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NCAA Moves to End Marijuana Ban, Study Finds Mexican Cartels a Major Employer, More... (9/25/23)

A pair of Republican senators file a bill to require congressional approval to down-schedule marijuana, the House Rules Committee advances a pair of psychedelic research amendments to the defense spending bill, and more.

College basketball under the aegis of the NCAA. An end to the weed ban could be coming soon. (Creative Commons/Phil Roeder)
Marijuana Policy

GOP Senators File Bill to Block Marijuana Legalization Without Congressional Approval. Last Friday, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), joined by her colleague Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), introduced the Deferring Executive Authority (DEA) Act to give Congress final approval over the legalization of marijuana. 

According to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has signaled it will follow a recommendation issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This would, in essence, legalize marijuana federally. 

This recommendation was issued after President Biden requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HHS evaluate marijuana’s status as a Schedule I substance.  The Deferring Executive Authority (DEA) Act will require congressional review of rules rescheduling marijuana. 

"Congress makes the laws in this country, not DC bureaucrats," said Lummis. "The American people through their elected representatives in the Senate and House should have the final say on such a momentous change as the legalization of marijuana. The Biden administration’s rush to reschedule marijuana without compelling scientific evidence appears to be political, not about what’s best for the American people."  

NCAA Committee Recommends Legislation to Remove Marijuana from Banned Substances List in All Three Divisions. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports recommended legislation that would remove marijuana from the NCAA's list of banned drug classes at all three divisions, the organization announced last Friday. The recommendation calls for a "robust educational strategy" for college athletes when it comes to marijuana.

"Cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm-reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level," the NCAA said in a statement following midweek meetings in Indianapolis. 

The committee reasoned that removing marijuana from the list of banned substances achieves several aims: acknowledging the ineffectiveness of the current policy of banning, testing, and penalizing; affirming that NCAA drug testing is aimed only at performance-enhancing substances; and emphasizes the importance of moving toward a harm reduction strategy.

The recommendation now goes to the governing structures of the NCAA's three divisions.

"When making a decision on an important topic like this, we agree that the membership should have an opportunity to vote on the final outcome," committee chair James Houle, lead sport psychologist at Ohio State, said in a statement. "We are recommending a big shift in the paradigm when it comes to cannabinoids. We want to modernize the strategy with the most up-to-date research to give schools the best opportunity to support the health of student-athletes."

Psychedelics

House Rules Committee Clears Pair of Psychedelic Research Amendments to Defense Spending Bill. The House Rules Committee last Saturday approved two psychedelic research amendments for inclusion in the must-pass defense spending bill. It also cleared the larger defense bill for a House floor vote this as a government spending deadline looms.

One amendment, sponsored by Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), would provide $15 million in funding for DOD to carry out "Psychedelic Medical Clinical Trials."

The other amendment, also from Crenshaw, would require the Defense Health Agency to "submit a report to Congress on options to ensure that active-duty service members who are suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are able to participate in clinical trials under the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purposes of studying the effectiveness of psychedelic substances."

International

Mexican Drug Cartels Employ 175,000 People, Study Finds. Mexican drug trafficking organizations—the so-called cartels—employ roughly 175,000 people, according to new research findings published in the journal Science. That makes organized crime the fifth-largest employment sector in the country. 

The study examined a decade of data on murders, missing persons, and imprisoned people and used a mathematical model to determine overall cartel membership and which policy responses would best reduce violence. Homicides in the country have tripled since 2007, when then-President Felipe Calderon escalated the domestic drug war by sending in the army.

The study authors argue that the best way to reduce violence is not to lock up more gang members, which they argue would actually increase the murder rate, but to cut cartel recruitment.

"More than 1.7 million people in Latin America are incarcerated, and adding more people to saturated jails will not solve the insecurity problem," wrote the authors.

The analysts identified 198 armed criminal groups in the country, although two of them, the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, battle for national domination.

CA Assembly Approves Bill on Workers' Weed Rights, Aussie Decrim Fight, More... (9/14/23)

Philadelphia's city council takes preemptive steps to block dispensaries from transforming into adult-use retailers, New York regulators open the way for multistate operators to get into the retail weed business, and more.

Competition for New York marijuana retailer licenses is going to heat up. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

California Assembly Approves Bill to Stop Employers Asking About Past Marijuana Use. The Assembly on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 700, which would bar employers from asking job applicants about past marijuana use. The bill has already passed the Senate, but because of technical amendments made in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, it must go back to the Senate for a final concurrence vote.

"It is unlawful for an employer to request information from an applicant for employment relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis," the bill says, although it lays out certain exceptions, such as for public safety-sensitive and law enforcement positions.

The measure builds on a law passed last year that bars employers from penalizing most workers for using marijuana in compliance with state law. That law makes it

unlawful for employers "to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalizing a person, if the discrimination is based upon" off-duty marijuana use or drug tests that reveal cannabinoid metabolites.

New York Regulators Open Adult-Use Retail Sales Licenses to Multistate Operators. The Office of Cannabis Management, which regulates legal marijuana in the state, voted Tuesday to allow state medical marijuana operators to apply for adult-use retail marijuana licenses, clearing the way for multistate operators to enter the largest weed market on the East Coast.

Multistate operators snapped up most of the 10 "registered organization" permits to seek the new licenses. The Office will accept applications for retail or microbusiness licenses from October 4 though December 23.

"Today marks a pivotal step toward expanding and sustaining the state’s medical program and creation of an economically viable and equitable adult-use cannabis industry in New York," said Barry Carmody, a spokesperson for the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association (NYMCIA).

Not everybody was as happy with the decision as NYMCIA. "Today’s Cannabis Control Board meeting opened the door for big cannabis to come in and compete with New York-based businesses," the Cannabis Association of New York (CANY), which represents small and state-based businesses, said in a statement.

