• The Philippine paradox

    An Interview with Senator Risa Hontiveros
    Marijuana (US)
    Wednesday, February 22, 2017

    Risa HontiverosIn the constant, daily laboured birth of the global cannabis industry, there is no greater paradox than the Philippines. On one hand, you have incredible tragedy: the thousands of deaths that have been encouraged by President Duterte in his terrifying war on drugs. On the other hand, members of the government are calling for calm and logic to deal with their illegal trafficking problem. Much of the poise and wisdom coming out of the Philippine Government comes from Senator Risa Hontiveros, who has introduced a bill to legalize medicinal cannabis and other drugs with prescription capability.

  • Dutch MPs vote in favour of regulated marijuana cultivation

    No guarantee the legislation will actually become law because it still needs to pass the upper house of parliament
    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Tuesday, February 21, 2017

    vera bergkampA narrow majority backed new legislation which would regulate marijuana cultivation under government control. The vote, by 77 to 72, would allow cannabis cafe owners to buy from licenced growers who produce the marijuana in a closed system The bill was drawn up by D66 MP Vera Bergkamp. She hopes that introducing licenced marijuana production will remove the grey area between illegal cultivation and licenced cannabis cafes or coffee shops. The law must still pass the Senate, or Eerste Kamer. It is not clear if a majority exists in the Senate. (See also: Dutch MPs vote in favour of regulated marijuana cultivation | Netherlands closer to marijuana legalization, bill allows people to grow weed)

  • Ex-Officer in Philippines says he led death squad at Duterte’s behest

    At least 3,600 people, and possibly thousands more, have been killed by the police or vigilantes since Duterte became president in June
    The New York Times (US)
    Monday, February 20, 2017

    A retired police officer racked with guilt over the murders of two of his own brothers has reversed himself and confessed to leading the Philippine death squad that killed them, saying that he was acting on the direct orders of Rodrigo Duterte before he became president. The former officer, Arthur Lascañas, said at a news conference that Mr. Duterte had sponsored the killings of drug and crime suspects while he was mayor of the southern city of Davao. Mr. Lascañas has now become the second professed hit man to level such accusations against Mr. Duterte. (See also: Thousands of Filipino Catholics march against death penalty, war on drugs)

  • Medicinal cannabis gets the go-ahead

    Ambrosini placed the debate over cannabis use in the spotlight in Parliament in 2014
    The Mercury (South Africa)
    Monday, February 20, 2017

    The government has given the green light for the manufacture of cannabis for medicinal use – with the IFP hailing it a “major victory” and tribute to its late MP, Mario Oriani-Ambrosini who fought for the legalisation of the drug. IFP MP Narend Singh said a letter sent to him by the Medical Control Council’s working group on cannabis indicated it would publish its proposed guidelines on cannabis production for medicinal use. The current framework allows for use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, but under strict regulations which include requesting permission from the Medical Control Council for use in certain exceptional circumstances by registered medical practitioners. Patients may also only use it under supervision. (See also: Medicinal cannabis: 'Docs will have to jump through hoops')

  • Trend for ‘home grown’ cannabis in Austria

    Austrian police say that growers are increasingly renting remote industrial premises or houses in order to set up indoor cannabis plantations
    The Local (Austria)
    Monday, February 20, 2017

    cannabis indoorWhen it comes to drugs, Austrians are increasingly turning to cannabis and buying from ‘home growers’ based in Austria, according to a public prosecutor. “People are not buying so many hard drugs, but are increasingly buying cannabis. What’s interesting is that fewer drugs are being imported and the cannabis is frequently grown in the country," public prosecutor Barbara Haider told the Kurier newspaper. The decline in imported cannabis may be due to the fact that the technical equipment for growing cannabis plants is easily obtainable in so-called grow or head shops and stricter border controls along the Balkans route to Austria, as a result of the refugee crisis.

  • Advocacy group calls for reform of Burma’s drug laws and policies

    The key recommendations raised by DPAG included decriminalization of drug use and of small-scale poppy farming by those with limited sources of livelihood
    The Irrawaddy (Myanmar)
    Friday, February 17, 2017

    The Drug Policy Advocacy Group (DPAG) has called for a reform of Burma’s drug laws, demanding new policies focusing on the rehabilitation of drug users. “The 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law focuses on punishment. But what then, after a drug user is given imprisonment?” asked Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham, coordinator of DPAG, during a panel discussion in Rangoon. According to the law, anyone found guilty “shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend from a minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 10 years and may also be liable to a fine.” DPAG has been working to develop an advocacy platform for “non-punitive, evidence-based drug policy changes”. (See: 'Found in the Dark' - The Impact of Drug Law Enforcement Practices in Myanmar)

  • Just how mainstream is marijuana?

    There’s now a “Congressional Cannabis Caucus”
    The Washington Post (US)
    Friday, February 17, 2017

    Time to dispel any doubts you may still have that marijuana reform is truly a mainstream political issue. This week, a bipartisan group of U.S. representatives formed the first-ever "Congressional Cannabis Caucus" to work on legislation related to marijuana legalization and regulation. Democrats Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado teamed up with Republicans Dana Rohrabacher of California and Don Young of Alaska to form the caucus. Not coincidentally, all four representatives hail from states where recreational marijuana use is legal.

  • Cities have right to regulate marijuana dispensaries: B.C. Supreme Court

    It’s the first time a judge has ruled on the issue of overlapping jurisdictions related to marijuana
    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Thursday, February 16, 2017

    Cities have the right to deny business licences to illegal marijuana dispensaries and to prohibit the cultivation or sale of marijuana through their zoning bylaws, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled. The case is the latest development in what has become a patchwork of inconsistent rules and legal skirmishes as cities grapple with changing laws and an aggressive new marijuana industry in Canada. While the sale of marijuana at storefronts, such as dispensaries, remains illegal, some cities such as Vancouver have moved to regulate them through business licences.

  • Pot social clubs may be next for legal marijuana movement

    Disagreement over whether establishing pot clubs would invite a federal crackdown
    The New York Post (US)
    Thursday, February 16, 2017

    At risk of raising the ire of the White House, Colorado is on the brink of becoming the first state with licensed pot clubs. But the details of how these clubs will operate are as hazy as the underground clubs operating already. Denver officials are working on regulations to open a one-year pilot of bring-your-own marijuana clubs, while state lawmakers are expected to consider measures to allow either marijuana “tasting rooms” run by marijuana dispensaries, or smoke-friendly clubs akin to cigar bars.

  • Brazil Supreme Court judge calls for drugs legalisation to beat gangs

    Rising fears about the violence plaguing Brazil's overcrowded prisons and city slums
    Reuters (UK)
    Saturday, February 11, 2017

    roberto barrosoA Brazilian Supreme Court justice called for the legalization of marijuana and even cocaine to undo the growing power of drug gangs behind a wave of violence that has shaken Latin America's largest country. Justice Roberto Barroso, a Yale graduate and constitutional law professor, said 50 years of war against drugs had failed miserably, clogging jails with small-time dealers and fuelling a violent gang battle for control of the lucrative trade. "Unlike the United States and Europe where the problem lies in the impact drugs have on consumers, in Brazil the problem lies in the power drug traffickers have over poor communities," Barroso said.

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