Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Biden to pardon all federal marijuana convictions

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to pardon all federal offenses of marijuana possession, the White House announced. 

The pardons apply to all federal cases of simple marijuana possession as well as convictions in the District of Columbia. At least 6,500 individuals will be immediately impacted by Biden’s pardons. 

“President Biden pardons all prior federal convictions for simple marijuana possession – including under DC law – also directs states to do the same, and asks HHS & AG to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law,” reported Fox News’ White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich. 

“Senior admin official says 6500 people w/ federal convictions + thousands more under DC law will benefit… but no individuals are currently in federal prison solely for simple possession of marijuana. Most are @ state level,” Heinrich’s report continued. 

The pardons will not affect anyone convicted of simple marijuana possession in state jurisdictions. 

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Humboldt County, California, Caught Fining Innocent Homeowners $10,000 Per Day for Offenses They Did Not Commit

In 2018, after a wildfire destroyed their Southern California home, Corrine and Doug Thomas did their best to find a silver lining and turn that nightmare into a dream: They packed up their remaining possessions, and—along with one of their two autistic adult sons—bought a modest home nestled in Northern California’s fabled redwood forests. The home, which is perched on a hill over the Avenue of the Giants highway in Humboldt County, was a perfect fit for their family and included a large barn out back for Doug’s workshop. 

Unfortunately, the Thomases’ dream quickly turned into a terrible new nightmare. 

Just six days after moving in, they received a notice from the county fining them $12,000 per day because the previous owners had used the barn to grow cannabis over two years before the Thomases bought it. The county, which requires a lengthy permit process for demolitions, gave them just ten days to tear it down. Panicked, they hired a building engineer, who estimated that the demolition would cost more than $180,000—which was money they don’t have. As of today, they have accrued more than $1 million in fines. 

By the county’s reasoning, anyone with a greenhouse, cleared garden, barn or any other structure that could be used to grow cannabis is assumed to be growing cannabis and fined at least $10,000 per day. Humboldt accuses property owners of cannabis-related offenses without any proof or process. The county rarely bothers to conduct even the most cursory investigation. If the inspector had visited the Thomases’, for instance, he would have found an empty barn with a few tools. But Humboldt’s inspectors have admitted that they frequently rely on satellite images alone to issue fines.

The Thomases, like more than 1,200  other Humboldt property owners, are victims of the county’s so-called “abatement” program, which levies crippling fines based on unfounded, scattershot allegations that property owners are growing cannabis without paying the county for a permit. Once fined, owners face a legal labyrinth to prove their innocence. In the Thomases’ case, for instance, they’ve waited more than a year for the county to schedule a simple hearing to plead their case. Even as the Thomases waited for a hearing, the daily fines continued to accrue.

That is why, today, the Thomases—along with a group of other Humboldt property owners—have partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a class-action lawsuit to put an end to the county’s unconstitutional practice of levying outrageous fines against innocent individuals.

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Delta-8 THC crackdown limits Virginia’s hemp industry

Delta-8 THC is a federally legal way to get high. But now, Virginia’s attorney general is cracking down on Delta-8 THC sales citing health concerns for children. That leaves some of the state’s hemp businesses looking to move out and some are taking their jobs with them.

Some residents of Hillsville, in Carroll County, Virginia, call the town “land wealthy, but limited in income.” Travis Wagoner, who grew up there, hoped to turn things around. He began growing one of the oldest crops known: hemp. He opened a shop specializing in hemp products, Virginia Cultivars.

“We went from having 17 employees working 50 hours a week to less than 10 employees working 30 hours a week,” said Wagoner.

An acre of hemp, nestled in the hill country is where Virginia Cultivars’ products start. Hemp is known for its extremely low levels of THC, a compound that produces a high. Wagoner chemically alters the hemp to create a new form of THC known as Delta-8, which is stronger and legal under the 2018 Federal Farm Bill.

The Delta-8 is infused into products, such as edibles, intended for adults. But now, it’s made its way into copycat items, from unknown manufacturers, that look like popularly branded candies and snacks.

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Study Finds ‘Concerning’ Trend in the Drugging of Foster Care Kids in California As CPS Scandals Grow

A recent study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology discovered that California foster care kids are being medicated with powerful psychotropic drugs, but the adults in charge of the children are not taking the appropriate steps to ensure that the drugs are safe for the kids. Currently, the Child Protective Services (CPS) system, which feeds young children to foster care, is under massive scrutiny nationwide.

The study, entitled “Antipsychotics in the California Foster Care System: A 10-Year Analysis,” found that drugging of foster kids supposedly became less frequent over the course of a decade in California. However, the system continues to use extremely “concerning” methods to medicate the kids with little regard for their safety from side effects. According to our recent NATIONAL FILE article “Exposed: Dead Children in the CPS System Near Bohemian Grove And Pelosi’s Pedophilia Links,” a teenager named Steven Gavin Unangst Jr. died in the Contra Costa County foster care system after taking prescription drugs, prompting his family to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the county.

