Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Oregon House Passes Bill To Reverse Voter-Approved Drug Decriminalization Law

The Oregon House on Thursday passed a proposal to reshape the state’s response to the fentanyl addiction and overdose crisis and put more power in the hands of police and prosecutors to rein in drug users.

The bipartisan vote of 51-7 kicks House Bill 4002 to the Senate, the last step in a long legislative process that started last fall. The bill would unwind voter-passed Measure 110 by putting in place a new misdemeanor charge for drug possession, a move intended to encourage people to enter treatment programs rather than face charges and go to jail. Potential jail time for misdemeanor drug possession would only kick in if a defendant violates their probation.

The bill represents a bipartisan compromise between Democrats and Republicans that was hashed out over hours-long meetings dating to September, with dozens of witnesses from advocacy groups, law enforcement, family members of overdose victims and behavioral health providers giving testimony. Oregon’s district attorneys, police and sheriffs support it, as do cities and business groups like the Portland Metro Chamber of Commerce and Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

“We are in the midst of a profound public health crisis and we must meet it with compassion and courage,” said Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Portland. “These are humans.”

The bill would undo a key provision of the voter-passed Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs and enacted a system of $100 citations that a person could avoid if they obtained a health assessment. Police have said the citation system lacked the teeth necessary to encourage people to enter treatment, and a majority of Oregonians in surveys have voiced support for repealing Measure 110 or parts of it.

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Marijuana Consumers Have ‘Significantly Decreased Odds’ Of Cognitive Decline, Study Finds

Marijuana use is associated with lower odds of subjective cognitive decline (SCD), according to a new study, with people who consume cannabis for recreational or medical purposes reporting less confusion and memory loss compared to non-users.

The study—which showed that recreational cannabis use is “significantly” linked to lower SCD—is especially notable given that past research has connected subjective decline to the development of dementia later in life.

The results, which were published in the journal Current Alzheimer Research this month, indicate that THC’s impacts on cognitive function may be more complicated than popularly assumed.

“Compared to non-users,” the study says, “non-medical cannabis use was significantly associated with 96% decreased odds of SCD.”

People who reported using marijuana for medical purposes, or for both medical and recreational purposes, also showed “decreased odds of SCD, although not significant,” the study found.

To be sure, a number of earlier studies have indicated negative associations between heavy cannabis use and mental performance. Authors of the new study, out of SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, pointed to past results linking long-term or frequent cannabis use to compromised verbal recall performance, worsened cognitive function and subjective memory complaints, for example.

“However, the cognitive implications of cannabis are not only determined by the frequency of cannabis consumption,” they wrote, noting that other factors—including product formulation, method of administration and reason for use—may also “impact the cognitive effects associated with cannabis use.”

“Our study addresses these knowledge gaps by comprehensively examining how reason, frequency, and method of cannabis use are associated with SCD among U.S. middle-aged and older adults,” their report says.

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Indian Tribe Plans To Open North Carolina’s First Marijuana Dispensary On 4/20

Following last year’s decision by members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) to legalize cannabis for adult use, the tribe has set a target date to open retail sales: April 20, 2024. If all goes as planned, the launch will mark the first-ever legal marijuana sales within the borders of North Carolina.

“It’s the national cannabis holiday, right?” Lee Griffin, human resources director for the tribe’s marijuana business, Qualla Enterprises, said of the 4/20 start date during a ECBI tribal council work session on Wednesday. “Across the country, it’s the biggest revenue date annually” for cannabis.

“It’s like New Year’s Eve at the casino,” he said.

The retail store—located on the tribe’s 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary—will be open to any adult 21 and older, regardless of tribal membership.

Members of the tribe voted last September to legalize and regulate adult-use sales, approving a ballot measure with a strong 70 percent–30 percent margin.

Two years earlier, in 2021, ECBI’s Qualla Boundary became the first place in North Carolina where medical marijuana was legal after the tribal council adopted a regulated system. Registration for the program opened to all North Carolina residents this past June, and in October, the tribe issued its first round of medical marijuana cards.

