Chronicle AM: Philippines Prez Vows More Drug War Killings, AK Kills On-Site Consumption at Pot Shops, More... (2/3/17)

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Regulators and legislators continue to mess with the will of the voters when it comes to implementing marijuana initiatives, the Philippines' president makes more bloody-minded threats, and more.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Marijuana Policy

Alaska Just Says No to On-Site Pot Consumption. State regulators have rejected a proposal to allow pot shops to have areas where customers can consume their products on-site. Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office acting Director Sara Chambers said public notice for the proposal was not done properly, but instead of re-advertising the proposal for another 30 days, the Marijuana Control Board voted to kill it on a 3-2 vote.

North Dakota House Rejects Marijuana Legalization Study. A measure that would have authorized a study of marijuana legalization and taxation was killed in the House Thursday. The bill had passed out of committee with no opposition testimony. The legislature killed a similar proposal two years ago. "If we had undertaken that study we might have been more proactively prepared to deal with the issues arising from the recent initiated measure," said Rep. Mary Schneider (D-Fargo). "This is a second chance to get it right. There was no opposition testimony and the committee urges a green, as in grass, vote."

Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Regulators Continue Working Despite Threat of Legislative Meddling. The Medical Marijuana Commission met again Wednesday, but members spent much of the time discussing what they would do if a pending bill that would ban dispensaries from growing their own crops passes. That's only one of a number of bills filed aimed at tinkering with the voter-approved law. Among other actions, the commission agreed to require hefty performance and surety bonds for dispensaries that grow their own medicine.

North Dakota Activists Scold Legislature for Messing With Medical Marijuana Initiative. Medical marijuana supporters are denouncing legislative efforts to rewrite their voter-approved initiative and replace it with an 81-page lawmaker-drafted law. The proposed law, Senate Bill 2344, is set for a hearing in the Joint Health and Services Committee next Wednesday. The bill would create a $300 fee for patients seeking medical marijuana cards and a $100,000 fee for dispensaries that grow medical marijuana. The measure also pares back the amount of medicine patients can possess and would eliminate smoking or vaping it. "It's a punch in the gut to the patients of North Dakota, and a slap in the face to the voters of North Dakota," said Rilie Ray Morgan of Fargo, one of the sponsors of the initiative.

International

Philippines President Out for More Blood, Vows More Killings. Just a day after he suspended police participation in his murderous war on drugs after the killing of a South Korean businessman in a police station opened a window on corruption in the National Police, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is calling on the military to join the campaign, and vowing to kill more people. "You bleed for those sons of a bitches. How many? Three thousand? I will kill more if only to get rid of drugs." The actual number of people killed in Duterte's drug war is more than 7,000; he was taking credit only for the ones officially attributed to police. The rest are blamed on "vigilantes."

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I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked that question over the years, and my answer is pretty much the same: “It depends…” No, I’m not trying to be a dick, but it really does depend on what you’re after with your volume pedal. The reason I’m bringing this up is because of a

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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

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Jail and prison guards are dropping like flies, a Border Patrol agent heads for prison for helping a cartel, a Louisiana cop develops a case of sticky fingers, and more. Let's get to it:

[image:1 align:right]In Beekman, New York, a state prison guard was arrested last Wednesday when he arrived at work with more than a pound of pot. Green Haven Correctional Facility guard Orianna Lord, 37, went down after an investigation by State Police and special investigators for the Department of Corrections. Lord turned around when she arrived at work to find supervisors conducting employee searches, but was detained in the parking lot, where she was found with the weed. She is charged with Criminal Possession of Marijuana in the 2nd Degree, a Class D Felony, Promoting Prison Contraband in the 1st Degree (attempted), a Class D Felony, and Promoting Prison Contraband in the 2nd Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.

In Huntington, West Virginia, a state prison guard was arrested last Wednesday after being seen on surveillance video briefly entering an inmate's cell before her shift began. Guard Brittany Branham, 28, went down after, upon further investigation, supervisors found contraband including a crack pipe in the inmate's possession. She was arrested on unspecified charges.

In New York City, a New York jail guard was arrested last Saturday for twice selling cocaine to an undercover narc while at the correctional academy. Guard Rushauney Stephenson, 24, made the two sales a half hour apart, and was then taken into custody. He is charged withtwo counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said. He was being held on $50,000 bond.

