Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Pennsylvania Is ‘Losing Out’ To Neighboring States By Keeping Marijuana Illegal, Governor Says

As Pennsylvania lawmakers once again consider proposals to legalize marijuana, the governor is emphasizing that the state is “losing out” to others that have already enacted the reform, while maintaining a policy that’s enriched the illicit market.

During a wide-ranging video that was released on Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) was asked about his call to legalization cannabis for adult use, which he included in his latest budget request that’s been discussed at multiple committee hearings over recent weeks.

“I think it’s an issue of freedom and liberty. I mean, if folks want to smoke, they should be able to do so in a safe and legal way,” he said. “We should shut down the black market—and, by the way, every state around us is doing it. Pennsylvanians are driving to those other states and paying taxes in those other states.”

“It’s time we get some of that revenue here,” Shapiro said.

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Missouri Lawmakers Reject Bill To Regulate Hemp Drinks And Edibles

A second proposal backed by Missouri’s hemp industry to regulate products like hemp-THC seltzers and edibles was defeated in a House committee Thursday morning, after the hemp-beverage distributor who helped draft the bill emailed committee members that morning asking them to kill it.

The 5-7 vote in the House General Laws committee came after state Rep. Dave Hinman of O’Fallon (R), the bill sponsor, spent hours last week trying to come up with a compromise among the splintered hemp industry leaders on regulations.

The same committee voted down a bill backed by the Missouri Hemp Trade Association last week in a 1-13 vote.

After that defeat, Hinman incorporated a number of the hemp association’s requests into an amended version of his bill, which he presented Thursday. State Rep. Ben Keathley (R) of Chesterfield, the chair of the committee, applauded Hinman’s attempt to bring the hemp leaders together.

“A lot of interests are working against each other in this bill, and it’s very difficult to come up with something that everyone’s going to be happy with,” Keathley said. “I think the bill sponsor put together a good package that allows us to do the most important thing of protecting Missouri children.”

Hinman’s amended bill addressed some of the concerns committee members had about costs of testing and increased the sales tax on these products to be the same as marijuana products, 6 percent. The bill also addressed concerns by hemp companies, he said, by allowing small-scale beverage manufacturers to self distribute and increased the maximum amount of THC per container.

But the fatal flaw that bill drafter Steven Busch, owner of Krey Distributing, could not support was allowing the continued sale of THC-A flower, which looks and acts very similar to marijuana buds.

Busch said he’s had discussions with Hinman previously about his concerns that THC-A is an unstable compound of the cannabis plant that becomes intoxicating when heated. And that process can happen when it sits on the shelf too long, he told committee members in emails and text messages Thursday morning.

Hinman told the committee he spoke with several industry experts who advised him the instability could be addressed by proper packaging requirements, which the bill included.

Earlier this week, Busch had told Hinman, whom he says he still highly respects, that he was pulling his support for the bill.

“It would really jeopardize the whole industry if they keep trying to push THC-A as hemp,” Busch told The Independent in an interview Thursday. “If somebody wants a product like that, they can very easily get it at a dispensary and that’s where it should be obtained.”

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Illinois bill would allow addicts to use drugs legally at ‘overdose prevention sites’

Illinois legislators are proposing a bill that would let drug addicts use illicit substances at “overdose prevention sites” under the supervision of medical personnel.

House Bill 2929, introduced by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), would require the Department of Human Services to research the possibility of following the lead of New York and Rhode Island in creating sites where drug users could use pre-obtained substances in a safe environment, and be connected with treatment services.

The bill would grant criminal immunity to people who use drugs at the proposed sites.

Ford said no tax dollars would be used in the creation of the program.

“The opioid settlement fund will be the fund that we will use if this becomes law to fund the program, so there will be no general revenue funds,” he said.

Rep. Bill Hauter (R-Morton) told the Center Square he was torn over the proposal, but ultimately voted for it.

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Medical Marijuana Is ‘A Cost-Effective Adjunctive Therapy’ For PTSD, New Study Shows

A newly published study on cannabis as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) finds that medical marijuana—especially non-flower formulations—”represent a cost-effective adjunctive therapy for moderate PTSD under various reimbursement scenarios.”

The findings indicate that given certain assumptions about the efficacy and cost of medical cannabis for PTSD, it would be worthwhile for health insurance providers and other healthcare payors to include coverage of marijuana alongside other standard forms of treatment.

“This article suggests that, for the vast majority of types of products, there is pretty solid evidence that medical cannabis is cost-effective,” lead author Mitchell Doucette told Marijuana Moment, “meaning that…adding these items to [patients’] drug formulary would be advantageous for not only the patient—because of the lowering of the cost—but also advantageous for health insurance.”

