Forty-three-year-old Jessica Beske from Fargo, North Dakota was pulled over by local police while traveling through Minnesota. Now she faces prison time for possessing bong water and other cannabis paraphernalia.

According to a report from the Minnesota Informer, Beske was pulled over for speeding on May 8. When officers approached her vehicle, they smelled cannabis and searched her car. While they didn’t find any cannabis products, they did find a bong (with bong water), as well as a glass jar with a “crystal substance” inside, and an undefined number of pipes.

A residue test revealed that the bong water, the paraphernalia, and the glass jar all contained traces of methamphetamine. Additionally, the bong weighted eight ounces, but the jar allegedly weighed 13.2 ounces “in total with the packaging.” According to Beske, the jar was the “packaging” and there wasn’t enough of what was inside for law enforcement to weigh on its own, so it had to be weighed along with the jar. She also claims that she had no drugs on her at the time of the incident.

However, Beske has now been charged with first-degree felony possession specifically because of the bong water. State law equates eight ounces of bong water with eight ounces of methamphetamine. 

Minnesota-based drug reform activist, Kurtis Hanna, told the Minnesota Informer that prosecuting Beske is an abuse of the law’s intent. “The legislative intent behind the weight-based thresholds is to approximate whether a person is an end user or a dealer,” Hanna said. “The fact that some county prosecutors are subverting that clear intent and are charging end users as though they are wholesalers, ruining their lives in the process, is shameful.”

Law enforcement also proceeded to seize her car, and $2,400 in cash (which was verified as casino winnings from the night before the incident). State law allows police to permanently forfeit any vehicles used to transport drugs that are “intended for distribution or sale,” as well as the cash which police claim are “the proceeds of a controlled substance offense.”

In an interview, Beske explained her frustration at the situation. “It’s against common sense. It’s against everybody’s common sense,” she said.

In May 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law that decriminalized drug paraphernalia, which specifically states that the law applies even if there is leftover drug residue present.

The outcome of a 2009 Supreme Court case, State vs. Peck, ruled that water in a pipe could be considered a “drug mixture.” A testimony from a Minnesota State Patrol officer stated that bong water can be saved “for future use…either drinking it or shooting it in the veins.” Out of a total of seven court justices, only three argued against the misinformation regarding bong water. “Treating bong water as a mixture capable of sustaining a first-degree felony controlled-substance charge does not meet the purposes, aims, or objectives of the legislature when it established the weight-based system. Bong water is not marketed or sold by dealers, large or small, nor is it purchased by consumers. It is not even ordinarily consumed,” the justices wrote. “Bong water is usually discarded when the smoker is finished with consumption of the smoke filtered through the bong water. A person is not more dangerous, or likely to wreak more havoc, based on the amount of bong water that person possesses.”

In 2010, legislators in the Senate and House passed a bill to make bong water from the definition of a “mixture” if it contained less than four ounces. However, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill, claiming that he did so on behalf of law enforcement. Another bill was introduced in 2011, which eventually led to the final four-ounce rule when it was signed by former Gov. Mark Dayton. Hanna commented on the passage of that law, which remains current today. “There doesn’t seem to be any good reason why 4 ounces is ok, but 5 is not,” Hanna said.

Minnesota Informer obtained a statement from assistant county attorney Scott Buhler about the most recent charges against Beske. “I will not comment on any pending cases. The criminal complaint filed in Ms. Beske’s case speaks for itself,” he said, and concluded that the team “simply enforces the laws of this state as written.”

Buhler was also responsible for forcing people to pay taxes on illegal drugs in 2014. “I simply charge it a lot because it leaves all options available regarding plea bargaining and sentencing,” Buhler said 10 years ago. Beske’s charges include a first-degree felony possession, which can lead to a $1 million fine and up to 30 years in prison. Additionally, she is also being charged with violating that very same illegal drug tax law, which can lead to a $14,000 fine and up to seven years in prison, and a charge for refusing a drug test when she was arrested.

These charges are unnecessary when considering that legislators agree that over criminalizing drugs has never been beneficial. A report called the “Drug Policy State of the Evidence,” which was published in February 2024, which explored scientific evidence on current drug policy in Minnesota. “Arresting people for drug use does not deter future use, crime recidivism, arrest, or incarceration,” the report authors stated. “While the primary intent of imprisoning people is deterrence, there is no evidence that it is effective. Studies show that imprisonment does not impact rates of drug use or arrest. Critically, however, release from prison is positively associated with heightened overdose risk.”

Beske said in a statement that she suffers from substance abuse problems that stemmed from an abusive ex. “The only thing I’m guilty of is using substances to lessen my mental suffering caused by a sick and abusive predator,” said Beske. “Addicts—women especially—are made to feel like public enemy number one, when in fact most of us have been victims of serious crime that will never be prosecuted.”

She added that he she were to be sentenced to 30 years in prison, it would make her life worse and force her back into drug abuse. “That’s why people use drugs mostly, is to cope,” Beske said.

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Marc Fogel received a 14-year sentence for “large-scale drugs smuggling” after he was found in possession of just half an ounce of cannabis in Russia in August 2021. While legislators have made many attempts to assist Fogel in returning to the U.S., there has been little traction in the effort.

