Luxembourg plans to allow people to buy 30 grammes of cannabis per month – enough for anywhere between one to three joints a day – according to details of a report published by the local radio station Radio 100,7. The government roadmap is not expected to be signed into law for another two years. Recreational cannabis will be limited to persons over the age of 18 and registered in the country for at least six months. Consumption will remain prohibited in public spaces and anywhere where a smoking ban applies. The government plans to set up sales points across the country, though they must not be located near schools. The cultivation of cannabis by private individuals will remain a criminal offence, as only licenced suppliers will be allowed to provide cannabis products.

En 2019, aparte de celebrarse los diez años de la Constitución (7-9 de febrero de 2009), también se cumple una década desde que el país empezara la acción internacional por la despenalización de la hoja de coca. Como un efecto directo de la Constitución, que en su artículo 384 establece la protección estatal de la “coca originaria y ancestral” y su “revalorización, producción, comercialización e industrialización”, el 12 de marzo de 2009  “la Misión Permanente de Bolivia ante las Naciones Unidas hace llegar al Secretario General (Ban Ki Moon) una nota verbal”, junto a una carta del presidente Evo Morales, donde en lo básico pide eliminar “los incisos 2e) y 1c) del artículo 49 de la Convención Única de las Naciones Unidas sobre Estupefacientes de 1961”.

El presidente de Colombia, Gustavo Petro, hizo en su discurso de investidura un llamado a "todos los armados a dejar las armas en las nebulosas del pasado" para que "la paz sea posible" y así "terminar, de una vez y para siempre, con seis décadas de violencia y conflicto armado". El primer mandatario de izquierda en la historia de Colombia planteó acabar con la fracasada "guerra antidrogas" y pasar a una "política de prevención fuerte del consumo" en los países desarrollados. "Es hora de una nueva convención internacional que acepte que la guerra contra las drogas ha fracasado", dijo el nuevo presidente del país con la mayor producción mundial de cocaína. (Véase también: ‘Es hora de una nueva Convención Internacional que acepte que la guerra contra las drogas ha fracasado rotundamente”, enfatizó el Presidente Petro)

Alemania evalúa las consecuencias de convertirse próximamente en el mayor mercado potencial para la venta legal de cannabis, ya que el Gobierno de coalición de centro-izquierda sigue adelante con su plan de permitir la distribución controlada de la droga entre adultos. A finales de junio terminó el proceso de consulta de cinco sesiones con expertos en salud, economistas y productores de cannabis, lo que supone el disparo de salida de una carrera que pretende despejar el camino de obstáculos legales y regulatorios en los próximos dos años. Se espera un proyecto de ley para la segunda mitad de 2022. La decisión de la mayor economía de Europa de legalizar el cannabis para uso recreativo podría generar un impulso para cambiar la convención de Naciones Unidas que restringe el cultivo de la planta.

El Comité de Expertos en Farmacodependencia (ECDD por sus siglas en inglés, o Comité de Expertos) de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) publicó en enero de 2019 los resultados del primer examen crítico del cannabis, en los que recomienda que se introduzcan algunos cambios en la clasificación actual de las sustancias relacionadas con el cannabis en virtud de los tratados de fiscalización de drogas de las Naciones Unidas.

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Health Minister Lauterbach's prestige project is one of the few issues on which the traffic light parties in Germany agree. But they are meeting with resistance in Brussels. In order to implement his legalisation plans, however, Lauterbach needs the approval of the EU Commission, because they affect European law. "It is up to the member states to decide how they deal with the personal use of drugs, including cannabis," says the EU Commission. This sounds positive but in reverse it means: as soon as it comes to production and trade in the commercial sector, the restrictive EU law applies. In order to find a way out of this, Lauterbach actually wants to convince the EU Commission with an "interpretation declaration". (See also: German cannabis regulation on thin ice)

La Constitución marca el inicio de un nuevo paradigma para la coca, lo que se concretó con la denuncia de Bolivia a la Convención Única de 1961 y su readhesión en 2013, bajo la reserva sobre el derecho al uso tradicional, ritual, cultural y medicinal de la planta en su estado natural. Esta reserva nos obliga a establecer mecanismos de control sobre el cultivo para prevenir la producción ilícita de estupefacientes extraíbles de la hoja. Así nace en 2017 la Ley General de Coca, para regular la cadena de producción solo en territorio local, lo que dificulta la apertura de mercados internacionales. El artículo 12 de la Ley de Coca cita como prioridad nacional su exportación.

