A bipartisan marijuana legalization bill is filed in Pennsylvania, New York puts legal weed sales at farmers markets on hold, and more.

A farmers market. There is no weed for sale at New York farmers markets -- at least not yet. (Pixabay)

Senate SAFE Banking Act Committee Vote Could Come This Month. Key senators have said they want to hold a vote on the long-awaited Safe and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S. 1323) this month as the Senate reconvenes after the 4th of July holiday. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said he would "like" to hold a vote this month but that "it depends" on whether unrelated bills the committee has already passed make it to a Senate floor vote.

Similarly, bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said legislators were "going to do a deep plunge now and try to set the stage, hopefully, for a markup when we return from break."

The bill, which repeatedly passed the House in previous years only to die in the Senate, would provide state-legal marijuana businesses with access to the financial system. Currently, the industry must deal almost exclusively with cash, leaving workers and owners vulnerable to theft and robbery.

New York Governor Delays Plan to Allow Legal Weed Sales at Farmers Markets. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is pausing a program to allow licensed marijuana growers and retailers to sell marijuana at farmers markets before it even got started. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) had announced the plan last month as part of an effort to help legal growers sitting on a mountain of weed -- more than 300,000 pounds -- because of the extreme slowness of opening up state-licensed retail outlets. Only 16 retailers and delivery services are open across the state.

But the Hochul administration made clear Wednesday that farmers market sales were not happening yet. "We are committed to the success of New York's equitable cannabis industry, and are always open to considering opportunities to strengthen the program. No final decisions have been made with respect to farmers markets," said Office of Cannabis Management spokesman Aaron Ghitelman.

The industry isn't happy: "The failure to roll out the farmer's market program is just the latest in OCM's long list of broken promises," said Rev. Kirsten John Foy, spokesman for the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis. OCM has been ineffective at every turn; growers, CAURD licensees, disabled veterans, workers, consumers, medical cannabis patients and individuals harmed by cannabis prohibition are paying the price for its ineptitude -- all while the illicit market booms."

Pennsylvania State Senators File Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R-49) and Sharif Street (D-3) have introduced bipartisan legislation, Senate Bill 846, to legalize adult use of marijuana in Pennsylvania.

"Legalized adult use of marijuana is supported by an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians and this legislation accomplishes that while also ensuring safety and social equity," said Laughlin. "With neighboring states New Jersey and New York implementing adult use, we have a duty to Pennsylvania taxpayers to legalize adult-use marijuana to avoid losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars of new tax revenue and thousands of new jobs."

The legislation would grant licenses to sell marijuana to social and economic equity applicants while providing room for new and existing licensees to ensure demand in Pennsylvania is met. Moreover, it expunges non-violent marijuana convictions for medical marijuana patients, which has also been championed in a bipartisan fashion, and goes further to expunge all nonviolent marijuana convictions.

Harm Reduction

Delaware Begins Pilot Program to Test for Both Fentanyl and Xylazine. State health officials have launched a pilot program to test substances for the presence of both fentanyl and xylazine, the veterinary tranquilizer known as "tranq" that has now made its way into unregulated drug markets. The testing strips used detect the presence of either drug.

The test strip is the new HARMGuard FX test strip and cost about $3 each -- although the price could go down with bulk orders. The state initially ordered 500 of the test strips.

A federal bill to fund university research on medical maerijuana gets filed, a federal asset forfeiture reform bill moves, and more.

Overdose deaths are prompting old punitive responses and possible new, more effective responses. (Pixabay)

SAFE Banking Act to Get Senate Committee Vote Within Weeks, Chairman Says. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has said that the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S. 1323) would get a committee vote within weeks. "We’re looking at markup on the fentanyl issue, the executive compensation issue, and the Safe Banking Act issue and we want to do all that in the next two or three weeks,"Brown said.

The bill would give state-legal marijuana businesses access to the American banking system. Previous efforts to advance the bill stalled in the last few congressional sessions. But Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) refiled the bill in their respective chambers in April.

Medical Marijuana

New Federal Bill Would Appropriate Millions for Medical Marijuana Research. This week Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) and Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced the Higher Education Marijuana Research Act of 2023, legislation that would eliminate obstacles to the academic research of cannabis, protect universities and researchers who study it, and promote the responsible study of marijuana.

While 38 states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use and 23 states including Nevada and Colorado have legalized it for recreational use, myriad federal rules and regulations create barriers to academic research. The bill would establish a new grant program within the National Institutes of Health to fund studies assessing cannabis’ medical benefits. It would appropriate up to $150 million in federal funding for university-sponsored medical cannabis research. The legislation also permits academic institutions to purchase state-licensed cannabis products for the purpose of "biological, chemical, agricultural, or public health research."

Asset Forfeiture

House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Approves Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government on Tuesday voted to advance the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act of 2023 (HR 1525). The bill passed the subcommittee with bipartisan support and now awaits a full committee vote.

