Tag: the war on (some) drugs

State Officials Promote Marijuana Gifting, Infused Baking And Safety Tips For The Holiday Season

State marijuana regulators across the country are marking the holiday season with messages about gifting cannabis as a present, making infused Christmas cookies and keeping products secure.

From California to New Jersey and New York to Virginia, regulatory bodies overseeing legal markets are engaging consumers on social media with holiday-themed posts, spreading the word about their respective marijuana laws and leaning into cannabis culture.

California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), for example, shared an animated GIF on X (formerly Twitter) that looks like a grandmother holding baked goods decorated with a marijuana leaf, with text that asks followers about their “favorite cannabis holiday recipe.”

New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), meanwhile, is reminding adults that they’re allowed to “legally gift up to one ounce of cannabis to adults 21 years and older in New Jersey,” with details about the policy featured on a seasonal image of gifts, tree ornaments and pine twigs.

“Don’t forget though, it is illegal to transport cannabis across state lines,” the message adds, followed by a link to a government directory of licensed marijuana retailers.

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Biden Expands Marijuana Pardons With New Proclamation Covering Offenses On Federal Properties

President Joe Biden on Friday issued a proclamation expanding a marijuana pardon initiative he began last year by including for the first time people who committed cannabis possession offenses on federal properties.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in a statement. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

“Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” the president continued. “That’s why I continue to urge governors to do the same with regard to state offenses and applaud those who have since taken action.”

The expanded pardon proclamation comes as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is considering a recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III that stemmed from a review that Biden initiated last year in conjunction with his initial marijuana clemency move.

While advocates have welcomed the president’s actions on marijuana, they have critically pointed out that his cannabis-focused pardons have not released anyone from prison and exclude large groups of people, including immigrants and those with convictions for selling marijuana.

Friday’s expanded proclamation notes that it, like its predecessor, “does not apply to individuals who were non-citizens not lawfully present in the United States at the time of their offense” and does not cover “possession of marijuana with intent to distribute or driving offenses committed while under the influence of marijuana.”

Its scope covers federal and Washington, D.C. offenses for “simple possession of marijuana, attempted simple possession of marijuana, or use of marijuana, regardless of whether they have been charged with or prosecuted for these offenses on or before the date of this proclamation,” meaning that it will cover people who committed cannabis possession crimes subsequent to Biden’s initial October 2022 pardon.

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Gang ringleader who smuggled at least 127kg of cocaine into Britain using Encrochat is jailed for 16½ years after detectives ‘hacked into’ encrypted service

The ringleader of a drug network smuggled at least 127kg of cocaine into the UK using the Encrochat messaging service that has been burst open by detectives.

Marius Bucys, 43, of Dagenham in London, has been sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.

Bucys is the latest criminal to be busted after cybercrime experts cracked open the Encrochat service and used its data to arrest hundreds of criminals who had, until then, used the app as a near-untraceable means of coordinating drug deals.

European officers blew the app wide open in 2020, and Metropolitan Police detectives used a combination of its data and old-fashioned detective work to snare the drug smuggler – whose drivers used secret compartments to hide their wares.

The Met says Bucys acted as the ringleader in a wider drug network, arranging travel and logistics for the substances to be brought into the UK.

After Encrochat was accessed by police in the Netherlands and France, data was passed to police forces in the UK via the National Crime Agency (NCA) that detectives were able to use to link Bucys to the illicit trade.

Officers also trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV showing lorry drivers stopping at locations up and down the M25 to pick up the drugs.

When officers raided his address, they found a notebook containing details of the importations.

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Connecticut Marijuana Retailers Can Open On Christmas And New Year’s, But Alcohol Stores Must Close

People in Connecticut can’t legally buy alcohol on Christmas or New Year’s Day, the state Department of Consumer Protection reminded residents this week—but cannabis is A-OK.

