*letter 11/2016 If passed, HR 2851 will broadly expand penalties for drug offenses, concentrate power within the Department of Justice, punish people who lack criminal intent, and overcriminalize certain behavior. The legislation attempts to address the very real problem of synthetic opioid overdoses in the United States, but we believe that its methods are misguided.…
The bill (2018-H 7715Aaa), which now goes to the Senate, specifies that any person convicted of unlawfully selling illicit substances that result in a person’s death shall be sentenced to up to life in prison. Violating the tenets of both reason and compassion, the Rhode Island House of Representatives approved Kristen’s Law on Thursday, a…
Earlier this month at a Capitol Hill press conference… Schumer [said] when we could expect his long-awaited bill. “It will be introduced shortly,” he said briskly. Advocates say the legislation could be be groundbreaking. They say it includes a new provision creating a much needed fund to help more minorities and women enter the multibillion-dollar…
“Every day spent doggedly pursuing punitive, ideologically driven drug control strategies that have never worked, and have no realistic expectation of success in the future, means another 91 dead [from overdose]. We have a public health crisis on our hands. And we have solutions, if only we are allowed to pursue them, rather than go…
Canada has become the first wealthy nation in the world to fully legalize marijuana. The Senate approved Bill C-45, also known as the Cannabis Act, on Tuesday, June 19th, 2018 . The measure was already approved by the House of Commons, so the Senate’s approval means it’s now set to become law. The measure legalizes…
For the first time ever, a provision protecting state medical marijuana laws is being included in base funding legislation for the U.S. Department of Justice. “The Senate Appropriations Committee finally read the writing on the wall and accepted the inevitable, that allowing the Department of Justice to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs is…
Why are the DEA, FDA, and “treatment providers” seeking to ban the plant kratom [and criminalize those who utilize it for health and healing purposes]? Chemicals & Control “The American Society of Addiction Medicine argued [to the DEA] that the whole botanical product [Kratom]… should be made illegal … At the same time, they recommended…
“The status quo for our growing legal cannabis industry is unsustainable,” said State Senator Bob Hertzberg (D—Van Nuys), the bill’s sponsor. “It’s not only impractical from an accounting perspective, but it also presents a tremendous public safety problem. This bill takes a limited approach to provide all parties with a safe and reliable way to…
As executive director of the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance in Seattle, Shilo Jama said he’s seen people successfully treat their opioid addictions using kratom … Kenneth Thummel PhD. would like it to be carefully studied, which he admits would be more difficult if it is designated a Schedule I drug [through the combined efforts of…
When Jeff Sessions became attorney general, he had two main policy goals: [one was to] restart the war on drugs. But Jeff Sessions is… also bringing Democrats and Republicans together — to oppose him.Today, June 7th, 2018, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (a Democrat) and Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (a Republican) introduced a bill called the Strengthening the…
Recent Comments