Police have been accused of decriminalising cannabis by stealth as forces recorded a drop in possession offences of up to 75 per cent in a decade. More than half of police forces recorded 40 per cent fewer crimes despite cannabis remaining the most popular drug, analysis by The Timesshowed. Police chiefs and police and crime commissioners (PCCs), as well as the organisation for rank-and-file officers, have called for a review of the legislation on drugs, particularly cannabis. Recorded crime for possession of cannabis has dropped in most forces since 2008, with Greater Manchester’s figure falling by 75 per cent.

Albania is expected to see an increase of cannabis production in the wake of the coronavirus. According to a report compiled by Europol, the cultivation of herbal cannabis is expected to increase as law enforcement resources are diverted to enforce compliance with COVID-19 restriction measures. The report points out that certain trafficking routes from the Western Balkans are still in use, based on recent large seizures of herbal cannabis in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. In addition, in early May, a one metric tonne seizure of herbal cannabis was reported near the Albanian-Greek border. (See also: Cop among 37 arrested in Albania-Italy drugs op)

Before Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, there was considerable debate about its potential effects. Some predicted it would trigger an economic “goldrush,” while others worried it would lead to public health “tragedies.” As it turns out, certain trends were already underway before legalization and continued afterward. On the flip side, some changes did not happen as anticipated. The percentage of adults using cannabis had already been increasing prior to 2018. Unsurprisingly, it continued to rise after legalization. There was a boost after legalization beyond the ongoing trend. But part of that might have been from people becoming more open about cannabis use. On the other hand, teenagers’ cannabis use hardly budged after 2018.

Canadians will get pardons if they were convicted of possessing marijuana before it was legalised. That means their criminal record for cannabis possession is kept separate from other criminal records - but it doesn't erase the crime. It could still affect people in situations like job applications, travelling abroad and getting houses - and the person who wants a pardon has to apply and pay for it. Some politicians argue that pardoning doesn't go far enough and something called expungement - when all government records of the crime are erased - should happen instead. "We now need to go back and be able to remove the stain that is on the record," the New Democratic Party's Guy Caron said.

The reform enacted by the Maltese government in 2021 Act No. LXVI to establish the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis and to amend various laws relating to certain cannabis activities, included strong provisions to safeguard public health, human rights, respect for personal freedoms and autonomy. Nonetheless, parts of the new law in Malta, including the de facto implementation of the law, continue to reflect discriminatory practices of the past and replicates injustices and suffering for people who consume cannabis. Unfortunately, the law has totally ignored the negative effects caused by criminalisation and continues to promote a stigmatised approach. (See also: Cannabis lobby slams 'regressive' Labour manifesto)

La planta de cannabis podría abandonar su estatus de “sustancia prohibida” en Argentina este 2020. Después de más de 30 años de sancionada la actual ley de drogas, el Gobierno nacional activó los primeros mecanismos para cambiar la legislación y dar un paso paradigmático: el de la regulación y el fin de la criminalización. “La solución no es andar persiguiendo a los que se fuman un porro”, remarcó Alberto Fernández en junio del año pasado, cuando aún como candidato le preguntaron por la cuestión del cannabis. Fuentes del gobierno ya estiman que en un 80% de los apresados con marihuana tenían menos de 5 gramos en su poder al momento de ser aprehendidos por alguna fuerza policial.

Canada’s federal government is currently working to pass a bill that would provide pardons for people convicted of minor cannabis possession. With a federal election around the corner, it may be too little, too late. As a result of mounting pressure, Canada’s federal government is now struggling to pass this bill before politicians leave the capital for the summer break. If the bill does not pass, it is unlikely to do so before a national election this fall, leaving tens of thousands of lives hanging in the balance. What Canadian legalization lacks are the important measures needed to repair the damage caused by almost a century of prohibition.

Los nuevos ministros de Seguridad nacional y bonaerense impulsan para el 2020 un “debate serio” sobre la despenalización del cannabis para empezar a revertir el paradigma de la “lucha contra el narcotráfico”. Esa metodología, ensalzada por la ex ministra del área Patricia Bullrich, es la que hizo que en los años recientes “se abrieran 22 causas por día vinculadas a la tenencia de drogas para consumo personal”, según un estudio realizado en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Según el estudio “una de cada cuatro causas iniciadas son por consumo” de drogas. El informe agrega que “en los últimos cinco años, se registró un aumento del 110 por ciento en el número de las instrucciones penales preparatorias vinculadas a la violación a la Ley de Estupefacientes”.

En su Informe correspondiente a 2022, la Junta Internacional de Fiscalización de Estupefacientes (JIFE), el “órgano independiente y cuasi judicial constituido por expertos” que supervisa la aplicación de los tratados de fiscalización de drogas de la ONU, se centra en la legalización del cannabis. Cada año, en el primer capítulo de su informe anual, la Junta aborda una cuestión específica que considera importante para los debates sobre políticas de drogas y el funcionamiento del sistema internacional de fiscalización de estupefacientes. Este año se centra en la legalización del cannabis, porque, como muchos han observado, una década después de que el primer Estado regulara legalmente el cannabis recreativo para adultos, “un número creciente de Estados ha adoptado políticas que permiten el consumo de cannabis con fines no médicos ni científicos”.

