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Chronicle AM: Yang on Safe Injection Sites, Bloomberg on Marijuana, More... (12/5/19)

Michigan pot shops see high demand on opening day, Democratic contenders stake out drug policy positions, Maine finally has all pot business applications ready, and more.

Andrew Yang wants to decriminalize opiates and fund safe injection sites like this one in Vancouver. (vch.ca)

Marijuana Policy

Michael Bloomberg Backs Decriminalization as Marijuana Views Evolve Amid Presidential Run. Faced with criticism over his past positions on marijuana, former New York City mayor and Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg has now come out in support of decriminalization, which still leaves him lagging behind most of the Democratic pack. "He believes no one should have their life ruined by getting arrested for possession, and, as a part of his reform efforts that drove incarceration down by 40 percent, he worked to get New York State laws changed to end low-level possession arrests," a spokesman said. "He believes in decriminalization and doesn’t believe the federal government should interfere with states that have already legalized."

Maine Says All Marijuana Licenses are Now Available. More than three years after voters legalized marijuana, the state has finally made available all applications for marijuana cultivation, products manufacturing and retail facilities. That means the state could see pot shops open by the spring.

Michigan Pot Shops Forced to Impose Purchase Limits as Demand Overwhelms. High customer volume is forcing marijuana retailers to limit purchases so there will be enough weed to go around. The four shops that opened Sunday saw combined sales of $221,000 that first day. Each of the four shops has had to turn customers away, too. Some customers waited as long as four hours to get inside.

Medical Marijuana

Florida Senator Introduces Bill Providing Broad Employment Protections to Medical Marijuana Users. A bill recently introduced by state Sen. Lori Berman (D) Would provide various protections to job applicants and employees who use medical marijuana. The measure is Senate Bill 962.

Harm Reduction

Andrew Yang Calls for Investments in Safe Injection Sites. Entrepreneur and Democratic presidential contender Andrew Yang says he supports government funding for safe injections sites as part of an effort to counter the country's overdose epidemic. "I would not only decriminalize opiates for personal use but I would also invest in safe consumption sites around the country," Yang said Thursday.

(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.)

House, Senate Bills to Schedule "Tranq" Filed; KY MedMJ Bill Faces Crucial Votes Today, More...(3/30/23)

A State Department drug diplomat heads to Mexico City, the Missouri House gives initial approval to a therapeutic psilocybin study bill, and more.

Shops like this could be popping up soon in Kentucky if a medical marijuana bill passes today. (Creative Commons)
Medical Marijuana

Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill Advances in House. A bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, Senate Bill 47, that has already passed the Senate advanced in the House Wednesday just ahead of the final day of the legislative session today. To pass this session, the bill must now clear the House Licensing, Occupations & Administrative Regulations Committee and then pass a House floor vote today. If it does, the bill will go to the desk of Gov. Steve Beshear (D).

Psychedelics

Missouri House Approves Therapeutic Psychedelic Study Bill. The House has voted to approve House Bill 1154, which would require the state to conduct a study on using psilocybin for treating depression, substance use, or in end-of-life care. The bill still needs a final housekeeping vote in the House, but passed overwhelmingly this time. The bill would mandate that the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) provide grants totaling $2 million for the research, subject to lawmakers approving the appropriation. The state would work with a medical center operated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs or with a state university hospital.

Drug Policy

House and Senate Bills Filed to Schedule Xylazine. A bipartisan bill to schedule the animal tranquilizer xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance was filed in both the House and Senate on Tuesday. The drug, known colloquially as " tranq," is a powerful sedative and the subject of growing concern over its use by opiate and opioid users. While it has opioid-like sedative effects, it is not an opioid, so it does not respond to opiate overdose reversal drugs such as naloxone. It has been associated with soft-tissue wounds and necrosis that can lead to amputation. The DEA recently warned that "xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier."

Foreign Policy

Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs  Todd D. Robinson Travels to Mexico City. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Todd D. Robinson will travel to Mexico City, Mexico March 28-31 to open the U.S.-Mexico Synthetic Drug Conference and meet with INL’s partners in justice and law enforcement. The conference, co-hosted by INL and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will take place March 29-30, and will be attended by Assistant Secretary Robinson and Ambassador Kenneth Salazar, with recorded remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  The conference will focus on strengthening U.S.-Mexico bilateral cooperation to counter the health and security threats posed by illicit synthetic drugs. While in Mexico, Assistant Secretary Robinson will also hold meetings with Mexican government officials to discuss shared security goals.

