Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Bobbie Sellers Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.hemp,rec.drugs.misc,rec.drugs.psychedelic,talk.politics.drugs Subject: Drug War Chronicle #1222 -- Dems Vs. GOP and GOP vs. GOP over Marijuana Policy, more... Followup-To: talk.politics.drugs Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2024 19:44:14 -0700 Organization: none at all Lines: 192 Message-ID: Reply-To: blissInSanFrancisco@mouse-potato.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2024 04:44:19 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="411195b36b56ee41ea7ae2c597db1497"; logging-data="2032437"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/E71gPULdHYMo8MMKd0XuI" User-Agent: Betterbird (Linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:TS7bzMUJ+g7o7AbCzyyJ6ch1D20= Content-Language: en-US Bytes: 11886 Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1222 -- 9/13/24 Phillip S. Smith, Editor,psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1222 A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org David Borden, Executive Director,borden@drcnet.org "Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition" APPEAL: Help Us Respond to the Opportunities and the Challenges of This Time: https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/help_us_respond Table of Contents: 1. BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL TAKES AIM AT SHEIN AND TEMU -- AND FENTANYL, TOO [FEATURE] A billion "low-value" packages skate past Customs each year. Some contain cheap clothing from China; others contain fentanyl, and a new Senate bill aims to do something about both. But will it actually help? https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/bipartisan-senate-bill-takes-aim-shein-and-temu-and-fentanyl-too-feature 2. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES A small-town Utah police chief develops a bad habit, a small-town Texas police chief and her fellow cop partner had a side business slinging meth, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/weeks-corrupt-cops-stories-6 3. NC TRIBE OPENS MJ SALES TO ADULT, TRUMP SUPPORTS BIDEN RESCHEDULING MOVE, MORE... (9/9/24) Nebraska's Republican attorney general is leading a crackdown on shops selling delta-8 THC products, Texas voters strongly support marijuana decriminalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/nc-tribe-adult-us-marijuana-sales-nebraska-delta8-crackdown-more-9924 4. HARRIS CAMPAIGN ACCUSES TRUMP OF LYING ABOUT POT POLICY, HOUSTON NARC GOES ON TRIAL FOR MURDER, MORE... (9/10/24) The Colombia government and a dissident FARC faction are headed back to the table for peace talks in Havana, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/harris-campaign-accuses-trump-lying-about-pot-policy-houston-narc-goes-trial-murder-more 5. FL GOP AT ODDS OVER MARIJUANA INIT, FEDERAL FENTANYL BILL FILED, MORE... (9/11/24) Rhode Island marijuana regulators are moving toward a hybrid licensing process, Iran's new president says his country needs new drug policies, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/fl-gop-odds-over-pot-initiative-federal-fentanyl-package-bill-filed-more-91124 6. USUAL SUSPECTS OPPOSE NORTH DAKOTA LEGALIZATION INIT, FEARS RISE OF SINALOA CARTEL CIVIL WAR, MORE... (9/12/24) Massachusetts psychedelic initiative analyzed, Zurich legal weed pilot program evaluated at the one-year mark, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/usual-suspects-oppose-nd-marijuana-legalization-initiative-fears-rise-sinaloa-cartel (Not subscribed? Visithttps://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up today!) ================ 1. BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL TAKES AIM AT SHEIN AND TEMU -- AND FENTANYL, TOO [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/bipartisan-senate-bill-takes-aim-shein-and-temu-and-fentanyl-too-feature A billion "low-value" packages skate past Customs each year. Some contain cheap clothing from China; others contain fentanyl, and a new Senate bill aims to do something about both. But will it actually help? Led by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), a bipartisan group of senators has filed a bill to tighten Customs controls over packages sent into the United States, justified in part by the effort to interdict small shipments of fentanyl being sent into the country. The cutely-acronymed Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy Importers, and Netting Gains (FIGHTING) for America Act (https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fighting_for_america_bill_textpdf.pdf) would also target other "illicit goods," including "counterfeits, and products made with forced labor," according to a press release (https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-lummis-brown-collins-and-casey-release-bipartisan-legislation-to-halt-the-flood-of-illicit-packages-into-the-united-states) from the Senate Finance Committee. The legislation was provoked by a massive increase in "low-value shipments" (valued at less than $800) of packages into the country from 299 million in 2016 to one billion in 2023, according to a Senate Finance Committee backgrounder (https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fighting_for_america_act_one-pagerpdf.pdf). That increase was facilitated by a US policy known as "de minimis entry," allowing those low-value packages to enter the country tariff-free and under a streamlined process