The feds want to add fentanyl to the current drug screening panel for truck drivers and safety-sensitive federal workers, Ohio Republicans are in a hurry to modify voter-approved marijuana legalization, and more.

Truck drivers could soon be subject to testing for fentanyl if a SAMSHA advisory board has its way. (Creative Commons)

Ohio GOP Senate President Outlines Plan to Amend Voter-Approved Marijuana Law Before Legalization Takes Effect Next Week. Senate President Matt Huffman (R) says the Senate will take the first step toward amending the Issue 2 legalization initiative approved by voters last month, with just days left before some of its provisions go into effect. Huffman said he plans for the Senate to take up unrelated House-passed legislation in the Senate General Government Committee on Monday and attach yet-to-be-seen marijuana amendments to it as a means of moving forward. He would use an emergency clause to attach the amendments to the bill, meaning it would need a two-thirds vote to approve it before going back to the House.

Ever since voters approved the measure nearly a month ago, GOP legislative leaders and Gov. Mike DeWine (R) have been trying to figure out ways to revise it. Most of the discussion has been around impaired driving, the prevention of use by youth, and the allocation of marijuana tax revenues. At least two separate GOP bills to modify the measure have already been filed.

"It would be better for people going forward to know what the law is than people begin spending money or taking actions and then the law changes six months from now or 90 days, you know, a year from now," Huffman said.

But House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) doesn’t see the need for speed. He noted that changes to provisions on taxes and advertising, among others, will not be necessary for months because regulators still have to craft a system of taxed and regulated sales before pot shops can open.

"We are being very thoughtful about the legislation that was passed by the voters," he said. "We want to be respectful of that. We also want to have the guardrails in place. It doesn’t matter whether it’s marijuana or soybeans or oil, there are certain rules for alcohol, tobacco that these industries have established over decades," Stephens said. "And trying to start from scratch is not the easiest thing to do."

"One of the things I want to avoid, and a lot of people want to avoid is having marijuana stores everywhere," Huffman, the Senate president, said. "You can’t open a liquor store anywhere you want. You have to have a permit and the size of your population of your local community determines the number of local liquor permits you have, so I think it has to be somewhat limited."

Drug Testing

Federal Drug Testing Panel Will Consider Adding Fentanyl to Truck Driver Drug Tests. The advisory board for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will begin discussions this month about possibly adding a fentanyl testing panel to the drug screens used to test truck drivers and safety-sensitive federal employees.

The advisory board said it plans to meet in an open session on December 5 to follow up on requirements in the Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act, which called on the Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether adding fentanyl to the screen is justified based on the reliability and effectiveness of mandatory testing.

"Fentanyl accounts for a large proportion of overdose deaths in the United States and is therefore an important public safety concern," said the SAMHSA announcement. "Furthermore, fentanyl is increasingly used as a stand-alone substance of abuse, not in conjunction with heroin and other substances."

The advisory board in December 2019 recommended to then HHS Secretary Alex Azar that fentanyl be added. Azar had 180 days to approve that recommendation, but nothing happened.

New York Punished More Than 2,000 Prisoners Over False Positive Drug Tests, Report Finds. The state prison system unfairly punished more than 2,000 prisoners after tests of suspected contraband returned false positive test results for drugs, according to a report released Thursday by the state inspector general's office. In hundreds of cases, prisoners who had committed no offense were placed in solitary confinement, lost family visits, or had parole hearings canceled because of the false positive.

State prison staff were using a drug test from Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, which warns in its instructions that its results found using its NARK II tests should be considered preliminary and unconfirmed. The report also found that staff failed to use protocols designed to prevent misidentifying contraband or cross-contaminating samples. The NARK II test is known to cross-react with common over-the-counter medications, tea, and protein powders, which are sold in some state prisons.

The report called for additional training for testing officers and requiring them to notify supervisors when discrepancies arise.

"This investigation and the subsequent policy changes and record expungements represent one step closer to ensuring the level of integrity we should all expect and demand from the State," said Inspector General Lucy  Lang.

The state prison system has a history of lax drug testing protocols. A 2022 inspector general's report found that the prisons had ignored test instructions and punished inmates based on inaccurate test results from a different drug screening test, this one manufactured by Microgenics Corp. That report came after inmates filed a class-action lawsuit alleging numerous false positives.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) says he is open to home grows but not just yet, Arizona regulators take the first steps toward clinical trials for psilocybin, and more.

Psilocybin is going to get som clinical trials in Arizona. (Creative Commons)

New Jersey Governor Open to Marijuana Home Grows, Just Not Yet. Responding to a questioner, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said he was "very much open-minded" about allowing people to grow their own weed but added that he wants to give the legal industry more time to mature before okaying home cultivation.