Philadelphia City Council Overrides Mayor's Veto of Bill to Block Medical Marijuana Dispensaries from Transforming into Adult-Use Retail Outlets. Adult-use marijuana is not yet legal in Pennsylvania, but the city council passed a bill to block existing medical marijuana dispensaries from transforming themselves into adult-use retail outlets once that happens. Mayor Jim Kenney (D) then vetoed that bill, but now the city council has voted unanimously to overturned that veto.

The bill says that medical marijuana dispensaries "shall not include a person authorized to dispense marijuana for recreational or other nonmedical purposes."

Kenney's veto came because he believes the bill "creates unnecessary complexity" by setting special rules that only apply to a small section of the city (where dispensaries are) and because it was premature given that marijuana is not yet legal in the Keystone State. "Furthermore, the mayor wants to avoid creating barriers to local businesses who want to expand their current portfolios in the event that the laws change," said Sarah Peterson, a spokesperson for the administration.

But in overriding the mayor's veto, the council adhered to a tradition of voting in support of members of districts on matters of land use and streets in their district.

International

Australian Federal Opposition Seeks to Overturn Drug Decriminalization Law in Australia Capital Territory. New laws in the Australia Capital Territory (Canberra) that decriminalize the possession of personal use amounts of drugs go into effect next month, but some federal politicians want none of it and are now trying to overturn it.

Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash of the national Liberal Party has filed a bill to do that—a private senator's bill called the Australian Capital Territory Dangerous Drugs Bill 2023 – which will be debated next month.

Likewise, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton declared himself dumbfounded by decriminalization. "I am totally shocked and dismayed at what the ACT government is doing," he said. "As a former police officer, I know that our hard-working law enforcement agencies work tirelessly to keep drugs off the streets and to keep our community safe, yet here we see this crazy government legislation that gives a green light to drug use and drug importation to Canberra.  The ACT government is rolling out the red carpet for drug use and more crime. It is effectively welcoming more ice, heroin, cocaine, MDMA and speed on our streets."

Canberra politicians, however, remain unbowed.

In a statement, ACT Labor senator and former chief minister Katy Gallagher said the laws were a "matter for the ACT Assembly".

"The ACT Assembly is a mature parliament, democratically elected by ACT voters," said ACT Labor senator and former chief minister Katy Gallagher. "I have spent my career in public life supporting the rights of Canberrans to determine the laws, policies and programs under which they are governed, and I will continue to do so despite the attempts by the federal opposition to try to undermine them."

Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee is also standing up for her constituency. "The Canberra Liberals will always stand up for territory rights and I am very concerned about any step to diminish that," she said. I do not agree with this action taken by the federal Coalition to seek to overturn legislation that was passed by the ACT Assembly."

 

She said while she disagreed with decriminalization, it was up to local voters—not national politicians—to make the decision by replacing the current government.

MN Supreme Court Rules Weed Odor No Cause for Search, Scottish Safe Injection Site Plans, More... (9/13/23)

Nebraska advocates kicked off their third campaign for a medical marijuana initiative on Wednesday, a pair of psychedelic amendments to the defense spending bill will get a House floor vote, and more.

The odor of marijuana alone is not probable cause for a vehicle search, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled. (Creative Commons
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Supreme Court Rules Weed Odor Alone Does Not Justify a Vehicle Search. The state Supreme Court has ruled that that the mere odor of marijuana does not establish probable cause for police to search a vehicle. The state now becomes the latest marijuana legalization state to see such a ruling.

The ruling came in the case of a Litchfield man was pulled over in 2021 for having "too many auxiliary lights on his grill." Two police officers claimed they smelled marijuana coming from an open car window. The man denied having marijuana and police search of the vehicle turned none up, but it did turn up a small amount of methamphetamine, for which the man was charged.

The trial court noted that the man was not driving erratically, nor was there any evidence of a crime in plain view when police approached the car and ruled the search inadmissible. (Even though the state did not legalize marijuana until this year, at the time of the search, medical marijuana was legal and pot possession was decriminalized.

The state appealed the decision to the appeals court and lost and then to the state Supreme Court, where it has now lost again.

Medical Marijuana

Nebrasksa Medical Marijuana Proponents Hope Third Time Is the Charm. Backers of a proposed 2024 medical marijuana ballot initiative kicks off their campaign in Lincoln Wednesday. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana is hoping the third time is the charm after a first effort was sidelined by the state Supreme Court and a second effort ran short on signatures after losing a major donor.

The group’s co-chairs, State Senator Anna Wishart and former State Senator Adam Morfeld, are meeting with patients, families, caregivers, and volunteers in an initial fundraiser.

To qualify for the 2024 ballot, campaigners will need to come up with 87,000 valid voter signatures by the first week of July 2024.

Psychedelics

House Committee Clears Psychedelic Amendments to Defense Bill for Floor Vote. The House Rules Committee on Tuesday declared that two psychedelic amendments to the defense spending bill are in order, meaning they can advance to House floor votes. But the committee also blocked separate marijuana-related amendments from advancing.

One of the psychedelic amendments, from Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), would allow active-duty service members suffering from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury to participate in clinical trials of the efficacy of psychedelic substances. The second, from Crenshaw and Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), would appropriate $15 million in funding for the Pentagon's Psychedelic Medical Clinical Trials.

While Republican-led committee advanced the psychedelic amendments sponsored by fellow Republicans, it blocked the marijuana amendments that came from Democrats. One would have ended the disqualification of potential enlistees for THC; the other would have barred federal funds for marijuana testing upon enlistment.