The study, published in the journal Clinical Drug Investigation, says that products such as edibles, oral solutions and tablets “consistently demonstrated cost-effectiveness” under a standard model of insurers’ willingness to pay.

The five-person research team from Leafwell, a company that helps patients obtain medical cannabis cards, drew on efficacy findings from a 2022 study on the efficacy of marijuana for PTSD as well as prices from Curaleaf, one of the largest multi-state cannabis operators in the country.

“Our findings suggest that medical cannabis may be a cost-effective adjunct to standard care for patients with moderate PTSD,” authors wrote, “particularly when payor reimbursement partially or fully offsets treatment costs.”

As nearly all patients in the U.S. have discovered, health plans don’t always cover full medical costs. Medical marijuana patients currently pay for cannabis themselves, without reimbursement or cost-sharing from medical plans. The study says that given the apparent utility of the substance as a PTSD treatment, medical marijuana is a worthwhile investment for health insurers even if they cover costs in full.

Notably, that finding applies only to non-flower medical cannabis formulations. Because cured flower was more expensive than edibles, tinctures or tablets, the analysis only found it to be a cost-effective treatment when payors covered it at lower amounts—50 percent to 75 percent, depending on the type of flower.

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Pennsylvania Lawmaker Files Bill To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients From DUI Charges

A Pennsylvania lawmaker has reintroduced a bill meant to protect medical marijuana patients from facing DUI charges when there is no proof they are actually impaired behind the wheel.

Rep. Chris Rabb (D) filed the legislation and circulated a cosponsorship memo this week, urging his colleagues to join him in this latest effort to enact the reform.

The memo says that, since the state legalized medical marijuana, many patients have “shared their horror stories about being arrested and convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis without any proof of impairment.”

“That is why this legislation…is being introduced yet again, as the current law must be amended to allow responsible drivers who are also medical cannabis patients to operate a motor vehicle legally,” Raab wrote, emphasizing that the legislation “does not extend to any illegal cannabis use–nor does it protect impaired drivers.”

The bill would amend the current state statute to make it so the presence of cannabis metabolites in a drug test alone could not be used as evidence of impaired driving if the person is a registered medical marijuana patient.

However, that protection would not extend to those who hold a commercial driver’s license.

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UN Drug Commission Votes To Ban Previously Uncontrolled Marijuana Compound, With U.S. Abstaining

The United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted this week to ban the marijuana component hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) under an international treaty, with every country present except the United States casting a vote in favor of placing the substance under Schedule II of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

The U.S., for its part, abstained. In a statement afterward, officials said they were “unable to vote” on the HHC proposal as well as another being voted on that placed the drug carisoprodol under Schedule IV.

“While the United States supports the use of the international scheduling system to make scientifically-informed decisions about international drug control, we were unable to vote on the proposals,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, both of these substances are already controlled in the United States, at levels that will allow the United States to meet its international obligations arising from the CND’s decisions today.”

The statement gave no further information explaining why the U.S. was unable to cast those votes.

CND also voted to regulate four other non-cannabis compounds under international law.

In a social media post, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called the actions “critical decisions on the control of harmful substances.”

“These decisions shape drug policies, law enforcement and public health worldwide,” the body said.

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New Mexico Senate Passes Bill To Create Psilocybin Therapy Program

The New Mexico Senate has passed a bill to establish a therapeutic psilocybin program in the state.

After clearing three separate committees over the past month, the legislation from Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D) was approved by the full chamber in a 33-4 vote on Wednesday, sending it to the House of Representatives.

If enacted, the Medical Psilocybin Act would allow patients with certain qualifying conditions to access the psychedelic and use it under the guidance of a licensed healthcare provider.

“I have come to know and become friends with combat veterans, physicians, providers and even practitioners who serve patients dealing with end-of-life anxiety,” Steinborn said on the floor. “This bill seeks to create a carefully calculated, thoughtful and patient program that would be developed by the Department of Health…to allow patients in a medical setting.”

“This is very different from cannabis. It could only be administered in a medical setting by licensed providers,” he said. “Sometimes it can be as effective as one treatment, and people can have long-term relief from that that they’re dealing with.”

The sponsor added that “we recognize the important need of continuing to do research, so we have the best program here, where the Department of Health is making the best available science decisions on medical setting, dosage, et cetera.”

Sen. Jay Block (R), a veteran himself, said that while he was initially “adamantly opposed” to the proposed reform, he has come to better understand the issue as a “right to try” policy for those with serious mental health conditions. He teared up during the Senate debate, recognizing veterans and others who he’s since learned benefitted from the psychedelic.

An amendment from Sen. Katy Huhigg (D) was adopted on the floor to clarify that the use of federally approved psilocybin would be allowed under the state law, but that such products would not be further regulated by the state.

