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

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1092 -- 4/3/20
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1092

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

Table of Contents:

1. FACED WITH CORONAVIRUS, BIG CITIES BEGIN TO FOREGO DRUG ARRESTS, PROSECUTIONS [FEATURE]
The coronavirus pandemic is pushing police and prosecutors to forego
small-time drug busts and prosecutions as a means of preserving the
public health. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/30/faced_coronavirus_big_cities

2. DENVER POT SHOP CLOSURE REVERSED, AMSTERDAM CANNABIS CAFES REOPEN,
MEDMJ BUSINESSES ESSENTIAL MORE... (3/25/20)
Marijuana retail outlets stay open in Denver and Amsterdam after pandemic-inspired efforts to shut them down inspire long lines, drug
reform and public health groups urge governors to keep medical marijuana dispensaries open, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/25/chronicle_am_denver_pot_shop_ban

3. US INDICTS VENEZUELA'S MADURO FOR "NARCO-TERRORISM," A CALL TO END
MARIJUANA ARRESTS, JAILINGS, MORE... (3/26/20)
The US indicts a leftist Latin American leader for drug trafficking (but
not a rightist one), a Michigan prosecutor gets nailed for embezzling
asset forfeiture funds, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/26/us_indicts_venezuelas_maduro

4. OR INITS SEEK SIGNATURES ONLINE, FRENCH CANNABIS PRICES RISE FAST,
MORE... (3/27/20)
Mexico is unlikely to meet an April 30 deadline to legalize marijuana as
its Senate is suspended due to the COVID-19 crisis, Oregon drug decriminalization and therapeutic psilocybin initiatives now are seeking signatures online, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/27/or_inits_seek_signatures_online

5. MO AND OK INITS COULD FALL VICTIM TO PANDEMIC, COVID-19 SPREADS
BEHIND BARS, MORE... (3/30/20)
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on state-level marijuana
legalization initiatives, Pennsylvania says needle exchanges are "life-sustaining" during the pandemic, Vancouver moves to allow "safe
supply" of regulated drugs during the crisis, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/30/mo_and_ok_inits_could_fall

6. NY LEGALIZATION BID COULD FALL VICTIM TO COVID, DUTCH CANNABIS CAFES
OPEN FOR CARRYOUT, MORE... (3/31/20)
Marijuana legalization didn't make into New York's draft budget
proposal, Netherlands cannabis cafes reopen for carryout, DC psychedelic decriminalization activists find creative ways to seek signatures, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/31/ny_legalization_bid_could_fall

7. NY GOVERNOR SAYS NO LEGALIZATION IN STATE BUDGET, FIRST FEDERAL
PRISONER COVID-19 DEATH, MORE... (4/1/20)
It looks like coronavirus has killed marijuana legalization in New York
this year, a new nonprofit focused on psychedelic education has emerged,
a nonviolent drug offender is the first federal prisoner to die of
COVID-19, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/apr/01/ny_governor_says_no_legalization

8. PHILIPPINE DRUG WAR RAGES DESPITE PANDEMIC, NORML ISSUES MARIJUANA
POLICY CRISIS GUIDANCE, MORE... (4/2/20)
President Trump showily announces a ramping up of the drug war in the Caribbean, NORML issues pot policy guidance for lawmakers during the coronavirus pandemic, the Philippines' drug war continues despite the
pandemic, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/apr/02/philippine_drug_war_rages

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1. FACED WITH CORONAVIRUS, BIG CITIES BEGIN TO FOREGO DRUG ARRESTS, PROSECUTIONS [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2020/mar/30/faced_coronavirus_big_cities

Editor's Note: This is the first of a series of pieces we will be doing
that will focus on the coronavirus pandemic and its various
intersections with drug policy, criminal justice, drug use, and the drug
trade.

Arresting and imprisoning people for drug offenses is a luxury America's biggest cities are finding they can no longer afford as they struggle
with the coronavirus pandemic. Now several of them are leading the way
in jettisoning the long-entrenched but totally discretionary policing
and prosecutorial practice.

Concerns over officer safety, public safety, and keeping jail
populations down in a time of social distancing are driving the moves,
which are only temporary. But perhaps politicians, police and
prosecutors will have a chance to break their addiction to punishing
drug users and sellers by going cold turkey amidst the pandemic. That
would be a silver lining to the current crisis.

As the pandemic morphed from looming threat to ongoing crisis in
mid-March, forward-looking police departments and prosecutors' offices
began to act. In Philadelphia, progressive District Attorney Larry
Krasner cited public health concerns as he called for police to revise
their arrest policies (https://whyy.org/articles/philly-da-krasner-curb-low-level-arrests-to-slow-spread-of-coronavirus/).
The following day, Police Chief Danielle Outlaw issued an internal memo (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6811943-Outlaw-Memo.html)
telling police not to arrest people for drug and other low-level
non-violent offenses -- at least for now.

Instead, those who would have been arrested are being briefly detained
to be identified and while officers gather evidence and then released.
Their actual arrests somewhere down the road would be "effectuated by
arrest warrant," according to the memo.

In a statement released the following day (https://billypenn.com/2020/03/17/philly-police-to-halt-narcotics-arrests-other-charges-during-covid-outbreak/),
Outlaw laid out a public health and police officer safety rationale for
the move: "Our mission is to protect and promote the health and safety
of our officers and the community we serve to the best of our ability
while continuing to discharge every aspect of our core duties," she wrote.

Philadelphia isn't "turning a blind eye to crime," Outlaw told local
media (https://billypenn.com/2020/03/17/philly-police-to-halt-narcotics-arrests-other-charges-during-covid-outbreak/)
as she tried to assuage fears of criminals run amok. "This is similar to
the 'summons process' that is utilized in many other counties throughout
the Commonwealth. To reiterate, criminal offenders will be held
accountable for the crimes they commit," she said.

