
Five witnesses who testified against her in the drug case have recanted their testimony in the past couple of years, leading to hopes that the charges against her will be dropped or that she will be acquitted. De Lima has already been acquitted in two of the three cases brought against her.
"We have waited a long time for this day, believing that what is right and true will always prevail," said Leni Robredo, the former vice president, opposition leader and presidential candidate, under whose ticket de Lima unsuccessfully ran for reelection from prison in 2022.
Amnesty International called on the Marcos administration to ensure De Lima's safety. "The government must now guarantee her safety, security and protection as she remains the target of vilification and threats," it said in a statement.
Vietnam Sentences 18 to Death in Drug Bust. A Vietnamese court has sentenced 18 people to death, including two South Koreans and a Chinese national, after they were convicted of having "illegally stored, trafficked and traded more than 216kg of drugs" between May and June 2020.
The trial took place in the Family and Juvenile Court of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court. Some drugs were "consumed domestically" while others went to South Korea, the court found.
One man was charged with "illegal transportation of drugs" and "using fake seals or documents of organizations," while the others were convicted of "illegal possession of drug", "illegal trading of drugs", "illegal drug trafficking" and "organization of illegal use of drugs", state media said.
Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws, including the death penalty for anyone caught with more than 21 ounces of heroin or 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. More than 100 people were executed last year, though it is unclear how many were drug offenders.
Florida Supreme Court justices were skeptical of the state's effort to keep a marijuana legalization initiative off the ballot, a Canadian Senate committee calls for an immediate psychedelic research program for veterans, and more.
People in Navolato, Sinaloa, lining up for food donations from the Sinaloa Cartel after Hurricane Norma. (X)
Justice Charles Canady said he was "baffled" by Moody's argument that the initiative's ballot summary would mislead voters because it says that marijuana would be legal in Florida, when it is illegal federally.
The initiative's ballot summary says it "does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law," Justice John Couriel noted. "C'mon," it also says 'applies to Florida law.' We can't not read the context of the whole statement."
The state also claimed that because the ballot summary says medical marijuana treatment centers and "other state licensed entities" could distribute recreational marijuana, voters might assume they are authorizing the creation of more licenses.
"The ballot summary is playing on a desire of voters to see greater competition in this marketplace," the state argued.
But Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz scoffed, asking what kind of voter would want recreational marijuana but would vote against it because they disagreed with the structure of the marketplace. The state argued that the language needs to be clear regardless.
Attorneys for the initiative noted that they had studied previous Supreme Court guidance on marijuana legalization initiatives and drafted their accordingly.
"This court has said many times that it's reluctant to strike language from the ballot," initiative attorneys argued. "If there was ever a case not to do it, it's the one where the ballot sponsor looked at this court's precedents, tried to follow them scrupulously, and even adopted the language that this court said is appropriate."
The court has until April 1 to reach its decision. If it approves the initiative, the measure will need the approval of 60 percent of voters to pass.
The ruling came in the case of Alucious Kizer, from whom police seized $2,435 in cash after a traffic stop where they found drugs in his vehicle. Under state civil forfeiture law, police can seize assets if they are suspected of criminal activity. King challenged the seizure, but the state Court of Appeals ruled that he was "not entitled to trial by jury."
"The State insists that Kizer has no right to a jury trial because civil forfeitures pursuant to Indiana's drug forfeiture laws are a special statutory procedure intended exclusively for trial by the court," Justice Christopher M. Goff of the Indiana Supreme Court summarized in an opinion published October 31. "Kizer disagrees, arguing that the State's theory would effectively deprive Hoosiers of a jury trial when filing suit under any modern statutory scheme."
The court sided with Kizer. "The historical record -- consisting of statutes and judicial decisions reflecting contemporary practice -- strongly suggests that Indiana continued the common-law tradition of trial by jury in actions for the forfeiture of property," wrote Goff. The seizure of assets suspected to be used in the commission of a crime, he added, is "an essentially legal action that triggers the right" to a jury trial.
The Supreme Court returned Kizer's case to a lower court for a jury trial to determine whether he will get his $2,435 back.
"The right to a trial by jury of our peers is core to our system of justice," said Sam Gedge, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. "For centuries, courts across the nation have confirmed the obvious: when the government sues to forfeit your property, you're entitled to make your case to a jury."
