Monthly Archives: September 2021

Amid constant criticism by the opposition parties where Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is repeatedly targeted for his pre-2017 poll oath on gutka sahib to end drug problem in four weeks on party forming the government, the Congress government in Punjab has now planned a 100-day Big Bang Programme to project how the states war against the menace has reached its pinnacle.

As per the proceedings of a meeting of Punjab anti-drug campaign held on August 27, Suresh Kumar, the Chief Principal Secretary to the CM, suggested that under the Big Bang Programme, the state police chief can kick start an exercise named Operation Red Flag. Under the operation, the police department will mark villages, wards and areas worst affected by drug menace under a red flag category and make efforts to make them drug free in 100 days.

It was decided that at least one such programme should be started, which would project states war against drugs reaching pinnacle and being impactful, as per the proceedings of the meeting accessed by The Indian Express.

The broad contours of the Big Bang Programme, as per the decisions in the meeting, will focus on public outreach. A panel of Additional Chief Secretary (Home), DGP and ADGP-cum-chief of anti-drug Special Task Force has been asked to submit a proposal on the Big Bang Programme to the Chief Minister.

The move to launch the ambitious programme comes at a time when the elections in the state are less than six months away. Apart from the opposition, which leaves no stone unturned to target Amarinder Singh over his promise, the CM has also been facing criticism from within the party too. State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has repeatedly questioned the inaction of the party government and the previous Akali dispensation against those involved in drug trade. Sidhu also has demanded that the government make public the STF report on drugs.

As per the quarterly report on anti-drug campaign by June end, out of 16,117 villages and wards, only 3,967 are drug free, translating into 24.6 per cent. In 15 districts and police districts, out of total 28, less than 20 per cent villages and wards are drug free, as per the report. This includes Patiala, the home district of CM, where 203 villages and wards have been categorized as drug free out of total 1,208, translating into 16.8 per cent.

This also includes Muktsar district, the stronghold of Akali patriarch and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal who represents Lambi in the Vidhan Sabha. Out of total 310 villages and wards in Muktsar, only 49 are drug free as per the report, making it 15.8 per cent of the total.

As per the report, out of 110 locations under Amritsar Police Commissionerate, none is drug free and only 46 out of 1,916 locations in Hoshiarpur (2.4 per cent); 25 out of 816 in Ferozepur (3.06 per cent); and 59 out of 764 in Ropar (7.7 per cent) are drug free.

Maximum drug free villages are in Moga district (432 out of total 443 making it 97.5 per cent) followed by Fazilka (500 out of 549 translating into 91.07 per cent).

On declaring villages, wards drug free

An official letter to all deputy commissioners, commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police by the STF ADGP in April 2019, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, referred to a meeting on March 19, 2019 chaired by CMs Chief Principal Secretary in which it was observed that some districts are declaring some villages and wards as drug free despite the fact that NDPS Act cases are being registered in these areas and drug addicts of these areas are undergoing treatment in the nearby de-addiction centres.

The letter mentioned guidelines to declare villages and wards drug free from drug abuse victim point of view and drug trafficking point of view. It underlined the role and reports of Sub Divisional Mission Teams (SDMTs), Drug Abuse Prevention Officer (DAPOs) and Guardians of Governance (GoGs) before declaring any village or ward free from drug abuse victim point of view. To declare an area free from drug trafficking point of view, it pointed out among other parameters that no case under the NDPS Act or the Drugs and Cosmetics Act should have been registered in the village or ward for the past five years.

Other decisions taken in the meeting

ACS Home to hold meetings with concerned officials to chalk out strategy for:How to do tapering of buprenorphine, the drug administered to addictsWhether urine sampling of drug addicts could be initiated or notDeciding protocols for dispensation of buprenorphineDeciding protocols for dugs dispensation to females

Read this article:

Operation Red Flag: To play out soon in Punjab, a 100-day war on drug menace - The Indian Express

The police crackdown on illegal drugs flowing into Walpole Island is ramping up once again.

