Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Congressman Seeks To Block Feds From Seizing Marijuana From State-Legal Businesses Amid New Mexico Border Patrol Controversy

U.S. border patrol agents would be prevented from using its funds to seize marijuana from state-licensed businesses under a newly filed amendment to a large-scale spending bill.

Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) submitted the amendment for consideration as part of 2025 Fiscal Year appropriations legislation covering the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The move appears to be responsive to recent reporting about Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cannabis from state-legal businesses in New Mexico over recent months.

The amendment, which would need to be made in order for floor consideration by the House Rules Committee, reads:

SEC_. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to seize cannabis or products containing cannabis that are possessed, sold, or transferred by a cannabis distributor, licensed by a State, or a business in a State where cannabis has been legalized for recreational or medicinal use.

This is the latest in a series of drug policy-related amendments to be filed from lawmakers across the aisle that they’ve sought to attach to spending bills. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) has also filed an amendment to the DHS measure—as well as to separate appropriations legislation covering State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs—that would prevent the relevant agencies from testing job applicants for cannabis in states where it’s legal.

While Garcia has repeatedly attempted to enact that reform as part of numerous legislative packages, this is the first time that the language of the Vasquez amendment has been introduced.

The Rules committee is expected to meet next week to decide which amendments to the bills can receive floor votes.

The controversy over CBP seizures of marijuana from state-licensed businesses has prompted responses from multiple levels of government.

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Big Pharma’s supply chain is CRUMBLING as drug shortages reach decade high

The United States Pharmacopeia, an independent, science-based nonprofit, released its first annual Drug Shortage Report (USP) showing that drug shortages are currently at the highest level in a decade with 2023 marking the worst year yet.

Over the past 10 years, the number of drug shortages has increased dramatically, the report explains, with 125 active drug shortages monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the end of 2023.

“This high number of shortages is a direct result of persistent market vulnerabilities,” the report states. “According to our analysis, over a quarter of drugs in shortage were new drug shortages (34 products) in 2023.”

Published in early June, the report explains that the average drug shortage lasts more than three years and impacts multiple types of drugs. One in four drug shortages lasted more than five years while six drugs, including epinephrine injections for serious allergic reactions, has been in low supply for a decade. More than half of all new drug shortages involve injectable generic medications.

“Unexpected shocks can break the system and disrupt the supply of quality medicines,” said Anthony Lakavage, senior vice president for Global External Affairs at USP, a nonprofit organization that sets global quality standards for medications, dietary supplements and food ingredients.

“This worrisome trajectory leads to more frequent drug shortages, prolonged scarcity, and more people at risk of not getting the medicines they need, when they need them.”

(Related: Pharmaceutical drug manufacturing has degraded so badly with so many contamination problems that the Department of Defense [DoD] has intervened to call for outside testing.)

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Gov-funded Maine non-profit gives kits to addicts to allow them to take drugs anally

A taxpayer-funded nonprofit in Maine, Maine Access Points (MAP), along with the city of Portland’s needle distribution center, is offering how-to guides and kits for “boofing,” a method where drug users squirt drugs up their rectum.

According to a report by the Maine Wire, Portland, Maine is providing drug users with a “Portland Public Health Boofing Kit” which includes a needleless syringe and an informational flyer explaining the technique for boofing. The method can be used for drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, and meth. 

The instructions advise users to find a safe spot, mix the drugs with saline in a provided tin, clean their hands and rectum, and use the provided lubricant to ease the syringe’s insertion. It also recommended those interested in using this method to empty their bowels beforehand.

The flyer instructs users to lay on their side in a fetal position or any comfortable position, insert the syringe tip into the rectum, release the mixture, and keep the syringe in place for a minute to prevent leakage. 

“Stay on your side laying down for a few minutes to let [the drugs] absorb in the membrane,” the guide said. “Then… You’re good to go!”

This method is recommended for users who experience issues with other forms of drug consumption, such as lung problems from smoking. The flyer also notes that this method may cause drugs to hit “harder or faster” compared to smoking or sniffing.

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New York Senators Call For Investigation Of State’s Marijuana Social Equity Fund After Exposé Of ‘Predatory Deals’

Citing an investigation by THE CITY, two state senators have called for New York’s social equity cannabis fund to cease issuing loans to dispensary operators and for any “trapped in these predatory deals to be made whole.”

“What this story describes is not a social equity fund. We must get to the bottom of this,” State Sens. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Gustavo Rivera (D-The Bronx) asserted in a joint statement that pointed to the high interest rates and start-up costs highlighted in the article.

They called for an investigation by the state’s inspector general of the public–private fund, which was designed to finance a form of reparation for people whose lives had been disrupted by decades of racially discriminatory drug laws.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The office has repeatedly refused to answer detailed questions from THE CITY seeking greater clarity about the fund’s operations.

THE CITY’s investigation found that officials of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, or OCM, had repeatedly warned the governor’s office for months about how the cannabis investment fund was being managed. They raised red flags about how dispensary operators were being loaded with steep costs and trapped in loans with strict terms that they believed were likely to lead to defaults. And OCM’s own counsel warned in an email that the licensees would likely default on their loans under the proposed terms.

