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August Newsletter
DPA Victory: Most Comprehensive Marijuana Reform Bill Ever Introduced in Congress, and Marijuana Justice Coalition Launched

After months of work by the Drug Policy Alliance and our allies, Senator Kamala Harris and Representative Jerry Nadler introduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act) on July 23. This comprehensive reform bill would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enabling states to set their own policies on the legalization of adult use.

The MORE Act would establish a fund that would allocate marijuana tax revenue to communities negatively impacted by the war on drugs for record expungement, youth resources, equitable marijuana licensing programs, access to the industry for impacted communities, and more. The Act would also correct historic injustices associated with prohibition, including by preventing the government from denying an individual federal benefits or financial aid because of marijuana use, and protecting immigrants from deportation based solely on a marijuana infraction.

Further, the bill would finally permit the marijuana industry to access financial services that other legal businesses already use and to receive tax relief. It would also enable research and allow Veterans Administration doctors to recommend medical marijuana without risk of federal prosecution.

The Drug Policy Alliance has been shaping the bill since its inception. Our Office of National Affairs first approached Rep. Nadler’s office about drafting the MORE Act in September 2018, and has met with his staff almost weekly since then to provide input and ensure that the bill would reverse the most egregious consequences of federal marijuana prohibition – from arrests and convictions to barriers to housing, education, and employment – which have disproportionately impacted people of color and low-income communities.

The introduction of the MORE Act follows a historic Congressional hearing on marijuana prohibition, the first congressional committee hearing ever on the subject. DPA was instrumental in bringing key witnesses to the Capitol who testified to the racist impact of marijuana prohibition and the urgent need for reparative justice and reform. The same day as the hearing, we announced the launch of the Marijuana Justice Coalition, a collaboration between civil rights, criminal justice, drug policy, and anti-poverty groups that support federal marijuana reform through a racial justice lens. The group has released a set of shared principles that guide our fight for reform.


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DPA Joins New Mexico Cannabis Legalization Working Group

Emily Kaltenbach, director of DPA’s New Mexico office, has joined the state’s Cannabis Legalization Working Group. The group, comprised of stakeholders and policy experts, will study proposals to legalize the sale and consumption of marijuana for adult use in the state, identify best practices from other jurisdictions, and ensure that any legalization proposal upholds public safety.

This follows a historic vote in March, when New Mexico’s House of Representatives approved marijuana legalization, but the bill went on to stall in the state Senate. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has said that she will have a new legalization bill introduced in the next legislative session beginning in January 2020.

“This group will ensure we begin the next session with a credible, equitable and cohesive legalization proposal that will incorporate all public safety concerns, workplace regulations, labeling requirements that protect underage children, and all manner of other issues,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “There are open questions about how legalization can work best for New Mexico. This group will answer those questions, and we will arrive at the next session prepared.”

“I want New Mexico’s introduction and management of recreational cannabis to be the envy of the country,” the governor added. “We can and will incorporate lessons learned from other states so that New Mexico provides for a well-regulated industry that, crucially, does not infringe on or harm our expanding medical cannabis program, upon which so many New Mexicans rely.”

With a seat at the table, DPA is well positioned to ensure that New Mexico does not just legalize marijuana, but does so in a way that addresses the ongoing, damaging collateral consequences of marijuana criminalization.

Learn More.
DPA Clips, Podcasts and Stories
DPA Leads Extensive Amicus Brief Effort Supporting Supervised Consumption Service in Philadelphia

In July, numerous organizations and individuals representing public health, criminal justice, law enforcement, faith, homelessness and impacted families and communities filed more than 12 amicus briefs in support of Safehouse. This community-based organization is currently fending off an action in federal court against its attempt to establish supervised consumption services (SCS) in Philadelphia. DPA played a key role in helping to coordinate the amicus submissions.

SCSs are a proven approach in mitigating drug-related fatalities, offering controlled settings and sterile equipment for people to consume pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of trained professionals that can intervene in case of an overdose. Clients can also receive health care, counseling, and referrals to other health and social services, including drug treatment.

“The Department of Justice is dead wrong in its attempt to prevent this facility from opening and additional lives may be lost because of this misguided action,” said Lindsay LaSalle, the Director of Public Health Law and Policy with the Drug Policy Alliance. “In filing these briefs, we want to ensure that the court has information based in science and proven practices that have saved countless lives.”

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Santa Clara County DA will stop filing charges in most minor drug cases

The district attorney in Santa Clara County, California, will no longer file charges against most people arrested or cited solely for possessing small amounts of drugs. Prosecutors say the aim of the change – which DPA provided guidance on – is to keep people out of the court system, diverting them instead to drug treatment programs.

Theshia Naidoo, the Criminal Justice Legal Director for DPA, praised the move: “This really does reflect a trend to try and treat drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue by not having people revolve through the system, and helps removes the stigma of drug use. I hope this can be replicated in other jurisdictions.”

Learn More.

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Overdose Deaths Decline, But Drug Policy Remains Chaotic

President Trump is celebrating – and claiming credit for – the first drop in the overdose death rate in decades, but political insiders say the White House remains unorganized, especially when it comes to drug policy. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is currently without a leader, has expressed desire to control drug classifications without input from the Food and Drug Administration or the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Michael Collins, DPA’s director of national affairs, has warned that the DEA is “playing on people’s fear in order to make a power grab. We are being asked to give DEA control of the scheduling process and give up due process and allow more prosecutorial power – and give up researching these substances and potentially saving lives as a result of that research.”

Learn More.
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24 of the Most Influential Women in Cannabis

The cannabis space wouldn’t be what it is today without a number of female trailblazers paving the way in all sectors of the industry, from activism to politics to entrepreneurship. Cannabis publication Civilized has put together a list of 24 of the most influential women in cannabis, including DPA’s executive director – Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno – for her commitment to social justice and drug policy reform.

Learn More.
Drug Policy in the News
ABC News: Trump administration tightens opioid prescriptions for feds
NPR: U.S. Overdose Deaths Dipped In 2018, But Some States Saw ‘Devastating’ Increases
Fast Company: This revolutionary device would automatically reverse opioid overdoses
Vox: Mark Kleiman, who changed the way we think about crime and drugs, has died at 68
The Washington Post: How an early Biden crime bill created the sentencing disparity for crack and cocaine trafficking

USA Today: Napa Valley, but for weed: Cannabis bill would tighten rules for claiming place of origin

Register Now: International Drug Policy Reform Conference
Registration is open for DPA’s International Drug Policy Reform Conference, which will be taking place in St. Louis from November 6-9, 2019. This biennial event attracts more than 1,500 people representing 80 countries, all eager to listen, learn, and strategize about local, state, national, and international drug policy issues.

There are still rooms available at the Union Station Hotel. Be sure to take advantage of our reduced rate by reserving your room directly through this link.

Register now.

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