A state of emergency was first declared in July to help stem the flow of illicit drugs and prevent more overdoses in the First Nations community.

Now, the local police services is calling on residents to do more to help.

Working together is the only way for us to clean up our communitys drug problems and without the help of the public and our community members we will be faced with a losing battle, Police Chief Chad Jacobs says. We cannot allow this to happen.

Jacobs says there will be a greater police presence, both day and night, to try to combat the trafficking and use of illegal substances.

Anyone with information on crime activity in the area is asked to contact the Walpole Island Police Service or OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or *OPP (677) on mobile phones, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or submit online at http://www.sarnialambtoncrimestoppers.org.

Originally posted here:

Walpole Islands War On Drugs Heating Up - CKXS 99.1

Announcing the completion of Americas withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden declared an end to the post-9/11 forever war. Ahead of the anniversary of the September 11 attacks that prompted the original invasion, Biden highlighted how, if youre 20 years old today, youve never known an America at peace.

Despite the presidents spin, you still wont. American forces have left Afghanistan, but soldiers, spies, and law-enforcement officials remain engaged around the world, and with good reason: Terrorists are fighting a forever war, which means the United States has to as well.

Bidens case is based around the conclusion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iraq war technically ended in 2011, when the United States military withdrew. But America re-intervened in 2014 as the Islamic State captured Mosul and advanced on Baghdad. That deployment was much smaller than the six-figure occupation force of the 2000s, peaking at about 5,200 troops in 2017 and now down to 2,500. But the U.S. also sent troops into Syria, organizing local forces to fight ISIS, peaking at 2,000 soldiers and remaining at roughly 900. If Biden withdraws from Iraq and Syria, then the forever wars will finally be over, right?

Not quite. Theres also the drone program and Special Operations forces, which have launched hundreds of attacks against al-Qaedas offshoot in Yemen, al-Shabaab in Somalia, and other suspected terrorists, killing thousands of people. The most recent of these strikes outside of Afghanistan was barely a month ago, in Somalia. Few Americans pay attention to any of this.

There are also small U.S. military deployments throughout Africa, in at least 22 countries, partnering with local governments against groups connected, in some cases loosely, to the global networks of al-Qaeda and ISIS. Americans never pay attention to this either, unless U.S. soldiers are killed, as four were in October 2017 in Niger.

Read: The women burning their degree certificates

Lets say America withdraws all these forces too. That decision would undermine military-to-military ties that help build international partnerships, but perhaps thats an acceptable trade-off to end the forever wars. Intelligence and law-enforcement agenciesa big part of how the U.S. fights terrorismwill still operate overseas, though, and they have at times conducted abuses, and require active oversight.

The American people, not unreasonably, think terrorism is something the government should protect them from, like foreign invasion and serial killers. In a February 2021 Gallup poll, 72 percent of Americans said terrorism was a critical threat, a figure that has never dipped below 70 percent since Gallup began tracking the question in 2004. Similarly, polls show that a majority of Americans support drone strikes against foreign extremists. Biden authorized some against ISISs branch in Afghanistan following the deadly August 26 suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport, and promises to continue using these over-the-horizon capabilities.

This is the difficulty with claiming, or trying, to end the forever wars: Terrorism wont go away. Its an action, not an ideology. The international terrorist threat is a factor of globalization, American power, widespread access to guns and explosives, and the internet. There are and will be extremist ideologies, and theyll always have the tools to organize. A subset of adherents will advocate anti-American violence, and some will attempt it. Terrorism will be a threat for the foreseeable future, and an ongoing warlike posture is necessary to counter it.

A lesson of September 11, embraced by politicians, the public, and the national-security bureaucracy, is that arresting terrorists after the fact isnt enough. Nor is raising societal defenses, such as creating the Transportation Security Administration and heightening airport security checks. We have to anticipate and prevent attacks.

