Trump DEA Nominee Withdraws, Reform Groups Slam NY Marijuana Regulators, More… (12/4/24)

The Drug Coverage Alliance and Hurt Discount Worldwide have issued a report on US spending on the worldwide drug war–to the tune of $13 billion within the final decade–and extra. 

Marijuana Coverage

NAACP And Allies Push New York Governor To Cease Letting Marijuana Officers Favor ‘Huge Firms’ Over Small Companies And Fairness. A broad array of teams enthusiastic about marijuana coverage and social fairness despatched a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Tuesday criticizing what they described as state marijuana regulators’ “efforts in service of huge companies on the expense of small enterprise and fairness outcomes” through the latter half of this yr.

“Whenever you entered workplace, you publicly dedicated to New York having essentially the most equitable and small business-focused hashish market within the nation, however we’re seeing completely different priorities out of your administration,” the letter says, with the teams elaborating in a press launch that since Chris Alexander, the primary state marijuana regulator left in Might, state officers have demonstrated a “shift towards company pursuits on the expense of small enterprise, justice-involved entrepreneurs, and Conditional Grownup-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensees who’re immediately impacted by prior marijuana arrest.”

Signatories to the letter and the press launch embody the NAACP New York State Convention, Black Hashish Business Affiliation, Minority Hashish Enterprise Affiliation, Service Disabled Veterans in Hashish Affiliation, Drug Coverage Alliance, NYC NORML and VOCAL-NY.

“For the reason that Workplace of Hashish Administration’s (‘OCM’) inaugural govt director was pressured out, OCM, below the management of its interim govt director who’s novel to each hashish and financial markets, has pursued efforts in service of huge companies on the expense of small enterprise and fairness outcomes.”

In latest months, the teams mentioned, they’ve “grown more and more involved by the shortage of political management” in totally implementing the state’s adult-use marijuana legislation, pointing to what they are saying are a “lack of funding of social and financial fairness packages, a sequence of short-sighted regulatory selections, and the shortage of acceptable OCM management.”

The teams not solely challenged the {qualifications} of OCM Performing Govt Director Felicia Reid, however additionally they criticized her dealing with of a latest assessment of licensing functions, in addition to understaffing, troubles with the social fairness mortgage program, and modifications within the duties of the social fairness officer place. 

“Throughout this important time of building New York’s hashish market, the Administration has irresponsibly didn’t seat a everlasting chief with acceptable financial growth and hashish expertise and as a substitute has appointed an interim director who lacks expertise in hashish and financial growth to serve in management,” the letter to Hochul says. “In a pointy pivot, OCM expanded its assessment of the November queue with out regard to market capability, solely to push again its assessment of the much less capitalized companies within the December queue, successfully jeopardizing a whole bunch of small companies’ alternative to open.

“To decrease oversight of those modifications, OCM has remodeled the Chief Fairness Officer function by redrafting the job description to make sure the following Chief Fairness Officer holds much less decision-making oversight of licensing and market rules with hashish fairness in thoughts,” it continues. “Add to this the mounting monetary challenges dealing with CAURD entrepreneurs brought on by the failed dedication by this administration to assist fund not less than 150 CAURD licensees with low-interest loans.”

The teams need Fields gone and changed by somebody with expertise within the marijuana or regulatory spheres and a dedication to social fairness. 

“We consider many of those knee-jerk modifications in licensing assessment and failed commitments to fairness,” they wrote within the letter, “stem from a scarcity of expertise and publicity to hashish market growth and regulatory licensing regimes, in addition to a poor demonstration of a dedication to guide the company in line with the objectives set out” in New York’s adult-use marijuana legislation., 

Drug Coverage

Trump DEA Choose Bows Out Beneath Criticism from MAGA World for Covid-Period Arrest of Pastor. Properly, that did not take lengthy. Chad Chronister, the Hillsborough County (Florida) sheriff nominated by President-elect Trump to go the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has deserted the hassle within the face of criticism of his dealing with of COVID-era social distancing crackdowns by parts of Trump’s MAGA base. 

Simply three days after he was nominated, Chronister introduced Tuesday that he was withdrawing from criticism and mentioned he would keep on as sheriff in Hillsborough County. 

“Over the previous a number of days, because the gravity of this essential accountability set in, I’ve concluded that I have to respectfully withdraw from consideration,” he wrote. “There may be extra work to be accomplished for the residents of Hillsborough County and quite a lot of initiatives I’m dedicated to fulfilling.”

However Chronister had drawn opposition from inside Trump world for his enforcement of public well being orders through the pandemic. MAGA members have been significantly incensed by his arrest of a pastor for ignoring state and native public well being orders by holding giant church providers in March 2020, simply because the World Well being Group was declaring COVID-19 a pandemic and Trump himself was declaring it a nationwide emergency. 

Rightist critics resembling Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) mentioned Chronister must be “disqualified” over the pastor’s arrest, whereas the rightist Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Affiliation mentioned in a press release that it was “shocked and dismayed” by the choice, citing Chronister’s enforcement of covid mandates.

However Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who appointed Chronister as sheriff stood by him. 

“He’s truly private buddy of mine,” Scott mentioned. “He’s an excellent sheriff, he’s been re-elected twice since I appointed him. He’s an important neighborhood chief.”

Chronister, who had a barely existent nationwide profile, was a shock decide for DEA head however had labored alongside former Florida lawyer common Pam Bondi, who’s now Trump’s decide to go the Justice Division. No phrase but on who would possibly substitute him because the nominee to go the DEA. 

International Coverage

US Taxpayers Spent Almost $13 Billion Funding International Drug Warfare within the Previous Decade, Report Finds. American taxpayers upset about fruitless and ineffective federal authorities spending would possibly need to check out world US anti-drug packages, which a brand new report from the Drug Coverage Alliance and Hurt Discount Worldwide discovered price taxpayers practically $13 billion over the previous decade. 

The report discovered that that spending got here on the expense of efforts to finish world poverty whereas exacerbating human rights violations and environmental injury. 

The report examined anti-drug spending throughout numerous authorities departments and included case research of Colombia, Mexico, and the Philippines. 

The report’s evaluation “demonstrates how US help has supported and expanded damaging and lethal anti-drug responses in low- and middle-income international locations world wide,” the authors wrote. 

The US world drug battle spending, the report says, “is extra taxpayer cash than the US authorities spent over that decade on major schooling or water provide and sanitation in low- and middle-income international locations” and likewise better than

 U.S. international assist over the identical interval “for all of Southern Africa or Central America.”

The report notes that the Biden administration has “requested $1 billion for worldwide ‘counternarcotics’ actions,” for Fiscal 12 months 2025, about half of which ($480 million) can be allotted to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), whereas about $350 million would have gone to the State Division.

“The function of the USA in exporting the damaging battle on medication to different international locations is unparalleled,” DPA and HRI mentioned in an govt abstract of the findings. “

In fact, the US-led world battle on medication has been happening for for much longer than simply the previous decade, and in spite of everything these years, the {dollars} actually add up. 

“Since 1971, the US has spent greater than a trillion {dollars} on the battle on medication, prioritizing legislation enforcement responses and fueling mass incarceration inside its borders,”  the report says. “It has additionally performed a number one function in pushing and funding punitive responses to medication internationally.”