International

Scottish Safe Injection Site Could Be Approved Within Weeks. After Scotland's Lord Advocate, the Scottish government's highest legal official, confirmed that users of a proposed safe injection would not be prosecuted, the proposed pilot scheme is set to be approved by local officials—the next step toward its realization.

Scottish drugs minister Elena Whitman told members of the Scottish Parliament Tuesday that the plan would go before the city’s integrated joint board of council and health officials on 27 September, where it is expected to be approved and put out to public consultation.

While the Conservative government in London sets drug policy for the United Kingdom, it is the Scottish Lord Advocate who decides whether to prosecute.

Lord Advocate Bain said she believed it would "not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility."

The Scottish government and the Glasgow city council, both of which are led by the Scottish National Party, have been supportive of a pilot project for years, but now Scottish Labor, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish Greens are all on board, and the Scottish Tories have agreed not to try to block the proposal.

Latin American Countries Call for Drug War "Rethink," GOP Reps Tell DEA Not to Reschedule Pot, More... (9/12/23)

A California bill allowing pot shops to sell food and drink goes to the governor, a new report from Harm Reduction International tracks US and EU aid that goes to support the drug war, and more.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro continues to press for a new drugs approach. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

Fourteen GOP Lawmakers Tell DEA to Ignore HHS Recommendation, Keep Marijuana Schedule I. A dirty dozen plus two Republican House and Senate members have sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram calling on her to reject a recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services to down-schedule the drug. Instead, the conservative lawmakers wrote, marijuana should remain on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

The lead authors on the letter were Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX). They were joined by Sens. Michael Rounds (R-SD), James Risch (R-ID), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Budd (R-NC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), as well as Reps. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

Any decision to reschedule marijuana "should be based on proven facts and science—not popular opinion, changes in state laws, or the preferred policy of an administration," they wrote, ignoring HHS's science-based review that led to the call for down-scheduling.

"It is irresponsible for HHS to recommend that marijuana be removed from Schedule I. It would also be irresponsible for DEA to act on this recommendation," the letter concludes. "Our country relies on DEA to enforce our nation’s drug laws. We ask you to uphold your mission by rejecting any effort to remove marijuana from Schedule I."

California Marijuana Café Bill Heads to Governor's Desk. After a final concurrence vote in the Assembly to approve amendments made in the Senate, the legislature on Tuesday approved Assembly Bill 374, which would allow marijuana retailers to offer food and drinks in they get local approval. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

The bill would let local governments authorize the preparation and sell of non-marijuana food and drinks. Sale of alcohol would continue to be prohibited, as would the smoking of tobacco.

The bill would also authorize "live musical or other performances on the premises of a retailer or microbusiness licensed under this division in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed, and the sale of tickets for those performances."

International

Led By Colombia and Mexica, 19 Latin American and Caribbean Nations Call for Rethink of War on Drugs. After meeting at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs over the weekend, 19 Latin American and Caribbean nations have signed onto a joint statement calling for a rethinking of the war on drugs and instead focusing on "life, peace and development" within the region.

Under the current prohibitionist approach to drug policy, "the expected results have not been obtained when combating the world drug problem, leaving in many cases the underlying problems to be solved and exploiting and exacerbating vulnerabilities of our territories and societies."

The governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela all signed on.

Colombia and Mexico "are the biggest victims of this policy," said Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who likened the drug war to "genocide."

"What I propose is to have a different and unified voice that defends our society, our future and our history and stops repeating a failed discourse," Petro said. He argued that it was wrong to look at drug control "as a military problem and not as a health problem in society."

Supply-side solutions have been counterproductive, he argued. "Every dollar that is dedicated to cutting the supply makes the price grow," he said. "If the price increases, drug traffickers have more money to buy rifles, to buy armored vehicles, to buy missiles, to buy politicians, to buy senators, to buy generals, to buy judges, to buy presidents."

"The fundamental thing to face the scourge of drug addiction and violence is to address the causes, with a new criterion, not to think only of coercive measures," López Obrador, the Mexican president, said at the conference. "We have to put first the criterion that peace is the result of justice. We have to fight first against poverty, against inequality."

America and European Union Have Spent a Billion Dollars in Past Decade to Fight Drug War, Fueling Human Rights Abuses, New Report Finds. Between 2012 and 2021, the US and the European Union spent nearly a billion dollars of their budgets on programs supporting drug control policies, fueling human rights abuses as they did so, according to a new report from Harm Reduction International.

EU funding has been used to support surveillance capabilities in Colombia, Mozambique and the Dominican Republic, and undercover policing in Peru, while American funding has been used by the DEA train police and special units in Vietnam and Honduras, which have been accused of arbitrary arrests and killings.

"When you think about development, you don’t really think about it being used for those kinds of activities – you think of poverty reduction, working towards development goals on health or education," said Catherine Cook, sustainable financing lead at HRI, which monitors the impact of drug policies. "This money is actually being used to support punitive measures – so policing, prisons, essentially funding the ‘war on drugs’, even though we know the ‘war on drugs’ and punitive policies have repeatedly failed."

CA Natural Psychedelic Legalization Bill Goes to Governor, Colombia Cocaine Production at All-Time High, More... (9/11/23)

You could soon be able to get some munchies when you buy your weed in California, Afghanistan is the world's fastest-growing meth producer, and more.

Colombia continues to crank out cocaine. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

California Senate Approves Marijuana Café Bill. The Senate has approved Assembly Bill 374, which would allow marijuana retailers to offer food and drinks in they get local approval. The bill has already passed the Assembly, but because it was slightly amended in the Senate, it must return to the Assemly for a final concurrence vote before heading to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

The bill would let local governments authorize the preparation and sell of non-marijuana food and drinks. Sale of alcohol would continue to be prohibited, as would the smoking of tobacco.