That requires intelligence to locate and track suspected terrorists, and capacitywhether that be law enforcement or militaryto stop them. Doing it well means deepening relationships with foreign governments, sharing intelligence, and coordinating responses, which leads to outcomes like small deployments throughout Africa. When a state is either unwilling to oppose anti-American groups on its territory, as Afghanistan was with the Taliban government hosting al-Qaeda, or unable to, as in failed states such as Somalia and Yemen, that leaves American leaders with two choices: let suspected terrorists operate unimpeded, or send Americans to capture or kill them. American voters have made clear that the former is unacceptable. Drones and Special Operations forces seek to accomplish the latter.

But the Bush administration went further, expanding the War on Terror to states themselves. Defining Americas enemy not just as terrorists, but also those who harbor them, George W. Bush argued that by removing authoritarians, establishing elections, and training local militaries, the U.S. and its allies would deny terrorists sanctuary and reduce some of terrorisms root causes.

This idea was straightforward with Afghanistan in 2001, where the Taliban rejected demands to hand over Osama bin Laden and expel al-Qaeda, but got stretched with Iraq in 2003, as Saddam Husseins government wasnt involved with September 11, and did not have the feared weapons of mass destruction. But once U.S.-led invasions removed those governments, circumstances changed, and subsequent presidents committed to stabilization missions (albeit with an eye on the exit).

David Frum: The two blows America is dealing to the Taliban

Bushs vision of democratization by force was at best highly ambitious, and in some ways fundamentally misguided. The War on Terror, however, is neither misguided, nor has it been unsuccessful.

Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump continued and expanded operations against al-Qaeda, and later ISIS. Both ordered ground raids that killed the leaders of jihadist organizations. Drone-strike data show remarkable continuity between those otherwise different administrations.

Although some people probably do join terrorist groups because someone they care about was killed or injured by an American drone strike, these attacks likely do not create more terrorists than they killor at least not terrorists of equal ability. As research by Patrick Johnston and Anoop Sarbahi, Asfandyar Mir, and other academics shows, the drone campaign has reduced the effectiveness of targeted groups by removing skilled leaders and frightening operatives into curtailing communication and recruitment. When strikes kill civilians, its tragic (and strategically counterproductive), but drones tend to cause fewer civilian casualties than other military options, and improved abilities led to fewer civilian deaths per strike in the 2010s than in the 2000s.

Congress has authorized drone strikes and other War on Terror operations in all sorts of ways, to the point where theyre a permanent part of the federal bureaucracy. Theres the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force against terrorists, which grants the president broad power to designate threats and determine appropriate responses. Congress passed it near-unanimously, with just one House Representative, the Democrat Barbara Lee of California, voting no. Every president since has interpreted the authorization expansively, using it to go after not only al-Qaeda, but also suspected terrorists who had no role in September 11.

Even if Congress repealed the AUMF, it still authorized extensive surveillance measures in the name of fighting terrorism via the Patriot Act of 2001, and reauthorized much of it in 2015 and again in 2020. Acts of Congress created the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, and restructured the intelligence community in 2004. And Congress effectively reauthorizes their activities every year by approving budgets.

Read: Americas lie

The War on Terror is like the War on Drugs: an ongoing issue to manage, not a conflict that can be won. The U.S. has made mistakes, done some awful thingssuch as a torture program in the 2000sand can improve its strategy in various ways. Washington should, for example, learn the lessons of the past 20 years, namely that the U.S. should avoid upending relatively stable situations, such as Husseins Iraq, while also recognizing that the costs of ignoring problems, such as 1990s Afghanistan, can end up higher than the costs of managing them.

Ending Americas deployment in Afghanistan is a significant change. But terrorism, whether from jihadists, white nationalists, or other sources, is part of life for the indefinite future, and some sort of government response is as well. The forever war goes on forever. The question isnt whether we should carry it outits how.

Read more from the original source:

America's Forever War Must Go On - The Atlantic

The future of marijuana legalization

Heres what you need to know about the future of marijuana legalization in the United States, from its racist beginnings to today.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

There is no better place in Florida to hold a Sacred Mushroom Summit than Gainesville.