At this week’s tribal council meeting, which was first reported by The Charlotte Observer, Griffin said that about 1,400 people have already applied for cannabis-related jobs, though Qualla Enterprises aims to hire just over 350. Currently the business employs 69 employees, he said.

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Another Senator Signs Onto Marijuana Banking Bill, Saying It Will ‘Take The Target Off The Backs’ Of Dispensaries Facing Robberies

A Democratic senator has announced that she’s joined the list of bipartisan cosponsors of a marijuana banking bill, stressing the need for the reform amid a spate of robberies targeting state-licensed cannabis businesses in her state.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) signed on as a cosponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act on Tuesday, becoming the 35th member of the chamber to add their name to the legislation in addition to its lead sponsor.

“Last year there were more than 50 robbery attempts at marijuana dispensaries in the State of Washington,” the senator said.

A report from StoptheDrugWar.org further found that nearly 100 Washington cannabis shops were impacted over a period of less than five months in 2021.

“This bill will take the target off the backs of our state’s dispensaries by updating federal banking laws so they don’t have to do all their business in cash,” Cantwell said.

The senator has also previously pushed for marijuana industry access to federal Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and services, as well as the elimination of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E that prevents cannabis businesses from taking standard federal tax deductions.

Congressional researchers also recently Congressional acknowledged in a report that the lack of banking access for state-legal marijuana businesses leads them to be “heavily reliant on cash transactions, making them a target for theft.”

The Senate Banking Committee passed the SAFER Banking Act to address the issue last September, but the measure is pending action on the floor. Earlier versions have cleared the House in some form at least seven times in recent sessions.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in late December that lawmakers will “hit the ground running” in 2024, aiming to build on bipartisan progress on several key issues, including marijuana banking reform—though he noted it “won’t be easy.”

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Pennsylvania Police Settle Lawsuit With Woman Forced to Undergo ‘Humiliating’ Strip-Search

Pennsylvania police officers have reached a settlement with a woman who says she underwent an unnecessary and humiliating strip-search after she was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. 

According to a lawsuit filed in 2021, Holly Elish was traveling through Bentlyville, Pennsylvania, on her way home from work when she was pulled over by local police officer Brian Rousseau.

When Rousseau pulled Elish over, he quickly asked for consent to search her vehicle, which Elish denied. According to the lawsuit, Rousseau responded that “he had the right to search her vehicle.” Soon after, a second police officer arrived on the scene. The two men again asked to search Elish’s vehicle, telling her that even more officers would soon arrive.

“Fearing for her safety and knowing that the police did not have justification to search her vehicle yet were insistent and intimidating in attempting to do so, Ms. Elish allowed the vehicle search to occur under duress and coercion,” the complaint states.

The officers searched Elish’s car but found no sign of drugs, illegal weapons, or other contraband. However, that wasn’t enough for the officers to let Elish go. A female police officer—unnamed in the suit—had arrived on the scene, and after having a brief conversation with the other officers began to strip-search Elish.

The officer “began the strip search by physically and visually inspecting Ms. Elish’s breasts,” according to the complaint. Elish then had “to remove her pants and underwear to her ankles and ‘squat’ to the ground, during which she bent down to the ground with one knee and performed a visual cavity inspection.”

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Equity Advocates ‘Correct The Record’ On Biden’s Marijuana Actions And Shortcomings Of Anticipated Schedule III Move

A coalition of drug policy reform advocates is seeking to “correct the record” on the Biden administration’s marijuana policy achievements, calling attention to unfulfilled campaign promises to Black and brown communities on cannabis reform and criticizing the limitations of incremental rescheduling.

During a virtual press briefing organized by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) on Wednesday, representatives of multiple equity-focused cannabis organizations pushed back on the administration’s modest reform steps, contending that anything short of ending federal marijuana criminalization would represent a disservice to the communities most impacted under prohibition.

Maritza Perez Medina, director of federal affairs at DPA, stressed during the briefing that moving marijuana to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is “something that our communities cannot accept.”

