• The war on dagga sobers up

    The arrival of Dutch settlers limited consumption in South Africa
    Mail & Guardian (South Africa)
    February 28, 2014

    sa dagga crimeThe apartheid regime was terrified of white people interacting with black people, and saw cannabis as a dangerous enabler. They ensured it stayed prohibited, perceiving it as a "danger" to race relations. It has not always been considered off limits in South Africa. In Basotho tradition, cannabis has long been used to ease childbirth – an appreciation for its analgesic properties shared by many civilisations around the world. In 1887, the report of the Indian immigration commission on the Natal Colony said hemp was as "baneful" for Indian people as it was for black people. It linked ­cannabis and hemp to crime, laziness and "dagga insanity".

  • «Wir wollen die Dealer austrocknen»

    Genf will die Abgabe von Cannabis testen
    Basler Zeitung (Switzerland)
    Sonntag, 23. Februar 2014

    sandro-cattacinCannabis-Konsum soll in Vereinen mit Mitgliederbeitrag legal werden. Das fordert ein überparteiliches Genfer Komitee. Im Genfer Projekt können sich Erwachsene, die im Kanton Genf wohnhaft sind, in einem Verein einschreiben, um legal eine vorbestellte Menge an Cannabis zu beziehen. Der Genfer Soziologe Sandro Cattacin leitet die Arbeitsgruppe des Projekts. Er spricht über dessen Signalwirkung an Jugendliche und die Reaktion des Bauernverbandes.

  • Jamaica to decriminalise ganja by year end - gov't official

    The Gleaner (Jamaica)
    Sunday, February 23, 2014

    Jamaica is to decriminalise ganja by year end as the government moves to capitalise on the booming marijuana trade internationally, said Science and Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell. The minister confirmed that ganja will be decriminalised this year in keeping with parliamentary approval. Paulwell, late last year, had come out in full support of positive developments in ganja locally and internationally and said that "Jamaica will not be left behind" as interest and movements in ganja law reform and research and development grows rapidly. (See also: Ganja green light this year)

  • Kiffen für die Gesundheit

    Coffeeshops in Frankfurt
    Frankfurter Rundschau (Germany)
    Wednesday, February 19, 2014

    Der Ortsbeirat im Frankfurter Bahnhofsviertel fordert den Magistrat dazu auf, ein Modellprojekt zum legalen Verkauf von Cannabis einzurichten. Damit soll der ungezügelte Schwarzmarkt kontrolliert werden. Ob ein solcher Antrag innerhalb des Magistrats eine Mehrheit fände, darf bezweifelt werden. Der Antragsteller, Costantino Gianfrancesco (Grüne), sagte gleich zu Beginn der Debatte: "Es geht hier nicht um Legalisierung, es geht um Kontrolle." (Mehr dazu: Frankfurter Ortsbeirat votiert für Coffeeshops)

  • Most Dutch councils ignore ban on marijuana sales to tourists

    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Wednesday, February 19, 2014

    Tourists are still able to buy marijuana in 85% of the Netherlands' cannabis cafes despite the national ban on selling soft drugs to non-residents, according to Tilburg University researcher Nicole Maalsté. Most local authorities have incorporated the ban into their local bylaws but do nothing to enforce it. However, non-residents are excluded from coffee shops in 23 of the 103 local council areas with licenced cannabis cafes. These are mainly in the southern regions. Most councils said they were not enforcing the ban because the sale of marijuana to non-locals was not causing problems or because there are few foreigners in the first place.

  • California ballot measure on pot legalization delayed until 2016

    A national drug reform coalition decides not to put an initiative before voters in November, saying it needs more money and time
    Los Angeles Times (US)
    Tuesday, February 18, 2014

    real-california-cannabisA coalition of investors and strategists, which played a key role in passing most of the legislation to reform drug laws nationwide since 1996, has decided not to put a pot initiative on the ballot in California this year but will wait to push for legalization until 2016. Signature-gathering efforts for at least two additional pot measures are circulating, but they do not appear to have the high-profile financial backing needed. So the coalition's decision makes it less likely that marijuana will be legalized in California in the near future.

  • Mexico City could be home to the most important marijuana decriminalization effort yet

    Roughly 60 percent of Mexico's federal prison population is serving time for drug crimes
    The Atlantic Citylab (US)
    Tuesday, February 18, 2014

    Lawmakers in Mexico's national legislature and Mexico City's Legislative Assembly introduced twin bills to overhaul the country's drug possession and marijuana laws. The federal bill would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. If passed, Mexico's federal bill would reschedule marijuana as a drug with proven therapeutic value but known risks. The same bill would also allow Mexican states to determine their own marijuana laws, including the creation of tax-and-regulate systems like the ones adopted by voters in Colorado and Washington.

  • Italy's strict drug law goes up in smoke

    A court ruling ended harsh sanctions on marijuana users, but prospects for legalisation seem unlikely
    Al Jazeera
    Monday, February 17, 2014

    On February 12, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Fini-Giovanardi law setting out penalties related to the sale and possession of illegal drugs, was improperly approved, and abrogated the law. Since then, Italy has returned to previous regulations that imposed lighter sanctions on cannabis users. Prisoners' rights organisations argued that harsh drug laws have created a booming prison population in a system that is already overcrowded. Since January 2013, Italy's prisons have been under the scrutiny of the European Court of Human Rights.

  • U.S. issues marijuana guidelines for banks

    The banking industry says that the new guidelines would not be sufficient to make banks feel at ease
    The New York Times (US)
    Friday, February 14, 2014

    dollar cannabisThe Obama administration issued guidelines intended to give banks confidence that they will not be punished if they provide services to legitimate marijuana businesses in states that have legalized the medical or recreational use of the drug, even though it remains illicit under federal law. The guidance, which requires banks to vigorously monitor marijuana-industry customers, was provided by the Treasury Department and the Justice Department in separate advisories. The policy does not grant immunity from prosecution or civil penalties to banks that serve legal marijuana businesses, but directs prosecutors and regulators to give priority to cases only where financial institutions have failed to adhere to the guidance. (See also: Legal marijuana businesses should have access to banks, Holder says)

  • ‘Federal dealer’ on 20 years of heroin scheme

    Swissinfo
    Friday, February 14, 2014

    The abject drug misery that held sway at Zurich’s Platzspitz park, known popularly as “Needle Park”, spurred Switzerland in 1993 to opt for a pragmatic drug policy of distributing medically controlled heroin to therapy-resistant addicts. In the mid-1990s, the project to provide opiate-assisted treatment for hardcore addicts was formally evaluated and the results appeared promising. The addicts were doing better in terms of health and social issues, and drug-related crime had decreased.

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