En el Día Nacional del Acullico (cada 11 de enero desde 2017), en la Vicepresidencia del Estado se presentó el libro Hoja de coca: antecedentes y perspectivas para su exportación, una investigación de Patricia Chulver y Jesús Sanez, patrocinada por la Fundación Acción Semilla y la Fundación Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. El texto tiene la virtud de poner nuevamente en agenda la producción masiva de la Hoja Sagrada, ya no solo en vista al mercado local, sino de otros países, limítrofes y no. El libro vuelve a plantear que al margen del hecho económico en sí, la propuesta de viabilidad del mercado ampliado de la coca es esencialmente política.  Pero en esto hay que ver una línea de continuidad, antes que una ruptura: la hoja de coca, como un hecho de reivindicación cultural siempre tuvo un carácter político.

The German government has released its ‘Eckpunktepapier’, a concept note laying out the key points to shape the regulation of the recreational cannabis market. Presenting the key points at a press conference this week, Health Minister Lauterbach made clear that it had not been easy to reach agreement within the ‘Ampel’ coalition and between the involved ministries. Clearly one of the trickiest issues has been how to deal with the legal hurdles of the UN drug treaties and EU law. Germany’s current interpretative approach puts the fate of the entire project for cannabis regulation on very thin ice. But there is still time to change course, and legally sound and politically viable alternative options are available. 

Cannabis has become a part of everyday culture in Germany and now, policymaking. The coalition government of center-left Social Democrats (SPD), environmentalist Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) stated clearly: "We are introducing the controlled supply of recreational cannabis to adults in licensed shops." To turn these words into practical policies, however, is proving to be a monumental task. It involves almost every federal government ministry, which makes the legislative process very complex. Although all signs point toward legalization, a cannabis consumer gets caught in the net of the police and judicial system every three minutes. That is why activists are calling for the consumption of cannabis to be decriminalized immediately as a first step, something provided for in the UN conventions.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented his plans on the legalization of cannabis. He said that Germany's drug policy had to be renewed because the current policies weren't successful. His aim was to evoke better health policies and increased protection for minors. Germany was not trying to imitate the Dutch model, as the country didn't have a regulated market. Rather, the plan signified "the most liberal legalization of cannabis in Europe", while also entailing "the most regulated market" in the EU. This approach could become a model for Europe. However, before it can be taken forward, the European Commission has to check whether the plan was viable under European and international law. (See also: Germany sets out plans for cannabis legalisation amid EU law worries | Kiffer müssen auf grünes Licht aus Brüssel warten)

Legal hurdles are slowing down German plans to allow the controlled distribution of cannabis among adults, with fears that a badly crafted law to legalise the drug could be thrown out by the European court of justice. In the initial debate around legalising cannabis in Germany, the main obstacle identified was the UN 1961 single convention on narcotic drugs, whose obligations Canada and Uruguay ignored when they took steps to legalise the drug. Now, however, Berlin increasingly sees the convention as the smaller challenge as the binding nature of various European laws has come into focus. A Council of the European Union framework decision from 2004, for example, requires member states to ensure that the sale of drugs including cannabis are “punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties”.

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was set to hold a significant vote to reclassify cannabis as a medicine, a historic change to international drug control treaties drafted nearly sixty years ago. But that vote isn’t happening, according to a draft decision. “After politically tense and lengthy informal negotiations these past weeks, everything points to that there will not be a vote on any of the WHO recommendations this coming week,” Martin Jelsma, the program director for drugs and democracy at the Transnational Institute (TNI), said. "Several countries pushed hard to vote on and accept at least the deletion of cannabis from Schedule IV of the Single Convention, but in the end agreed to a compromise to postpone all, in return for a clear timeline for taking a vote within a year."

