William Jones

Friday, 7 September 2018

Chronicle AM: Utah MedMJ Poll, OK Sentencing Report, Colombia Pot Crackdown, More... (9/7/18)

A new Utah poll has the medical marijuana initiative still doing well, Los Angeles cracks down on illicit pot shops, the US and Ecuador renew cooperation in anti-drug air operations, Bolivia's Evo faces problems, and more.

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

Los Angeles Arrests More Than 500 in Crackdown on Illicit Pot Shops. A crackdown on unlicensed marijuana businesses in the city has ended with more than 500 people arrested on misdemeanor charges, the city attorney's office said. The charges come in 120 separate criminal cases filed in connection with 105 unlicensed businesses. The defendants are charged with unlicensed commercial cannabis activity within the city, which carries a potential sentence of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. There are 165 licensed pot shops and delivery services in the city, but many shops persist in selling without a license.

Medical Marijuana

New Utah Poll Shows Continuing Support for Medical Marijuana Initiative. Despite the Church of Latter Day Saints coming out against the Proposition 2 medical marijuana initiative, support for the measure remains strong, a new poll finds. The poll had 64% either "somewhat" or "strongly" in support of the measure.

Foreign Polic

Ecuador, US to Resume Anti-Drug Air Operations. Ecuador said Thursday it is resuming anti-drug air operations with the US a decade after throwing out the US from the Manta air base. Then President Rafael Correa canceled the cooperation in 2009, saying the US military presence threatened national sovereignty, but current President Lenin Cerna, who is friendlier to the US, has tightened ties with the US.

Sentencing

Oklahoma Could Cut Prison Population in Half, Report Says. A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union’s Campaign for Smart Justice and the nonpartisan policy organization the Urban Institute finds that Oklahoma has surpassed Louisiana in having the most prisoners per capita, but that the state can take measures to reduce the prison population. Those include ending mandatory minimum sentencing, shifting more discretionary power in sentencing to judges, but the report said the move that would have the most dramatic impact on population would be to focus on drug sentences. The report recommended slashing the time served for drug distribution by 60%, from an average of 3.3 years to 1.3 years. That move alone would create a 22.5% drop in the prison population by 2025, the report said.

International

Bolivian Coca Farmers Demonstrate Against Their Former Coca Grower President. Thousands of coca growers took to the streets of La Paz on Wednesday in opposition to the government of President Evo Morales, himself a former coca grower and union leader. The protestors say the government's coca eradication efforts have hurt their livelihoods and led to the death of at least two of the members.

Colombian Riot Police Break Up Bogota Marijuana "Smoke-a-Thon". Riot police in Bogota on Thursday broke up a "smoke-a-thon" defending the use of marijuana. The demonstration was called to protest President Ivan Duque's moves to tighten the country's drug laws, which allow people to possess small amounts of marijuana. Duque recently issued a decree allowing police to seize any drug consumed in public. The Bogota demonstration was quickly dispersed, with at least a half-dozen people arrested as clashes broke out.

Nigerian Presidential Candidate Wants to Make Country Marijuana Export Giant. Omoyele Sowore, a publisher and presidential hopeful in Nigeria says he will make the country a marijuana exporting hub if elected as president. Sowore said many other countries are making billions from the plant, while people in Nigeria are being jailed for it. "Some of the best weeds in the world are grown in Ekiti state. I’m very serious. People are making billions out of that particular plant that is very potent in Nigeria. We should be focusing on it. We have to start taking care of our weed (Igbo), such that we can also contribute to the GDP of the world,” he said. “Our NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) should get the notice, memo in advance that Nigeria will be exporting weed to cure cancer in other parts of the world. Instead of chasing after people who are growing weed whereas we are not chasing after our politicians who are smoking cocaine in their houses."

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Thursday, 6 September 2018

Chronicle AM: Fed Bill to Help Vets Obtain MedMJ, MS MedMJ Initative Filed, More (9/6/18)

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It's all pot policy today, with a new federal bill aimed at making medical marijuana more accessible to veterans, a Mississippi medical marijuana initiative drive getting underway, and more.

[image:1 align:left]Marijuana Policy

New York "Listening Sessions" on Pot Legalization Get Underway. State officials got an earful from the public Wednesday in the first of a series of public listening sessions on whether and how the state should legalize weed. Speakers overwhelmingly supported that idea.

North Dakota Legalization Initiative Gets Organized Opposition. A statewide group led by a former attorney general Bob Wefald has formed to oppose the Measure 3 legalization initiative. North Dakotans Against the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana calls legalization "bad law" and says the initiative would make North Dakota "the most liberal state for the regulation and control of marijuana."

Medical Marijuana

Senate Bill Would Legalize Medical Marijuana For Military Veterans. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Brian Schatz (D-HA) on Wednesday filed the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, under which Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors could issue medical cannabis recommendations to veterans in states where it is legal. The bill is not yet available on the congressional website.

