Two sets of Massachusetts legalizers get the go-ahead for signature gathering, Denver activists will negotiate with the city over social marijuana use, Hillary Clinton unveils drug policy proposals, DC HIV infections drop thanks to needle exchanges, and more.

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton rolls out drug policy proposals. (state.gov)

Two Competing Massachusetts Legalization Initiatives Okayed for Signature Gathering. State Attorney General Maura Healey last week approved the competing initiatives, one from Bay State Repeal and one from the Marijuana Policy Project-backed Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Click on the group links to read the initiatives. The groups must collect 64,750 valid voter signatures by November to qualify for next year's ballot.

ResponsibleOhio Supporter Sues Secretary of State Over Sweeping Election Fraud Investigation. An unnamed individual has filed a federal lawsuit against Secretary of State Jon Husted (R) over his investigation of alleged electoral fraud in the ResponsibleOhio signature-gathering campaign. The suit argues that the probe will have a chilling effect on First Amendment rights of Ohioans who support the legalization effort and seeks an injunction to halt the investigation. Husted subpoenaed various ResponsibleOhio records, including "documents or electronically stored information related to or reflecting names of persons who created usernames and passwords to download petitions" from the group's website.

Albuquerque Decriminalization Effort is Back. Two city councilors, including council president Rey Garduno, filed a municipal decriminalization ordinance last Friday. They also filed a measure to make possession violations the lowest law enforcement priority. The council voted 5-4 last year for a decriminalization ordinance, only to see it vetoed by Mayor Richard Berry, who is still there. A vote is expected on September 21.

Denver Social Use Initiative Withdrawn; Organizers Seek Negotiated Deal With City. The Campaign for Limited Social Use, which submitted more than 10,000 signatures for a measure that would allow marijuana use in businesses only open to adults, has pulled the initiative before it could be certified for the ballot, saying it instead prefers to negotiate an agreement with city officials. The successful signature-gathering campaign should help the group in the negotiations.

Asset Forfeiture

Oklahoma ACLU Releases Seizure Data Report. The state affiliate of the ACLU has released a report showing that nearly two-thirds of all cash seized under state asset forfeiture laws was seized from people never charged with -- let alone convicted of -- a crime. The report comes as the legislature ponders a bill that would reform or eliminate civil asset forfeiture.

Drug Policy

Hillary Clinton Releases Drug and Alcohol Policy Proposals. The Democratic front-runner is calling for $10 billion in new federal grants to fight drug and alcohol addiction, which she called "a quiet epidemic" in the country. She identified five goals: better drug education for teens, increasing the availability of drug treatment, increasing naloxone (Narcan) access, broadening drug and prescription monitoring programs, and emphasizing treatment over prison for low-level drug offenders. Click on the link for more details.

Illinois House Overrides Governor's Veto of Heroin Treatment Funding. The House has successfully voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's (R) veto of parts of the Heroin Crisis Act. The override attempt now moves to the state Senate. Rauner vetoed sections of the bill that would offer Medicaid services to some heroin users, saying the state couldn't afford it.

Harm Reduction

DC HIV Infections Drop Dramatically With Needle Exchange Programs. The average monthly rate of new HIV infections in the nation's capital dropped by 70% after the District implemented a needle exchange program in 2008, according to a study released last week by George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. The program prevented 120 new cases of HIV/AIDS, saving the city some $44 million over just two years, the study found.

International

Mexican Opium Production on the Increase. Officials in both the US and Mexico are saying that Mexico's opium production jumped by 50% in 2014 alone. The increase is being tied to rising levels of heroin and opiate addiction in the US, but also to marijuana legalization in some US states -- legalization is pushing down the price of marijuana in Mexico, making opium poppies a more attractive alternative. Much more at the link.

Mexican Judge Okays Use of CBD Cannabis Oil for Epileptic Girl. A Mexico City administrative law judge has approved the use of CBD cannabis oil to treat Graciela Elizalde Benavides, an eight-year-old girl suffering from epilepsy. The judge ordered federal authorities to allow the girl's parents to import the drug. It's not clear when that will actually happen.

Bulgarian Member of Parliament Will File Medical Marijuana Bill. Independent lawmaker Velizar Enchev has announced he will introduce a medical marijuana bill this month. "Thousands of people are suffering in Bulgaria," he said. Last month, he launched a petition drive to gage support for medical marijuana. That petition now has some 3,730 signatures. Earlier this year, a judge acquitted a multiple sclerosis patient accused of growing his medicine, saying "numerous international studies" had proven the efficacy of medical marijuana.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. 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.)

We're heavy on the marijuana news today, but there's also good news from Congress on needle exchange, and Peru's Shining Path wins a second bad-news designation from the US government.

