The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/drugs/)
Supporters of ballot measures that would legalize marijuana are pitching cannabis as a new revenue source. It is a new appeal aimed at winning over suburban voters who might be hesitant about the accessibility of legal pot.
The retail giant said in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the Drug Enforcement Administration is seeking to scapegoat the company for the federal government’s own regulatory and enforcement shortcomings in combating the opioid crisis.
The company is in bankruptcy, making it unlikely to pay anything close to the $8.3 billion negotiated settlement, and the Sackler family that owns the company remains free.
The company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion.
The initiative, nicknamed Project Safeguard, comes as President Donald Trump is touting the federal government’s involvement in other operations as an answer to a spike in crime in cities nationwide.
A new legislative audit of a 2015 Utah reform initiative cites inadequate treatment options for sufferers of addiction and hefty workloads for probation officers as primary reasons why Utahns with nonviolent low-level drug convictions are back in court answering new charges more often. Advocates say other states can learn from Utah’s mistakes.
Former Mexican defense secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, who led the army for six years under ex-President Enrique Peña Nieto, was charged with drug trafficking and money laundering as he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport.
The OxyContin prescription opioid painkiller maker controlled by members of the wealthy Sackler family, is nearing an agreement to plead guilty to criminal charges as part of a broader deal to resolve Justice Department investigations into its alleged role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis,
The public discussion of race and policing is playing a part in the debate in New Jersey, where a survey found 64 percent of voters supporting legalizing marijuana for personal use.
President Donald Trump has run the Office of National Drug Control Policy showing skepticism, ambivalence and a lack of focus, say government audits, documents and drug policy specialists.