The story was based on more than 500 internal agency emails, memos and presentations from July 2022 to July 2023 when the state was having trouble opening more than just a handful of dispensaries.

Calling the fund’s practices “unscrupulous,” the legislators said, “We must take action to redress these loan agreements.”

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Youth Marijuana Use In Colorado Continues To Decline Since Legalization Took Effect, Contradicting Prohibitionist Fears

Rates of youth marijuana use in Colorado declined slightly in 2023—remaining significantly lower than before the state became one of the first in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for adults, contradicting prohibitionist arguments that the reform would lead to increased underage consumption.

That’s according to the latest biannual Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, which found that past-30-day use of cannabis among high schoolers was at 12.8 percent in 2023, a dip from the 13.3 percent reported in 2021.

In fact, since the first retail cannabis shops opened in Colorado in 2014, youth marijuana use has gradually declined. It’s fallen nearly 7 percentage points since 2013, when past-30-day use among high schoolers was at 19.7 percent.

The latest data is all the more notable when considering the dip since 2021, as some expected rates would have increased given that COVID social distancing restrictions were lifted and students generally returned to in-person schooling.

“We were very happy to see that dramatic historical drop, but assumed that the drop was at least partially because many youth were schooling from home during the pandemic and not around peers, which was why the dramatic decrease occurred,” Eric Escudero, communications director for the Denver’s Department of Excise & Licenses and the Office of Marijuana Policy, told Marijuana Moment. “We were bracing for a massive surge today in youth who said they used marijuana in Denver. And it did not happen.”

In addition to the regulatory safeguards that have been put in place under legalization, Escudero also pointed to the government’s cannabis tax-funded investment in youth prevention.

“Denver led the way as the first American city with legalized recreational marijuana, and we made a promise that we would use a portion of marijuana tax dollars on youth prevention,” he said. “We have kept that promise with one of the most highly successful youth marijuana usage prevention campaigns in U.S. history.”

For advocates, the new report reinforces a key argument in favor of adult-use legalization. That is, enacting a system of regulated sales where ID checks are mandated would mitigate youth access issues and actually lead to decreased underage use.

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ABLECHILD: Is the FBI Using “Legacy Tokens” to Shield Mental Health Records and Psychotropic Drug Cocktails of Mass Shooters From The Public?

According to recently released information about the Covenant School shooter, Audrey Hale, psychiatric “treatment” was part of Hale’s life since early childhood. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) were aware of this important information within days of the shooting but have refused to share it with the public. Why?

Recall that on March 27 of last year, Hale deliberately traveled to the Covenant School with the sole purpose of taking lives. The mentally ill shooter succeeded in taking the lives of three children and three adult staff.

More than a year has passed since the shooting and, finally, information about Hale and her mental health history is being made public, including information about the cocktail of prescription drugs Hale had been prescribed.

According to the June 12 Tennessee Star article, police confiscated from Hale’s parent’s home prescription bottles that bear Hale’s name and the name of a psychiatric nurse practitioner. There also was one medication apparently prescribed by a Nashville Psychiatrist, which makes sense given earlier reports that Hale had been a patient at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center for most of her life – twenty-two years to be exact – and had been under the care of both a therapist and psychiatrist.

So, what prescription psychiatric drugs had the shooter been taking prior to the murderous rampage?

Lexapro – a drug used to “treat” depression from the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) family of Drugs. Possible side effects include, abnormal thinking, aggravated depression, aggression/aggressive reaction, aggravated restlessness, depersonalization, feeling unreal, hallucination, hypomania, paranoia, suicidal ideation/behavior, mania, acute psychosis, anger, delusion, mood swings, psychotic disorder, to name a few. Not recommended used with Buspirone.

Buspirone – an anxiety medication in a class called Anxiolytics to “treat” anxiety disorders. Possible side effects include, insomnia, anger, hostility, confusion, depression, dream disturbances, depersonalization, akathisia, fearfulness, hallucinations, suicidal ideation to name a few.

Hydroxyzine – used as a sedative to “treat” anxiety and tension. Possible side effects include aggression, agitation, confusion, depression, disorientation, hallucination, and insomnia to name a few.

Taking these prescriptions together can increase the risk of serious side effects and all three drugs are “recommended” to not be taken together. But it’s important to realize that the public still has not been provided any information about Hale’s mental health history such as what mental illness(es) had the shooter been diagnosed with? And this would include the entire patient history at Vanderbilt University Psychiatry Department along with the most recent diagnoses prior to the shooting. Given the leaked prescription information, it starts to make sense why law enforcement continues to withhold Hale’s mental health data.

This bombshell of suppressed evidence by the FBI and the Nashville Police Department (MNPD) is featured in the letter written to the Nashville Police Department (MNPD) by the FBI, explaining “Legacy Tokens” is the language used to describe information withheld from the public. This letter was obtained through an ongoing lawsuit between the Editor in Chief, Michael Patrick Leahy, and Star New Digital Media Inc., requesting the release of Hales writings, including those called a manifesto.

