Tag: the war on (some) drugs

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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Marijuana Will Gain Millions Of Consumers Over Alcohol, With Sales Hitting $37 Billion By 2027, Investment Bank Projects

A multinational investment bank says that marijuana has become a “formidable competitor” to alcohol, projecting that nearly 20 million more people will regularly consume cannabis over the next five years as booze loses a couple million drinkers. It also says marijuana sales are estimated to reach $37 billion in 2027 as more state markets come online.

An analysis from the firm TD Cowen says marijuana sales reached $29 billion in 2023, which is approximately 11 percent of what the alcohol industry brought it. That’s up from four percent just five years ago, and marijuana is expected to grow by another seven percent annually over the next five years.

“As such, we believe that over the next 5 years, the cannabis category will add 18 million past-month consumers, while alcohol will lose 2 million past-month consumers, as consumers increasingly embrace cannabis and temper their alcohol consumption,” the report, titled “Cannabis Beats Booze,” says.

Vivien Azer, team lead on the analysis, told Marijuana Moment that the report bolsters a growing body of market research.

“We’ve been calling for seven years now for cannabis to increasingly prove as a dislocator to alcohol sales—and, really, it’s just a matter of time,” she said. However, she said it was “a little surprising” to see data projecting an even greater underperformance for alcohol sales in legal marijuana states.

While marijuana sales are still just a fraction of the dominant alcohol market, analysts say that there’s reason to believe that booze could be “at risk” of declining because of increased substitution among consumers, particularly young people. The TD Cowen report cited a proprietary survey that found more than two-thirds of cannabis users report reducing alcohol consumption.

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RFK, Ramaswamy And Williamson Push Psychedelics Reform On Presidential Campaign Trail

Democratic, Republican and independent 2024 presidential candidates might disagree on many major political issues, but three hopefuls have each recently used their platform on the campaign trail to promote their visions for psychedelics reform.

Marianne Williamson, who is running for the Democratic nomination against incumbent President Joe Biden, has released a comprehensive drug policy platform that broadly condemns prohibition, pledging to legalize “less harmful drugs” including marijuana and psilocybin while providing free access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to treat drug addiction.

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy reaffirmed his more modest position last week, calling for the decriminalization of ayahuasca and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to mitigate the suicide crisis.

Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who left the Democratic primary to run as an independent candidate, is sharing why he’s embraced allowing access to psychedelics for mental health treatment, describing how his son’s experience with ayahuasca helped him process the death of his mother.

It’s a uniquely 2024 commonality among the otherwise divided candidates, underscoring the increased bipartisan interest in exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

Each candidate had previously expressed support for psychedelics reform, but recent statements and campaign materials add context to how they view the issue and how they envision implementing change if they beat the political odds to get elected to the White House.

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Could magic mushrooms replace oxycodone?  Ingredient found in psychedelic helps treat chronic pain by reshaping the brain, study suggests

An injection of psilocybin, the key ingredient in so-called ‘magic mushrooms,’ could offer lasting relief from chronic pain, according to new research.

A team of scientists at the University of Michigan found that rats given the psychedelic drug were significantly less sensitive to pain for weeks compared to animals who did not receive it. 

These results suggest that the drug is altering pathways in the brain, the study authors wrote.

Scientists suspect many chronic pain conditions are the result of changes to the brain and spinal cord, not just the body part that’s in pain. 

Psilocybin may modify these pathways rather than just treating the symptoms of pain.

In the new study, rats were given a small injection of formaldehyde in their foot to simulate chronic pain. 

Injections like this can lead to a month or more of hypersensitivity, even in the feet that haven’t been injected.

So, while this pain isn’t the same as a person with a back injury or other chronic pain experiences, it is one way for scientists to study long-lasting pain.

The lab animals were then given either a low-dose injection of psilocybin, a high-dose injection, or an injection of harmless salt water – a placebo to ensure the drug was responsible for the observed effects. 

The low-dose group received 1mg per kilogram of body weight, the equivalent of a microdose, while the high-dose group received 10mg per kilogram, a hallucinogenic dose. 

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People With Past Convictions Shouldn’t Be Blocked From Marijuana Industry Work, Massachusetts Regulators Say

This fall, the Cannabis Control Commission’s regulations to implement Massachusetts’s equity reform law became official, representing the most wide-ranging changes to the Commonwealth’s regulated marijuana marketplace in six years and a historic accomplishment for advocates, operators, regulators and the legislature. As a result, our agency is now entrusted with oversight of local contracts between host communities and licensees, as well as efforts at the municipal level to increase inclusivity in the industry. However, a single legislative update may provide the greatest opportunity for individuals directly impacted by the war on drugs.

The marijuana employment amendment—passed unanimously by the state Senate before being adopted in the House and then signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) in August 2022—now bans all prior criminal convictions, including marijuana offense-related dispositions, from automatically disqualifying individuals from working for most cannabis licensees unless the offense involved distribution of a controlled substance to a minor. In doing so, the Commonwealth has cleared the way for gainful employment in the legal industry by the communities most impacted by drug policies that disproportionately incarcerated people of color, and eliminated a blanket regulatory ban that previously prevented employers from even considering their hire.

Legalization brought a sense of hope, belonging and inspiration for those most impacted by marijuana prohibition; many believed it would address historical injustices, make products safer and bring economic gains to those harmed by previous policies. Fortunately, much of that vision has come to fruition.

Today, Massachusetts’s adult-use cannabis industry has generated more than $5 billion in sales, or roughly $1 billion in tax revenue, and millions more in non-tax revenue through licensing and application fees. More than 570 licensed marijuana establishments have commenced operations, 102 medical marijuana treatment centers are open and nearly 100,000 residents are now registered medical patients. Hundreds of entrepreneurs, and more than 20,0000 employees, benefit from growing, manufacturing and selling the biggest cash crop in our state.

However, over that time, only 67 participants in the commission’s programming to include communities harmed by the war on drugs have opened businesses (158 more are in the licensing pipeline), while less than 15 percent of the current workforce identifies as Black or Latino.

Despite our best efforts, equity is coming slowly. The high cost of compliance, combined with limited access to capital, have kept barriers to entry high. The state’s new cannabis equity law has mandated solutions to many of these problems, including the creation of the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund administered by the Executive Office of Economic Development.

But to truly eliminate all collateral consequences of the drug war, it was also important to remove unnecessary blanket prohibitions that prevented people with criminal records from obtaining jobs like the ones they did before legalization. Employment has proven to be one of the most effective tools for reintegration and reducing recidivism.

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