XPost: alt.drugs.psychedelics, alt.drugs.pot, alt.hemp.politics

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1069 -- 6/7/19
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1069

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

THIS ISSUE OF DRUG WAR CHRONICLE IS DEDICATED TO OUR FRIEND DOUG GREENE. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/07/veteran_empire_state_marijuana

Table of Contents:

1. ILLINOIS POISED TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA [FEATURE]
Illinois will be the 11th state to legalize marijuana. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/06/illinois_marijuana_legalization

2. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
On the medical marijuana front, the Garden State is where it's at this week. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/05/medical_marijuana_update

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A Denver sheriff's deputy had the wrong boyfriend, a Los Angeles narc
blacmails his secretary over a sexual encounter, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/05/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. CHRONICLE AM: IL SENATE VOTES TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, OAKLAND MUSHROOM
DECRIM MOVING, MORE... (5/30/19)
Colorado could soon see pot cafes and tasting rooms, Illinois is a House
vote or two away from freeing the weed, Oakland has almost
decriminalized magic mushrooms, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/may/30/chronicle_am_il_senate_votes

5. CHRONICLE AM: IL SET TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, HONDURAN PRESIDENT
TARGETED IN US DRUG PROBE, MORE... (5/31/19)
Illinois is set to be the next legal marijuana state, a federal appeal
court has ordered the DEA to move promptly on marijuana rescheduling,
the Honduran president is the target of a federal drug and money
laundering probe, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/may/31/chronicle_am_il_set_legalize

6. CHRONICLE AM: USDA SAYS STATES CAN'T BLOCK HEMP TRANSPORT,
CONGRESSIONAL POT BANKING BILL, MORE... (6/3/19)
A Treasury department appropriations bill includes language to protect
banks doing marijuana business and allow DC to tax and regulate its
legal marijuana, the USDA warns states against blocking hemp shipments,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/03/chronicle_am_usda_says_states

7. CHRONICLE AM: NEW YORK WEED WARS, HUGE NJ DISPENSARY EXPANSION,
MORE... (6/4/19)
Tensions over the fate of marijuana legalization in New York are heating
up as the legislative clock ticks down, Nevada becomes the latest state
to enact an expungement law, a Vermont bid to decriminalize
buprenorphine gets sidetracked, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/04/chronicle_am_new_york_weed_wars

8. CHRONICLE AM: OAKLAND DECRIMINALIZES MAGIC MUSHROOMS, SAN FRANCISCO
FORCED DRUG TREATMENT PLAN, MORE... (6/5/19)
Two big stories from the San Francisco Bay area, governors call for
federal marijuana reform, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/05/chronicle_am_oakland

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1. ILLINOIS POISED TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/jun/06/illinois_marijuana_legalization

Illinois is poised to become the 11th state to legalize marijuana, as
soon as Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs into law a legalization bill (http://ilga.gov/legislation/101/HB/10100HB1438sam002.htm) passed with bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate last week. Pritzker
pushed for the bill's passage.

When he signs, Illinois will become the first state to get a
legalization bill all the way through the legislative process this year,
and the first ever to create a system of taxed and regulated marijuana
commerce through the legislative process rather than through a voter initiative. (Vermont's legislature legalized possession and cultivation
but not sales in early 2018.)

The Senate approved the bill last Wednesday and the House concurred on
Friday, the last day of the legislative session.

"The state of Illinois just made history, legalizing adult-use cannabis
with the most equity-centric approach in the nation," Pritzker said in a statement
(https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/news-item.aspx?ReleaseID=20151) upon
passage of the bill. "This will have a transformational impact on our
state, creating opportunity in the communities that need it most and
giving so many a second chance."

Once the law goes into effect on January 1, Illinois residents 21 and
over will be able to legally possess 30 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of concentrate, or 500 milligrams of THC in a marijuana-infused product. Out-of-staters will only be able to possess up to 15 grams of marijuana.

The right to grow one's own plants, however, was sacrificed in a bid to
assuage critics (https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/news-item.aspx?ReleaseID=20151) and get
the bill over the hump. The bill originally allowed for the home
cultivation of up to five plants, but the loud opposition of law
enforcement, who worried that it would make it more difficult to find
illegal growers, along with Republican lawmakers and other interests,
got that taken out.