The bill would require that before seizing cash or property law enforcement show "a substantial connection between the property and the offense" and that the owner "used the property with intent to facilitate the offense" or "knowingly consented or was willfully blind to the use of the property by another in connection with the offense."

The bill would also eliminate the "equitable sharing" program under which state and local law enforcement agencies circumvent state asset forfeiture laws by turning cases over to the feds, who return 85 percent of the proceeds to the state or local law enforcement agency. And it would require that seizures be approved by a federal judge, not an administrative agency, such as the DEA, and that any funds go to the Treasury's general fund, not the fund of the seizing agency.

Drug Policy                                                       

Wisconsin Legislature Approves Bill to Increase Penalties in Overdose Deaths. With a final vote in the Assembly Wednesday, the legislature has approved a bill that increases maximum prison sentences for people who produce or sell drugs that cause another person's death, Senate Bill101. The bill would increase the maximum penalty from 25 years to 40 years in prison and increase the maximum period of supervision from 15 years to 20 years.

The bill comes as the state reported a record high number of overdose deaths in 2021 and easily passed both chambers. The only opposition to the bill comes from the ACLU of Wisconsin

"While reducing rates of overdose deaths is certainly an urgent priority, SB 101 won't alleviate the crisis," ACLU of Wisconsin policy analyst Jon McCray Jones said. "An extensive body of research - as well as our own lived experiences - tells us that punitive drug laws don't reduce drug use, substance abuse disorder, or overdoses."

Law Enforcement

. A new study found that when law enforcement agencies seize illicit opioids, fatal overdoses in the vicinity of the seizure increase over the next three weeks.

"This casts doubt on the core assumption of state and federal drug policy and suggests that police officers intending to protect the public’s health and safety may be inadvertently exacerbating harms such as fatal overdose," the study’s authors wrote.

The report does not say that drug raids caused the uptick in overdoses, but one of the study’s authors laid out a potential reasoning in a tweet: a person addicted to drugs does not simply stop using because police disrupt their supply. Instead, they go into withdrawal. They get more and more desperate, more willing to acquire drugs from dealers they don’t know. By the time they get new drugs, their tolerance likely decreased, putting them at risk of an overdose.

"Unknown tolerance, unknown potency, reduced risk aversion, and no margin for error in safely dosing fentanyl can all lead to increased fatal overdose observed in our study," Brandon del Pozo, an assistant professor of health services, policy and practice and an assistant professor of research at Brown University, wrote on Twitter.

Almost 1 million people have died from an overdose across the US in the past 20 years. The report proposes forming public safety partnerships where organizations can step in and assist people who use drugs after police perform a seizure; such groups could provide overdose prevention services, outreach and refer people to care.

"As drug markets become less predictable and morbidity and mortality among people who use drugs increases, it is critical that communities not only create low barrier access to evidence-based treatment but also implement harm reduction strategies that directly address supply-side drivers of accidental overdose," the report reads. "Naloxone distribution, drug-checking, and overdose prevention sites are strategies first developed and implemented by people who use drugs that can be facilitated or enhanced by law enforcement cooperation through exceptions or ‘carve-outs’ of drug criminalization to protect public health."

A Louisiana pot poll shows strong support for legalization, a California bill to allow pot shops to sell food and drink as well is moving in the Assembly, and more.

The Swiss capital, Bern, wants to start a pilot program of supervised cocaine sales. (Pixabay)

California Assembly Approves Bill to Allow Marijuana Cafes. The Assembly last week approved Assembly Bill 374, which would allow weed retailers to offer food and drinks if they receive local approval. Alcohol sales and tobacco smoking would continue to be prohibited. The bill from Assemblymember Matt Haney (D) passes overwhelmingly on a 59-9 vote and now heads to the Senate.

"The legal cannabis industry is struggling," Haney said on the floor. "Issues like an over-saturation, high taxes and thriving black market are hurting cannabis businesses who follow the rules and pay taxes. AB 374 allows local governments to authorize the preparation and sale of non-cannabis foods and soft drinks at licensed cannabis consumption lounges," he said. "To be clear this does not allow coffee shops to sell cannabis. It allows cannabis shops to sell coffee with pre-approval from local governments. It shouldn’t be illegal for an existing cannabis business to move away from only selling marijuana and instead have the opportunity to grow, thrive and create jobs by offering coffee or live jazz. Ironically, how the law is written now, we require cannabis shops to only sell drugs," Haney said. "We believe that if these businesses want to move away from that model and sell muffins and coffee, they should be able to do that. This will support our small businesses, with local government autonomy."

Louisiana Poll Has Strong Support for Marijuana Legalization. A new poll from Louisiana State University has 70 percent of respondents saying they support legalizing the possession of "small amounts" of marijuana and 90 percent saying they support medical marijuana. Pollsters said the poll revealed a "substantial increase over the past decade in support for legalizing marijuana for recreational use."