International
Canadian Senate Committee Calls for Immediate Launch of Psychedelic Research Program to Explore Treatments for Veterans. The Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs issued a report Wednesday that calls for "the immediate implementation of a robust research program" funded by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and the Department of Defense, in partnership with federal health agencies, to carry out studies into the efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The subcommittee was critical of VAC's current approach to psychedelic medicine, calling it a "wait and see" approach that is "ill-suited" to the moment. The agency "should be doing everything in its power to improve the health of veterans, particularly those who have exhausted all the treatment options available to them," the report said. "Research on these subjects is constantly evolving and will continue to do so. No one can predict whether progress will be spectacular or whether there will be setbacks. What we know today is that there is no reason to wait for results from other countries, because the results would still need to be confirmed for our veterans," the report says. "It is the Government of Canada's duty to assure veterans that it is doing everything in its power, immediately, to respect its solemn commitment to support, at any cost, those who chose to defend us with honour."
Sen. David Richards, chair of the subcommittee, said that the panel "heard harrowing stories from veterans who have returned home from conflict zones only to face the darkest moment of their lives." The research into psychedelic-assisted therapy is too promising to ignore," he said. "Our veterans sacrifice so much -- we must do everything we can to help them."
Images and videos have circulated of residents standing in lines to receive bags of necessities marked on the outside with the initials JGL, alluding to Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzman Loera. People received toilet paper, sugar, corn flour, egg and cans of tuna, among other items.
Navolato is also the home Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, El Chapo's son, who is known as El Chapito. Ivan and his brothers form the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and ran the Juarez Cartel out of town back in 2020.
Sweden is moving to broaden access to the opiate overdose drug naloxone, one of three Vancouver magic mushoom shops raided by police last week has reopened and the other two will be reopening shortly, and more.
Afghanistan's opium poppy fields have largely vanished in the wake of a Taliban ban. (Creative Commons)
International
UN Says Afghan Opium Production Dropped 95 Percent After Taliban Ban. For decades, Afghanistan has been accurately described as the world's largest opium producer. Not anymore. Opium poppy production has dropped dramatically since the Taliban banned the cultivation of the plant last year.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that poppy cultivation dropped to just 26,700 acres this year, down from more than 500,000 acres in 2022, resulting in a 95 percent decrease in production and limiting supply to 333 tons.
Since opium production has provided a livelihood for millions of Afghans and two-thirds of the population is already in need of humanitarian aid, imposition of the ban is having severe economic consequences, the UNODC said.
"Over the coming months Afghanistan is in dire need of strong investment in sustainable livelihoods to provide Afghan farmers with opportunities away from opium," Ghada Waly, the executive director of UNODC. "This presents a real opportunity to build towards long-term results against the illicit opium market and the damage it causes both locally and globally."
The huge contraction in supply from Afghanistan -- estimated to supply around 80% of the world's illegal opium - could eventually lead to a drop in opium use internationally, but it also risked escalating the global use of alternatives such as fentanyl or synthetic opioids, the UNODC said.
Vancouver Magic Mushroom Shops Reopen After Being Busted Last Week. Long-time Vancouver, British Columbia, drug activist Dana Larsen spent seven hours in jail and saw his trio of magic mushroom shops shut down in a police raid last week, but he has already reopened one of them and says the other two are restocking and will be open soon.
Larsen has shops on East Hastings Street, West Broadway Avenue, and Granville Street. The East Hastings shop is the one that has already reopened.
Vancouver Police said they executed search warrants at the stores as part of an investigation into the illicit sale of psychedelic drugs and that officers seized "a variety of controlled substances." Larsen was not charged last week, but police said they would make charging recommendations to prosecutors once they finished their investigation.
"We have been clear that anyone who breaks the law by illegally trafficking controlled drugs and substances could be arrested and charged with a criminal offence," said Sgt. Steve Addison. "This includes people who traffic drugs for profit from unlicensed and illegal retail businesses."
Larsen said he "will try to be better prepared" if the police come back again. "People go through a lot worse things, but it's no fun sitting in a jail cell for seven hours. It's no fun that all of your products are taken," he said. "Our staff are very upset, some of them are quite worried about their future and their job and whether they want to keep working here."