Washington (https://www.marijuanabreak.com/state-by-state-guide-to-growing-marijuana)
is the only other legal adult-use marijuana state that does not allow
home cultivation.

It also took weakening of the expungement provision (https://capitolfax.com/2019/05/29/senate-to-take-up-cannabis-legalization-bill-today/)
in the bill to bring some needed Republicans on board. When the bill was
rolled out in the first week of May, it included language that would
have created automatic expungement of criminal records for marijuana
offenses that will no longer be a crime, but Republicans objected.
Instead, bill sponsors agreed to language that removed automatic
expungement and replaced it with language allowing the governor to
pardon past offenses "with permission to expunge," but that will then
require the filing of a petition to get it done, making it likely that
many people with past marijuana convictions will not get their records expunged.

Excluding home grows and scaling back expungement was enough to get
Republicans such as Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) on board, and that
handful of GOP votes ensured passage of the bill.

"I'm a father of three from a rural district, and I'm standing before
you supporting this bill because I do not believe the current policy
that we have out there right now is working," Welter said during House
debate. "Prohibition doesn't work, and we see that. Putting safeguards
in place, taxing, regulating it, I believe provides a better market and
a safer market."

The new law creates a system of licensed commercial cultivation
operations and retail shops, while also setting up a social equity
program to help minority businesses enter the emerging industry. That
program will deploy grants and loans to such businesses, as well as establishing a grant fund to aid the communities most disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

Legal marijuana is expected to generate some $87 million in tax revenues
for the coming budget year, with $30 million going for a marijuana
business development fund and $57 million headed for general revenues.
That money will first pay for regulatory expenses and costs related to expungement. After that, the pot dollars will be divided among the
general fund (35 percent), community grants (25 percent), mental health
and substance abuse programs (20 percent, paying down the state's budget deficit (10 percent), supporting law enforcement (8 percent), and public education (2 percent).

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx cheered the passage of the bill
even though the expungement provisions were weakened, and vowed to fight

"I applaud the Illinois General Assembly for passing legislation that
legalizes recreational cannabis and provides conviction relief to
hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans with low-level charges of cannabis possession," she said in a statement (https://www.cookcountystatesattorney.org/news/statement-cook-county-state-s-attorney-kimberly-foxx-passage-historic-marijuana-legislation).
As prosecutors who implemented these convictions, we must own our role
in the harm they have caused and we should play a role in reversing
them. The failed war on drugs has disproportionately impacted
communities of color, and my office will continue to explore ways to
provide the broadest relief possible, beyond that provided by this legislation."

This year has been something of a disappointment for marijuana
reformers, with much-touted legalization efforts in states such as
Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York stalling out. Illinois was
considered something of a dark horse, but now it has beat everyone else
across the finish line.

And the Drug Policy Alliance (http://www.drugpolicy.org), which has been working hard to get that New York bill passed, has taken notice.

"Illinois state representatives had the courage to pass comprehensive
marijuana justice -- and made it their priority before the close of
their legislative session," said DPA New York deputy director Melissa
Moore. "As we enter the final three weeks of New York's session, our
elected officials have a tremendous opportunity to show bold leadership
and pass responsible regulation that will serve all New Yorkers and
address the harms of marijuana prohibition. The time to act is now and
the game plan is clear: Pass the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act immediately."

Whether New York or any other state can still get it done this year or
not, the fabric of marijuana prohibition grows increasingly frayed.
Thoroughly shredded on the West Coast and tattered in the Northeast, it
now has a big hole in the heart of the Midwest with Illinois joining
Michigan as a legal weed state.

And there's always next year, where voters in initiative states will
have an opportunity to get it done themselves -- without having to deal
with cumbersome legislative processes where a single committee chairman
can kill a bill, or with recalcitrant lawmakers still stuck in the last century.

(Disclosure: Drug Policy Alliance is a financial supporter of Drug War Chronicle.)


================ ...
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Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
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<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
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It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
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