The study states: “Psychotropic medications are defined as having a primary intended effect on the central nervous system. Among these, antipsychotic medications stand out because of their significant metabolic side effects, including weight gain and predisposition to diabetes mellitus type 2…The risk–benefit ratio for the use of antipsychotics may not be in the best interest of foster youth, particularly when other trauma informed multidisciplinary interventions, such as psychotherapy, may be more effective but are frequently inaccessible to this population…Additional ethical problems may exist when a foster child’s autonomy to decide is compromised by arrangements where housing is dependent on continued medication use…Media reports in California suggested that acceptance and adherence to such medications was used as a condition for continued housing…”

The study states: “Of the 7172 children who received psychotropic medications in 2020, only 5581 (77.8%) had the necessary TAR forms. In addition, of the 1764 children receiving antipsychotics, only 904 (51.2%) underwent appropriate metabolic screening. When considering the youth newly prescribed with antipsychotics, only 150/811 (18.5%) received screening, a decrease in performance compared with 2017 (239/913 screened youth; 26.2%).”

“The most concerning findings from this analysis are related to the proper authorization for using psychotropics and rates of metabolic screening. A significant proportion (22.2%) of California foster youth received psychotropics in 2020 without the necessary authorization incorporated in the CQIP policies. Stricter regulations could further reduce prescription rates, ensure safety, and respect autonomy and decision-making principles,” the study stated.

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Flesh-eating drug ‘tranq’ meant for animals now linked to thousands of heroin, fentanyl ODs

The flesh-eating animal tranquilizer xylazine has been linked to thousands of drug overdoses across the country as it inundates heroin and fentanyl supplies in places such as Philadelphia, Delaware and Michigan, reports say.

Known on the street as “tranq,” the sedative is now found in 91% of Philly’s heroin and fentanyl supplies, according to a report earlier this month in the peer-reviewed journal Science Direct.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that its prevalence is also soaring in President Biden’s home state of Delaware, it was reported last week.

In Michigan, deaths from the drug, which is often used on horses as a muscle relaxant and anesthetic, increased 86.8% between 2019 and 2020 before dropping off slightly in 2021, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday. In the past two years, it was detected in half the opioid deaths in the Ann Arbor region, accelerating fears of its westward proliferation, the paper said.

Xylazine also was involved in 19% of all drug overdose deaths in Maryland in 2021 and 10% of those in Connecticut the year before, according to federal officials.

Xylazine causes wounds and sores on users’ bodies, resulting in a significant increase of soft-tissue infections, bone disease and amputations in places such as Philadelphia, substance-abuse field epidemiologist Jen Shinefeld told Vice in March.

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AOC’s GOP rival is CRIME MOLL: Aspiring US rep. railed against bail reform and woke DAs – but has serial criminal husband and son who used family’s NYC drinks firm as front for huge drug-dealing operation

An aspiring GOP congresswoman running against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with attacks on the US Rep’s soft-on-crime stance has a husband and son who have both been convicted of serious crimes.  

Tina Forte, 52, has blamed increasing crime rates on bail laws that New York State liberalized four years ago, saying that she will be tougher on crime than AOC.

She has even shared finger-jabbing campaign videos of herself targeting the so-called Squad member’s progressive beliefs on law and order.

But Forte makes no mention of the repeated disgrace heaped on her family by her close relatives’ grubby criminal antics.  

Forte’s husband Joseph ‘Joey Snapple’ Galdieri, 55, has been in and out of jail several times.

Her son Joseph Jr, 28, has also spent time in the slammer – despite trying to avoid prison by moaning about his food allergies. 

The father and son ran a huge cannabis dealing operation from the family’s beverage company in the Bronx, according to the Daily Beast.

A gun with its serial number filed-off was found on the same premises, even though Galdieri Sr and Jr’s prior felony convictions ban them from owning firearms.

Forte, who bills herself as a fervent Donald Trump and police supporter, has been accused in the past of using her maiden name to distance herself from her ‘crime family’, with the hashtag ‘galdiericrimefamily’ being widely used online.

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Study Appears To Bust A Huge Myth About Cannabis Users

Several pervading stereotypes about cannabis users have been investigated by a new study, including the notion that they are “lazy” and lack motivation – and the results make these stereotypes go up in a puff of smoke.

Participants who used cannabis three to four times a week showed no differences compared to non-users in terms of motivation, also scoring better in terms of their ability to feel pleasure. They also showed no reduced want of rewards, nor reduced willingness to put in the effort to gain those rewards.

Scientists from University College London; the University of Cambridge; and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London looked at teenagers (aged 16-17 years) and adults (26-29 years) who use cannabis regularly and compared them to controls who do not use the drug. 

In a survey, the 274 participants were asked questions to assess their levels of apathy, anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure), and effort-based decision-making for rewards using pre-established scales. They were also set tests, such as button pressing tasks with chocolate and sweet rewards, to measure motivation, with participants rating their rewards to assess their levels of enjoyment. 

“Cannabis use has historically been linked with amotivation, which is reflected in prevalent, pejorative ‘lazy stoner’ stereotypes,” the authors wrote in their paper. “In this study, we counter this cliché by showing that a relatively large group of adult and adolescent cannabis users and controls did not differ on several measures of reward and motivation.”

“We were surprised to see that there was really very little difference between cannabis users and non-users when it came to lack of motivation or lack of enjoyment, even among those who used cannabis every day,” Lead author, PhD candidate Martine Skumlien from University College London said in a statement. 

“This is contrary to the stereotypical portrayal we see on TV and in movies.”

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