The bill would also authorize "live musical or other performances on the premises of a retailer or microbusiness licensed under this division in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed, and the sale of tickets for those performances."

Psychedelics

California Natural Psychedelic Legalization Bill Heads to Governor's Desk. A bill that legalize the possession of personal use amounts of natural psychedelics, including ibogaine and psilocybin (magic mushrooms)—but not peyote—has won final passage in the legislature and now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

Senate Bill 58, filed by Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco), was first introduced in 2021 but was pulled by Weiner after it was heavily amended in the Assembly during the last session. But it came back this session and has now made its way through the legislative process.

The bill would allow people 21 and over to possess up to four grams of mescaline, one gram of DMT, and one gram each of psilocybin and psilocyn.

Newsom has until Oct. 14 to make a decision on the bill becoming law. If approved, it would go into effect in 2025.

International

UNODC Says Afghanistan is World's Faster-Growing Meth Producer. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOD C) reported Sunday that Afghanistan has became the world's fastest-growing manufacturer of methamphetamine. The report comes as the Taliban are busily prosecuting a crackdown on opium production.

Afghan meth production derives largely from legally available substances or the ephedra plants, which grows in the wild in the region, UNODC said. It said Afghan meth production could disrupt the synthetic drug market and fuel addiction. Afghan meth has been seized in Europe and East Africa.

Afghan meth seizures rose from less than 100 pounds in 2019 to nearly 6,000 pounds in 2021.

Annual meth seizure totals from inside the country rose from less than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) in 2019 to nearly 2,700 kilograms (6,000 pounds) in 2021, suggesting increased production, the report said. But it couldn’t give a value for the country’s meth supply, the quantities being produced, nor its domestic usage, because it doesn’t have the data.

Angela Me, the chief of the UNODC’s Research and Trend Analysis Branch, said  that making meth, especially in Afghanistan, had several advantages over heroin or cocaine production. "You don’t need to wait for something to grow," said Me. "You don’t need land. You just need the cooks and the know-how. Meth labs are mobile, they’re hidden. Afghanistan also has the ephedra plant, which is not found in the biggest meth-producing countries, Myanmar and Mexico. It’s legal in Afghanistan and it grows everywhere. But you need a lot of it."

UNODC Says Colombia Coca Cultivation at All-Time High. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported Sunday that coca leaf cultivation in Colombia last year was at the highest level recorded since the agency started monitoring the crop in 2001. Coca cultivation was up 13 percent over 2021, and that generated 1,400 tons of cocaine, up from 1,738 in 2021.

Most Colombian cocaine is destined for markets in the US and Europe.

Key coca growing areas, accounting for two-thirds of national production, are the southern departments of Narino and Puumayo on the Ecuadorian border and North Santander on the Venezuelan border. Nearly half of Colombia's coca production is located on indigenous lands or in parks and nature reserves.

Scottish Lord Advocate Endorses Safe Injection Sites. The senior law enforcement officer in the Scottish government, the Lord Advocate, has issued a position statement on safe injection sites saying it would not recommend the prosecution of people using a safe injection site. The Lord Advocate provides legal advice on the full range of the government's responsibilities, policies, and legislation, including advice on the legal implications of government proposals. : 

"On the basis of the information I have been provided, I would be prepared to publish a prosecution policy that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility," Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said.

"I have not been asked to sign-off or approve any facility and it would not be appropriate for me to do so. However, prosecution policy is for me alone to set and this policy, and the consequences which flow from it, have been considered deeply and thoroughly. 

"The requested statement will not extend to any criminal offences other than possession of controlled substances, contrary to section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It does not amount to an exclusion zone whereby a range of criminality is tolerated. 

"Police Scotland have operational independence and it has been of the utmost importance to me to ensure that Police Scotland retain the ability to effectively police the facility and ensure that the wider community, those operating the site and

The Lord Advocate's decision has been shared with the Scottish Parliament cross-committee on tackling drug deaths and drug harm on September 11. 

Federal Appeals Court Restricts Detroit Vehicle Seizures, NC Tribe Votes Yes on Weed, More... (9/8/23)

New York City settles with a Black woman whose child was seized because of her marijuana use, the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals reins in vehicle seizures in Detroit, and more.

The Vancouver safe injection site. Pressure is growing for one in Glasgow, Scotland. (vch.ca)
Marijuana Policy

North Carolina Tribe Approves Marijuana Legalization Measure. Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a referendum permitting the use and sale of marijuana on tribal land. According to preliminary results, the measure was passing with 70 percent of the vote.

The tribe had already approved regulations for the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes but has not yet begun engaging in sales of medical marijuana products.

The state does not permit marijuana to be used or sold for either medical or recreational purposes, and US Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) urged members to reject the referendum: "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." To that end, he filed a federal bill last week to without certain federal funds from states and tribes that permit adult use marijuana.

New York City Settles with Mother Whose Child Was Seized Over Marijuana Use. The city's child welfare agency agreed to pay $75,000 plus attorney's fees to a Black woman after child welfare workers forcibly removed a woman’s newborn baby based solely on a positive test for marijuana that she did not consent to. The woman, Chanetto Rivers, alleged racial discrimination.

"I didn’t just bring this lawsuit for myself, but for every Black family that ACS [the Administration for Children's Services] has ripped apart," Rivers said in a statement. "They know what they did was wrong." 

An ACS spokesperson said that marijuana use by itself will not be a basis for charging child abuse or neglect. "A case should not be indicated solely because a parent is using marijuana, but instead CPS should assess the impact, if any, on the safety and well-being of the child," the spokesperson said. 