Sweden to Expand Naloxone Access. Faced with a rising drug overdose toll -- more than 900 cases a year -- the national government is working to implement a new, knowledge-based drug policy aimed at reducing overdose deaths by 20 percent within the next five years.
A key part of the strategy will be expanding access to the opiate overdose reversal drug naloxone. Under current law, only doctors and nurses can prescribe naloxone, but the new measure would make it accessible outside healthcare facilities and it would be distributed for free.
But legal obstacles remain and the government is still navigating the regulatory landscape to allow for broader access. Still, Sweden is now prioritizing pragmatism over prohibitionist ideology and moving to adopt harm reduction techniques.
Vancouver Police crack down on shops selling magic mushrooms, Pennsylvania lawmakers consider marijuana legalization -- including a state liquor store model -- and more.
Chewing coca leaf in Bolivia. Overall coca cultivation was down last year. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy
Connecticut to Double Amount of Weed You Can Buy in a Single Transaction. The state Department of Consumer Protection has announced that as of December 1 the weight limit for marijuana purchases as a licensed retailers will double from one-quarter ounce to one-half ounce of bud. People can possess up to 1.5 ounces (or its equivalent) and up to five ounces in a locked container at home.
Medical marijuana patients may currently purchase up to five ounces per month and are not subject to individual transaction limits. Those limits will remain unchanged.
"DCP has continually reviewed available supply and demand since prior to the launch of the adult-use cannabis industry in January 2023," said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli. "As more retailers, production companies and other supply chain licensees have come online, the capacity of the industry has increased. We are confident this measured approach to adult-use sales has resulted in a healthy market for businesses, and a safe and fair marketplace for adult-use cannabis consumers and medical marijuana patients."
The committee was not taking up any specific marijuana legalization bills, but had an opportunity to hear testimony from professors, addiction specialists, and advocates about the health concerns of moving forward with legalization.
"Many of us want the same things. We want the products we sell to be tested and safe. We want to ensure teens with developing brains aren't impacting their development by utilizing cannabis. And we want to protect young children from the kinds of accidental overdoses have put kids in the hospital and led to one death," said full Health Committee Chairman Rep. Dan Frankel (D) in his opening remarks.
"We want to right some of the wrongs of the past by ensuring that those who have been the target of cannabis criminalization don't continue to carry the stigma now that cannabis is not considered a crime" under legalization, he said. "We'd like to see our economy benefit from legal sales rather than illegal sales."
He added that "there are legitimate concerns for health and safety," so lawmakers "want to start from a place of recognizing those concerns and think about how we might mitigate through appropriate regulation and oversight."
Rep. Kathy Rapp (R), the ranking GOP member of the Health Committee, said that while she's "adamantly opposed to legalization of marijuana" and doesn't believe regulated sales will lend to significant tax revenue for the state, she appreciates that informational hearings are being held and acknowledged that the issue will ultimately be decided "when we do a floor vote."
International
Bolivia Coca Crops Dip for First Time in Seven Years, UN Says. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOCD) said Tuesday that Bolivia has for the first time in seven years seen a reduction in the area under coca cultivation, with the extent dropping from 75,000 acres in 2021 to just over 73,000 acres last year.
"There was a reduction of two percent from 2021 to 2022," it said in an annual report.
Bolivia allows for the growth and marketing of coca leaving for traditional uses, including chewing, use in tea, and religious rituals, as well as "industrial" uses, such as toothpaste and other coca products. Legal cultivation is capped at just under 60,000 acres.
It is the world's third largest coca producer, after Colombia and Peru, which typically compete for first and second place in coca production.
Vancouver Police Raid Three Magic Mushroom Shops. A week after raiding an unlicensed "safe supply" retail drug outlet in the city, Vancouver police were at it again Tuesday, this time hitting three storefronts that offer magic mushrooms for sale. Longtime drug reform advocate Dana Larsen has confirmed that the businesses hit were his three licensed shops he operates on East Hastings Street, West Broadway, and Granville Street. Larsen said he had been arrested and held behind bars for several hours Tuesday before being released.
"I think this is very clearly a motivated raid," said Larsen, who believes he was targeted for advocating for drug legalization. "Took all of our products -- all of our mushrooms and psychedelics and coca leaf."
He recorded one of the raids live on Facebook. It was "very unexpected," he said. "Very surprised to see a raid happening when there's at least a dozen other dispensaries in the city operating without any legal problems, where we actually do have business licenses," he added.
