Latest news with #decriminalization
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Wall Street Journal
This Is the Pacific Northwest on Drugs
A new study finds that Oregon's and Washington state's experiments with decriminalizing drug possession caused a surge in serious violent and property crime, especially in Portland and Seattle. The paper, a collaboration among five criminologists, is the first to demonstrate that the states' reforms—since undone by their legislatures amid massive public backlash—increased crime relative to the rest of the country. Prior research played down the phenomenon, allowing defenders of decriminalization to pretend the issue wasn't real.
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Adams' veto of unlicensed vending bill blasted as aiding Trump immigration crackdown
Mayor Adams vetoed a City Council bill late Wednesday that would decriminalize unlicensed street vending in the five boroughs, teeing up a likely override battle with the chamber's Democratic members, who accused the mayor of playing into President Trump's immigration agenda, The bill, which passed the Council in a veto-proof 40-8 vote in June, would scrap the criminal penalties vendors currently face if they sell food or merchandise on the streets without a city government-issued license. Many street vendors in the city are immigrants. Continuing to face penalties for unlicensed vending could make them easier targets for Trump's administration, which has pursued an aggressive crackdown in New York featuring masked ICE agents detaining non-citizens for potential deportation. Under the Council bill, unlicensed vending would instead be subject to civil penalties — a modification Council Democrats argue wouldn't put immigrant vendors at risk of deportation or other consequences, like difficulty obtaining legal status, housing or employment. But in announcing his veto of the bill, the mayor countered in a statement Thursday that the measure posed a public safety risk. 'We cannot be so idealistic that we're not realistic — preventing the brave men and women of the NYPD from intervening, even in the most egregious cases, is unfair to law-abiding business owners and poses real public health and safety risks,' Adams' statement said, adding he used his veto pen to stand up 'for the New Yorkers who follow the rules and the dedicated officers who continue to keep us safe.' Julia Agos, a rep for City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, said the chamber's Democrats were caught off guard by the veto, as the bill came out of discussions between members of the city's Street Vendor Advisory Board, which includes NYPD officials and other Adams administration reps. 'The Council negotiated this bill in good faith with the administration, only to have the mayor disregard the work of the advisory board and his own staff with this veto,' Agos said. Adams spokesman Zachary Nosanchuk disputed Agos' recollection, saying the mayor's team throughout negotiations maintained that criminal penalties need to stay in place. Against the backdrop of ICE enforcement efforts in the city, Agos said the mayor — who has faced accusations of being beholden to Trump since the Justice Department dismissed his corruption indictment — is doing the president a favor by vetoing the legislation. 'As the Trump administration continues to attack working families and immigrant communities, Mayor Adams' veto is yet another example of him supporting Trump's agenda over New Yorkers,' she said. Two Council sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing talks, told the Daily News the chamber is all but certain to override the mayor's veto, given it already had a veto-proof majority of support when it passed the bill. The Council needs support from at least 34 of its members in order to override a mayoral veto. According to the most recent city data, the NYPD issued more than 1,200 criminal vending tickets in 2023, an almost three-fold increase compared to 2022. Vendors who are Black or Latino are disproportionately impacted, receiving nearly 80% of all the criminal tickets issued in 2023, while making up just 50% of the city's overall population, the data shows. 'By vetoing … the mayor is actively putting more New Yorkers at greater risk — harming their ability to potentially access educational and housing opportunities and subjecting them to more potential avenues of attack from Donald Trump and ICE,' said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition. The mayor's bid to block the street vending bill comes after he also on Wednesday vetoed the Council's decision to block Bally's from building a casino in the Bronx. During his first term, the mayor has vetoed several other Council bills, including a measure enacting more reporting requirements on NYPD officers. In each case, the Council has overridden his vetoes. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reading City Council calls on PA for marijuana reform
