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Vancouver becomes first Canadian city to regulate growing marijuana market
City council approved regulations to set zoning controls and licence fees for Vancouver’s pot shops, a boom that’s come amid a haze of legal ambiguity
The Guardian (UK)
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Vancouver has approved new rules to license and regulate illegal marijuana stores, making it the first city in Canada to attempt to control the burgeoning market – and setting it on a collision course with the country’s federal government. After four days of public hearings, the city council approved regulations that will set zoning controls and hefty licence fees for Vancouver’s many pot shops: the city of 600,000 is thought to have more marijuana stores than its 109 Starbucks locations. (See also: More than 70 per cent of Vancouver pot shops violate proposed rules) -
Studies find medical marijuana unproven to help many illnesses
Evidence was weak that marijuana helps anxiety and sleep disorders
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Medical marijuana has not been proven to work for many illnesses that state laws have approved it for, according to the first comprehensive analysis of research on its potential benefits. The strongest evidence is for chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis, according to the review, which evaluated 79 studies involving more than 6,000 patients. Evidence was weak for many other conditions, including anxiety, sleep disorders, and Tourette’s syndrome and the authors recommend more research. -
Cannabis: The comeback of a banned medicine
A multimedia investigation of the potential and limits of one of the most controversial plants of all time
Swissinfo (Switzerland)
Monday, June 22, 2015
"When pure and administered carefully, [cannabis] is one of the most valuable medicines we possess,” wrote British physician John Russell Reynolds in 1890, praising the substance’s curative properties. Over a century later, cannabis is on the list of banned substances worldwide due to its psychoactive effects. A devastating and dangerous drug for some, a medicine without equal in the pharmacist’s repertoire for others, cannabis is beginning to be used again in the treatment of serious illness and chronic pain. -
SPD will Cannabis-Freigabe beschleunigen
Marihuana nach dem niederländischen Vorbild legalisieren oder weiterhin verbieten?
Die Welt (Germany)
Montag, 22. Juni 2015
Die punktuelle Legalisierung von Marihuana in Hamburg rückt näher. Auf ihrem Kreisparteitag werden die Altonaer Genossen voraussichtlich einen Antrag der SPD Altona-Nord/Sternschanze annehmen, der das Verfahren beschleunigen soll. Der Vorsitzende des betreffenden SPD-Distrikts, Gregor Werner, plädiert offen für einen entsprechenden Modellversuch in der Sternschanze. (Mehr dazu: Die Antworten zur Cannabis-Abgabe in Hamburg | Modellversuch in Bremen | 30 Gramm Gras für jeden) -
Bremen will Cannabis freigeben
Rot-Grün plant Modellprojekt
Weser Kurier (Germany)
Freitag, 19. Juni 2015
Cannabis-Konsum soll künftig nicht mehr von der Polizei verfolgt und eine legale Abgabe in Bremen möglich werden. Darauf haben sich Sozialdemokraten und Grüne bei den Koalitionsverhandlungen geeinigt. Ab wann nicht mehr strafverfolgt werden soll und wo die legale Abgabe von Cannabis erfolgen könnte, ließen Müller und SPD-Landeschef Dieter Reinken im Pressegespräch nach den Koalitionsverhandlungen noch offen. Ein Cannabis-Verkauf am Kiosk ist nicht geplant: Müller bringt Apotheken als mögliche Abgabestellen ins Gespräch: „Es könnte zum Beispiel eine Abgabestelle in Bremen und eine in Bremerhaven geben.“ Für das Modellprojekt wolle man sich auch mit Berlin austauschen. (Mehr dazu: Bremer SPD bremst Cannabis-Pläne) -
Les jardins secrets du cannabis
Ils seraient de 80 000 à 200 000 à faire pousser du cannabis en France pour leur usage personnel
Le Monde (France)
Vendredi, 19 juin 2015
L’Observatoire français des drogues et des toxicomanies (OFDT) parle d’un «bouleversement global du marché à l’échelle continentale». L’Europe, située du côté «importateur» du marché du cannabis, est en train de devenir un producteur majeur d’herbe, et la France tient son rang avec 80 000 à 200 000 cultivateurs. «Même si la résine de cannabis en provenance du Maroc domine encore le marché, les chiffres des saisies sont particulièrement éclairants, indique Michel Gandilhon de l’OFDT. Jusqu’en 2010, on découvrait en moyenne de 50 000 à 60 000 plants par an en France. On en a saisi 158 592 en 2014, le triple.» -
Doctor: Legalisation of pure MDMA should be considered
Controlling a substance like MDMA could discourage people from using less safe options
The New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Dr Paul Quigley, an emergency medicine specialist and clinical toxicologist at Wellington Hospital, says the legalisation of pure MDMA - the main ingredient in recreational drug ecstasy, which has euphoric effects - should be considered to protect users from other, more dangerous substances. He said MDMA had been around for about 30 years and was a prescription medicine used in the 1970s for psychiatric purposes - so it had been clinically tested on people. (See also: Should pure ‘ecstasy’ be regulated? – Expert reaction) -
US marijuana legalisation has not led to rise in use by adolescents, study finds
Data on one million teenagers shows marijuana use did not increase in US states where it was legalised, with fall among youngest children
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Legalising the medical use of cannabis has not led to a surge in the numbers of adolescents using it in the USA, according to new research that surprised its authors and will encourage those hoping for relaxation of the law elsewhere. However, the findings from 24 years of data from more than one million adolescents in the 48 contiguous states did not substantiate fears that cannabis use would rise, especially among teenagers. A paper in the journal Lancet Psychiatry says that the use of cannabis by adolescents was already higher in the states that have opted for medical legalisation. But the change in the law did not lead to a jump in numbers. -
Drug warriors are still crying 'reefer madness.' The facts don't support them
Those concerned about the negative effects of drugs should welcome efforts to control the cannabis market
Los Angeles Times (US)
Monday, June 15, 2015
In their op-ed article against cannabis legalization, former drug czar William J. Bennett and Seth Leibsohn yearn for a time when fear-mongering, not facts, drove the marijuana policy debate in America. Those days are over. Bennett and Leibsohn blame the "marijuana lobby" for re-shaping the way Americans think about what they consider to be a dangerous drug. But the reality is that voters' views on pot have evolved based on both the failures of prohibition and the success of legalization and regulation. -
Kreuzberg will Cannabis schnell legalisieren
Wer dann Cannabis kaufen will, braucht dafür einen speziellen, anonymisierten Ausweis
Der Berliner Zeitung (Germany)
Montag, 15. Juni 2015
Seit eineinhalb Jahren wird im Berliner Bezirk Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg diskutiert den Erwerb und den Konsum von Cannabis zu legalisieren. Noch im Juni will der Bezirk einen Antrag auf eine entsprechende Ausnahmegenehmigung beim Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM) stellen, sagte Bürgermeisterin Monika Herrmann. Das Institut, das Gesundheitsminister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) unterstellt ist, muss innerhalb von drei Monaten entscheiden, ob das Betäubungsmittelgesetz, das den Verkauf illegaler Suchtmittel verbietet, gelockert wird.
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