A bill prohibiting most employers in New York City from requiring drug tests for marijuana as a condition of employment was enacted last week—and it became law without the signature of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), despite the fact that he previously pledged to put his name on the legislation.

The new law, sponsored by the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams (D), was approved by the City Council in a 40 to 4 vote last month. It was one of several cannabis-related reform bills on the table before the body.

De Blasio came out in support of marijuana legalization in December, just two days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that his position on the issue had also shifted to endorsing an end to cannabis prohibition. In a letter outlining his new stance, the mayor emphasized that equity in the marijuana industry should be an essential component of a legal market.

But while Williams’s bill is expected to contribute to that equity by ensuring that cannabis consumers face less discrimination in the workplace, de Blasio allowed the legislation to be enacted without signing it himself. His decision not to sign doesn’t necessarily mean he opposes the bill—indeed, he didn’t veto it—but it at least raises questions about how closely he’s following the reform movement happening in his own city at a time when he is reportedly seriously considering running for president.

When asked about the legislation in a radio interview last month, de Blasio said, “I will sign that bill.”

“I think that bill was absolutely right, because they made the right exceptions too,” he said. “And I think it’s part of how we change our culture to be less punitive and exclusionary. I think it’s a healthy step.”

His office also issued a supportive tweet at the time.

Marijuana laws have been used to keep people of color in prisons and out of the job market. New York City can become the Fairest Big City in America, but first we need to right the wrongs of the past War on Drugs.https://t.co/ADKzzr7LTH

— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) April 13, 2019

It is unclear what changed in the intervening weeks.

Marijuana Moment reached out to de Blasio’s office for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.

Text of the legislation states that “[e]xcept as otherwise provided by law, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or agent thereof to require a prospective employee to submit to testing for the presence of any tetrahydrocannabinols or marijuana in such prospective employee’s system as a condition of employment.”

There are exceptions to the rule for “safety and security sensitive jobs” such as police officers, as well as “those tied to a federal or state contract or grant.” The new law will take effect in May 2020.

“It’s clear that we cannot wait until legalization on the state level before moving to reduce the impact that marijuana prohibition has had on individuals and communities,” Williams said in a press release. “Testing isn’t a deterrent to using marijuana, it’s an impediment to opportunity that dates back to the Reagan era—a war on drugs measure that’s now a war on workers. We need to be creating more access points for employment, not less—and if prospective employers aren’t testing for past alcohol usage, marijuana should be no different.”

We can’t wait until legalization in Albany before moving to reduce the impact marijuana prohibition has on individuals & communities.

NYC’s ban on pre-employment THC testing is now enacted. I’m proud to be taking down this barrier to employment:

More: https://t.co/qSUTlZSBbC pic.twitter.com/8RdsPLOnbU

— Jumaane Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) May 13, 2019

“While New York State deliberates and the federal government continues to prop up stigma and harmful policies, New York City must lead the way on this issue,” he said.

As de Blasio considers a run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, which he said he’ll make a decision on this week, his record on cannabis policy will be scrutinized by drug reform advocates, some of whom suspect that his evolution on legalization was politically motivated after years of opposition. Inaction on certain reform legislation such as Williams’s bill will likely raise eyebrows.

Virtually every Democrat now in the race—with a major exception in former Vice President Joe Biden—now supports legalizing cannabis.

Meanwhile, statewide marijuana legalization legislation remains in flux in New York, with Cuomo expressing doubts that a bill will be passed this year following an unsuccessful attempt to include it in the budget. That said, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) told the New York Post this week that the chamber is still “having thorough discussions of the proposal and are not aware of what the governor is talking about.”

Legalization Advocates Create Hoax ‘Elite’ New York Marijuana Club In Push For Social Equity

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

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Adults in the dual-island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis will be able to legally use marijuana in the privacy of their homes within the next three months under a recent court decision overturning some of the country’s anti-drug laws.

The ruling, which also makes it legal for adults in the Rastafari religion to use marijuana for religious purposes, gives government officials 90 days to “remedy [these] constitutional defects.”

Eddy Ventose, a High Court judge on the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, ruled that parts of the Drugs Act of 1986 regarding marijuana possession and cultivation infringed on citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of religion and privacy. Under the nation’s laws, cannabis is an illegal Schedule II substance.

“The decision that the court makes today is not to be taken as undermining the State’s legitimate interest in the war on illegal and dangerous drugs,” Justice Ventose wrote in his May 3 judgment. “The constitutional issues in this case are narrow ones, and focus only on the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults for use in the Rastafari religion and also the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults in private for personal consumption. They do not touch or concern the issue of trafficking in cannabis, illegal drugs or other illegal activities.”

