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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1152 -- 2/11/22
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1152

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

Table of Contents:

1. THESE STATES COULD STILL APPROVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN 2022 [FEATURE] Thirteen states still don't have full-fledged medical marijuana
programs. That could change this year in a half dozen of them. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/09/these_states_could_still_approve

2. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A small-town Georgia cops gets caught slinging weed from his patrol car,
a corrupt killer Puerto Rican cop heads for decades in prison, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/09/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

3. HOUSE PASSES BILL WITH SAFE BANKING, PSILOCYBIN RESCHEDULING PETITION
FILED, MORE... (2/4/22)
A key Maryland legislator rolls out a marijuana legalization bill, the
Utah legislature approves employment protections for medical marijuana cardholders, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/04/house_passes_bill_safe_banking

4. SCHUMER SAYS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BILL COMING IN APRIL, STUDY
QUESTIONS RELIABILITY OF MATERNAL DRUG TESTING, MORE... (2/7/22)
Wisconsin's governor vetoes a bill that would have dramatically hiked
criminal penalties for butane marijuana extraction, the Jalisco New
Generation Cartel is now making bombs to deploy against the military,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/07/schumer_says_marijuana

5. DOJ SIGNALS OPENNESS TO SAFE INJECTION SITES, CONGRESSIONAL
COMMISSION ISSUES OVERDOSE STRATEGY REPORT, MORE... (2/8/22)
Pennsylvania sees its first ever legislative debate on marijuana
legalization, Tennessee sees a slew of marijuana-related bills, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/08/doj_signals_openness_safe

6. WASHINGTON DRUG DECRIM INIT READY FOR SIGNATURE GATHERING, CRACK PIPE FUNDING FUROR, MORE... (2/9/22)
Thailand removes cannabis from its schedule of controlled substances
(but marijuana legalization is still down the road a bit), a Washington
state drug decriminalization initiative is cleared to begin signature gathering, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/09/washington_drug_decrim_init

7. CDC PREPARES NEW OPIOID PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES, OH SENATE WON'T TAKE
UP LEGALIZATION VOTER INIT, MORE... (2/10/22)
The South Carolina Senate approves a medical marijuana bill, a new Rand
study tracks opioid prescribing declines, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/10/cdc_prepares_new_opioid

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

1. THESE STATES COULD STILL APPROVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN 2022 [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/09/these_states_could_still_approve

In the space of a quarter-century, the United States went from having no
state where medical marijuana was legal to seeing it become the law of
the land in three dozen states. The passage of Prop 215 by California
voters in 1996 ushered in an era of rapid expansion of medical
marijuana, first primarily via the initiative process, but also
increasingly by state legislators attuned to the will of the public.

Mississippi became the 37th state (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/feb/03/mississippi_becomes_latest_state)
to legalize medical marijuana just this month as lawmakers in Jackson
and a very cautious governor finally agreed on a bill to enact the will
of the people as expressed in a 2020 initiative that was thwarted by a
state Supreme Court ruling. But there are still seven states that allow
only CBD oil (Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas,
Wisconsin) and six more states that don't allow any form of medical
marijuana (Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Wyoming).

Moves are afoot in nearly all of them to catch up to the rest of the
country this year. In some states, it is through the initiative process;
in others, through the legislative process. But some states are already
a lost cause for the year or face insurmountable odds: Georgia (bills
filed, but set to die), Iowa (no bills filed), Indiana (bill never made
it out of committee). Texas (no bills filed), and Wyoming (initiative
did not qualify, no bills filed).

With a big tip of the hat to Ballotpedia (https://news.ballotpedia.org/2022/01/17/where-could-voters-see-marijuana-on-the-ballot-in-2022/),
Marijuana Moment (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/these-states-could-legalize-marijuana-or-psychedelics-in-2022/),
and NORML (https://norml.org/blog/2022/01/12/1-12-22-ballot-initiative-referendum-update/),
who are all keeping an eye on the action, here's the list of states
working to legalize it at the ballot box this year, here are the states
where hope still lives for medical marijuana in 2022:

Idaho

With a state legislature and governor stubbornly against marijuana in
any form, the only medium-term prospect for medical marijuana is through
the initiative process. One group, Kind Idaho
(https://www.kindidaho.org), tried going down that path in 2020 but
called off the effort in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. They are
back this year with the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act of 2022 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fk9B_27in7It4RSnpyQZylVv8yj7CzA2/view), which envisions a full-fledged program complete with long lists of qualifying conditions and taxed and licensed cultivation, production, and sales, as
well as allowing patients or caregivers to possess up to four ounces.
Only patients who qualify for a "hardship exemption" -- financial
hardship, lack of access to transportation, lack of a dispensary "within
a reasonable distance" -- could grow their own, up to six plants.

But the clock is ticking. The campaign said just last month (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/these-states-could-legalize-marijuana-or-psychedelics-in-2022/)
that it had gathered only 10,000 raw signatures so far. It needs 64,945
valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot and the mainly
volunteer effort only has until May 1 to come up with them.