“As long as marijuana remains anywhere on the CSA, the harms of federal marijuana criminalization will continue,” she said.

Cat Packer, vice chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) and director of drug markets and legal regulation at DPA, said the Biden administration’s commentary around its marijuana policy achievements “illustrates the need for Black and brown communities to correct the record of what promises have been made to our communities and whether any promises have been kept.”

President Joe Biden campaigned on a pledge to federally decriminalize marijuana—and he’s said repeatedly that nobody should be incarcerated over cannabis. But despite granting pardons for people who’ve committed certain federal marijuana possession offenses and directing a scheduling review, those broader promises have not yet been achieved.

“Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III—the outcome that is anticipated to result from the Biden administration’s actions—would continue the very criminalization that Biden said that he would end and is the very type of incrementalism that [Vice President Kamala Harris] criticized in 2020,” Packer said. “Where’s the accountability to Black and brown communities to whom these reforms were promised?”

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New York Governor Pushes Big Tech To ‘Step Up’ By Removing Illicit Marijuana Shop Listings

New York’s governor is calling on big tech companies such as Google and Meta to “do the right thing” by taking steps to stop promoting illicit marijuana shops that have proliferated across the state.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that social media and search engine companies are passively undermining the legal market that’s being implemented by allowing unlicensed retailers to be featured on their services, giving consumers the false impression that they are legitimate businesses.

‘They’re hurting our legal shops, and we’ve been in touch with these companies, these platforms, and we’ve told them flat out, ‘You need to change this,’” she said.

Hochul added that she doesn’t expect the tech companies to proactively identify and remove illicit shop listings on their own because “they would tell us that they’re not required to.” To that end, she said her message to the businesses is, “let us help you.”

“Let us give you the list of legal vendors. I know who’s legal. We all know who’s legal. And then you have a responsibility to make sure that you’re not posting the locations of illegal shops,” the governor said. “Now I’m calling on all these platforms to step up, do the right thing and be part of the solution. Don’t be complicit in helping jeopardize the public health and the livelihoods of these legitimate business owners.”

At Wednesday’s briefing, Hochul was joined by cannabis stakeholders and advocates, including representatives of organizations that published an open letter to the governor on Tuesday that raised the alarm about social media companies promoting unlicensed retailers.

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Ohio Drops Medical Marijuana Patient Fee To 1¢ As New Jersey Offers Free Digital Cannabis Cards

Ohio medical marijuana patients and caregivers will soon only need to pay one penny to obtain or renew their registrations, regulators have announced. And in New Jersey, the state is fully eliminating the cost of obtaining a medical cannabis card.

As Ohio prepares to implement a voter-approved adult-use legalization law, the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) says that, effective March 4, the annual fees ($50 for patients and $25 for caregivers) will drop to one cent. Once regulators are able to update vendor software, the plan is to completely remove the fee.

“The DCC understands that a one cent charge is not ideal,” it said in a notice on Tuesday, “however, at this time the Division feels it is appropriate and necessary to provide this immediate financial relief for patients and caregivers in the short term while working toward a full fee elimination as soon as the updates to the registry can be made.”

The fee elimination is part of an initial package of rules that DCC released earlier this month to implement adult-use legalization. That rollout currently calls for sales to begin in September, but the governor and lawmakers have pushed for legislation to speed up that process by allowing existing medical cannabis dispensaries to begin selling to adult consumers earlier.

A top Ohio Democratic senator recently said GOP House leadership is doing a “disservice” to the public by failing to advance legislation to expedite marijuana sales.

The Senate did pass a bill in December that would address the issue by allowing existing medical cannabis dispensaries to dually serve patients and adult consumers within 90 days of enactment, in addition to other changes to the initiated statute. But the House hasn’t taken it up, and the chamber has also been considering an alternative package.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) also announced on Tuesday that, starting on March 1, patients and caregivers will no longer be required to pay a $10 fee to obtain a medical marijuana card.

