Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Tennessee House votes to ban kratom, bill now moves to Senate

The State of Tennessee is another step closer to becoming Kratom free.

State representatives voted Wednesday to approve legislation that would outlaw all forms of the substance, including a more potent derivative known as 7-OH.

The proposal now heads to the Senate.

Kratom is a plant-based substance from a Southeast Asian tree, often sold in gas stations and smoke shops. It has been at the center of a growing debate in Tennessee.

Supporters of the bill say the ban is needed to address safety concerns.

“This bill addresses the growing public concern and safety surrounding kratom,” Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes said during earlier hearings.

The legislation is named after a Chattanooga man whose family says he died after using kratom with other substances.

Lawmakers have pointed to risks, including possible links to overdose deaths and concerns about how the substance is marketed.

Keep reading

Voters Gave Ohio Legal Cannabis. Then Lawmakers Took Away the Part That Helped Me.

I’m Tobey MacCachran – a senior journalism and English student at Denison University– and an intern with NORML since December. I came to cannabis advocacy the way most people arrive at anything that matters: it stopped being abstract. 

I’ve had a birthmark on my right wrist my whole life. Other kids would notice it, point at it, and make jokes, but I never minded. It was a part of me that was as ordinary as my hands or my name. I was born with it, and I was comfortable. 

Eczema was different. 

It showed up in my early teens, uninvited and impossible to ignore. Red, cracking patches spread across my skin during dry winters, causing my hands, wrists, and neck to resemble the surface of Mars. The birthmark was mine. The eczema felt like an invasion. And somewhere in the space between those two things, my relationship with my own body quietly changed. 

By high school, my life was dictated by small adjustments. Long sleeves on some days. Certain seats. Situations I’d remove myself from before anyone noticed. Shirt always on at the beach. And then at 17, I tried a cannabis topical for the first time. 

Something actually worked. And last Friday, Ohio made it a crime to access the product that helped me most. 

SB56 was sold as consumer protection. For people who depend on cannabis topicals for chronic pain and skin conditions, it landed like a punishment.

A cannabis topical isn’t recreational. It’s a cream or balm infused with cannabinoids applied directly to the skin. No high. No altered state. For millions of people managing chronic pain, inflammation, and skin conditions, it’s simply the thing that works when nothing else does. It was that for me – the first treatment in years that gave back some ordinary comfort in my own body. The kind of comfort I hadn’t realized I’d lost until I had it again. 

Ohio Senate Bill 56 went into effect on March 20th. Governor DeWine signed it in December, framing it as consumer protection – a crackdown on unregulated intoxicating hemp products that flooded gas stations and corner stores. And there’s a real conversation to be had there. But buried inside the bill are provisions that go far beyond protecting anyone. 

Keep reading

Governor Silent as Chinese Cannabis Cartels Swallow Rural Maine — Some With Her Brother’s Help

On April 1, 2025, Somerset County sheriff’s deputies executed a warrant at a South Road property in Harmony and arrested Wenfeng Chen, 51, of Malden, Massachusetts. Inside, they found 1,405 marijuana plants, approximately 100 pounds of processed cannabis, a 9mm pistol, ammunition, and $1,600 in drug proceeds. Chen and his co-defendant, Xinwen Zhang, 71, of Boston, now face Class B felony charges — unlawful cultivation and drug trafficking — the kind of charges that can put you in prison for ten years, or get you deported.

It was the second time law enforcement had hit the same Harmony property. Deputies raided it in May 2024 and seized more than 1,200 plants, but no one was home.

Law enforcement would have to wait another eleven months to find Wenfeng Chen on the premises.

But one year before Chen was arrested with illicit drugs, cash, and a firearm, the Maine Wire photographed a 2017 Mercedes-Benz sedan bearing Massachusetts plates registered in Chen’s name at his Charles St. address in Malden, Mass.

The vehicle was parked at the site of a separate illicit cannabis grow, 51 Cider Hill Road in Corinna, where the local code enforcement officer had repeatedly denied requests from the owners to upgrade the electrical capacity because large-scale cannabis cultivation is illegal in that town.

Chen happened to share an address with Xiling Ou, 44, the man who owned the Corinna property until he gave it away, allegedly to his mother, Xiaoyu Lu of Guangdong Province, China.

