The National Governors Association has a plan for dealing with drug overdoses, Peru and the US have renewed an agreement to force down drug smuggling aircraft, and more.

GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy breaks with Republican orthodoxy on drug policy. (CC -- Gage Skidmore)

South Dakota Activists to Try Again with 2024 Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Local activists are hoping the third time is the charm when it comes to legalizing marijuana possession in the state. A 2020 legalization initiative was approved by voters only to be shot down by a state Supreme Court acting at the behest of Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and her political allies, and a 2022 legalization initiative was narrowly defeated at the polls.

Now, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws has filed initial papers for a 2024 legalization initiative. This measure would legalize the possession of up to two ounces by people 21 and over and allow for the home cultivation of up to six plants. The initial draft contains no mention of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce.

The public now has until August 21 to comment on the draft. Once state authorities have okayed petitions for circulation, supporters will need 17,509 valid voter signatures by May 7, 2024 to qualify for the 2024 ballot.

Drug Policy

National Governors Association Releases Roadmap for Tackling Drug Overdose Epidemic. The National Governors Association (NGA) released a roadmap to help support Governors and state officials in developing policy solutions to address unprecedented opioid overdose rates. Titled Implementing Best Practices Across the Continuum of Care to Prevent Overdose, the roadmap outlines concrete solutions across the full spectrum of health services: foundations, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.

Developed in coordination with the O'Neill Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, the roadmap is based on the contributions of more than 30 subject matter experts and 20 states and territories -- providing Governors with 17 specific, actionable recommendations to prevent overdose across five pillars of the Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care.

An update to NGA's 2016 roadmap, the new publication reflects the evolving nature of the ongoing drug overdose epidemic and includes strategies specific to the rise of illicitly manufactured fentanyl. The roadmap highlights 10 states' initiatives that exemplify best practices and innovative strategies in overdose prevention.

Vivek Ramaswamy Breaks with GOP Pack on Drug Decriminalization. Republican presidential nomination contender Vivek Ramaswamy is creating some space in a crowded field by edging away from the Republican consensus on a hardline drug policy. While on the campaign trail, he has frequently addressed issues around the war on drugs and the toll of fentanyl overdose deaths.

"You don't hear me talk about the war on drugs. I'm not a war on drugs person," Ramaswamy said while appearing at an event in New Hampshire in June. "I am probably the only person in the modern history" of the party to talk about "off ramps" for people trying to get off drugs, including the use of "psychedelics, from ayahuasca to ketamine," he said.

"I'm eyes wide open and willing to be bold in crossing boundaries we haven't yet crossed to address the demand side of this as well," Ramaswamy said. "I think in the long run, and I'm talking about over a long run period of time, decriminalization, serially, is an important part of the long run solution here… That's gotta be part of the solution," he later added.

Similarly, last month, he said that rather than being "a war on drugs guy," he was "actually a path to legalization guy for a lot of different drugs, and a path to reasonable decriminalization. Many veterans are dying of fentanyl. I think fewer would be dying if there was access to ayahuasca, if there was access, legal access, to psychedelics more broadly. We can talk about, we can have a reasonable conversation about ketamine and others. So, I'm in that direction," he said.

He also argued that marijuana should be decriminalized now. "We got to catch up with the times. It's not a popular position in the Republican Party, but I'd just, again, I guess I'm going to speak the truth. Whether you vote for me or not is your choice. I think the time has come to decriminalize it," he said.

International

Peru, US Revive Air Security Agreement to Combat Drug Trafficking. The government of President Dina Boluarte has announced an air security agreement with the US that aims to prevent drug smuggling aircraft from entering Peruvian airspace. The agreement revives a bilateral security agreement with the US that was ended 20 years ago after Peruvian fighter jets downed a civilian aircraft with American missionaries aboard, killing one missionary and her infant daughter.

It will different this time, said Peruvian Defense Minister Jorge Chaves, who emphasized that any interdictions of aircraft under the agreement will be carried out through nonlethal means.