The city gave rise to the famed Gainesville Green marijuana strain. People gladly squished through pastures mined with cow patties in search of mind-altering fungi. Joints were regularly smoked at college football games. And ecstasy-fueled raves at Simon's downtown drew elite techno DJs from Europe.

The summit, set for Friday through Sunday at the Thomas Center, will feature lectures and presentations on the use of hallucinogens of the Americas including ayahuasca, cannabis and peyote.

Topics will include medical use, psychological, anthropological and historic aspects of the drugs,religious freedom and legal issues.

There is a whole lot going on right now in this area, said organizer Tom Lane, who has written books on historic use of psychoactives. This type of medicine pre-dates the colonial days. Indigenous sages were using this in Mexico way before the colonials got here.

Hallucinogens are going through a revival. They were widely studied through the mid-1900s for medical and therapeutic value but got ground up in the war on drugs later in the century after LSD, marijuana and mushrooms were used recreationally.

Now medical marijuana is legal in many states and recreational marijuana increasingly so. Oregon voters approved a measure to legalize the use of psilocybin mushrooms in a therapeutic setting and cities such as Denver, Oakland and Santa Cruz, California,have decriminalized possession of psychoactive plants and fungi.

Moreover, universities are once again taking a look at the effectiveness of psychedelics on mental health.

Take the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research for instance. It has $17 million in funding to study psilocybin the compound that makes some mushrooms "magic" for new treatment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders, its website states.

Research indicates its effectiveness in treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.

Lane said speakers will include alternative health advocates, therapists, a mushroom spore grower and attorney Greg Lake, who is versed in the issues of use of psychoactives in spiritual settings and the regulation of it for formal therapeutic use.

Session topics will include shamanism and the historic use of substances in Mexico and Central America.

We are not doing anything where there would be a reason to arrest anybody, Lane said of the summit. There is going to be nothing illegal.

Originally posted here:

Psychoactive substance summit set for the weekend in Gainesville - Gainesville Sun

Families of persons killed in anti-drug operations under the Duterte administrations war on drugs regained hope for justice following the release of a report focused on assistance for them by the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS), an independent office of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The report, released on Aug. 27, stated that families and drug war survivors overwhelmingly support the request of former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to allow a full investigation of the bloody anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte. Lawyer Kristina Conti, counsel for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, which provides legal assistance to at least seven families of drug war victims, said the report has given her clients a spark of hope to obtain justice.

During the victim[s] representation stage there were many whose eyes had dimmed at the prospect of Duterte [staying] longer in power, at the reality that nothing has been or likely to be done about the killings, Conti said. The ICC report shows the spark of hope they have now, that someday, there will be an end to all this and justice for them all [will be served].

Lawyers and human rights groups, such as the National Union of Peoples Lawyers and Human Rights Watch (HRW), likewise welcomed the report.

HRW Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson said the report will certainly encourage other victims and their families to step forward and tell their stories. But Robertson said they must be protected from any sort of harassment or retaliation by the Duterte government when they surface.

How is the VPRS report relevant to the quest for justice over the drug-related killings and other abuses committed under Dutertes drug war? Here are five things you need to know about the report on victims representations of the ICC:

The submission of representations is part of the procedure in the ICC that allows victims to express their views, concerns and expectations to the judges about the pending request of the courts Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) for a full investigation of Dutertes drug war.

This is an integral part of the process, structured as it is to ensure victims rights [to] representation. This is the first active opportunity for victims to make their voices heard in the preliminary investigation procedure, international law expert Romel Bagares explained when asked for a comment.

From June 15 to Aug. 13, VPRS received 212 representation forms from survivors and families or representatives of those killed or injured. However, only 204 of the forms, collectively or individually sent through email or online, were considered relevant.

On Aug. 27, the VPRS transmitted to the ICC judges the 204 pertinent representations and its preliminary assessment report on the victims answers. The ICC judges will carefully analyze all information received and will issue their decision on the OTP request in due time, it explained.