Kansas

The House last year passed a medical marijuana bill, House Substitute
for SB 158 (http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb158/), and
that bill is still alive in the Senate, where it got hearings -- but no
vote -- in the Committee on Interstate Cooperation in mid-January. The
Senate is controlled by Republicans, who have resisted reform, but so is
the House, which got the bill through. And Gov. Laura Kelly (D) also
supports medical marijuana.

Legislative Democrats, meanwhile, introduced a pair of constitutional amendments (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-kansas-democrats-unveil-plan-to-put-medical-and-adult-use-marijuana-legalization-on-the-2022-ballot/)
to put the issues of marijuana legalization and access to medical
marijuana directly to the voters. Democratic lawmakers next door in Iowa announced a similar move earlier this week. The Democrats are hoping
that even if Republicans remains resistant to marijuana reform, they
would at least pass the measures and let the voters decide.

Kentucky

Rep. Jason Nemes (R) got a medical marijuana bill passed in the House in
2020, but it died without a Senate vote in the midst of the pandemic. He
tried again in 2021, but the bill stalled. After scaling back his bill
in a bid to win conservative support, he is back this year with House
Bill 136 (https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/22RS/hb136.html), which
also has 40 cosponsors.

Under this year's version of the bill, there would be no home
cultivation by patients or caregivers and there would be no smokeable
medical marijuana allowed. Patients could consume flowers but would have
to vape them. The bill leaves specific rules on qualifying conditions
and possession limits up to regulators, but specifies that qualifying conditions will includecancer, epilepsy and seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, nausea or vomiting and chronic, severe, intractable or
debilitating pain.

The bill has a good shot of passing the House and even in the Senate if
it is allowed to come up for a vote, but faces an obstacle in the person
of Senate President Robert Stivers (R), who has "concerns" and wants
"more studies." (https://www.whas11.com/article/news/politics/kentucky-medical-marijuana-legalization-debate/417-3b97da82-2738-440c-bff7-1896efcaaeb4)

Nebraska

After the state Supreme Court invalidated a 2020 medical marijuana
initiative because it violated the state's single-subject rule for
initiatives (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/medical-marijuana-measure-removed-from-nebraskas-november-ballot-by-state-supreme-court/),
initiative sponsors State Senators Anna Wishart (D) and Adam Morfeld (D)
came back this year with a set of three separate initiatives to create a medical marijuana program. One is a constitutional amendment and two are statutory initiatives.

The Medical Marijuana Constitutional Amendment (https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/sos.nebraska.gov/files/doc/elections/Petitions/2022/Medical%20Marijuana%20Constitutional%20Amendment.pdf)
simply states that "Persons in the State of Nebraska shall have the
right to cannabis in all its forms for medical purposes, while the
Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act (https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/sos.nebraska.gov/files/doc/elections/Petitions/2022/Medical%20Cannabis%20Patient%20Protection%20Initiative.pdf)
protects patients from arrest for using medical marijuana and the
Medical Cannabis Commission Act (https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/sos.nebraska.gov/files/doc/elections/Petitions/2022/Medical%20Cannabis%20Regulation%20Initiative.pdf)
would regulate medical marijuana businesses that provide it to qualified patients.

An activist group, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) (https://nebraskamarijuana.org) is in the middle of a signature
gathering drive now. It has until July 7 to come up with approximately
86,000 valid voter signatures for the initiatives and 112,000 signatures
for the constitutional amendment.

South Carolina

Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) has been trying for seven years to get
some sort of medical marijuana bill through the legislature, and just
this week, this year's version, Senate Bill 150 (https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1250901), saw a medical
marijuana bill get a Senate floor debate for the first time ever, and
then pass the Senate (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/south-carolina-senate-approves-medical-marijuana-bill-on-initial-vote-after-weeks-of-debate/)
Wednesday night. Its fate in the House, though, is unclear; whether
House Speaker Jay Lucas (R) will let the bill move in his chamber
remains uncertain. And Gov. Henry McMaster (R) remains noncommittal on
whether he would sign the bill, saying "that would depend on a lot of
things." (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/south-carolina-senate-approves-medical-marijuana-bill-on-initial-vote-after-weeks-of-debate/)

Honed to advance in the conservative state, Davis's bill is also
conservative. It bars the use of smokable marijuana, requires an
in-patient doctor's visit and a written treatment plan, and limits the conditions that can be treated to a specified list including cancer,
multiple sclerosis, glaucoma. sickle cell anemia and autism. And not
only is home cultivation not allowed; possessing the plant form of
marijuana would remain a misdemeanor.

Tennessee

State Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) earlier this month introduced a
bill that would create a medical marijuana program, House Bill 2458 (https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB2458&ga=112),
which awaits committee assignment. Its companion legislation, Senate
Bill 2477 (https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB2477&GA=112),
has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Whether these bills will go anywhere remains to be seen. Medical
marijuana bills have all died in the past, and last year, the
legislature voted down decriminalization. Republicans are in a solid
majority in both the state House of Representatives and the Senate, but
the year is young.


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

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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