That is in line with stated ACS policy: "Positive marijuana toxicology of an infant or the mother at the time of birth is not sufficient, in and of itself, to support a determination that the child is maltreated, nor is such evidence alone sufficient for ACS to take protective custody of (remove) a child or file a case in Family Court."

But Rivers' lawsuit alleges that child welfare workers continued to interfere in her parenting even after two judges ordered the agency to reunite her and her child. She was subjected to "needless court proceedings" for months, the suit alleged.

"We are glad that Ms. Rivers was able to call attention to ACS’s deplorable history of racial discrimination against marginalized families," her attorney said. "ACS continued to rely on outdated racist stereotypes and tropes about Black parents."

Asset Forfeiture

Federal Court Severely Curtails Detroit Civil Asset Forfeiture Program. Wayne County, which includes Detroit, has long been notorious for seizing cars from people it claims were involved with drugs or prostitution, but now a federal appeals court has severely curtailed that program.

The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the program's severe restrictions on property owners' ability to appeal seizures violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. The ruling only applies to the Wayne County program, but with a similar case on the US Supreme Court docket, a broader precedent may soon be set.

Under the Wayne County program, police would seize vehicles of people driving or parking in areas where illegal drug use and/or prostitution was suspected and offer them a deal: Pay a $1,000 fine and get their vehicle back right away or appeal the seizure—a process that takes months and could result in the loss of the vehicle anyway.

The appeals court ruled that the months-long delay before people could challenge a seizure was too long and that hearings needed to happen within two weeks.

International

British Royal Pharmaceutical Society Backs House of Commons Call for Safe Injection Sites. At the end of August, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee recommended legalization of safe injection sites for drug users, and now the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has backed that call.

The Home Affairs Committee called for a pilot safe injection site in Glasgow. The Home Office rejected a similar proposal in 2020. But both the committee and the society pointed to successful safe injection sites elsewhere.

 

"We believe we can apply that learning here and provide clean, safe spaces for those injecting drugs," said Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. "This will bring illegal drug users closer to mainstream health and addiction support services, and provide an opportunity for health professionals to engage in treatment and prevention. This in turn will help to save lives, reduce harm and reduce drug deaths," she added.

CA Assembly Passes Natural Psychedelic Bill, Youth Weed Treatment Admissions Drop, More... (9/7/23)

A pair of Massachusetts psychedelic initiatives are cleared for signature-gathering, new research finds marijuana legalization is driving down youth pot treatment admissions, and more.

Illinois pot shop workers organized by the Teamsters win a labor victory. (Teamsters.org)
Marijuana Policy

Court-Mandated Marijuana Treatment Admissions for Young People Declined Significantly Following Legalization.Far fewer young people are referred by the criminal courts to attend marijuana-specific treatment programs following the adoption of statewide adult-use legalization laws, acording to data published in the journal Addiction Medicine

Researchers with Temple University in Philadelphia analyzed ten years (2008 to 2019) of admissions data from the US government’s Treatment Episode Data Sets (TEDS). They reported that the total number of marijuana-related drug treatment admissions declined significantly among adolescents (ages 12 to 17) and young adults (ages 18 to 24) during this time period. Much of this decline was the result of fewer court-mandated admissions. 

"Our results indicate that the proportion of referrals to CUD [cannabis use disorder] treatment from the criminal justice system fell following recreational legalization in the United States among young adults, likely due to post-legalization declines in cannabis-related arrests," the study’s authors concluded. 

In 2010, courts ordered nearly 60,000 teens and another 70,000 young adults to attend marijuana treatment. Those totals fell to fewer than 20,000 adolescents and approximately 30,000 young adults in 2019.

"In addition to ending tens of thousands of needless low-level marijuana arrests, cannabis legalization is also freeing up space in drug treatment centers for those people who truly need it," said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. "Most people arrested for violating marijuana possession laws do not require mandatory drug treatment, and historically, these referrals were provided primarily to divert people away from the criminal justice system."

Illinois Teamsters Ratify Contracts with Rise Dispensaries. Teamsters Local 777 members at three dispensaries operated by Rise – a subsidiary of Green Thumb Industries (GTI) – have ratified their first collective bargaining agreements with the multi-state cannabis operator. The contract will cover workers at two locations in Joliet and another in Niles. This victory marks the end of a protracted fight with GTI that included a 13-day work stoppage that ended back in May – the longest Unfair Labor Practice strike at a cannabis retailer in U.S. history.

"This fight should be a lesson to cannabis companies all across the country and not just Illinois – Teamsters don’t back down," said Jim Glimco, Local 777 President. "A lot of people who went through what these men and women went through would’ve thrown in the towel. Not this group. They’re young, energetic, tough, smart; they look out for one another, and they embody what being a part of this union is all about."

The strong contracts not only codify a number of benefits, but also include significant improvements. Improvements include wage increases of 18 percent over the lifetime of the agreement, attendance bonuses, a scheduling policy based on seniority, guaranteed tips and discounts, improved safety standards, and protection against unjust termination or discipline.

Psychedelics

California Assembly Approves Amended Psychedelic Legalization Bill, Sending it Back to Senate for Final Passage. The Assembly on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 58, which would legalize the possession of small amounts of certain plant- and fungi-based psychedelic substances, but not without first amending it so it has to go back to the Senate for a final vote.

"California’s veterans, first responders, and others struggling with PTSD, depression, and addiction deserve access to these promising plant medicines," said bill sponsor Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). "SB 58 has prudent safeguards in place after we incorporated feedback from three years of deep engagement with a broad array of stakeholders. We know these substances are not addictive, and they show tremendous promise in treating many of the most intractable conditions driving our nation’s mental health crisis," he said. It’s time to stop criminalizing people who use psychedelics for healing or personal well-being."