The VPRS said the 204 forms represent approximately 1,530 individual victims and 1,050 families. However, the office did not clarify how many of the 1,530 victims were dead or survivors of the drug war.

According to the VPRS victims booklet, the ICC defines a victim as someone who suffered harm as a result of a crime punishable by the court. It may include victims of sexual violence, children, persons with disabilities, or elderly persons, as well as organizations or institutions with properties dedicated for charitable or humanitarian purposes, among others, that sustained harm.

As most victims of the drug war are already dead, the victims booklet provides that family members who suffered from harm, such as emotional trauma or material loss, due to the killing of their relatives are also considered victims.

The VPRS clarified, however, that the representations will neither be used as evidence in the court nor shared with the prosecutor.

The process of collecting representations was launched a day after Bensouda disclosed on June 14 that she had sought judicial authorization from the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) to proceed with the investigation of alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines from November 2011 to March 17, 2019. (See ICC begins accepting information on Duterte's drug war - Vera Files)

Bensoudas request came after she wrapped up the three-year preliminary examination into the drug war. She alleged that killings, torture, and other crimes targetting suspected drug personalities were already rampant in the Davao region, where Duterte is from, since 1988 or long before he became president in 2016. (See Gov't officials, police conspired to carry out Duterte's war on drugs -- ICC prosecutor - Vera Files)

Of the 204 relevant representations, 192 or 94% of the victims agreed that the ICC judges must authorize an investigation into the matter.

According to the VPRS, the main motivating factors for their position include the desire to have their voices heard, bring the perpetrators to justice, and launch an investigation by an "impartial international court. Other reasons cited were to end impunity, prevent such crimes from happening again, find out the truth about what really happened, and clear the names of the innocent.

The thousands of Filipino deaths during Duterte's reign of terror [] have destroyed so many lives. I stand for them, I stand for my brother. You are our last hope ICC. Please help us investigate on (sic) this and hold those people involved accountable. Thank you, wrote one of the victims quoted in the VPRS report.

The VPRS said it believes that fear of reprisals and re-traumatization forced victims in five representations to refuse an investigation. Among the concerns they raised involved security, inconvenience of having a young child to take care of, and lack of knowledge about the actual incident.

Seven other representations did not give clear answers on their position on the proposed investigation.

Ruben Carranza, reparations and war crimes tribunals expert at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), said victims representations provide the ICC prosecutor and the PTC judges a view of what they, including those unable to submit their representations, expect as justice, apart from the punitive form of justice, (that) a criminal court can give.

Drawing from a previous experience working with the VPRS, Carranza said the office wants to be prepared to address victims needs that might emerge in the course of the ICC proceedings.

Other tasks delegated to the VPRS include assisting victims to organize their legal representation or apply for reparations.

Drug war victims, who are mostly men, want the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes against humanity that inflicted psychological and physical harm, among others, on them. Such crimes were allegedly committed by the police; unidentified riding-in-tandem individuals wearing civilian clothes, bonnets and masks to hide their identities; and other unnamed personalities.

Loading...

The VPRS assessed that murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, and other inhumane acts were the most reported crimes. Only a few cited attempted murder and sexual violence, such as rape.

However, it noted that sexual violence could be severely underreported because victims fear the possibility of death. It said some female victims were forced to have sexual intercourse or give in to sexual favors, also known as palit-puri (sex for freedom) or palit-katawan (rape for freedom), in exchange for their liberty.

The VPRS said female relatives of those killed, seen as collateral victims, are largely ignored by the [g]overnment and deprived of its services. In a forum about the ICC in June, womens rights expert Socorro Reyes said 60,000 to 100,000 women and children became widows and orphans as a result of the killing of 12,000 to 20,000 persons in the drug war.

Loading...

All 204 representations reported that the crimes resulted in psychological and social harm to victims. Others cited physical and material harm, as well as loss of educational opportunities and deprivation of liberty. Other victims raised concerns about the ineffectiveness of the Philippine judicial system, reparations for damages, and the social and cultural impact of the drug war.

