Düsseldorf took the next step in its plan to legalize the regulated sale of recreational cannabis to over 18 year-­olds, taking advice from experts in psychology, crime and economics during a consultation at City Hall. Representatives from the Cologne and Münster city councils interested in pur­suing similar schemes were also present at the meeting. The proposal for cannabis legalization in Düsseldorf was first put forward a year ago by the City Council's "traffic light" (red-yellow-green) coalition of Social Democrats, liberal Free Democrats and Greens. (Kiffen soll in Düsseldorf legal werden | Düsseldorf hopes to pull other cities onto weed legalization plan)

Socialdemócratas, liberales y Los Verdes han aprobado un plan para regular el comercio legal de cannabis siguiendo los pasos de un distrito de Berlín. El Instituto Federal de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios debe decidir si aprueba las licencias necesarias para llevar a cabo estos proyectos. En el estado federado de Bremen, los socialdemócratas y el Partido Verde pactaron que la posesión y el consumo de marihuana dejaran de estar penalizados. Un primer paso para la revolución verde en el Alemania, donde tres millones de ciudadanos aseguran fumar.

Im Rathaus Düsseldorf gibt es eine große Mehrheit für die Legalisierung von Cannabis: Nach einer hitzigen Debatte beschloss die Ampelkoalition aus SPD, FDP und Grünen im Ausschuss für Gesundheit und Soziales mit den Stimmen der Linken, die Verwaltung damit zu beauftragen, beim Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte eine Sondergenehmigung für eine "lizensierte Abgabe von Cannabisprodukten" zu bekommen. (Mehr dazu: Düsseldorf will Verkaufsstellen für Cannabis | Cannabis in Düsseldorf - Noch hohe Hürden bis zum Coffeeshop)

Politisch ist es umstritten, doch die Ampel-Kooperation im Düsseldorfer Rat und Gesundheitsdezernent Andreas Meyer-Falcke halten eine lizensierte Abgabe von Cannabis an Erwachsene im Rahmen eines Pilotprojekts für wünschenswert. Die Verwaltung habe deshalb einen interkommunalen Austausch angestoßen. Positive Rückmeldungen gebe es aus den Niederlanden. Die Gemeinde Venlo habe Interesse an einem Gedankenaustausch und würde sich „gegebenenfalls an einem gemeinsamen Cannabis-Projekt beteiligen“. Zudem werde mit dem Leiter des Deutschen Instituts für Sucht- und Präventionsforschung der Katholischen Hochschule in Köln eine Untersuchung abgestimmt. (Mehr dazu: Demonstration in Düsseldorf: Breites Bündnis fordert Legalisierung von Cannabis)

The Netherlands has long been a mecca for buzz-seeking tourists on account of its lax cannabis laws. What many of them don't know is that cannabis is not — and has never been — legal in the country. Instead, under a policy of tolerance known as gedoogbeleid, the Netherlands turns a blind eye to designated coffee shops selling weed — even though it's officially illegal for those shops to purchase cannabis from producers. But this muddled policy will soon change in parts of the country, at least for a while. The Dutch government is launching an experiment in 10 municipalities, starting this January and rolling out over the year, that will allow coffee shops to purchase cannabis from up to 10 state-approved growers, rather than through illicit sources.

Marijuana growers who have been selected to take part in the government’s controlled cultivation trials said that they will not be ready to start early next year as the government intends, NRC reported. Nine of 10 firms have written to ministers about the problems and some have spoken to the paper directly about the issues. The experiment should have begun to 2021 but is now due to start in the second quarter of 2023. But the growers now say the end of next year is a more likely date. As yet, some of the growers have been unable to get a bank account because of bank concerns about money laundering and supporting criminal behaviour. High energy prices, delays on the supply side and problems with the track&trace system which will monitor where the marijuana products go and are sold are also causing difficulties.

