Tag: decriminalization

Doctors Group Launches Campaign Empowering More Healthcare Professionals To Join Drug Decriminalization Movement

A group of doctors who support drug policy reform is launching a new campaign aimed at equipping physicians and healthcare professionals with skills to play a greater role in advocating for the decriminalization of drugs. Organizers say there’s a need for more voices from the medical community to take part in ongoing discussions around cannabis, psychedelics and harm reduction issues.

Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR) says it’s spent the past year developing its new advocacy toolkit intended for healthcare professionals and scientists on “Transitioning from a Criminal Justice Model of Drug Use to a Health-focused Approach.” It includes guides to help would-be activists craft opinion pieces and engage with lawmakers and the media in order to “educate on the failures and lasting harms of the War on Drugs” and “confidently reframe drug use through a compassionate public health lens.”

“We’re assembling a core group of ‘on-call’ health professionals who are willing to lend their voice when timely advocacy opportunities arise,” says a recent D4DPR email about the effort, funded through a grant from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). “Now more than ever, we need healthcare professionals like you to speak up—especially when critical legislation is being debated.”

Bryon Adinoff, D4DPR’s president, told Marijuana Moment that it’s “imperative” that healthcare professionals take part.

“We want to health them speak up and learn how to do it in the right way,” he said.

Among the topics D4DPR is prioritizing with the new initiative are cannabis regulation, the decriminalization and therapeutic use of psychedelics as well as overdose prevention centers. By and large, Adinoff said, other medical professionals and organizations have “not been sufficiently active in this area.”

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Minnesota Governor Signs Bill To Decriminalize Bong Water Containing Drug Residue

Shortly after Minnesota lawmakers passed a bill to end the criminalization of bong water containing trace amount of drugs, Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) has signed the measure into law.

The change addresses an existing policy that had allowed law enforcement to treat quantities of bong water greater than four ounces as equivalent to the pure, uncut version of whatever drug the device was used to consume.

Four ounces of bong water used to consume methamphetamine, for example, could have been charged as a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The new bong water provision is part of a sweeping judiciary and public safety bill, HF 2432, which Walz signed into law last week. In relevant part, it clarifies that a mixture of drugs “does not include the fluid used in a water pipe or any amount of a controlled substance that is dissolved in the pipe’s fluid.”

The existing policy was the result of a 2009 state Supreme Court decision, and though it was rarely used by authorities, critics said it allowed prosecutors to selectively go after defendants with the threat of outsized penalties.

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London Mayor Backs Marijuana Decriminalization After A Commission He Created Recommends Reform

The mayor of London is voicing support for the decriminalization of marijuana following the release of a comprehensive report the government commissioned that ultimately determined that criminalizing people over simple possession of cannabis does more harm than good and disproportionately impacts minority communities.

On Wednesday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the report from the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC), which he established, “makes a compelling, evidenced-based case for the decriminalization of possession of small quantities of natural cannabis.”

While the policy recommendation to move marijuana from the Misuse of Drugs Act to the Psychoactive Substances Act has been described as decriminalization, the proposal to remove any criminal penalties associated with low-level possession and stop police from conducting searches people over the smell of cannabis would effectively be non-commercial legalization.

What the report expressly does not recommend, however, is legalizing and regulating cannabis sales—at least for now. That comes as a disappointment to advocates, who feel the debate over reform and evidence from jurisdictions that have taken that step sufficiently shows that enacting commercial legalization would promote public safety with minimal risk.

“We need fresh thinking on how to reduce the substantial harms associated with drug-related crime in our communities,” the mayor said in a statement. “Better education, improved healthcare and more effective, equitable policing of cannabis use are long overdue.”

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Connecticut House Passes Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill To Remove Threat Of Jail For Possessing The Psychedelic

The Connecticut House of Representatives has approved a bill to decriminalize psilocybin for adults—despite lingering questions about whether the state’s Democratic governor would support it after he rejected an earlier version of the reform measure.

One month after the measure cleared the legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee, it cleared the full chamber in a 74-65 vote on Monday. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

If enacted into law, the legislation would make possession of up to one-half an ounce of psilocybin punishable by a $150 fine, without the threat of jail time.

