Czechia could gain up to CZK 15 billion (EUR 600 million) a year thanks to new taxation of addictive substances and more efficient collection. The proposal also envisages the introduction of a strictly regulated cannabis market. It could bring up to CZK 4 billion (EUR 160 million) from the sale of cannabis products and from licensing. "We want to introduce a legal cannabis market. The fact that we have some portion of addictive substances under prohibition is a great social experiment that is not working," national drug coordinator Jindřich Vobořil said. He is discussing with colleagues in other states. (See also: Drug Reporter: How will Czechia legalise cannabis? | Could Czechia become second EU country to legalise recreational cannabis?)

Los fumadores de marihuana de Países Bajos, que ha aplicado una cuarentena por el coronavirus en gran parte de su territorio, recibieron la noticia de que las cafeterías que venden cannabis han reabierto para atender pedidos para llevar. Los negocios que venden cannabis y hashish recibieron la orden de cerrar, al igual que los clubes de sexo y saunas, cuando el gobierno holandés impuso medidas para frenar la propagación de la epidemia del COVID-19 el 15 de marzo. La reapertura limitada fue autorizada para evitar ventas de drogas en el mercado negro y garantizar la oferta de marihuana medicinal. Como las normas que buscan contener el coronavirus prohíben las reuniones de personas, los compradores ya no podrán quedarse en el lugar a fumar.

Those favoring strict drug laws believe that, as marijuana becomes more available and less stigmatized, teen drug use will go up. It's a straightforward and logical belief. The reality is that, to date, not one jurisdiction, either in the U.S. or elsewhere, has seen a marked increase in teen drug use following the relaxation of marijuana restrictions. Not one. Both Colorado and Washington, the pioneer states of marijuana legalization, have actually seen drops in teen marijuana use following legalization. The drop in Colorado was particularly dramatic. Despite the wave of legalization, nationwide, teen drug use is at a 20-year low.

Illinois is about to make history as the first state to legalize recreational cannabis and allow commercial sales through the state legislature instead of via a voter initiative. But this historic piece of legislation almost died along the way over the increasingly contentious issue of homegrow. Lawmakers compromised by allowing only medical cannabis patients to cultivate for themselves; recreational consumers can’t grow at all. It actually represents a worrying trend for those who believe that the right to grow your own cannabis is an essential part of a truly equitable legalization plan. Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey appear poised to make the same mistake. Some of the biggest players in New York’s nascent cannabis industry have been aggressively lobbying against homegrowing.

Inspiriert von Berlin haben Hamburg und Münster vor wenigen Monaten beschlossen zu überprüfen, ob man nicht einen ähnlichen Antrag formulieren könne. In Bremen setzt sich der neue Bürgermeister Carsten Sieling (SPD) seit seinem Amtsantritt für die Eröffnung von Coffeeshops ein, auch der Düsseldorfer Stadtrat will es versuchen. Strafrechtsprofessoren, Polizisten und Jugendrichter plädieren dafür, Cannabis legal zu verkaufen und die Drogenpolitik an die moderne Gesellschaft anzupassen.

Youth use of pot and cannabis-abuse treatment admissions have not increased in Washington since marijuana was legalized, according to a new analysis by the state Legislature’s think tank. Under Initiative 502, the state’s legal-pot law, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) is required to conduct periodic cost-benefit analyses of legalization on issues ranging from drugged-driving to prenatal use of marijuana. One of those reports was due after three years of legal sales. But the report was limited in scope to just a few impacts — including the degree of youth use and adult use, treatment admissions and criminal convictions.

The study 'The Netherlands and synthetic drugs: An inconvenient truth' by the Dutch police academy on the role of the Netherlands in the production of synthetic drugs has the sound of "We, the people at Toilet Duck, recommend Toilet Duck". The rather predictable conclusion of this investigation is that law enforcement needs more money and resources. In passing, competitors for limited government budgets, like those who advocate a public health approach to drug policy, are rendered suspect; they stand in the way of an “effective” policy of repression.

Thailand’s military government is carrying out an experiment: What happens when a country in Asia, a region where drug laws tend to be harsh, essentially legalizes marijuana overnight? In the first few months, lots of people have opened weed dispensaries, and their customers have smoked a lot of weed. Thailand’s marijuana industry has a joyful, freewheeling vibe on a street level. But the high times may not last. Sprawling draft legislation, which is expected to move through Parliament in the coming weeks, will seek to regulate legal gray areas around the cultivation, sale and consumption of the drug. It could become law as early as next year. (See also: MPs slam Bhumjaithai's weed bill)

Thailand’s military government is carrying out an experiment: What happens when a country in Asia, a region where drug laws tend to be harsh, essentially legalizes marijuana overnight? But the high times may not last. Sprawling draft legislation, which is expected to move through Parliament in the coming weeks, will seek to regulate legal gray areas around the cultivation, sale and consumption of the drug. It could become law as early as next year. Exactly how the law would affect the industry and consumers, will depend very much on the fine print. But, for the moment, its exact scope and focus are being negotiated in a parliamentary committee, out of the public eye.

More changes to the law on cannabis could be in the works, the Minister of Social Development and Sport in Bermuda has signalled. Michael Weeks said that more discussions on the island’s attitude to the drug would take place — with further liberalisation of the law not ruled out. Mr Weeks said: “Legalisation is something that’s going to have to be talked about and may have to be sooner rather than later. There’s an almost worldwide trend. Right now, here, it’s medical use, but some countries have legalised for recreational purposes.” Two licences have been issued to local doctors to prescribe the drug for medical reasons. Parliament approved the decriminalisation of 7g or less of cannabis last December.