Most recently, the U.S. Senate approved S.Con.Res.18 on June 4, which argues that Fogel was using medical cannabis legally in Pennsylvania for a variety of pain he suffers from. “Marc Fogel has undergone three back surgeries, a spinal fusion, a hip replacement, and two knee surgeries to correct various injuries and health issues, which have left him with chronic back pain and a permanent limp,” the resolution stated. It continued to explain that Fogel chose not to rely on opioids to treat his pain, and instead was prescribed medical cannabis.

Unfortunately, the “Government of the Russian Federation has presented no evidence to the contrary,” but still sentenced Fogel to serve a sentence of 14-years in a Russian penal colony. 

Sponsor Sen. Bob Casey, spoke on the Senate floor on June 5 after the resolution had already passed. That pain came from a hip replacement. It came from multiple back surgeries, multiple knee surgeries, and a spinal fusion, which has left Marc with a permanent limp,” said Casey. “Marc’s worsening medical conditions and actions to bring in less than an ounce of marijuana into Russia should not require him to serve the full 14-year sentence and a Russian penal colony—14 years imprisonment for less than an ounce of marijuana.”

Casey also addressed that a Russian lawyer told Fogel’s family that low-level cannabis possession usually led to five years probation, and previous offenders have received a lesser sentence when more cannabis was involved. “Marc Fogel’s sentence is vastly disproportionate to the severity of his nonviolent crime, wildly dissimilar to the typical punishments for comparable offenses in Russia, and clearly motivated by ongoing political tensions between Russia and the United States,” the resolution explained.

It concludes by calling on Russia to release Fogel, for the U.S. to “press for his immediate release,” condemns Russia for detaining a U.S. citizen, calls for the release of other prisoners also serving “wrongful and unlawful” Russian prison sentences (citing Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Ksenia Khavana, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza), and finally expressed “sympathy for and solidarity with” the families of those who have been detained and sentenced for various crimes.

S.Con.Res.18 was first introduced in June 2021, but the House bill H.Con.Res.60 has not yet been reviewed. “Marc Fogel has devoted his life to educating students around the world, from Pittsburgh to Oman to Venezuela to Moscow,” Casey said in a press release. “After nearly three years of captivity, Marc’s health is rapidly declining and his life is in danger. I urge President Biden and his administration to do everything possible to bring Marc home.”

The Senate resolution’s cosponsors include Sen. Steve Daines, Sen. John Fetterman, Sen. Jon Tester, Sen. Thomas Tillis, and Sen. Christopher Coons, each of which also presented a press statement about Fogel’s situation. “Marc Fogel’s imprisonment is unjust and unacceptable, and it has continued for far too long,” Tester said. “I’m glad to see our bipartisan resolution demanding his release pass the Senate, and I will continue pushing the Administration and using every tool at my disposal to secure his return and ensure this innocent American is finally reunited with his loved ones.”

Fetterman also explained the necessity of focusing on bringing Fogel home. “The passage of this resolution sends a very clear message: it’s time to bring Marc Fogel home,” Fetterman said. “Anyone who knows Marc—his family, friends, and students—will tell you about his infectious positivity and the countless lives he has changed in his 35 years of teaching. Marc and his family deserve to see each other again. We’ve seen the incredible work of the Biden Administration in bringing Brittney Griner and Trevor Reed home. Now let’s bring Marc home.”

Olympic athlete and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for having cannabis oil in her luggage in February 2022. By August, a Russian court determined her guilty of violating the country’s law on cannabis and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony. Griner was eventually released in December 2022 in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Now Griner is working with ESPN and Disney to produce a documentary about her experience. 

Trevor Reed allegedly assaulted two Russian police officers in 2019, and was imprisoned in 2020 with a nine-year prison sentence. In April 2022, he was released in exchange for Russian pilot and drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko.

While Russia has sentenced many U.S. citizens to prison, the number of cannabis prisoners in the U.S. still remains a problem. Last October, the advocacy organization Last Prisoner Project highlighted the current status of cannabis prisoners in its “State of Cannabis Justice Report.” “As we mark the first anniversary of President Biden’s cannabis proclamation, Last Prisoner Project reaffirms its dedication to the pursuit of justice, equity, and compassion,” the announcement stated. “We remain committed to dismantling the harmful legacy of the War on Drugs and ensuring that those affected by cannabis prohibition are not forgotten.”

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When you’re a minority and you say you work in cannabis, or with cannabis, everyone automatically thinks you’re trapping.

Growing up I saw my dad go back and forth to prison for years. I never asked why or what he did; I just knew he went, and I was glad when he came home. 

In May of 2007, when I was in 5th grade, he got out. He came to pick me up in a red 2005 Chevy Cavalier that was filled with smoke. My 2 brothers were in the backseat. I would usually only see them during holidays, or visiting my grandma in prison. She was not there for weed. By then any stigma was gone, I was immune to it. I knew what it was forever because my mom and other family members frequently smoked it, but I had never seen an adult smoke like, right next to me, in plain sight—and while driving, at that. I remember asking him, “You can just smoke anywhere and everywhere?” He proceeded to pull out a laminated paper card and explain to my 11 year old self how he’s prescribed it, and that I needed to “stay in a fuckin’ kids place.” That was that.