International

Suspected ELN Militants Kill 9 Colombian Soldiers Near Venezuelan Border. At least nine soldier were killed and nine more injured in an attack on a military post in the state of Norte de Santander Wednesday. The military said it believed leftist rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) carried out the attack. The ELN is among a number of armed groups involved in the cocaine trade but has also been involved in peace talks with the government of left-wing President Gustavo Petro. If the ELN is shown to have carried out the attack, that could seriously complicate his effort to bring "total peace" to the country. Whoever carried out the attack is "absolutely far from peace and the people," Petro said. 

DE Legal Pot Bills Go to Governor, FDA Approves OTC Naloxone, More... (3/29/23)

A North Carolina marijuana legalization bill has been filed, more New York regions have been cleared to license marijuana businesses, and more.

Naloxone nasal sprays will be available OTC by late summer, the FDA has announced. (Creative Commons)
Delaware Marijuana Legalization Bills Go to Governor. The Senate has approved a pair of bills that would legalize marijuana (House Bill 1) and regulate legal marijuana commerce (House Bill 2), sending the package to the desk of Gov. John Carney (D), who vetoed similar legislation last year. This year, both the House and the Senate passed the bills by veto-proof majorities. The package would legalize the possession of up to an ounce by people 21 and over, as well as create a regulatory framework that would allow for up to 30 pot shops. Retails sales would be taxed at 15 percent. After passage of the bills, the governor's office said he remained "concerned" by marijuana legalization. 

New York Able to Issue More Recreational Marijuana Licenses After Court Ruling. A ruling from the US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal has cleared the way for state officials to issue recreational marijuana licenses in Brooklyn, central New York, the mid-Hudson region, and central New York. Licensing in those regions had been blocked by a temporarily restraining order issued on behalf of a Michigan entrepreneur who challenged the state's licensing system that aims to put the first round of licenses into the hands of people who had prior marijuana convictions or whose relatives did. His lawsuit charges that policy violates constitutional interstate commerce protections. That temporary restraining order has now been limited to the Finger lakes region. Licensing in nine other areas of the state, including the rest of New York City was not impacted by the lawsuit or the injunction.

North Carolina Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed. A measure to legalize marijuana, Senate Bill 346, was filed late last week. The bill would legalize the possession of up to two ounces and would allow for up to six plants to be grown for personal use. It would also create a taxed and regulated system of legal marijuana commerce, with a state retail tax of 20 percent and localities being able to add another three percent. A quarter of marijuana tax and fee revenues would go to a "community reinvestment and repair fund," while another 10 percent would go to a social equity fund and half would go to the state general fund. It would also include "the automatic expunction of certain marijuana offenses." The bill's seven sponsors are all Democrats. It is now before the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations.

Harm Reduction

Food and Drug Administration Approves Narcan Without a Prescription. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday that the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan) can now be sold over the counter (OTC). It is a move long sought by public health officials and harm reductionists who hope that it can help reduce the nation's opioid overdose death toll. OTC naloxone should be available on store shelfs in big box chains, supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations, as well as online and in vending machines by late summer. "Today’s approval of OTC naloxone nasal spray will help improve access to naloxone, increase the number of locations where it’s available and help reduce opioid overdose deaths throughout the country," FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said. "We encourage the manufacturer to make accessibility to the product a priority by making it available as soon as possible and at an affordable price."

DEA Warns on Fentanyl Laced with "Tranq," Taliban Bans Marijuana Cultivation, More... (3/21/23)

That Minnesota marijuana legalization bill keeps rolling toward final passage, Colombia's president suspends a ceasefire with a rightist drug trafficking group, and more.

Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akundzada announced on ban on cannabis cultivation Sunday. (CC)
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Again, with Big Amendment. The House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee has approved the marijuana legalization bill, House File100, but only after members accepted an amendment that overhauls various aspects of the bill—mainly at the request of marijuana industry players. The industry is operating under a law enacted last years that allows low-THC edibles, and the amendment eliminates some of regulations in the current bill that don’t make sense in the low-dose hemp market. The Senate adopted a similar amendment last week, but there are differences that will have to be resolved in conference committee. For instance, the House bill now has a lower personal possession limit than the Senate bill and is more expansive when it comes to who qualifies as a social equity license applicant.