Larsen has been fighting the city over the storefronts for months, with the city attempting to strip his licenses and a court hearing on the issue pending.
"I thought that the city would let the bureaucracy deal with us like they have with cannabis dispensaries in the past," Larsen said in his Facebook video. "We've been here at this location for three years operating very openly and transparently."
But Vancouver Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison said the sudden enforcement should serve as a warning to other dispensaries operating illegally in the city.
"This relates to an ongoing investigation into what we believe is the illegal purchase and sale of psychedelic drugs, psilocybin and other products," Addison said. "If you do violate the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act… you could face arrest and charges."
"If you look at the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, yes, we're in violation of that. But there's a Charter of Rights and a constitution in this country that overrides those laws and I believe at some point, the courts in Canada and the politicians will agree with me," Larsen replied.
The Canadian government issued a report on five years of marijuana legalization, medical marijuana is now one vote away in the Ukrainian parliament, and more.
Sponsored by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the initiative would allow people 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates. The initiative also allows for the home cultivation of six plants per adult, with a limit of 12 per household.
The initiative would also create a new state agency called the Division of Cannabis Control, which would have the authority to "license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed," according to the text of the measure. Cannabis products would carry a 10 percent tax, which would be dedicated to administrative costs of marijuana regulation, substance misuse treatment programs and a social equity and jobs program.
A Fallon Research poll last month had support for the initiative at 59 percent.
The initiative would not decriminalize or legalize any substance, but would create a state constitutional right to conduct research using all psychedelic substances except peyote. It would create a state agency called the Treatment, Research, Education, Access, and Therapies (TREAT) Institute. The institute would identify opportunities for advancing scientific research and development into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.
"It’s clear we are in a mental healthcare crisis, as conventional therapies too often fail to offer relief for people suffering from PTSD, suicide, and depression, and the effects are simply catastrophic," Jeannie Fontana, CEO of the TREAT California campaign, said in a statement. "We have a moral imperative to address the limitations inherent in our current system, and it’s time we got started."
The initiative will need to come up with 874,161 valid voter signature by next July to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.
International
Canadian Report Finds Legal Marijuana Industry Struggling. Health Canada has released the "What We Heard Report" on the state of the marijuana industry five years after legalization. The report found that weed companies are finding it difficult to turn a profit because of high taxes, mark-ups, and the costs of regulatory compliance.
The review was mandated by the bill that legalized marijuana and was conducted by an expert panel, which is charged with advising the Health Ministry on how well legalization has met the laws objectives, including protecting the health and safety of Canadians, as well as identifying areas where the law needed to be improved.
"Public health stakeholders insisted that the focus of the regime should be on reducing harms associated with consumption, high-potency products, higher-risk product formats, polysubstance use (that is, the consumption of at least two substances), cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, driving after cannabis use, and cannabis poisonings of children," the panel wrote in the report.
"Public health stakeholders were generally supportive of the precautionary approach—including the 10-milligram delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limit for edible cannabis products and restrictions on promotion of these products. There were some suggestions that further restrictions should be considered such as stricter age limits on who can possess, distribute, and buy cannabis, setting minimum pricing retailers can charge, and restrictions on selling flavored products."
The illicit market remains an issue but a diminishing one, the panel found.
"While not a direct measure of access, the growth in legal sales—and the decline in illicit sales—indicates that consumers are migrating to legal suppliers," the panel wrote. "Estimates of legal market share vary, but suggest that more than half, and up to as much as three-quarters, of cannabis is being obtained from legal sources (for example, in 2022, a survey found 63 percent of cannabis users always or mostly accessed legal sources, another observed cannabis consumers bought 82 percent of the cannabis they used from legal sources, and 68 percent of household spending on non-medical cannabis was attributed to legal sources)."
The panel wrote that it "heard a great deal about the economic condition of the legal cannabis market," and that industry representatives "expressed concern in that companies in the legal market are struggling to realize profits and maintain financial viability.
"A main message from industry representatives was that, despite the growth of the legal cannabis market, companies across the supply chain are struggling to realize profits and maintain financial viability," the panel wrote in the report.