to try to conserve scarce government resources and simplify customs procedures for small businesses and consumers. The backgrounder claims that "unscrupulous corporations like [online retailers] Shein and Temu have abused the system, building entire business models around their ability to flood the US market with direct-to-consumer shipments that avoid both tariffs and Customs scrutiny." Shein was founded in China but is now headquartered in Singapore, while Temu is in Boston and is owned by a Chinese parent company. The backgrounder also argues that small packages shipped to individual consumers are reliant on international air courier services, making the practice more carbon-intensive than relying on shipping containers. It also says passage of the bill would "level the playing field for US manufacturers" by ensuring that tariffs are imposed. The bill aims to tighten the rules for de minimis entry and "help the CBP [Customs and Border Patrol] more effectively stop unlawful imports" by prohibiting certain goods -- those that are import-sensitive or facing additional trade remedies -- from being shipped de minimis and by requiring CBP to do more monitoring and information collecting on de minimus entry packages. "Foreign corporate giants are inundating our borders with millions of low-value packages, making it tough for customs agents to stop dangerous goods like fentanyl from falling into Americans' hands," Wyden said in the statement. "Americans should feel confident that anything arriving on their doorstep is safe, legal, and ethically produced. Our legislation would crack down on foreign companies abusing the law and make sure they play by the rules." "Whether through the southwest border or in packages mailed into the United States, China is using any tool available to get illicit drugs across our border," Lummis said. "It is time for CBP to crack down on shipments from China to ensure drugs and products made using slave labor are encountered before making it into our communities." "Countries like China are exploiting the de minimis loophole to cheat our trade laws and flood our country with packages containing fentanyl and other illicit substances," Brown said. "By cracking down on this loophole and providing law enforcement with more resources, this bipartisan legislation will begin to level the playing field for Ohio workers and Ohio manufacturers and retailers -- while helping to stop the deadly flow of fentanyl into Ohio communities." It is not clear what law enforcement thinks about leveled playing fields for the American economy, but it likes the notion of more interdiction to fight fentanyl. "Law enforcement is battling the trafficking of illegal narcotics on multiple fronts, including the international mail system. The de minimis loophole is severely exacerbating the opioid crisis by allowing fentanyl and other illegal opioids to enter our country largely uninspected. Substantial reform or the closing of this trade loophole is necessary to remove significant fentanyl trafficking routes into this country and is essential to any national strategy to end the fentanyl crisis," said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations. "NAPO supports the FIGHTING for America Act and we look forward to working with Chairman Wyden to ensure the de minimis trade exemption will no longer be a gateway for illicit drugs and goods to cross our borders." The Fraternal Order of Police is also down with the bill. "In an effort to evade detection and interdiction, drug smugglers are using low-value, direct-to-consumer shipments that enter the country, which allows these criminals to bypass the usual screening methods employed by Customs and Border Protection and get fentanyl and other drugs and illicit goods into the United States," said Patrick Yoes, the group's national president. "The FOP supports legislation as proposed by Senators Wyden and Lummis to tighten the rules and crack down on these foreign-based drug traffickers who are using low-value imports to game the system and flood our communities with fentanyl and other illegal goods and substances." Will the new bill actually help, though, assuming it passes? Regardless of the its potential positive impact on strengthening the US economy in the face of foreign competition -- or on the fight against climate change, for that matter -- its effort to address the fentanyl crisis by pursuing more, better interdiction is akin to playing a game of whack-a-mole with traffickers. For decades, the United States has maintained a policy of stricter and more intrusive interdiction efforts. It has not yet worked yet, and there is no indication this would be any different. Rather than chasing futile pursuits, policymakers would be better off shedding the failed prohibitionist model for dealing with the drug menace du jour and begin going down the path of a safe and regulated drug supply. ================   ...                                          ___________________                                           It's time to correct the mistake:                                         Truth:the Anti-drugwar                                       Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:                                        Stoners are people too:                                        ___________________      bliss -- Cacao  Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com) ========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========