XPost: alt.drugs.pot, alt.hemp.politics, rec.drugs.cannabis
From: bliss@mouse-potato.com

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1082 -- 10/21/19
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1082

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. DOES THIS STATE HAVE THE WORST DRUG POLICIES IN AMERICA? [FEATURE]
Drug testing toddlers, felony ingestion charges, overcrowded jails and
prisons, racial disparities -- South Dakota has it all. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/16/does_state_have_worst_drug

2. WATCH: MEXICO CARTEL'S KILLER CLOWNS
Mexico's narco-clowns are no laughing matter. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/16/watch_mexico_cartels_killer

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A Georgia narc gets in trouble for his sticky fingers, a Philadelphia
narc uses a confiscated Porsche for his stepdaughter's prom pictures,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/09/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. CHRONICLE AM: MARIJUANA ARRESTS INCREASED LAST YEAR, CA PSILOCYBIN
DECRIM INIT FILED, MORE... (10/1/19)
Marijuana arrests nationwide increased last year despite spreading legalization, a California psilocbyn decriminalization initiative has
been filed, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/01/chronicle_am_marijuana_arrests

5. CHRONICLE AM: NATION'S FIRST CANNABIS CAFE OPENS DOORS, DUTCH SUPREME
COURT RULES AGAINST AYAHUASCA, MORE... (10/2/19)
Los Angeles sees the nation's first legal cannabis cafe, the Arizona pot legalization initiative draws industry opposition, the Justice
Department says DEA didn't adequately regulate opioid manufacturing, and
more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/02/chronicle_am_nations_first

6. CHRONICLE AM: PHILLY SAFE INJECTION SITE WINS LEGAL VICTORY, POT
COMPANIES CALL FOR DESCHEDULING, MORE... (10/3/19)
A federal judge hands a preliminary legal victory to proponents of a Philadelphia safe injection site, hundreds of cannabis industry figures
call on Congress to deschedule marijuana as a means of grappling with
the vaping crisis, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/03/chronicle_am_philly_safe

7. CHRONICLE AM: FEDS ALLOW STATES TO DRUG TEST FOR UNEMPLOYMENT, FL
MARIJUANA INITIATIVE, MORE... (10/4/19)
The Trump administration allows states to demand drug tests for laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits, a Florida marijuana legalization initiative's signature gathering campaign is off to a fast start, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/04/chronicle_am_feds_allow_states

8. CHRONICLE AM: NV GETS FIRST POT LOUNGE, BRITISH POLICE FORCE TO
PROVIDE FREE HEROIN TO HARDCORE ADDICTS, MORE... (10/7/19)
Nevada sees its first "cannabis tasting room," a New York poll finds
continuing support for marijuana legalization amidst the vaping scare,
British drug policy upheavals, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/07/chronicle_am_nv_gets_first_pot

9. CHRONICLE AM: MEXICO MJ LEGALIZATION VOTE THIS MONTH, MA GOVERNOR
PUSHES HIGH DRIVING BILL, MORE... (10/8/19)
Mexico is moving rapidly toward marijuana legalization, Scotland's
largest political party is set to embrace drug decriminalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/08/chronicle_am_mexico_mj

10. CHRONICLE AM: UN CRITICIZES US AFGHAN DRUG LAB AIRSTRIKES, SD MOVING
ON HEMP, MORE... (10/9/19)
Two UN agencies report that US airstrikes on Afghan drug labs were
illegal and killed civilians, a Michigan roadside drug testing pilot
program has now gone statewide, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/09/chronicle_am_un_criticizes_us

11. CHRONICLE AM: NEW FEDERAL OPIOID TAPERING GUIDELINES URGE DOCS TO GO
SLOW, MORE... (10/10/19)
HHS comes out with new guidelines for physicians on tapering patients
off opioids, marijuana social equity advocates keep the pressure on
Congress, Tulsi Gabbard calls for drug decriminalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/10/chronicle_am_new_federal_opioid

12. CHRONICLE AM: STUDY SAYS NO LONG-TERM CRIME RISE POST-LEGALIZATION,
CA APPROVES MEDMJ IN SCHOOLS, MORE... (10/11/19)
A new study deflates one of the leading worries of marijuana
legalization foes, the state of Texas abruptly quits taking medical
marijuana dispensary applications, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/11/chronicle_am_study_says_no