The attorney who made that gift happen was Paul H. Mills — better known as the brother of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D), the woman currently vying for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination and a chance to square off against Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Keep reading

Idaho Lawmakers Approve Resolution Asking Voters To Reject Medical Cannabis Ballot Measure

The Idaho House of Representatives has joined the Senate in approving a resolution urging voters to “reject” an effort to place an initiative to legalize medical marijuana on the state’s November ballot.

The measure, sponsored by the Senate State Affairs Committee, claims that cannabis legalization in other states has led to a host of harms, including “increased cartel activity, development of black market marijuana production, human trafficking, and increased crime rates” as well as “increased rates of serious health issues,” environmental harms and “safety concerns on job sites.”

After passing the Senate in a voice vote earlier last week, SCR 127 cleared the House on Wednesday in a 58-9 vote. It argues that the marijuana initiative would not only increase costs to the state but that its list of approved medical conditions is “so broad that almost anyone could qualify.”

“The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act lacks safeguards to such an extent that it would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana,” the resolution claims. “The legalization of marijuana would have devastating impacts on Idaho children and their families… The Legislature urges the citizens of Idaho to reject any effort to bring the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to the ballot.”

A statement of purpose filed with the legislation says it “addresses the devastating impact that legalizing marijuana has had on other states” and “identifies the significant problems” with the ballot initiative.

The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI), which is leading the effort to place the legalization measure before voters this November, has pushed back against the resolution.

“Idahoans deserve to vote on this issue, and we are confident we will be able to get it in front of them this November to do just that,” Amanda Watson, a spokesperson for the group, said in a press release last month when the resolution was filed. “There are thousands of people across Idaho with stories like Dr. Tunney’s and they deserve dignified care and the option to choose an alternative to opioids. NMAI has operating field offices in every corner of the state and we are actively recruiting more team members in Coeur d’Alene, Meridian, Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. We are not taking our foot off the gas until the final bell rings.”

Keep reading

Missouri Governor Says Restricting Hemp THC Products Is ‘Something We Need To Get Done’ As Ban Bill Heads To His Desk

Missouri’s governor says the state needs to take steps to restrict the availability of intoxicating hemp-derived THC products in line with legislation that lawmakers recently sent to his desk.

“At a high level, I’m very much in favor of taking these illegal drugs in the form of the candies and stuff off of the shelves for kids to be able to buy,” Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) said in an episode of  This Week in Missouri Politics that aired on Sunday.

While the governor said his office will “do bill review” on the specific provisions of the legislation that lawmakers passed last week, he generally agrees with its aim.

“The way the legislation is drawn up is it helps us match the federal standard that’s coming down on these issues,” Kehoe said, referring to national restrictions that President Donald Trump signed into law late last year and that are set to take effect this November.

Keep reading

Ohio Judge Pauses Hemp Product Ban Enforcement, Saying It Favors Marijuana Industry

A Sandusky County court of common pleas judge has ruled that Ohio’s new law banning the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids except at licensed marijuana retailers is likely unconstitutional and has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Fremont Police Department from enforcing it.

The ruling impacts only the Fremont Police Department and “all who may act in concert with them” and remains in effect only until April 28. It comes in a case brought by Seattle-based Cycling Frog, a hemp cannabinoid beverage company that sells its products throughout Ohio, including Sandusky County.

Judge Jeremiah Ray held that the new law created by the passage of Senate Bill 56 appears to violate the Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That law effectively gives the state’s licensed marijuana dispensaries a monopoly over what are federally legal hemp-derived products, Ray held. (Congress voted to radically restrict hemp-derived cannabinoids last November, but that law does not go into effect until this coming November.)

“The practical effect is to immunize Ohio’s in-state marijuana industry, which Ohio law requires to have an in-state physical presence, from out-of-state competition with respect to federally legal hemp products otherwise sold in interstate commerce,” Ray said, noting the law also discriminates against in-state businesses.

“The parallel intrastate discrimination is no defense to the interstate discrimination. Indeed, the existence of parallel intrastate discrimination makes the protectionist effect of the ordinance more acute,” he wrote. “This is because the licensed dispensaries and their attendant supply chain benefit from a lack of competition from either inside or outside Ohio. This is, thus, inherently discriminatory on its face.”

The attorney representing Cycling Frog, Andy Mayle, said he asked Ray to make the temporary restraining order a class action that would block all law enforcement agencies in the state from enforcing the law.