"With this, Peru will be able to exercise and use non-lethal air interdiction. Drug gangs and cartels are notified," said Alberto Otárola Peñaranda, President of the Council of Ministers. "The country will start an intense fight against the entry of illegal planes that violate our sky. We will act without contemplation to intercept them," he stressed.

Swiss Court Rules That Small Amounts of Drugs Should No Longer Be Confiscated. The Federal Tribunal, the country's highest court, ruled recently that people caught with "small amounts" of illicit drugs should be able to keep them. The decision came in a marijuana case, but is likely to also be applied to other drugs, such as cocaine, according to Swiss legal experts.

It is unclear, however, what "small amounts" means for different drugs. And it is important that the different cantons develop coordinated definitions and approaches since they are the government units that will implement the changes.

(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.)

Wisconsin's Democratic governor signs a bill heightening penalties for fatal drug overdoses, Israel's Health Ministry says patients can be prescribed marijuana beginning in December, and more.

Ron DeSantis tries to pick up some steam by threatening to violently attack Mexican drug cartels. (myflorida.com)

San Francisco Magic Mushroom Churches Have Authorities Befuddled. At least two magic mushroom churches where residents can purchase the hallucinogenic fungus have opened this year in the city, and the city has yet to figure out how to respond. One is Zide Door, an offshoot of a similar operation across the bay in Oakland; the other is the Living Church in Lower Nob Hill.

Magic mushrooms are illegal under both state and federal law, but were declared a lowest law enforcement priority in the city in 2022. Last December, police raided a Haight Street storefront for illegally selling magic mushrooms, but that raid generated criticism from Supervisor Dean Preston, who questioned why city police " chose to use extensive resources on a drug bust for substances the city considers to be of lowest priority." That case remains unresolved.

City officials have yet to move against the magic mushroom churches amid speculation that the churches may resort to a religious exemption defense to any potential charges. A handful of churches across the country have won the right to use psychedelics ceremonially, although San Francisco attorney Graham Pechenik, who specializes in marijuana and psychedelic law, warned that the religious argument is not all-encompassing.

"Merely claiming to be a church and having customers 'join' the church is unlikely to provide a shield against prosecution, and even providing church services under a defined set of beliefs may be insufficient to win in court," he said.

Sentencing Policy

Wisconsin Governor Signs Drug Dealer Murder Bill into Law. Gov. Tony Evers (D) last Friday signed into law Senate Bill101, which increases the penalty for first-degree reckless homicide involving drugs. The bill moves the offense from a Class C felony to a Class B felony and makes drug dealers and userseligible for sentences of up to 60 years if they are involved in a fatal overdose.

The bill has been criticized for lacking protections for people who use drugs with others, including Good Samaritans who call for help when someone overdoses. The ACLU of Wisconsin blasted Evers for signing it into law.

"The decision by Gov. Evers today to sign SB 101 into law represents a step in the wrong direction in Wisconsin's fight against drug overdoses. If we've learned anything from the failed War on Drugs, it's that we cannot incarcerate our way out of addiction and drug use. Yet, after decades of abject policy failure, we are still repeating the same mistakes," said James Stein, deputy advocacy director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.

"The law enacted today is deeply misguided and counterproductive. It further entrenches us in destructive cycles of criminalization and punishment that devastate our communities -- particularly Black and Brown communities -- while doing little to nothing to combat drug problems. While purporting to crack down on drug distribution, SB 101 could lead to an increase in fatal overdoses, as people might be less likely to seek medical attention for someone overdosing out of fear of prosecution. In addition, an extensive body of research -- as well as our own lived experiences -- tells us that punitive drug laws don't reduce drug use, addiction, or overdose," Stein continued.

Foreign Policy

DeSantis Doubles Down on Deadly Force Promise Against Mexican Drug Cartels. As he continued to pursue the Republican presidential nomination last Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on an earlier commitment to use force against Mexican drug cartels to block the flow of fentanyl coming through the southern border.

"Day one, we're declaring it to be a national emergency," DeSantis said. "I'm going to do what no president has been willing to do. We are going to lean in against the cartels directly, and we are going to use deadly force against them."

