• Drug busts push teens towards hard drugs in Lebanon

    Now (Lebanon)
    Thursday, January 30, 2014

    The relentless crackdown by security forces on the mainly cannabis-smoking youth in Beirut has had several negative repercussions on the Lebanese society. Young, impressionable teenagers in Beirut are increasingly getting drawn to what is called "synthetic cannabis" or otherwise known as "K2" or "spice." A mixture of herbs is usually laced with cannabinoids such as cannabicyclohexanol. The exact effects of this mixture are still not well understood, but early studies suggest a severe increase in chances of psychosis.

  • Why is Raymond Pryce so high on ganja?

    MP wants end to 'slash and burn' practice by cops
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Tuesday, January 28, 2014

    raymond-pryceRaymond Pryce, the North East St Elizabeth member of parliament, is not only a lobbyist for decriminalisation /legalisation of ganja. He plans to optimise on his grandmother's remedies, once the Jamaican Government removes the legal impediment, which now seems to be a foregone conclusion, because the two major political parties appear at one on the issue. "My belief is that we must change the 'fear'-led prohibition regime to a 'fair' and intelligent approach to ganja, and Jamaica must take back its lead role internationally," says Pryce.

  • Marijuana on the move

    Spain is bucking a global trend with its plans to crack down on use of the drug
    El País (Spain)
    Monday, January 27, 2014

    un_viennaSome 20 years ago, a Spanish official in favor of lifting the ban on drugs such as marijuana mentioned at a UN meeting that there "might be a more humane option" in the fight against trafficking. She was immediately taken aside by a senior diplomat, who told her in no uncertain terms: "Don't say things like that round here, not even in the washroom." Today, the same official says that internal documents are now circulating within the UN that openly admit to the failure of prohibition.

  • Bom Bhole!

    Joint effort needed to revive ganja’s image in India
    Outlook (India)
    Monday, January 20, 2014

    In India, from 1985 onwards, when cannabis cultivation and possession was crimi­nalised under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, ret­ribution has been more the calling card when the ‘G’ word is mentioned. But the times are a changin’, at least out there in the wide, wide world. Colorado’s ‘joint’ effort to retail marijuana for recreational use seems to have opened the window of debate again. Should other states, countries follow suit? Ironically, it was under US pressure that India buckled to make cannabis illegal.

  • Kazakhstan wants to attract Big Pharma to its ‘Cannabis Klondike’

    After aggressive Soviet efforts to eradicate the high-THC cannabis, the plants have only come back stronger and remain the target of campaigns by the authorities
    Foreign Policy (US)
    Wednesday, January 15, 2014

    kazakhstan cannabis fieldDespite a heavy-handed campaign against drug trafficking and related crime in the country, one Kazakh lawmaker thinks it’s time to cash in on some 140,000 stubborn hectares of wild cannabis that can be found around Kazakhstan. Darigha Nazarbaeva, the eldest daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, proposed that the country lease some of its treasured cannabis fields to international pharmaceutical companies. "I suggest we review our attitude to cannabis," Dariga Nazarbayeva reportedly told the Kazakh parliament. The Chu valley, which is shared between southern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan, is home to some of the most infamous — and potent — pot in the world.

  • Banks say no to marijuana money, legal or not

    Banking is the most urgent issue facing the legal cannabis industry today
    The New York Times (US)
    Tuesday, January 11, 2014

    Legal marijuana merchants — mainly medical marijuana outlets but also, starting this year, shops that sell recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington — are grappling with a pressing predicament: Their businesses are conducted almost entirely in cash because it is exceedingly difficult for them to open and maintain bank accounts, and thus accept credit cards. The problem underscores the patchwork nature of federal and state laws that have evolved fitfully as states have legalized some form of marijuana commerce. Banks fear that federal regulators and law enforcement authorities might punish them, with measures like large fines, for violating prohibitions on money-laundering, among other federal laws and regulations.

  • Turin votes in favour of legalizing cannabis

    Turin is the first large city in Italy to speak out about the annulment of the Fini-Giovanardi law
    The Local (Italy)
    Tuesday, January 14, 2014

    Turin's city council has approved a motion in favour of making the drug legal for therapeutic purposes, making it the first of Italy's large cities to do so. The proposal is an appeal to the Italian parliament that they "move from a prohibitionist structure to one where soft drugs, particularly cannabis, are legally produced and distributed". This means that while the vote doesn't make it legal to consume, buy or sell cannabis for individual use yet, it paves the way for a more tolerant view of the drug in the eyes of the law.

  • Civil war turns Syria into major amphetamines hub

    Captagon trade generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues in Syria, while the drug itself helps combatants weather grueling battles
    Haaretz (Israel)
    January 12, 2014

    captagon-seizureSyria has become a major amphetamines exporter and consumer as the trauma of the country's brutal civil war fuels demand and the breakdown in order creates opportunity for producers. Drugs experts, traders and local activists say Syrian production of the most popular of the stimulants, known by its former brand name Captagon, accelerated in 2013, outpacing production in other countries in the region such as Lebanon. Reports of seizures and interviews with people connected to the trade suggest it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues in Syria.

  • Courage, common sense and cannabis

    Editorial
    The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
    Saturday, January 11, 2014

    copenhagen-mm-2013Despite 40 years of prohibition, Danes smoke cannabis. If prohibition continues another 40 years, Danes will still smoke it. So too will residents in Uruguay, Colorado, Washington and the other US states that will inevitably follow suit. But while they will light up legally and boost state coffers, Danes will still be lining the pockets of hardened criminals. (See also: No plans to follow Colorado's lead on cannabis)

  • Poll stubs out legal cannabis hopes

    Nearly two thirds of Germans are against cannabis being made legal, a new study shows
    The Local (Germany)
    Thursday, January 9, 2014

    coffeeshop4Sixty-five percent of Germans say they would reject relaxing laws restricting the production, sale and consumption of marijuana, according to the study conducted by opinion pollsters Forsa for Stern magazine. Just under a third of those asked (29 percent) would like to see the drug legalized, while six percent said they have no opinion on the issue. Among supporters of the Green Party, those in favour of legalization jumped up to 51 percent. The poll of 1,003 Germans will come as a blow to Berlin Green politician Monika Herrmann, who is battling to open a Dutch-style coffee shop in the capital.

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