Opiates and Opioids

DEA Reports Widespread Threat of Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine. The DEA is "warning the American public of a sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine. Xylazine, also known as "Tranq," is a powerful sedative that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for veterinary use. "Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier," said Administrator Milgram. "DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine." Xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. Because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) does not reverse its effects. Still, experts always recommend administering naloxone if someone might be suffering a drug poisoning. People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation"

.[Editor's Note: This sounds like a good argument for a "safe drug supply," or a "legal and regulated supply of drugs with mind/body altering properties, as the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs put it in their "Safe Supply: Concept Document."]

International

Taliban Announces Ban on Marijuana Cultivation. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada announced on Sunday issued an official order prohibition marijuana cultivation across the country. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan is the world's second largest cannabis producer, after Morocco. The ban includes non-psychoactive hemp. "Cultivation in the whole country is completely banned and if anyone grows them, the plantation will be destroyed. The courts have also been ordered to punish the violators as per Sharia laws,"the statement reads.

Colombia President Suspends Ceasefire with Gulf Clan. President Gustavo Petro on Sunday suspended a ceasefire with the Gulf Clan, the country's biggest drug trafficking organization, after accusing it of attacking civilians. "I ordered the security forces to resume all military operations against the Gulf Clan,"he said on Twitter. "I will not allow them to keep sowing distress and terror in the communities,"Petro added. At the end of last year, Petro had declared a bilateral ceasefire with several armed drug trafficking groups, including the Gulf Clan, as well as the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents. It was the first step in Petro's "total peace" plan to end decades of violence through negotiation with the criminal groups. The Gulf Clan consist of former rightist paramilitaries and is estimated to control between 30 percent and 60 percent of the drugs exported from the country.

Peru Clash with Shining Path Remnants in Coca Valley Leaves Six Dead. Five Shining Path members and one army soldier were killed in a clash between the remnants of the 1980s leftist Shining Path insurgency and a military patrol in a coca-growing valley in the VRAE (Valleys of the Apurimac and Ene Rivers). The army patrol was looking for Victor Quispe Palomino, alias Comrade Jose. They didn't find him. Since the Shining Path was defeated militarily in the early 1990s, remnants of the group have remained in coca-growing areas in the VRAE where they are allied to cocaine trafficking groups. 

Global Drug Executions Jumped Last Year, the Border Bomb That Wasn't, More... (3/17/23)

Medical marijuana is killed in Kansas but survives in Kentucky, cocaine production hits an all-time high, and more.

The border "bomb" turned out to be a ball stuffed with sand wrapped in duct tape. (CBP)
Medical Marijuana

Kansas GOP Lawmakers Kill Medical Marijuana Bill. Medical marijuana is dead for this session after Republicans in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee voted to "table" the medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 135. Both Democrats on the committee voted to keep the bill alive. The vote came after two days of hearings on the bill, including a full opposition slate of Republican state leaders, health officials, and law enforcement on Thursday.

Kentucky Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill. On the last day to keep the bill alive, the Senate voted Thursday to approve a medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 47. The bill allows for the use of medical marijuana for a list of specified medical conditions, but does not allow for smokeable marijuana. It does set up a system of taxed and regulated medical marijuana production and sales. The House could vote on the bill when the legislature returns for a one-day session at the end of the month.

Foreign Policy

Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims Cartels Left Bomb at Border; It Was a Ball of Sand. MAGA political arsonist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told her two million Twitter followers Wednesday that Mexican drug cartels had planted bombs on US soil at the border to terrorize Americans and kill or injure Border Patrol agents. She posted a picture of what turned out to be a ball stuffed with sand and covered with duct tape and claimed it was "explosive" and a "bomb," adding that "this changes everything" and calling on the US military to "take action" and "end this Cartel led war against America!" But Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz quickly shot down Greene's incendiary claim, tweeting that "During a Jan. briefing, leadership was notified that Agents found a duct-taped ball filled with sand that wasn't deemed a threat to agents/public." Greene has not deleted her post and instead doubled-down on her theory in response to the fact check. "That’s not what the border patrol agents are telling me," she retorted on Twitter. But the "bomb" is still just a bag of sand.