That would involve the use of the US military in lethal offensive operations in Mexico, something that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has angrily rejected. But it is only one of a panoply of increasingly aggressive policy prescriptions aimed at the cartels coming out of Republican precincts as the death toll from fentanyl overdoses rises.

International

Israel Health Minister Says Patients Can Be Prescribed Medical Marijuana Beginning in December. The Health Ministry has announced that doctors will be able to prescribe marijuana to patients beginning in December. Currently, patients need a license to use medical marijuana.

The change is intended to make it easier for patients to get access to the drug and to remove bureaucratic obstacles. The ministry said it will review the changes after one year.

(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.)

GOP senator files bill mandating social media cooperation with law enforcement against drug trafficking, bipartisan senators file bill to ease access to fentanyl test strips, and more.

RiVive naloxone nasal spray has been approved by the FDA. (Harm Reduction Therapeutics)

Rick Scott Files Social Media Act to Combat Online Drug Sales. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Friday introduced the Stopping Online Confusion for Investigative Agencies and Law Enforcement by Maintaining Evidence Determined Interparty Arrangements (SOCIAL MEDIA) Act to combat the sale of fentanyl and other illicit drugs on social media platforms. The SOCIAL MEDIA Act will allow for better law enforcement coordination in criminal cases with social media platforms by requiring 24/7 staffed-in-the-USA call centers for fielding information requests with clear guidelines for agencies to best expedite the process. This bill will promote enhanced data collection, transparency in the data collected, and uniformity in data presented to better compare platform to platform on their efforts to combat illegal drug sales.

The SOCIAL MEDIA Act fhas been endorsed by the National Sheriffs' Association, the Partnership for Safe Medicine and the Major County Sheriffs of America.

Harm Reduction

FDA Approves Second Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray Product. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved RiVive, 3 milligram (mg) naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for over the counter (OTC), nonprescription use for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. This is the second nonprescription naloxone product the agency has approved, helping increase consumer access to naloxone without a prescription. The timeline for availability and the price of this nonprescription product will be determined by the manufacturer.

"We know naloxone is a powerful tool to help quickly reverse the effects of opioids during an overdose. Ensuring naloxone is widely available, especially as an approved OTC product, makes a critical tool available to help protect public health," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. "The agency has long prioritized access to naloxone products, and we welcome manufacturers of other naloxone products to discuss potential nonprescription development programs with the FDA."

The FDA has taken a series of steps to help facilitate access to opioid overdose reversal products and to decrease unnecessary exposure to opioids and prevent new cases of addiction. The agency approved the first nonprescription naloxone nasal spray product in March 2023, the first generic nonprescription naloxone nasal spray product in July 2023 and over the last year has undertaken new efforts to expand opioid disposal options in an effort to reduce opportunities for nonmedical use, accidental exposure and overdose.

The FDA granted the nonprescription approval of RiVive to Harm Reduction Therapeutics.

Bipartisan Senate Bill to Increase Access to Fentanyl Test Strips Filed. A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday filed a bill to clarify that the federal drug paraphernalia statute excludes fentanyl test strips, which remain criminalized as drug paraphernalia under state laws in more than 20 states.

Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are all cosponsors of the Fentanyl Safe Testing and Overdose Prevention Act. Companion legislation, HR 3653 was introduced in May in the House.

"This legislation would help prevent deaths due to fentanyl poisoning by giving people the tools to identify it, and I urge my colleagues to pass it without delay," Cornyn said. His state, Texas, has experienced one of the nation's worst rates of fentanyl overdoses, which skyrocketed nearly 600% over the last year, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services.

The Fentanyl Safe Testing and Overdose Prevention Act would also apply to test strips for xylazine, a powerful animal tranquilizer approved by the Food and Drug Administration only for veterinary use. Officials have warned the public that the sedative, which has been found to be mixed with fentanyl in several states, can create a deadly drug cocktail.

