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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1138 -- 7/23/21
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1138

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

Table of Contents:

1. SENATE DEMOCRATS ROLL OUT BILL TO END FEDERAL MARIJUANA PROHIBITION [FEATURE]
The push to pass a federal marijuana legalization bill is now on in the
Senate, although the immediate prospects are cloudy. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/15/senate_democrats_roll_out_bill

2. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
Stay tuned to find out if a South Dakota tribe's medical marijuana cards
are valid for non-members, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/14/medical_marijuana_update

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A Texas Border Patrol agent waves the cocaine-laden car through, a
Florida depiuty is headed to prison for planting dope on innocent
drivers and arresting them, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/14/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. FREE DRUGS HANDED OUT IN VANCOUVER, NJ DISMISSES NEARLY 88,000
MARIJUANA CASES WITH MORE TO COME, MORE... (7/15/21)
Ohio sees its first full-fledged marijuana legalization bill,
Mississippi is moving toward a legislative special session to address
medical marijuana, legalization in Israel gets stalled, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/15/free_drugs_handed_out_vancouver

5. CA PSILOCYBIN LEGALIZATION INITIATIVE GETS UNDERWAY, HOUSE SPENDING
BILL INCLUDES NEEDLE EXCHANGE FUNDING, MORE...7/16/21)
Maryland legislative leaders are lining up to support a voter referendum
on marijuana legalization next year, the House Appropriations Committee
is passing spending bills that include marijuana and other drug
provisions, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/16/ca_psilocybin_legalization

6. SURGEON GENERAL SAY DON'T JAIL PEOPLE FOR POT, ME LAW ENDS CIVIL
ASSET FORFEITURE, MORE... (7/19/21)
The AMA Advocacy Update chronicles one doctor's problems trying to
prescribe for chronic pain and addicted patients, Maine becomes the
fourth state to end civil asset forfeiture, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/19/surgeon_general_say_dont_jail

7. CO RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION, SC GOVERNOR
CANDIDATE SAYS LEGALIZE IT, MORE... (7/20/21)
A bill to protect the 2nd Amendment rights of state-legal marijuana
users languishes in the House Judiciary Committee, South Carolina
Democratic guberatorial candidate Joe Cunningham unveils a plan to
legalize marijuana, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/20/co_releases_annual_report

8. DEA AGENT ARRESTED FOR ROLE IN US CAPITOL RIOT, NC MEDMJ BILL
ADVANCES, MORE... (7/21/21)
A new Republican bill would bar food stamp recipients from using their
cards for any marijuana purchases -- even medical, a Mississippi city
reaches a settlement in the death of a man hog-tied by police while
under the influence of LSD, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/21/dea_agent_arrested_role_us

9. US PRISON, PAROLE, PROBATION POPULATION CONTINUES SLOW DECLINE; $26
BILLION OPIOID SETTLEMENT, MORE... (7/22/21)
Florida's Republican establishment may not be ready for marijuana
legalization but the public is, the Justice Department drops an effort
to send some First Step Act releasees back to prison, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/22/us_prison_parole_probation

10. BIDEN VOWS TO CONTINUE PRESSURE ON CHINA OVER OPIOIDS, CHIAPAS
MILITIA EMERGES TO FIGHT CARTELS, MORE... (7/23/21)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez files an amendment to encourage
psychedelic research, President Biden says he will stay tough on Chinese
opioid exports, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/23/biden_vows_continue_pressure

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

1. SENATE DEMOCRATS ROLL OUT BILL TO END FEDERAL MARIJUANA PROHIBITION [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2021/jul/15/senate_democrats_roll_out_bill

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and his colleagues Senate
Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
rolled out an initial draft of their legislation to end federal
marijuana prohibition, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Cannabis%20Administration%20and%20Opportunity%20Act.pdf).

Similar legislation, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and
Expungement Act (HR 3617 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3617)),
sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is
pending in the House, but prospects for the Senate bill are hazy. It
would need 60 votes to pass, no Republicans have spoken in favor of it,
and it is not even clear that all Democrats would vote for it.

And even if it were to pass, moments after a Wednesday press conference announcing the bill, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told
reporters had opposed marijuana legalization in the past and "nothing
has changed (https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/14/biden-marijuana-legalization-499642)."

Still, the Senate Majority Leader putting his name on a marijuana
legalization bill is a big deal, a sign of how far the issue has come.

According to a summary (https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CAOA%20Detailed%20Summary%20-.pdf)
of the 163-page draft bill, the measure would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act and shift regulatory authority over it from the
Drug Enforcement Administration to the Food and Drug Administration.
Each state would determine its own marijuana policies, and federal
criminal penalties would remain for growing, possessing, or distributing
more than 10 pounds in violation of state or federal law.