"There is a new social norm now that is brainwashing and is gaining acceptance by many Filipinos today as a result of not only this physical but also culture war on drugs. That is, if you were a victim of [extra judicial killing], you deserved to die, the report quoted one victim as saying.

Both the victims and the ICC prosecutor are waiting for the decision of the PTC judges. If they rule in favor of the prosecutor, Karim Khan, Bensoudas successor, will start gathering evidence and identifying suspects in the killings and other crimes in the drug war. Khan may request the court to issue arrest warrants or summonses to bring the identified suspects to the ICC headquarters in the Netherlands for confirmation of charges and possible prosecution based on the courts legal procedures.

Palace Spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed the ICC report as based only on the opinion of drug war victims.

[W]e consider the Public Redacted Registry Report on Victims Representation submitted to the ICC as more of the opinion of victims wanting the ICC probe rather than erosion of support of the Filipino people, Roque said in a statement on Aug. 30.

Roque repeated his inaccurate claim that the Philippines is not obliged to cooperate with the ICC following the countrys withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

His assertion contradicted the March 16 ruling of the Supreme Court on petitions assailing Dutertes unilateral withdrawal, stating that the country remains covered and bound by the statute even after the pullout took effect in March 2019. (See VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte, Panelo spew three false claims about ICC - Vera Files)

As of July 31, the government has reported 6,181 deaths during drug operations since July 2016. However, rights groups, including United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, have estimated that the actual death toll could be more than triple the government figure.

Sources

International Criminal Court, Public Redacted Registry Report on Victims Representations, Aug. 27, 2021

International Criminal Court, Information for victims - Republic of the Philippines, Accessed Aug. 31, 2021

International Criminal Court, Public redacted version of Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15(3), 24 May 2021, ICC-01/21-7-SECRET-Exp, June 14, 2021

Communication with international law expert Romel Bagares, Aug. 30, 2021

Communication with war crimes tribunals and reparations expert Ruben Carranza, Aug. 30, 2021

Communication with Public Interest Law Center lawyer Kristina Conti, Aug. 30, 2021

Communication with Human Rights Watch Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson, Aug. 30, 2021

Presidential Communications Operations Office, On the Public Redacted Registry Report, Aug. 30, 2021

Rise Up for Life and for Rights official Facebook page, Accessed Aug. 30, 2021

International Criminal Court, Victim Representation Form, Accessed Aug. 30, 2021

International Criminal Court, Statement of the Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, on her request to open an investigation of the Situation in the Philippines, June 14, 2021

International Criminal Court, VPRS Victim's Booklet [ENG], Accessed Aug. 30, 2021

International Criminal Court, Rome Statute

Supreme Court, G.R. No. 238875/G.R. No. 239483/G.R. No. 240954. March 16, 2021 [Date Uploaded: 7/21/2021], March 16, 2021

Real Numbers PH, #RealNumbersPH, Aug. 28, 2021

Original post:

VERA FILES FACT SHEET: Five things about the ICC report on victims' representations - Vera Files - Vera Files

Richard Wershe Jr.is getting into thecannabisindustry, and plans to use his new business endeavor to push social justice.

Wershe,a former FBI and Detroit police informant known as "White Boy Rick," famously served more than three decades behind bars for a non-violent drug offense after being convicted in 1988 in Wayne County Circuit Court.Now 52, Wershe is believed to have served the longest prison sentencebeginningas a juvenile for a non-violent drug offense. He wasreleased from prison last year after serving 32 years and seven months.

NowWersheis partnering withPleasantrees cannabis company and is launchinghis own brand of products called "The 8th,"areferenceto the 8th Amendment of theU.S. Constitutionthat prohibits cruel and unusualpunishment of criminal defendants.

Wershe's cannabis brand, which includes cannabisplants, T-shirts, concentrates and other products, is expected to launchthis fall. The black T-shirtswill feature two broken handcuffs and the words "White Boy Rick" on the front.