“If you choose to consume alcohol with your holiday celebrations, be sure to make those purchases ahead of time, and, of course, please drink responsibly,” Department of Consumer Protection (DPC) Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement on Wednesday. “And, because we regulate many things you may be wondering about, Connecticut Law does not prohibit the sale of cannabis, or limit your ability to place wagers during the holidays.”

“No matter how you choose to spend the holidays,” he added, “please know your limit, arrange designated drivers and be respectful of the establishments and communities where you celebrate.”

On both New Year’s and Christmas Day, state law prohibits package stores from opening, and grocery stores are barred from selling beer. To-go sales of liquor are also banned.

“Hours for cannabis licensees,” said the Department of Consumer Protection, “are unaffected.”

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Ukraine Legalizes Medical Marijuana

Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, the Verkhovna Rada’ passed a bill Thursday on the legalization of medical marijuana. The bill was approved in a 248-16 votes, reported the Odessa Journal.

The legislation was recently blocked by a single opposition party and hundreds of its “spam amendments.”

In June 2023 Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed his support for legalizing medical marijuana. He said at the time that Ukraine should undertake an effort to create the best mental and physical rehabilitation sector in Europe by building centers and educating personnel.

“In particular, we must finally honestly legalize cannabis-based medicine for everyone who needs it, [with] the relevant scientific research and controlled Ukrainian manufacturing,” Zelensky said.

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Switzerland considers legalising COCAINE: Politicians declare ‘the war on drugs has failed’

Switzerland’s capital is examining a pilot scheme to allow the sale of cocaine for recreational use – a radical approach to the war on drugs that is not thought to have been tried elsewhere.

The Parliament in Bern has supported the idea, which still needs to overcome opposition from the city government and will also require a change in national law.

Drugs policy around the world is evolving, with the U.S. state of Oregon, for example, decriminalising possession of small amounts of cocaine in 2021 in favour of drug treatment.

Many European countries, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, no longer have prison sentences for possession of drugs including cocaine, although nowhere has gone as far as the proposal under discussion in Bern.

Switzerland is re-examining its stance on the drug after some politicians and experts criticised complete bans as ineffective, with the proposal – currently in its early stages – following trials now under way to permit the legal sale of cannabis.

‘The war on drugs has failed, and we have to look at new ideas,’ said Eva Chen, a member of the Bern council from the Alternative Left Party who co-sponsored the proposal.

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Pennsylvania Lawmakers Approve Bills To Protect Medical Cannabis Patients From DUI Charges

Pennsylvania lawmakers have advanced a pair of bills meant to prevent police from charging medical cannabis patients with impaired driving without proof of intoxication.

The Senate version of the legislation from Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R) cleared the Senate Transportation Committee, with amendments, in a unanimous vote last week.

Meanwhile, a House bill sponsored by Rep. Christopher Rabb (D), which is drafted differently but meant to achieve the same goal, passed that chamber’s Transportation Committee, 14-10.

Bartolotta said the measure—an earlier version of which also advanced last year—is designed to close a “loophole” in Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis law that currently permits law enforcement to arrest and prosecute patients for driving under the influence of marijuana without demonstrating that they are actively impaired.

“In 2016, we legalized the use of medicinal cannabis for a myriad of conditions. We were very careful with how the language was crafted in an attempt to avoid unintended consequences,” the senator said during the committee meeting. “Since that time, it has become very obvious that we overlooked one very important aspect.”

She pointed out that the majority of states, including some that have not legalized medical marijuana, require proof of impairment for DUI cases. But Pennsylvania’s law maintains that cannabis is considered a Schedule I drug for the purposes of impaired driving, regardless of a person’s status as a state-registered medical marijuana patient.

That’s led to situations where people have faced DUI charges after being stopped by police, identifying as a medical cannabis patient and then being required to submit to a drug test that showed the presence of inactive THC metabolites, which can stay in a person’s systems for days or weeks after using marijuana.

“No one should be put through this situation if they are legally and responsibly using medical cannabis in Pennsylvania,” Bartolotta said. “It is past time that we correct this egregious oversight.”