The new law will target a specially designated zone in which fines for possession will be doubled even for a first offence. Any subsequent offence will lead to an immediate prison sentence. In a press briefing, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard also announced “a massive police effort in the short term”. The announcement by the government comes after a period of violence and shootings around the Pusher Street market in Christiania. The market is known for its illicit cannabis trade and has been since the 1970s, but the increasing presence of organised crime groups has resulted in violence and shootings. (See also: Christianites are happy that the Minister of Justice is taking action. But doubt that double penalties are the right thing to do)

A government plan to shut down the Christiania ‘Pusher Street’ cannabis market and double drug penalties in the zone risks pushing crime into other parts of Copenhagen, according to a spokesperson for marginalised groups, Nanna W. Gotfredsen, from coalition partner the Moderate party. New measures expected to be implemented by the government to fight gang-related violence in Christiania could have a negative impact elsewhere in Copenhagen, a spokesperson from the Moderates said after the plan was announced. Gotfredsen expressed concerns about the plan which was presented by the government her own party is a part of. (See also: Criminologist on new proposal: Tougher penalties are not the solution)

Christoffer Badse, the head of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, has accused the government of abusing its power with the continuance of its residence ban in Christiania, which Copenhagen Police continues to maintain is necessary to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Since January 7, it has been illegal to loiter in the areas known as Pusher Street and the Green Light District, and Badse contends the government should not be using extraordinary powers to fight crime – in this case the sale of cannabis. The ban has now been extended 11 times. Violating the 10:00-24:00 daily ban on loitering carries a potential fine of 2,500 kroner. Badse is concerned the abuse of power could lead to the public ultimately losing its trust in the police. 

Almost a decade after extensive police raids in 2004 that were intended to clear out the drug dealers in Christiania, police estimate that the trade in cannabis is as strong as it was before. Residents explain that while the trade might have returned, the atmosphere is quite different from the days before the 2004 invasion by police, with greater levels of violence and intimidation. “The hash trade today is just as open as it was in 2004 and up on the same level. We believe that a billion kroner is sold every year,” says Lau Thygesen, of the Copenhagen Police’s department for organised crime. The news comes as a blow to Copenhagen’s City Council whose request to experiment with the decriminalisation of cannabis was turned down by the Justice Ministry in May.

Fernanda de la Figuera, la activista más veterana de España por la legalización del cannabis, será juzgada este miércoles en Málaga, vista oral que se suspendió el pasado abril por unos hechos que se remontan a 2014, cuando le requisaron las plantas de su huerto con las que se abastecían con fines terapéuticos y medicinales más de un centenar de socias de una asociación de mujeres. El fiscal solicita para ella cuatro años de cárcel para ella en un procedimiento judicial representantes de la Universidad, las letras, el movimiento asociativo y el derecho consideran un despropósito, fruto de la ausencia de una regulación del cannabis en nuestro país, y que exigen, por ello, el sobreseimiento de la causa contra esta mujer de 76 años, la "Abuela Marihuana".

Un informe realizado por la Unidad Reguladora y de Control de Datos Personales avala el pedido que el Ministerio del Interior de Uruguay viene realizando para poder acceder a los domicilios de los clubes cannábicos registrados en el Instituto de Regulación y Control del Cannabis (Ircca). Entre las consideraciones que realiza el trabajo, se expresa que “siguiendo el criterio establecido por esta Unidad en el Dictamen Nº16/018, se puede entregar la información de los domicilios en forma anonimizada”. A juicio de Daniel Radío, titular de la Secretaría Nacional de Droga (SND), la norma que rige no los habilita a dar la información. “Si la diéramos vulneraríamos la identidad”, dijo. Radío dijo que la SND es la encargada de fiscalizar los clubes y que la inspección es presencial y virtual.

Many myths surround coca. Every day press accounts around the world use the word coca in their headlines, when they refer in fact to cocaine. TNI's Drugs and Democracy Team expose the myths and reality surrounding the coca leaf.

See also: Fact Sheet: Coca leaf and the UN Drugs Conventions

It is unfortunate that 35 years after the first chemical spraying in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, we are still writing about aerial sprayings in Colombia, demanding the current government – how many governments have not happened since! – to definitely defer an ecocide and incompetent policy. Throughout these years we have seen increasing national and international voices opposing the spraying of coca with the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate).

At 5am on a chilly Tuesday morning last month, 1,600 police officers and balaclava-wearing special forces, bristling with arms and battering rams, were ordered into action around the Belgian port city of Antwerp. More than 200 addresses were raided in what was the largest police operation ever conducted in the country and potentially one of the most significant moves yet against the increasingly powerful narco-gangs of western Europe. There are hopes that Operation Sky will herald the downfall of a generation of local bosses, although the Belgian and Dutch “godfathers” largely now hide out in Dubai and Turkey, hoping to be out of reach of the authorities. An incredible 27 tonnes of cocaine have been seized on Antwerp’s quays, in container ships and safe houses.

Fernanda de la Figuera, la activista más veterana de España por la legalización del cannabis, ha sido condenada por el Juzgado de lo Penal número 5 de Málaga a 9 meses de prisión y una multa de 10.000 euros por el cultivo y distribución de la marihuana de la que se abastecía la asociación de mujeres MaríasxMaría con fines terapéuticos, una pena inferior a la de cuatro años de cárcel que solicitaba para ella el fiscal. La sentencia, que va a ser recurrida por Fernanda de la Figuera, también conocida como la abuela marihuana, considera probado que esta mujer, de 76 años, es culpable de un delito de tráfico de drogas de "sustancias que no causan grave daño a la salud". (Véase también: La 'Abuela Marihuana', condenada a nueve meses de cárcel aunque no entrará en prisión)