• Most Jamaicans support ganja decriminalisation - study

    The Gleaner (Jamaica)
    Thursday, November 28, 2013

    A recent study has found that a majority of Jamaica’s population may be in support of relaxing the laws prohibiting the use of marijuana. The study, which was conducted by pollster Don Anderson, reveals that 55 per cent of those interviewed felt that the laws criminalising marijuana should be relaxed. Anderson notes that 55 per cent of respondents also believe that marijuana should be commercialised. (See also: Ganja Medicine: Local doctors approve patients' use of marijuana)

  • Kenya appeals to UK not to ban khat

    Kenyan MPs have appealed to the UK not to "condemn people" by banning the herbal stimulant khat
    BBC News (UK)
    Wednesday, November 27, 2013

    The leafy substance khat, grown by many Kenyan farmers, is of economic and cultural significance to many Africans. The UK government has decided, against the advice of its own experts, to treat khat as a class C drug to "protect vulnerable members of our communities". In July, UK Home Secretary Theresa May said khat would be banned "at the earliest possible opportunity" but a ban has yet to be imposed. A team of Kenyan MPs lobby the UK government not to follow suit.

  • Drugs minister refuses to rule out legalisation of cannabis

    Norman Baker tells MPs 'we should be prepared to follow the evidence' in first appearance before parliamentary committee
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, November 26, 2013

    norman-bakerThe new Liberal Democrat minister responsible for drugs policy, Norman Baker, has refused to rule out a policy of legalising cannabis but said that it is not his prime objective in the job. "I think it needs to be considered along with everything else. It is not my prime objective and I am not advocating it at the moment. We should be prepared to follow the evidence and see where it takes us," he said.

  • Crisis-hit Greece sets up first "drug consumption" centre

    The number of HIV-infected drug users rose sharply at the height of the crisis in 2011-2012
    Reuters
    Monday, November 25, 2013

    Greece has set up its first "drug consumption" room to contain a surge of infectious diseases among drug addicts in the crisis-hit country, Greece's Organization Against Drugs, OKANA, said. Following similar projects in Western Europe, Canada and Australia, the centre Odysseas lets users inject drugs they bring themselves, under medical supervision, and has been visited by more than 200 addicts since it was set up in October.

  • Deutschland wird zur Kiffer-Republik

    Mit einer Petition wollen Befürworter die Legalisierung der Droge erreichen
    Die Welt (Germany)
    Montag, 25 November 2013

    Liberale Strafrechtsprofessoren fordern, dass sich der Bundestag erneut mit dem Drogenverbot auseinandersetzt und haben eine entsprechende Petition unterzeichnet. "Uns geht es nicht um die Verharmlosung von Drogen, sondern um die Kriminalisierung der Konsumenten. Die Strafverfolgung ist das Problem", sagt Lorenz Böllinger von der Universität Bremen. Die Juristen fordern, dass der Bundestag eine Enquete-Kommission einsetzen soll, die die Wirkungen der Betäubungsmittelgesetze analysieren soll.

  • Drug-related deaths down

    The number of deaths due to drug use is the lowest since 1993
    Politiken (Denmark)
    Monday, November 25, 2013

    mobile-fixerroom"It is encouraging that we have been able to achieve a drop in numbers in an area where Denmark’s figures are otherwise too high," says Health Minister Astrid Krag. Fixing rooms are said to be one of the main reasons. The number of drug-related deaths has been relatively constant since the mid-1990s, but the 2012 figures – 210 deaths of which 76 per cent are men and 24 per cent women – is a noticeable drop.

  • US Attorney General Holder rejects mass incarceration, 'one-size-fits all' security policies

    The Pan-American Post
    Friday, November 22, 2013

    holderSpeaking at a meeting of the hemisphere's security ministers in Medellin, United States Attorney General Eric Holder touted the Obama administration's efforts to curb mandatory minimum sentences. He also backed a more heterodox approach to citizen security, a sign of a subtle shift in the U.S.-backed 'War on Drugs' in the region. Holder delivered his address at the Fourth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas (MISPA IV), a biannual OAS-sponsored conference designed to promote policy coordination on the issue. (See also: Open letter to Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas)

  • Why do Brazilian police kill?

    InSight Crime
    Thursday, November 21, 2013

    An average of five people were killed by police every day in Brazil last year, according to an annual security report, revealing an entrenched culture of violence within the country's security forces. Brazil's Forum of Public Security joined forces with US non-governmental organization (NGO) Open Society Foundations to conduct an in-depth study of police killings as part of its annual report, concluding that the country's security forces are beset by a "culture of violence."

  • D66 Liberals to draft regulated marijuana production proposal

    Dutch News (The Netherlands)
    Wednesday, November 20, 2013

    The D66 Liberal party, currently the second biggest party in The Netherlands in recent polls, is drawing up draft legislation for the regulated production of marijuana. At the moment it is illegal to grow marijuana. This means there is a grey area between the official policy of turning a blind eye towards possessing small amounts of marijuana and the supply to coffee shops. (See also: Majority of the Dutch favour cannabis legalisation)

  • Academics: "Legalise cannabis in Flanders"

    Flanders News (Belgium)
    Monday, November 18, 2013

    belgian-academicsThree Flemish academics, a criminologist, an economist and a toxicologist, are pressing for the legalisation of cannabis. They believe that making the drug legal and being able to regulate the market would be a far more effective way of tackling the drug. They argue that the present clamp down that costs 400 million euros a year does not work. (See also: 75 euro 'fine' for all cannabis possession in Antwerp | Cannabis farms are appearing everywhere)

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