Marijuana -- Personal Use

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

by psmith, August 31, 2023, 04:08pm

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.

HHS Recommends Rescheduling Weed, Coalition Seeks to Undo OR Drug Decriminalization, More... (9/30/23)

by psmith, August 30, 2023, 03:51pm

A new poll has an Ohio marijunaa legalization initiative garnering strong support, Colombia tries again on marijuana legalization, and more.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro backs marijuana legalization. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

HHS Recommends Moving Marijuana to Lower Scheduling Category. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended loosening restrictions on marijuana after undertaking a review request from the Biden administration. HHS is recommending that marijuana be placed on Schedule III, the same schedule as ketamine or testosterone.

"As part of this process, HHS conducted a scientific and medical evaluation for consideration by DEA. DEA has the final authority to schedule or reschedule a drug under the Controlled Substances Act. DEA will now initiate its review," a DEA spokesperson said.

Marijuana is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, in the same category as heroin and LSD. Schedule I is reserved for substances with no medical use and a high risk of abuse. Moving marijuana from Schedule I to a lesser schedule could be the first step toward federal marijuana legalization.

Ohio Poll Has Solid Majority for Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Buckeye State voters head to the polls in a little more than two months to vote on a marijuana legalization initiative from the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, and a new poll has the initiative well-positioned to win.

A survey from Fallon Research and Communications has support for the initiative at 59 percent. The heuristic for initiative campaigners is that they want a 10 percent cushion going into election day to account for last minute undecideds breaking the wrong way, so this poll has the campaign very close to the promised land.

Sixty-eight percent of Democrats support the initiative, as do 62 percent of independents and 48 percent of Republicans. While Democratic and independent support has been stable, support among Republicans has jumped eight points over a similar poll last year.

The initiative's odds are also helped by the presence on the ballot of a measure seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state—another issue that should increase liberal and progressive turnout.

Drug Policy

Oregon Coalition Seeks to Undo Drug Decriminalization. A coalition of political, business, and civic leaders wants to undo Measure 110, the 2022 voter-approved initiative that decriminalized the possession of personal use amounts of drugs and mandated the use of marijuana tax revenues to provide drug treatment and other services to users. The coalition is calling for drug possession to be made a misdemeanor and for drug treatment whether the user wants it or not.

"We are seeking to fix and improve Measure 110," said Max Williams, former state lawmaker and former executive director of the Oregon Department of Corrections. "Our goal isn’t to repeal the law. It’s to improve it," he claimed.

Also part of the effort are Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton, political consultant Dan Lavey, who heads a group pushing Portland leaders for action on drugs, homelessness, and related issues, and Paige Richardson, a political strategist who has run multiple ballot campaigns. Meanwhile, failed independent gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson is trying to raise money to pursue a ballot measure undoing Measure 110 next fall.

The folks who supported Measure 110 are not impressed. "It’s disappointing that anyone would propose the failed policies of our past and lack of any real solutions," said Tera Hurst, who leads the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance. "It would be harmful, it would be deadly and extremely expensive and it would set our state back years."

International

Colombia Tries Again on Marijuana Legalization. After a two-year effort to legalize marijuana failed on a final vote in the Senate at the end of the last legislative session, proponents are back to try again this session. A marijuana legalization bill has cleared the first of eight debates that must occur over another two-year period..

"Today…we start again a path full of challenges to start writing a new story in the fight against drugs. We need to move forward in a change in drug policy," said Rep. Juan Carlos Losada.

President Gustavo Petro is a global drug reform advocated and has touted the benefits of marijuana legalization, saying it would help the national economy.

"We’ll see if [cannabis can be] exported and we’ll earn a few dollars because half of humanity [has legalized it]," President Petro said.

DEA Hired "Legacy" Job Applicants Despite Failed Polygraph Tests, DeSantis Rejects Legal Weed, More... (8/28/23)

by psmith, August 28, 2023, 03:29pm, (Issue #1195)

Republican presidential contenders burnish their anti-drug reform credentials, and more.

There is some tarnish on that DEA badge after a new Justice Department Office of the Inspector General report. (DEA.gov)

Marijuana Policy

DeSantis Doubles Down on Opposition to Marijuana Legalization. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential contender, reaffirmed his opposition to marijuana legalization as he campaigned in Iowa on Saturday. He argued—contrary to the facts—that legalization has increased the size of the black market in Colorado, the first state to legalize it.

