American cities have long possessed an inferred constitutional right to regulate commerce and public safety within their jurisdictions, a principle acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Justice Cole Memorandum that permitted states and localities to deprioritize law enforcement of cannabis charges… That the City Council hereby maintains it should be the policy of the City…
…despite the relative mainstreaming of psychedelics in recent years, psilocybin mushrooms are ranked alongside heroin as a Schedule 1 drug in the United States. But over recent months, decriminalization efforts have opened a chink in the United States’ forbidding drug laws. [In 2020], D.C., [Ann Arbor MI, Oakland, CA, etc. voters approved use of/personal production of,…
A resolution passed unanimously by Oakland City Council on December 15 has once more put the city in the spotlight for its progressive policies surrounding the decriminalization of psychedelic substances. The measure actively urges Oakland’s leadership to work with the State of California to decriminalize, rather than legalize, entheogenic plants and fungi. The Oakland Community Healing Initiative…
The disparity is frustrating… because before Colorado OK’d marijuana, Black and brown Centennial Staters bore the brunt of drug enforcement efforts. In fact, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union, Black people are nearly four times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession nationally. Legislation matters, says Woodson, who promotes a…
Oregon appears to be embracing the psychoactive substances… entheogens… psychedelic renaissance… [but keep in mind]… Embedded in the introduction of psychedelics into contemporary society are issues of biopiracy, which occurs when corporations use patents to privatize nature and restrict its use… the medical model also lends itself to exploitation by pharmaceutical companies. Psilocybin mushrooms, for…
[Civil Asset Forfeiture Elimination Act to repeal civil asset forfeiture nationwide.] Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Treasury Department have collectively forfeited at least $45.7 billion in revenue …would prohibit the federal government from using civil forfeiture, which lets law enforcement take cash, cars, and other valuables from people never charged with…
…office said it will immediately start treating drug possession cases exempt from prosecution under Measure 110 as a public health matter, rather than a criminal one. The district attorney cited overwhelming support for Measure 110 – more than 74% of Multnomah County voters approved the measure – as reason for his early adoption. Original Article…
The federal monopoly on growing marijuana for research… “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements,” NIDA said in the new notice. That one supplier will continue to be the University of Mississippi. The problem, as far as researchers are concerned, is that the quality of the government’s marijuana…
Vancouver would become the first Canadian city to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs under a new proposal aimed at reducing the number of overdose deaths. If approved by council, the city and Vancouver Coastal Health will submit a formal request to the federal ministers of Health and Public Safety and to…
The Governor’s Budget invests $112.6 million to implement Measure 110 which decriminalizes possession of drugs and invests $5.6 million to begin implementing Measure 109, which legalized psilocybin for medicinal use as a potential treatment for behavioral health disorders… The budget recognizes the enormous need for behavioral health services and includes significant funding for substance use…