The state has a limited medical marijuana program and decriminalized the possession of up to a half ounce in 2021, but efforts to move forward with legalization have gone nowhere in the legislature so far.

Psychedelics

Nevada Assembly Committee Approves Psychedelic Working Group Bill. A bill to create a working group to study psychedelics and develop plans to allow for regulated access for therapeutic purposes that has already passed the Senate, Senate Bill 242, passed is first Assembly hurtle last Friday, winning approval from the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee. It now heads for an Assembly floor vote.

When introduced, the bill had language legalizing psilocybin and promoting research into the psychedelic, but it was amended in the Senate to now have only the working group, which would examine the use of psychedelics "in medicinal, therapeutic, and improved wellness."

Drug Policy

Pennsylvania Temporarily Makes "Tranq" Drug Xylazine a Controlled Substance. Responding to the spread of the veterinary tranquillizer xylazine into the illicit street drug market, along with the lesions it creates on users and its danger (it is often mixed with opioids but does not respond to naloxone), the Department of Health has moved to limit access to the drug by temporarily listing it as a Schedule III substance. Placing xylazine on Schedule III—as opposed to just banning it—preserves legitimate use by veterinarians and farmers.

"This action will protect veterinarians and other legitimate users and manufacturers of xylazine, which is an important medication for animal sedation, while also creating penalties for people who add illicit xylazine to the drug supply that is harming people in our communities," said Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen . "Our focus remains on developing strategies that help connect people with substance use disorder to treatment and other resources." 

International

Swiss Capital City Wants Pilot Program for Cocaine Sales. The city parliament has voted 43-18 to approve a motion from the Alternative Left to extend a pilot program with marijuana sales to include cocaine sales. The marijuana pilot program is set to begin this fall. City parliamentarians said supervised sales could lead to better control of the stimulant drug.

A similar proposal was narrowly rejected by the Bern parliament in 2019, but this year's version was more restrictive, winning enough support from the Social Democrats to get the measure passed—and send a strong signal to the federal government about where the capital city wants to go. 

A bid to condemn Canada's safe supply drug policy in British Columbia fails in Parliament, Vermont's governor signs an overdose prevention omnibus bill into law, and more.

An Ohio appeals court has ruled that pregnant women who use drugs cannot be prosecuted under a state law. (CC)

Minnesota Becomes 23rd Legal Marijuana State. With the signature Tuesday of Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) on a reconciled bill, the state became the 23rd to legalize marijuana and the second this year. Delaware legalized it earlier this year. Passage of the bill after years of effort came after the Democratic Farm Labor Party won majorities in both houses of the legislature. Marijuana use and possession will be legalized as of August 1, but it is likely to take a year or longer to get the state's legal marijuana commerce system up and running

Harm Reduction

Vermont Governor Signs Omnibus Overdose Prevention Bill into Law. Gov. Phil Scott (R) last Thursday signed into law an omnibus overdose prevention bill, House Bill 222. The move comes as the state sees its third year in a row of record drug overdose fatalities. The bill contains measures aimed directly at reducing overdoses, such as funding to launch drug-checking services around the state and providing for liability protection. It also contains provisions aimed at breaking down barriers to receiving drug treatment, such as reducing wait times for preauthorization for medication-assisted treatment and expanding the availability of recovery and sober living homes. The measures are being funded with $8 million the state received from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Pregnancy

Ohio Appeals Court Rules Law that Criminalizes Providing Drugs to Pregnant Women Does Not Apply to the Pregnant Woman Herself. Last week, Ohio's 5th District Court of Appeals ruled that it is not a crime for a pregnant women to administer illicit drugs to herself. The ruling came in the case of Muskingum County woman who was found guilty of violating a law that makes it a crime to "administer a controlled substance to a pregnant woman" after she confessed to injecting fentanyl in the hospital parking lot before entering the hospital to deliver her baby. In overturning the verdict, the appeals court held that the administration of drugs must be done by another person—not the pregnant woman herself. As a result, similar cases against four other women have been suspended and the woman in the original case has been released from prison. Prosecutors say they will appeal.

International

Canadian Conservatives' Motion to Condemn Liberals' Safe Supply Drug Policies Fails. A motion from Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre to condemn the Liberal federal government's drug policies, and especially its decision to fund the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives as alternatives to illicit street drugs in the province of British Colombia, failed to pass in the House of Commons last Friday. BC's safe supply approach comes as some 35,000 Canadians have died of drug overdoses since 2016. Poilievre argued that the "tax-funded drug supply" fueled addiction rather than recovery and suggesting diverting money from that program into drug treatment. His motion called on the House to "immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded, hard drug programs to addiction, treatment and recovery programs." But the House didn't buy it.