President Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether marijuana should still be in the same legal category as drugs like heroin and LSD. The pardons will clear everyone convicted on federal charges of simple possession since it became a crime in the 1970s. Officials said full data was not available but noted that about 6,500 people were convicted of simple possession between 1992 and 2021, not counting legal permanent residents. The pardons will also affect people who were convicted under District of Columbia drug laws; officials estimated that number to be in the thousands. Biden urged governors to follow his lead for people convicted on state charges of simple possession, who vastly outnumber those charged under federal laws.

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, ha anunciado que perdona todas las condenas federales leves por posesión de marihuana. La medida, cargada de simbolismo, allana el camino hacia la despenalización total del uso del cannabis en el país, que ya es legal en muchos Estados: 37 han aprobado su uso médico; y en 19 está autorizado también su uso recreativo entre los adultos. Las autoridades calculan que esos indultos afectarán a unas 6.500 personas, condenadas por la ley federal entre 1992 y 2021, así como a otras miles en el Distrito de Columbia, el que alberga Washington. Nadie está cumpliendo ahora mismo una pena en una prisión federal por estos delitos leves, pero muchos sí cargan con antecedentes por esos motivos, lo que puede suponer un obstáculo para obtener un trabajo o acceder a una vivienda.

Since the Netherlands decriminalized marijuana in 1976, Amsterdam’s “coffee shops” have become a destination for weed lovers from around the globe. But pot has never been fully legalized in the country: You won’t get busted for smoking or selling small quantities, but producing or selling it in bulk remains a legal gray zone. And that’s proving to be a handicap for the Dutch marijuana industry as full legalization speeds ahead elsewhere. Dutch seeds are considered the gold standard worldwide, and people with ties to the Netherlands are a big part of the global business. Many of the country’s growers say the future lies across the Atlantic, where Canada and 11 U.S. states now allow recreational pot use, and many more states permit medicinal consumption.

Germany's likely new government, the left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD), Greens and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), have been locked in intense coalition negotiations in recent weeks. One area that’s sure to change is Germany’s drug policy. According to Georg Wurth, President of the German Hemp Association, decriminalisation, which removes criminal penalties for consumption, typically precedes full legalisation and is the more likely outcome, though the parties are still negotiating. “It’s really hard to imagine that we’d jump straight to legalisation. But the signs from the coalition talks are there, and they’ve committed to modernisation. This would fit right in, and make us trailblazers in the global context,” said Wurth.

Wer in Bremen bis zu zehn Gramm Cannabis für den Eigenkonsum in der Tasche hat, wird ab April nicht mehr strafrechtlich verfolgt. Bei bis zu 15 Gramm können Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft von einem Ermittlungsverfahren absehen. Bislang lag der Grenzwert bei sechs Gramm. «Ziel ist es, mit mehr Augenmaß auf den Konsum von Cannabis-Produkten zu reagieren, und erwachsene Nutzer der Droge nicht per se zu kriminalisieren», begründete Justizsenatorin Claudia Schilling (SPD) den Schritt. Die generelle Kriminalisierung von Cannabis habe wenig Wirkung gezeigt und nicht zu einem Rückgang des Konsums geführt. (Bremen: Geringe Menge liberaler, bei Eigenanbau gescheitert| Trotz neuer Richtlinien: Besitz von Cannabis kann weiterhin strafbar sein)

Die Fraktionen von SPD und Grünen in Bremen wollen den Konsum von Cannabis legalisieren. Dazu soll der rot-grüne Senat ein wissenschaftlich begleitetes Modellprojekt zur kontrollierten Abgabe der Droge erarbeiten. Nach den Plänen der beiden Fraktionen soll der Besitz von Cannabis für den Eigenbrauch und der Anbau geringer Mengen straffrei bleiben. Einen entsprechenden Antrag wollen die beiden Fraktionen in den Landtag einbringen. (Mehr dazu: Stressfreier kiffen in Bremen | Bremen will Cannabis-Anbau straffrei machen)

Die Länder Bremen und Thüringen haben im Bundesrat einen Antrag zu einem liberaleren Umgang mit Cannabis eingereicht. Darin wird die Bundesregierung aufgefordert, eine Änderung des Betäubungsmittelgesetzes einzuleiten, um eine Rechtsgrundlage für wissenschaftlich begleitete Modellprojekte zu schaffen. Dabei sollen Erwachsene Gebrauchsmengen von Cannabis erhalten können. Den Weg über die Länderkammer halten Senat und Parlament für unumgänglich. Denn das Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, das dem CDU-geführten Bundesgesundheitsministerium unterstellt ist, blockiert bislang solche Cannabis-Modellprojekte. (Mehr dazu: Cannabis-Antrag ohne Aussicht auf Erfolg | Berliner Senat unterstützt Cannabis-Modellversuche)

The Mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close (PS) renewed his call for cannabis to be decriminalised and removed from the Belgian penal code. Speaking to Le Soir, Close once again urged a ‘great national debate’ on this divisive subject in view of the upcoming 2024 elections. The Brussels Mayor sustains that by taking cannabis out of the hands of criminal groups, the authorities can focus on the trafficking of hard drugs. Close’s comments come as Brussels has seen a wave of drug-related violence in recent months. Since the start of the year, 22 shootings have been recorded in the capital. According to the police, these often have a link with the drug market and trafficking. (See also: Coffee shops will 'hopefully' soon open in Brussels,' says Mayor)

A recent study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction, found that a trio of policies adopted to combat the opioid overdose epidemic saved, combined, an estimated 3,030 lives in the Canadian province of British Columbia alone, between April 2016 and December 2017. The findings are a ringing endorsement of the policies adopted by the government of the province hit hardest by the epidemic: promoting access to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanding access to supervised consumption or injection sites, and providing access to treatment known as opioid agonist therapy.

The drug crisis has claimed thousands of lives in Canada, with no communities spared. Now, many are banding together to speak up and find solutions. This is a glimpse at the efforts of everyone from doctors to health groups to the people whose lives have been upended by overdoses and addiction. The Liberals have repeatedly rejected calls to decriminalize possession of hard drugs. The party has said it will proceed on the issue of “safe supply” – that is, helping provide a regulated, quality-controlled source of drugs. The NDP and the Greens both support decriminalization.

Cannabis will be legal in the ACT come the end of the month, but those hoping to light up might have to break the law to do so. The controversial new laws legalise growing, possessing and smoking small quantities of cannabis. If you are over 18 you can grow the plant, collect up to 50 grams of dried bud, and smoke it as you like within your own home (provided there are no children around). But the laws do not offer any guidance at all on how it is supposed to be acquired. There will not be any cannabis shops opening up, as buying and selling the drug remains strictly illegal. It also cannot be gifted from one person to another. Cultivating two plants — to a limit of four per household — is perfectly legal but buying cannabis seeds is not.

Canberrans can now grow dope, keep a small amount of the drug at home and smoke it without fear of committing a criminal offence … kind of. Friday marked the first day that the ACT's controversial new cannabis legislation is in effect. The laws have been widely described as the first in Australia to legalise the personal use of marijuana. Yet that's not quite what the ACT legislation does: it simply removes criminal and financial penalties for possessing and using small amounts of the drug. The Federal Government has made it clear that it opposes this shift and has threatened to use the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to enforce its own criminal laws against Canberrans who choose to light up. (See also: Legal cannabis a good step, but drug war hangover remains)

Two NGOs have proposed that cannabis associations should be “safe spaces” where members have a “true interest and passion” in the substance, and where they could share best practices and seek advice even about unwanted effects. The proposals are among those made by ReLeaf Malta and Moviment Graffitti in a policy document that urges a ‘social equity’ approach to Maltese cannabis associations. The document has been presented to psychotherapist Mariella Dimech as CEO of the cannabis authority. In December, Malta became the first European country to legalise the cultivation and possession of cannabis. Cannabis users can now carry up to 7g of the substance without fear of prosecution and also grow four plants at home.

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.

A major study into the effects of cannabis on the human brain is at risk of being partially thwarted because too few black users have agreed to take part. White people have come forward in large numbers offering to get involved in King’s College London’s £2.5m study of how the drug may contribute to paranoia and psychosis in some users but not others. It is hoped the project will pave the way for wider medicinal use and make illegal recreational use safer. However attempts to recruit black and Asian people who smoke, vape or eat marijuana have been met with suspicion over how data about illegal drug use will be used and distrust of the establishment.

Following decades of rising cannabis use and talk of liberalisation, Switzerland had appeared poised to become the marijuana capital of Europe. The country still boasts some of the highest rates of cannabis use in Europe, but Switzerland's pot movement has taken a hit in the past few years: proposed liberalisation did not come to pass, enforcement has been on the rise and use among the country's youth has decreased. Enforcement varies widely from canton to canton, but cannabis remains an illegal narcotic throughout the country. Possession, use and distribution are punishable by up to three years in prison, and thousands of offences are recorded each year.

More than 25 persons representing cannabis growers and consumers from several communities throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines met at Victoria Park to discuss government’s announcement to legalise medical cannabis. The meeting, which was called by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cannabis Revival Committee (SVGCRC) was presided over by Junior Spirit Cottle, who is also the committee’s president and Vice President Ajit Duncan. The meeting looked at the restructuring of the organisation to enable it to operate more effectively. The SVGCRC has been calling for alternative livelihood for growers, medical cannabis and decriminalisation, as well as the legal right of Rastas to use cannabis as a religious sacrament.