Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1177 -- 1/6/23 Table of Contents with lead story!

[Bobbie Sellers]

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1177 -- 1/6/23
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psm...@drcnet.org
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1177

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

Table of Contents:

1. PHILADELPHIA SAFEHOUSE, DOJ AGREE TO MEDIATION ON SAFE INJECTION SITE
[FEATURE]
A long legal battle between the Justice Department and a Philadelphia
nonprofit over safe injection sites may finally be heading for a resolution.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/jan/05/philadelphia_safehouse_doj_agree

2. THE TOP TEN INTERNATIONAL DRUG POLICY STORIES OF 2022 [FEATURE]
Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly in international drug policy
developments in 2022.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/dec/30/top_ten_international_drug

3. BIPARTISAN GROUP OF LAWMAKERS CALL ON BIDEN TO DESCHEDULE MARIJUANA,
BELIZE COCA BUST, MORE... (12/23/22)
There's a big payout for a Georgia woman falsely arrested on cocaine
charges, British police chiefs call for drug decriminalization, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2022/dec/23/bipartisan_group_lawmakers_call

4. MD POT DECRIM NOW IN EFFECT, CO NATURAL PSYCHEDELIC DECRIM NOW IN
EFFECT, MORE... (1/3/23)
The Justice Department is suing a major phamareceutical distributor over
its role in the opioid crisis, a Virgin Islands marijuana legalization
bill goes to the governor, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/jan/03/md_pot_decrim_now_effect_co

5. MS MAKES NALOXONE AVAILABLE FOR FREE, PA FENTANYL TEST STRIPS NOW
DECRIMINALIZED, MORE... (1/4/23)
Violence continues in Ciudad Juarez in the wake of a deadly Sunday
prison break, Mississippi has created a web site where residents can
order free naloxone, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/jan/04/ms_makes_naloxone_available_free

6. DETROIT LEGAL ADULT MARIJUANA SALES BEGIN, MN DFL FILES MARIJUANA
LEGALIZATION BILL, MORE... (1/5/23)
The legislative season is getting underway, here come the marijuana
legalization bills, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/jan/05/detroit_legal_adult_marijuana

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

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

1. PHILADELPHIA SAFEHOUSE, DOJ AGREE TO MEDIATION ON SAFE INJECTION SITE
[FEATURE]
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/jan/05/philadelphia_safehouse_doj_agree

For nearly four years, the Philadelphia nonprofit Safehouse
(https://www.safehousephilly.org) has seen its effort to open a safe
injection site in the city stymied by a federal court case brought
against it by the Trump administration Justice Department. And although
the Trump administration is now history, the Biden Justice Department
has continued to pursue the case even as the number of overdose deaths
in the city mounts.

But now, Safehouse and the Justice Department (DOJ) have agreed
(https://mailchi.mp/9cacdcc83052/safehouse-legal-update-the-urgency-is-ever-present-6020979)
to move their case about the legality of safe injection sites out of a
federal district court and into mediation before a federal magistrate, a
maneuver that advocates hope can speed up the resolution of the case and
get the sites up and operating.

"We agreed with the Department of Justice to move in this direction to
reach a settlement and get the lawsuit resolved," Safehouse
vice-president Ronda Goldfein told the Philadelphia Inquirer
(https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/supervised-injection-site-philadelphia-safehouse-settlement-federal-government-20230103.html).
While declining to further characterize confidential settlement
negotiations, she said the group's goals "have not changed" and that
Safehouse seeks "a resolution that all parties can live with that give
us the opportunity to save lives."

The move comes as the Biden DOJ has hinted at a possible softer stance
toward safe injection sites. DOJ did not go to court to block local
officials in New York City from allowing two safe injection sites to
open in late 2021 or to block state officials from allowing them in
early 2022. And DOJ had indicated it was engaged in settlement talks
with Safehouse in February 2022.

At that time, DOJ said that it was "evaluating supervised consumption
sites,
(https://www.marijuanamoment.net/justice-department-evaluating-guardrails-for-safe-drug-consumption-sites-as-court-deadline-approaches/)
including discussions with state and local regulators about appropriate
guardrails for such sites, as part of an overall approach to harm
reduction and public safety."

But that was nearly a year ago, and Safehouse's patience is wearing
thin. Just last month, after having repeatedly gone along with DOJ
requests for continuances, Safehouse balked. It told the federal
district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that it would no
longer agree to any additional delays, while the DOJ argued that it
needed until February to proceed. The court compromised, requiring that
DOJ reveal its position in the lawsuit by January 9
(https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-court-gives-justice-department-one-month-to-respond-in-safe-drug-consumption-case-following-extension-request/).

With the mediation agreement between Safehouse and DOJ, that January 9
date is now moot, but Safehouse is convinced the move will result in a
speedier resolution of the case and allow it to finally get into the
business of saving lives.

"Since the DOJ commenced this litigation in 2019 until the end of 2021,
more than 3,600 lives have been lost in Philadelphia to the opioid
overdose crisis. Based on 2022 projections, that number will grow to
almost 5,000 deaths," Safehouse said
(https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-lawsuit-over-safe-drug-consumption-sites-heads-to-mediation-to-expedite-resolution/).
"Safehouse and those that need its life-saving services have waited long
enough."

Meanwhile, there are other signs the federal government may be warming
to the harm reduction intervention. In a November report
(https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10865), the
nonpartisan Congressional Research Service highlighted the "uncertainty"
of the federal government's position on safe injection sites and
suggested blockages could be overcome by approving an amendment to the
annual DOJ funding bill precluding it from spending any funds to go
after safe injection sites, much as has been successfully done to
protect medical marijuana laws in the states.

And just days before that report was released, National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow tacitly endorsed the idea of
authorizing safe consumption sites
(https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-federal-drug-official-says-safe-consumption-sites-are-proven-to-save-lives-as-doj-weighs-ending-legal-battle/).
Research has found that the intervention "has saved a significant
[percentage of] patients from overdosing."

Now, if only the DOJ can find a way to get out of the way. Or if it
cannot or will not, it will be time to go back to court.


================ ...
___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>
Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

bliss -- Cacao Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.