Consequences of Prohibition
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
New polls in New Jersey and Wisconsin show solid support for marijuana legalization, Chicago harm reduction pioneer Dan Big has died too early, the FDA approves clinical trials of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, an Ohio drug defelonization initiative is on the November ballot, and more.
magic mushrooms (Flickr/Green)
California Legislature Passes Bill to Overturn Old Marijuana Convictions. The state Senate Wednesday approved Assembly Bill 1793, which directs prosecutors throughout the state to overturn convictions for acts that are no longer illegal under the state's Prop 64 marijuana legalization initiative. The bill would also reduce many felony convictions for marijuana-related crimes to misdemeanors. It was approved by the Assembly in May and now goes to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
New Jersey Poll Shows Strong Support for Legalization. A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday has support for marijuana legalization at 62%. Among respondents between 18 and 34, that figure was 90%. The poll comes as Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and legislative leaders push to get a legalization bill passed next month.
Wisconsin Poll Shows Strong Support for Legalization. A new Marquette Law poll has support for legalization in the Dairy State at 61%. Gov. Scott Walker (R) is opposed to marijuana legalization, calling it a gateway drug. He's polling at 46% in the same poll.
Medical Marijuana
Mormon Church Sends Out Letter Opposed Utah Medical Marijuana Initiative. The Salt Lake City-based Church of Latter Day Saints has mailed a letter to church members urging a "no" vote on the state's November medical marijuana initiative. The letter claims the measure would create "a serious threat to health and public safety, especially for our youth and young adults, by making marijuana generally available with few controls."
Psychedelics
FDA Approves Psychedelic Magic Mushrooms Ingredient Psilocybin for Depression Trial. The Food & Drug Administration has approved the use of psilocybin for a drug trial in treatment-resistant depression. Compass Pathways, a life sciences firm, now has a green light to perform the clinical trials. The phase two trial with 216 patients will get underway next month.
Harm Reduction
Chicago Harm Reduction Pioneer Dan Bigg Dead at 59. Dan Bigg, a co-founder of the Chicago Recovery Alliance and a long-time activist died Tuesday at his home. The cause of death remains undetermined pending further tests. He was a pioneering needle exchange worker in the 1990s and pushed for putting naloxone in the hands of drug users and their loved ones as opioid overdose deaths began to soar more than a decade ago. Friends and colleagues said that thousands of people who could have died from overdoses or infectious disease are alive today because of Bigg's stalwart activism. He will be missed.
Sentencing
Ohio Initiative Would Defelonize Drug Possession, Cut Sentences. Voters in the Buckeye State will vote on a constitutional amendment that would reduce penalties for non-violent drug crimes by making drug use and possession a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Issue 1 also bars the jailing of probationers merely for drug use or possession and allows sentence reductions of up to 25% for inmates who participate in rehabilitation, work, or educational programming.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Trump supporters are hurting our cause!
Donald Trump and his supporters are hurting the cause of marijuana legalization.
The marijuana legalization movement must maintain its moral and ethical standards! We are a cause, not a cult. Facts matter, goddamn it! Morality matters! You can’t make a valid case against marijuana prohibition without these things!
Hear me well: We cannot afford to be associated with Traitor Trump and his baby-stealing, white supremacist crimes against Humanity, and his pro-Putin treason against America. Traitor Trump, and his cult supporters, are a plague we must avoid at all costs.
When we are attempting to expose, discount and disprove the lies of Reefer Madness, we cannot afford to be complicit with Trump and his entire UNIVERSE “alternative facts” — I mean, FUCKING LIES — or we have lost our way! If we do that, we also lose our integrity, and with that, any hope of being trusted by decent, honest American People. But, those are the very people we need to reach!
Traitor Trump and his prohibitionist Republicans do not support marijuana legalization. The political left takes it as axiomatic that Trump lies — always, and every single time. So, it’s not the liberals who buy his bullshit — it’s the Trump supporters! They are too far gone to be of any help to our cause. They can’t tell the difference between shit and shoe polish. Marijuana consumers who support Trump are self-defeating, racist fools.
To hell with white-trash Republicans.
Oppose Trump! Vote Democratic! Register NOW!
https://www.vote.org
"Good People" Don't Support Trump
Jeff Sessions says “good people don’t use marijuana.”
But “good people” don’t conspire with foreign adversaries to steal an election — like Trump, Sessions, and their supporters — whether they use marijuana or not.
“Good people” do not STEAL BABIES, like Trump, Sessions, and the entire Republican Party — whether they use marijuana or not!
Add new comment