Denver, the Mile High City. Soon, you may be able to smoke marijuana in a club there. (wikipedia.org)

Delaware Senate Committee Approves Decriminalization. The state Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday voted 4-2 to approve House Bill 39, which would replace criminal penalties and possible jail time for marijuana possession with a civil fine similar to a traffic ticket. The committee chair, Sen. Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington), sponsored the bill. It has already passed the House, and Gov. Jack Markell (D) has said he is "hopeful" Delaware will decriminalize.

New Poll Has Strong New Jersey Majority for Legalization. A new Rutgers-Eagleton poll has support for legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana at 58% among Garden State residents. Click on the link for demographics and more detail.

Ohio Secretary of State Attacks ResponsibleOhio Signature-Gathering. Secretary of State John Hustad (R) said Wednesday that signature-gatherers hired by ResponsibleOhio may be responsible for fraud. He cited several irregularities, including registrants with non-existent addresses, signatures that are illegible or don't match the signature on file for the applicant in the voter's existing registration record, and multiple applications submitted on the same day for a single applicant at different locations. ResponsibleOhio denied those charges, saying it had fully complied with state election laws and that it had met earlier with Hustad, and he didn't bring up any problems with their signature-gathering. The group has gathered more than 500,000 signatures; it needs 305,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Another Ohio Legalization Initiative Approved for Signature-Gathering. Two initiative campaigns have already bowed out this year, a third (ResponsibleOhio) appears poised to qualify for the ballot (but see item above), and now a fourth has been approved for signature-gathering. The latest is the Ohio Cannabis Control Amendment, proposed by Ohioans to End Prohibition. The group has only two weeks to qualify for this year's November ballot, but could continue to gather signatures beyond the July 1 deadline to try to get on next year's ballot. The group's web address -- www.legalizeohio2016.org -- suggest that next year is its real target.

Washington State Pot Workers Join UFCW. In a first for Washington, employees at the Cannabis Club Collective in Tacoma have voted unanimously to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). This is the first union contract in the state's marijuana industry. The UFCW has organized medical marijuana workers in California.

Denver Activists Plan Local Initiative to Allow Limited Public Use. Some of the same people who led the statewide campaign to legalize marijuana in 2012 are now gearing up a plan to allow public use. They're talking about an initiative that would allow indoor vaping and outdoor smoking at bars and other spaces that want to do so. A public hearing on the proposal with Denver officials is going on right now.

Harm Reduction

Congressional Republicans Easing Opposition to Needle Exchange. Faced with rising heroin use in their home states and attendant public health implications from it, House Republicans are now easing their opposition to federal funding for needle exchange programs. The health spending bill now in the House would still bar federal funding to buy needles or syringes, but would allow federal block grant funds to states and localities to be used for the other costs of operating exchanges.

International

US Designates Peru's Shining Path as Narcotic "Kingpins." The remnants of the Maoist guerrilla group that plunged Peru into bloody civil war in the 1980s has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997, but this month, the US Treasury Department designated Shining Path as a significant foreign drug trafficking organization. Shining Path is accused of being involved in cocaine trafficking in south central Peru.

A Maine legalization initiative is moving, an Iowa medical marijuana bill is not, Indiana prosecutors oppose needle exchanges, Indonesia ignores world opinion to execute eight drug smugglers, and more.

Spraying glyphosate in Colombia. The Health Ministry says it should stop. (wikipedia.org)

Maine Legalization Initiative Campaign Getting Underway. State officials signed off today on an initiative petition from Legalize Maine, one of two groups planning a 2016 legalization initiative there. Another group backed by the Marijuana Policy Project is also planning on seeking approval for a petition drive.

Medical Marijuana

Colorado Bill Allowing Probationers, Parolees to Use Medical Marijuana Heads to Governor's Desk. The bill, House Bill 1267, passed the Senate on a 34-1 vote Monday and has already passed the House.

Iowa House Speaker Reiterates He Will Block Medical Marijuana Bill. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) has repeated that he will not allow a medical marijuana bill to be considered this year. Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City), the sponsor of Senate File 484, had said Monday that the House had a "moral obligation" to consider the bill, which has already passed the Senate. But Paulsen said he didn't understand what Bolkcom meant and that the carefully drawn bill was "virtually a recreational use bill." The session ends May 1.

Oklahoma CBD Cannabis Oil Study Bill Heads to Governor's Desk. The bill, House Bill 2154, passed the House 85-5 today for final approval after it had been modified in the Senate. Now, it's up to Gov. Mary Fallin (R) to sign it.

Oregon Bill to Regulate Medical Marijuana Advances. A bill that puts new limits on medical marijuana growers is moving. The measure, an amendment to Senate Bill 844, is expected to be approved a House-Senate marijuana committee tomorrow. It would limit current growers to 96 plants, new growers to 48 plants. It would limit current residential growers to 24 plants and new ones to 12 plants. But it would also bar cities and counties from banning dispensaries and growing and processing operations.