This comes as Eminem is slated to portray Wershe in an upcoming Starz television series by rapper 50 Cent. Wershe's life also has been the focus of books, films and a Hollywood film starring Matthew McConaughey.

Wershe says he hopesto raise awareness about the harshness of sentences for non-violent drug offenses, and use a substantial portionof his proceeds to help people who havebeen wrongfully convicted andimprisoned for non-violent drug offenses.

"It's about being over-punished," Wershe said. "How isit that a non-violent offender is punished more severely than a violent offender? That's not equal justice under the law."

He said he chose to partnerwith Pleasantrees because he likes the company's social justice and social equity program. The company offersjobs to those recently released from prison who because they were wrongfully convicted or incarcerated under excessive sentences.

"Mr. Wershe was recently released from prison after serving over thirty-two years for non-violent drug offenses allegedly committed while he was a minor. As such, his life story, which has been the subject of several recent films and documentaries, is a prime example of the unduly harsh penalties levied against victims of the decades-long War on Drugs which was started by the Nixon Administration and further escalated in the Reagan Era," said Pleasantrees company officials in a statement announcing the partnership.

Attorney Jerome Crawford, Pleasantrees director of legal operations and social equity, said Wershe is the "poster child" of excessive as well as cruel and unusualpunishment.

"He is a walking example of crueland unusual punishment where a minor is sent to prison for three decades of his life behind bars fora non-violent drug crime," said Crawford. "He can give voice to the voiceless. Having him on our team is really a representationof our social equity plan."

One of the people Wershe hopes to help isRudi Gammo, 42, who was sentenced in 2018 in Oakland Countyto five and a half years in prison. He owned a medical marijuana dispensary in Detroit, but was charged for letting patients grow marijuana in homes he owned in Oakland County.

Wershe attended a rally at the Oakland County Circuit Court on Wednesdayto urge a judgeto release Gammo.

"This is what we do," Wershe said about his efforts to help Gammo. "This is what this brand is all about."

Gammo's attorney, Barton Morris Jr., said for a number of yearsunlicensed and unregulated "gray market"products were grown by caregivers and sold by hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan. Morris added that prior to2018, when state voters approved an initiative for recreational adult use of marijuana,"this was the only way to operate, and was permitted by most municipalities."

"Rudi was convicted of something that became legal a few short months later when the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (MRTMA) became law in November 2018. Even though the 'Clean Slate'bill was signed into law this past fall; the law that permits thousands of Michiganders to expunge many misdemeanor and felony marijuana offenses, he still remains behind bars," Morris,principal attorney and founder of the Cannabis Legal Group, said in a statement.

Morris said Gammo, who is at the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian,is one of the "most prominent" examples of the need for restorative criminal justice in Michigan.

Recreational cannabis use was legalized in Michigan in 2018. Under the law, individuals over the age of 21 can possess 2 ounces of cannabis.Medical marijuana became legal in the state in 2008.

Harrison Township-based Pleasantrees, which operates in Michigan and Massachusetts, said it is amongMichigans largest wholesalers of medical and recreational cannabis. The company has three recreational cannabis retail establishmentsin Hamtramck, East Lansingand Denton Township in Roscommon County.

Pleasantrees also has two cultivation facilities in Harrison Township. The company has launched its first retail location in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and is seeking to expand toHolyoke, Massachusetts.

Wershe said in a lawsuit he filed in Julyagainst the city of Detroit, Detroit police officers and FBI agents that he was first approached by FBI agents when he was 14. He regularly metwith FBI agents and Detroit police officers to give information on Detroit's burgeoning drug gangs before he wassentenced at 17 to life behind bars without parole for possession to deliver more than 650 grams of a controlled substance.

Wershe's sentence was later amended to life with the possibility of parole, and in 2017 the Michigan Parole Board unanimously granted Wershe parole.Documents obtained by The Detroit News after Wershe's parole was granted showed that his remorse and good behavior played a role in the board's decision.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

See the rest here:

Wershe launching own brand of cannabis products with social justice focus - The Detroit News