"I’m very much open-minded to this. I would bet—if I were a betting man—that down the road that that’s exactly where this would land," he said. "I understand, having said that, why wasn’t in our initial regs, because I think there’s a rightful objective to get this industry up on its feet and make sure that the folks who are in this as a matter of commerce are successful and, again, with a huge amount of focus on equity."

While Murphy has repeatedly said he is open to future home grows, he has not offered a concrete ideas of what exactly he wants to see in terms of industry maturation before he would be willing to move on allowing home grows.

"Social justice is how I got here to begin with, to support it. What we’ve done, by the way, has gone really well. We just haven’t done enough. We’ve just got to do more—get this more proliferated," he added. "But I think once the industry is up on its feet, and it is getting there…I think at some point [home grow is] a consideration we’ll get back on the table."

Murphy has been repeatedly pressed on the state’s lack of a home cultivation option, and he’s maintained his openness to the policy before and after New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis market launched last year.

What he hasn’t offered, however, is a concrete sense of what exactly he’d want to see in terms of industry maturation before he’d be willing to seriously engage on the issue administratively or legislatively.

New York Cannabis Board Votes to Settle Lawsuits That Have Blocked Rollout of Legal Pot Shops. The state's Cannabis Control Board on Monday approved a deal to settle lawsuits that have blocked licensed marijuana retail shops from opening, leaving the legal market struggling as a grey market flourishes.

New York cannabis regulators approved a deal on Monday to settle lawsuits that have blocked recreational marijuana dispensaries from opening, as officials move to restart the state’s troubled legal market. The settlement must still be approved by a judge before it can take effect.

The proposed deal would lift a court order that blocked the state from issuing or processing retail marijuana licenses. That court order came in response to lawsuits filed by groups that were edged out of competition because the state rules promised the first licenses to people with drug convictions.

If the deal is approved, the board more than 400 provisional retail licenses will be able to advance and more than a thousand new licenses to grow process, distribute, or sell marijuana will be issued to jumpstart the market.

Because of the lawsuits, the court order, and bureaucratic issues, only about two dozen legal marijuana retailers have opened while hundreds of unlicensed pot shops are doing business.

Psychedelics

Arizona Takes First Step Toward Legalizing Use of Psilocybin Mushrooms—At Least for Some People. The state Department of Health Services has published a notice that it is set to begin accepting applications for clinical trials of psilocybin's efficacy in treating various conditions, disorders, and diseases. The move comes after the legislature earlier this year approved a bill specifically mandating studies to see whether magic mushrooms can help those suffering from PTSD.

But the studies won't be limited to PTSD. Health officials also want to see whether psilocybin can be effective in treating eating disorders, substance abuse, depression, and long COVID, among other conditions

The enabling legislation allocated $5 million for the research.

The enabling legislation also specifies that the use of psilocybin would not be allowed unless the federal government approves it as a prescription drug. Still, the state is getting a head start with its own clinical trials and research, setting the state up to move quickly if and when the federal government acts.

Washington State Activists Eye Six Cities for Psychedelic Decriminalization Initiatives, With Eye to Laying Groundwork for Statewide Reform. A group calling itself the Psychedelic Medicine Alliance WA is setting some intermediate goals even as it eyes state-level psychedelics reform. On the way to the statehouse, the group says it is currently trying to put psychedelic decriminalization measures on the ballot in six cities or counties: Olympia, Bellingham, Spokane and Tacoma as well as King and San Juan counties.

Three years ago, Seattle and Port Townsend passed psychedelic decriminalization measures.

Washington organizers pointed to the success of a similar strategy around psychedelic reform in Massachusetts, where local activists carefully built a string of local psychedelic reform successes as part of an ongoing effort to force the legislature to deal with the issue before possibly putting the issue on the 2024 ballot.

"You need that grassroots support. You need to show that there’s public appetite for this change somewhere," said group spokesperson Cody Zalewski adding that often state lawmakers look to local matters as an indicator of public sentiment. "It’s really building up that grassroots support and showing that, you know, there’s an appetite for this and it’s not going to jeopardize your career in politics."

Activists are currently in the process of drafting the proposed measures.  

German marijuana legalization is headed for a final parliamentary vote this week, the Ukrainian medical marijuana bill is being blocked by hundreds of "spam" amendments, and more.

Honduran troops seize a coca field. (HPM)

Federal Judge Blocks Kansas Highway Patrol from Detaining Motorists Without Reasonable Suspicion. A federal judge last week entered a permanent injunction against the Kansas Highway Patrol, warning troopers to stop detaining motorists without reasonable suspicion.