Harm Reduction

Faced With HIV Epidemic, Indiana Prosecutors Still Say Needle Exchanges are Bad Public Policy. The Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys today told the legislature that needle exchanges are bad public policy because "hard core drug addicts don't care enough to get clean needles" and because such programs "would keep many users out of the criminal justice system," where they could be forced to seek drug treatment. Gov. Mike Pence (R) has instituted an emergency needle exchange program in Scott County, where HIV cases have been popping up on a daily basis, and the legislature is considering whether to allow them statewide.

International

Indonesia Executes Eight Drug Smugglers By Firing Squad. Ignoring international protests, Indonesian authorities today (Wednesday Indonesian time) executed eight convicted drug smugglers at Besi Prison on Nusakambangan Island. Among them were Australian, Brazilian, and Nigerian nationals and one Indonesian citizen. A Filipina woman, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, was spared at the last minute.

Colombia Health Ministry Calls for Suspension of Coca Crop Spraying. The ministry is recommending that the country quit using the herbicide glyphosate to spray coca groups. It cites a recent report from the World Health Organization that reclassified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans." Nearly three million acres of land in the country have been sprayed with the stuff in the past three decades. No word yet on whether President Santos will heed the recommendation.

An Alaska marijuana regulation bill continues its slow advance, another Michigan legalization initiative effort emerges, Texas pot bills get a hearing, the DEA recommends tripling the federal research marijuana crop, and more.

Drug czar Michael Botticelli touts needle exchang programs. (whitehouse.gov)

Alaska Marijuana Regulation Bill Advances. The House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved a bill to create a marijuana control board to govern the state's soon-to-be legal pot industry. The committee advanced the bill, House Bill 123, without adopting amendments that would have barred people with felony convictions within the past five years or misdemeanor drug convictions within the past three years from getting licenses. The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee.

Michigan Legalization Initiative Group Files Proposed Language. The Michigan Cannabis Coalition today submitted proposed language to state officials for review. The coalition is one of three groups considering a 2016 legalization initiative. If approved for signature-gathering, initiatives would have to come up with some 250,000 valid voter signatures within 180 days to qualify for the 2016 ballot.

Texas Marijuana Reform Bills Get Hearing. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee ran late into the night last night hearing impassioned testimony on a set of bills aimed at decriminalizing marijuana. The main bill is House Bill 507, by Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso), which would make possession of less than an ounce a civil infraction. Another bill, House Bill 325, from Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) would make possession of less than a third of an ounce a Class C misdemeanor, the least serious criminal offense. Yet another bill, House Bill 414, from Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) would make possession of less than an ounce a Class C misdemeanor, while House Bill 1115, from Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) would keep pot possession a misdemeanor, but would require police to cite and release anyone caught with less than four ounces. Finally, House Bill 2165, from Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) would remove all marijuana prohibition laws from the books. No votes were taken.

Wichita Seeks Court Ruling on Legality of Local Decriminalization. The city has filed a petition for declaratory judgment in local district court asking the court to rule on the legality of enacting a decriminalization ordinance approved Tuesday by voters. State Attorney General Derek Schmidt said last month that the ordinance would have no effect, and he's also warned the city that he would be required to sue to enforce state law.

Medical Marijuana

DEA Recommends Government Triple Amount of Marijuana Grown for Research. The DEA recommended Wednesday that the government produce nearly 900 pounds of marijuana for research this year, more than three times the amount the agency had estimated it would need. The increase is because of "unanticipated medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs of the United States," the agency said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

Tennessee Medical Marijuana Bill Dead for This Year. Both the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and the House Health Committee voted to kill pending medical marijuana bills this week. Both committees, however, agreed to create summer study committees to look at the legislation.

Asset Forfeiture

Florida Senate Panel Takes Up Asset Forfeiture Bill. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice today took up Senate Bill 1534, from Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-Tampa). The bill would limit law enforcement to using seized funds only to reimburse themselves for the cost of holding seized property, with the rest going into the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund.

Harm Reduction

Drug Czar Touts Needle Exchange Programs in Kentucky Visit. Director of the Office of National Drug Control (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) Michael Botticelli touted needle exchange programs as a means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases and to steer drug users toward treatment in a visit to Kentucky Wednesday. He said the program also reduce the danger of law enforcement getting stuck with dirty needles. Kentucky lawmakers just passed an anti-heroin bill that will allow for needle exchanges, and a nearby Ohio county just started an emergency needle exchange to combat an HIV outbreak.

International

Chile Harvests First Medical Marijuana Crop. TV cameras were on hand in Santiago Wednesday as the country's first permitted medical marijuana crop was harvested. Chilean health officials last fall gave the okay. The therapeutic Daya Foundation will produce cannabis oils from the plants and provide them to 200 selected cancer patients.