Needless to say I proceeded to watch him roll countless swishers, all while driving with his kneecap, on our way up to Hanford, California. The whole time we’re listening to his old cellmate Messy Marv on repeat. I knew this drive like the back of my hand from all those prison trips for my grandma, so I sat back and turned on my PSP to watch Lords of Dogtown while loads of PomPom smoke was being blown from my dad’s mouth, through the steering wheel, bouncing off the blowing AC vent, right into my face. By this point I was already familiar with smoking. I had tried it a couple of times at the skatepark with some older friends, so it’s not like he was giving me my first contact high or anything, but it was just around like that.

Hours later, we finally pulled into the town home projects around 4 pm. My cousins and aunties immediately surrounded the four of us, greeting us all with hugs and handshakes. In the distance you could see my uncle Jamel run out of the house. Standing at about 6’3 and weighing probably 380 lbs, Jamel walks over to my dad, stinking of cheetos, ass, and stress weed. Completely out of breath he yells “PJ, I KNOW YOU BROUGHT THAT MEDICAL BOMB WITH YOU!” My dad quickly replied “Man this strawberry cough gon’ have you sleep in the toilet again, stop!” 

Quick side piece: Apparently on a prior visit to Hanford the cops raided my auntie’s apartment. In their search of the spot they found Jamel asleep upstairs on the toilet, while my dad was in the garage with a woman half dressed explaining his medical condition to the police on the scene. He even showed them his legal medicinal cannabis license. You see, in 2007 it wasn’t as common for people to have a medicinal recommendation for cannabis as it is today. My auntie Danetta yelled out in the background “PJ, I’M GOING TO JAIL FOR WEED!!!!!” as my dad explained why the house constantly smelled like it to the head lead. Shortly after that the whole house was let out of their zip ties and handcuffs. Well, beside Jamel, who had a minor warrant out for his arrest. 

Now back to my story. When we arrived this time I watched my dad pull out a duffle bag from the trunk of the car we drove up in and head into the garage, which was his normal post. Soon after, other cars filled up the alley, and I watched people leave happily after a brief meeting with my dad. Some had frowns on their faces, sometimes making different remarks about the price. But after seeing how stressed my dad was dealing with all this, I thought to myself: “I never wanna deal with this shit.” 

Fast forward 17 years later, and now I find myself in certain places, like weed events, genuinely there just to have fun, and I get random people asking for my number, or direct messages from kids on social media asking for my telegram. 

I do my best to laugh so they don’t see I’m either mad or confused. I tell them I just smoke it. Sometimes I do product development for my homies. I’m not in sales. On top of my short patience, I don’t really have customer service skills, and I already smoke a quarter pound myself in about 2-3 days, on average. I salute to all my pack shifters, ounce movers, and the craziest of the clientele server, the shake shaker. Honestly, if you have the patience (and time) to be a budtender, I salute you too, because that shit seems like it’s a hassle in itself! 

I just think it’s funny being young and black in the weed game, because people be so surprised that I don’t care about what the rappers or celebrities are smoking. I’m far more interested in what Sourwavez, TrulyRedPanda, or LA Fav are dropping—or what Jon C is talking about. 

I guess the point is, you look silly when I walk into a room and you think I want to “steal your custies.” In reality, I’m a “custie” myself. That worried look from dealers is always funny—or the snobby looks from growers who think I don’t know anything. That’s stereotypical shit, most of the time. But that look they get when my actual snobby weed friends come over and they see what time it is NEVER gets old.

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A man who used Snapchat to sell fake oxycodone pills that actually contained fentanyl—leading to the death of a teenage girl as well as several other overdoses—faces 20 years in prison.

Jeremial Lee Leach, 20, of Evansville, Indiana, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to one count of Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death, one count of distribution of fentanyl, and one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury.

Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana released an announcement on May 17 describing the ordeal and the consequences.

Leach sold fentanyl on Snapchat as “Mel,” resulting in at least three overdoses, one of which resulted in the death of a 19-year-old woman. “Mel” sold small blue pills marked with M 30 which is supposed to indicate they contain oxycodone hydrochloride—i.e. sold as Oxycontin, Reltebon, Zomestine, etc. Researchers call fake M 30 pills as “Dirty 30s,” and they’re highly dangerous—the slightest miscalculation of fentanyl can easily stop breathing.

“This young woman should be alive today. Mr. Leach pushed deadly poison over social media, ending a teenager’s life far too early, and risking many more,” said U.S. Attorney Myers. “Fentanyl traffickers commit their crimes with utter disregard for the lives of our friends and neighbors or the harm they cause to families in our community. I commend the outstanding work of the DEA, the Evansville Police Department, the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force, and our federal prosecutors to secure some measure of justice for the victims of this fentanyl dealer. The sentence imposed here should serve as a warning: these poisons kill—and selling them will earn you decades in federal prison.”

On June 25, 2022, in the late hours of the night, officers with the Evansville Police Department (EPD) responded to a call about an overdose from a residence on Wedeking Avenue. The first woman was lucky—and responders were able to revive her with naloxone. 

