MN Marijuana Legalization Bill Heading for Floor Votes, China Condemns US Fentanyl Sanctions, More… (4/18/23)

A Washington therapeutic psilocybin bill goes to the governor's desk, the Minnesota marijuana legalization bill is finally heading for House and Senate floor votes, and more.

Marijuana Policy      

Florida Marijuana Legalization Bill Never Got a Shot. The legislative session has ended, and once again, marijuana legalization went absolutely nowhere. A legalization bill from Sen. Victor Torres (D), Senate Bill 1576, didn't even get a hearing, let alone a committee vote, and no legalization bill was filed in the House. Legislative inaction, however, clears the field for a legalization initiative next year, and signature-gathering for one is already well underway.

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Heads for House Floor Vote. The House version of the marijuana legalization bill, House File100, is headed for a House floor vote after winning approval in the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday. That was the 15th House panel to approve the bill on its marathon journey through the legislature. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill, Senate File 73, passed the Senate Taxes Committee Monday evening, leaving only one more committee vote before it, too, heads for a floor vote.

Psychedelics

Washington Therapeutic Psilocybin Bill Heads to Governor's Desk. With a final Senate concurrence vote last Friday, a bill to create a pilot program for therapeutic access to psilocybin for the treatment of mental health conditions, Senate Bill 5623, has been approved by the legislature and now awaits action by Gov. Jay Inslee (D). The bill originally did not contain the pilot program provision and would have only promoted research into psilocybin, but the House added that provision after the bill passed the Senate, necessitating that final Senate concurrence vote. In addition to the pilot program, the measure would create a Psilocybin Advisory Board, an Interagency Psilocybin Work Group and a Psilocybin Task Force.

Foreign Policy

China Condemns US Sanctions on Chinese Companies for Allegedly Supplying Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday strongly condemned the latest US sanctions on Chinese companies it accuses of supplying precursor chemicals for the production of illicit fentanyl. Last Friday, the US Treasury Department announced it had imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies for allegedly supplying fentanyl precursors to Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Wang said the "precursors" are just ordinary chemicals and it is the responsibility of importing countries to prevent their flow into illicit drug production. "Instead of taking up the responsibility, Washington distorts the truth and tries to interfere in the normal chemical trade between China and other countries, which fully exposes its hegemony and brutality, as well as its contempt and trampling on the spirit of international rule of law," Wang charged. Wang also warned that US prosecution and sanction against Chinese companies "will create further obstacles to the bilateral cooperation in drug control."