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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1151 -- 2/4/22
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1151

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

Table of Contents:

1. MISSISSIPPI BECOMES LATEST STATE TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA [FEATURE] Mississippi becomes the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/03/mississippi_becomes_latest_state

2. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
Minnesota medical marijuana patients will soon be able to buy buds,
South Dakota medical marijuana patients will be able to buy edibles, and
more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/02/medical_marijuana_update

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A Michigan detective cops to dealing dope, a Missouri deputy was crazy
for prescription pills, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/02/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. DE MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BILL PASSES COMMITTEE, SD LAWMAKERS MOVE TO
BAN MEDMJ EDIBLES, MORE... (1/27/22)
Psilocybin is making some news this week in Colorado, Wisconsin
Republicans roll out a restrictive medical marijuana bill, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/jan/27/de_marijuana_legalization_bill

5. NEW SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS IN OVERDOSE CRISIS, JORDANIAN ARMY AMBUSHES
DRUG SMUGGLERS, MORE... (1/28/22)
Tennesseans could send their legislators a message on marijuana policy
under a pair of bills just filed, Costa Rica's president vetoes a
medical marijuana bill and demands changes, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/jan/28/new_synthetic_opioids_overdose

6. NEW BID FOR SAFE BANKING BILL, OH ACTIVISTS' MJ LEGALIZATION MEASURE
HEADS TO LEGISLATURE, MORE... (1/31/22)
South Dakota medical marijuana patients will get to enjoy their edibles
after all, a New Hampshire subcommittee kills one marijuana bill but
more are coming, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/jan/31/new_bid_safe_banking_bill_oh

7. SAFE BANKING ACT GETS ANOTHER CHANCE IN THE HOUSE, OPIOID MAKERS
SETTLE WITH NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES, MORE... (2/2/22)
An Arizona judge upholds social equity provisions in the state's
marijuana law, the SAFE Banking Act will get another House floor vote,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/02/safe_banking_act_gets_another

8. HOUSE ADVANCES SAFE BANKING ACT (AGAIN), MI PSYCHEDELIC LEGALIZATION INITIATIVE FILED, MORE... (2/3/22)
The SAFE Banking Act advances in the House, a group of House members
want a vote on marijuana legalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/03/house_advances_safe_banking_act

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1. MISSISSIPPI BECOMES LATEST STATE TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/03/mississippi_becomes_latest_state

With the signature of Gov. Tate Reeves (R) on a compromise medical
marijuana bill on Wednesday, Mississippi becomes the 37th state to
legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Mississippi voters had overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana at the
polls in November 2020, passing a broad medical marijuana measure,
Initiative 65 (https://www.sos.ms.gov/elections/initiatives/InitiativeInfo.aspx?IId=65),
with 74% of the vote (and rejecting a more restrictive legislative
alternative, Initiative 65A (https://www.sos.ms.gov/elections-and-voting/initiative-measure-65a).)
But that victory was nullified by the state Supreme Court, which ruled
that the state's signature gathering requirements for initiatives could
not be complied with, invalidating not only Initiative 65 but also the
whole initiative process in the state.

Heedful of the will of the people, both the legislature and the governor
vowed to get a medical marijuana bill passed. The Supreme Court ruling
was in May 2021; it took until now for the executive branch and the
legislative branch to come to agreement on how to replace what the
judicial branch threw out. Meanwhile, patients waited increasingly
impatiently.

They got medical marijuana, but in a more restrictive form that what the
voted for back in 2020. The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act (Senate
Bill 2095
(http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2022/pdf/history/SB/SB2095.xml))
allows patients to purchase smokeable marijuana, but only 3/4 of an
ounce per week, and there is no provision for home cultivation.
Marijuana flower must be no more than 30 percent THC, while concentrates
must be no more than 60 percent.

People with a specified list of conditions -- cancer, Parkinson's, Huntington's, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, spastic quadriplegia, HIV,
AIDS, hepatitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's,
ulcerative colitis, sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer's, agitation of
dementia, PTSD, autism, pain refractory to opioid management, diabetic/peripheral neuropathy, spinal cord disease, or severe injury -- qualify for medical marijuana.

People with chronic medical conditions that produce wasting, severe
nausea, seizures, severe muscle spasms, and chronic pain also qualify,
but chronic pain is narrowly defined as "a pain state in which the cause
of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated, and which in the
generally accepted course of medical practice, no relief or cure of the
cause of the pain is possible, or none has been found after reasonable
efforts by a practitioner."

Doctors, certified nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and
optometrists can all sign recommendations for patients if they believe
the patient "would likely receive medical or palliative benefit" from
medical marijuana. But before they can do that, they have to have
completed eight hours of continuing medical education courses on medical marijuana (and five hours each year after that) and have performed an
in-person examination of the patient.

People who want to get in the medical marijuana business can obtain
licenses if they pay nonrefundable application fees ranging from $1,500
for a 1,000-square foot canopy micro-cultivator license to $100,000 for
the largest operators. There is no cap on the number of medical
marijuana businesses. There will be a wholesale tax of 5 percent in
addition to the state sales tax of 7 percent.

Marijuana reform advocates generally praised the passage of the bill,
though with some reservations.

"With this victory, tens of thousands of Mississippians with
debilitating health conditions will finally be able to safely and
legally access something that can alleviate their pain and improve their quality of life. Mississippi now serves as the latest example that
medical cannabis legalization is possible in any state in the country.
We are hopeful that this move will add to the growing momentum towards
cannabis policy reform in the South," said Toi Hutchinson, president and
CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in a press release (https://www.mpp.org/news/press/mississippi-legalizes-medical-cannabis/).

"Marijuana access is long overdue for Mississippi's patients," NORML's
State Policies Manager Jax James said in a blog post (https://norml.org/blog/2022/02/03/mississippi-becomes-37th-state-to-provide---medical-cannabis-access/).
"The overwhelming majority of voters decided in favor of this policy
change over a year ago, and for the past 14 months the will of the
people has been denied."

But James also expressed disappointment in some of both what the bill
does contain and what it does not.

"We remain concerned that lawmakers saw fit to add unnecessary taxes on cannabis products, that patients are prohibited from home-cultivating
limited amounts of cannabis for their own personal use, and that those
with chronic pain are restricted from accessing cannabis products until
first using more dangerous and addictive substances like opioids," she said.

For MPP, though, the bottom line was that another state now allows
patients access to medical marijuana.

"Despite tremendous support, Mississipians faced an uphill battle for a
medical cannabis program. With this new law, justice has finally
prevailed. Patients in Mississippi who are seriously ill will no longer
be subject to arrest and criminal penalties for using medical cannabis
and instead will be met with compassion. We applaud the legislature for
working to restore the will of the voters in one of the most
conservative states in the nation and Gov. Reeves for signing it into
law," said Kevin Caldwell, MPP Southeast legislative manager.

The state Department of Health will begin issuing patient registry cards
in 60 days, begin accepting applications from practitioners and begin
licensing marijuana businesses other than dispensaries within 120 days,
and licensing dispensaries within 150 days. The clock is ticking.


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

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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