International

Singapore Hangs Woman Drug Offender for First Time in 20 Years; Second Drug Execution This Week. Singaporean national Saridewi Djamani was executed Friday in the first known execution of a woman in Singapore since 2004. She was found guilty of possession of around 30 grams of diamorphine (heroin) for the purposes of trafficking. A Singaporean Malay man, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, was executed on Wednesday after being found guilty in 2018 for trafficking around 50 grams of diamorphine (heroin). Both had been sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in 2018.

Singapore has now executed 15 people for drug related offenses since March 2022, when executions resumed after a hiatus of two years. Four of these were known to have been carried out in 2023. Singapore's close neighbour Malaysia has observed an official moratorium on executions since 2018 and has recently repealed the mandatory death penalty, including for drug-related offences. The Transformative Justice Collective reported that a third execution has been set for 3 August, of a man convicted and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty for possession of 54 grams of diamorphine for the purpose of trafficking.

Both the UNODC and the INCB -- two UN bodies in charge of developing and monitoring drug policies -- have condemned the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences and have urged governments to move towards abolition. Singapore is one of only four countries, alongside China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, where executions for drug-related offences were confirmed in 2022.

Florida's governor signs a bill allowing medical marijuana patients to use telehealth, a trio of Pennyslvania medical marijuana bills is heading for a Senate floor vote, and more.

Florida medical marijuana patients will be able to re-up using telehealth once a new law goes into effect. (Pixabay)

Florida Governor Signs Bill Okaying Telehealth for Medical Marijuana. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has quietly signed into law a measure allowing the use of telehealth to renew medical marijuana recommendations, House Bill 387. To obtain a medical marijuana patient card, however, an in-patient examination by a physician is still required.

Pennsylvania Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana for Any Condition Advances. A bill that would loosen up the state's medical marijuana program, most notably by eliminating the requirement that a patient have a specified medical condition to qualify for its use, has passed the Senate Law & Justice Committee on a 10-1 vote.

Senate Bill 835 would also eliminate the expiration date on medical marijuana cards, allow medical marijuana to be sold in edible form, and give independent medical marijuana growers and processors additional retail dispensary permits.

The committee also passed Senate Bill 538, which also allows for medical marijuana edibles, as well as vaping, and Senate Bill 773, which also allows new licenses for growers and processors. All three bills now head for a Senate floor vote.

International

Germany Unveils Draft Marijuana Legalization Bill. The Health Ministry has released a draft of its proposed marijuana legalization bill, providing it to state officials and the public for review. The bill would allow people over 18 to possess up to 25 grams of marijuana and grow up to three plants for personal use, but they would not be allowed to extract oils or more concentrates from their harvests. It would also set rules for the creation of social clubs where members could purchase marijuana.

Officials are also planning to introduce a complementary second measure that would establish pilot programs for commercial sales in cities throughout the country.While the first pillar of the draft law is expected to be taken up by the cabinet next month, the pilot program for commercial sales is set for later this year after consultations with European Union officials.

Scottish Government Calls for Drug Decriminalization, British Home Office Says No Way. Scotland's Drugs Policy Minister Elena Whitman has announced that the government is calling for drug possession to be decriminalized, saying people should be "treated and supported rather than criminalized and excluded." It is also calling for British law to be changed to allow for safe injection sites, as well as for more drug checking and more access to emergency treatment for drug overdoses.

"The war on drugs has failed," she said. "That's a fact. I don't think we can dispute that. Our current drug law does not stop people from using drugs, it does not stop people from experiencing the harm associated and, critically, it does not stop people from dying. "In fact, I would say today here, that criminalization increases the harms people experience. Criminalization kills."

The Tory Home Office in London, which controls drug policy across Britain, was having none of it: "Illegal drugs destroy lives and devastate communities," a Home Office spokesman said. "We are committed to preventing drug use by supporting people through treatment and recovery and tackling the supply of illegal drugs, as set out in our 10-year drugs strategy. We have no plans to decriminalize drugs given the associated harms, including the risks posed by organized criminals, who will use any opportunity to operate an exploitative and violent business model."