Harm Reduction

Mississippi Governor Signs Fentanyl Test Strip Decriminalization Bill into Law. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has signed into law House Bill 722, which decriminalizes fentanyl test strips by removing them from the state's definition of drug paraphernalia. Use of the strips is aimed primarily at reducing drug overdoses by letting users know what is in their drug supply. As Reeves signed the bill into law, he could not resist taking a jab at the Biden administration: "I’ve signed HB 722 which decriminalizes fentanyl testing strips," he said. "It’s a sad reality that fentanyl overdoses are skyrocketing as a result of an open border." In reality, .fentanyl's role in fatal drug overdoses began about a decade ago and has increased steadily through both the Trump and the Biden administrations.

International

Cocaine Production at Highest Level Ever, UNODC Says. In a new report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) finds that cocaine production is at its highest level ever as demand rebounded after the pandemic and new trafficking hubs emerged. Production rose a whopping 35 percent between 2021 and 2022, at least in part because of innovations in cultivating the coca plant and in converting coca leaf into cocaine. "The Covid-19 pandemic had a disruptive effect on drug markets. With international travel severely curtailed, producers struggled to get their product to market. Night clubs and bars were shut as officials ramped up their attempts to control the virus, causing demand to slump for drugs like cocaine," the report said. "However, the most recent data suggests this slump has had little impact on longer-term trends. The global supply of cocaine is at record levels," it said. UNODC said nearly 2,000 tons of cocaine were produced in 2020, a continuation of a "dramatic uptick in manufacture that began in 2014, when the total was less than half of today’s levels."

Last Year Saw a Surge in Drug Executions Worldwide. The number of people executed for drug offenses surged in 2022, according to a new report from drug policy reform group Harm Reduction International (HRI). The 1 cited at least 285 executions for drug offenses last year, more than double the 131 people executed in 2021. The number of people being handed out death sentences for drug offenses also grew, with at least 303 people in 18 countries facing the ultimate sanction. That is a 28 percent increase over 2021. The number of people currently on death row for drugs globally is now more than 3,700. HRI warned that the figures are low-balled because of the extreme secrecy surrounding the death penalty in countries that frequently resort to it, such as China, North Korea, and Vietnam.  

Sheriffs' Group Call on Congress to Act Against Cartels, DE Legal Pot Bill Advances, More... (3/16/23)

The Texas Senate has approved a bill raising fentanyl penalties, a Delaware Senate committee advances a pair of marijuana legalization and regulation bills, and more.

Fentanyl. Texas is the latest state to experiment with charging sellers with murder if an overdose happens. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Delaware Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization, Regulation Bills. Marijuana legalization is one step closer after the Senate Health and Social Services Committee approved a pair of House bills that would legalize marijuana ( House Bill 1) and regulate legal marijuana commerce (House Bill 2). Last year,a similarly bifurcated legalization effort came up short, with the House failing to pass the regulation bill and Gov. John Carney (D) vetoed the legalization bill. But this year, House bill sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski (D) says he is "optimistic" and feels "pretty good" about being able to override any veto. Meanwhile, HB 1 now heads for a Senate floor vote, while HB 2 must first get past the Senate Finance  Committee.

Drug Policy

Texas Senate Approves Bill to Increase Fentanyl Penalties. The Senate on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 645, which would open the door for prosecutors to charge people who make and sell fentanyl with murder. The bill does so by classifying fentanyl overdoses as "poisonings." The bill would also make delivery of less than one gram of fentanyl a third-degree felony. It is currently a lower-level state jail felony. If someone dies because of that delivery, it becomes a second-degree felony. State jail felonies have a maximum sentence of two years, third-degree felonies garner up to 10 years, and second-degree felonies can earn up to 20 years. The bill now heads to the House.