But whether Weiner and the rest of the Senate can live with the Assembly's amendments remains to be seen. The Assembly stripped ibogaine from the list of legalized substances, lowered possession limits, eliminated sharing provisions, and pushed back the effective date to 2025.

Massachusetts Attorney General Certifies Two Psychedelic Decriminalization Initiatives for Signature-Gathering. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell (D) has certified two nearly identical ballot proposals to decriminalize psychedelic substances. The proposals are coming from Massachusetts for Mental Health Options, which aims "to expand mental health treatment options in Massachusetts by providing new pathways to access natural psychedelic medicine therapy."

The two proposals are the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act (Version A) and the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act (Version B).

The certification clears the way for signature-gathering to place the measures on the November 2024 ballot. Organizers will need to file 74,574 valid voter signatures by December 6 to qualify for nest year's ballot.

The proposals would create the Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission, a five-member body appointed by the governor, attorney general and treasurer, that would administer the law around the use and distribution of psychedelics.

Adults at least 21 years old would be able to purchase psychedelics like psilocybin, ibogaine and mescaline at an "approved location," according to the ballot petition.

OTC Narcan Now Available at Major Pharmacies, VA Marijuana "Sharing" and "Gifting" Shops Pop Up, More... (9/6/23)

A majority of Floridians are ready to legalize weed, the British government moves to criminalize laughing gas, and more.

The British government is making laughing gas an illegal Class C substance. No more whippets for you Brits! (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Florida Poll Has Three Out of Five for Marijuana Legalization. A new poll from the University of South Florida and Florida Atlantic University has support for marijuana legalization at 60 percent. That includes 71 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of independents, and 50 percent of Republicans.

The poll comes as Floridians await a decision from the state Supreme Court on whether it will allow a marijuana legalization initiative from Smart & Safe Florida to appear on the ballot next year. The group has already met signature-gathering requirements.

The poll had even stronger support for medical marijuana, with 83 percent overall supporting it, including 87 percent of Democrats, 84 percent of independents, and 78 percent of Republicans.

Sixty percent support is precisely the amount needed for the initiative—a constitutional amendment—to pass at the polls. Given that initiative campaigners commonly seek a 10 percent cushion to be comfortable about their measure's prospects, Smart & Safe Florida is not yet in that comfort zone and needs another 10 percent increase in support to get there.

Virginia Shops Are "Sharing" and "Gifting" Marijuana Amid State's Lack of Legal Sales Mechanism. State Attorney General Jason Miyares has opined that shops "gifting" or "sharing" marijuana with customers are illegal, but they are proliferating anyway as the state grapples with marijuana legalization without a means of legal sales. Some of the stores "gift" marijuana to customers when they buy some other item from the shop, while others act like co-ops or clubs where members "share" marijuana with new members who either buy something or pay for membership.

Teresa Green and a partner own Good Vibes, which has nine shops in the region. She concedes that "gifting" marijuana is illegal but said her stores don't do that. Instead, she calls them "adult share stores," but when asked exactly how that work, she responded: "That’s as clear as I can get with it." She also said she was aware of the attorney general's opinion, but "anyone can have an opinion."

Police and prosecutors in the area are doing little about it and feeling frustrated. "There are so many gray areas that it’s just become impossible to enforce," said Greg Habeeb, a former Republican state delegate from Salem, president of Roanoke-based Gentry Locke Consulting, and representative of the Virginia Cannabis Association Habeeb. "So, a lot of law enforcement just aren’t enforcing it. They feel like their hands are tied."

"I don’t keep up with the popup marijuana stores and so I really don’t have an opinion, except to say that … it’s the Wild West out there," said longtime Roanoke Commonwealth’s Attorney Donald Caldwell. "To simply legalize marijuana and not have any restraints on it. And so, I think God knows what’s going on there. I certainly don’t."

Harm Reduction

Over-the-Counter Narcan Goes on Sale This Month at Major Retailers. The opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone is about to become much more widely available. Emergent BioSolutions, the manufacturer of Narcan, the naloxone nasal spray formulation, announced last week that it had shipped hundreds of thousands of the two-spray kits to major retailers.

The life-saving sprays will be available at CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, and Walmart, but they won't be especially cheap. The suggested retail price is $44.99.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan for over-the-counter use in March as the nation confronts an overdose crisis that killed an estimated 110,000 last year, with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl implicated in two-thirds of those deaths.

Prescription Narcan is already in wide use—carried by police officers and paramedics; stocked in libraries, schools, and vending machines; and distributed on the streets by harm reduction groups.

International

Britain to Make Laughing Gas an Illegal Class C Controlled Substance. The Conservative government has moved against nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, by announcing that it will become an illegal Class C substance by year's end. Under British drug laws, possession of a Class C substance is punishable by up to two years in jail, while distribution could garner up to 14 years behind bars.

Currently, supplying laughing gas for recreational use is banned, but possession is not.

The government move is counter to the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which said that the ban would be disproportionate to the amount of harm linked to the drug.

"The British people are fed up with yobs abusing drugs in public spaces and leaving behind a disgraceful mess for others to clean up," said Home Secretary Suella Braverman. "Earlier this year the prime minister and I promised a zero-tolerance approach to antisocial behavior and that is what we are delivering. If you are caught using ‘laughing gas’ as a drug, you could be hit with a hefty fine or face jail time," she added.

CO Lawmakers Call for Safe Injection Sites, CA Psychedelic Decrim Bill Heads for Final Vote, More... (9/5/23)

A North Carolina Republican congressman files a bill to punish localities that legalize marijuana, Peruvian Shining Path remnants tied to the cocaine trade clash with Peruvian army troops, and more 

Magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics would be decriminalized under a California bill that heads for a final vote. (CC)
Marijuana Policy

North Carolina Congressman Files Bill to Punish Legal Weed States. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) has filed a bill that would punish states or reservations where marijuana is legal by withholding 10 percent of highway funding to them. Edward's Stop Pot Act, filed last Friday, targets jurisdictions "in which the purchase or public possession of marijuana for recreational purposes is lawful."

