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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1023 -- 6/7/18
Phillip S. Smith, Editor,psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1023

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT COUNTRY JUST ENACTED A MASSIVE, MEANINGFUL DRUG REFORM
It's a move that will save thousands of lives. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/04/youll_never_believe_what_country

2. BY MONTH'S END, OKLAHOMA SHOULD BE THE NEWEST MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATE
A voter initiative is on the June 26 ballot, and the polls are looking good. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/03/oklahoma_medical_marijuana

3. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
The City of Brotherly Love gets its first dispensary, a Florida judge has blocked a state ban on patients smoking medical marijuana, Colorado's governor signs a medical marijuana in school bill, but vetoes a medical marijuana for autism one, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/06/medical_marijuana_update

4. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
Whoa! It's prison and jail guards gone wild, plus some New York state cops get themselves in trouble.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/06/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

5. CHRONICLE AM: TRUMP, KARDASHIAN TALK PRISON REFORM; DESAPARECIDOS IN NUEVO LAREDO, MORE... (5/31/18)
Philadelphia sees its first medical marijuana dispensary, a new report says drugged driving fatalities are up dramatically, the UN is concerned about forced disappearances in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and more.

https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/may/31/chronicle_am_trump_kardashian

6. CHRONICLE AM: CA PAYS FOR FENTANYL TEST STRIPS, CA MARIJUANA BANKING BILL ADVANCES, MORE... (6/1/18)
The California Senate approves a bill to create financial services for the pot industry, the California public health department is paying needle exchanges to hand out fentanyl test strips, a New York bill would allow the use of CBD oil instead of
opioids to treat pain, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/01/chronicle_am_ca_pays_fentanyl

7. CHRONICLE AM: GALLUP: POT USE "MORALLY ACCEPTABLE," BANGLADESHI DRUG WAR KILLINGS, MORE... (6/4/18)
Two polls illustrate the rising social acceptability of marijuana, Louisiana's medical marijuana program expands, the Bangladeshi drug war could be a cover for political assassinations, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/04/chronicle_am_gallup_pot_use

8. CHRONICLE AM: CO GOV. VETOES POT TASTING ROOMS, WV FIRST RESPONDERS GET NALOXONE, MORE... (6/5/18)
Colorado's governor vetoes a pot tasting room bill and signs a medical marijuana in schools bill, Canada's legalization bill overcomes a last-ditch attempt to block it, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/05/chronicle_am_co_gov_vetoes_pot

9. CHRONICLE AM: BANGLADESH DRUG WAR KILLINGS DRAW UN REBUKE, FED POT BUSTS WAY DOWN, MORE... (6/6/18)
The president commutes the life sentence of a drug offender, Michigan voters will decide whether to legalize weed in November, the UN's human rights head criticizes Bangladeshi drug war killings, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/06/chronicle_am_bangladesh_drug_war

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1. YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT COUNTRY JUST ENACTED A MASSIVE, MEANINGFUL DRUG REFORM
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2018/jun/04/youll_never_believe_what_country

For years, Iran has been one of the world's leading executioners of drug offenders (https://iranhr.net/en/reports/19/), with hundreds of people hung from the gallows annually for drug smuggling and trafficking. But in a remarkable turnabout, that is no
longer the case.

After the Iranian parliament amended the country's drug laws in November 2017, drug executions have all but halted, according to a new report from Iran Human Rights (IHR) (https://www.iranhr.net/en/articles/3325/). The non-profit group found that only
one person had been executed for a drug offense this year in Iran, compared to 112 during the same period last year and nearly 500 for all of 2017.

That's a 99% reduction in the resort to the death penalty for drugs in the Islamic Republic.

The changes to Iran's drug laws didn't remove the death penalty from the books -- it remains one of 33 countries (https://www.talkingdrugs.org/death-penalty-drug-offences-world-map-hri), including the United States, that mete out the ultimate punishment
for drug offenses -- but it dramatically raised the quantities of drugs needed to merit the death penalty.

Under the old law, being caught with a little more than an ounce (30 grams) of drugs such as cocaine or heroin could bring a death sentence. Now, it takes nearly 4 1/2 pounds (2 kilograms). Similarly, for plant-based drugs such as cannabis and opium, the
death penalty threshold has increased ten-fold, from 5 kilograms (11 pounds) to 50 kilograms (110 pounds).

The death penalty can also be imposed for certain other drug offenses where quantity is not the issue, for example, the use of a minor in a drug trafficking operations, carrying or using firearms while committing drug-related crimes, having a prior death
penalty or prison sentence longer than 15 years, or being the "leader" of a drug trafficking group.

The one man executed (https://www.iranhr.net/en/articles/3305/) for drug offenses in Iran this year, identified as Kiomars Nosuhi, was convicted of being a "leader" of a drug trafficking group.

Bordering Afghanistan, the world's primary supplier of raw opium and heroin, Iran has for decades waged war on drug smugglers, with thousands of police and soldiers killed (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/27/iran.roberttait) in the struggle.
While opium smoking was a traditional Iranian pastime, the country now has one of the world's highest addiction rates (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-tehran-drug-addiction-opium-heroin-afghanistan-taliban-a7809046.html), with
heroin largely replacing opium. In recognition of that reality, in the past decade, Iranian officials have switched from harsh punishments of drug users to emphasizing drug treatment and harm reduction. The end of the reflexive resort to the death
penalty for drugs marks another step in the country's march toward a more progressive policy response.

While human rights groups applaud the dramatic decline in drug executions, they continue to express concern over the way the Iranian judicial system responds to drugs.

"We welcome the significant reduction in the use of the death penalty and hope that this trend will continue towards complete abolition," said IHR spokesperson (https://www.iranhr.net/en/articles/3325/) Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. "However, we have several
serious concerns regarding the process of implementation of the new amendment, including bribery in the judicial system, insufficient capacity to handle a large number of cases, and lack of a monitoring organ overlooking the process."

And then there are the tens of thousands of drug offenders filling Iran's prisons. The country has more than 250,000 people behind bars, 50% to 70% for drug offenses (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01436597.2017.1350818). The Islamic
Republic may not be running the gallows at full tilt anymore for drugs, but incarceration remains a key element of Iranian drug policy. Still, Iran has taken an important step forward.


================  ...


                                         ___________________

                                          It's time to correct the mistake:
                                        Truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

                                      Cops say legalize drugs--find out
why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

                                       Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
                                       ___________________

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      the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
      It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
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