“Psilocybin is a product which has been shown to be an effective therapeutic for various mental illnesses, including treating PTSD, addictions, depressions and anxiety disorders,” Rep. Steve Stafstrom (D), co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said on the floor. “It is a substance that our state currently treats as the equivalent of cocaine, heroin or any other sort of serious Schedule I drug that, if folks are caught with possession of even a tiny little bit, Mr. Speaker, even even personal use of psilocybin, they’d be essentially subject to a class A misdemeanor and up to a year in jail.”

“What this bill seeks to do is pretty simple. It doesn’t legalize the substance. I want to be really clear: This bill does not legalize psilocybin,” he said. “If you’re dealing psilocybin, if you’re driving under the influence of psilocybin, those penalties remain the same as they are under existing law. Driving under the influence of psilocybin, it’s driving under the influence. No change in this bill. Dealing psilocybin continues to be drug dealer offense. You can be prosecuted for drug dealing—that does not change.”

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New Hampshire Senators Approve Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill

A New Hampshire Senate panel has advanced a House-passed bill to decriminalize the use and possession of psilocybin by adults.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Verville (R), cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 3-2 vote on Tuesday. It previously passed the full House of Representatives in March.

Before approving the legislation, members of the Senate panel attached an amendment that would enact mandatory minimum sentences for certain fentanyl-related offenses and for distribution of drugs that result in a user’s death.

Sen. Tara Reardon (D) asked colleagues if the idea is that “we’re trading” the House-favored move to reduce psilocybin penalties in exchange “for enhanced penalties” on fentanyl that were contained in a separate bill that passed the Senate in January and has since remained pending before the House Judiciary Committee for months.

“One might say that, yes,” replied Chairman Bill Gannon (R).

Under the psychedelic-focused provisions of HB 528, a first psilocybin offense would be a violation, subject to a fine of $100 or less.

Second and third psilocybin offenses, meanwhile, would be class B misdemeanors, carrying fines of up to $500 and $1,000, respectively, but with no risk of jail time. Fourth and subsequent offenses would remain classified as felonies.

Sales and distribution of the substance would still be illegal, as the reform would apply only to “a person 18 years of age or older who obtains, purchases, transports, possesses, or uses psilocybin.”

As originally introduced, the legislation would have completely removed penalties around obtaining, purchasing, transporting, possessing or using psilocybin, effectively legalizing it on a noncommercial basis. However a House committee amended the bill before unanimously advancing it in March.

Verville previously told Marijuana Moment that the House’s passage of his psilocybin bill was “an historic, albeit small first step on our journey to correct 60 years of demonstrably failed policy on psychedelics.”

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New Hampshire Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill

A House committee in New Hampshire has advanced a bill that would decriminalize use and possession of psilocybin.

Members of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety voted unanimously, 16–0, to pass the bill, HB 528, from Rep. Kevin Verville (R).

Prior to moving the bill forward, the committee first adopted an amendment to temper the proposed reform. As originally introduced, it would have completely removed all penalties around obtaining, purchasing, transporting, possessing or using psilocybin, effectively legalizing it on a noncommercial basis.

The amended version of the legislation imposes penalties, but they’re significantly lower than the state’s current felony-level prohibition.

Under the new amendment, a first psilocybin offense would be a violation, subject to a fine of $100 or less. Second and third offenses would be class B misdemeanors, carrying fines of up to $500 and $1,000, respectively, but also with no risk of jail time.

Fourth and subsequent offenses would still be classified as felonies.

Notably, language of the proposal does not include any specific limit to the amount of psilocybin a person could possess.

The committee’s chair, Rep. Terry Roy (R), said that while he opposes full legalization of psilocybin, he believes the drug has medical value and ought not be punished as a felony.

“I’d like to see it done through proper scientific channels, through university studies and the [Department of Veterans Affairs],” Roy explained. “But having said that, I support this bill lowering it from a felony. We don’t need more intoxicated people, but we also don’t need more felons.”

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Top Federal Drug Official Wants U.S. To Move ‘Away From Criminalization’ And Focus On Treatment

A top federal drug official is calling for the government to move “away from criminalization” under the drug war, saying that the country’s failure to offer drug treatment to incarcerated people only exacerbates the ongoing opioid overdose crisis.

“It remains a common belief that simply stopping people from taking drugs while in jail or prison is an effective approach to treatment,” Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) wrote in a new opinion article. “But that belief is inaccurate and dangerous.”

In fact, drug overdose “is the leading cause of death among people returning to their communities after being in jail or prison,” Volkow continued. “Providing addiction treatment in these settings could change that.”