Responding to a question about children experiencing "cannabis inducted psychosis," DeSantis clarified that he "would not legalize" in an echo of earlier comments on the topic. "I think what’s happened is this stuff is very potent now. I think when young people get it, I think it’s a real, real problem, and I think it’s a lot different than stuff that people were using 30, 40 years ago," DeSantis said. "I think when kids get on that, I think it causs a lot of problems and then, of course, you know, they can throw fentanyl in any of this stuff now."

While fentanyl has been encountered as a contaminant in various powder drug substances, every case of alleged fentanyl contamination of marijuana has so far been shown to be false. It, too, is a white powder, which could not be easily disguised in marijuana buds.

He also said he would opposed a proposed marijuana legalization initiative poised to make the ballot in Florida. "I would not do that," DeSantis said on Saturday. "And the places that legalized it like Colorado and California, you know, the argument was—and honestly it wasn’t a crazy argument—’Look, we know people are going to use marijuana. It is a drug. If you legalize it, then you can tax it, regulate it, and it’s going to end up being safer for people."But what’s happened in Colorado, the black market for marijuana is bigger and more lucrative than it was before they did the legalization," the governor said. "So the legalization I don’t think has worked."

But one report on the marijuana industry in Colorado found to the contrary that 99 percent of marijuana sales in the state took place within the legal framework.

Foreign Policy

Nikki Haley Calls for Siccing US Special Forces on Mexican Cartels in Mexico..Former UN Ambassador and current Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley has doubled down on earlier calls to use US military forces inside Mexico to go after Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

"When it comes to the cartels, we should treat them like the terrorists that they are," Haley said. "I would send special operations in there and eliminate them just like we eliminated ISIS and make sure that they know there's no place for them. If Mexico won't deal with it, I'll make sure I deal with it," she added.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has firmly rejected any use of US military forces inside Mexico.

Haley also took aim at China for its role in the production of fentanyl, saying the US president has to "go to the true source" of the problem. "China knows exactly what they're doing when they're sending that fentanyl across the border. And we need to tell them we will stop all normal trade relations with you until you stop killing Americans," Haley said. "We lost 75,000 Americans last year, and we can't continue to allow that to happen."

Law Enforcement

DEA Hired "Legacy" Job Applicants Despite Failed Lie Detector Tests. According to a new report from the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has hired dozens of job applicants who failed lie detector tests as its polygraph unit faced pressure to approve "legacy" candidates related to senior officials.

Besides favoritism toward friends and family members of DEA officials, the report found that agency bosses ignored admissions of criminal behavior that should have been reported for further investigation, including one case where the applicant "admitted to pedophiliac tendencies" during the lie detector exam.

Also providing evidence about DEA lie detector practices is an agency whistleblower who has filed a federal lawsuit alleging misconduct within the DEA. The whistleblower alleged that when the pedophiliac applicant made his incriminating statements, supervisors pooh-poohed them, saying "there was nothing that could be done" and that the whistleblower "would be liable" for making an anonymous complaint to local law enforcement.

In a letter sent to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram last week, the OIG said it had "identified numerous concerns," including the use of loopholes to avoid complying with a policy enacted in 2019 that specifically bars the agency from hiring applicants who fail a polygraph or show signs of "countermeasures" to cheat the test.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

US Citizens Dominate Fentanyl Trade, NV Regulators Approve More Social Consumption Lounges, More... (8/24/23)

by psmith, August 24, 2023, 03:37pm, (Issue #1195)

Maine's congressional delegation is worried about alleged illegal Chinese marijuana grows, US Sentencing Commission statistics show that US citizens--not illegal immigrants--dominate the fentanyl trade, and more.

The US-Mexico border. Fentanyl is coming through ports of entry, not in immigrants' backpacks. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

Maine Congressional Delegation Asks Attorney General to Shut Down Alleged Chinese Marijuana Grow Operations. Responding to a "federal memo" circulating within the US Border Patrol that alleged there were 270 properties in the state linked to illegal Chinese marijuana grows and that they could generate $4 billion a year in revenue, the Maine congressional delegation on Thursday sent a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland (D) urging the Justice Department to shut down the grows

The "federal memo" is questionable. First released by the conservative media source The Daily Caller, the memo (as characterized by the Daily Caller) does not rely on federal statistics but on reports from state and local law enforcement. It also has some funny numbers, including the claim that a plot with 100 plants could generate $5.4 million over three growth cycles in a year. If you crunch the numbers, the comes out to $17,000 per plant per cycle, which would require multi-pound harvests of each plant every four months. Such yields are typically associated with long-growing outdoor plants harvested once a year, not hothouse plants harvested every four months.