Many Dutch municipalities are dissatisfied with the current preliminary design of the government's experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation. Where municipalities queued to participate in the experiment when it was announced, the government will now have difficulty in finding 10 municipalities to participate, according to the association of Dutch municipalities VNG. The VNG's main objection is that the experiment will not automatically be extended if it proves successful. That means that coffeeshop owners may have to return to illegal growers after the experiment. "That is immoral", mayor Paul Depla of Breda said. The final point of criticism for the VNG is the so-called 'resident criterion' - coffeeshops can only sell to Dutch residents.

When the Dutch government announced in October 2017 plans for an experiment with regulated cannabis production to supply the country’s famous coffee shops, the cannabis industry cautiously welcomed the idea. After more than two decades of increasing repression and criminalization, it seemed the government had finally turned the page and was taking its first step toward firm regulation. However, the initial enthusiasm has since faded as the rules and limitations of the experiment have become clear. The umbrella organization Cannabis Connect favours "phased implementation" — any coffee shop can join the experiment, and participating shops can maintain their current assortment while gradually adding new regulated cannabis to the menu.

Eindhoven has followed The Hague and Amsterdam and decided not to take part in the government’s experiment with regulated marijuana cultivation, saying it cannot accept the terms and conditions for the experiment. ‘I realise that this goes against the offer I made the cabinet in 2017 to help to shape the experiment, but now the details are known, I have no choice but not to sign up,’ mayor John Jorritsma said in a statement. Jorritsma said the issue had been discussed with aldermen and local coffee shop owners, who are also unhappy at the position the trial puts them in. He also said he expects the net impact of the trial in terms of crime, public nuisance and health to be minimal.

La coalición del Gobierno holandés ha llegado a un acuerdo para autorizar una prueba piloto de cultivo estatal de cannabis en un total de diez municipios, en un intento de luchar contra el narcotráfico suministrando la droga controlada directamente a los "coffeeshops". Los diez ayuntamientos que participarán en el experimento incluyen Tilburgo, Almere y Breda, pero ninguna de las grandes ciudades (Ámsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam y La Haya), reticentes desde un principio a formar parte del proyecto piloto. El objetivo del experimento es investigar si es posible y cómo se podría suministrar la marihuana directamente a los "coffeeshops" y garantizando calidad y precios, para luchar también contra la delincuencia y los problemas de seguridad y salud pública.

Produire du cannabis et le distribuer aux consommateurs sous contrôle des communes. La mesure a été adoptée aux Pays-Bas suite à l’accord du gouvernement Rutte III. En Belgique, le président du PS et bourgmestre de Mons, Elio Di Rupo, se montre favorable à long terme. En attendant, il tente toujours de mettre en place le projet pilote de « Cannabis Social Club » dans la cité du Mons. Inscrite parmi les 170 engagements adoptés par le parti socialiste en novembre dernier, la proposition visant un modèle belge de réglementation du cannabis est toujours d’actualité.

En los años 90, varias ciudades suizas lanzaron programas de distribución controlada de heroína a los toxicómanos graves, antes de que estos proyectos piloto se extendieran al resto del país. Aquella iniciativa pionera que fue noticia en el mundo entero ha dado resultados positivos, según numerosos expertos. Ahora varias ciudades suizas quieren repetir la experiencia con el cánnabis. Se estima que entre 200 000 y 300 000 personas en Suiza consumen regularmente marihuana, pese a ser una sustancia prohibida. Zúrich, Basilea, Ginebra y Berna quieren actuar contra lo que consideran una "situación hipócrita". Su intención es distribuir cánnabis de forma controlada.

Des essais pilotes de distribution de cannabis devraient avoir lieu. La commission compétente du National s'est finalement ralliée vendredi par 17 voix contre 8 à la proposition duConseil fédéral. La participation aux projets pilotes sera limitée aux consommateurs de cannabis âgés d'au moins 18 ans. Les participants devront être étroitement accompagnés et l'évolution de leur état de santé devra faire l'objet d'une surveillance constante, énumère la commission. Seul point de divergence par rapport au gouvernement: les produits cannabiques devront être issus de l'agriculture biologique suisse afin que ces essais profitent aux paysans suisses.