Reading City Council is calling on the state Legislature for marijuana reform and taking steps toward decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis within the city limits. In a 6-1 vote last week, council adopted a resolution calling on the Legislature for the immediate decriminalization of adult-use marijuana and voicing support for Gov. Josh Shapiro's initiative on statewide cannabis reform. Councilman O. Christopher Miller cast the lone no vote, saying he wanted to hear from additional stakeholders, including organizations such as the Council on Chemical Abuse of Berks County. 'This is great advocacy,' Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. said of the resolution, 'but I am looking forward to two weeks from now being able to pass an ordinance to decriminalize marijuana and make sure we are not affecting our residents, our minorities, supporting our governor, and making sure that we're not behind (other states).' Introduced by Baez, the proposed ordinance would amend the city code to make possession of under 30 grams of marijuana a civil offense rather than a criminal one. Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. (Courtesy of Jaime Baez Jr.) Supporters say the change is long overdue and would help reduce unnecessary incarceration and its cascading effects. But the measure is not without opposition. 'Reform is necessary to create a more fair and just criminal justice system, especially when it's affecting the majority of Reading residents, who are people of color,' Councilwoman Melissa Ventura said. 'We shouldn't have to make people jump through hoops to clear their records for small amounts.' Baez and Ventura said cannabis enforcement disproportionately impacts communities of color and young people. The resolution received praise from several residents and advocates. Jane Palmer and Crystal Kowalski, both of Wyomissing and members of Building Justice in Berks, submitted letters urging council to act. Citing findings from the organization's recent study of the Berks County jail system, they argued that cannabis possession arrests waste public resources and needlessly harm individuals' lives. 'The true cost of jail detention in Berks County is roughly $150 per day, or $54,000 a year,' Palmer wrote. 'Treatment is much more effective and less costly. Jail detention is ruinous, especially for our youth.' DA opposes measure But in an interview, District Attorney John Adams said, 'We do not and will not put people in jail for small amounts of marijuana.' Adams said his office strongly opposes the proposed ordinance, citing legal, operational and policy concerns. 'We don't need separate laws for separate jurisdictions,' he said. 'The city cannot pass a law that supersedes state law. It's questionable whether it could pass without constitutional challenge.' Adams also said the ordinance would undercut a marijuana diversion program already in place countywide that provides education through the Council on Chemical Abuse. Upon successful completion of the program, he said, the individual's charges are dismissed and their record is expunged. 'To have a different standard in the city of Reading would just bring confusion to the process,' he said. Adams also raised technical concerns about testing substances to confirm they are illegal marijuana and not another substance, such as hemp, a variety of cannabis sativa that has lower levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. Hemp is cultivated for fiber, seed and floral extracts, and federal and state law requires its concentration of THC be not more than 0.3%, according to Testing of confiscated substances is handled by the state police, but that would not be the case if the citations were civil rather than criminal, Adams said. He said the ordinance, if passed, would accomplish nothing, while creating legal confusion and potentially jeopardizing funding his office provides to the Reading Police Department. 'If the state decriminalizes marijuana, we will abide by that,' he said. 'But all this ordinance does is cause chaos.' 'Thoughtful conversation' City Managing Director Jack Gombach acknowledged those concerns but stressed the city's administration and Mayor Eddie Moran are committed to addressing them collaboratively. City Managing Director Jack Gombach 'Philosophically, we agree with decriminalization,' Gombach said in an interview. 'The mayor supports this, and the police department supports this. We should not be jamming up people's lives for small amounts of marijuana.' Gombach praised the DA's office as a valuable partner and credited its collaboration for the city's recent reduction in crime. Still, he said, a thoughtful conversation about how to implement local reform in compliance with state and federal law is necessary. 'This is not something that is going to happen overnight,' Gombach said. 'Responsible government means getting it right.' Council President Donna Reed said she co-sponsored the resolution and supports the governor's push for reform. Donna Reed Reed said she would like to see a state system for sales of recreational marijuana, similar to the state store system used for alcohol. 'I'd like to see the state get the kind of revenue our surrounding states already do,' she said. Taxes on sales of recreational marijuana serve as a significant source of revenue for some states that have legalized cannabis sales, according to the Marijuana Policy Project website. However, Reed said, she is more cautious about the proposed ordinance. 'I'm comfortable with this as an advocacy resolution,' she said. 'I supported it, and I co-sponsored it. I feel differently about the ordinance, and I'll speak to that in the future.' Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Czech President Signs Bill To Decriminalize Recreational Cannabis For Personal Use
Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech youths holding banners protest during during a march calling for the ... More legalization of marijuana in central Prague, Czech Republic, 05 May 2007. Banner at left reads 'Even if you wanted to, you couldn't do anything about it.' PHOTO AFP/ MICHAL CIZEK (Photo credit should read MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images) The President of the Czech Republic has signed a bill that decriminalizes recreational cannabis for personal use and home cultivation, but not its sale. President Petr Pavel signed several laws on July 17, including one that amends the Criminal Code to ease restrictions on recreational cannabis, allowing possession and home cultivation. Under the new regulations, adults over the age of 21 can legally grow up to three cannabis plants per person and possess up to 100 grams of cannabis flower, with a public possession limit of 25 grams. Cannabis-related offenses involving amounts exceeding the legal limits will be addressed in a separate section of the Criminal Code. Possession of cannabis on behalf of another person will also no longer be considered a criminal offense. The lower house approved the amendment in June, followed by Senate approval earlier this month. The legislation will take effect next year. However, the sale of cannabis products will remain prohibited. The Czech Republic has also legalized the medical use of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms, for the treatment of conditions such as depression. It is among the first European countries to do so. The decriminalization of cannabis for personal use and home cultivation marks a step forward in the legal status of cannabis, although initial plans involved full legalization, including sales. The decriminalization of use and home cultivation of recreational cannabis is part of a wider criminal code reform aimed at modernizing the justice system, easing prison overcrowding, and cutting public spending on minor offenses. This reform would help the legal system better focus on serious crimes while reducing unnecessary prosecutions, which should lead to lower prison numbers and a decrease in repeat offenses. Allowing adults to grow and possess cannabis for recreational use also aims to fight the black market, improve consumer safety, and promote harm reduction. The European Quasi-Legalization Approach The Czech Republic has had a tolerant approach to recreational cannabis, decriminalizing small amounts since 2010. The new reform, however, goes further, allowing adults to legally possess a larger amount of cannabis, providing a straightforward legal framework. Jindřich Vobořil, former national anti-drug coordinator and current chairman of the Rational Addiction Policy think tank, told Radio Prague International that the move brings the Czech Republic closer to full legalization. However, he supports a regulated market rather than full legalization, similar to alcohol. 'I've been proposing for years that we should have specialized shops and licensed options for growing,' he said. 'I think we're on that path. It's just going to take a few more years of discussion.' With decriminalization for personal use, the Czech Republic becomes the fourth European Union member state to allow possession, use, and cultivation of cannabis, but not its sale. Previously, Malta, Luxembourg, and Germany implemented similar reforms. Malta legalized recreational cannabis for personal use in 2021 and introduced cannabis social clubs where members can cultivate cannabis. Luxembourg followed in 2023, and Germany in 2024. The latter also allowed the establishment of cannabis social clubs. The main reason why some EU member states have legalized recreational cannabis for personal use and cultivation, but not for sale, and instead adopted a quasi-legal approach allowing possession, cultivation, and sometimes no-profit cannabis social clubs, is that current EU drug regulations and international treaties classify cannabis as a narcotic, creating potential legal barriers.
Bloomberg
14-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot
Businessweek Economics With the Southeast Asian nation moving to recriminalize the drug after just three years, the mountainous communities that grow it are bracing for real pain. When Thailand became the first Southeast Asian nation to decriminalize cannabis, in 2022, it ignited a 'green rush,' swiftly reshaping the economic landscape and challenging long-held cultural norms. Dispensaries proliferated in urban centers such as Bangkok, ballooning to more than 10,000 across the country. But the agricultural communities in the lush northern countryside are perhaps benefiting the most from the burgeoning industry—assuming the government doesn't shut the whole thing down. In the mountains of northern Thailand, which are blessed with an ideal climate and fertile soil, generations of Hmong and other ethnic minorities have long tended the land, preserving an intimate knowledge of indigenous plants and sustainable cultivation practices. Historically these communities were linked to illicit opium cultivation, before they shifted to more wholesome crops including corn, tea and vegetables starting in the late 1960s.