Foreign Policy

National Sheriff's Association Calls on Congress to Take Immediate Action Against Mexican Cartels. In the wake of the killing of two US citizens in Matamoros, Mexico, last weekend and the ongoing fentanyl overdose crisis, an association representing some 3,000 county sheriffs is calling on Congress to act now against Mexican drug cartels. "The nation’s sheriffs strongly support the American people’s continued demand that our federal government use whatever means appropriate to combat these deadly cartels," Sheriff Jim Skinner, chair of the National Sheriffs’ Association Government Affairs Committee, said in a statement. The group is calling on Congress to use its authority to create a "comprehensive system of further manpower and other tools that prevent any illicit drugs from being produced, smuggled and sold on American streets." Some members of Congress have been calling for more action, including designated the cartels as foreign terrorist organization and even calling for US military action inside Mexico. 

DE House Approves Marijuana Regulation Bill, Federal Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed, More... (3/10/23)

Nevada lawmakers filed a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, bipartisan senators file a federal asset forfeiture reform bill, and more.

Mexican President Lopez Obrador flatly rejects calls from GOP lawmakers for US military force in Mexico. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Delaware House Passes Legal Marijuana Regulation Bill. The House on Thursday voted 27-13 to approve House Bill 2, which would set up a regulatory framework for adult-use marijuana sales. The move comes just days after the House approved House Bill 1, which would legalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for adults. Last year, the legislature passed marijuana legalization, only to see it vetoed by Gov. John Carney (D). This year, however, HB 1 passed with a veto-proof majority, and HB 2 passed with one fewer vote with one member absent. That single vote is the difference between a veto-proof majority and a lack of one. The bills must now pass the Senate being going to the governor.

Psychedelics

Nevada Magic Mushroom Legalization Bill Filed. State Sens. Rochelle Nguyen (D) and Fabian Donate (D) filed Senate Bill 242 Thursday. The measure would legalize the possession of up to four ounces of fungi containing psilocybin or psilocyn, the hallucinogenic compounds in magic mushrooms. The bill would also allow a research facility to ask for state approval to study the therapeutic effects of magic mushrooms as well as MDMA for mental health conditions. The bill also has two joint sponsors in the lower chamber, Assemblymembers Max Carter (D) and Elaine Marzola (D). It is currently pending in the Senate Health and Humau Services Committee.

Asset Forfeiture

Bipartisan Federal Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed. US Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)  and Tim Walberg (R-MI) on Thursday reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act), a comprehensive reform to our nation's civil asset forfeiture laws. The FAIR Act raises the level of proof necessary for the federal government to seize property, reforms the IRS structuring statute to protect innocent small business owners, and increases transparency and congressional oversight. Joining Walberg and Raskin as original co-sponsors of the FAIR Act are Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Joe Neguse (D-CO). "The lawless seizure and ‘forfeiture’ of people’s private property by police officers is becoming standard operating procedure in many parts of the country," said Rep. Raskin. "We want to restore the presumption of innocence, fair judicial process, and the opportunity to be heard. I’m proud to introduce this important bipartisan legislation with my friend Rep. Walberg to rein in civil asset forfeiture and restore due process rights."

International

International Narcotics Control Board Warns on Marijuana Legalization. As it launched its annual report Thursday, the International Narcotics Control Board issued a press release emphasizing its concerns with marijuana legalization. "Moves by a small number of governments to legalize the non-medical use of cannabis have led to increased consumption without explaining the potentially serious health dangers that users face from the drug" the INCB warned. That is leading to "negative health effects and psychotic disorders," the drug watchdog continued. In all jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, data show that cannabis-related health problems have increased," INCB said. It pointed out that between 2000 and 2018, "global medical admissions related to cannabis dependence and withdrawal increased eight-fold. Admissions for cannabis-related psychotic disorders have quadrupled worldwide."

Mexico President Tells GOP Lawmakers Urging US Military Force Against Cartels in Mexico to Take a Hike. Aiming directly at Republican lawmakers who have urged the Biden administration to unleash the US military against Mexican drug cartels on their own territory, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday flatly rejected the notion. "We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene and much less foreign armed forces to intervene in our territory," López Obrador said, adding that he would ask Americans of Mexican and Hispanic origin not to vote for Republicans if their "aggression" continued. Lopez Obrador also downplayed Mexico's role in fentanyl production and said Americans needed to solve their drug problem on their side of the border. Pressure to do something about the cartels has only risen as the US overdose death toll has risen and was ratcheted up this week by the kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros, two of whom were shot and killed by members of a Gulf Cartel-affiliated gang. 