It was spurred by his ire at the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which will vote on whether to legalize marijuana this week. He argues that such laws are an affront to federal law.

"The laws of any government should not infringe on the overall laws of our nation, and federal funds should not be awarded to jurisdictions that willfully ignore federal law," he said in a press release. "During a time when our communities are seeing unprecedented crime, drug addiction, and mental illness, the Stop Pot Act will help prevent even greater access to drugs and ease the strain placed on our local law enforcement and mental health professionals who are already stretched thin."

The tribe does not think much of Edwards' move. Principal Chief Richard Sneed noted that Edwards is "a non-Indian, elected official telling a sovereign tribal nation how they ought to handle their business" and that he "overstepped his authority."

Psychedelics

California Psychedelic Decriminalization Bill Heads for Assembly Floor Vote. A bill to decriminalize certain plant- and fungi-based psychedelics is heading for a final Assembly floor vote after clearing a final committee vote last Friday. Senate Bill 58 , from Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) has already passed the Senate and cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday.

The bill would decriminalize plant-based and other natural hallucinogens such as psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, and mescaline, but in deference to the Native American Church, not peyote. Police would be unable to charge those in possession of personal use amounts of those substances, which range from two grams for psilocybin to 15 grams for ibogaine. The substances would remain illegal for minors.

The bill is a scaled back version of a bill first filed by Weiner in January 21 that would also have decriminalized synthetic psychedelics, such as ketamine, LSD, and MDMA. And as doubts lingered over whether the bill could pass this year, Weiner amended it to add a provision requiring the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA) to create a workgroup tasked with studying and making recommendations on the establishment of a framework for the therapeutic use of psychedelics.

"I’m particularly excited to see that a vote will be held for decriminalizing psychedelics, an idea whose time has come I," said Weiner."I look forward to working with my colleagues and a wide array of stakeholders to deliver these bills to the governor."

But whether Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will sign the bill remains an open question.

"The bill does have a good shot of passing the Assembly," said former police officer and current drug counselor Marty Ribera. "But Newsom is the big one. He’s looking to run for president either next year or in 2028, and being the Governor who legalized a bunch of drugs would not be a good look."

Harm Reduction

Colorado Legislative Opioid Study Committee Calls for Safe Injection Sites. Lawmakers last year tried and failed to clear the way for safe injection sites last year, and this year they will be back again. The legislature's opioid study committee has called for a bill to be drafted to allow cities to create "overdose prevention centers" or safe injection sites.

The committee vote followed party lines, with Republicans opposed.

The need is evident. Opioid overdose deaths, most implicating fentanyl, rose 50 percent from 2019 to 2020 and another 27 percent from 2020 to 2021.

Safe injection sites are arguably illegal under federal law, specifically the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which forbids the use of premises for illicit drug use—the crack house act. The Trump administration Justice Department sued to block a Philadelphia safe injection site, but the Biden Justice Department is now in negotiations that could clear the way for it to open.

Rhode Island has authorized safe injection sites, but the only locally-authorized sites opened in New York City in late 2021. And now, the US attorney there is making noises calling into question whether they can remain.

International

Peru Clashes Between Military and Shining Path Leave Six Dead. Remnants of the Shining Path, a Maoist insurgency from the 1980s that left tens of thousands dead and has since devolved into players in the coca and cocaine trade, clashed with an army patrol Monday, leaving four soldiers and two Shining Path members dead.

The early morning attack by the rebel traffickers came in the province of Huanta in the Ayacucho region—the historic Shining Path stronghold.

"During the confrontation, the security forces managed to kill two terrorist criminals, who fell with their long-range weapons," the army said in a press release. "Unfortunately, during this action, four brave members of the armed forces died, whose remains will be transferred shortly to the city of Huamanga." The army said three wounded soldiers were also transferred to a nearby hospital.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte paid tribute to the soldiers shortly afterwards on social media, referring to the Shining Path as "narcoterrorists."

The violence occurred in the Valley of Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM), a center of coca cultivation and cocaine production. In 2021, the government estimated that 70 percent of the country's total coca leaf production came from the VRAEM. The VRAEM is also the last outpost of the Shining Path. 

Reform Groups Respond to HHS Marijuana Rescheduling Call, TX Activists Rally at Governor's Mansion, More (8/31/23)

A British parliamentary committee is calling on the government to reinstate festival drug checking, Texas harm reduction activists protest Gov. Greg Abbott's regressive drug policies, and more.

More than a thousand Mexican soldiers are being deployed to the cartel-ridden state of Michoacan. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Reform Groups Respond to HHS Recommendation to Reschedule Marijuana. The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) announcement that it was formally recommending moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act has excited considerable commentary and varied reactions from the reform community. Here, thanks to Marijuana Moment, are the reactions from several groups. For more, as well as reaction from political figures, click on the link above:

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano

"The goal of federal cannabis policy reform ought to be to address the existing, untenable chasm between federal marijuana policy and the cannabis laws of the majority of U.S. states," Armentano told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday.

"Rescheduling the cannabis plant to Schedule III of the US Controlled Substances Act fails to adequately address this conflict, as existing state legalization laws—both adult use and medical—will continue to be in conflict with federal regulations, thereby perpetuating the existing divide between state and federal marijuana policies," he said.