One of the nation's leading ganja advocates, Ras Iyah V, has welcomed Prime Minister Andrew Holness' announcement that the pilot project for the Alternative Development Programme (ADP), which will provide an avenue for small farmers to benefit from the ganja industry, is scheduled to start by March this year. But with less than two months to go, and what he says has been no word from the government, Iyah V said stakeholders are concerned that the pilot projects slated for Accompong, St Elizabeth and Orange Hill in Westmoreland will not be executed in a timely manner.

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to delist the cannabis plant from the government's Category 5 narcotics list, following the publication of a Ministry of Public Health announcement in the Royal Gazette. Only cannabis oil extracts containing more than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the psychoactive ingredient responsible for feelings of euphoria -- are still considered a Category 5 substance, regulated by narcotics control and suppression laws. The UN will also examine the country's draft law on cannabis and hemp and if it decides the bill violates the 1961 Convention on narcotic drugs, Thailand will be required to take corrective steps and report back. The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) admitted there are concerns about impacts from the delisting because Thailand is a signatory of the 1961 treaty on narcotic drugs.

In 1976 the Netherlands adopted a formal written policy of non-enforcement for violations involving possession or sale of up to 30 g of cannabis. The ‘gateway theory’ has long been seen as an argument for being tough on cannabis, but interestingly, the Dutch saw that concept as a rationale for allowing retail outlets to sell small quantities. Rather than seeing an inexorable psychopharmacological link between marijuana and hard drugs, the Dutch hypothesized that the gateway mechanism reflected social and economic networks, so that separating the markets would keep cannabis users out of contact with hard-drug users and sellers.

Download the paper (PDF)

In 1976 the Netherlands adopted a formal written policy of non-enforcement for violations involving possession or sale of up to 30 g of cannabis. The ‘gateway theory’ has long been seen as an argument for being tough on cannabis, but interestingly, the Dutch saw that concept as a rationale for allowing retail outlets to sell small quantities. Rather than seeing an inexorable psychopharmacological link between marijuana and hard drugs, the Dutch hypothesized that the gateway mechanism reflected social and economic networks, so that separating the markets would keep cannabis users out of contact with hard-drug users and sellers.

Download the paper (PDF)

Back in 2018, during those months before Canada legalized recreational cannabis, things were good for the pot industry. Companies were being hyped as pioneers in “the green frontier” and “proof that money grows on trees.” Cannabis stocks were going ballistic, and three of the largest companies’ share values had each increased by more than 200 percent over the course of 2017—according to media outlet MJBizDaily, the Canadian Marijuana Index had risen by 117 percent in December of that year alone. Investors were not just making money, they were making money fast. Three years later, much of that hype has vanished, and now both industry and government are beginning thorough post-mortems of what is, and isn’t, working with pot legalization.

Dire warnings of legal loopholes, a mental health crisis and drug driving fears accompanied the legalisation of cannabis in the ACT last year. But one year on, cannabis users and stakeholders alike say that, while overall the impacts have been subtle, the change has been for the better. "Overall, we found cannabis use hasn't changed and, in some ways, that's the big story, because there were really dire predictions at the outset," Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT chief executive Devin Bowles said. Cannabis offences have dropped by 90 per cent in the last 12 months. ACT Health data shows there has been no increase in hospital presentations since the laws passed

The first year of legal cannabis sales in Canada did not go smoothly. To be fair, introducing a federally regulated legal supply chain that operates across 13 different retail systems for a product that has been illegal for almost 100 years is an extremely complex undertaking. But the sky hasn’t fallen. And other countries, including Luxembourg and New Zealand, are looking at Canada to inform their own legalization approaches. We definitely have lessons to share, and we might even have got a few things right, including restricting advertising, promoting lower-THC products, and investing in data collection and research. (See also: Transform: Cannabis legalisation in Canada – One year on)

Among the wave of hemp-derived cannabinoids sweeping the country—delta 8 THC, delta-O THC, and delta-10 THC among them—few have eluded public understanding more than HHC. Googling the compound brings up a host of contradictory information: about its legality, its effects on the body, and even whether it occurs naturally in the cannabis plant. Hemp-derived HHC isn’t THC, but it offers a THC-lite experience. Making sense of HHC is complicated in part because it has only recently reached the market and only a handful of retailers are selling it, mostly in the form of vape carts. The cannabinoid offers lots of potential, however; don’t be surprised if you start hearing more about it soon. 

Jamaica’s decriminalisation of ganja in 2015 brought with it many expectations, one being the ability to export its hi-grade herb. With a relatively small marketplace (a 2016-2017 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey says 17 per cent of Jamaicans use ganja), investors are eager to expand their market base beyond Jamaica’s 2.9 million citizens. Given Jamaica’s ideal growing conditions and its reputation for producing high-quality varieties, with potentially unique medicinal applications, a licensed producer would have a field of endless opportunities if it developed an international market for its strain. Intellectual property rights protecting that strain would also allow the producer to maximise its earning potential.

No serious commentator doubts that cannabis is potentially damaging to the user. Like tobacco, it is typically smoked and thus shares the potential for lung disease. Like alcohol, it affects reaction times and may raise the risk of road accidents. Cannabis has also been associated with cognitive impairment, deterioration in education performance (van Ours and Williams 2008), and psychotic illness (Arsenault 2004). Moreover, cannabis is often – albeit contentiously – seen as a causal gateway to more serious drug use (Kandel 2002). The question is what to do about it?

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