“That’s the next step in the case,” Mayle said. “If he does, then basically the bill—with respect to the traditional hemp industry—will not be enforceable in Ohio.”

The regulation of interstate commerce is the province of Congress, not the state of Ohio, Mayle added.

Keep reading

These common drug tests lead to tens of thousands of wrongful arrests a year, experts say. One state is fighting back

Bird poop scraped off a man’s car appeared on a drug test as cocaine. A toddler’s ashes registered as methamphetamine or ecstasy.

And a great-grandmother’s medicine tested positive for cocaine – spawning a 15-month legal nightmare, forcing her to refinance her home, and spurring a new state law that could set a precedent across the country.

Colorado just enacted the nation’s first law banning arrests based solely on the results of colorimetric drug tests – a field test widely used by law enforcement across the country.

The tests are popular because they’re cheap, portable and can screen for drugs in mere minutes. It’s just not feasible to send all suspected drug samples to state laboratories, which would be far more expensive and could take days or weeks to return results.

But these inexpensive tests also lead to false positives at alarming rates, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found.

While the actual error rate nationwide is unknown, previous studies by manufacturers have put it around 4%. But the UPenn researchers believe the actual rate is much higher, from 15% to 38%. And a study by the New York City Department of Investigation showed test error rates from 79% to 91% in some correctional settings.

From lost jobs to months in jail, innocent people “are at risk of having their lives derailed by these inaccurate tests,” said Des Walsh, founder of the Roadside Drug Test Innocence Alliance.

Keep reading

PA Dem Commissioner Charged With Dozens of Felony Drug Offenses

A local elected official in Pennsylvania is facing extensive felony drug charges following an investigation that authorities say uncovered evidence of repeated narcotics transactions over a nearly two-year period.

Zachary Borghi, a Democratic commissioner in Lehigh County, was arrested and arraigned in late March in connection with the case. He remains in custody at the Lehigh County Jail after failing to post $500,000 bail.

Prosecutors allege that Borghi faces a wide range of charges, including 89 counts of criminal use of a communication facility, 14 counts related to the delivery of cocaine, and an additional count involving the delivery of psilocybin mushrooms. The charges stem from what investigators describe as a detailed review of digital communications spanning from November 2023 through August 2025.

According to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, the case was built in part through forensic analysis of Borghi’s cellphone and Apple iCloud data. Authorities say the records include text messages that appear to show arrangements for drug transactions taking place across multiple locations, including his home, a relative’s residence, government offices, and other sites within the region.

Among the more serious allegations, prosecutors claim that Borghi conducted or facilitated drug-related communications during official public events. These include a Lehigh County Board of Commissioners meeting and a “Peace and Justice Symposium” held at Northampton Community College. Investigators say they were able to match timestamps from text messages with video recordings of public meetings, strengthening the case.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said the investigation initially identified Borghi through a broader grand jury probe before additional evidence led to the current charges.

Keep reading

New audio recordings put Petro’s government on the spot over alleged efforts to shield drug traffickers wanted in the United States

The audios that have shaken Colombia in recent hours are no minor episode. Far from it, they are not just another anecdote in the long list of controversies surrounding President Gustavo Petro.

What is at stake, according to security and justice experts, is the possibility that members close to the government may have discussed or hinted at alleged efforts to favor drug traffickers wanted by U.S. authorities.

This issue alone would be enough to spark a political storm, but it takes on another dimension as it surfaces just before diplomatic meetings and at a time of particular sensitivity for Bogotá and Washington.

The audios were released by sources that so far have kept the exact origin of the material confidential.

They feature several voices talking about contacts and potential maneuvers involving drug lords facing ongoing proceedings in the United States. Although President Petro is not heard in the recordings, opposition sectors interpret the content as a sign that someone within the government could be willing to provide some form of unofficial protection or negotiation.

The president’s response was swift. Petro called the recordings “smear tactics” and asserted that he has never had contact with drug traffickers nor ordered any irregular intervention in favor of criminal organizations.

He did admit, however, that he was alerted to the existence of the audios before meeting with President Donald Trump, which heightened suspicions in diplomatic circles and raised concerns about whether the Casa de Nariño fears that these leaks could damage its relationship with Washington.

Keep reading