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Interstate Marijuana Commerce Could Put California At ‘Significant Legal Risk’ Of Federal Action, Attorney General Says

The attorney general of California has determined that the state could put itself and its employees at “significant legal risk” of federal enforcement action if it were to authorize interstate marijuana commerce.

In a legal opinion sent to state cannabis regulators on Tuesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said there are “strong arguments” that state officials could be federally prosecuted for implementing a law that permits cannabis imports and exports between consenting legal states.

The opinion comes in response to a request earlier this year from the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), seeking the attorney general’s assessment of potential liability for permitting interstate commerce under a law Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed last year.

While DCC argued in its request that the state would not find itself at substantial legal risk for allowing the activity, the attorney general’s opinion says it cannot rule out that possibility given the threat of federal preemption under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that strictly prohibits cannabis.

The law Newsom signed stipulated that the governor would be authorized to enter into interstate commerce agreements with other legal states if federal law or guidance changed, or if the state attorney general ruled out the possibility of “significant legal risk.”

“We appreciate the Attorney General’s conclusion that the arguments supporting interstate agreements are ‘strong,’” a DCC spokesperson said in a statement shared with Marijuana Moment on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, even strong arguments cannot put novel questions beyond all debate. If you are looking for certainty, you will not find it in cannabis.”

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New Hampshire Republican Unveils Bill To Legalize Psychedelics For Mental Health And Medical Conditions

A Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire has prefiled legislation for the coming session that would legalize three psychedelic substances—psilocybin, LSD and mescaline—for therapeutic use with a healthcare provider’s recommendation.

The bill, HB 1693, from Rep. Kevin Verville, would create a regulated psychedelics system for registered patients, with alternative treatment centers (ATCs) set up to produce and dispense the substances.

The proposal is modeled after the state’s existing medical cannabis law, under which seven licensed marijuana ATCs currently serve patients. Psychedelics patients would be required to obtain state-issued ID cards, while designated caregivers could purchase and provide the substances to patients.

To access psychedelics, patients would need a recommendation from a licensed physician, advanced practice nurse, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner or mental health provider. Anyone falsely claiming to be using psychedelics legally under the measure would be subject to a civil violation and $500 fine, in addition to other penalties.

Among the qualifying conditions envisioned for the program are anxiety, depression, PTSD, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, sleep disorders, substance use disorder, chronic pain, attention deficit, migraines and cluster headaches, postpartum mental illnesses and others.

The proposal would also allow providers to recommend psychedelics for “any novel or emergent illness which is not categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but is diagnosed by a state licensed mental health professional,” though there would need to be published scientific observations, including self-reports, regarding psilocybin as a treatment for the condition.

The new program would be overseen by the state Department of Health and Human Services—though the measure does not contain appropriations to fund the program’s startup or staff, a legislative description says, noting that fees for patients and ATCs would be necessary to cover those costs.

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Top Federal Health Official And Former White House Drug Czar Brief Congress On Kratom As Advocates Push For Bipartisan Reform Bill

A top federal health official and a former White House drug czar were among the featured speakers at a recent kratom-focused congressional briefing, laying out research priorities for the plant and broadly promoting alternative approaches to drug criminalization.

Last week’s event, organized by the American Kratom Association (AKA), was meant to give a science-based overview of kratom issues for congressional staff and stakeholders as bipartisan lawmakers work to advance a bill to federally regulate the substance, which is currently unscheduled and anecdotally used for pain relief, curbing withdrawal symptoms and other purposes.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow started by saying that while she always wants policy to be grounded in science, she’s come to understand that data is “not necessarily sufficient or enough.”

In the case of kratom, she said, “unfortunately, we don’t know much,” which is why NIDA is committed to expanding research into its potential risks and benefits. For example, she said health agencies have “invested significant resources” to synthesize the main compound of kratom so that researchers can conduct clinical trials investigating how it can be used for pain management and also “for the treatment of drug addiction.”

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