Drug News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Small-scale possession of illicit drugs will be decriminalized in B.C. starting next year: federal g
Source: CBC News

Adults in British Columbia will be allowed to possess small amounts of some illicit drugs starting next year, the federal government announced Tuesday — a move that marks a dramatic shift in Canada's drug policy.

The federal government says Canadians 18 years of age and older will be able to possess up to a cumulative 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA within British Columbia. The announcement is in response to a request from the province for an exemption from the law criminalizing drug possession.

This first-of-its-kind exemption will go into effect January 31, 2023 and last until January 31, 2026, unless it is revoked or replaced before then. The exemption means there will be no arrests, charges or seizures for personal possession at or below the 2.5 gram threshold.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/opioid ... -1.6471878

[wjfox]

Thailand removes cannabis from narcotics list, decriminalises growing plants at home

By Max Walden and South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford

Posted 15h ago
15 hours ago, updated 11h ago

Thailand has become the first country in Asia to take marijuana off its list of banned substances and to allow people to grow the plant at home.

It's a major policy shift in a country long known for its harsh drug controls, but the Thai government hopes the law change will boost the wellness and tourism industries.

In January this year, Thai authorities announced they were dropping cannabis from the official list of controlled substances, resulting in what some have described as de facto decriminalisation.

Some 4,000 prisoners serving jail time for cannabis-related crimes will soon be released and their criminal records for those offences will be deleted, the Department of Corrections said.

Thailand's Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul last month took to Facebook to declare his intention to give away 1 million cannabis plants to members of the public.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-09/ ... /101132734

[caltrek]

West Health Comments on Reports that Senate Will Advance Prescription Drug Reform Through Reconciliation
July 1, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) SAN DIEGO, CA – July 1, 2022 – West Health Chief Executive Officer Shelley Lyford issued the following statement on reports that Senate Democrats have reached agreement to move forward on a reconciliation bill that includes major provisions to lower prescription drug prices.

“Reports that Senate Democrats will advance a reconciliation bill that includes landmark reforms to lower prescription drug prices are welcome news for the millions of Americans struggling with high healthcare costs. This must pass legislation would, for the first time, empower Medicare to negotiate lower prices directly with pharmaceutical companies, cap annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for beneficiaries, and impose penalties on companies that raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.

West Health has long supported federal action to lower drug prices and address the healthcare cost crisis and we are calling on Congress, after years of inaction, to finally get the job done and put the interests of seniors, their families, and American taxpayers ahead of those of the pharmaceutical industry and its lobbyists. Americans cannot wait any longer.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/957762

[caltrek]

Minnesota Just Legalized THC Infused Edibles After a Republican Didn’t Read the Bill
by Tim Murphy
July 2, 2022

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Here’s something you don’t see every day: On Friday, THC-infused edibles and beverages became legal in the great state of Minnesota, after a law containing the legalization measure was included in a health and human services funding bill. How did this measure get through? Critically, a key Republican state senator who co-chaired the committee that passed it didn’t read the text closely enough. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Sen. Jim Abeler “said he didn’t realize the new law would legalize edibles containing delta-9 THC before it passed,” and thought he was just regulating existing CBD products:

“I thought we were doing a technical fix, and it winded up having a broader impact than I expected,” Abeler said adding that the Legislature should consider rolling the new law back.

House Democrats and Gov. Tim Walz, both of whom support recreational marijuana legalization, are unlikely to agree to such a request. Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, called Abeler’s suggestion to roll back the law “ridiculous” and said Democrats have no interest in doing so.

Minnesota Reformer’s account adds another great detail: after Abeler, along with a bipartisan conference committee of House and Senate members, voted unanimously for the amendment, Abeler then said out loud, “That doesn’t legalize marijuana—we didn’t just do that.”

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... the-bill/

[weatheriscool]

Minnesota Just Legalized THC Infused Edibles After a Republican Didn’t Read the Bill
by Tim Murphy
July 2, 2022

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Here’s something you don’t see every day: On Friday, THC-infused edibles and beverages became legal in the great state of Minnesota, after a law containing the legalization measure was included in a health and human services funding bill. How did this measure get through? Critically, a key Republican state senator who co-chaired the committee that passed it didn’t read the text closely enough. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Sen. Jim Abeler “said he didn’t realize the new law would legalize edibles containing delta-9 THC before it passed,” and thought he was just regulating existing CBD products:

“I thought we were doing a technical fix, and it winded up having a broader impact than I expected,” Abeler said adding that the Legislature should consider rolling the new law back.