In addition to calling for wider access to medication-assisted treatment—using the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone—the NIDA leader also said a shift away from the criminal drug war could help improve outcomes and help families.

“Fundamentally, an individual’s best or only option to receive addiction treatment should not have to be during incarceration,” Volkow wrote in the piece, which appeared last week in the life sciences publication STAT and was republished Monday on NIDA’s website. “In an ideal world, treatment and prevention systems in the U.S. would proactively address social drivers of health and mental health needs to stop the cycle between addiction and incarceration.”

“Moving away from criminalization of substance use disorders toward a public-health approach would remove a key structural practice that perpetuates equalities,” she said. “It would improve lives for people and their families.”

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American Medical Association Endorses Drug Decriminalization

The American Medical Association (AMA) has formally endorsed drug decriminalization, adopting the policy position at its annual meeting on Wednesday.

AMA delegates voted in favor of the decriminalization proposal, 345-171. The body is calling for the “elimination of criminal penalties for drug possession for personal use as part of a larger set of related public health and legal reforms designed to improve carefully selected outcomes.”

That’s actually a bolder position than what was included in the AMA Board of Trustees report that delegates initially took up. That prior policy statement simply said the organization should “continue to monitor the legal and public health effects of state and federal policies to reclassify criminal offenses for drug possession for personal use.”

Stephen Taylor of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) proposed the revised language, MedPage Today reported. ASAM, which has historically aligned itself with prohibitionists and resisted modest marijuana reforms, came out in favor of drug decriminalization last year.

AMA’s new drug decriminalization position builds upon a broader drug policy reform platform that has developed over years. Last year, for example, the organization adopted positions advocating for psychedelics research, opposing the criminalization of kratom, calling for an end to the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and supporting the continued inclusion of marijuana metabolites in employment-based drug tests.

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Oregon Governor Signs Bill Overturning Voter-Approved Drug Decriminalization Law

Gov. Tina Kotek (D) on Monday signed into law the sweeping measure the Oregon Legislature passed to combat the state’s fentanyl drug addiction and overdose crisis.

Kotek previously had said she would sign House Bill 4002, which was a centerpiece proposal of the short session. The law puts in place a new misdemeanor penalty for possession of small amounts of hard drugs, with opportunities for defendants to avoid jail if they enroll in programs that aid in their recovery and potential treatment.

In a letter to legislative leaders, Kotek said the state needs to have a carefully coordinated implementation to work as intended.

“Success of this policy framework hinges on the ability of implementing partners to commit to deep coordination at all levels,” Kotek wrote in her letter to Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego and House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene.

The new law will put $211 million towards a variety of court and treatment programs, including new and expanded residential treatment facilities, recovery houses and programs for counties to set up so-called deflection programs that people can participate in to avoid jail and criminal charges after an interaction with police. So far, 23 of Oregon’s 36 counties have agreed to set up those programs, which are not mandatory.

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Maine Lawmakers Vote To Gut Drug Decriminalization Bill And Establish A Task Force To Study Reform Instead

Maine lawmakers have gutted a bill to decriminalize drug possession and invest in treatment resources, amending it in committee to simply create a task force to study the proposed reform.

The legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee unanimously voted to replace the original measure from Rep. Lydia Crafts (D) on Thursday.

As introduced, the measure would have repealed statutes criminalizing possession of Schedule W, X, Y and Z drugs and paraphernalia under state code. It also would have established a Substance Use, Health and Safety Fund under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The legislature would have needed to annually appropriate funds for the department to make investments to “increase voluntary access to community care for persons who need services related to substance use.”

But during a work session, members of the committee moved to strike those provisions, replacing it with the task force language instead.

“I would just like to say that I continue to stand very firmly behind my initial proposal, and I think that it’s important that the work we’re doing as a state continues to be framed through a public health lens,” Crafts said. “I believe that this work is not finished through this task force, and there will be more to do in the future.”

The revised legislation as described in committee would create a panel consisting of experts and legislative appointees, including people with backgrounds in public health and safety, substance misuse treatment and law enforcement.

The task force would be responsible for reviewing decriminalization policies in other jurisdictions, scholarly research on the impact of the reform, possible implications for drug courts, the outcomes of diverse programs for people with substance misuse disorders and more. A report with findings would be due by November 6, 2024.

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