In a story published in the Chronicle AM on December 6, we inadvertently reported that under the state's new marijuana legalization law, getting caught driving under the influence of marijuana would result in a ticket. THAT IS NOT THE CASE! Marijuana legalization does not change Michigan's laws against impaired driving. Being caught driving under the influence of marijuana is a serious crime in Michigan. A first offense is a misdemeanor, but later offenses can bring felony charges, along with all the other consequences of an impaired driving conviction.
Friday, 14 December 2018
Thursday, 13 December 2018
Errata: No, You Don't Just Get a Ticket for Driving High in Michigan; You Go to Jail
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Wednesday, 12 December 2018
Trump's Ghoulish Call for Even More Chinese Drug Executions [FEATURE]
In a pair of tweets last Wednesday, President Trump urged China to crack down on fentanyl, which he described as a "horror drug," and predicted "incredible results" if China would start executing people for fentanyl-related offenses.
[image:1 align:left caption:true]Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid linked to tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the US in recent years. Chinese chemical factories are believed to be the primary producers of fentanyl and related synthetic opioid analogs, which are then mixed in with other illicit drugs, making them even more dangerous than they were on their own.
Trump's tweets came just days after he errantly praised China's President Xi Jinping for agreeing that China would "designate Fentanyl as a Controlled Substance, meaning that people selling Fentanyl to the United States will be subject to China's maximum penalty under the law."
In reality, China made fentanyl and five fentanyl products controlled substances back in 2015 and promised President Obama it would "crack down" on it in 2016. Yet, the flow of fentanyl continued and fentanyl-related overdose deaths continued to climb.
And in reality, China is already most likely the world's leading drug executioner. The only reason for any doubt is that China does not provide data on how many people it executes for drug offenses, but according to Amnesty International, "thousands of executions… were believed to have been carried out in China" last year.
China's closest competitor in the gruesome race to execute drug offenders has been Iran, where Amnesty says more than 200 were hung in 2017, but recognizing the futility of the hardline approach and heeding pressure from European funders of Iranian anti-drug efforts, the Islamic Republic has now moved to greatly reduce the number of drug executions.
But as has been evident from his support of bloody-handed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was presided over a war on drug sellers and users that has left thousands dead, Trump has a fondness for the death penalty. And despite the lack of any evidence that killing drug offenders actually leads to a reduction in drug use or trafficking, he wants more.
One of the very exciting things to come out of my meeting with President Xi of China is his promise to me to criminalize the sale of deadly Fentanyl coming into the United States. It will now be considered a "controlled substance." This could be a game changer on what is.......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2018
.....considered to be the worst and most dangerous, addictive and deadly substance of them all. Last year over 77,000 people died from Fentanyl. If China cracks down on this "horror drug," using the Death Penalty for distributors and pushers, the results will be incredible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2018
That brought a quick response from the Drug Policy Alliance, which ripped into Trump's cheerleading the death penalty in China as "morally repugnant" and instead urged responses to the fentanyl crisis that might actually achieve something.
"Draconian criminal punishments for fentanyl will actually make the problems associated with this drug much worse than they are now," said Grant Smith, the group's deputy director of national affairs. "This won't reduce addiction and overdose deaths in the US, but it will incentivize the proliferation of even more potent drugs that will further exacerbate the crisis. President Trump's push for China to execute more of its citizens for drug offenses is morally repugnant and ignores the decades-long failure of extremely harsh drug policies here in the US."
Instead of lobbying for harsh, but inhumane and ineffective, drug policies in China, Trump would better address the overdose crisis by implementing proven harm reduction measures, Smith added.
"Fentanyl has indeed become the leading cause of overdose deaths in the US, but health-based measures are far more effective than criminalization," he said. "Interventions like drug checking, naloxone, supervised consumption spaces, and expanding access to evidence-based treatment are urgently needed to reduce fentanyl-related deaths."
But the Trump administration isn't into that. In fact, the Trump Justice Department just recently went out of its way to promise a crackdown on any cities that try to open safe injection sites as a means of reducing overdose deaths and the spread of blood-borne diseases. He would rather American drug users die and Chinese drug sellers be killed than come up with effective responses that would actually save lives.