House Democrats and Gov. Tim Walz, both of whom support recreational marijuana legalization, are unlikely to agree to such a request. Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, called Abeler’s suggestion to roll back the law “ridiculous” and said Democrats have no interest in doing so.

Minnesota Reformer’s account adds another great detail: after Abeler, along with a bipartisan conference committee of House and Senate members, voted unanimously for the amendment, Abeler then said out loud, “That doesn’t legalize marijuana—we didn’t just do that.”

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... the-bill/

Well, that is kind of funny. remember kids always read what you're agreeing to sign or vote on first.

[Vakanai]

Minnesota Just Legalized THC Infused Edibles After a Republican Didn’t Read the Bill
by Tim Murphy
July 2, 2022

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Here’s something you don’t see every day: On Friday, THC-infused edibles and beverages became legal in the great state of Minnesota, after a law containing the legalization measure was included in a health and human services funding bill. How did this measure get through? Critically, a key Republican state senator who co-chaired the committee that passed it didn’t read the text closely enough. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Sen. Jim Abeler “said he didn’t realize the new law would legalize edibles containing delta-9 THC before it passed,” and thought he was just regulating existing CBD products:

“I thought we were doing a technical fix, and it winded up having a broader impact than I expected,” Abeler said adding that the Legislature should consider rolling the new law back.

House Democrats and Gov. Tim Walz, both of whom support recreational marijuana legalization, are unlikely to agree to such a request. Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, called Abeler’s suggestion to roll back the law “ridiculous” and said Democrats have no interest in doing so.

Minnesota Reformer’s account adds another great detail: after Abeler, along with a bipartisan conference committee of House and Senate members, voted unanimously for the amendment, Abeler then said out loud, “That doesn’t legalize marijuana—we didn’t just do that.”

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... the-bill/

Well, that is kind of funny. remember kids always read what you're agreeing to sign or vote on first.

Unless you are a backwards old Republican, in which case please don't. Actual good seems to come about when they're just not paying attention to get in the way of it.

[caltrek]

[weatheriscool]

Senate Democrats introduce bill to decriminalize marijuana
Source: Yahoo News

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level on Thursday, a position that is popular with a majority of Americans but is likely to face an uphill climb to passage.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and allow states to set their own policies. It would include criminal justice reform measures such as expunging federal marijuana charges while establishing grant programs for small business owners from communities disproportionately targeted by previous drug laws. It would also set up regulation by the Food and Drug Administration as well as a federal taxation plan.

Schumer has been working with Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on this issue, including holding a meeting with a number of marijuana legalization advocacy groups in February 2021 and introducing draft legislation last July. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing titled “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms” for next week in the subcommittee chaired by Booker.

“The official introduction of this bill to finally end the policy nightmare of federal marijuana prohibition is the culmination of unprecedented leadership in the Senate and engagement with stakeholders across the political spectrum,” said Morgan Fox, the political director of NORML, a leading marijuana reform group. “We look forward to working with lawmakers to move this legislation toward passage and eagerly anticipate engaging in substantive conversations on all aspects of federal marijuana law with Senate members.”

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-democ ... 45976.html

[caltrek]

West Health Statement on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
August 16, 2022

(West Health Institute via EurekAlert) SAN DIEGO, CA – Aug. 16, 2022 – West Health President Timothy A. Lash issued the following statement on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 signed into law today by President Joe Biden. This landmark legislation will help reduce the cost of prescription drugs, extend subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance premiums, combat climate change, and reduce the federal deficit.

“For the first time, Medicare will be empowered to negotiate lower prescription drug prices directly with drug companies thanks to the enactment of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Other major healthcare provisions in the legislation include capping out-of-pocket expenses of prescription drugs and the cost of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries, extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance premium subsidies for three years, and imposing tax penalties on drugmakers that increase prices more than the rate of inflation.