Still, the congressional delegation was concerned: "These illegal growing operations are detrimental to Maine businesses that comply with State laws, and we urge the Department of Justice to shut them down," the Maine delegation wrote in Thursday’s joint letter to the nation’s top law enforcement official.

They also sought answers to several questions, including: who produced the memo, what is the Justice Department doing to tackle illegal grows, how are profits returning to the country of origin, and is Justice aware of alleged Chinese ownership.

Nevada Regulators Approve Three More Marijuana Consumption Lounges. The state's Cannabis Control Board on Tuesday approved three more applications for marijuana consumption lounges, raising the number of licenses issued so far to seven. The board approved licenses for Deep Roots Harvest and Global Harmony, which operate Las Vegas pot shops , as well as KV Group in the southern Nevada town Pahrump.

In June, the board issued the first three licenses, for Cheyenne Medical in unincorporated Clark County, Common Sense Botanicals Nevada in Washoe Valley, and Planet 13 in Las Vegas.

The board also loosened air-ventilation standards for consumption lounges, a move that came after operators complained that the large upfront investment and ongoing energy costs of operating the ventilation systems were economically not feasible for most operators and near impossible for social equity licensees.

Also Tuesday, regulators loosened air-ventilation standards for marijuana consumption, which provided more clarity for operators to move forward with construction plans in one of the nation’s largest tourism markets.

Despite the licensing actions, the only legal consumption lounge currently open in the state is the NuWu Cannabis Marketplace located on tribal land near downtown Las Vegas.

Opiates and Opioids

Despite Widespread Belief That Migrants Are Smuggling Fentanyl from Mexico, Nine Out of Ten Fentanyl Trafficking Busts Are of US Citizens. A recent NPR-Ipsos poll found that 39 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Republicans believe "Most of the fentanyl entering the US is smuggled in by unauthorized migrants crossing the border illegally," but that belief is mistaken.

According to data from the US Sentencing Commission, US citizens accounted for 89 percent of people convicted of fentanyl trafficking, a number 12 times greater that the number of illegal immigrants convicted on those charges.

Similarly, 93 percent of border fentanyl seizures occurred at legal ports of entry or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes. That elevates the prospect for US citizens—who are subject to less scrutiny—to be successful fentanyl smugglers. Just 0.009 percent of people arrested by the Border Patrol for illegal border crossings were found with any amount of fentanyl.

This is something for policymakers to ponder when attempting to come up with solutions for the fentanyl problem.

OH Health Departments Oppose Pot Initiative, Uganda Lawmakers OK MedMJ, More... (8/23/23)

by psmith, August 23, 2023, 03:35pm, (Issue #1195)

Mexican drug cartels are increasingly resorting to IEDs, a push for marijuana legalization is underway in Costa Rica, and more.

Medical marijuana could be coming soon to Uganda. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

Ohio Health Departments Join Opposition to Marijuana Legalization Initiative. The Ohio Association of Health Commissioners, which represents the state's 112 local health departments, has joined the opposition to the marijuana legalization initiative from the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol that will appear on the November ballot.

The measure would allow people 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot and grow up to six plants, as well as setting up a system of taxed and regulated legal marijuana commerce.

An association representing Ohio’s 112 local health departments is opposing a marijuana legalization ballot measure set to go to voters in November, claiming the policy change would only contribute to drug-related problems in the state.

"Making marijuana more accessible through legal recreational use and retail sales hurts Ohio, creates serious new risks for children’s health and makes our workplaces and highways less safe," the association warned in a statement Tuesday. "With Ohio’s rates of opiate abuse and overdoses still among the highest in the country, we need to be helping Ohio find solutions to addiction, not facilitating it or the interests of an industry that profits from it."

The association joins with Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and the state's Republican political establishment in opposing the initiative, but a poll last month suggests they are out of touch with Buckeye state voters. That poll, from Suffolk University, had support for legalization at 59 percent.