The amendment would also remove a requirement that the department develop “qualifying conditions” for producers and clinicians, add a health care provider to the advisory board that would be created by the bill and strike language the sponsor described as “redundant.”

The measure says its purpose “is to allow the beneficial use of psilocybin in a regulated system for alleviating qualified medical conditions,” including major treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorders and end-of-life care. The state Department of Health would be able to approve additional conditions.

Therapy would consist of a preparation session, an administration session and a follow-up integration session.

The state health department would be responsible for establishing guidelines around training for clinicians and producers, including dosage, approved settings for administration, production and storage protocols and other best practices. State officials would also license producers to grow mushrooms and process psilocybin.

Synthetic psilocybin and synthetic analogs of the substance would not be allowed under the proposal.

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Missouri Senators Approve Bill To Legalize Psilocybin Therapy For Veterans And Sex Trafficking Survivors

Missouri senators have advanced a bill to allow military veterans and survivors of sex trafficking who have certain mental health conditions to legally access psilocybin therapy.

The Senate Families, Seniors and Health Committee approved the legislation from Sen. Stephen Webber (D) on Wednesday. A similar House bill focused on the psychedelic moved through a separate panel earlier this month.

In addition to being 21 or older, a military veteran or sex trafficking survivor and enrolled in a clinical trial, participants in the proposed program would need to have PTSD, major depressive disorder, a substance use disorder or be in end-of-life care.

They would also need to provide documentation to the state Department of Mental Health about the treating physician, facilitator and location and time of use.

Further, use of psilocybin would be limited to 150 mg during a 12-month period.

The bill also authorizes the state Department of Health to provide up to $3 million worth of grants to support research on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin.

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Nevada Senators Take Up Resolution Calling On Congress To Reschedule Psychedelics And Streamline Research

Nevada senators took up a joint resolution on Tuesday that calls on Congress to reschedule certain psychedelics, provide protections for individuals using the substances in compliance with state law and streamline research.

As the Nevada legislature pushes forward with psychedelics reform, the Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee discussed the resolution from Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D), hearing testimony from experts in the field.

“It is very much a grassroots, bipartisan issue. It is a Nevada issue,” Nguyen said in her opening remarks. “This is such an important issue. And this may seem like it’s an innocuous [resolution] where we’re sending a letter, but it is super important that we as a state send a message to the federal government—send a message to Washington, D.C.—that we need to start helping our community.”

“We have a mental health crisis. I don’t think you go into a committee room where you don’t hear about this,” she said. “This is just another solution to a problem that we have across our state.”

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Atlanta’s Decriminalization Of Marijuana ‘Led To A Reduction In Violent Crime,’ New Research Shows

A new study on Atlanta’s move to decriminalize marijuana concludes that, contrary to warnings from some critics, the policy change in fact led to a decrease in violent crime as police turned their attention to more urgent matters.

The research looks at crime surrounding the city’s 2017 reduction of penalties around the simple possession of cannabis. Prior to the change, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana was punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,500 fine. Afterward, that fell to a maximum $75 fine civil fine, with no possibility of jail time.

While some warned that loosening penalties would lead to a rise in crime rates, researchers observed the opposite.

“Our findings suggest that decriminalization led to a reduction in violent crime,” the new report says, “likely due to police reallocating resources from marijuana enforcement to violent crime prevention.”

To arrive at that conclusion, authors examined agency-level crime data from 2015 through 2018 from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports, which included information from nearly all Georgia cities with populations over 25,000. They then compared crime rates between Atlanta and other control cities that did not decriminalize marijuana.

Relative to those control cities, the “estimated effect” of decriminalization in Atlanta was “about 20 fewer violent crimes per 100,000 people per month,” the analysis found. That’s a 19.7 percent reduction from the pre-decriminalization average.

“Our analysis finds that violent crime in Atlanta declined relative to control agencies following marijuana decriminalization, with results robust to alternative estimation methods, event studies, and placebo tests,” the report concludes. “Our estimates suggest that decriminalization led to a 20% reduction in violent crime rates relative to pre-policy levels.”

The paper says the findings align with claims from Atlanta Police Department (APD) shortly after decriminalization that officers would “focus…on violent crime and crimes that truly affect people—things that endanger lives.”

“We want to fill jails with armed robbers, rapists, burglars, home invaders—we do not want to fill the jails with pot smokers. That’s the bottom line,” APD Public Affairs Director Carlos Campos said at the time, the study notes.

Atlanta’s decreases in violent crime, the study’s authors noted, “align with APD’s stated policy shift, as department leaders emphasized reallocating resources to violent crime enforcement.”

“Importantly, this decline was not offset by crime displacement in neighboring counties,” they added.

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