• Medical Marijuana: Will Colorado's "green rush" last?

    CBS 60 Minutes (US)
    Sunday, October 21, 2012

    med-marijuana-cbsWhen people go to the polls two weeks from now they won't just be voting for candidates, in some states, they'll be passing judgment on social issues. In Oregon, Washington and the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado it's the legalization of marijuana. Part of this has to do with cash-starved governments looking for new things to tax for more revenue. But much of it has to do with the growing acceptance or at least tolerance for a drug that was once considered the devil's weed and a flashpoint for cultural and generational warfare.

  • U.S. stance on marijuana unchanged by legalization votes: official

    Reuters
    Saturday, October 20, 2012

    marijuana-pricesA top Justice Department official has told "60 Minutes" the federal government is ready to combat any "dangers" of state-sanctioned recreational pot, amid criticism of the Obama administration for its relative silence on legalization drives in three states. Voters in Colorado, Washington state and Oregon are set to vote on November 6 on whether to legalize and tax marijuana sales, raising the possibility of a showdown with the federal government, which views pot as illegal.

  • Compromise on cannabis club passes 'on its way', says AD

    DutchNews (Netherlands)
    Thursday, October 18, 2012

    The compromise would end the obligation on cannabis cafe owners to register users and would allow people to buy soft drugs all over the country. However 'foreigners' would be refused entry. Labour and the VVD are currently in talks on forming a new government and the wietpas is one of the areas where agreement still has to be reached. The VVD wants to press on with the new system but the Labour party is opposed. (See also: Soft drugs in the Netherlands)

  • It's drugs politics, not drugs policy, that needs an inquiry

    The sanity of politicians in opposition turns into the darkest taboo in power. This is the greatest failure of modern statecraft
    Simon Jenkins
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, October 16, 2012

    What should be researched is not drugs policy but drugs politics, the hold that taboo has on those in power, and the thrall that rightwing newspapers have over them. This has nothing to do with public opinion, which is now strongly in favour of reform. Most sensible people find the present regime disastrous and want drugs regulated, rather than the wild west that is the urban drug scene today. It is politicians who think "soft on drugs" implies some loss of potency. It is the greatest single failure of modern statecraft.

  • Drug legalization in Latin America: Could it be the answer?

    Gene Bolton
    Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)
    Tuesday, October 16, 2012

    Washington’s hard-lined anti-legalization position is unlikely to waiver regardless of who wins the upcoming U.S. presidential election. A more important question lies in Washington’s loss of influence within the region over the last ten years. As a result, the potential for legalization makes the overall political ramifications unpredictable for the region. This is especially true when it comes to Uruguay, a country that will soon be voting on the world’s first legalization legislation.

  • Medical marijuana advocates seek reclassification of drug

    Plaintiffs urge a U.S. appeals court to require the government to take into account marijuana's medical value and reclassify the drug
    Los Angeles Times (US)
    Tuesday, October 16, 2012

    asa-rescheduleA medical marijuana advocate urged a federal appeals court to require the U.S. government to relax, or at least rethink, a more-than-40-year-old rule that treats marijuana as a highly dangerous drug with no medical value. Federal drug regulators "have failed to weigh the evidence" from a growing number of medical studies showing that marijuana is effective for relieving pain and nausea, said Joe Elford, counsel for Americans for Safe Access. (See also: Appeals Court hears case on medical value of marijuana)

  • States legalizing marijuana will violate federal law, trigger constitutional showdown

    The Huffington Post (US web)
    Monday, October 15, 2012

    holderFormer Drug Enforcement Agency administrators and directors of the Office of National Drug Control Policy voiced a strong reminder to the U.S. Department of Justice that even if voters in Colorado, Oregon and Washington pass ballot measures to legalize marijuana use for adults and tax its sale, the legalization of marijuana still violates federal law and the passage of these measures could trigger a "Constitutional showdown."

  • France’s Minister of Education favours cannabis decriminalisation

    Digital Journal
    Monday, October 15, 2012

    vincent-peillonSpeaking on radio France Inter, Vincent Peillon said, "This is a major issue. I now see almost every night on television reports of illicit trafficking in our suburbs and the danger in which our people live, including school children. Of course, it can be fought by law enforcement. I am absolutely in favour of that, but at the same time, I can see that the results are not very efficient. The question (of decriminalization) has been asked and I hope we can move to seriously address it,” reports 20minutes.fr. (RFI: Outrage after French education minister hints cannabis should be legalised)

  • Britain's drug policies could be wasting billions

    The UK spends £3bn each year fighting drugs. But we've little idea if much of it is achieving anything
    Ruth Runciman, Chair of the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC)
    The Guardian (UK)
    Monday, October 15, 2012

    runcimanDespite the successes of recent years, there are still approximately 2,000 drug-related deaths in the UK every year. Nearly 400,000 people have serious drug problems and the annual cost to society is estimated to be about £15bn. There is little or no evidence to support much of current expenditure on law enforcement and education in schools. We spend billions a year without knowing if it does any good. In boom years this was objectionable; now it is unsustainable.

  • Decriminalise drug use, say experts after six-year study

    Advisors say no serious rise in consumption is likely if possession of small amounts of controlled drugs is allowed
    The Guardian (UK)
    Monday, October 15, 2012

    ukdpc-logoA six-year study of Britain's drug laws by leading scientists, police officers, academics and experts has concluded it is time to introduce decriminalisation. The report by the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC), an independent advisory body, says possession of small amounts of controlled drugs should no longer be a criminal offence and concludes the move will not lead to a significant increase in use. (See also: Case for drug decriminalisation rests on failure of 40-year-old law)

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