13. CHRONICLE AM: SCOTTISH POLITICAL PARTY CALLS FOR DRUG DECRIM,
CANNABIS CAFES IN ALASKA, MORE... (10/14/19)
California will see a batch of new marijuana-related laws, Scotland's
largest political party calls for drug decriminalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/14/chronicle_am_scottish_political

14. CHRONICLE AM: POT VAPING BANS, DEA SHRUGS SHOULDERS AT PAIN PATIENT COMPLAINTS, MORE... (10/15/19)
The vaping crisis has impelled two more states to restrict marijuana
vaping products, Mexican cartel gunmen kill 14 police in a bloody
ambush, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/15/chronicle_am_pot_vaping_bans_dea

15. CHRONICLE AM: SUPPORT FOR DRUG DECRIM AT DEM DEBATE, PA LEGALIZATION
BILL FILED, MORE... (10/16/19)
A pair of Pennsylvania state senators have filed a marijuana
legalization bill, the Mexican Senate prepares to vote on marijuana legalization, Amnesty International rips the Philippine drug war, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/16/chronicle_am_drug_decrim_support

16. CHRONICLE AM: NORTHEASTERN GOVERNORS HOLD LEGALIZATION SUMMIT, SC
JUDGE THROWS OUT CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE, MORE... (10/17/19)
At least five governors have marijuana on their minds this week, Canada
allows marijuana edibles and vapes to go on sale, a South Carolina judge
rules the state's civil asset forfeiture law unconstitutional, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/17/chronicle_am_northeastern

17. CHRONICLE AM: LAWRENCE, KS ENDS MARIJUANA PROSECUTIONS, EL CHAPO'S
GUNMEN FREE HIS SON IN FIREFIGHT, MORE... (10/18/19)
The head of the Senate Banking Committee wants some changes made to the
SAFE Banking Act, Kansas' Douglas County ends pot prosecutions, the
Sinaloa Cartel battles Mexican soldiers and police to free El Chapo's
son, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/18/chronicle_am_lawrence_ks_ends

(Not subscribed? Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up today!)

================

1. DOES THIS STATE HAVE THE WORST DRUG POLICIES IN AMERICA? [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/oct/16/does_state_have_worst_drug

With endless miles of farmland shading into ever higher and drier
terrain as one moves west, crossing the Missouri River and then on to
the Badlands and the Black Hills, South Dakota has a certain austere
beauty. Not so in its approach to drugs. When it comes to drug policy,
it is one of the ugliest places in the country.

The staunchly conservative state holds the dubious distinction of being
the only state to twice defeat a medical marijuana initiative.
(Activists are giving it another shot this year -- and a more wishful legalization initiative, too.) And it is being sued by the state ACLU
over the forced drug testing of toddlers (https://www.alternet.org/2017/07/conduct-shocks-conscience-south-dakota-forcibly-catheterize-toddler-drugs/)
and arrestees alike.

South Dakota also boasts the nation's only law making ingestion -- not possession -- of a controlled substance a felony, which helps explains
the reflex resort to drug testing arrestees: A positive drug test
becomes a prosecutable offense. While 10 other states (http://sdlegislature.gov/docs/interim/2019/documents/DORC09232019-A.pdf)
have ingestion laws on the books, none of them makes it a felony.

And now, a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative (https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2019/09/18/state-jail-bookings/)
finds that "South Dakota jails more people (https://www.aclusd.org/en/press-releases/prison-policy-initiative-report-highlights-need-criminal-justice-reform-south-dakota)
per capita than any other state," that almost "half of all arrests are
drug or alcohol related, compared to just 29 percent nationally," and
that people of color -- in this case, primarily Native Americans -- are disproportionately arrested at a rate far above the national average.

According to the report, South Dakota jailed 2,888 people per 100,000,
nearly twice the national average of 1,506, and narrowly edging out Mississippi, which had 2,814 per 100,000. (Other states that jailed more
than one out of 50 of their residents were Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.)

But jail is just the gateway to the incarceration complex, and when it
comes to long-term stays behind bars, South Dakota displays the same
sort of worrying numbers. According to the ACLU of South Dakota, the
state's prison population has increased more than five-fold (https://www.aclusd.org/en/blueprint) since 1980, a decade after the
drug war began. And despite 2013 reforms designed to reduce the prison population, it stubbornly stays near an all-time high reached in 2017.