But within hours, at approximately 10:55 a.m. the next morning, EPD officers responded to the same residence for the overdose of another woman, who was only 19 years old, who subsequently died. The coroner found a fake oxycodone pill containing fentanyl when examining the body. The cause of both overdoses was determined to be fentanyl intoxication.

But “Mel” on Snapchat wasn’t done dealing his fake oxycodone pills.

On Aug. 20, 2022, EPD officers were dispatched to a restaurant located on Hirschland Road concerning an overdose. There, the officers found a woman hunched over, falling out of consciousness. But she was also lucky and was revived with naloxone and the woman regained consciousness. The woman told police that she thought she had simply taken a 30 mg tablet of oxycodone, which would not have caused an overdose. The woman’s companion, identified as “Leach,” supplied the pill at a residence on Shanklin Avenue. It was again traced to “Mel” after officers with the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force set up two more drug deals a few months later.

Police then executed a search warrant at Leach’s residence on Shanklin Avenue, where officers found 33 blue pills marked “30,” a digital scale, two 9mm pistols, and approximately $1,843 in cash.

“The sentence imposed on Mr. Leach is righteous and justified. Mr. Leach utilized social media platforms to advertise the sale of fentanyl and continued distributing the poisonous fentanyl even though it had already caused fatal and near fatal overdoses. The DEA would like to extend their deepest condolences to the Duncan family and all families who have lost a loved one to a fentanyl poising,” said DEA ASAC Gannon. “DEA remains committed to working hand in hand with our state, local and federal partners in order to keep our communities safe.  DEA commends the outstanding work by the Evansville Police Department, The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force and the United States Attorney’s Office.”

‘Hit Me Up’ for Weed on Snapchat

A much lesser “threat” on Snapchat is the sale of weed. A woman was busted in 2018 for setting up her weed business on Snapchat (which is admittedly much safer than selling fentanyl.)

The Beatrice Daily Sun reported in 2018 that Nebraska authorities were tipped off about a Snapchat video made by a woman named Madison D. Carlson. In the video, she held a large bag of cannabis, with a corresponding caption reading “Hit me up.”

Following the post, someone snitched, and authorities went to Carlson’s residence around 9:30 p.m. and immediately noticed two cars in a nearby alley with their lights on. In one vehicle, police found Carson with one female minor. According to police documents, the car reeked of weed. In the other, a male juvenile, who, upon further inspection, was carrying a concealed bag of marijuana in his waistband.

The two female accomplices told police they had just gotten rid of the pot until Carlson was removed from the vehicle, and eventually forked over an additional 32 grams and $80 in cash. Since minors were involved, Carlson also faced serious charges, even though cannabis is not capable of causing bodily injury in the same way that fentanyl is.

Plugs can be found on just about any social media platform, but especially when it comes to pills, buyer beware, as deadly counterfeit pills abound.

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A former disgraced pharmacist who was sentenced to prison over 20 years ago for diluting drugs for a cheap profit—impacting over 4,000 patients and likely leading to the deaths of AIDS and cancer patients—will soon walk free.

The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri native Robert Ray Courtney, 71, was convicted of diluting patients’ medications to treat serious conditions such as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and more over 20 years ago. While Courtney has not been charged with murder, a prosecuting attorney said the man is “one of the most prolific serial killers.”

He primarily mixed intravenous drugs regardless of how critical they were to patients living with serious conditions. All the while, Courtney was supposedly an upstanding member of a church community at Northland Cathedral, an Assemblies of God megachurch in Kansas City, Missouri. Courtney was also the main character in License To Kill: Deadly Pharmacist that streamed on Oxygen in 2020. He was also featured in a 2010 documentary series episode on American Greed that aired on CNBC.

Courtney began his crime spree in 1990, once he learned he could swap out expensive medications with generic drugs he could buy in the gray market, making a fortune. But that didn’t satisfy his greedy urges, so he started diluting chemotherapy drugs to multiply doses. By the late ‘90s, Courtney was diluting a swath of cancer and AIDS drugs that probably led to the deaths of patients who trusted him. (As if they didn’t already have enough to worry about.) Not only were his patients not improving, but chemo patients didn’t seem to exhibit the normal devastating side effects of the drug.

Keep in mind that throughout the investigation the FBI and FDA initially would not accept that a licensed pharmacist would do such a thing intentionally. But he did.

Courtney pleaded guilty on Feb. 27, 2002 to intentionally diluting over 98,000 prescriptions for multiple types of life-saving drugs. He was officially charged with tampering with drugs, adulteration or mislabeling of drugs, but given a hefty sentence due to the seriousness of his actions.

Police estimated that his pharmacy scheme could have impacted some 4,200 patients. Courtney was sentenced in federal court in December 2002 to a maximum of 30 years, plus a $25,000 fine and $10.4 million in restitution according to court records. And according to Bureau of Prisons records, Courtney is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Littleton, Colorado.

Victims and their families said they received a letter indicating that Courtney will be released June 20 to a halfway house in Springfield, Missouri. He is expected to remain there until his release on May 2, 2026. 

Attorney Michael Ketchmark, who represented 275 families in wrongful death lawsuits against Courtney, said in a phone interview Monday that his phone “has been lit up all day with Robert Courtney’s victims.”

