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Stoned drivers are a lot safer than drunk ones, new federal data show
The measurable presence of THC in a person's system doesn't correlate with impairment in the same way that blood alcohol concentration does
The Washington Post (US)
Monday, February 9, 2015
A new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that drivers who use marijuana are at a significantly lower risk for a crash than drivers who use alcohol. And after adjusting for age, gender, race and alcohol use, drivers who tested positive for marijuana were no more likely to crash than who had not used any drugs or alcohol prior to driving. Nevertheless, there's plenty of evidence showing that marijuana use impairs key driving skills. -
Senate passes ganja law
The bill will be debated by members of the House of Representatives in the new parliamentary year
The Gleaner (Jamaica)
Saturday, February 7, 2015
The Senate debated for nearly five hours about the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015, which was later passed with five amendments. The legislation makes the possession of two ounces, or less, of ganja a non-arrestable, but ticketable, offence attracting a fixed monetary penalty. It also will allow for a scheme of licences, permits, and other authorisations which enable the establishment of a lawful, regulated industry for ganja for medical, therapeutic and scientific purposes. (See also: Senate gives nod to ganja Bill) -
Federal government set to crack down on drug courts that fail addicts
Applicants for drug court grants will be required to affirm that they will allow access to substitution treatment
The Huffington Post (US)
Thursday, February 5, 2015
The federal government is cracking down on drug courts that refuse to let opioid addicts access medical treatments such as Suboxone, said Michael Botticelli, acting director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. Drug courts that receive federal dollars will no longer be allowed to ban the kinds of medication-assisted treatments that doctors and scientists view as the most effective care for opioid addicts, Botticelli announced. -
Mexico’s missing marijuana mystery
Freakish weather is a better explanation to the Mexican marijuana mystery than either piecemeal legalization in the US or a major shift in counternarcotics policy
Alejandro HopeThe Reality-Based Community (US)
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Every year, soldiers roam Mexico’s hinterland in search of illegal marijuana plots. Massive eradication campaigns have been part of Mexican life since the 1940’s. No other country on Earth has impounded so much cannabis for so many years. That could be changing. According to recent official numbers (p. 51), marijuana seizures and eradication declined steeply in 2013, to lows unseen since the early 1990’s. Does this signal a major policy shift? Maybe. Here are the facts. -
Why is Europe refusing to change course on drugs?
Politics (UK web)
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Is Europe being left behind? Sometimes it feels that way. In the US, Colorado and Washington have regulated recreational cannabis use, with Oregon and Alaska following suit. Uruguay is doing the same. Latin America leaders across the continent are turning against the war on drugs. So it can be somewhat dispiriting to see such little progress in Europe. As the world changes, it feels as if Europe is in stasis. But a briefing paper by Tom Blickman of the Transnational Institute shows that below the surface there is a vibrant and optimistic push for drug law reform in Europe. -
Legislation passed to formally regulate Catalonia's cannabis clubs for first time
More can be done in terms of regulating cultivation and sale in order to better protect clubs and the health of users
Talking Drugs (UK web)
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
The Catalonian government in Spain has passed a new set of guidelines to formally regulate cannabis social clubs (CSCs) for the first time in the autonomous region. Under the new regulations, published on January 29 in the Official Journal of the Catalonian Government (DOGC) and formally approved the same day by the legislature, cannabis clubs will have 17 points to follow in order to be granted legal status. -
'High time' for medical marijuana in Germany
The federal government wants to make cannabis more accessible to sick Germans as a means for pain relief
Deutsche Welle (Germany)
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Federal Drugs Commissioner Marlene Mortler said that seriously ill patients should have access to cannabis through their health insurance provider. "My goal is that in the future, more people than before will be able to use cannabis as a medicine," Mortler told Die Welt. "We want to bring the law through the Bundestag (German parliament) within this year, so that it comes into effect from next year.” (See also: Legalize it – ein bisschen | Opinion: Withdrawing troops in the war on drugs) -
Le Sénat examine l’usage « contrôlé » du cannabis
Mais la sénatrice ne se fait pas d’illusion sur son sort
Le Monde (France)
Mardi, 3 fevrier 2015
Le Sénat doit examiner la proposition de loi de la sénatrice écologiste Esther Benbassa visant à permettre un usage «contrôlé» du cannabis. Elle prévoit d’autoriser la «vente au détail» de «produits» à base de cannabis via un réseau de débitants agréés, comme l’est aujourd’hui le tabac. Le texte maintient toute une série d’interdits, comme la vente aux mineurs, l’usage dans les lieux publics et toute forme de publicité. (Voir aussi: Cannabis: débat fumeux au Sénat | Le Sénat n'a pas adopté la proposition de loi d'Esther Benbassa autorisant l’usage contrôlé du cannabis) -
The science of decriminalizing drugs
What happens when states ease up on penalties for possession
Popular Science (US)
Monday, February 2, 2015
The legal landscape for marijuana has never looked this relaxed. Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. voted during the recent election season to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Other states reduced the punishments for possessing small amounts of the drug, a move the American Academy of Pediatrics just endorsed. According to polls, more Americans than ever support legalizing cannabis. As legal and public views shift, we thought we'd take a look at the science of decriminalizing drugs. -
Daily marijuana use doesn't really change brains of adults or teens, study finds
Phoenix New Times (US)
Monday, February 2, 2015
Late last year, the press and marijuana-legalization opponents gave a lot of attention to a study suggesting that daily marijuana use shrinks users' brains. New research indicates that claim and other reports of cannabis-caused changes to brain structure simply aren't true. The new study, "Daily Marijuana Use Is Not Associated with Brain Morphometric Measures in Adolescents or Adults," published in the latest edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that alcohol use was responsible for previous studies finding brain changes.
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