Latest news with #marijuana
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Thailand goes back on decriminalized marijuana
Thailand, which decriminalized marijuana in 2022 — a first for the region — has reimposed a slate of renewed restrictions on the drug. Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed an order this week to bar sales of cannabis without a medical prescription. 'Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future,' Thepsuthin said of the measure, which has since come into effect, in a statement cited in local outlets.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Ohio GOP Lawmakers ‘Press Pause' On Amending Cannabis Legalization
Republican lawmakers in Ohio have paused plans to amend a recreational marijuana legalization ... More initiative passed by voters in 2023 until later this year. Republican lawmakers in the Ohio state legislature are putting on hold plans to amend the state's voter-approved cannabis law after failing to reach an agreement on the proposed changes. Ohio voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2023, with 57% of the electorate voting in favor of the policy reform. Only days after voters approved the legalization initiative, Issue 2, Republicans including Gov. Mike DeWine and GOP leaders in the state legislature expressed interest in amending the measure. Among his goals, DeWine called for legislation to protect children from cannabis edibles and shield young people from marijuana advertising. The governor also called for curbs on smoking cannabis in public, citing his experience visiting a state with legal weed. 'I had the experience a month or so ago being in some unnamed state, you walked around the city and there was a rare time when you were not smelling marijuana,' DeWine said at the time, according to a report from the Columbus Dispatch. 'The voters have said people have a right to smoke marijuana – that's fine. But other people have the right not to smell it and not to have their kids and grandkids exposed to it.' Ohio Senate Passes Bill To Amend Voter-Approved Cannabis Legalization In February, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 56 (S.B. 56), a measure to amend Issue 2. If passed, the legislation would reduce the maximum THC levels of recreational marijuana concentrates from 90% to 70%. The bill would also limit the number of cannabis dispensaries licensed in the state to 400, among other changes to Issue 2. The House version of the bill has significant changes to the legislation, including provisions requiring intoxicating hemp products to be sold at licensed marijuana dispensaries. The Ohio Department of Commerce would be tasked with regulating intoxicating hemp products and beverages containing hemp-derived cannabinoids. Cannabinoid beverages would be the only hemp products authorized for sale at unlicensed retailers. Last week, a scheduled vote on S.B. 56 in the House Judiciary Committee was pulled from the schedule only hours before it was supposed to take place, reportedly because of infighting between House and Senate Republicans. Then this week, a scheduled meeting of the committee to consider the legislation was also canceled. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman noted last week that senators had raised more than a dozen concerns about S.B. 56, months after the bill was passed in the Senate. 'I just told my caucus, 'We're not going to just say, OK, because we're so anxious to pass the marijuana bill, which I'd like to get it done, but we're not going to give up House priorities to do that,'' Huffman said. Lawmakers Now Focused On State Budget The legislature is currently focused on the state's two-year budget bill, which the governor must sign before July 1. When asked about the marijuana legislation, Republican state Rep. Brian Stewart said lawmakers would put off further consideration of S.B. 56 until later this year. 'We are going to push pause,' Stewart said, according to a report from the Ohio Capital Journal. 'We're going to take the summer and come back and potentially take another crack at it.' The Ohio state legislature has the authority to amend the cannabis legalization law because it was passed as a citizen's initiative rather than as a constitutional amendment. But Democratic House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn said that lawmakers should respect the will of voters. 'The people of Ohio spoke very clearly on this issue,' said Isaacsohn. 'They knew what they were voting on, and they voted to pass adult-use cannabis recreationally here in the state of Ohio.' Sara Gullickson, CEO of Cannabis Business Advisors, said she believes the Ohio legislature will pass a cannabis bill before the end of the year. 'The budget sucked all the oxygen out of the room, and they ran out of time to finish the legislation,' Gullickson writes in an email. 'It's likely a standalone bill will be sent to the governor in the late fall of 2025.' 'There are a handful of differences between the house version and the Senate version, yet they are united on purpose to get this done to ensure the marketplace can survive and thrive in the state of Ohio,' she continues. 'It truly was a matter of bandwidth, not intent. If Ohio did not have to pass a state budget totaling $150 billion which needed to be sent to the governor on July 1, there would've been plenty of time to iron out the differences. I believe Ohio will get it done in 2025.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Gov. Abbott wants to legalize recreational THC
