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«Das Cannabis-Verbot bringt nichts»
Der ehemalige Basler Strafrechtsprofessor Peter Albrecht fordert eine Revision des Betäubungsmittelgesetzes
Basler Zeitung (Switzerland)
Dienstag, 2. Dezember 2015In Deutschland hat der Schildowerkreis, eine Vereinigung von mehr als 100 Strafrechtsprofessorinnen und Strafrechtsprofessoren, vor zwei Wochen das Verbot von Cannabis-Konsum als verfassungswidrig eingestuft. In der Schweiz vertritt Peter Albrecht diese Haltung seit vielen Jahren und verlangt eine Aufgabe der Strafverfolgung. Albrecht war Professor für Strafrecht in Basel, ehemaliger Strafgerichtspräsident und lehrt heute an der Universität Bern.
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How powerful synthetic drugs will upend drug markets globally
Some traditional approaches to drug interdiction would be obsolete in a drug market dominated by synthetic drugs
The Washington Post (US)
Tuesday, December 2, 2014Illicit drugs made from plants (e.g., cocaine, heroin) are being replaced in some national drug markets by those that are synthesized (e.g., methamphetamine, fentanyl). The U.S. has had a parallel experience in the past decade with the rise of illicit consumption of synthetic opioids and cannabinoids. If illicit drug markets continue to separate from an agricultural base, it would upend traditional understandings of drug markets and drug policy.
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Uruguay: Marijuana law gets boost in presidential vote
The South American nation became the first in the world to have a system regulating the legal production, sale and consumption of marijuana
CNN (US)
Monday, December 1, 2014Uruguay's politicians who led the charge to legalize marijuana and same-sex marriage appeared to win another ringing endorsement from voters in the South American country. Exit polls placed Tabaré Vazquez of the left-wing Broad Front coalition in the lead in the country's presidential runoff. Candidate Luis Lacalle Pou of the conservative National Party told supporters that he had conceded to Vazquez and wished him well. A win for Vazquez would give Uruguay a third consecutive five-year term with a leftist leader at the helm.
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Legal pot in the U.S. may be undercutting Mexican marijuana
"If the U.S. continues to legalize pot, they'll run us into the ground"
NPR (US)
Monday, December 1, 2014Made-in-America marijuana is on a roll. More than half the states have now voted to permit pot for recreational or medical use, most recently Oregon and Alaska. As a result, Americans appear to be buying more domestic marijuana, which in turn is undercutting growers and cartels in Mexico. "Two or three years ago, a kilogram of marijuana was worth $60 to $90," says Nabor, a 24-year-old pot grower in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa. "But now they're paying us $30 to $40 a kilo. It's a big difference." (See also: DEA: Cartels now smuggle U.S. pot into Mexico)
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Standortfaktor Dope
Der Stadtteilbeirat Sternschanze will die Dealer vor Hamburgs Roter Flora weghaben und fordert stattdessen den legalen Cannabis-Verkauf
TaZ (Germany)
Saturday, November 29, 2014Um die Drogengeschäfte auf der Straße einzudämmen, setzt sich der Stadtteilbeirat, ein beratendes Gremium aus Anwohnern, fürs legale Kiffen ein. In einem Coffeeshop sollen über 18-Jährige wie in den Niederlanden weiche Drogen kaufen können, berichtet der NDR. Ein ähnliches Modellprojekt wird gerade in Berlin-Kreuzberg geprüft. Für eine Legalisierung müsste jedoch das Betäubungsmittelgesetz auf Bundesebene geändert werden. (Kölner Grüne fordern Cannabis-Verkaufstellen)
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As B.C. heroin flap shows, drug laws are not about improving health
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Friday, November 28, 2014If you’ve ever had surgery, you owe a debt to heroin-assisted therapy, and not because you were probably doped up on morphine in post-op. Rather, it’s because of William Halsted. Appointed the first chief of surgery of Johns Hopkins in 1889, the man now known as “the father of surgery” proceeded to revolutionize the craft during his more than 30-year career. Mr. Halsted introduced the use of surgical gloves and complete sterility, performed the first radical mastectomy and developed new stomach and intestinal surgeries. And one more thing: During his entire time at Johns Hopkins, Mr. Halsted injected himself with morphine on a daily basis.
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Drug possession arrests double in past six years across NSW
Harm reduction expert says increase in arrests for minor drug offences is extraordinary
The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Friday, November 28, 2014The number of people arrested for possessing drugs in New South Wales (Australia) has doubled over the past six years, with NSW leading a national trend towards increased law enforcement directed at individual drug users. Yet the spike in arrests appears to have done nothing to stem the tide of drug use, with the state this week hitting the 1 million mark for the number of people who have recently used illicit drugs. The data comes as the NSW Bar Association released a report finding drug prohibition has been a failure and calling for reform. (Fact sheet: Cannabis and the law)
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Some pols pushing to legalize pot before voters do
The Boston Herald (US)
Friday, November 28, 2014Some state lawmakers say it’s high time Massachusetts hashes out a bill to legalize and tax marijuana, or, if left to voters, risk repeating the awkward ballot-to-reality rollout that’s plagued the fledgling medical marijuana industry. “It’s almost certain to be on the ballot in 2016, I think people are going to vote for it, and I think we have the responsibility to do it right,” said state Sen. Will Brownsberger, chairman of the Legislature’s judiciary committee. “I don’t think it’s wisest to leave it to whoever is writing the ballot question.”
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Into the breach: Drugs, control, and violating bad laws in good ways
Rick LinesThursday, November 27, 2014An October statement on drug control from the US State Department has prompted much comment and speculation at home and abroad. Delivered by Ambassador William Brownfield, the ‘Brownfield Doctrine’, as it has been named by some commentators, lays out a four pillar approach the United States will follow in matters of international drug control.
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Cannabis umnebelt die Koalition
Streit um Mindestmenge
Berliner Zeitung (Germany)
Wednesday, November 26, 2014In der Großen Koalition in Berlin ist eine Debatte um die zulässige Menge für Eigenkonsum von Cannabis entbrannt. Die CDU will das Limit auf sechs Gramm statt wie bisher 15 Gramm senken. Die SPD ist gegen diesen Vorstoß. Die Meinungsverschiedenheiten in der Fraktion sind relevant, weil die Berliner Verordnung, die die höhere Freimenge regelt, Anfang 2015 erneuert werden muss.
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