“The raw pain and emotion is overwhelming,” he said. “In my opinion, he is one of the most prolific serial killers,” Ketchmark said. “He diluted chemotherapy drugs that people need when they’re fighting for their life and he took away their hope and he took away the life of his victims.” 

Ketchmark called on the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office to bring charges. “It’s our hope that that will happen. There’s plenty of justice still to be delivered to this man. He should never walk free again.”

Courtney’s insurance company agreed to pay $35 million to victims, and two pharmaceutical makers paid $71 million in settlements.

Pharmacists Behaving Badly

High Times has reported on the pressure to prescribe painkillers in the pharmaceutical industry that has wreaked havoc on American society. Pain Hustlers, a recent film directed by BAFTA award winner David Yates, follows a mother who gets entangled with a failing pharmaceutical startup and the addiction it leads to. 

The CDC says there were 80,411 overdose deaths in 2021—75.4% of all drug overdose deaths involved opioids, with 88% of opioid overdoses being synthetic. So given these numbers, you should be more worried about pharmaceutical abuse than street heroin. That means opioids killed more Americans—during 2021 alone—than the Vietnam War.

The Pharmacist debuted in 2020 on Netflix, a docuseries that follows a Louisiana pharmacist who takes extreme measures to expose the “rampant corruption behind the opioid addiction crisis.”

There is a flood of other popular opioid-themed shows: Netflix’s 2023 drama series Painkiller starring Matthew Broderick, Uzo Aduba, Taylor Kitsch and West Duchovny briefly took the top spot on the platform. 

Netflix reported that Painkiller has two sources, the 2003 book Pain Killer by Barry Meier and the 2017 New Yorker article, “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” by Patrick Radden Keefe, which was later expanded into Keefe’s 2021 book Empire of Pain.

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A 73-year-old American man was arrested in Colombia this week for leading “cannabis tours” in his home.

Per CBS News, citing Colombian law enforcement, the unidentified man “advertised on social media and a website for foreigners to visit his house in Sabaneta, a town south of the city of Medellín in the northwestern part of the country.”

CBS said that the man “distributed flyers advertising ‘Cannabis Farm Tours’ given by ‘Cannabis Jimmy.’” 

“The materials said ‘free samples’ would be distributed during the tours. Approximately 2-8 people were on each tour, and reservations were required. The tours lasted 2-3 hours during which the man taught visitors ‘the process of planting, caring for, harvesting, and maintaining this plant,’ police said. He also sold tour-takers marijuana for $20 a gram,” the outlet reported. 

“Police said they confiscated 1,380 grams of marijuana during the arrest. They did not identify the man, only saying he is an American.”

Medical cannabis and industrial hemp are both legal in Colombia, but the country continues to impose a ban on recreational marijuana. 

But as CBS notes, the country has “long struggled to control the trafficking, manufacturing and/or possession of narcotics within its borders.”

“Late last year, the Colombian Navy intercepted a shipwrecked boat carrying 33 kilograms of cocaine and 744 kilograms of marijuana,” the network said. “The South American nation is the world’s largest exporter of cocaine – almost 90% of the cocaine sold in the United States each year arrives from Colombia.”

Lawmakers in Colombia considered a proposal last year to legalize adult-use marijuana and commercial sales. 

But in December, members of the Colombian senate “rejected the proposed legislation aimed to legalize adult-use cannabis in the country,” according to Forbes.

“The proposed legislation faced a setback in the Senate on December 12 during the plenary session in its attempt to regulate the adult use and commercialization of cannabis. During the plenary session, a proposal to archive the bill submitted by Senator Karina Espinosa from the Liberal Party right before the formal debate began received 45 positive votes,” Forbes reported at the time.

“Following the vote, Senator María José Pizarro, who spearheaded the project, spoke before the plenary session. She vehemently criticized the senators who supported archiving the project, attributing blame to the Senate for enabling organized groups to profit and condemning youth and consumers to the influence of illicit traders and drug traffickers.”

A different legalization proposal met the same fate in June, when the Colombian Senate voted down a proposal to allow the sale of weed.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, has spoken in favor of legalizing and commercializing marijuana in the country. 

In October, Petro recounted a visit to New York City, where he smelled marijuana burning wherever he went.

“Marijuana is sold today in Times Square,” Petro said, as quoted by Marijuana Moment. “It smelled on all the streets, all the way around the corner, and they sold it…like any other product. I suppose they charge taxes and that New York City or the state of New York lives partially from them.”

Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, went on to criticize the United States for its role in the drug war.

“That’s where the war on drugs began,” Petro said, according to Marijuana Moment. “How many people have been imprisoned? How many people have died? Because undoubtedly illegality brought violence.”

As one of the world’s leading producers of the coca bush, Colombia has long been associated with cocaine trafficking.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, an estimated “63,660 of the country’s households were involved in the cultivation of that illicit crop.”

“This has led the Government and the international community to design an innovative programme that also addresses security issues. In 2012, the area under coca crop cultivation in Colombia fell by a quarter to 48,000 hectares (ha), down from 64,000 ha in 2011,” the UN said. 

