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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1103 -- 7/14/20
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1103

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

PLEASE SUPPORT THIS NEWSLETTER WITH A RECURRING OR ONE-TIME DONATION: https://stopthedrugwar.org/donate

Table of Contents:

1. DRUG REFORM INITIATIVES ALREADY ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT AND THOSE THAT
COULD STILL MAKE THE CUT [FEATURE]
Drug decriminalization, marijuana legalization, medical marijuana, and psychedelic reform initiatives have all already qualified for the ballot
this year, and more still may. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/14/drug_reform_initiatives_already

2. EVENT: NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT: DRUG POLICY REFORM IS MORE URGENT
THAN EVER
Please join our online event at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Wednesday July 8th, noon-1:30pm ET. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/07/event_no_time_present_drug

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
Hoo, boy! Highway patrolmen cooking up 'shrooms, district judges tipping
off friends and messing up drug investigations, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/14/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. OR DRUG DECRIM WILL GO TO VOTERS, VA MARIJUANA DECRIM NOW IN EFFECT,
MORE... (7/1/20)
The Old Dominion decriminalizes pot possession, Oregon will vote on decriminalizing all drugs, drug overdoses are jumping during the
pandemic, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/01/or_drug_decrim_will_go_voters_va

5. NASHVILLE TO END SMALL-TIME POT PROSECUTIONS, MORE COPS CHARGED IN
WAKE OF FATAL HOUSTON DRUG RAID, MORE... (7/2/20)
Drug reform initiative campaigns are handing in signatures as deadlines approach, Nashville's DA says no more petty pot prosecutions, Mexican
gunmen kill 24 in a raid on a drug rehab center, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/02/nashville_end_smalltime_pot

6. AUSTIN POLICE TO END MINOR MJ BUSTS, SOUTHERN CA DAS LET 100,000 MJ CONVICTIONS BE CLEARED, MORE... (7/3/20)
The capital of Texas gives up on enforcing minor marijuana possession
offenses, Virginia Democratic lawmakers are eyeing legalization next
year, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/03/austin_police_end_minor_mj_busts

7. ARKANSAS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION INITIATIVE WON'T MAKE BALLOT, MORE
MEXICO MAYHEM, MORE... (7/6/20)
Nevada's governor pushes for wholesale marijuana possession pardons, prohibition-related violence flares in Mexico, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/06/arkansas_marijuana_legalization

8. HOUSE SPENDING BILLS INCLUDE MEDMJ PROTECTIONS, DC PSYCHEDELIC
INITIATIVE HANDS IN SIGNATURES, MORE... (7/7/20)
Mexico once again looks set to move forward with medical marijuana,
House funding bills include protections for medical marijuana -- but not recreational marijuana -- and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/07/house_spending_bills_include

9. DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM TO CALL FOR RESCHEDULING AND DECRIMINALIZING
MARIJUANA BUT NOT LEGALIZING, CANADA POLICE CHIEFS WANT DRUG DECRIM,
MORE... (7/13/20)
Democratic task forces working on the party platform have settled on rescheduling and decriminalizing marijuana but not legalizing, the
Justice Department rips a Massachusetts dope squad for its resort to
excessive force, Canadian police chiefs call for drug decriminalization,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/13/democratic_platform_call

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================

1. DRUG REFORM INITIATIVES ALREADY ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT AND THOSE THAT
COULD STILL MAKE THE CUT [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/jul/14/drug_reform_initiatives_already

With signature-gathering deadlines now past nearly everywhere, the
picture of where voters will have a chance to vote on drug reform
initiatives becomes clearer -- although not yet finalized because state officials are still counting petitions in some cases. Marijuana
legalization will be on the ballot in at least two states and as many as
four states and ditto for medical marijuana. Groundbreaking initiatives
on psychedelic policy and drug decriminalization will also go before voters.

In a handful of cases, statewide initiative campaigns had qualified
before the coronavirus reared its head, but most campaigns had to
struggle to find ways to get signatures in the midst of virtual
lockdowns. The virus proved particularly lethal to marijuana
legalization efforts in the Heartland as initiative campaigns in
Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma all succumbed.
It also helped fell a Washington state drug decriminalization campaign,
with organizers there opting instead to go the legislative route.

But in some other states, organizers managed to overcome such obstacles
and have -- as of this writing -- either already qualified for the
ballot or have handed in enough raw signatures to suggest that they well
could qualify once state officials get their counting done.

Here's where things stand at this juncture.

QUALIFIED:

Mississippi -- Medical Marijuana. Ballot Initiative 65 (https://www.sos.ms.gov/elections/initiatives/InitiativeInfo.aspx?IId=65) qualified for the November ballot before the pandemic hit. If approved,
it would allow patients with any of 22 specified medical conditions to
possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

New Jersey -- Marijuana Legalization. A constitutional amendment (https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/SCR/183_I1.PDF) to legalize
marijuana was already on the ballot before the pandemic hit. It would
legalize the possession, cultivation, processing, transport, and
distribution of marijuana under the purview of the already-existing
Cannabis Regulatory Commission, with sales subject to the state's sales
tax. This is not a citizens' initiative -- the state doesn't have those
-- but a legislative one. After the governor and the legislature
couldn't manage to come to agreement on a legalization bill last year,
the state's elected officials punted, instead passing a resolution in
December that refers the question to the state's voters.