DOJ Now Accepting Pot Pardon Applications, OR House OKs Naloxone Expansion, More... (3/7/23)

The Justice Department signals it will appeal a federal court ruling invalidating the federal ban on guns for pot users, Colombia calls for coca leaf decriminalization, and more.

Naloxone opioid overdose reversal kit. The Oregon House has voted to expand access to them. (hr.org)
Marijuana Policy

Justice Department Now Accepting Applications for Pardons for Federal Marijuana Possession Offenders. Nearly five months after President Biden called for pardons for federal marijuana possession offenders, the Justice Department has begun accepting applications for those pardons. The move comes after a series of friendly public statement from the administration about the drug from both Attorney General Garland and the president. Last week, Garland said that Justice is working on a review of marijuana policy, and just days before that, President Biden mentioned the pardons in a Black History Month speech, saying "too many minorities are in prison" for marijuana use.

Justice Department Appeals Federal Court Ruling Striking Down Gun Ban for Marijuana Users. The Justice Department last Friday filed paperwork in US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma informing the court that it intends to appeal a judge's ruling there that found unconstitutional the federal prohibition on gun ownership for marijuana users. The Friday filing did not make a substantive argument but served primarily as a notification that an appeal was coming. In that district court ruling, Trump-appointed Judge Patrick Wyrick held that a recent Supreme Court ruling where the high court created a higher standard for policies that aim to restrict gun rights made the ban on gun possession unconstitutional.

Oklahoma Votes on Marijuana Legalization Today. In an election with no other issues or races on the ballot, voters will decide whether or not to approve a marijuana legalization initiative, State Question 820. The measure is opposed by law enforcement and most of the state's Republican political establishment. It would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and eight grams of marijuana concentrates and grow up to six plants and six seedlings at home. It also protects parents from losing custody or visitation rights solely because of marijuana use and states that parolees and probationers cannot be punished for marijuana use. Nor could the odor of marijuana or burnt marijuana be used as probable cause for police to infer that a crime had been committed. And it includes a provision for the expungement of some past marijuana offenses. It also sets a 15 percent excise tax on retail marijuana sales.

Medical Marijuana

South Dakota House Approves Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill. In a narrow vote, the House on Monday approved Senate Bill 1, which expands the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use to include people afflicted with cancer, epilepsy, MS, ALS, PTSD, Crohn’s disease, aids, and HIV. The bill has already passed the Senate, but must go back for one more concurrence vote because it was modified in the House. If it wins that vote, it would then go to the desk of Gov. Kristi Noem (R).

Harm Reduction

Oregon House Approves Bill to Expand Naloxone Access. The House has approved a bill to more widely distribute the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan), House Bill 2395, on a vote of 48-9. The bill declares a health emergency and will make overdose reversal kits available in libraries, churches, and other public buildings. It also allows police, firefighters, and EMTs to distribute the kits to drug users and their friends and family members, and it decriminalizes fentanyl test strips. The bill now heads to the Senate.

International

Colombia Vice President Calls for Coca Leaf Decriminalization at UN. Vice President Francia Marquez used an address at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to petition for the decriminalization of the coca leaf in the country's indigenous territories. "The time has come to sincerely put the debate on decriminalizing the use of coca leaf in ethnic and indigenous territories, continuing to criminalize the use of coca leaf will not allow Colombia to achieve total peace," she said. "Because we know that it has been this criminal, racial policy that has us as peoples suffering terrible humanitarian crises, it is the drug trafficking imposed from that criminal policy that today is generating armed conflicts in ethnic territories." Colombia will join Bolivia in petitioning the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs to remove coca leaf from its list of prohibited substances. 

Meth-Related Deaths Skyrocketed in 20 Years, MS Bill Would Ban "Gas Station Heroin," More... (2/22/23)

The Minnesota marijuana legalization bill continues to advance, so does a North Carolina medical marijuana bill, and more.

Products containing the unscheduled anti-depressant tianeptin, AKA "gas station heroin." (WZDK screen grab)
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins One More Committee Vote. The bill, House File 100, won its 10th House committee vote Tuesday, passing out of the House Finance and Policy Committee. Meanwhile, the companion bill in the Senate is before the Health and Human Services Committee, which acted on several amendments but ran out of time before finishing its work on the bill for the day.