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Abbott's proposal was to permit all locations and make sure they only sell to those over 21. AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Monday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a news conference to express his dismay with Gov. Greg Abbott vetoing Senate Bill 3 less than an hour before it would've become law. The eleventh-hour action was accompanied by a call for a special session starting on July 21 to strongly regulate hemp, which Abbott says Texas 'must do immediately.' Gov. Abbott vetoes THC ban, calls upcoming special legislative session 'It sort of puzzles me why my friend Governor Abbott would at the last minute—22 minutes after 11—decide to veto this bill,' Patrick said. 'One can only come to this conclusion, which surprises me. The Governor of the state of Texas wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas. That's the headline folks.' The strongest push for SB 3 came from Patrick, who previously hosted a confrontational news conference in support of the bill after it had already been sent to Abbott's desk. While Patrick's toss of THC-A infused cereal bites at the reporter pool stole headlines, his response to questions about a potential veto was more paramount in hindsight. 'I speak to the governor every day,' Patrick said in response to the third question asking him if he was afraid about a veto. 'About this?' A reporter asked. 'Look, I'm not going to speak for the governor, OK?' Patrick said. 'He will do what he's going to do. I have total confidence in the governor. You will know his decision when he makes it. The reason I'm here today is for you to tell the story. I'm not worried about the governor understanding it. I'm worried about you all understanding it.' On Sunday night, Patrick posted his disappointment on social media. 'Throughout the legislative session, @GregAbbott_TX remained totally silent on Senate Bill 3, the bill that would have banned dangerous THC products in Texas,' Patrick wrote. 'His late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the legislature, strongly backed by law enforcement, many in the medical and education communities, and the families who have seen their loved ones' lives destroyed by these very dangerous drugs, leaves them feeling abandoned. I feel especially bad for those who testified and poured their hearts out on their tragic losses.' In his veto proclamation, Abbott called SB 3 'well-intentioned' but likely to face significant legal challenges. 'It would never go into effect because of valid constitutional challenges. Litigation challenging the bill has already been filed, and the legal defects in the bill are undeniable,' Abbott wrote. 'If I were to allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoined for years, leaving existing abuses unaddressed. Texas cannot afford to wait.' Abbott called upon Arkansas as an example, the only state to pass a similar measure into law. However, their effort still hasn't gone into effect, as federal courts have put the implementation on pause. 'Their law has sat dormant, meaningless, having no effect for nearly two years while further legal proceedings play out. That result must be avoided in Texas,' Abbott wrote. He said SB 3 conflicts directly with federal law, making it constitutionally problematic. 'It therefore criminalizes what Congress expressly legalized and puts federal and state law on a collision course: Today, federal law promises Texas farmers that they may grow hemp without fear of criminal liability. But under Senate Bill 3, the seeds used to grow those plants are 'consumable products'—currently available in stores—and they naturally contain cannabinoids. What's a Texas farmer to do? Trust the federal government's promise, or fear criminal liability from the State?' He also worries about running afoul of the Fifth Amendment by seizing private property. 'While states may restrict the use of dangerous contraband, it is a different thing entirely to change the rules in the middle of the game, thereby interfering with 'distinct investment-backed expectations' in property,' Abbott wrote. 'Allowing Senate Bill 3 to become law—knowing that it faces a lengthy battle that will render it dead on arrival in court-would hinder rather than help us solve the public safety issues this bill seeks to contain.' While Abbott may have been the former attorney general of Texas and a former state supreme court justice, Patrick disagrees with his assessment. 'I talked to him yesterday, he said, 'It's the Arkansas case,'' Patrick said. 'This was a lowly district judge in Arkansas, and it's been going through the courts, we believe the Eighth Circuit will stand with Arkansas. If that happens while we're going through this charade, then what's the governor going to say? Oh, 'I guess I was wrong about Arkansas.' But even if Arkansas loses, it doesn't matter. Arkansas does not impact Texas.' He also points to other laws Abbott signed which will have obvious legal challenges. 'If they haven't already, they're going to sue us on school choice and the 10 Commandments,' he said, referring to Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 10. 'We deal with lawsuits all the time, so that shouldn't be a surprise. He says, 'if we were to allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoined for years.' How does he know that?' Patrick also accused Abbott of leading him on by telling him to not worry about the bill before the session started and staying silent on the proposal until his last-minute veto. 'He said, 'Don't worry about the bill.' He said, 'Your bill is fine.' That's what he told me in front of witnesses. In fact, he asked a couple of lawyers on my staff—he said, 'Can you give me some answers I can give? Because when I sign this, I need some answers to give,'' Patrick said. 'So what happened? Who convinced him—on his staff, on the outside—to kill Senate Bill 3… where has he been all session? Where has he been? I mean, we get this proclamation from him last night, after midnight, and he parachutes in at the last moment with arguments that we do not think are valid.' 