The Highway Patrol had become notorious for its "Kansas Two-Step," where officers would use delaying tactics to keep motorists on the side of the road long enough for them to engage in unwarranted drug investigations. The tactic was aimed especially at cars with out-of-state license plates heading to or from Colorado, where marijuana is legal.

The judge in the case had already ruled that the Highway Patrol was violating the Fourth Amendment's proscription of unreasonable searches and seizures.

"Defendant was responsible for a policy or practice which unlawfully detains motorists in Kansas (especially out-of-state motorists) without reasonable suspicion or consent, based on out-of-state residency and — to more than a minimal extent — based on travel plans that are not implausible or inherently contradictory," Judge Kathryn Vratil said.  "Defendant was responsible for a policy or practice of using the Kansas Two-Step to extend traffic stops of motorists in Kansas without reasonable suspicion and without the motorists' knowing, intelligent and voluntary consent."

"The Kansas Highway Patrol is not above the law," said Sharon Brett, the state ACLU legal director. "While KHP made various attempts to side-step accountability for its practices and put off this injunction, the Constitution has prevailed."

International

Ecuador's New President Repeals Guidelines that Effectively Decriminalilzed Small-Time Drug Possession. Less than 48 hours after being sworn into office, incoming President Daniel Noboa has repealed criminal justice guidelines that eliminated penalties for people found carrying personal use amounts of illicit drugs.

Noboa had campaigned with a promise to fight drug trafficking, and he characterized the move as working toward that goal. In a statement, his office said the guidelines "encouraged micro-trafficking"and characterized them as a "harmful element for Ecuadorian society."Noboa also directed the ministries of interior and public health to develop "coordinated information, prevention and control programs on the consumption of narcotic and psychotropic substances"and to offer treatment and rehabilitation to "habitual and problematic occasional users."

The guidelines had effectively decriminalized the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana, 2 grams of cocaine paste, 1 gram of cocaine, 0.10 grams of heroin and 0.04 grams of amphetamine. They were adopted in 2013 under the presidency of Rafael Correa, who argued that drug use was a public health problem and that prisons should not be filled with drug users.

German Lawmakers Reach Agreement on Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, Final Vote Expected This Week. Lawmakers have reached an agreement to revise a marijuana legalization bill to address concerns from reform supporters, setting the stage for a final vote in the Bundestag later this week.

A Green Party lawmaker, Kirsten Kappert-Gonther, said on Monday that following "intensive negotiations," the bill is being changed in several key ways that will "make the law even better. In the negotiations, we managed to find practical regulations that guarantee the protection of young people and health and make the decriminalization of adult consumers a reality," she said.

One change is that possessing slightly more marijuana than the amount allowed will not automatically be treated as a criminal offense, with possession of between 25 and 30 grams treated as an administrative violation. Likewise, the possession limit for marijuana at home is doubled from 25 to 50 grams, with possession of up to 60 grams treated administratively.

Lawmakers also agreed to legalize marijuana in stages, with possession and home cultivation legal for adults beginning in April. Social clubs that could distribute marijuana to members could now start to open in July.

After the legalization bill passes the Bundestag, lawmakers will work on creating a system for legal, regulated sales. That will happen while they wait for a concurring vote in the Bundesrat, a separate body that represents the states.

Honduran Security Forces Seize 68,000 Coca Bushes. Honduran Military Police reported over the weekend that they had seized 68,000 coca leaf bushes in Las Brisas de Olancho, in the department of Yoro. They also discovered a wooden hut they said was used as a drug processing center. It contained several barrels of gasoline and other substances, scales, sacks used to transport coca leaves, and paddles used to press the coca leaf mixture.

Coca has traditionally been grown in the Andes in South America, but in recent years, sporadic busts of coca plantations in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico have been recorded. More rare are seizures of processing lab, even crude ones.

Ukrainian Medical Marijuana Bill Blocked by Hundreds of Spam Amendments. A long-awaited bill to legalize medical marijuana that was supposed to see a final vote last week has been held up as members of one party filed hundreds of "spam" amendments to delay passage.

The bill has the support of President Volodymr Zelensky and was expected to easily pass in a final reading—until the big stall emerged. It is the fault of the Motherland Party, whose members filed 226 amendments designed to "exhaust" the process and "deprive the law of votes," said MP Olga Stefanyshina.

"The bill on medical cannabis is blocked in the Council."

Ohio's GOP Senate leader is plotting changes to the marijuana legalization law approved by voters just weeks ago, the city of Boston pays out for using discriminatory hair drug tests on police officers, and more.