In Wisner, Louisiana, a Wisner police officer was arrested Tuesday on charges he pocketed cash evidence from a drug bust. Eddie Bowens, Jr., 35, went down after Wisner Police did an internal investigation and discovering missing cash. He faces a single count of malfeasance in office.

In Somerville, Massaschusetts, a Sussex County sheriff's officer pleaded guilty last Friday to engaging in a sexual relationship with a woman undergoing drug court probation and tipping her off to surprise weekend drug tests. Officer William Lunger, 35, had been charged with four counts of official misconduct, one count of theft, and one count of conspiring to defraud a drug test, but copped to  third-degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct. Lunger is now headed to prison for three years.

In Buffalo, New York, a former Erie County sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty Monday to smuggling drugs into the Erie County Holding Center. Adam Fiegl copped to criminal possession of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to conditional discharge and community service.

In Brownsville, Texas, a former Border Patrol agent was convicted Wednesday of helping Mexican drug cartels, but found innocent of chopping a man's head off. Joel Luna used his official position to help a cartel move illegal guns and ammunition south of the border and illegal drugs north. He was found guilty of two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity. His brother Eduardo was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the murder.

In Cleveland, Ohio, a former Linndale police officer was sentenced Monday to more than three years in federal prison for helping to sell large amounts of club drugs in the Cleveland area. Jonida Alicka, 29, conspired with her sister and others to bring MDMA and high quality marijuana from Canada to Cleveland and lived a lavish lifestyle with her illicit earnings. She had copped in August to possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. 

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Medical Marijuana Update

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Arkansas legislators are trying to ban medical marijuana smoking and edibles, a new Florida bill seeks to revamp that state's medical marijuana system, and more.

[image:1 align:left]Arkansas

Last Friday,a lawmaker filed a bill to ignore the voters' will until federal law changes State Sen. Jason Rapert (R-District 18)  filed a bill that would delay the voter-approved medical marijuana law until marijuana is legal under federal law. The measure is Senate Bill 238, which has been referred to the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor.

On Monday, legislators filed three more bills to restrict the voter-approved initiative. Republicans in Little Rock have filed three more bills that would tighten up the state's new law. One would ban the smoking of medical marijuana (House Bill 1400), one would ban edibles (House Bill 1392), and would require previous local zoning to be in place before licenses for dispensaries or grows are issued (House Bill 1391). HB1391 and HB1392 have been sent to Committee on House Rules while HB1400 has only been filed.

Colorado

On Monday, a bill to add PTSD as a qualifying condition advanced. The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 17-017. The measure would add post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. The bill is now on the Senate's "consent calendar," meaning it should move through the Senate with little debate. Then it's on to the House.

 

Florida

On Wednesday,a bill to overhaul the state's restrictive medical marijuana system was filed. State Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) filed Senate Bill 614. The bill would scrap the state's existing system and replace it with a new set of rules. The move is supported by the people behind the successful Amendment 2 initiative. "Sen. Brandes’ bill does an excellent job of establishing acomprehensive, tightly regulated medical marijuana system in Florida," said United For Care campaign manager Ben Pollara on Wednesday. "The two most essential pieces of implementation are maintaining the primacy of the doctor-patient relationship, and expanding the marketplace to serve patient access. SB 614 does both in a well-regulated, well thought out manner."

New Hampshire

On Wednesday, legislators heard tetstimony on adding new qualifying conditions. The House Human Services, Health, and Elderly Affairs committee heard testimony on a series of bills that would add chronic pain, opioid addiction, fibromyalgia and post-traumatic stress disorder qualifying conditions to receive medical marijuana. The bills are sponsored by Rep. Joseph Lachance (R-Manchester), a medical marijuana card holder since 2015 who says "cannabis saved my life."

Utah

Last Friday, lawwmakers said they were scaling back plans for a medical marijuana bill. Legislators said last Friday they were retreating from plans to expand the state's CBD-only medical marijuana law and will instead call for more research. They also said they wanted to see what the Trump administration was going to do before they moved forward with a broader medical marijuana bill.