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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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GOP Congressman Says ‘Millions Of Marijuana Users’ Own Guns And Shouldn’t Face Prosecution Like Hunter Biden Did

Two Republican congressmen are challenging the basis of the conviction of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter for purchasing a gun while being a consumer of illegal drugs, with one pointing out that there are “millions of marijuana users” who own guns but should not be prosecuted.

After a federal jury found Hunter Biden guilty of three felony charges related to his purchase of a firearm while being a user of crack cocaine on Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said he “might deserve to be in jail for something, but purchasing a gun is not it.”

“There are millions of marijuana users who own guns in this country, and none of them should be in jail for purchasing or possessing a firearm against current laws,” the congressman said.

This past December, attorneys for Hunter Biden called on a federal court to dismiss the case against their client based on a similar principle, arguing that prosecutors are applying an unconstitutional statute that would criminalize millions of marijuana consumers acting in compliance with state law if broadly enforced.

The federal statute banning people who use cannabis from buying or possessing firearms has been challenged in multiple federal courts over recent years, with one case pending a review in the U.S. Supreme Court.

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DeSantis Launches ‘Florida Freedom Fund’ To Oppose Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, As Campaign Reports Millions In New Donations

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has launched a new political action committee to campaign against marijuana legalization and abortion rights initiatives that will appear on the state’s November ballot. At the same time, a newly released campaign finance report shows over $5 million in contributions supporting the cannabis measure have come in over the past two months.

As DeSantis continues his crusade against the marijuana legalization proposal, late last month he started what’s being called the Florida Freedom Fund, aimed at preventing adults from gaining the right to use cannabis. It’s being run by the governor’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier.

A spokesperson for DeSantis told Politico that the PAC “will be championing issues and candidates committed to preserving Floridians’ freedom.” How that stated mission squares with an attempt to restrict adults from accessing marijuana without risking a criminal record and potential jail time is unclear.

According to a Fox News poll released last week, two in three Florida voters support the cannabis initiative—with the issue proving more popular than the governor himself. The survey showed majority support for legalization across the political spectrum, too.

Despite his opposition to the marijuana legalization, DeSantis recently vetoed a bill to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids in his state. The action came amid reporting that the governor planned to block the hemp prohibition legislation in hopes that the industry would return the favor by financially assisting in his effort to defeat the marijuana initiative.

The governor, who predicted voters will reject the marijuana initiative in November, has argued that the state shouldn’t go beyond the existing medical cannabis program and that broader reform would negatively impact the quality of life for Floridians. The Florida Republican Party also formally came out against Amendment 3 last month.

So far, DeSantis’s PAC hasn’t reported raising any money. The Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the marijuana initiative, however, reported more than $5.2 million in new contributions from April 1 to May 31, with the bulk of that funding coming from the multi-state cannabis company Trulieve. That’s in addition to the $15 million the campaign raised in the first quarter of the year, a haul that included contributions from other cannabis companies such as Verano Holdings, Curaleaf, Ayr Wellness, Green Thumb Industries and Cresco Labs.

The new first quarter report shows that other marijuana firms are coming to the table in support, including Insa, which donated $144,000, Sunburn parent company Green Sentry Holdings, which chipped in $50,000, and Urban-Gro, which gave $25,000.

The report also shows dozens of small-dollar donations, too.

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California Senators Approve Bill To Legalize Marijuana Cafes Where People Could Smoke, Eat Food And Watch Events Such As Concerts

A California Senate panel has approved a bill to legalize cannabis cafes in the state, months after the governor vetoed a previous iteration of the proposal.

The Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee passed the legislation in a 9-2 vote on Monday, about three weeks after it cleared the full Assembly.

Assemblymember Matt Haney (D) is again sponsoring the proposal, which would allow on-site marijuana consumption at licensed businesses that could also offer non-cannabis food and non-alcoholic drinks and host live events such as concerts if they get permission from their local government.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed the prior version, saying that while he appreciated that the intent was to “provide cannabis retailers with increased business opportunities and an avenue to attract new customers,” he felt “concerned this bill could undermine California’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections.”

“Protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount,” the governor said at the time. “I encourage the author to address this concern in subsequent legislation.”

Speaking to senators on Monday, Haney clarified that his bill this bill does not legalize consumption lounges but instead would let marijuana businesses add new streams of revenue to those facilities that are already in operation.

“Consumption lounges currently exist throughout the state of California if authorized by the local government, and people are actively consuming cannabis at these lounges,” he said. “However, what is currently not allowed under existing law, completely prohibited, is the ability for cannabis retailers to diversify their business by selling food, drinks and an experience.”

“The cannabis industry is struggling. Issues like an oversaturation, high taxes and a still-thriving black market are hurting cannabis businesses who follow the rules and pay taxes,” Haney said. “By authorizing cannabis retailers to diversify their businesses, we are boosting revenue for California’s small businesses.”

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