International

Costa Rica Lawmakers Divided on Revised Recreational Marijuana Bill. A bill to legalize marijuana lost a vote in the Assembly's Environmental Commission, but will proceed to an Assembly floor vote anyway.

After several months on hold, the Environmental Commission of the Legislative Assembly will resume discussions this week on the bill to legalize recreational marijuana in the Costa Rica.

The proposal was rejected by the majority of the commission members, which includes three from the PLN and two from the New Republic parties. This was confirmed by Manuel Morales, a member of the ruling party.

"There are five votes against," said Manuel Morales, a member of the ruling party. "We have already prepared the minority report to be presented to the Plenary. Some of the substitute text includes their suggestions, but they are going to vote against it," he added. "When it reaches the Plenary, I believe it can be approved. It may be tight, but I think some members of the National Liberation party will support it," Morales stated.

The bill would legalize adult use marijuana, with regulations similar to those governing tobacco smoking, including no smoking in public. The revised bill would reallocate tax revenues from the legal marijuana market upon request of the ministries of health and security or the Drug Control Institute.

Mexican Army Says Drug Cartels Are Increasing Use of Roadside Bombs. The Army said Tuesday that drug trafficking organizations have increased their use of roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) this year, with at least 5 security force members killed and 42 police, soldiers, and suspects wounded.

The five members of the security forces killed included four state police officers and one National Guard officer.

The Army noted that the use of bomb-carrying drones has also increased. Before 2020, there were no drone attacks; this year there have been 260 so far.

The number of car bombs has also increased, from one last year to six so far this year.

So far, 556 IEDs of all types—roadside, drone-borne, and car bombs—have been found this year. More than 2,000 have been discovered since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2018, with more than half of those in the state of Michoacan, which has been the scene of continuing violence between the rival Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.

Uganda Parliament Passes Drug Law That Legalizes Medical Marijuana. The parliament on Tuesday approved the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Control Bill, which will now allow for the licensed cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The bill also legalizes the medicinal use of khat, a plant native to Yemen and East Africa that acts as a mild stimulant.

"Under a highly controlled legal regime, the international obligations notwithstanding, the two plants (cannabis and Khat should only be allowed for cultivation and usage strictly for medical purposes and research," said Hon Kajwengye.

"The committee posits that all licences and permits to be issued under this Act should centrally be issued by the Ministry responsible for Health since the permission to use narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is restricted to only medical purposes; the Ministry of Internal Affairs should remain the enforcement arm of the Government," said Hon. Kajwengye.

OH Health Departments Oppose Pot Initiative, Uganda Lawmakers OK MedMJ, More... (8/23/23)

by psmith, August 23, 2023, 03:35pm

Mexican drug cartels are increasingly resorting to IEDs, a push for marijuana legalization is underway in Costa Rica, and more.

Medical marijuana could be coming soon to Uganda. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

The measure would allow people 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot and grow up to six plants, as well as setting up a system of taxed and regulated legal marijuana commerce.

International

After several months on hold, the Environmental Commission of the Legislative Assembly will resume discussions this week on the bill to legalize recreational marijuana in the Costa Rica.

The five members of the security forces killed included four state police officers and one National Guard officer.

The Army noted that the use of bomb-carrying drones has also increased. Before 2020, there were no drone attacks; this year there have been 260 so far.

The number of car bombs has also increased, from one last year to six so far this year.

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

by psmith, August 22, 2023, 03:58pm, (Issue #1195)

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

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

Marijuana Policy

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

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

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

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

Drug Policy

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

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

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

International

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

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

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

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

CO Now Allows Online Weed Sales, MD Lawmakers Eye Changes to New Pot Law, More... (8/21/23)

by psmith, August 21, 2023, 03:21pm, (Issue #1195)

Bipartisan lawmakers urge the VA to end its ban on doctors recommending medical marijuana to vets in states where it is legal, Colorado now allows online weed sales, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Colorado Now Allows Online Weed Sales. As of this month, Coloradans can purchase their marijuana online—but they still have to go to the pot shop to pick it up. Gov. Jared Polis (D) in June signed into law House Bill23-1279, which amended the state marijuana law to allow for online sales.

The bill says: "Licensed retail marijuana store may accept payment online for the sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products."

"What the bill mainly aims to do, from my perspective, is reduce cash in the marijuana space, which is something that is exceedingly important to do because when there is a tremendous amount of cash in any industry, it can lead to some troubling outcomes—specifically things like robbery," said Sen. Kevin Van Winkle (D). "It sets them up for tremendous amount of potential theft, and other things."

