Chronicle AM: NORML Endorses Ohio MJ Init, Obama Issues Annual Country Trafficking Report, More (12/14/05)

NORML endorses the ResponsibleOhio legalization initiative, California legislators pass medical marijuana regulation, the White House issues its annual report on drug trafficking countries, and more.

The controversial initative has won an endorsement from NORML.

Martin O'Malley to Hold Marijuana Legalization "Listening Session" in Denver This Week. The former Maryland governor and Democratic presidential contender will hear from policymakers, experts, business owners, and law enforcement about how Colorado's decision to legalize marijuana has been working and affecting communities across the state. As governor, O'Malley decriminalized marijuana in Maryland and started the state's medical marijuana program. In his presidential campaign, Governor O'Malley calls for re-classifying marijuana as part of his criminal justice platform.

NORML Endorses the ResponsibleOhio Legalization Initiative. The board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has voted to endorse the ResponsibleOhio initiative. While the board expressed concern about "investor-driven initiatives," calling them a "perversion" of the initiative process, it said that ending prohibition outweighed the negatives. Click on the link for the entire statement.

Medical Marijuana

California Legislature Approves Medical Marijuana Regulation. After nearly 20 years of wrangling over what is and is not legal under California's 1996 Proposition 215 medical marijuana law, the state legislature has passed a set of bills designed to bring order to the chaos. After working with Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on acceptable language, the Assembly and the Senate Friday passed Assembly Bill 243 Assembly Bill 266, and Senate Bill 643. The session ended at midnight Friday. Click on the title link for more, and look for a feature article later this week on reaction to the move.

Drug Policy

White House Drug Trafficking Nation List Singles Out Bolivia, Burma, Venezuela. The White House released its annual Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries today, and singled out Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela as failing to comply with US drug war demands. The other countries on the list are: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, and Peru. Click on the link to read the entire determination.

Drug Testing

South Dakota Indian Tribal Chairman in Hot Water Over Mass Drug Testing. In a bid to address drug abuse on the reservation, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Chairman Bruce Renville ordered surprise, mandatory, suspicionless drug testing of hundreds of tribal employees last month. But while some of them came up dirty, Renville is the only one whose job is in danger. Tribal opponents accuse him of trampling individual and constitutional rights with the move, and now the council has suspended him from his position, with a hearing on whether to fire him set for later this week. Click on the link to read a very detailed report.

International

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Issues Report on Drugs and Human Rights. The Human Rights Council had requested the study, which will be presented to the council at its next session. The study, Impact of the World Drug Problem on Human Rights, examines the impact drug policy decisions on personal and public health, harm reduction, as well as examining the role of criminal justice systems and the use of the death penalty.

Philippines Bans Hemp Products. The Philippine Food and Drug Administration and Philippine DEA have banned the sale of consumer products containing "hempseed oil or their varieties and derivatives from cannabis or marijuana in consumer products." The move is being sold as an effort "to protect the public from the harmful effects of dangerous drugs," even though hemp products normally don't contain more than trace amounts of THC, the main psychoactive substance in marijuana.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)