'The problem THC poses for our communities is real. Earlier this year, a 15-year-old in Houston took a large amount of hemp gummies. When he suffered a 'bad reaction,' he called 911, then shot his mother and his sister repeatedly. Just this month, two teens distributed hemp products at a graduation party in Prosper. The celebration ended early when seven high school students had to be rushed to a hospital,' Abbott wrote. 'How did we get here?' Abbott said bad actors are to blame for using the federal government's farm bill to legalize hemp and creating intoxicating products. In his veto proclamation, he called for the legislature to tackle these topics relating to intoxicating hemp: Criminalizing sale to minors Banning sales near schools, churches, parks, playgrounds, etc. Requiring child-safe packaging Banning packaging that appeals to children Requiring permits to sell to those over 21 Banning the mixture of THC and other psychoactive substances, including alcohol and tobacco Requiring testing at all phases of the product Keeping manufacturing and processing facilities up to food safety rules Requiring sellers to maintain warning signs Limiting sale hours Preventing Sunday sales Limiting the raw amount of THC in each product Limiting how many products a consumer can buy in each purchase Requiring a surgeon general-style warning on the label Punishing fake lab results as a felony Punishing public consumption and on-site consumption Allowing local government to prohibit or limit consumable hemp selling Levying excise taxes on the products The special session will start on July 21 and run for 30 days. As the presiding officer of the Senate, Patrick controls what reaches the Senate floor. However, he says he won't be in his chair if THC regulations pass that are short of a ban. 'I'm not sure what the (Senate) members are going to do. That will be up to them, but they will understand they're casting a vote to legalize marijuana in Texas,' Patrick said. 'I don't know how they'll react, but I will not be on the podium if the votes are there.' Patrick said he'd follow the will of the Republican senators. As long as 15 of them support a bill, he'll support it. However, he doesn't believe they have the votes. 'What kind of culture do we want? We want everybody high? I mean, everyone will tell you in [Colorado, California and Washington], work product has gone down. Everywhere you go it smells like grass. It's awful,' Patrick said. 'I don't want that for Texas. You know, gaming and sports betting and that—look, that's a person's choice… but this is life and death. This is life and death. This destroys lives. This reaches a whole other level.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Thailand's 'weed wild west' faces new rules as smuggling to UK rises
Thailand is trying to rein in its free-wheeling marijuana market. The government has approved new measures, which will soon restrict consumption of the drug to those with a doctor's prescription - in the hope that this will help regulate an industry some describe as out of control. The public health minister has also said that consumption of marijuana will be criminalised again, although it's unclear when that could since the drug was decriminalised in 2022, there has been a frenzy of investment. There are now around 11,000 registered cannabis dispensaries in Thailand. In parts of the capital Bangkok it is impossible to escape the lurid green glare of their neon signs and the constant smell of people smoking their the famous backpacker district of Khao San Road, in the historic royal quarter, there is an entire shopping mall dedicated to selling hallucinogenic flower heads or marijuana accessories. Derivative products like brownies and gummies are offered openly online – although this is technically illegal – and can be delivered to your door within an has been talk of restricting the industry before. The largest party in the government coalition wanted to put cannabis back on the list of proscribed narcotics after it took office in 2023, but its former coalition partner, which had made decriminalisation a signature election policy, blocked this plan. But the final straw appears to have been pressure from the UK, which has seen a flood of Thai marijuana being smuggled into the country. It is often young travellers who are lured by drug syndicates in Britain into carrying suitcases filled with it on flights from Thailand. Last month two young British women were arrested in Georgia and Sri Lanka, with large amounts of marijuana from Thailand. Both now face long prison sentences. "It's massively increased over the last couple of years," says Beki Wright, spokesperson at the National Crime Agency in London (NCA). The NCA says 142 couriers carrying five tonnes were intercepted in 2023. This number shot up to 800 couriers in 2024 carrying 26 tonnes, and that number has continued to rise this year."We really want to stop people doing this. Because if you are stopped, in this country or many others, you face life-changing consequences, for something many of them think is low-risk. If you bring illicit drugs into the UK you might get through the first time, but you will eventually be found, and you will most likely go to jail." So far this year, 173 people accused of smuggling cannabis – nearly all from Thailand – have gone through the court system in the UK and received sentences totalling 230 years. The NCA is working together with Thai authorities to try to deter young people from being tempted to smuggle cannabis to Britain. But this has proved difficult, because of the very few regulations that exist in Thailand to control the drug."This is a loophole," says Panthong Loykulnanta, spokesman for the Thai Customs Department. "The profit is very high, but the penalties here are not high. Most of the time when we catch people at the airport they abandon their luggage. But then there is no punishment. If they insist