Maryland Lawmakers Looking to Amend Marijuana Legalization Law. The state's marijuana legalization law has performed admirably as the state's two-month-old legal marijuana industry nears $100 million in sales, but even so, key lawmakers are signaling that it is likely to be amended in the coming legislative session.

Maryland’s cannabis industry is less than two months old and lawmakers and regulators are already contemplating tweaks in the coming General Assembly session.

"I think everybody, the governor’s office, Cannabis Administration, ATCC [Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Commission], and the legislators are evaluating everything to see if there’s stuff," said Will Tilburg, acting director of the Maryland Cannabis Administration.

Still, Tilburg and Senate Finance Committee Chair Melony Griffith (D) said some tweaks may be attempted when the legislature reconvenes next year.

"I mean, alcohol was legalized 90 years ago with the repeal of prohibition," said Tilburg. "Every year, there’s a few hundred bills related to the alcohol industry. So, we do expect that this year in the 2024 session and moving forward, we will see additional legislation to tweak this industry."

"I don’t think there’s any possibility we get through the ’24 session without some tweaking on the cannabis," Griffith said. "This is not going to be ‘We fixed it and we’ve solved all the issues and we’ll never have a bill on this subject again.’"

But neither offered any specifics.

Medical Marijuana

Bipartisan Lawmakers Ask VA Secretary to End Ban on Doctors Recommending Medical Marijuana to Vets. Three co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Dave Joyce (R-OH)—have sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough expressing "deep concern" that a recently updated VA marijuana directive continues to bar doctors from recommending medical marijuana to veterans in states where it is legal.

The VA "has once again denied the reality of medical marijuana as a key treatment option" for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain and other health conditions, the lawmakers wrote. The decision to continue with the "harmful policy" on medical marijuana recommendations was "alarming," they added.

"We urge you to reconsider this misguided prohibition that prevents these health professionals from considering the full range of available treatment options in consultation with their patients," the lawmakers wrote. "Giving VA providers the discretion to recommend or not recommend medical marijuana as best serves their patients would improve veterans’ services and stop forcing them to self-medicate or seek care outside of the VA system," the letter says. "It would not put providers at risk of federal prosecution from the Department of Justice and its agencies."

"Many veterans already report using cannabis for medical purposes as a substitute for prescription drugs and their side effects," they added. "VA is isolated in its continued denial of this treatment option for veterans. No one is better qualified to make recommendations on care for their patients than veterans working with their VA health care providers," the letter continues. "We applaud VA’s continued protection from retribution against veterans using medical marijuana. However, reaffirming the prohibition on recommendations, referrals, and forms for state-authorized medical marijuana puts stigma in the VA ahead of the needs of veterans. It is past time for VA to become a better partner in the path forward on this issue for our veterans. Instead of blocking veterans from equal access to this treatment option, VA should participate in the additional research and education we owe to patients and the public. We urge you to rethink the detrimental prohibition against providers serving their patients to the best of their ability where medical marijuana is authorized and regulated by their states."

OH Governor Opposes Legalization Initiative, Seattle City Council Balks at New Drug Bill, More... (8/18/23)

by psmith, August 18, 2023, 04:02pm, (Issue #1194)

Minnesota regulators provide some hints on what it is going to take to get legalization up and running, four people busted after an informant planted drugs on them are suing a Texas sheriff, and more.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is no friend of marijuana legalization. (ohio.gov)

Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Regulators Lay Out Roadmap for Implementing Marijuana Legalization. At an information meeting Wednesday night, officials with the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) laid out the long process of implementing the state's decision to legalize marijuana, including an update on the search for an OCM director, as well as outlining an array of issues still to be decided through an expedited rulemaking process.

'This is really a unique opportunity for us to assess the business needs, to evaluate the authorities that the legislature and the governor have given to the Office of Cannabis Management and then to meet those business needs in a way that really helps us ensure the success of the cannabis industry in Minnesota,' Charlene Briner, OCM's implementation director, said at the meeting.

Although legalization took effect earlier this month, meaning possession and home cultivation is now legal, officials said it could be close to two years before the state sees its first licensed retailers. (An exception is retail outlets on Native American reservations; at least two pot shops are already open on Native American land.)

