Politics

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek rejects cannabis banking bill

…rejected a bill that would have created a State Public Bank Task Force.  Chief sponsors included Rep. Mark Gamba, Rep. Jules Walters, and Sen. Jeff Golden, who introduced House Bill 2763 in January. The bill steadily made its way through the House and Senate and was passed by both by the end of June before it was…

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Politics

Oregon’s sketchy framework for psilocybin program portends a new implementation disaster

Oregon… has established a licensure pathway for “psilocybin facilitators” without requiring any medical or mental health training. In fact, the only education required is a high school diploma; a 120-hour course that includes instruction on irrelevant topics including history and cultural equity; and 40 hours of in-person training. Potential psilocybin users must review a mandatory “informed…

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Politics

…land beyond the drug war

It’s more than fifty years on from our declaration of a war on narcotics, and people are getting higher on more destructive shit than ever. Every state and every town in this country has a fentanyl problem, because for distributors, fentanyl is one hell of a product. It’s potent – up to fifty times stronger…

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Politics

We’re on the cusp of another psychedelic era. But this time Washington is along for the ride

Advocates still must overcome stigma associated with 1960s drug culture and concerns about side effects, but they’ve never enjoyed such strong support inside government… federal agencies are signaling a willingness to cooperate… If Washington assents, manufacturers are poised to deliver. In the House, Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Lou Correa of California, and Republicans led by Dan…

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Politics

Measure 110 program manager resigns, says state was ‘maliciously negligent’

In August 2021, Oregon Health Authority hired Dr. Angela Carter to roll out the state’s voter-approved drug decriminalization law…. In a July 17 2023… resignation letter to the health authority’s interim director, David Baden, Dr. Angela Carter… outlined… the agency’s “maliciously negligent” oversight of the Measure 110 program: “it appears that OHA leadership has made…

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Politics

Oregon Gov. Kotek signs bills aiming to bolster behavioral health, Measure 110

“That’s why today is so important. The bills I am signing mark progress towards building a behavioral health continuum of care that incorporates harm reduction, suicide prevention, stronger tools against substance abuse among youth and adults, and improvements to the implementation of Measure 110,” Governor Tina Kotek said.  …increases staffing and aims to speed up…

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Politics

…repeal… 110[?]

More Oregon voters believe that the root cause of homelessness is drug addiction and mental health problems than a lack of access to affordable housing… Jackson County commissioners call for a repeal of Oregon’s Measure 110… say it hasn’t worked… unanimously called for the repeal of Ballot Measure 110. Clackamas County sends referendum on Measure…

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Politics

California’s psilocybin legalization campaign OK’d to collect signatures

This year, organizers see an easier path to land on the ballot, citing a lower 546,651 signature threshold, and the absence of pandemic-era roadblocks that made signature gathering more difficult. Volunteers have until Jan. 10, 2024 to meet that goal. The initiative’s language would legalize the use of psilocybin mushrooms for medical, therapeutic, religious, spiritual, and recreational…

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Politics

Cannabis trade association files motion to halt [Oregon’s]… aspergillus testing

“We don’t have any research or data to cite that show people have fallen ill from inhaling Aspergillus through cannabis products,” [said] Oregon Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie. The Oregon Health Authority began requiring March 1, 2023 that cannabis farmers and producers test their products for aspergillus, a fungus that thrives around organic matter… if…

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