The article reviews the status of khat, the most recent plant based psychoactive substance to reach a global market, and considers policy making processes in general and the framework of drug control in particular. The risk assessment and classification of psychoactive drugs is a contested arena where political, economic and moral agendas collide, leaving countries that have banned khat, with significant social costs. To best manage the risks arising from the increasing availability of khat it is therefore suggested to draft a regulatory framework with clear objectives and guiding principles.

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At the recently concluded 6th Latin American and 1st Caribbean Conference on Drug Policy, held in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, I started a discussion on the cannabis situation in Jamaica with a statement that “A lot has happened and a lot has not happened”, and this is the very same way I wish to start the engagement in this blog. Jamaica has in the last two (2) years has been thrust into the midst of the international discourse on drug policy reform, with specific emphasis on Cannabis reform.

With two US states - Washington and Colorado - voting to legalise the recreational use of marijuana, a similar liberal approach towards mild intoxicants in India is up for debate. Consumption of marijuana and other cannabis derivatives such as bhang dates back hundreds of years with strong roots in Indian culture. Untill 1985, marijuana and other cannabis derivatives were legally sold in the country through authorised retail shops. The enactment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in that year - carried out under pressure from the US - pushed the marijuana trade underground.

Forty years ago, the Netherlands was far ahead of its time. But today we see the country moving backwards, as evidenced by a recent report on the drugs culture in Amsterdam. The authors of the report, believe that Dutch society is ‘undermined’ by organised drugs crime, though it’s hard to say what the evidence is to support these conclusions. A new ‘hard approach’ – rather similar to the old approach elsewhere in the world – with more police powers must be deployed, in addition to stigmatising users, the report’s authors argued. The ban on drugs does not have the support of the majority of the Dutch. Most use is not problematic and users would rather buy their goods in a legal market, with quality guarantees and tax revenues to be spent on the people who do get into trouble.

It’s not known exactly how many gangs there are in South Africa’s Western Cape province, but gang membership has been estimated at more than 100 000. Almost all these gangs, most concentrated in Cape Town, make the bulk of their money from procuring and selling illegal leisure drugs such as tik (crystal methamphetimine), heroin, nyaope (a street drug that mixes several illicit drugs) and dagga (marijuana). Herein lies the conundrum: the criminalisation of possession and use of drugs creates conditions that are conducive for organised crime. This is why understanding the use, misuse and trade of illegal drugs is central to any intervention involving gangs and any policy relating to them.

In mid-January, the Czech National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil plans to introduce a bill to free up the cannabis market. The exact form of regulation is currently being drawn up by working groups, after which Vobořil will seek public and political support. However, this is currently lacking among the People's Party, which considers the relaxation risky.  "We have to deal with complex topics like Schengen," Vobořil said. With the People's Party, which has 23 seats in the lower house, despite the willingness to discuss a specific proposal, friction can be expected. "We do not agree with the general legalization of cannabis. However, we support its use for medicinal purposes."

Marijuana may be an issue of easy agreement in the ongoing coalition talks between Germany's leading parties. Despite numerous points of contention, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens can find themselves aligned when it comes to cannabis legalization. The FDP emphasizes the revenue that the state could earn from taxing prerolled joints, cannabis flower and edibles. The Greens say legalization would put an end to illegal sales and reduce organized crime. Social Democrat health expert Karl Lauterbach urged the next government to legalize cannabis. Here is a look at countries that have already loosened their policies.

Learn how lessening the barriers for small farmers while raising them for large companies can help to steer legal cannabis markets in a more sustainable and equitable direction based on principles of community empowerment, social justice, fair(er) trade and sustainable development.

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Through manipulating trust and exploiting public ignorance, cannabis charlatans – new and old – are trying to construct corporate empires, some of which appear to be based on corruption, collusion and exploitation. Without transparency, credibility and integrity from the get-go, the equitable growth and sustainability of the South African cannabis community stands to be sacrificed purely for the sake of profit. In 2018 the Constitutional Court ruled that the prohibition of cultivating, possessing and consuming cannabis in private in South Africa was unconstitutional. Since then, much has been happening around cannabis. Unfortunately, the bulk of this action has been based on a misunderstanding of what both the new and developing laws mean, creating a great deal of uncertainty.

It’s been five years since the Canadian government legalized and regulated non-medical cannabis cultivation, commerce, and consumption. California is ahead of us by two years, having followed a similar experiment in 2016 when it legalized recreational cannabis. Today, California and Canada are facing similar challenges though they have adopted vastly different regulations. The two jurisdictions offer an interesting contrast in how regulatory frameworks can support or undermine a nascent legal cannabis industry. Evidence from the past five years suggests that the regulations have failed to provide equitable access to the industry and develop balanced tax structures. Legalization in Canada and California also remains hampered by the legacy of global cannabis prohibition.