Not a single Senate or House Republican supported the Inflation Reduction Act, and even before the legislative ink is dry, drugmakers are vowing to fight it and exact some sort of revenge on the members of Congress who voted to lower drug prices. The head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which represents America’s leading drug companies, recently told POLITICO, ‘We’ll do whatever we can to hold them accountable…I would expect there’ll be opportunities to further mitigate the harms of this legislation going forward.’

This is no idle threat. The drug industry and its army of lobbyists have been very successful in preventing meaningful drug pricing reforms for decades. They lost this one, but they’re not going away and neither is their insatiable desire for higher and higher profits. So while we can celebrate today, we cannot rest. West Health and the many other organizations and individuals who have fought long and hard for this day to come will continue to defend, fight and build on our progress so that no person in America need choose between paying for a high cost drug or paying for food. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a historic victory that puts the country on a better path toward affordable healthcare, but we have not yet reached our final destination and cannot afford to give up any ground moving forward.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/962032

To read the cited August 4, 2022 article that appeared in Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/ ... s-00049898.

Here is a link to the West Health website: [url] https://www.westhealth.org/ [url]

[wjfox]

More Americans Now Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes, For The First Time Ever, Gallup Reports

Published 1 week ago
on August 29, 2022

More Americans now openly admit that they smoke marijuana or eat cannabis-infused edibles than say they’ve smoked cigarettes in the past week, according to recently released data from Gallup, with the pollster adding that cannabis consumption is likely to continue increasing even more in years to come.

That’s despite that fact that possessing marijuana remains federally prohibited and is punishable with jail time in some states, while tobacco remains perfectly legal across the country.

Trends in cannabis and tobacco use have been moving in this direction over the past several decades, as public health campaigns and other government prevention measures have taken aim at cigarettes while more states have started legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use.

According to data from a survey conducted in July, a record 16 percent of Americans say that they currently smoke cannabis, while just 11 percent reported smoking a cigarette in the past week, as CNN noted in a recent analysis.

What’s more, Gallup also asked for this first time this year about whether people consume cannabis edibles, with 14 percent saying they do. That means that more people smoke or eat federally illegal cannabis than smoked a perfectly legal tobacco cigarette in the past seven days.

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/more-am ... p-reports/

[Yuli Ban]

[caltrek]

^^^More on that:

President Biden Pardons All Federal Convictions for Simple Cannabis Possession
by Ben Taub
October 7, 2022

Introduction:

(IFL Science) US President Joe Biden has announced a pardon for all individuals previously convicted of simple cannabis possession under federal law. While this doesn’t amount to legalization or decriminalization of cannabis in the US, the measure is likely to result in the expungement of around 6,500 criminal records.

“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” said the President in a statement. “Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.”

For the record, the federal government very rarely prosecutes or incarcerates people for simple cannabis possession, and virtually all individuals currently in prison for this offense have been convicted by state laws. Federal pardons are therefore unlikely to directly result in anyone being released from jail, but will help thousands of people obtain jobs, accommodation, and other benefits.

Biden has called on all states to follow his lead and pardon all minor cannabis offenses within their jurisdiction. “I am urging all Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses,” he said. “Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either.”

Currently, recreational cannabis is fully legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia, while medical cannabis is permitted in 37 states. However, many legal states have been slow to expunge the records of those with prior convictions, and the fact that cannabis remains illegal at the federal level means that people can still be prosecuted for possessing the drug anywhere in the US.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/president-b ... ion-65651

[caltrek]

Biden Announces Mass Pardon of People Charged with Marijuana Offenses in D.C.
by Martin Austermuhle
October 7, 2022

Extract::

(NPR) In making the move, which was announced as an executive order, Biden was also exercising the federal government's unique and sweeping power over D.C. While the president cannot pardon offenses under state law, he can under D.C. law — simply because it's not a state.

It remains unclear how many D.C. residents could be eligible for the "full, complete, and unconditional pardon." The number of people arrested for possessing marijuana in recent years is somewhat limited since it has been legal for anyone aged 21 and above to possess up to two ounces of marijuana for personal use since 2015.

Still, a 2013 report by the ACLU of D.C. found that D.C. police arrested almost 5,400 people for marijuana offenses in 2010 — an overwhelming majority of them Black. U.S. Park Police reportedly arrested more than 1,000 people for marijuana-related offenses between 2010 and 2012.

"Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit," Biden wrote in a statement announcing the order. "And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates."

In a statement, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was "grateful" for Biden's executive order, calling it a "significant step forward for our country, and one that better aligns policy with public sentiment."

Read more here: https://www.npr.org/local/305/2022/10/ ... es-in-d-c

[wjfox]

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

Man am I going to be so glad to finally smoke some marijuana. So much unnecessary bs I went through when I have done nothing wrong that I definitely deserve to smoke weed to relax after all this. Between this and psychedelics becoming popular it looks like a better revival of the 1960's is on the way drugs wise

[weatheriscool]

These 36 Finalists Are Likely to Be New York's First Marijuana Retailers
Source: New York Times

New York took a significant step on Sunday toward launching a legal market for recreational cannabis by announcing the 36 businesses and nonprofits under consideration for licenses for the first retail dispensaries in the state.

The Office of Cannabis Management published the list of candidates ahead of a vote on Monday by its governing body, the Cannabis Control Board, that would ramp up the race to begin legal sales in the state despite a legal challenge to the licensing program. Regulators also released 282 pages of draft regulations laying the foundation for the broader market.

The candidates, who were chosen from a pool of 903 applicants, are mostly businesses owned and controlled by people who have been convicted of cannabis-related offenses or their close relatives, as well as a few nonprofits that serve people with histories of arrest or incarceration. All the listed finalists are expected to be approved during Monday’s vote.

The licensing effort was designed to help the state meet its goal of prioritizing people in communities heavily targeted during the war on drugs, for opportunities in the legal cannabis industry. Like the rest of the country, marijuana prohibition in New York mostly swept Black and Latino residents into the criminal justice system despite similar levels of use across all races.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/nyre ... cense.html

[weatheriscool]

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown pardons 45,000 people with marijuana possession convictions

Source: The Oregonian

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday that she is issuing a pardon for Oregonians who have been convicted of simple possession of marijuana. The pardon is for people convicted of possessing one ounce or less of marijuana, in pre-2016 cases, in which the person was 21 years or older. Brown’s pardon applies in cases where possession was the only charge, and there were no victims.

The pardon will remove 47,144 convictions for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, and will impact approximately 45,000 people, her office said. The move will also forgive more than $14 million in fines and fees associated with the offenses.

Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2022/11 ... tions.html

[wjfox]

Operation Desert Light: Europol take down massive cocaine 'super cartel'

2 hours ago

A drug "super cartel" that controlled about a third of Europe's cocaine supply has been dismantled, police have announced.

Dubbed Operation Desert Light, 49 people were arrested across six European countries, the EU's police agency, Europol, said.

They included a British national, who is suspected of heading the operation.

Over 30 tonnes (30,000kg) of drugs were seized during the two-year-long investigation, Europol said.

Operation Desert Light saw authorities in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) work together to bring down the cartel, Europol said in a statement.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63781424

[caltrek]

Edit: Via LinkedIn:
Chris De Savi (He/Him/His) 3rd degree connection3rd
Senior Vice President and Head of Drug Discovery at Kymera Therapeutics | Drug Discovery Thought Leader
Talks about #medicine, #healthcare, #drugdiscovery, and #pharmaceuticalsTalks about hashtag medicine, hashtag healthcare, hashtag drugdiscovery, and hashtag pharmaceuticals

Kymera Therapeutics
University of Cambridge

[weatheriscool]

Japanese Govt Set to Legalize Medical Marijuana
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politic ... 125-86362/

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, January 25, 2023

The government is poised to allow the use of medical marijuana to treat patients with intractable diseases, according to the outline of bills revealed on Tuesday.

The government is considering submitting the bills including one to revise the Cannabis Control Law during the current Diet session.

The proposed revision would also criminalize the use of marijuana.

In countries including the United States and Britain, medicine made from cannabis plants is used to treat patients with intractable epilepsy and other diseases for which existing drugs are ineffective.

Cannabis plants contain a substance that has an intoxicating effect, which is one of the reasons why the use of marijuana in medicine is prohibited in Japan. The proposed revision would enable such patients to use drugs made from cannabis plants.