“Experience has shown that it is not enough to eradicate illicit drug crops to bring about a lasting solution to the problem. This is why UNODC supports the Government’s efforts to assist farmers who give up cultivating coca bush through alternative development initiatives such as the Forest Warden Families Programme and the Productive Projects Programme. These initiatives ensure that former coca bush farmers have legal and adequate incomes. These rural activities are integrated into broader socio-economic development strategies and benefit rural, indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations.”

The United Nations estimates that “the area under coca bush cultivation in Colombia has declined by 15 per cent from 73,000 hectares in 2009 to 62,000 hectares in 2010.” 

“During the last decade (2000 to 2010), cultivation levels have been reduced significantly by 62 %. These declines signal an advance of sustainable livelihood programmes and are due mainly to a combination of alternative development and law enforcement measures,” the report said.

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Prison walls do little when drones can easily deliver drugs and other contraband to prisoners, and the tactic appears at prisons all across the country. Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp announced last week that 150 individuals were arrested in a drone drug delivery operation that served inmates in Georgia correctional facilities as law enforcement confiscated 67 pounds of pot and various other drugs.

“Operation Skyhawk” was a joint investigative effort between the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Gang Task Force. Eight dirty GDC correctional officers who allegedly took part in the operation were also arrested and immediately terminated from their positions.

NBC News reports that items that have been confiscated thus far during the operation include a full range of illegal drugs, with a total combined street value of over $7 million. This includes 87 drones, 22 weapons, 273 cell phones (which are banned in the prisons), 180 civilian cell phones, 185 pounds of tobacco, 67 pounds of pot, 12 pounds of meth, 51 pounds of ecstasy, 10 grams of cocaine, and 90 various pills. Photos of the confiscated drugs and weapons, including Wonka-branded products, were also released. Three large vacuum-sealed bags of flower can also be seen in the photos.

The governor announced the arrests in a March 28 press release. Search and arrest warrants were served at two locations in the Metro Atlanta area—taking down a “sophisticated, multi-state criminal enterprise that included civilians, inmates, and staff involved in contraband introduction into GDC facilities.”

“Georgia will not tolerate those who put our communities at risk by trafficking drugs, weapons, and contraband both in and out of our correctional facilities,” said Kemp. “I want to thank Commissioner Oliver, the hardworking men and women of the GDC, and all law enforcement who worked to shut these operations down and help keep both Georgians and our correctional facilities safe.”

“Operation Skyhawk” led to over 1,000 criminal charges stemming from contraband introduction, drug trafficking, and felons in possession of firearms. 

The governor also announced that many of the individuals arrested will also be facing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges and Participation in Criminal Gang Activity in multiple venues across the state, resulting in what may be the largest Gang RICO investigation in the state’s history.

Law enforcement officers warned that many other states may also be affected by the same criminal enterprise.

Prison Drone Delivery

Drone deliveries in California and Kansas recently led to a total of 10 indictments. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California posted a press release on Thursday, announcing that four defendants have been indicted in schemes to deliver drugs into prisons via drone.

In that case, drones delivered not only weed, but spice/K2 drugs that mimic weed, butane oil, and an assortment of other drugs and contraband items. If convicted of conspiracy charges, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years to life in prison and fines of up to $10 million. If convicted of possession with intent to distribute drugs, the defendants face a statutory penalty of five to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million.

Meanwhile, another team of criminals allegedly used drones to deliver drugs into the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.  Between August 2020 and May 2021, drugs on demand were available, and inmates into the prison yard could order specific drugs.

Last September, an Australian woman and two accomplices pleaded guilty in court to using a drone in an attempt to traffic multiple different drugs and a USB stick filled with pornography into a Queensland, Australia prison yard.

In that case, 27-year-old Cheyenne Anniki Petryszyn was on parole when a drone containing Buprenorphine strips, methamphetamine, and a USB thumb drive containing pornography was found in an exercise yard where it crash-landed.

Prison staff said they found a drone on the ground near a baggie containing 79 strips of Buprenorphine which is a drug used to treat opioid dependence, 0.94 grams of meth, and the USB drive containing an undisclosed amount of pornographic material. 

Law enforcement is also using drones to spot cannabis operations—particularly in California. A pilot program involving the use of drones to spot illegal cannabis grow operations took place in 2021 in Nevada County, California.

In many areas in California, growers have the challenge of competing with illicit operations amid an epic oversupply problem—driving some operators into the black market. 

Also in 2021, a House appropriations committee backed federal efforts to track down illicit grow operations on public lands in California. If issues around cybersecurity and domestic production can be resolved so that drones can be fully trusted, it could become a reality in more areas. 

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A man who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, and smoked weed on top of broken furniture in Sen. Jeffrey Merkley’s (D-Oregon) office was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on Thursday. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a press release on Leap Day, Feb. 29, describing the man’s sentences. Brandon Craig Fellows, 29, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden to 37 months in prison, plus an additional five months for a contempt of court charge. In total, Fellows was sentenced to 42 months.

Many people heeded the call to make their way to Washington, D.C. shortly after the 2020 election. “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Donald Trump tweeted on Dec. 19, 2020. “Be there, will be wild!” Weeks later, thousands of supporters gathered at the U.S. Capitol building in an event that left five dead within a 36-hour time period.