Hawaii Attorney General Unveils Draft Marijuana Legalization Bill. State Attorney General Anne Lopez (D) last Friday unveiled a comprehensive 294-page proposal to legalize adult use marijuana and pledged to work with the legislature to get it enacted. The proposal would create a regulatory framework for people 21 and over to grow, possess, and purchase marijuana from licensed retailers.

Although recent years have seen several marijuana legalization bills, none of them have become law, although the Senate passed such a bill in March. Lawmakers have generally welcomed the attorney general's effort, although some advocates and activists have some issues with it.

Lopez did "a really good job pulling together all of the different input and providing a comprehensive bill," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman David Tarnas (D), while the attorney general's proposal is "the best version to date," said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D).

But while advocates cheered the inclusion of home grows, they want to see some changes, including relief for people who have been arrested under pot prohibition.

"The attorney general’s draft bill falls short when it comes to fostering equity and reparative justice," Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment. "It should be revised. We were pleased to see home cultivation included. But the draft ramps up criminalization in other areas and fails to include provisions newer legalization states have adopted to stop ruining cannabis consumers’ lives.

"The draft bill does not include expungement or resentencing, nor does it protect responsible cannabis consumers from losing their children, jobs, benefits, or professional licenses," she said. "It imposes an unscientific per se DUI standard that ensnares sober drivers, and imposes up to a year in jail under a broad open container law. The draft also pours millions of dollars into cannabis law enforcement—an amount equal to the entire allocation for social equity and community reinvestment."

Ohio Senate President Vows Changes to Voter Approved Marijuana Law, Says Voters Did Not Understand Some Provisions. Senate President Matt Huffman (R) says he is working with lawmakers to develop and pass legislation to revise the marijuana legalization law approved by voters last month. He said "that's what the public generally wants" because voters did not focus on details and simply decided "are we going to legalize marijuana or not."

"Now did the voters, for example, know that there was going to be a preference for licenses to people that have formerly been convicted for selling drugs illegally? Probably not very many people thought of that," he said. "It’s important for the folks to go through here and look to see what changes are going to be made, which we think the public generally wants."

While Americans don't want government to infringe on their civil liberties, they "also want the protections of government, and that’s really the fine line that governments have to find. That’s why generally it’s better to have these things sorted out in the legislature… There needs to be some protection for the public, just like we regulate alcohol," Huffman argued.

He also said lawmakers would fast-track the changes by not filing a new bill, but by incorporating marijuana amendments into an unrelated House-passed bill, pass that in the Senate, then send the revised measure back to the House for a concurrence vote.

Lawmakers have announced various proposed changes, including around public consumption and the allocation of tax revenues.

Drug Testing

Boston Settles Police Drug Testing Lawsuit, Will Pay $2.6 Million to Black Cops. The city of Boston has agreed to pay $2.6 to Black police officers to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit over a drug test that used hair samples to identify drug use.

The four plaintiffs will receive $650,000 each.

Oren Sellstrom of Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit that has represented the officers, shared his excitement that the lawsuit is finally settled and how the long-lasting litigation impacted his clients.

"This settlement puts an end to a long, ugly chapter in Boston’s history," Orren Sellstrom of Lawyers for Civil Rights, who litigated the case. "As a result of this flawed test, our clients’ lives and careers were completely derailed. The city has finally compensated them for this grave injustice," he said.

"You can imagine what effect that would have to be falsely labeled in this way, and a number of officers were terminated as a result. Many had to leave the field entirely, and their dreams of being a law enforcement officer were shattered," Sellstrom added. "It totally upended our client's lives and in the process also deprived the residents of Boston from having exemplary police officers on the force.

The Black police officers filed suit against the city in 2005, claiming that the hair test discriminated against Black people because their hair is more susceptible to false positives. The city and the company administering the test denied any bias, but the city eliminated the test in 2021.

International

Japan Amends Marijuana Law, for Better and Worse. Last month, the Japanese government approved a bill amending the country's nearly 75-years-old Cannabis Control Act, renaming it the Law Concerning Regulation of the Cultivation of Cannabis Plants. The act opens the door for the creation of a medical marijuana and industrial hemp industry in the country, but also goes backward on recreational marijuana use.

The new law will allow for pharmaceutical products that are extracted from marijuana plants. Until now, such cannabis-based drugs could only be used in clinical trials.

But the new law also categorizes THC as a narcotic under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Control Act, closing a loophole in the Cannabis Control Act that criminalizes the import, export, cultivation, transferal, or possession of marijuana plants, but does not criminalize use.

"What previously had no penalties will now be harshly punished, with a maximum of seven years in prison. I opposed the bill because there is a serious problem here," said Rep. Taro Yamamoto of the left-leaning Reiwa Shinsengumi Party.