"Specifically, they noted that the hyper-competitive cannabis market for producers and retailers, combined with the various regulatory fees, distributor mark-ups and fees, and taxes are stifling companies of all sizes. Some noted that other industries, such as alcohol and tobacco, are not subject to federal regulatory fees and that they pay less mark-ups and taxes (for example, beer). Some stakeholders proposed that Health Canada move towards an ‘à la carte’ model for regulatory fees (that is, transactional fees for specific services) and remove the annual regulatory fee. Others felt that the government should adopt a progressive excise tax framework, whereby the tax rate is connected to the size of the firm or the price of the product. Others suggested adjusting the tax rate to 10% for dried cannabis, as opposed to the current model of $1 or 10% per gram, whichever is greater."
Ukraine Medical Marijuana Bill Wins Parliamentary Committee Vote. The parliament's National Health, Medical Care, and Health Insurance Committee approved the government-supported medical marijuana bill on Tuesday, clearing the way for a final vote in the unicameral legislative body, the Verkhovna Rada.
The bill would create a national medical marijuana program to provide access to patients with conditions such as cancer or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from war—a proposed reform that comes as Ukraine continues to experience violent conflict after Russian invaded the country last year.
"We did everything [so that] patients could get their medicine as soon as possible," said MP Olga Stefanyshyna. "So far medical cannabis has not entered in the history of Ukraine. Waiting for the 2nd reading, we believe it will work this time!"
"Our nation continues to face an unprecedented epidemic of deaths from illicit synthetic opioids -- our citizens are dying every year at an unimaginable rate," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. "This is a bold and innovative strategy to stem the flow of dangerous narcotics and directly addresses the public health emergency this opioid crisis has become.
The "bold and innovative strategy" is heavy on law enforcement, which is no surprise for a law enforcement agency. Primary elements of the strategy include reducing the international supply of opioids, reducing the supply of opioids in the US, targeting "enablers" of drug trafficking organization, and working with private sector actors to better block drugs from entering the country.
The agency said it hopes to work with international partners to reduce the illicit importation of drugs into the country and that it will increase the number of HIS task forces targeting drug traffickers.
A 2021 state Supreme Court decision threw out the state's felony drug possession law, but the legislature this year approved a bill making public drug use and possession a gross misdemeanor, allowing city attorneys to prosecute the drug charges. City Attorney Ann Davison proposed a bill for the city to confirm with state law, but the city council rejected that in June.
Mayor Bruce Harrell then formed a task force to draft a new proposal, which is what the city council approved this week. But the vote was not unanimous, with Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda voting no because it did not pay enough attention to diversion efforts.
"I want people to get access to public health services just as much as the people who testified in support of this legislation say they want," Mosqueda said. "But that is not what this legislation does. And without the funding that is purported to come with this bill, we have no assurances that there will be alternative structures and programs and diversion strategies to prevent people from going to jail. We do not have to pass this legislation."
International
UN Human Rights Office Report Calls for Shift from Punitive Drug Policies. A UN human rights report released Tuesday calls for a shift from punitive measures to address the global drugs problem to the use of policies grounded in human rights and public health, arguing that disproportionate use of criminal penalties is causing harm.
The report urges states to develop effective drug policies, including by considering decriminalization of drug possession for personal use. "If effectively designed and implemented, decriminalization can be a powerful instrument to ensure that the rights of people who use drugs are protected," it says.
"Laws, policies and practices deployed to address drug use must not end up exacerbating human suffering. The drugs problem remains very concerning, but treating people who use drugs as criminals is not the solution," said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
"States should move away from the current dominant focus on prohibition, repression and punishment, and instead embrace laws, policies and practices anchored in human rights and aimed at harm reduction."
There has also been an increase in the use of the death penalty for drug-related convictions worldwide, contrary to international human rights law norms and standards. The recorded number of people executed for drug-related offences more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, amounting to 37 percent of all executions recorded globally, the report states.
"The current overemphasis on coercion and control to counter drugs is fanning an increase in human rights violations despite mounting evidence that decades of criminalization and the so-called war on drugs have neither protected the welfare of people nor deterred drug-related crime," Türk said.
The report shows that an increasing number of countries across regions are adopting policies and practices that decriminalize drug use and treat drug usage as a public health and human rights issue, and applying evidence-based, gender-sensitive and harm reduction approaches. The High Commissioner called on states to build on this positive trend.