on checking in the luggage, we can arrest them, but they just pay the fine and try again."The legalisation of cannabis in 2022 was supposed to be followed by the passing of a new regulatory framework by the Thai parliament. But this never happened, partly, says one MP involved in the drafting process, because of obstruction by vested interests with links to the marijuana industry. A new cannabis law was drawn up last year, but it could be two years away from being result has been a weed wild west, where almost anything that can make money out of marijuana is tolerated. There has also been an influx of foreign drug syndicates hiding behind Thai nominees, growing huge quantities of potent marijuana strains in brightly-lit, air-conditioned containers. This has flooded the market and driven the price down, which is what has attracted the smugglers. Even if more than half the people carrying marijuana get stopped, they can still make money from what gets through to the UK because of much higher prices there. "You cannot have a free-for-all, right? This became a bar fight rather than a boxing match," says Tom Kruesopon, a businessman who was instrumental in legalising marijuana, but now thinks things have now gone too far."When there is a weed shop on every corner, when people are smoking as they're walking down the street, when tourists are getting high on our beaches, other countries being affected by our laws, with people shipping it illegally – these are negatives."He argues that the proposed new public health ministry regulations will restrict supply and demand, and restore the industry to what it was always intended to be, focused solely on the medical use of is plenty of opposition to this notion from cannabis enthusiasts who believe the new rules will do nothing to curb smuggling or unlicensed growers. They say the measures will wipe out small-scale businesses who are already struggling because of the glut caused by over-production. Earlier this month, many of these smaller growers descended on the prime minister's office in Bangkok to deliver a formal complaint to the government, calling for a more sensitively regulated industry, and not just what they believe is a knee-jerk reaction to foreign criticism."I totally understand that the government is probably getting yelled at during international meetings," says Kitty Chopaka, the most vocal advocate for smaller producers. "Countries saying 'All your weed is getting smuggled into our country,' that is quite embarrassing. But right now they are not even enforcing the rules that already exist. If they did, that would probably mitigate a lot of the issues like smuggling, or sale without a licence."The collapse in prices forced her earlier this year to close down her cannabis dispensary, one of the first to open three years ago. Parinya Sangprasert, one of the growers at the protest, argues that the illegal growers are already operating outside the law in Thailand - and will ignore the new regulations as is emphatic that people cannot come to his farm and just buy 46kg (101 lbs) of marijuana – the quantity typically carried in two suitcases by the "mules" trying to reach the UK. On his phone he brought up a copy of the official form he has to fill in every time he makes a sale."If you want to buy or sell a large amount of cannabis, you need a licence, issued by our government. Every weed shop must obtain this to buy marijuana, and there are records kept of which farm it's from and who it was sold to."In the meantime, Thai customs officers are continuing their efforts to stem the flood of cannabis though their airports. They are using intelligence gathered on travel patterns to target potential smugglers, and dissuade them from checking in their tainted luggage, and risking harsh jail sentences in their destination countries. They are increasingly using the requirement for a licence to buy, sell or export quantities of marijuana to prosecute those they intercept, but the punishment is rarely more than a the confiscated suitcases, filled with vacuum-sealed packages of dried marijuana heads, with names like "Runtz" and "Zkittlez", still pile up in backrooms at the airports. There were around 200 in one room the BBC was allowed into, containing between two to three tonnes, taken in just the past month.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Guardsmen sent to LA are 130 miles east of the city doing drug busts
California National Guard soldiers operating under federal orders helped the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal personnel carry out a raid on a large marijuana growth operation in the eastern Coachella Valley last week, 130 miles from downtown Los Angeles. It's unclear how many National Guard troops participated in the operation, but the force totalled roughly 500 people. According to the DEA, other agencies included Customs and Border Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Custom Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The search warrant targeted the area around Thermal, a small town in the eastern Coachella Valley. CBS first reported on the raid. In a statement, the DEA Los Angeles Field Division said that it was the lead agency looking into three large marijuana growth operations in the area. Executing a federal search warrant from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California, they searched 787 acres of land and arrested 70 to 75 people, the DEA said, most being described as undocumented immigrants and at least one being an American citizen. It also appears to be the farthest east that federalized National Guard troops have operated since being deployed. The National Guardsmen involved in the operation were soldiers with the 143rd Military Police Battalion and the 670th Military Police Company, part of the California National Guard's 49th Military Police Brigade. They're serving under Task Force 51, the organization created by U.S. Northern Command for troops operating under Title 10 status. Images posted by the military to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (or DVIDS), show the soldiers carrying riot shields creating security perimeters next to their Humvees in Thermal and the nearby unincorporated community of Mecca, close to the Salton Sea. Coachella city Mayor Steven Hernandez, who spoke with Task & Purpose on Monday, said that the troops and agents passed through or were active in several towns and unincorporated communities in the eastern Coachella Valley, including Coachella. He said that the city government started hearing from activists and immigrant rights groups that federal personnel were 'knocking on doors' in the area. 