Introduction
Welcome to the first newsletter from Reason’s Drug Policy Center! Led by Senior Fellow Matt Harrison, attorney and co-author of Proposition 64, Reason Foundation’s Drug Policy Center aims to bring you the best available information in the rapidly changing world of drug policy. Our team of experts will also be providing analysis and recommendations as this historic implementation effort unfolds, so stay tuned for updates.
Highlight: On Jan. 1, California’s regulators began enforcing comprehensive licensing reforms regarding every aspect of cannabis sales—from growers and testing labs to retail shops and delivery services. These regulations initiate the state’s new comprehensive regulatory regime: While Proposition 64, the state’s adult-use initiative, was approved by voters back in 2016, all of the rules, regulations and licenses governing supply are finally effective now.
News
Attorney General Jeff Sessions says opioid addiction starts with marijuana. C.J. Ciaramella cites six different studies that say Sessions is wrong.
Jacob Sullum reports on the results of a poll by pot prohibitionists that proves pot prohibition is still unpopular.
Police raided a cannabis event in DC, showing that Sessions’ revocation of the Cole memo is more than just fear-mongering. But investment in California’s pot industry isn’t deterred.
Laws
Banks aren’t always available to marijuana retailers. Christian Britschgi writes about one California politician’s bizarre plan for a countermeasure: starting a state-run weed bank. The text of the bill is already online.
San Francisco is wiping out thousands of former marijuana convictions.
After losing at the ballot box, the governor’s office, and the rule-making process, the California Growers Association is mounting a last-ditch effort to restrict market entry with a lawsuit to stop licenses from being issued.
The American Legislative Exchange Council has urged reform of “drug free school zones,” which have not been effective at protecting children.
The Drug Policy Alliance released a major report detailing the status of marijuana legalization in the U.S.
The FDA has labeled kratom an opioid, citing more studies where people died for reasons other than ingesting kratom.
As more states legalize marijuana, police forces are turning to their Drug Recognition Experts to determine if drivers are impaired. Here’s how.
Science
A new study suggests that medical marijuana is being used as a substitute for opiates.
Another report shows marijuana and alcohol may have a synergistic effect, contributing to impairment.
Researchers investigated whether the oral fluid test for THC could be effective in assessing roadside impairment. Though able to establish THC’s presence in the bloodstream, it could not determine concentration.