The bill would set the legal age for purchase at 21 and limit purchases
to 10 ounces "to prevent illegal actors from purchasing large quantities
of cannabis at retail in a cannabis-legal state and illegally
trafficking that cannabis into other states with the purpose of
circumventing state-level laws relating to the sale, production, or
taxation of cannabis."

The measure addresses social equity concerns by creating three grant
programs -- one in the Justice Department and two in the Small Business Administration (SBA) -- to channel resources to people and communities adversely impacted by marijuana prohibition. The SBA grants to states
and localities will be conditioned on the passage of state laws that
expunge previous marijuana convictions.

The bill also calls for the automatic expungement of non-violent federal marijuana convictions and would give people currently serving federal
sentences for marijuana convictions a sentencing review hearing that
would essentially set them free: "After the sentencing hearing, courts
shall expunge each arrest, conviction, or adjudication of juvenile
delinquency for a non-violent federal cannabis offense, vacate the
existing sentence or disposition of juvenile delinquency, and seal all
records relating to a conviction or adjudication that has been expunged."

The act would see marijuana commerce federally taxed and regulated, with federal taxes beginning at 10% in year one and increasing to 25% by year
five. In a boost to small producers, the first $20 million in sales
would be eligible for a 50% rebate.

"I am proud to introduce our discussion draft of the Cannabis
Administration and Opportunity Act, a legislative proposal aimed at
finally putting an end to the federal prohibition of cannabis and
addressing the over-criminalization of cannabis in a comprehensive and meaningful way," said Majority Leader Schumer in a statement (https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/majority-leader-schumer-senate-finance-committee-chair-wyden-and-senator-booker-release-discussion-draft-of-cannabis-administration-and-opportunity-act-legislation-to-end-the-federal-cannabis-prohibition-and-
unfair-targeting-of-communities-of-color-)
announcing the bill. "The War on Drugs has too often been a war on
people, and particularly people of color. Not only will this legislation
remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances, but it
will also help fix our criminal justice system, ensure restorative
justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations."

"Cannabis prohibition, a key pillar of the failed War on Drugs, has
caused substantial harm to our communities and small businesses, and
especially for communities of color," said Senate Finance Committee
Chair Wyden. "It's as simple as this: Senators Booker, Schumer and I
want to bring common sense to the federal government, end prohibition
and restore the lives of those hurt most and set them up for opportunity."

"For decades, our federal government has waged a War on Drugs that has
unfairly impacted low-income communities and communities of color," said Senator Booker. "While red and blue states across the country continue
to legalize marijuana, the federal government continues to lag woefully
behind. It is time for Congress to end the federal marijuana prohibition
and reinvest in communities most impacted by the failed War on Drugs. I
am proud to introduce this landmark piece of legislation with Senator
Wyden and Majority Leader Schumer that will finally turn the page on
this dark chapter in American history and begin righting these wrongs."

Marijuana and drug reform activists were generally pleased, although
there were some quibbles. And since this is a first draft, now is the
time for those quibbles to be heard.

"The days of federal prohibition are numbered," said NORML Executive
Director Erik Altieri in a statement (https://norml.org/blog/2021/07/14/senate-leader-unveils-long-awaited-marijuana-descheduling-plan/),
adding that "the supermajority of Americans are demanding that Congress
take action to end the cruel and senseless policy of federal prohibition."

"For justice reform, for equity, for individual liberty, and countless
other reasons, it is time to respect the will of the American people and legalize cannabis. I am heartened by the Booker, Schumer, Wyden bill
draft, which is a promising first step towards Senate passage, and
hopeful that it will lead to negotiations and bipartisan support for an inclusive and equitable legal cannabis industry," said Steven Hawkins, executive director at the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement (https://www.mpp.org/news/press/).

But the Drug Policy Alliance, while pronouncing itself "grateful" for
the bill emphasizing social equity, reparative justice and reinvestment,
said in a statement (https://drugpolicy.org/press-release/2021/07/statement-senate-marijuana-bill-draft-unveiled-today-schumer-booker-wyden)
more work needed to be done.

"[W]ork remains to ensure justice does not fall short, said Maritza
Perez, Director of the Office of National Affairs for DPA. "To our
dismay, the Senate draft contains exclusionary language that ended up
getting added to the House-passed MORE Act last year that would continue
to subject federal employees to drug testing and deny certain
individuals -- who have already paid the highest price -- the
opportunity to expunge their records. In order for this bill to truly
end marijuana prohibition in a comprehensive way and begin to repair the egregious harms of the past, we cannot continue to make room for some to
be left out because of laws that were unjust and racist to begin with.
We call on the House to remove exclusionary language from the MORE Act
and swiftly pass the bill and implore the Senate to also remove this
language ahead of bill introduction."

The wall of federal marijuana prohibition may or not fall this year, but
its foundations are rapidly decaying, and the issue is squarely before
the Congress.
================ ...
___________________

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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