'It was obviously a really big mobilization and strategy in terms of how many sites that would physically have some kind of presence,' he said. The operation was one of the largest to involve troops in California since the Trump administration federalized National Guard soldiers and deployed them and Marines under Title 10 on June 7. It also shows the sheer geographical scope of that deployment. As U.S. Northern Command announced on June 8, the California National Guard soldiers were 'placed under federal command and control in a Title 10 status to support the protection of federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.' The unincorporated areas of Thermal and Mecca, near the Salton Sea, are approximately 100 miles east of the Los Angeles County line, and even farther from the City of Los Angeles and the downtown Los Angeles federal plaza where the National Guard has been most visible this month. Task & Purpose contacted Task Force 51 regarding the presence of National Guardsmen so far east of Los Angeles County. 'At the direction of the President of the United States and as ordered by the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense mobilized National Guard forces in a Title 10 status and active-duty Marines to protect the safety and security of federal functions, personnel, and property. The catalyst of this order was related to events occurring in Los Angeles; however, the president's order and NORTHCOM's mission is not constrained by the geography of Southern California. Recently, Title 10 forces supported a Drug Enforcement Agency operation a few hours outside of Los Angeles. Title 10 forces protect federal personnel who are performing federal law enforcement functions,' a NORTHCOM Spokesperson said in a statement to Task & Purpose on Tuesday. President Donald Trump's June 7 order federalizing National Guard troops did not specify a specific geographic location or boundary. In a statement sent to Task & Purpose, the DEA said that '[d]ue to the magnitude and topography of this operation, DEA has requested support from multiple federal partners.' A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Field Division said that the soldiers on the scene created a perimeter around the area. The area raided by federal agents and National Guard soldiers is part of California's Inland Empire. The region, comprising Riverside and San Bernardino counties, is generally considered to make up the greater Los Angeles area, along with the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area. That total land area stretches from the coast all the way to the California-Nevada border, even with the significant distance from the City of Los Angeles proper. The U.S. Census Bureau's combied statistical area matches that, showing a nearly 34,000 square miles area. Since arriving in the Los Angeles area more than two weeks ago, California National Guard troops have primarily focused on guarding federal buildings in Los Angeles County, including in downtown Los Angeles and the Wilshire area. They have, for the most part, stayed entirely on the federal grounds themselves. During large protests in downtown Los Angeles over ongoing ICE and Department of Homeland Security raids in the area they have not engaged, often staying back while local law enforcement blocked or clashed with demonstrators. Images shared by federal officials have shown some National Guard troops accompanying ICE agents on immigration raids to protect the often heavily armored and armed federal personnel, but the federal government has stressed that they are not performing law enforcement duties. Roughly 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment that were deployed from Twentynine Palms, California, have been tasked with protecting federal buildings. So far, the Marines have spent most of their time standing in front of protesters that gathered at the Wilshire federal building near Westwood, 13 miles west of the Downtown federal plaza. They did briefly detain an Army veteran on June 13 after he crossed onto federal grounds on his way to the nearby West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus. The Inland Empire operations involved the soldiers operating in the field and receiving briefings at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, per information published to DVIDS. Hernandez, the mayor of Coachella, said that the area had experienced DEA raids before. 'We're not anti-DEA operations, we're about community here,' he said. 'But there's a lot of fear here, I saw that over the weekend.' He added that the amount of personnel brought in the raid was shocking. 'To me, if their motive is to put fear and shock everybody, then mission accomplished. This isn't supposed to be the new normal,' he said. This article was updated with a new statement from U.S. Northern Command regarding Task Force 51. Correction: 6/24/2025; This article initially referred National Guard soldiers as belonging to the 143rd Military Police Company. They are with the 143rd Military Police Battalion. The latest on Task & Purpose