Czech Drug Czar Proposes Cocaine Legalization. National anti-drug coordinator Jindrich Voboril has suggested that cocaine could be the next drug, after marijuana, to be handled in a regulated, legal market. He emphasized the importance of tailoring drug policies to the risks of individual substances and argued that cocaine ranks lower in inherent risks than some other illicit substances.
But government officials were not in accord. Deputy Prime Minister Marian Jurečka, who serves as the chairman of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), unequivocally rejected the idea of cocaine liberalization, declaring it unacceptable.
A GOP-led House committee has killed marijuana and psychedelic reform amendments to the defense spending bill, a Mexican drug cartel uses roadside bombs against the police, and more.
There has been a remarkable drop in federal drug prisoners in recent years. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy
House Committee Kills Every Marijuana and Psychedelic Amendment to Must-Pass Defense Spending Bill. The GOP-led House Rules Committee has killed more than a dozen bipartisan marijuana and psychedelic policy amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Republican leadership of the committee declined to accept any of them for floor votes. Among the proposed amendments killed was one to end marijuana testing for people trying to join the armed forces, one protecting federal workers from losing security clearances because of marijuana, one allowing servicemembers to use CBD and other hemp-derived products, and one investigating the therapeutic potential of certain psychedelics.
Michigan Ends Pre-Employment Marijuana Screening for Most State Jobs. Following months of public comment, the Michigan Civil Service Commission has voted unanimously to adopt new rules ending the practice of pre-employment marijuana screening for most state workers. Under the new policy, most public employees will no longer be required to undergo pre-employment marijuana testing. (Exceptions to the new rules will remain for those in certain safety sensitive positions, like law enforcement personnel.) Those previously denied positions because of a failed marijuana test are also now eligible to immediately reapply for employment.
Psychedelics
California Psychedelic Legalization Bill Wins Another Committee Vote. A bill that would legalize the possession and use of certain psychedelics, Senate Bill 58, which has already been approved by the Senate, has now won a second committee vote in the Assembly. The measure passed the Assembly Health Committee on a 9-2 vote Tuesday. It must now pass only one more committee, the Assembly Appropriations Committee, before heading for an Assembly floor vote. 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. Notably, "synthetic" psychedelics like LSD and MDMA would not be legalized, unlike the provisions of the previous version of legislation from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).
Berkeley City Council Effectively Legalizes Some Psychedelics. The city council of the East Bay city voted Tuesday to effectively legalize a range of psychedelics by voting unanimously to make the enforcement of state and federal laws against psychedelic plants and fungi the lowest law enforcement priority. The resolution passed, however, bars the "giving away, sharing, distributing, transferring, dispensing, or administering" of psychedelics.
Sentencing
Nearly a Quarter Fewer Persons Were in Federal Prison for Drug Offenses in 2018 Than in 2013. The number of people held in Federal Bureau of Prisons' facilities on a drug offense fell 24% from fiscal yearend 2013 (94,613) to fiscal yearend 2018 (71,555), according to Sentencing Decisions for Persons in Federal Prison for Drug Offenses, 2013-2018, a new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. These persons accounted for 51% of the federal prison population in 2013 and 47% in 2018.
Between 2013 and 2018, there were large decreases in persons serving time in federal prison for marijuana (down 61%), crack cocaine (down 45%) and powder cocaine (down 35%), with a smaller (4%) decline in persons imprisoned for opioids. These reductions were partly offset by growth in the number of persons serving time for heroin (up 13%) and methamphetamine (up 12%).
During the 5-year period, there was also a 33% decrease in the number of people in federal prison who, because of the type and amount of drugs involved in their offense, faced the possibility of mandatory minimum penalties at sentencing. A similar decline trend was observed in the number who ultimately received penalties (down 26%) and received relief from penalties (down 52%).
About 60% of all people in BOP custody for drug offenses at fiscal yearend 2018 had received mandatory minimum penalties: 22% for methamphetamine, 15% for powder cocaine, 14% for crack cocaine, 5% for heroin, 4% for marijuana and less than 1% for opioids. When the federal prison population was analyzed by persons who could have received penalties for their drug offense, those serving time for crack cocaine were more likely to receive penalties (94%) than those held for marijuana (82%), powder cocaine (81%), heroin (80%), methamphetamine (79%) or opioids (70%).