Days after Jan. 6, 2021, Fellows posted on social media, “Brought my heart joy to see these members terrified for their lives. For what they have done and are doing to this country I hope they live in constant fear.”

“I have no regrets. I didn’t hurt anyone. I didn’t break anything,” Fellows told Bloomberg, five days after storming the Capitol. “I did trespass though, I guess.”

Then on Jan. 16, 2021, Fellows was arrested by FBI agents in New York. The investigation involved the FBI’s Washington and New York field offices, with assistance provided by the New York State Police, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

Fellows was convicted on Aug. 31, 2023, of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, entering and remaining in certain rooms in the Capitol building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. The DOJ also says that Fellows heckled two U.S. Capitol police officers while he was inside.

What Happened That Day

Fellows made and wore a fake beard out of red yarn, a hat in the shape of a knight’s helmet, sunglasses, and carried a “Trump 2020” flag and a trash can lid that he says he used as a shield. Per federal court documents, on Jan 6. 2021, Fellows stationed himself at the Ellipse near the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and listen to Donald Trump’s speech. 

Fellows followed the massive crowd toward the Capitol building, approaching the building from the west side and fought his way to the Upper West Terrace. From his position, in front of thousands of Capitol stormers on the West Plaza and the West Lawn, Fellows posted a video.

“Oh bro, we’re gonna get gassed soon,” Fellows says in the video. I heard windows just break.”

Fellows made his way around, then filmed/incriminated another man breaking down the Parliamentary Door with a cane.

Fellows crawled through a broken window at about 2:52 p.m. and walked through the Senate Wing Door, waving a “Trump 2020” flag. Once inside, Fellows stood on top of broken furniture and waved the flag some more. He walked into a congressional conference room and then walked across the hall to the private office of Sen. Jeffrey Merkley. 

“I walked in and there’s just a whole bunch of people lighting up in some Oregon room… they were smoking a bunch of weed in there,” he later told a reporter. Fellows was photographed smoking marijuana in Merkley’s office with his feet up on a desk. He next went to the Crypt and walked around. He eventually left the Capitol about 3:45 p.m…

While inside the office, Fellows sat in a chair, put his feet up on a conference table, and smoked some weed. Another stormer, who was live streaming, asked Fellows, “What is your message?” Fellows replied, “Man, oh man, we got pissed. We ripped it out of the hands of these police officers,” followed by a round of laughter.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

So far, over 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, with over 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

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On the anniversary of Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison, ESPN shared that Olympic athlete and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner will be working with both ESPN Films and Disney to produce a documentary about her story. Griner was detained in Russia in March 2022 for being in possession of cannabis vape cartridges, but after many months of suffering in prison, was eventually released by December 2022.

“The last two years have been the most harrowing, transformative and illuminating period of my life, and I am grateful to be in a place now to share my story with the world,” Griner said. “I’m proud to partner with ESPN and Disney to share this very personal story because of its incredible potential to inspire hope around the world and their proven ability to do just that.”

Griner’s ongoing imprisonment was constantly in the headlines, with frequent updates about her case, including incomplete translations by her Russian/English translator, pleading and being found guilty in court, and being sent to a penal colony in an unknown location. Support came from many sources, such as LeBron James, Dennis Rodman, and President Joe Biden, but few were as prominent as Brittney’s wife, Cherelle. “Throughout BG’s detainment and in the time since, ESPN, ABC and Disney were supportive and caring in regards to the human side of this saga,” Cherelle Griner said. “Love and family were at the center of the fight to get BG home, and with that in mind, there is no better, more trusted partner to tell that story with us.”

ESPN described the story as a scripted series that will be developed by ABC Signature, and will also include an exclusive interview with Robin Roberts of ABC News. Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, and Jon Leibman, Chairman and CEO of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, are executive producers on the project. In a press release, the project was also described as using “exclusive footage and rare archival material” to tell the story.

“Brittney is an exceptional athlete whose hardship and resilience are nothing short of extraordinary,” said Burke Magnus, president, Content, ESPN. “We are thrilled to be working with her to tell the nuances of her story and feel confident that this documentary will captivate audiences everywhere.”

“BG is a hero—across sport, culture, and humanity. We are privileged to serve as a part of her life’s storytelling journey, and to partner with her and Cherelle to bring Brittney’s legacy to audiences worldwide. Through Disney, ABC, and ESPN’s, global wide-ranging TV and film platform, Brittney’s story can be realized and experienced both creatively and realistically.”

“We are honored that Brittney has entrusted us to share her story of hope, faith and determination across our platforms,” said Debra O’Connell, president, Networks and Television Business Operations, Disney Entertainment. “Her unwavering perseverance that helped shape her as an athlete has now influenced her leadership as a human rights advocate.”

There’s no release date for the project at this time, or how prevalent the topic of cannabis will be approached, but she is expected to talk about “her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.”

