• Legalizing medical marijuana may actually reduce crime, study says

    The Huffington Post (US web)
    Thursday, March 27, 2014

    mm-homicideLegalizing medical marijuana causes no increase in crime, according to a new study. In fact, legalized medical pot may reduce some violent crime, including homicide, University of Texas at Dallas researchers wrote in a journal article published this week. The study appears to settle concerns, simmering since the first states approved medical marijuana nearly two decades ago, that legalization would lead to more crime.

  • Une commission réfléchit à une régulation du cannabis en Suisse

    Swissinfo (Switzerland)
    Jeudi, 25 mars 2014

    L'interdiction totale du cannabis en Suisse, demeure insatisfaisante, constate la Commission fédérale pour les questions liées aux drogues (CFLD). Celle-ci suit les expériences menées ailleurs et s'intéresse au modèle genevois d'association de consommateurs de cannabis. La commission n'a pas pris position sur un modèle ou un autre, a indiqué à l'ats son président Toni Berthel. Elle est cependant parvenue à la conclusion qu'il fallait trouver une solution incluant la production, la vente et la consommation.

  • Medical marijuana users can continue to grow their own pot: judge

    Vancouver Sun (Canada)
    Friday, March 21, 2014

    A Federal Court judge granted a temporary injunction to patients who are suing Ottawa because they are concerned about cost and quality of a commercially grown product. Health Canada regulations slated to come into effect on April 1 require medical marijuana patients to buy their pot from large-scale commercial facilities instead of growing it themselves. Judge Michael Manson ruled that licensed patients can keep growing their own medical marijuana while their challenge goes to trial. The judge concluded some patients will not be able to afford marijuana if prices increase as expected. (See also: New federal pot law means little to medical marijuana users following recent injunction)

  • Jamaica's marijuana growers split on legalisation

    Jamaica remains the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the US as well as other Caribbean islands
    BBC News (UK)
    Friday, March 14, 2014

    In Jamaica, marijuana, or ganja, as it is more commonly known on the Caribbean island, is used in religious ceremonies by Rastafarians and as a herbal medicine by many others. But it is not just grown for local consumption. According to the US state department, Jamaica remains the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the US as well as other Caribbean islands. Cultivation and import of the drug have been illegal since 1913, although those caught with small amounts are rarely prosecuted.

  • Major Swiss cities set to back 'cannabis clubs'

    The Local (Switzerland)
    Friday, March 14, 2014

    rolling-jointsAdults may be legally able to seek out clubs in certain Swiss cities to buy state-certified cannabis, free of chemicals, for personal use under a pilot project being drafted. Lawmakers from at least five municipal governments are looking at participating in an experiment to regularize the use of marijuana through "user’s associations". Bern has become the latest city to look seriously at liberalizing the use of cannabis through regulations. Zurich, Basel and Lausanne are also interested in joining in the experiment being piloted by the city of Geneva.

  • Caricom leaders to debate marijuana legalization

    Associated Press
    Saturday, March 8, 2014

    Researchers with a Caribbean trade bloc have found that decriminalizing marijuana and exploring its use for medicinal purposes could help boost the region's sluggish economy. Caricom leaders are expected to talk about the preliminary report in a two-day summit in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Activists in Jamaica, St. Lucia and other islands have pushed to legalize marijuana use, with Jamaica's health minister recently stating he was "fully on board" with medical marijuana. However, many in the Caribbean still consider it a dangerous drug, and marijuana possession can lead to jail time and stiff fines across the region.

  • As US states allow pot sales, Dutch reverse course

    Associated Press
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Friday, March 7, 2014

    The Netherlands, the world pioneer in pot liberalization, has recently taken a harder line toward marijuana, with mixed results seen particularly in border towns such as Maastricht. Maastricht's street dealers are back, local residents complain. And the reason is a crackdown on coffee-shops triggered by another problem: Pot tourists who crossed the border to visit the cafes and made a nuisance of themselves.

  • The battle against 'pasta base'

    Uruguay is tackling a hard drug by legalising a soft one
    BBC News (UK)
    Wednesday, March 5, 2014

    paco-bolsaIn December, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to legislate for the production, sale and state regulation of marijuana. Many hope that when the law takes full effect next year, fewer people will use a cheap, highly addictive cocaine derivative called "pasta base". By allowing adults to grow their own cannabis or buy a maximum of 40g a month from a pharmacy, supporters of the new law believe it will separate the marijuana market from more problematic drugs.

  • UN: cannabis law changes pose 'very grave danger to public health'

    International Narcotics Control Board calls US and Uruguay moves on cannabis 'misguided initiatives'
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, March 4, 2014

    The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has launched a counter-offensive against moves to liberalise drug laws around the world, warning that cannabis legalisation poses a grave danger to public health. At the launch of the INCB's 2013 Annual Report, its president, Raymond Yans, voiced concern over "misguided initiatives" on cannabis legalisation in Uruguay and the US states of Colorado and Washington that fail to comply with international drug conventions. (See also: Time for UN to open up dialogue on drug policy reform and end counter-productive blame-game)

  • Why the mayor of Copenhagen wants to get into the marijuana business

    He sees it as the only way for the Danish capital to get a grip on its huge cannabis trade
    The Atlantic Citylab (US)
    Monday, March 3, 2014

    The city of Copenhagen should be growing its own weed, said its mayor. According to Social Democrat Frank Jensen, the Danish capital can only get a grip on its huge trade in Cannabis if the state itself muscles in and displaces the pushers. Aware that a municipal government peddling its own grass might sound a little crunchy, Jensen is emphasizing the proposal's seriousness. "This isn’t a hippie proposal," he told newspaper Berlingske. "It's being discussed by people in suits and ties." (Editorial: Legalize marijuana on a trial basis)

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