Latest news on drug policy issues in the international media

 

  • The high and the mighty

    Al Jazeera
    07 October 2010

    We investigate how the legalisation of cannabis in California could impact the economy and the criminal justice system.Cannabis is California's number one cash crop. This fall, voters will decide whether or not to fully legalise the drug and transform US drug policy.

  • California Pot Legalization Wouldn't Trump Federal Law

    The Wall Street Journal
    Wednesday, October 6, 2010

    Even if Californians vote next month to legalize marijuana, possession of the drug will still be a criminal offense under federal law, which trumps state law almost every time under the U.S. Constitution. But crackdowns on users and small-scale growers could decrease if Californians pass Proposition 19, the ballot measure proposing to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.

  • Drugs are a development issue - which is why we should legalise them

    Since drug prohibition deeply affects some of the world's poorest people, the development community must back legalisation calls
    Jonathan Glennie
    Guardian blog (UK)
    Tuesday, October 5, 2010

    If there is a "war on drugs", this is it. Mexico is undergoing worse violence than has been seen in Latin America in decades. President Felipe Calderon's decision to take the fight to the narcos has been returned with drug gang brutality on a massive scale. If any good is to come out of the tragedy afflicting Mexico, it is that the misguided global approach to drug regulation will be challenged and may, eventually, be changed.

  • Pot possession in Calif now like speeding ticket

    The Associated Press
    Friday, October 1, 2010

    A new law makes possessing up to an ounce of marijuana in California no more serious than getting a speeding ticket - a development both sides battling over a marijuana legalization ballot measure hope to exploit with the vote just a month away.

  • Schwarzenegger signs bill reducing offense for marijuana possession

    Los Angeles Times
    October 1, 2010

    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes Proposition 19, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but he offered a consolation Thursday by signing a bill that would downgrade possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor to an infraction. SB 1449 was written by state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who said it will keep marijuana-related cases from going to court-clogging jury trials, although the penalty would remain a fine of up to $100 but no jail time.

  • Sooner or later, marijuana will be legal

    Bill Piper (Drug Policy Alliance)
    CNN Opinion
    September 28, 2010

    It's as predictable as the sun rising and setting. Even though police made more than 850,000 marijuana arrests last year, a recent government report shows youth marijuana use increased by about 9 percent -- 76 percent of Americans recognize the drug war has failed; millions are demanding change.

  • Marijuana legalization measure gets big lift

    John Wildermuth
    San Francisco Chronicle (US)
    Sunday, September 26, 2010

    In a dramatic shift of sentiment, nearly half of California's likely voters now want to legalize marijuana use in the state, according to a new Field Poll. Forty-nine percent of those likely voters now support Prop. 19, with 42 percent opposed. In a July poll, 48 percent of those surveyed planned to vote against the ballot initiative, with 44 percent backing legalization.

  • France mulls opening 'shooting galleries' for drug addicts

    Guillaume Loiret
    France24
    Friday, September 24, 2010

    French officials across the political spectrum have expressed support for "shooting galleries", where addicts could use drugs under medical supervision. Such centres exist in several other European countries. The debate over "shooting galleries" started in the headquarters of an anti-addiction association located in the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris. In May 2009, the association, called ASUD (Self-support and Risk Reduction among Drug Users) opened a centre in which addicts could use drugs under medical supervision.

  • Former Spanish Drug Czar Says Legalize Drugs

    Drug War Chronicle
    Thursday, September 23, 2010

    In a blistering op-ed Wednesday in Spain's most important newspaper, El País, the country's former drug czar, Araceli Manjón-Cabeza, called for an end to drug prohibition. Manjon-Cabeza's call for legalization comes just a week after former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González also called for drug legalization.

  • A chance for a scientific drugs policy

    There's a growing recognition that Labour's incoherent drugs policy has failed. Let's build a science-based replacement
    David Nutt
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, September 21, 2010

    Last week Professor Roger Pertwee called for cannabis to be licensed for sale, and now Tim Hollis, the Association of Chief Police Officers' lead officer on drugs, has said the current criminalisation-based approach to policing cannabis use should be reviewed. Pertwee and Hollis are bringing a welcome breath of fresh air to the debate about drugs and the harm they do. The government now has the chance to take a genuinely science-based approach to drugs policy.

Page 428 of 436