But that's only if prosecutors in Krasner's office decide to pursue
those cases after the fact. And Krasner is not a big fan (https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/philadelphias-maverick-prosecutor-takes-aim-at-the-war-on-drugs/)
of the war on drugs. He applauded Outlaw's move in an interview with
local media (https://billypenn.com/2020/03/17/philly-police-to-halt-narcotics-arrests-other-charges-during-covid-outbreak/)
the same day: "It's clear to me that the police commissioner is trying
to be thoughtful and creative as we move into uncharted territory,"
Krasner said, "We commend her for putting the safety of the public's
health first."

It's not just Philadelphia. Just days later, Krasner joined DAs from 30
other cities in signing on to an open letter urging local governments to
make change in the face of COVID-19 (https://fairandjustprosecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus-Sign-On-Letter.pdf).
The prosecutors, including those from Baltimore, New York, San
Francisco, and St. Louis, called for police to adopt "cite and release
policies for offenses which pose no immediate physical threat to the
community, including simple possession of controlled substances." They
also called for the release of people being held solely because they
can't come up with cash bail and for reducing jail and prison
populations "to promote the health safety, staff, those incarcerated,
and visitors."

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby cited the Philadelphia
no-arrest policy (https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-ci-cr-mosby-prisoner-release-20200318-u7knneb6o5gqvnqmtpejftavia-story.html)
when she ordered her prosecutors to dismiss any pending charges for drug possession and attempted drug distribution, as well as such offenses as urinating in public, open container, prostitution and minor traffic
offenses.

In a memo to prosecutors, she wrote (https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-ci-cr-mosby-prisoner-release-20200318-u7knneb6o5gqvnqmtpejftavia-story.html)
that such crimes pose no risk to public safety and arrestees would
normally be released before trial anyway, so it made sense to take that
action to limit the threat of a coronavirus outbreak behind bars. "An
outbreak in prison or jails could potentially be catastrophic," she
wrote. "Now is not the time for a piecemeal approach where we go into
court and argue one by one for the release of at-risk individuals."

Baltimore Police have not adopted a no-arrest policy for such offenses,
but a day after Mosby announced her moratorium on new prosecutions, the department said it had given officers guidance to use their own
discretion in making low-level arrests to limit their exposure to the virus.

"For the safety of our residents and officers, the Baltimore Police
Department is assessing and evaluating what calls-for-service our
officers will be responding to in order to minimize the potential for
exposure to COVID-19," the department said in a statement (https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-police-coronavirus-policy-20200319-7iz2zuwmnbdz5pnrkbiq2r4dre-story.html).
"This includes giving guidance to officers in using their discretion to
further minimize arrests on low-level and non-violent offenses,
especially those outlined in the State's Attorney letter."

"We are very encouraged to see some policymakers, like Marilyn Mosby,
putting public health first and freeing up important public safety
resources at this critical time," said Matt Sutton, director of media
relations for the Drug Policy Alliance. "Drug use does not pose any risk
to public safety, so it makes sense that we would not arrest or
prosecute people for that alone. Doing so is contrary to public health interests, subjecting them to incarceration where they would be put at
greater risk of contracting COVID-19 or spreading it within an already unshielded population that is incapable of practicing the kind of social distancing and increased hygiene measures the rest of us are taking."

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Cook County State''s Attorney Kim Foxx announced
that her office was putting a moratorium on prosecuting low-level,
non-violent drug offenses (https://news.wttw.com/2020/03/20/kim-foxx-s-office-won-t-prosecute-low-level-drug-offenses-during-covid-19-pandemic)
while the pandemic rages. "Out of an abundance of caution for the health
of law enforcement and the community at large, the State's Attorney's
Office will not be pursuing cases which pose little to no risk to public
safety at this time," Foxx said.

She added that the move was also necessitated by staffing reductions at
the Illinois State Police lab. Even if police seized drugs, there is for
now no way to test them, thwarting moving forward with prosecutions.

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said (https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-coronavirus-state-crime-lab-impact-20200320-pwcpakrajrbujhuzygoy2yy5ki-story.html)
officers won't stop making arrests for "large amounts" of drugs and
downplayed the effect of the staffing reductions at the state crime lab.
He also implied many drug arrestees are not being booked into jails.

"We can make an arrest," he said. "An individual could be released
pending further investigation. So just because the drugs aren't being
tested right away, it doesn't prohibit our ability to do our job. It
will prolong it. But we can certainly conduct narcotics investigations
that extend when the state lab reopens."

But in New York City, the current epicenter of the pandemic in the US,
where dozens of NYPD officers have already contracted COVID-19, the
department said it "won't slow arrests (https://www.kqed.org/news/11807632/from-arrests-to-trials-and-jails-bay-areas-criminal-justice-system-reels-in-age-of-coronavirus)."
If the NYPD is being stubbornly recalcitrant, at least one of the city's borough prosecutors is getting on board with using discretion. Brooklyn
DA Eric Gonzalez announced (https://twitter.com/BrooklynDA/status/1239906541182111744) that his prosecutors wouldn't be going after "low-level offenses that don't
jeopardize public safety."

The NYPD's stance is hard to fathom, especially as the city is being
swamped by a deluge of new coronavirus cases, and the department may by
forced to shift its positions as the crisis deepens. At this point,
though, it seems to be suffering from a sort of institutional inertia,
blindly valuing the arrest of small-time drug offenders and other
scofflaws over the health and safety of its own officers and the city's residents. In the midst of the current crisis, it would behoove police
and prosecutors everywhere to knock off the rote drug busts and
concentrate on the threat staring them in the face.

(The Drug Policy Alliance is a funder of StoptheDrugWar.org.)

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

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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--
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"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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