Görlitzer Park in Berlin-Kreuzberg is the latest hot topic in the local media, due to ongoing problems that come with the massive scale of drug dealing and drug use there. Residents are no longer prepared to accept the situation as it stands. Politicians are trying to defuse the situation by making some unusual decisions. It is hoped that regulated provision of cannabis in a coffee shop at Görlitzer Park will improve the situation.

Just last month, Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn announced that Israel was only nine months away from fully legalizing and regulating recreational cannabis. However, after the Knesset decided to disperse, it is practically certain that the cannabis legalization bill will not have enough time to get through a first reading in the Knesset. When asked whether the cannabis legalization bill still had any hope of passing, Nissenkorn’s spokesman said that he did not see how it could move forward in light of the elections. Though the consensus in the short-lived 23rd Knesset has been overwhelmingly pro-legalization, without passing a first reading the entire legislative progress that has so far been made on the topic may have to start again. (See also: Cannabis industry prepares for Israeli legalization)

In its Report for 2022, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the “independent, quasi-judicial expert body” that monitors the implementation of the UN drug control conventions, focuses on the legalisation of cannabis. Each year, in the first chapter of its annual report, the Board addresses a specific issue it deems important for drug policy discussions and the functioning of the international drug control system. This year, cannabis legalisation is the focus. The Board’s blinkered view completely ignores that in the 60 years since the adoption of the Single Convention, the global drug control regime that it so tenaciously defends has failed dismally.

In its report for 2022, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the “independent, quasi-judicial expert body” that monitors the implementation of the UN drug control conventions, focuses on the legalisation of cannabis. Each year, in the first chapter of its annual report, the Board addresses a specific issue it deems important for drug policy discussions and the functioning of the international drug control system. This year, cannabis legalisation is the focus, because as many have noticed, a decade after the first state legally regulated adult recreational cannabis “a growing number of States have adopted policies that permit the use of cannabis for non-medical and non-scientific purposes”.

While legalisation of recreational cannabis in Luxembourg is one of the current coalition's flagship projects, updates on its progress have been rather sparse. Answering a parliamentary question about the progress of the project, Minister of Health Paulette Lenert responded that the government was currently working on a regulatory framework that would protect people who come into contact with cannabis while keeping them away from the black market by making it "less appealing". Lenert, who was very vague in her statements, confirmed that work on the cannabis legalisation project is still ongoing. She did say that "intensive" exchanges between the different ministries had taken place and that the project had been "completed" and "optimised".

Residents in nine of the 11 states that have legalized the adult use of cannabis have no regrets about ending prohibition. In fact, according to a new survey, large majorities now deem the move a whopping success. YouGov, an international research data and analytics group based in London, surveyed more than 32,000 Americans in legal states. Participants were asked if they considered recreational marijuana legislation to be more of a success or failure. The survey was conducted April 17-20, 2020. In Colorado and Washington, the first states to legalize (in 2012), voters responded with two thumbs up.

Four years ago, when the Constitutional Court decriminalised the use and cultivation of dagga in a private space, the court also provided Parliament a 24-month period in which they could amend the relevant laws. Decriminalising the private adult use of dagga signalled the beginning of a new industry that could bring the ailing South African economy to new highs, but four years later, government doesn’t seem to care. The Southern Africa Agricultural Initiative (SAAI) has opposed some of the elements in the Cannabis Bill. The organisation, which describes itself as a group that protects the rights and interests of family farmers, have highlighted the same elements that critics have argued stifle profitability in the sector, particularly that of rural farmers.

Legalizing marijuana is associated with a decline in youth cannabis consumption, according to a new study in a journal published by the American Medical Association. The research, which analyzed federal data on marijuana use trends among 1.4 million high school students from 1993 to 2017, showed that self-reported past-month youth cannabis use declined by an average of eight percent in states that legalized recreational marijuana. There was also a nine percent drop in reports of using marijuana 10 or more times over the past 30 days in those states, the study found. However, there was no statistically significant change in consumption rates in states that legalized medical cannabis alone. (See also: US teens may be finding it harder to buy cannabis after legalisation)

Erstmals hat sogar ein Sprecher der CDU die Legalisierung von Cannabis ins Spiel gebracht. Ist das das erste Anzeichen eines Tauwetters für die Freigabe von Marihuana? Nützt eine kontrollierte Abgabe von Cannabis? Und wenn ja, wem? Diese Fragen wabern durch die Stadt wie Jointschwaden durch die Hasenheide. Hier sind zehn Gründe, warum eine Freigabe gut für Berlin wäre. (Mehr dazu: Cannabis befeuert Wahlkampf)

The Zurich city council and the university of Zurich announced that the sale of cannabis products from pharmacies and social clubs under controlled conditions would only start in the first half of next year. The Federal Office of Public Health had not yet given its final approval to the project, Zuri Can - Cannabis with Responsibility, due to the "complexity of the project with its different reference points". Without this approval, however, those responsible for the study are not allowed to start growing hemp. And because no cannabis can be cultivated during the winter months, the start of sales is now postponed to the first half of 2023.

The three-and-a-half year pilot scheme, announced on Tuesday, takes advantage of a change in the law that was approved by parliament last year. This allows cities to conduct scientific studies on the effects of the cannabis market and of the recreational use of the drug. The ‘Züri Can - Cannabis with Responsibility’ study will start in the autumn of 2022, making different products available, each with a different THC/CBD content. Local manufacturers must have a production permit from the Federal Office of Public Health, ensuring quality standards. Consumers of cannabis products will also be limited to protect health, public safety and minors. (See also (in German): Was ist «Züri Can» und wer kann daran teilnehmen?)