Chronicle AM: Stopthedrugwar.org in Philippines Controversy, MA Pols Begin Grappling With Legal Weed, More… (3/30/17)

Stopthedrugwar.org draws the ire of the Duterte regime in Manila, Vermont's pot legalization bill gets a needed extension, a federal bill to create a National Commission on  Criminal Justice is filed, and more.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Marijuana Policy

Massachusetts Legislature Begins Grappling With Legal Marijuana. The legislature's effort to diddle with voter-approved marijuana legalization began in earnest Monday as the Joint Committee on Marijuana Policy held hearings featuring the state treasurer, gaming commission chairman, representatives of the attorney general's office, and legalization advocates. Some 44 bills have been filed to restrict, delay, or otherwise modify the initiative that passed last November. Further hearings on the general topic are already scheduled, but hearings for the individual bills have not.

Vermont Legalization Bill Misses Deadline, But Gets One-Week Extension. The legalization bill, House Bill 170, missed a Friday deadline for bills to emerge from committee, but House and Senate leaders agreed to give the bill a one-week extension to try to get out of the House Judiciary Committee. The committee had been scheduled to vote on the bill last Wednesday, but abruptly removed the vote from its schedule, suggesting that House leaders weren't confident it would pass out of committee. The bill would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults, but would not allow for legal marijuana commerce.

Medical Marijuana

Arizona Appeals Court Upholds Limit on PTSD Recommendations. The state court of appeals ruled last Thursday that the Department of Health Services was acting legally when it decided that doctors could only recommend medical marijuana for “palliative care” for PTSD. The department argued there was no evidence showing marijuana could actually cure people of PTSD. The department also limited recommendations to people who were already being treated for PTSD. An Arizona medical marijuana nurses group filed suit against the restrictions, but now the court has ruled against them.

Arkansas Bill to Ban Smoking Medical Marijuana Where Cigarettes Are Banned Passes House. The House voted last Friday to approve House Bill 1400, which would prohibit the smoking of medical marijuana anywhere tobacco smoking is prohibited. The bill passed 88-0. Under the bill, knowingly smoking medical marijuana in the presence of a pregnant woman would be prohibited. The measure also prohibits those under 21 from smoking medical marijuana. A bill that would have banned smoking medical marijuana at all has already died in the Senate.

Nebraska Medical Marijuana Bill Heads for Floor Vote. The legislature's Judiciary Committee voted 6-1 last Friday to advance Legislative Bill 622, which would bring medical marijuana to the Cornhusker state. The bill would authorize cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of medical marijuana products, but would ban smoking the herb or allowing patients to grow their own. The bill is opposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), as well as the state's law enforcement establishment.

Virginia Governor Signs Bill Legalizing Pharmacy Distribution of CBD and THC-A Oil. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signed Senate Bill 1027 into law last Thursday. The bill allows for companies to manufacture and provide CBD cannabis oil and THC-A oil for the treatment of epilepsy and provides for its distribution through pharmacies.

Hemp

Arkansas Industrial Hemp Bill Wins Committee Vote. The House Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development unanimously approved a bill to allow the production of hemp. House Bill 1778 now goes to the House floor.

Drug Policy

Federal Bill Would Make All Controlled Substance Analogs Schedule I Controlled Substances. US Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) last week filed Senate Bill 683, which would “treat all controlled substance analogues, other than chemical substances subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act, as controlled substances in schedule I regardless of whether they are intended for human consumption.” The actual bill text is not yet available on the congressional website.

Drug Testing

Nevada Welfare Drug Testing Bill Filed. State Sen. Michael Roberson (R-Las Vegas) has filed a bill that would require applicants for welfare, food stamps, and other public assistance to undergo a suspicionless saliva drug test. If the saliva test is positive, a follow-up urine test could be used to verify the result. Senate Bill 298 has been referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.

Law Enforcement

Federal Bill Filed to Create National Criminal Justice Commission. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) has filed House Resolution 1607, which would create a national criminal justice commission. The text of the bill is not yet available on the congressional website.

International

Stopthedrugwar.org Makes Filipino News With Veep's Video Criticizing Duterte's Drug War. Stopthedrugwar.org executive director David Borden is at the center of a controversy in the Philippines over a video message to the UN from Vice President Leni Robredo criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war, which has led to some 8,000 deaths since Duterte took office last year. Duterte supporters accused Stopthedrugwar.org of timing the video release to bolster an impeachment complaint filed against Duterte last week, but Borden said that was not the case. “The vice president's office did not make any requests of us as to timing or any other matters. We released it a few days before the session as a media strategy to draw attention to Pres. Duterte's atrocities,” said Borden.

UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs Adds Fentanyl Precursors to Controlled Substances List. The CND voted last Thursday to add two chemicals used to make fentanyl to the list of internationally controlled substances under UN anti-drug treaties. Putting the chemicals on the list will ensure closer monitoring of fentanyl orders and transactions and would make it more difficult for illicit fentanyl producers to access those chemicals.