They will be able to download the cards digitally for free and either save them on their phones or print them out.

“We are excited to offer free digital medicinal cannabis cards to patients in New Jersey,” Jeff Brown, executive director of the NJ-CRC, said in a press release. “Our goal with this initiative is to improve accessibility and convenience for patients who require medical cannabis for their treatment. By offering digital options, we make it more convenient for patients to receive the care they need.”

Brown also recently disclosed that the state has officially surpassed $2 billion in medical and recreational marijuana sales since 2018, and he also encouraged lawmakers to explore the possibility of giving medical cannabis patients a home grow option.

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FDA Official Says Agency Is ‘Actively’ Exploring CBD Regulations As It Continues To Monitor Kratom

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is “actively” exploring a potential regulatory framework for CBD, with plans to prioritize the issue in the next year, a top official says. Meanwhile, the agency is also investigating issues related to kratom.

FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs Kimberlee Trzeciak discussed the agency’s cannabis and kratom interests during a webinar hosted by the Alliance for a Strong FDA this month.

Asked about issues that are “top of mind” for the agency in 2024 and where officials hope to engage with Congress, Trzeciak said that later this year or next year FDA wants to address setting up “an appropriate regulatory framework for CBD.”

Later in the conversation, the FDA official was asked specifically about how the agency is “prioritizing” its work on cannabis and kratom regulations, and she said officials are taking a number of factors into consideration as they work to address the substances.

“In almost every neighborhood you go to, you can see stores on the corners that are marketing CBD and kratom and others,” she said. “And one of the things that we have been thinking through here at FDA, using CBD as an example, is what does the regulatory framework for those products look like?”

“Based on what we know about CBD in particular, we do not think that those products would be able to meet the safety standards that we have in place for foods and dietary supplements today,” she said, referencing the agency’s position after it declined to enact regulations for the non-intoxicating cannabinoid that was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.

“What can we do in terms of regulatory tools to ensure that this product is going to be marketed that consumers are clearly aware of what the product is, what is in it and making sure that we have basic information about the marketplace?” Trzeciak said. “I like to think of it as the common regulatory tool that we have across the other products that we regulate.”

She added that FDA wants to “work with Congress on this effort,” including possible rulemaking around CBD product labeling and packaging.

“For example, how can we ensure that the agency knows if there are adverse events that are being reported, so we can identify those trends, making sure that the product is being manufactured or produced in a way that’s safe and quality?” she said.

Kratom reform advocates say the deputy commissioner’s comments represent a “shift” in the agency’s policy perspective on the issue. Historically, FDA hasn’t engaged in the kratom debate as actively as other agencies such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

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South Dakota Senate Passes Strict Ban On Delta-8 THC And Other Intoxicating Hemp Products

The state Senate has voted to pass the original, stricter version of a ban on the widely available, hemp-derived “diet weed” products that induce highs similar to marijuana.

House Bill 1125 had originally targeted a wide swath of products. The gummies, vape pens, pre-rolled joints and smokable flowers can be produced using high concentrations of the psychoactive chemicals present in minuscule amounts in industrial hemp, or using synthetically derived versions of those same chemicals.

The chemical concoctions are an unexpected outgrowth of the legalization of industrial hemp at the federal level. The federal legality of the natural intoxicants made the use of them in large concentrations legal by extension, though there have been questions raised by the Drug Enforcement Administration about the legality of the lab-grown versions.

HB 1125 flip-flopped between which kinds of products would be covered as it moved through the lawmaking process.

Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls, moved his bill through the House Health and Human Services Committee in its original form, but saw it modified on the House floor to target only products made from the lab-grown chemicals, which are sold under names like THC-O.

Rep. Oren Lesmeister, D-Parade, told his fellow representatives that a ban on products made with naturally occurring chemicals would hurt small business owners and hemp growers alike. Under that change, products sold under names like Delta-8 or Delta-10 THC would still be legal to sell.

The House passed Lesmeister’s amendment, then passed HB 1125 on a unanimous vote.

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