The Dutch government should regulate the production of party drug ecstasy to remove it from the criminal circuit, GroenLinks parliamentarian Kathalijne Buitenweg says in the Volkskrant. ‘The government does not have to make the pills itself but should regulate production,’ to make sure they meet proper quality standards, Buitenweg said. ‘It is not just a question of health but a question of doing something about the worrying increase in criminal power,’ she told the paper. The MP wants the government to take the initiative to revise UN drugs treaties. Breda mayor Paul Depla also told the Volkskrant the government should take a stand.

Ministers are refusing to say if there were any breakthroughs on the stand-off with London over the Government’s flagship cannabis legislation during top level talks with a senior British official. Ministers are staying quiet despite the matter leaving Bermuda on the brink of a constitutional crisis. Paul Candler, the Overseas Territories Directorat the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, visited Bermuda for talks after Rena Lalgie, the Governor, effectively stalled the Cannabis Licensing Act and called for discussions on the matter between Hamilton and Westminster. The Government has been unusually tight-lipped on the issue since the Governor reserved giving Royal Assent to the Bill – a move just short of rejecting it. (See also: Canadian law may signal way out of constitutional impasse)

A decision by Rena Lalgie, the Governor, to reserve assent on the Government’s controversial flagship cannabis legislation plunged Bermuda into uncharted constitutional waters. But the Governor urged Bermuda officials to work with the British Government to find a compromise in comments which seemed to suggest she was trying to avoid a constitutional crisis. David Burt, the Premier, has previously stated that if the move to legalise consumption and production of the drug was not granted Royal Assent it would “destroy” relations with London. The Governor said in a statement that the Cannabis Licensing Act 2022 appeared to her to be “inconsistent” with what she understood to be obligations held by the UK and Bermuda under UN Conventions. (See also: Government says it is waiting to hear from UK on cannabis law)

Ningún país del mundo se ha atrevido a abrir el debate sobre legalización de las drogas en las Naciones Unidas. Esa alternativa, necesaria y lógica, habida cuenta de los consabidos desastres que ha entrañado el régimen prohibicionista, no ha tenido ninguna cabida en el sistema internacional de fiscalización de estupefacientes, edificada sobre la Convención Única (1961) a partir de la cual, los 183 países que la ratificaron se obligan a prohibir y sancionar todas las conductas relacionadas con la producción, comercialización y consumo de estupefacientes, exceptuando solamente los usos médicos y científicos. Una modificación sustantiva requiere de un nuevo consenso global que no se avizora en el horizonte de las formales discusiones internacionales. Colombia es el país más indicado para tomar la iniciativa y poner sobre la mesa.

Lo que sucedió en el 66º Periodo de Sesiones de la Comisión de Estupefacientes de las Naciones Unidas, en Viena (Austria), es histórico: después de 62 años de vigencia de la Convención Única de Estupefacientes de 1961, en la que desde el principio, en la primera lista de cuatro, la hoja de coca está catalogada como estupefaciente, el país anunció que en dos meses (en mayo) presentará el pedido oficial de revisar la calificación de la hoja de coca como una forma de droga: “Bolivia solicitará a las Naciones Unidas, a la Convención de 1961, a activar el proceso de examen crítico de la actual clasificación de la hoja de coca como estupefaciente en la Lista 1”, anunció el vicepresidente David Choquehuanca.

Ever since Canada became the first major country to legalize marijuana for adults a year ago, other nations have been paying attention. The small South American nation of Uruguay was the first to legalize marijuana for adults. New Zealand, Luxembourg and Mexico are among those that have looked to Canada for guidance or lessons, while Russia has chastised it for its “barefaced″ flouting of international anti-drug treaties. Mexico’s legalization is not likely to mirror Canada’s, where a few massive corporations have dominated production and more artisanal growers have largely been shut out. Russia laments the “barefaced″ and “blatant violation by Canada of its international obligations″ under anti-drug treaties.

No pressure, Colorado and Washington, but the world is scrutinizing your every move. That was the take-home message of an event today at the Brookings Institution, discussing the international impact of the move toward marijuana legalization at the state-level in the U.S. Laws passed in Colorado and Washington, with other states presumably to come, create a tension with the U.S. obligations toward three major international treaties governing drug control.