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Medical Marijuana Update
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The battle over medical marijuana in Utah continues, the battle over medical marijuana in Florida may be ending, and more.
[image:1 align:right]Florida
Florida Governor-Elect to End Former Governor's Court Battles Over Medical Marijuana. Incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is parting ways with his predecessor, Rick Scott (R), when it comes to medical marijuana. A spokesman for DeSantis said last Friday that he is unwilling to continue Scott's court battles over the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law. "He is not interested in continuing that fight. I think he has a different perspective than Governor Scott," said spokeswoman Jeannette Nunez. "I think he wants the will of the voters to be implemented."
Georgia
Georgia Lawmakers Propose Hemp Farming, CBD Oil Distribution. Republican-led legislative committees are recommending that the state pass bills next year to allow hemp farming for CBD oil and the distribution of CBD. The state has had a law since 2015 allowing patients to use CBD, but state law still bars buying, selling, or transporting it. A separate proposal would allow for growing and selling THC oil containing less than 5% of the cannabinoid.
Utah
Utah Advocacy Groups Sue to Block Compromise Agreement on Medical Marijuana. A pair of patient advocacy groups filed suit last Thursday to block a legislative agreement that supersedes the voter-approved medical marijuana initiative passed in November. The groups accuse the Mormon Church of unconstitutional interference in a process that led to the gutting of the measure approved by voters. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to set aside the revised medical marijuana law approved by the legislature and to keep the original version in the initiative.
[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]
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Tuesday, 11 December 2018
Chronicle AM: Fed Criminal Justice Bill Will Get Senate Vote, Hemp is in Farm Bill, More... (12/11/18)
Mitch McConnell changes course and okays a Senate vote on the First Step Act, McConnell ensures the hemp provision remains in the farm bill, a Moscow court ruling could run the city's only harm reduction NGO out of business, and more.
[image:1 align:right caption:true]Marijuana Policy
Illinois Pot Conviction Expungement Bill Gets More Support. A bill filed by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) that would allow people to clear low-level marijuana convictions has picked up support from the legislative leadership. Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago) announced last Friday that she was supporting the bill. The state decriminalized the possession of up to 10 grams in 2016, but that law didn't address those who had already been convicted of small-time pot possession.
Sentencing Reform
In Last Minute Switch, McConnell Says Reform Bill Will Get a Senate Vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Tuesday that he will bring a prison and sentencing reform bill, S. 3649, to the Senate floor for a vote. "At the request of the president and following improvements to the legislation that has been secured by several members, the Senate will take up the recently revised criminal justice bill," McConnell said from the Senate floor. The move comes after McConnell just last week said there wasn't time to deal with the bill, and time remains a critical factor. The House earlier this year passed a prison reform bill that didn't include sentencing reforms, so if the bill passes the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for approval. This is by no means a done deal, but at least limited sentencing reform remains alive at this point.
Industrial Hemp
Final Version of Farm Bill Includes Hemp Provision. The omnibus farm bill set to be passed by the Senate this month includes the legalization of industrial hemp. That would allow US farmers to cultivate, process, and sell hemp. The hemp provision is being championed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The bill had originally included a ban on people with felony drug convictions, but under a compromise, that ban would end after 10 years.
International
New Zealand Legalizes Medical Marijuana. The government has approved a bill that will make medical marijuana widely available for thousands of patients over time but will at first be limited to terminally ill patients. The move comes ahead of a nationwide referendum on recreational marijuana sometimes in the next two years.
Moscow Court Imposes Punishing Fine on City's Sole Harm Reduction NGO. A Moscow court has ordered the Andrey Rylkov Foundation, the city's only harm reduction non-profit, to pay a fine of $10,000 for publishing what it called "drug propaganda." The foundation aroused the ire of the court by publishing safety advice about synthetic cathinones ("bath salts") in a drug users' newsletter. The advice didn't recommend taking those drugs but urged users to be careful if they did. The fine, which Amnesty International has described as "suffocating," could drive the foundation out of business if it can't come up with the funds to pay it by Christmas, leaving Moscow without a single harm reduction NGO.
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