Oregon -- Drug Decriminalization. For the first time, drug
decriminalization will go before voters after the Drug Addiction
Treatment and Recovery Act (http://egov.sos.state.or.us/elec/web_irr_search.record_detail?p_reference=20200044..LSCYYYTREATMENT)
(IP44) qualified for the November ballot. The initiative would
decriminalize the possession of personal use amounts of drugs and
channel marijuana tax revenues into drug treatment.

Oregon -- Therapeutic Psilocybin. Using an online signature-gathering
strategy after pandemic lockdowns took effect, the campaign behind
Initiative Petition 34 (https://yesonip34.org), which would legalize
psilocybin to use for therapeutic purposes in a controlled setting with
a licensed facilitator qualified for the November ballot in early July.

South Dakota -- Marijuana Legalization. With support from the Marijuana
Policy Project and the New Approach PAC, Constitutional Amendment A (https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/2020_CA_LegalizeMarijuana_Petition.pdf)
has qualified for the November ballot before the pandemic hit. It would legalize the personal possession of up to an ounce and the cultivation
of up to three plants by adults, as well as setting up a system of taxed
and regulated marijuana sales. The measure would also compel the
legislature to come up with regulations for medical marijuana and hemp
by 2022.

South Dakota -- Medical Marijuana. Maybe the third time will be the
charm. South Dakota is the only state to twice defeat medical marijuana initiatives, in 2006 and by an even bigger margin in 2010. Initiated
Measure 26 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qbo3-t5u6xBFKosUvGjAEKW0n-6CWnXA/view), another New Approach-supported campaign, would allow patients from a
list of qualifying conditions to possess up to three ounces and grow up
to three plants, as well as create a system of dispensary sales.

WAITING TO HEAR:

Arizona -- Marijuana Legalization. Backers of the Smart and Safe Arizona
Act (https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.44/t79.ef1.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2020-Initiative-Smart-Safe-Arizona.pdf)
marijuana legalization initiative filed more than 420,000 raw signatures (https://norml.org/blog/2020/07/01/arizona-marijuana-legalization-proponents-turn-in-nearly-twice-the-signatures-required-to-qualify-for-2020-ballot/)
with the secretary of state's office on July 2. It only needs 237,465
valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The
initiative would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, allow for cultivation, distribution, and retail sales, and
use tax revenues from those sales to fund public education and public
safety programs.

District of Columbia -- Natural Entheogens. Decriminalize DC, the folks
behind Initiative 81 (https://decrimnaturedc.org/initiative-81/), which
would makes natural psychedelics law enforcement's lowest priority,
handed in some 35,000 raw signatures (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dc-activists-submit-signatures-to-put-psychedelics-decriminalization-on-november-ballot/)
on July 6, the deadline for submitting them. They need 24,712 valid
voter signatures, and organizers say they have already independently
verified they have 27,000 valid signatures. DC officials will rule
officially in 30 days.

Montana -- Marijuana Legalization.New Approach Montana, the group behind
the I-190 marijuana legalization initiative (https://newapproachmt.org/initiatives) and the C-118 constitutional
amendment (https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/cannabis-campaign-submits-legalization-drafts-for-ballot/article_50526692-712a-540b-b88f-8bb516310471.html)
to set the legal age for marijuana at 21, turned in more than 52,000 raw signatures (https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/marijuana-campaign-130k-signed-to-legalize/article_99a50551-cee8-5d36-98b9-79a5f5e6562e.html)
for the initiative (it needs 25,000 valid voter signatures) and 80,000 signatures for the amendment (it needs 50,000 valid voter signatures) on
June 19. Now it's nail-biting time as organizers wait for the state to
see if they came up with enough good ones.

Nebraska -- Medical Marijuana. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the
group behind the state's proposed medical marijuana initiative (https://idahopoliticsweekly.com/politics/2532-idahoans-support-medical-but-not-recreational-marijuana),
handed in some 182,000 raw signatures (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/nebraska-medical-marijuana-campaign-submits-182000-signatures-to-qualify-for-ballot/)
on July 2. They need at least 121,669 valid voter signatures to qualify
for the November ballot. The campaign must also meet a requirement that
at least 5% of voters in at least 38 counties sign up.

STILL GATHERING SIGNATURES:

Idaho -- Medical Marijuana. The Idaho Cannabis Coalition had given up
the ghost in the face of the coronavirus back in March, but its medical marijuana initiative
(https://sos.idaho.gov/elect/inits/2020/MM_Final.pdf) has received an unexpected boost and could still make the ballot after federal court
decisions around electronic signature-gathering for an unrelated
initiative opened the door for a potential revival. Now, the group is
asking the state to allow them to collect signatures electronically (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/idaho-medical-marijuana-activists-ask-state-for-electronic-signature-gathering-option-following-court-ruling/).
They would still need some 55,057 valid voter signatures to qualify for
the ballot.

Come November, medical marijuana and marijuana legalization could
continue to expand across the country, while we could also break new
ground on drug decriminalization and psychedelics. Let's get out and
vote. As if you needed to be told that this year.


================ ...
___________________

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>
___________________

bliss -- Cacao Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

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