International
Montreal Police Raid Illegal Magic Mushroom Shop on Opening Day. FunGuyz, a chain of shops selling illegal magic mushrooms, has already had several of its stores raided in Ontario, and on Tuesday, it could add one in Montreal to the list. Montreal police raided the shop hours after it opened offering a menu of pills, dried mushrooms, and chocolate bars laced with psilocybin.
A FunGuyz spokesman called the raid a "simple" product seizure and a "waste of taxpayers' money." He said opening FunGuyz was a form of protest to challenge the illegality of psychedelic drugs. "We do expect the police to come in and raid us because obviously what we're doing, it's illegal," he said on Tuesday. "The idea behind everything is, are the police willing to… use the taxpayers' money for mushroom stuff?"
Mexican Drug Cartel Use Roadside Bomb to Kill Cops. Four police officers and two civilians were killed by a series of roadside bombs in the western state of Jalisco on Tuesday. Authorities said an anonymous caller reported a tip about a supposed clandestine burial site, and when police went to investigate, seven roadside bombs went off simultaneously. The blasts were so powerful they left craters in the road, destroyed at least four vehicles, and wounded 14 more people. The state prosecutor blamed an unnamed drug cartel. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has significant experience with improvised explosive devices, as well as bomb-dropping drones.
Ukraine Parliament Gives Initial Approval to Medical Marijuana Bill. The parliament has given initial approval to a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the country. It must still be approved in a second reading and then sent to President Volodymyr Zelensky for his signature. Zelensky has already said he supports the bill.
A bid to condemn Canada's safe supply drug policy in British Columbia fails in Parliament, Vermont's governor signs an overdose prevention omnibus bill into law, and more.
An Ohio appeals court has ruled that pregnant women who use drugs cannot be prosecuted under a state law. (CC)
Marijuana Policy
Minnesota Becomes 23rd Legal Marijuana State. With the signature Tuesday of Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) on a reconciled bill, the state became the 23rd to legalize marijuana and the second this year. Delaware legalized it earlier this year. Passage of the bill after years of effort came after the Democratic Farm Labor Party won majorities in both houses of the legislature. Marijuana use and possession will be legalized as of August 1, but it is likely to take a year or longer to get the state's legal marijuana commerce system up and running
Harm Reduction
Vermont Governor Signs Omnibus Overdose Prevention Bill into Law. Gov. Phil Scott (R) last Thursday signed into law an omnibus overdose prevention bill, House Bill 222. The move comes as the state sees its third year in a row of record drug overdose fatalities. The bill contains measures aimed directly at reducing overdoses, such as funding to launch drug-checking services around the state and providing for liability protection. It also contains provisions aimed at breaking down barriers to receiving drug treatment, such as reducing wait times for preauthorization for medication-assisted treatment and expanding the availability of recovery and sober living homes. The measures are being funded with $8 million the state received from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Pregnancy
Ohio Appeals Court Rules Law that Criminalizes Providing Drugs to Pregnant Women Does Not Apply to the Pregnant Woman Herself. Last week, Ohio's 5th District Court of Appeals ruled that it is not a crime for a pregnant women to administer illicit drugs to herself. The ruling came in the case of Muskingum County woman who was found guilty of violating a law that makes it a crime to "administer a controlled substance to a pregnant woman" after she confessed to injecting fentanyl in the hospital parking lot before entering the hospital to deliver her baby. In overturning the verdict, the appeals court held that the administration of drugs must be done by another person—not the pregnant woman herself. As a result, similar cases against four other women have been suspended and the woman in the original case has been released from prison. Prosecutors say they will appeal.
International
Canadian Conservatives' Motion to Condemn Liberals' Safe Supply Drug Policies Fails. A motion from Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre to condemn the Liberal federal government's drug policies, and especially its decision to fund the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives as alternatives to illicit street drugs in the province of British Colombia, failed to pass in the House of Commons last Friday. BC's safe supply approach comes as some 35,000 Canadians have died of drug overdoses since 2016. Poilievre argued that the "tax-funded drug supply" fueled addiction rather than recovery and suggesting diverting money from that program into drug treatment. His motion called on the House to "immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded, hard drug programs to addiction, treatment and recovery programs." But the House didn't buy it.