Mississippi 2020 Initiative Drive Gets Underway. A group called Medical Marijuana 2020 plans to start collecting signatures for a medical marijuana constitutional amendment next week, according to state Rep. Joel Bomgar, a Republican who is on the group’s steering committee. The initial draft of the initiative appears very business-friendly, with no caps on the number of dispensaries or processors.

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Wednesday, 5 September 2018

These Four States Will Vote on Marijuana in November [FEATURE]

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Nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana since 2012, but all of those states have been in the West or the Northeast. This year, with marijuana legalization on the ballot in Michigan as well as North Dakota, legal weed could make a heartland breakthrough.

[image:1 align:right]Similarly, medical marijuana’s rise to acceptance continues, and this year, Missouri and Utah look set to join the ranks.

Two of these states—Missouri and North Dakota—also have incumbent Democratic senators up for reelection in tough campaigns this fall. Whether voters motivated by marijuana could help Claire McCaskill and Heidi Heitkamp retain their seats remains to be seen, but pot at the polls will generate interest among more liberal voters.

We could see New Jersey move quickly and legalize weed via the legislature sometime in the next two months, but barring that, it looks like we'll see at least one, and quite possibly two, new marijuana legalization states come election day and, most likely, two more medical marijuana states.

Here we go:

Michigan

Michigan is poised to become marijuana legalization's Midwest breakout state. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has qualified a marijuana legalization initiative, Proposal 1, for the November ballot.

The measure would legalize the possession up to 2.5 ounces of pot for personal use and up to 10 ounces at home, as well as allowing for the personal cultivation of up to 12 plants and the fruits of that harvest. It also creates a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce, with a 10 percent excise tax at the retail level in addition to the 6 percent sales tax. The measure would give cities and counties the option of allowing pot businesses or not.

The initiative looks well-positioned to win in November. A February poll had support for legalization in Michigan at 57 percent, while a March poll came in at 61 percent. The most recent poll, from May, had support holding steady at 61 percent. Those are the kinds of polling numbers initiative and referendum experts like to see at the beginning of the campaign because they suggest that even with the inevitable erosion of support in the face of opposition attacks, the measure still has a big enough cushion to pull off a victory.

Missouri

Missouri voters will be able to choose from not one, not two, but three separate medical marijuana measures when they go to the polls in November. Two are constitutional amendments; one is a statutory initiative that could more easily be modified by the legislature.

Amendment 2, sponsored by New Approach Missouri, would allow doctors to recommend medical cannabis for any condition they see fit. Registered patients and caregivers would be allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants and purchase up to four ounces from dispensaries per month. Medical cannabis sales at dispensaries would be taxed at 4 percent.

Amendment 3, sponsored by Find the Cures, would let doctors recommend medical marijuana to patients who have any of a specific list of qualifying conditions (while regulators would be able to add more conditions in the future). The retail sales tax on medical marijuana would be set at the much higher rate of 15 percent. Funds would be used to support research with the aim of developing cures and treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Proposition C, backed by Missourians for Patient Care, also outlines a list of specific conditions that would qualify patients to legally use medical cannabis. Sales would be taxed at 2 percent.

An August poll conducted by TJP strategies had support for amending the state constitution to allow medical marijuana at 54 percent.

That there are three separate measures on the ballot could lead to some confusion. If multiple ballot measures on the same topic pass, the one with the most votes generally prevails. But because in this case two of the measures are constitutional amendments and one is a statutory measure, if the statutory measure gets more votes than either of the amendments, but at least one of them passes, it could be up to the state's court system to figure out which goes into effect.

While there is nothing stopping voters from voting "yes" on all three measures, there are also concerns that the multiplicity of options could result in splitting the pro-medical marijuana vote, with some voting "yes" on only one measure and "no" on the others. In this election, when it comes to medical marijuana, Missouri may have too much of a good thing.

North Dakota

The winds of change are blowing across the northern prairies. Just two years ago, North Dakota voters approved a medical marijuana initiative, and this year, a grassroots group, Legalize ND, managed to get enough signatures to get Measure 3, the Marijuana Legalization and Automatic Expungement initiative, on the November ballot.

This is a radical initiative. It would legalize all forms of marijuana for adults by removing marijuana, THC, and hashish from the state's controlled substance schedules, and it sets no limits on the amount of marijuana people could possess or how many plants they grow. It also provides for the automatic expungement of criminal convictions for anyone convicted of a marijuana-related crime that would be legal under the measure.

And it does not create a framework for regulated marijuana sales, nor does it set any taxes. Creating a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce would be up to the state legislature.

North Dakota is a deep red state—Donald Trump got more than twice as many votes as Hillary Clinton in 2016—but the only poll done so far has the initiative leading. The June poll, commissioned by Legalize ND and conducted by the Florida-based Kitchen Group, had the initiative winning 46 percent to 39 percent, with 15 percent undecided.

That's good but not great news for Legalize ND. Yes, the initiative is leading, but the conventional wisdom among initiative and referendum watchers is that campaigns should be starting off with at least 60 percent support—the assumption being that inevitable organized opposition is going to eat away at support levels in the final weeks of the campaign.

