Proposals that couldn’t get a vote are essentially doomed for this session, although there are some legislative loopholes lawmakers can still use if they wanted to revive the bill later. Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek said most of the dead bills still needed more work before they could receive a vote. She added that there…
Currently, one tropical plant is being decimated to produce the illicit drug MDMA. It is estimated that 100-125 metric tons of MDMA are consumed each year. This is the equivalent of over 1 billion doses … [and it’s production] is threatening a rare Cambodian tree and the wildlife refuge in which it is found ……
Following multiple days of lengthy debate and consideration of several amendments, the House Financial Services Committee voted 45 to 15 to advance the legislation to the full body. Under the approved bill, federal banking regulators would not be able to punish financial institutions just because they work with marijuana businesses that are legal under state…
The bill would exempt state-legal marijuana activity from the federal Controlled Substances Act. We’re in a new day,” he said. “We need to make sure that our federal laws don’t obstruct what states are doing, especially with regard to the banking issues, where everything now is being done in cash and this is not the…
“This is part of a wider fentanyl panic that goes beyond having alternative facts [and] leads to bad decisions,” -Northeastern University drug policy expert Leo Beletsky. “The danger in a moral panic is that we see this overreaction that leads to a replay of the mistakes of the crack cocaine crisis,” Beletsky said. The [White…
The problem lies with the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) systen, under the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations in 1994, IPRs were regulated world-wide under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The system was designed…
The market for illicit drugs represents [a massive] commodity business. With an estimated annual turnover of $426-652 billion, it is approximately one-third the size of the global oil market. By calling for legalization, we are not surrendering to the problem posed by drugs. Rather, we are advocating a more effective, lasting, and humane solution. It…
I do understand, of course, that this measure would decriminalize the drug for all adults, and not just people who might have a medical need for it — but, to me, that’s even better. Our bodies should belong to ourselves, not to the government. If someone wants to take magic mushrooms to help them with…
“Our [experts’] answers […] suggest that the severity of the opioid crisis is breaking down longstanding divisions between public health officials and law enforcement,” stated that New York Times article, “with over two-thirds of our panel including increased funding for law enforcement or international interdiction efforts.” Might these answers have been different if the panel…
In March 2019, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs will convene in Vienna to evaluate progress on countering the drug problem across the world. When officials sit down for discussions, they should not shy away from asking the tough questions. Current approaches to drug control in Asia overwhelmingly criminalise people already on the margins of…