On Monday, a medical marijuana study bill advanced. The House Health and Human Services Committee unanimously approved House Bill 130 Monday. The measure would allow universities in the state to study medical marijuana. The bill is supported by the Utah Medical Association, which has opposed medical marijuana bills saying more study is needed. It now heads for a House floor vote.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]

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Chronicle AM: Sessions AG Nomination Advances, FL Bill Would Fix MedMJ System, More... (2/2/17)

Chronicle AM: AR Lawmakers Meddle With MedMJ, Major Reform Package Rolled Out in MD, More... (2/1/17)

Gorsuch on Grass: Where Does Trump's Supreme Court Pick Come Down on Marijuana? [FEATURE]

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This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here.

Where does Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court come down on weed? The record is pretty sparse.

[image:1 align:left]Neil Gorsuch hasn't made any known public pronouncements about marijuana policy, and despite his tenure on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, he hasn't ruled in any cases that directly take up the issue.

But he has ruled on some marijuana cases, and he didn't go out of his way to support freeing the weed in them. And there's at least one marijuana-related case he's ruled on that demonstrates a disquieting deference to law enforcement.

In Feinberg et al. v. IRS, Gorsuch ruled against a Colorado dispensary that sought not to report data about its operation to the IRS because marijuana remains illegal under federal law and it feared incriminating itself. But in passing, he offered some commentary on the legal weirdness of state-legal but federally illegal marijuana commerce.

"This case owes its genesis to the mixed messages the federal government is sending these days about the distribution of marijuana. Officials at the Department of Justice have now twice instructed field prosecutors that they should generally decline to enforce Congress's statutory command when states like Colorado license operations like THC. At the same time and just across 10th Street in Washington, D.C., officials at the IRS refuse to recognize business expense deductions claimed by companies like THC on the ground that their conduct violates federal criminal drug laws. So it is that today prosecutors will almost always overlook federal marijuana distribution crimes in Colorado but the tax man never will."

And he marveled at the federal government's contortions as it sought to accommodate commerce in a substance it considers illegal.

"Yes, the Fifth Amendment normally shields individuals from having to admit to criminal activity. But, the IRS argued, because DOJ's memoranda generally instruct federal prosecutors not to prosecute cases like this one the petitioners should be forced to divulge the requested information anyway. So it is the government simultaneously urged the court to take seriously its claim that the petitioners are violating federal criminal law and to discount the possibility that it would enforce federal criminal law."

Gorsuch also pointedly noted the provisional nature of the Obama administration's decision to work with -- instead of against -- the states experimenting with marijuana legalization.

"It's not clear whether informal agency memoranda guiding the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by field prosecutors may lawfully go quite so far in displacing Congress's policy directives as these memoranda seek to do. There's always the possibility, too, that the next... Deputy Attorney General could displace these memoranda at anytime."

This is, of course, something of which the marijuana industry and legalization advocates are painfully aware and explains much of the movement's agonizing over the nomination of pot foe Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). A single signature on a new policy memorandum at the Justice Department could throw the industry into chaos.

As Tom Angell notes at the MassRoots blog, Gorsuch ruled in a 2010 case, US v. Daniel and Mary Quaintance, that a couple charged with federal marijuana distribution offenses couldn't use the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a defense because their claims weren't sincere.

"Numerous pieces of evidence in this case strongly suggest that the [couple's] marijuana dealings were motivated by commercial or secular motives rather than sincere religious conviction... "The record contains additional, overwhelming contrary evidence that the [couple was] running a commercial marijuana business with a religious front."

In other words, if you're trying to run a real marijuana ministry, don't be selling weed.

But it's a 2013 case, Family of Ryan Wilson v. City of Lafeyette and Taser International , that raises disturbing implications that go beyond marijuana policy into the broader realm of police use of force. In that case, Gorsuch held that a police officer's fatal tazing of Wilson, who was fleeing a marijuana arrest, was "reasonable."

"[T]he illegal processing and manufacturing of marijuana may not be inherently violent crimes but, outside the medical marijuana context, they were felonies under Colorado law at the time of the incident... And Officer Harris testified, without rebuttal, that he had been trained that people who grow marijuana illegally tend to be armed and ready to use force to protect themselves and their unlawful investments."

As Angell noted, that ruling in particular had the National Urban League tweeting its concern and calling for close scrutiny of Gorsuch's record within hours of Trump's announcement of his selection.

Overall, Gorsuch hasn't provided a whole lot of hints about how he might rule on cases revolving around the conflict between state and federal marijuana, although he has shown he's aware of it. Any members of the Senate Judiciary Committee representing states where medical or recreational marijuana commerce is legal might want to be asking for some clarification when his confirmation hearings come around.

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