US Cannabis Council (USCC) Executive Director Edward Conklin

"The US Cannabis Council enthusiastically welcomes today’s news. President Biden and his Administration recognized that cannabis was wrongly classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, and they are delivering on their promise to change it," Conklin said. "We believe that rescheduling to Schedule III will mark the most significant federal cannabis reform in modern history. President Biden is effectively declaring an end to Nixon’s failed war on cannabis and placing the nation on a trajectory to end prohibition.

"Rescheduling will have a broad range of benefits, including signaling to the criminal justice system that cannabis is a lower priority and providing a crucial economic lifeline to the cannabis industry by lifting the 280E tax burden. State licensed cannabis businesses of all shapes and sizes will benefit from this historic reform," he said. "We urge the DEA to proceed with rescheduling cannabis with all reasonable speed."

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) Director of State Policies Karen O’Keefe

"We are encouraged by the recommendation made by the Dept. of Health and Human Services for a more sensible and realistic scheduling for cannabis," O’Keefe said. "Given that over half the US population lives in medical cannabis states and millions of Americans are finding relief with cannabis products, it is long past due for the federal government to acknowledge cannabis’ medical value."

"Unfortunately, moving cannabis to Schedule III will still leave many of the harms of federal prohibition in place," she said. "However, today’s news is a step in the right direction and will deliver real benefits, including facilitating increased research and reducing burdens on medical cannabis patients and the businesses that serve them."

Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and Parabola Center’s Cat Packer

we recognize that a shift to schedule III would be significant in a number of ways," Packer told Marijuana Moment, noting how the reform would remove research barriers and allow marijuana businesses to "make normal business deductions."

However, she said that the rescheduling action "would fall woefully short of the promises made by President Biden during his 2020 presidential election campaign, especially promises made to Black and Brown communities."

"It does not address the underlying criminalization of marijuana, even just for personal use and possession—which President Biden has already acknowledged as a failure that disproportionately impacts Black and Latino communities," Packer said. "If the Biden Administration is seriously committed to ending the Country’s failed approach on marijuana and righting the wrongs of marijuana criminalization including addressing the disproportionate impacts of criminalization on Black and Latino communities, Biden should support decriminalization and a new approach to federal cannabis policy that actually promotes fairness and justice."

National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) CEO Aaron Smith

"Moving cannabis to schedule III could have some limited benefit but does nothing to align federal law with the 38 U.S. states which have already effectively regulated cannabis for medical or adult use," Smith said. "The only way to fully resolve the myriad of issues stemming from the federal conflict with state law is to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and regulate the product in a manner similar to alcohol.""The vast majority of Americans live in states with laws that depart from federal law on this issue and where thousands of regulated Main Street businesses are serving the legal cannabis market safely and responsibly," he said. "It’s long past time for Congress to truly harmonize federal policy with those states."

Harm Reduction

Texas Activists Rally Outside Governor's Mansion to Protest Abbott's Harm Reduction and Overdose Policies. Texas activists marked International Overdose Awareness Day Wednesday by rallying in front of the governor's mansion in downtown Austin to call out Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his regressive policies around harm reduction and overdose prevention.

The state has seen a 30 percent increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths from 2021 to 2022, but Abbott has failed to push for measures that could alleviate the crisis, such as House Bill 362, which would have legalized fentanyl test strips. While that bill passed the House, it failed to advance out of the Senate.

Instead of taking up harm reduction and overdose prevention measures, Abbott has urged the legislature to crack down on trafficking, including a February move declaring fentanyl an emergency. He also directed lawmakers to label fentanyl overdoses "poisonings" and prosecute them as murder.

The protest was organized by VOCAL-TX, an activist and harm reduction organization.

International

UK Home Office Urged to Reinstate Festival Drug Checking. The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee issued a report Thursday urging the Home Office to reinstate music festival drug checking, which had been a regular part of the festival scene in recent years until the Tory government suddenly demanded drug checkers be licensed earlier this summer. The Home Affairs Committee report also urged members of Parliament to grant necessary licenses to local authorities to allow drug checking to go forward in a bid to reduce overdoses.

A licensing plan should be in effect by next summer, the report urged. This summer, festival organizers were hit with last-minute notices that they needed licenses only hours before festivals began. Those licenses came with a $3,500 fee and could take months to process.

"Back of house testing has been operating at festivals for a number of years through memorandums of understanding between local stakeholders, including the police and local authorities," the report said. "The primary aim of drug checking is to reduce drug-related harms. This is done through the provision of healthcare advice from medical professionals to the individuals who have submitted samples and/or via the dissemination of health warnings to the wider public— for example, to festival-goers. Countries, such as, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Canada, Austria and Australia have established drug checking services."

But the Tory Home Office is having none of it: "There is no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities, and we have no plans to consider this," it said in response to the report. "Our 10-year drugs strategy set out ambitious plans, backed with a record £3 billion funding over three years to tackle the supply of illicit drugs through relentless policing action and building a world-class system of treatment and recovery to turn people’s lives around and prevent crime."

Mexico Deploys 1,200 More Troops to Conflict-Ridden Michoacan. The Mexican government said Monday it sent 1,200 more troops to the cartel-dominated western state of Michoacan after a weekend of violence. State prosecutors said three convenience stores and five trucks and cars had been set afire, a tactic often used by drug cartels in the state to block roads and enforce extortion demands. Prosecutors said three men and three youths aged 16 and 17 were arrested in the attacks.

The soldiers are being deployed to the cities of Apatzingan, Buenavista, and Uruapan. In Buenavista, lime growers and farmers are complaining of extortion by the cartels, and in Apatzingan, cartel extortion has nearly doubled the price of basic goods. Similar conditions a decade ago sparked the rise of civilian vigilante groups, but those have since faded away or been infiltrated by the cartels themselves. 

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