Among the tasks to be completed before sales can begin are setting up OCM governance, filling the 51 seats on the Cannabis Advisory Council, consulting with the public, and crafting rules to guide the new industry.

"This is really an all-hands-on-deck endeavor," Briner said. "There is a tremendous hunger for information about what this will look like, about how we're going to go about rulemaking," she said. "We're trying to be very proactive, as much as possible, to provide external communications."

Ohio GOP Governor Opposes Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has come out unequivocally against the marijuana legalization initiative sponsored by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. The measure will go before voters in November.

The measure would allow people 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot and grow up to six plants, as well as setting up a system of taxed and regulated legal marijuana commerce.

"I think it would be a real mistake for us to have recreational marijuana," DeWine said.

DeWine said that he visited Colorado shortly after that state made recreational marijuana legal. "I went out there and talked to the people at the children's hospital, law enforcement and to people in business. It is an unmitigated disaster," he claimed. "I would just ask people to look what's happened in other states and see if we really want to bring that to Ohio."

The 76-year-old governor also warned that today's marijuana "is not your grandparents' marijuana; it's much more potent."

DeWine's comments drew a quick retort from Tom Haren, a spokesman for the legalization campaign.

"I'll tell you why it's not your grandfather's marijuana: your grandfather's marijuana wasn't tested in a pharmaceutical-grade testing lab. It wasn't produced in a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) quality cultivation facility, right? It wasn't subject to a statewide rigorous regulatory framework."

As for the Colorado "disaster," Haren said: "The governor must not have spoken to anybody from Colorado recently, because what I can tell you is their program is a huge success."

Drug Policy

Seattle City Council Votes Down Effort to Fast-Track Law Empowering City Attorney to Prosecute Drug Users. The city council Tuesday night narrowly rejected a proposal to fast-track a municipal ordinance that would have allowed the city attorney to prosecute people for drug possession and public use. The council instead voted to have the bill go through the regular committee process, meaning that any action will be delayed until after the August recess.

The latest version of the bill says that in the future police will adopt alternative to arrest such as diversion and treatment as "the preferred approach" to drug possession and public drug use, but that is not good enough for some council members. They argue that the language does not require diversion, does not fund alternatives to arrest, or provide examples of when diversion would be appropriate.

"It seems important that the resources be sufficiently invested into the alternative strategies so that people are not being given a false promise that there will be a diversion strategy, [but] we don't have those resources," said Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said. "And where will that funding come from?"

Law Enforcement

Texas Sheriff's Office Sued by Victims of Drug-Planting Informant. Four people who were sent to prison based on drugs planted by an informant are now suing Bexar County (San Antonio) Sheriff Javier Salazar and two deputies, Ferman Guzman and Alex Uriegas, who did not properly vet the informant.

In July 2021, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office admitted that drugs had been planted in the four cases. The informant in the cases was supposed to share information about drug cases with law enforcement and prosecutors, but instead he just framed people.

Two of the four served two years in prison before being released in 2020 while a third died in jail before his innocence could be vindicated.

The plaintiffs are suing over the unlawful entry and search of the home, seizure of property, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, and official oppression in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution.

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

by psmith, August 17, 2023, 03:51pm, (Issue #1194)

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

Marijuana Policy

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

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

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

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

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

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

Drug Policy

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

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

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

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

Psychedelics

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

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

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

Marijuana -- Personal Use

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

HHS Recommends Rescheduling Weed, Coalition Seeks to Undo OR Drug Decriminalization, More... (9/30/23)

DEA Hired "Legacy" Job Applicants Despite Failed Polygraph Tests, DeSantis Rejects Legal Weed, More... (8/28/23)

US Citizens Dominate Fentanyl Trade, NV Regulators Approve More Social Consumption Lounges, More... (8/24/23)

OH Health Departments Oppose Pot Initiative, Uganda Lawmakers OK MedMJ, More... (8/23/23)

OH Health Departments Oppose Pot Initiative, Uganda Lawmakers OK MedMJ, More... (8/23/23)

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

CO Now Allows Online Weed Sales, MD Lawmakers Eye Changes to New Pot Law, More... (8/21/23)

OH Governor Opposes Legalization Initiative, Seattle City Council Balks at New Drug Bill, More... (8/18/23)

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

Member of

Drug War Issues

Consequences of Prohibition

Politics & Advocacy