The change was spurred by a case involving Ras Sankofa Maccabbee, a Rastafarian who’d been practicing his religion for more than 23 years when he was arrested in 2012 on charges of possession of cannabis with intent to sell, as well as cultivation. He was sentenced to one month in prison and fined $5,000; however, he appealed his conviction and questioned the constitutionality of sections of the Drugs Act. Specifically, he argued that his right to “freedom of conscience, including freedom of thought and of religion” had been obstructed by the country’s anti-marijuana laws.

According to the court’s decision, “The Claimant states that he uses cannabis each day when he gives ‘praises’ to the ‘creator’ and that cannabis is a natural God given plant and is used to nourish the spiritual values of Rastafarians.” He also argued that “the use of cannabis is integral to his religious experience.”

In response, the defendants in the suit—the commissioner of police and the attorney general of St. Kitts and Nevis—asserted that marijuana use and cultivation should remain illegal in order to “safeguard the health and well-being of all citizens of Saint Christopher and Nevis, including Rastafarians.” In addition to citing a handful of studies to show how marijuana could potentially hurt certain groups of people, including adolescents and adults with pre-existing medical conditions, the defendants also contended that whatever medicinal benefits cannabis offers “do not remove the health hazards” associated with it.

Furthermore, they insisted the possession and cultivation portions of the Drugs Act did not target members of the Rastafarian community but were “designed to have general application in the pursuit of public health, public order and public safety, the objectives of which can best be achieved by the blanket prohibition on possession, cultivation and dealing in marijuana.”

Justice Ventose, however, disagreed on the grounds that the defense did not sufficiently argue their case. “Rather than find ways in which the religious may be accommodated, the Defendants maintained throughout their affidavit evidence, submissions and during oral arguments that a total prohibition is necessary in the interests of public health and public safety,” the court decision states. “That approach without adequate supporting evidence is impermissible and is constitutionally suspect.”

While the High Court agreed that the responsibility of implementing legislation regarding marijuana falls to the Parliament (also known as the National Assembly), the ruling also pointed out: “The fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens of Saint Christopher [a formal name for St. Kitts] and Nevis are not and can never be subject to Parliamentary approval.”

As a result, the decision allows for Rastafarians and other adults to use, possess and cultivate cannabis in a private place. But, aware of new marijuana reform legislation moving though the National Assembly, Justice Ventose also suspended those declarations in order to give the Attorney General time “to cure the defects in the Drugs Act.”

Legislation known as the Cannabis Bill 2019 had its first reading last week. In addition to creating a framework to legalize marijuana use for medicinal purposes, the proposal would decriminalize possession up to 15 grams and the cultivation of less than five plants. It would also overturn convictions for those who have previously been punished for similar amounts.

Caribbean Nations Agree To Consider Marijuana Legalization

Photo courtesy of Max Pixel.

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Top civil rights, civil liberties and criminal justice groups are calling for the suspension of enforcement activities by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) until congressional leaders conduct a review of their efficacy.

In a letter signed the ACLU and NAACP, along with the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and the Sentencing Project, the groups argued that DEA is “emblematic of how the drug war has been a devastating failure,” sending people to prison for non-violent drug offenses when substance use should be treated as a public health issue.

“In short, the DEA is the lead entity executing the war on drugs,” the coalition wrote. “If we are ever to treat drugs as a health issue, not a criminal issue, then the DEA’s enforcement activities must be suspended until an oversight hearing is done on this program by the House Judiciary Committee.”

The letter, which includes recommendations about investing in drug treatment programs in prisons, reducing recidivism rates and humanely addressing opioid issues, was sent to leaders of the influential House Appropriations Committee last month.

“The agency approaches drugs from a purely criminalization standpoint, under the misguided belief that the U.S. can reduce drug use through arrest and incarceration,” the letter says, of DEA. “Its approach is heavy-handed, ineffective, unscientific, and deeply damaging to communities in this country, particular communities of color who bear the negative impact of the drug war more than others do.”

DEA has “used its power to oppose all drug policy changes that represent a shift from the drug war model in any way, such as rescheduling drugs, and legalizing marijuana, and reducing harsh drug sentences,” they wrote.

“If we are serious about treating drugs as a public health issue, we need to move away from the enforcement only approach, as embodied by the DEA, and invest resources in evidence-based policies,” Michael Collins, director of national affairs at DPA, told Marijuana Moment.

There has been growing criticism of DEA’s singular focus on enforcement and refusal to embrace certain reform proposals such as rescheduling, including from Republican lawmakers who oppose cannabis legalization.

Additionally, lawmakers and researchers have implored DEA to expand the number of federally authorized, research-grade marijuana manufacturers—something that Attorney General William Barr said he supports.

You can read the full letter below:

Policing Approps Letter Final by on Scribd

Senators Push Attorney General To Let More People Grow Marijuana For Research

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