Marc Fogel, now 62 years old, is another U.S. citizen currently detained in Russia for cannabis possession, having originally been arrested in August 2021. The most recent news reports of Fogel’s imprisonment are from this summer, where Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Jon Tester petitioned Biden for Fogel’s release. “One of the key differences between Brittney Griner and Mark Fogle’s cases is that less than three months after Griner’s arrest, the State Department classified her as wrongfully detained. Fogle deserves the same justice. And we should be using every tool at our disposal to bring him home,” Daines said, according to the Billings Gazette. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know some of Mark’s family, some of whom are Montanans. They have been fierce advocates here stateside. But they fear they will never see their brother’s face again, or hear their father’s voice, and we can’t let that happen.”

It’s incredibly important to emphasize that “wrongful detainees” exist both abroad but also here in our own country. There are numerous U.S. prisoners serving sentences for cannabis convictions, a fact that was recently covered by Last Prisoner Project in its State of Cannabis Justice Report. “Justice is not achieved through mere legalization alone but by undoing the harms caused by cannabis prohibition,” Last Prisoner Project announced in October. “Twenty-four states have enacted cannabis-specific record clearance laws, and ten states have enacted cannabis-specific resentencing laws. Our report allows the public to compare, contrast, and learn more about each state’s effort to ameliorate the consequences of cannabis conviction.”

The study covered a large amount of data about prohibition, and a breakdown of each U.S. state’s legalization policies, pardon policies, and an overall grade. Only two states, California and Minnesota, received an A grade, while New Mexico, Maryland, and New York, received a B+. The states that received an F grade included South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho, and Wisconsin.

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Leila de Lima was granted bail on Monday by a Philippine court, freeing the former senator who had been jailed for more than six years.

According to the Associated Press, de Lima “was detained as an opposition senator in February 2017 in what they called political persecution by Duterte and his allies and a major blow to Philippine democracy.”

“It’s really an indescribable feeling. I’m starting from zero the life that they tried to destroy,” de Lima, 64, told the Associated Press after her bail was approved. “This is freedom. It’s so precious.”

The AP reported that de Lima “immediately called her ailing 91-year-old mother and, with her voice breaking, told her she was coming home.”

Her arrest and detainment had long drawn international condemnation, with human rights groups and various governing bodies decrying it as an act of political persecution by Duterte, whose tenure as president ended in June after he was elected in 2016 on a fiercely anti-drug platform.

Police records suggest that Duterte’s crackdown on illicit drugs in the country at least 6,000 individuals dead, although other estimates place the number much higher than that. The International Criminal Court has opened a probe into the killings.

A former senator in the Philippines, de Lima “has said the charges were an act of revenge by Duterte, who she described at the time of her arrest as ‘a murderer and a sociopathic serial killer,’” according to the Guardian.

“She had long criticised his governance. In her former role as chair of the national Commission on Human Rights, De Lima had sought to expose killings by so-called ‘death squads’ in Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for more than two decades,” the Guardian reported.

“De Lima was considered the most prominent political prisoner under his administration. In prison she continued her work as a senator, issuing handwritten statements from detention, often condemning Duterte’s governance. She was unable to campaign in the 2022 election, however, and lost an attempt to run again for a senate position.”

For years, United Nations human rights experts decried de Lima’s ongoing imprisonment. 

In 2021, on the fourth year anniversary of her detention, those experts once again called for her release.

“As today marks four years of Senator De Lima being arbitrarily deprived of her liberty, we urge the Government of the Philippines to give effect to the Opinion, including by releasing Senator De Lima and reinstating her in the positions from which she was ousted,” the experts said in a statement.

They reiterated those calls in June of this year, calling on the country’s current president, Bongbong Marcos, to release her.

“We have long called for the immediate release of Leila de Lima,” the experts said. “The decision to deny bail comes after more than six years of arbitrary detention. It is high time for the administration of President Marcos Jr. to close this case once and for all, provide compensation and other reparations, and investigate the circumstances that allowed this to happen in the first place.”

“We are deeply concerned that after six years of arbitrary detention, Leila de Lima will now continue to be detained after her bail application was denied on 7 June 2023,” they added.

On Monday, presiding Judge Hon. Gener M. Gito decided to grant de Lima bail at a court in Muntinlupa City.

According to CNN, “bail conditions were set at roughly $5,300 (300,000 Philippine pesos), and her legal team is expected to file the paperwork later on Monday evening.”

“I have to rebuild my life. My life that they have tried to destroy,” de Lima told CNN at the courthouse.

CNN has more on her case:

“De Lima had been acquitted of two out of the three charges laid against her, which all stemmed from allegations made by Duterte that she received payoffs from convicted drug gangs to fund her 2016 senatorial bid…Court proceedings against de Lima have been marked by undue delays, including the failure of prosecution witnesses to appear in court and changes in judges handling her cases.”

Amnesty International on Monday urged the courts to make her freedom permanent.

“The court’s granting of Leila de Lima’s bail application is indeed a welcome development. Allowing her temporary liberty should be a step toward justice for Leila, beginning with the dismissal of this last charge against her,” said Butch Olano, section director of Amnesty International Philippines, as quoted by CNN.

“Leila has been targeted by the government for her criticism of the murderous ‘war on drugs’ and other human rights violations. She should have never spent even a single day in detention. This last remaining drug case against her must be dismissed expeditiously, and those behind her arbitrary detention and other violations of her human rights must be brought to justice,” Olano said.

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