Se ha cumplido un año de la legalización canadiense del cannabis recreativo. Canadá fue el segundo país –después de Uruguay- en insertar en el marco legal la mariguana con fines lúdicos, pero ha sido hasta el momento el único miembro del G20 en llevar a cabo una medida de ese calado en todo su territorio. “El escenario negativo tan publicitado simplemente no ocurrió. Se temía un aumento del consumo y consecuencias en la esfera laboral. También se imaginaban salas de urgencias saturadas. La legalización entró en vigor, va avanzando y refleja que es mejor que la prohibición. Por supuesto que está el tema del mercado negro. Aún es muy grande, pero tomará tiempo para que se reduzca significativamente”, comenta Jean-Sébastien Fallu, profesor en la Universidad de Montreal

Dozens of legal cannabis producers, backed by billions in investor capital, were expected to put the black market on its heels, launching Canada to the forefront of an expanding global industry with the promise of mass-produced, high-quality, heavily regulated marijuana. But scandals, sluggish earnings and executive shakeups have replaced the soaring expectations of a year ago. Government data show that the legal market has only supplanted 14 per cent of the black market since legalization on Oct. 17, 2018, and some are concerned that further inroads may be difficult to come by. One of the biggest problems was that the industry’s early focus on scale — something that was largely a symptom of the push to raise capital ahead of legalization — distracted it from other important considerations.

The Australian Capital Territory law to legalise cannabis possession appears to “do nothing to end the continuing operation” of commonwealth offences, Christian Porter has warned. The attorney general’s comments suggest Canberra cannabis users will be left in legal limbo when the laws take effect from February, contradicting the ACT government’s claim that its law provides a defence to the federal offence. The Morrison government has stepped up its rhetoric against the laws. Health minister, Greg Hunt, accused the ACT government of being “blind and indifferent to the health consequences” of cannabis after asking it what medical evidence was considered before legalising it.

Established medical cannabis companies could be looking to set their foot in Malta’s flegdling recreational cannabis market, according to sources. Releaf, the NGO that led the campaign to legalise recreational cannabis, fear that the sacking of the Authority for Responsible Use of Cannabis’s first director could lead to the dealer-driven black economy for cannabis poised for a takeover “an equally profit-driven market run by a few friends in high places”. Mariella Dimech was sacked after 10 months in the job, with not one single licence for the non-profit cannabis ‘clubs’ having yet been issued. Dimech complained that she had been left without a functional office, staff, budget or political strategy with which to carry out her job. (See also: McKay appointment a ‘direct insult to the spirit of the law’, says Releaf Malta)

The European Union is currently a hotchpotch of different approaches to cannabis use, ranging from complete prohibition to different levels of decriminalisation and tolerance. Even in liberal enclaves like Barcelona and Amsterdam, the sale of cannabis from licensed clubs or outlets, is only allowed on murky legal grounds. But legalisation remains a rarity, with only Luxembourg preceding Malta in plans to legalise home-growing of a limited number of plants. But that is about to change as Germany, the EU’s economic powerhouse and most populous and influential country, is set to embark on legalisation, which could well have an impact across the continent.

Voters in some parts of Alaska rejected efforts to ban commercial marijuana cultivation and retail sales, three years after the nation’s largest state passed a voter initiative legalizing the recreational use of the drug. The votes came during local elections in the state’s major marijuana growing areas — in and around Fairbanks and on the Kenai Peninsula southwest of Anchorage. All lost by wide margins. If the bans had been successful, they would have forced retail stores and cultivation facilities to close within 90 days and that would have left a gaping hole for other retail stores across the state in need of product. Personal use and growing pot at home for that use would still be allowed.

El presidente Alberto Fernández aseguró que no tiene "problema" que durante su gestión se abra el debate sobre la legalización de la marihuana en Argentina, la comparó con el consumo de alcohol y advirtió que es "el mayor problema en los jóvenes" pero que pasa eso "no hay restricciones". Para el mandatario "hay algunas cosas sobre las que no tiene sentido" discutir, como por ejemplo "que el consumo de marihuana se ha expandido y que muchos jóvenes la consumen", pero "también es cierto que la marihuana es nociva, que como toda droga genera perjuicios a la salud". (Véase también: El gobierno habilitó el registro para autorizar el cultivo de cannabis medicinal)

La semana pasada tendría que haberse presentado el borrador de ley para la legalización del cannabis en Alemania según los planes del ministro de Salud, Karl Lauterbach, a quién el Gobierno alemán ha encargado el proyecto. Pero no ha habido novedades. Según el medio alemán LTO, el retraso se debe en parte a que varios ministros estuvieron enfermos y no pudieron acudir a una reunión previa sobre el tema que estaba programada para el miércoles. Aún así, según las fuentes consultadas por el medio, el proyecto sigue sin estar acabado y hay novedades que apuntan a que el Gobierno prevé renunciar a una legalización que incluya la producción y venta de cannabis, al menos en un primer momento.

El Gobierno de coalición de Alemania avanza hacia la legalización del cannabis y el ministro de Salud, Karl Lauterbach, confirmó que está previsto tener listo un proyecto de ley para finales de este año. En su intervención durante una serie de consultas con expertos en Berlín, Lauterbach dijo que la legalización del cannabis era "un paso largamente esperado por muchos". "El consumo de cannabis con moderación, de forma segura, de alta calidad y sin delitos en su adquisición es algo que debe aceptarse y forma parte de una sociedad moderna", aseguró el ministro de Salud alemán. El jefe de la cartera sanitaria germana remarcó sin embargo que aún debían aclararse varias cuestiones, entre ellas la protección de los menores, pero también aspectos relativos al código penal, así como la legislación fiscal y de tráfico.