Utah

Sponsored by the Utah Patients Coalition, the medical marijuana statutory initiative, Proposition 2, has qualified for the November ballot. The bottom-up effort comes after the state legislature has refused to advance meaningful medical marijuana legislation.

Under the measure, people who suffer from one of a list of designated qualifying medical conditions could receive a medical marijuana card with a physician's recommendation. That would entitle them to possess up to two ounces of marijuana or any amount of a marijuana product with up to 10 grams of THC. Patients could not grow their own unless they live more than 100 miles from a dispensary. And the patients cannot smoke marijuana.

The measure has received opposition from the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), but even church members don't appear to be heading the leadership on this one. A Utah Policy poll released Tuesday has support for the measure at 64 percent. Among Mormons, the church's active opposition has swayed only "very active" church members, who now narrowly oppose the measure. But "somewhat active" and "former" Mormons both overwhelmingly support it. It looks like medical marijuana is coming to the Land of Deseret.

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Medical Marijuana Update

Chronicle AM: Malaysia Death Sentence for Cannabis Oil, OH MedMJ Delays, More... (9/5/18)

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A Malaysian court has sentenced a man to death for providing cannabis oil to patients, a group of lawmakers asks the VA to study medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids, and more.

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

Lawmakers Ask VA Secretary to Research Marijuana as Alternative to Opioids. A bipartisan group of legislators sent a letter last Thursday to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie asking him to begin a "rigorous clinical trial" of medical marijuana for PTSD and chronic pain. "We believe VA has the authority, ability, and capacity to carry out such a study," they wrote. "Many of our nation’s veterans already use medicinal cannabis, and they deserve to have full knowledge of the potential benefits and side effects of this alternative therapy." Signatories to the letter were Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN)., Sen. Dan Sullivan, (R-AK), along with Democrats Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota.

Ohio Regulators Say State Will Not Meet Saturday Deadline for Medical Marijuana. Officials with the State Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, and Board of Commerce say they will not be able to meet a Saturday deadline for getting the state's medical marijuana program up and running. Some licenses have been issued, but no growers yet have crops ready to go to market.

Utah Initiative Campaign Files Election Complaint Over Opposition Radio Ad. The Utah Patients Coalition Tuesday filed a complaint with the lieutenant governor's office about an ad from Drug Safe Utah that declares "Prop 2 is actually about recreational use and not medical." "DSU has published a false statement in relation to Prop 2, a ballot measure, that will affect how people vote in the November election. We therefore request the Elections Division to order DSU to immediately cease and desist all such claims regarding Prop 2 being an attempt to legalize 'recreational use,'" the complaint reads. Drug Safe Utah said it stood by its ad.

International

Death Sentence for Malaysia Man Who Gave Patients Free Cannabis Oil. A Malaysian court has sentenced a man to death for processing cannabis oil and distributing it to patients. Muhammed Lukman was sentenced on August 30 after being convicted of possessing, processing, and distributing cannabis oil. There is no allegation that Lukman profited from his activities, but he was still found guilty of violating a provision of the country' Dangerous Drug Act that mandates the death penalty. Malaysia is one of at least 33 countries that resort to the death penalty for drug offenses.

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Tuesday, 4 September 2018

Chronicle AM: Colombia Moves Backwards on Drug Policy, NYPD Pot Arrests Now Halted, More... (9/4/18)

Statement: Duterte Moves Against Second Drug War Critic

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[image:1 align:right caption:true]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2018

StoptheDrugWar.org condemns the Duterte administration's blatantly political attack on Senator Antonio Trillanes, a fierce and brave critic of the President's human rights violations.

Senator Trillanes joined our March 2018 event at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna, where he presented administration data suggesting that extrajudicial killings in President Duterte's drug war may exceed 20,000. Perversely, the Senator observed, the administration listed these killings among its "2017 Accomplishments"

We note that President Duterte promised a year ago to "destroy" Senator Trillanes.

Senator Leila de Lima was incarcerated a year and a half ago on unsupported drug charges, half a year after President Duterte promised to "destroy" her. The case against de Lima was brought shortly after she had a confessed former member of Duterte's "Davao Death Squad" testify in the Justice Committee, one of two former DDS members to go public.

"Senator Trillanes told us in Vienna that he expected political prosecutions to increase in pace during the second half of this year. But he also promised that while he remained free, he would continue to speak out," said StoptheDrugWar.org Executive Director David Borden.

"Undoubtedly the imprisoning of Senator Trillanes, if that happens, will further mobilize the already energized Philippine opposition to Duterte," Borden continued. "But it will also focus even greater world attention onto Duterte's crimes and depredations. I am saddened by this development, but I can't imagine a better gift for our organizing efforts"

StoptheDrugWar.org is a US-based NGO with a focus on international drug policy, and which has focused on the Philippines human rights situation since early 2017. Our educational nonprofit DRCNet Foundation has been in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2016.

Footage of Senator Trillanes' presentation in Vienna is online at https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines#vienna2018.

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