Medical Marijuana

North Carolina Medical Marijuana Bill Advances in Senate. A year after the Senate approved a medical marijuana bill only to see it die in the House, the bill, Senate Bill 3, is back and moving again. The measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The bill now heads to two more committees, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Rules and Operations Committee before heading for a Senate floor vote. Although the House last year declined to take up the measure, the Republican House Speaker, Rep. Tim Moore, has suggested that the bill could pass with "the right restrictions." The bill would allow medical marijuana for a list of specified medical conditions and an advisory board could expand that list.  

Anti-Depressants

Mississippi Bill Would Ban Anti-Depressant Known as "Gas Station Heroin." The anti-depressant drug tianeptine, which works as an opioid agonist, is being sold as a "dietary supplement" in pill form in products such as Za Za and Tianaa. The drug is not sold as a pharmaceutical product or scheduled in the US, but a bill that would ban it, House Bill 4 has passed the House and is pending in the Senate. It would make it a schedule one drug, effectively banning it. Some state residents blame it for deaths, although it is unclear whether it is actually to blame.

Methamphetamine

Meth-Related Deaths Skyrocketed in Past 20 Years, But Most Also Involved Opioids. A new study from the University of Illinois finds that methamphetamine-related deaths increased a staggering 50-fold between 1999 and 2021, but that most of those deaths also involved heroin or fentanyl. In 1999, 608 deaths were attributed to meth. By 2021, the number had skyrocketed to nearly 52,400. In 2021, 61 percentof fatal meth overdoses also involved heroin or fentanyl, "The staggering increase in methamphetamine-related deaths in the United States is largely now driven by the co-involvement of street opioids," said lead researcher Rachel Hoopsick, an assistant professor of epidemiology at UI. "Mixing methamphetamine and opioids isn’t a new phenomenon. Although there has been an increase in the popularity of using these types of substances together, what has truly changed is the toxicity of the unregulated street drug supply, predominantly of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. I believe that this is the primary driver of the increase in deaths."

Biden Lays Out Plan to Tackle Fentanyl, Myanmar Meth Production, More... (2/8/23)

That Minnesota marijuana legalization bill keeps advancing, another senator joins the call for the drug czar to be reinstated to a cabinet-level position, and more.

The president used his state of the union address to lay out a plan to fight fentanyl and opioid overdoses. (whitehouse.gov)
Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins Yet Another Committee Vote. The marijuana legalization bill continues to advance, with the House version, House File 100, winning its seventh committee vote Tuesday in a voice vote at the Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill won its fourth committee vote earlier in the week. But after all those committee votes, the bills are still only about halfway through the committee process. Still, Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz (D) are confident the measure will become law before the summer is over.

Drug Policy

At State of the Union, Biden Lays Out Plan to Tackle Fentanyl and Opioid Overdose Epidemic. President Biden outlined his plan "to beat the opioid epidemic" by "disrupting the trafficking, distribution, and sale of fentanyl." That will include increased enforcement at points of entry, intercepting more packages of fentanyl coming through package delivery companies, working diplomatically to address the supply chain abroad, and increasing penalties for fentanyl suppliers. Biden also calling for "expanding access to evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery," by delivering more naloxone, ensuring there is more drug treatment in jails and prisons, and expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder.

Another Senator Joins Call for Drug Czar to Be Reinstated as Cabinet Officer. Sen Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has joined the list of senators and representatives calling on the Biden administration to restore the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP—the drug czar's office) to a cabinet-level position. "Elevating the post would enable ONDCP to more effectively coordinate drug control efforts across federal agencies and enhance the Biden administration’s response the opioid epidemic, a public health crisis that killsmore than 100,000 Americans each year." She joins Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), a member of the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, and Representatives David Trone (D-MD), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Annie Kuster (D-NH), co-chairs of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, who sent a letter to the White House last week urging the drug czar's reinstatement.

International

Myanmar Now a Leading Methamphetamine Producer. Long known for its opium production, Myanmar is now a leading global producer of methamphetamine, according to academic researchers, who cite massive meth seizures in the region (more than 170 tons) and point to armed groups who used to rely on opium revenues switching to meth production after government crackdowns on the poppy. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime puts the value of the regional meth trade at $61 billion a year, and the researchers say organized crime groups are trafficking Myanmar meth to "high value markets," such as Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. 

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