In fact, new prison admissions (https://50stateblueprint.aclu.org/assets/reports/SJ-Blueprint-SD.pdf)
spiked upward by 49 percent between 2015 and 2018. These numbers are
largely attributable to drug prosecutions, with nearly one in three
prisoners doing time for drugs in 2019, up from one in four in 2014.

As the ACLU noted (https://50stateblueprint.aclu.org/assets/reports/SJ-Blueprint-SD.pdf),
"This increase was driven almost entirely by a rise in the number of
people whose most serious offense was unauthorized ingestion of a
controlled substance."

That's right -- South Dakota is spending millions of dollars to
incarcerate people not for drug dealing, not even for drug possession,
but for having used drugs and still having traces of them in their system.

And it's doing so in an alarmingly racially disproportionate manner (https://50stateblueprint.aclu.org/assets/reports/SJ-Blueprint-SD.pdf).
Native Americans make up only 7 percent of the state's population but constitute nearly one-third (31 percent) of the state prison population. Similarly, the state has a tiny African American population (2 percent),
but black South Dakotans made up 8 percent of the prison population. The imprisonment rate for both African Americans and Native Americans was
seven times that of the state's overwhelmingly white population. For the state's Latino population, the imprisonment rate was twice that of whites.

In a press release last month (https://www.aclusd.org/en/press-releases/prison-policy-initiative-report-highlights-need-criminal-justice-reform-south-dakota),
the state ACLU reported that it's just as bad in the state's jails, with
Native Americans making up roughly half of all jail admissions and
accounting for the majority of all drug- and alcohol-related arrests in
the state. The group noted that "Native Americans between ages 15 and 64
are incarcerated at 10 times the rate of white people in South Dakota."

"It's time to come to terms with the significant racial disparities that
are so ingrained in our criminal legal system," said (https://www.aclusd.org/en/press-releases/prison-policy-initiative-report-highlights-need-criminal-justice-reform-south-dakota)
Libby Skarin, ACLU of South Dakota policy director. "This is not
something that can be mitigated by solely reducing the number of arrests
in South Dakota. Our elected officials need to acknowledge the realities
of these racial disparities and commit to tackling them head-on."

State leaders grasp that there is a problem here. The state legislature
has set up an interim study group to examine the state's approach to
drug offenses, which met for the first time in August (https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/08/20/south-dakota-addiction-treatment-decreasing-ingestion-drug-punishment/2034274001/).
The group includes legislators, law enforcement, court administrators,
the South Dakota attorney general and the secretary of the Department of Corrections, but not public health officials or actual drug users.

The panel heard even more disturbing numbers about drug prosecutions.
There were 2,104 people convicted of drug possession statewide so far
this year, a more than four-fold increase from 2009, even though drug
use levels have remained relatively stable over that period. That is
leading panel members to wonder about the role of local prosecutors in generating such large increases in prosecutions.

"Though drug use is undoubtedly a serious issue, we can't incarcerate
our way out of addiction," said (https://www.aclusd.org/en/press-releases/prison-policy-initiative-report-highlights-need-criminal-justice-reform-south-dakota)
the ACLU's Skarin. "The enormous amount of money South Dakota spends on
jailing people for drug-related offenses is disproportionate and causes
more harm than good to individuals struggling with addiction, their
families and their communities."

It is for this reason that the ACLU says it is supporting (https://www.aclusd.org/en/press-releases/prison-policy-initiative-report-highlights-need-criminal-justice-reform-south-dakota)
initiatives such as "reclassifying ingestion as a misdemeanor."

Skarin explained (https://www.aclusd.org/en/press-releases/prison-policy-initiative-report-highlights-need-criminal-justice-reform-south-dakota),
"Reclassifying ingestion as a misdemeanor and investing the resulting
savings of state funds in diversion and treatment programs designed to
combat addiction would go a long way in helping to solve the underlying problems leading to drug abuse."

Pennington County (Rapid City) public defender Eric Whitcher is on the
same page as the state ACLU. He told the interim panel (https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/08/20/south-dakota-addiction-treatment-decreasing-ingestion-drug-punishment/2034274001/)
that 73 of his last 100 drug possession cases involved only trace or immeasurable amounts of drugs and that if such cases were not charged as felonies, his office could operate with significantly fewer felony
prosecutors.

"We are an outlier," said (https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/08/20/south-dakota-addiction-treatment-decreasing-ingestion-drug-punishment/2034274001/)
Whitcher, speaking about South Dakota. "We are creating more felonies
for the same conduct than our neighboring states. What impact does that
have on their lives?"


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