Germany’s plans to move to full legalisation of consumption and sales of cannabis came to an abrupt halt last month. Until recently, Germany’s health minister, Karl Lauterbach, had been upbeat about the prospects for radical change. But following talks with the European Commission the plan has gone up in a cloud of smoke. Martin Jelsma of the Transnational Institute, a Dutch-founded think-tank, thinks the reason is that the proposals are not in compliance with an EUCouncil framework decision on drugs in 2004, nor with three relevant UNtreaties. Mr Jelsma says it would be helpful if the European Commission were to give some indication as to what its position is on the question.

Um dem zunehmenden Cannabis-Handel im Flora- und Schanzenpark Herr zu werden, fordern Anwohner des Schanzeviertels nun die Freigabe der Droge für ihr Viertel. Zwar sehe der Koalitionsvertrag eine Prüfung solcher Modellversuche vor, das letzte Wort habe aber der Bund. "Die Stadt Hamburg muss im Bundesrat wirbel machen, damit Bewegung in die Sache kommt", so Vorstandsmitglied Brauer. Das Bezirksamt hatte einem runden Tisch organisiert. (Mehr dazu: Kommt 2017 die schwarz-grüne Kiffer-Koalition? | Durchaus gesellschaftsfähig)

As a nearly unanimous French Senate gave medical marijuana the green light, France will start experimenting the use of medical marijuana for “about two years”, pending the approval of the health ministry. According to patient groups, somewhere between 300,000 and 1 million patients could be eligible to its use. The use of medical cannabis will be strictly controlled. Doctors will be permitted to prescribe it only as a last resort, after trying other available therapeutic treatments. In December 2018, the National Agency for the Safety of Health Products identified possible applications for medical cannabis: cancer, certain types of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, palliative care, and pain that does not respond to usual treatments. (See also: Is France about to legalise cannabis?)

Arnaud Robinet, mayor of Reims since 2014, is one of the few right-wing politicians supporting the legal use of cannabis in France. He would like Reims to experiment with legalising cannabis, but insists that Reims cannot become a destination for 'cannabis and champagne' tours. "The experiment will be carried out with legal sales for citizens only. There is no question of opening sales to anyone from outside", he says, emphasising that his primary concern is public health. "The subject has always been taboo for the right wing,", Robinet admits. "But we now have a group of mayors as well as parliamentarians working on the legalisation of cannabis, and we'd like to bring up the subject at a national level." (See also: La légalisation du cannabis expérimentée à Reims? On est allé voir sur place)

Experts met to discuss the merits of cannabis legalization at Frankfurt’s city hall, marking the first time that a German city has officially discussed a change to marijuana laws. Rosemarie Heilig, deputy head of the city health department in Frankfurt, proposed a new drug policy, dubbed the "Frankfurter Path," which stresses counseling and therapy instead of punishment. Heilig said the debate on marijuana has been "bogged down for decades and ideologically charged," and called for a "pragmatic approach” to the problem. Earlier this year, the Schildow Circle signed a petition advising the government to legalize the drug.

Authorities are considering a radical liberalization of drug laws in the Swiss canton in a bid to undermine the black market in cannabis. "We are agreed about going forward with this. Repression has failed as a policy," Geneva's Health Minister Mauro Poggia told Swiss newspaper Le Temps. "But that does not stop us thinking about going down other avenues." Geneva's cross-party Advisory Commission on Addiction urged the government to seek approval for the reforms from federal health authorities.

Le groupe interpartis, qui planche sur la régularisation du marché du cannabis à Genève, vient de publier son deuxième rapport. Il dit avoir bien entendu les critiques émises en décembre 2013 et les préoccupations des opposants, mais il tient à son idée, celle d'implanter à Genève le modèle de consommation espagnol. Il s'agirait d'autoriser pour les adultes exclusivement, sur une période d'essai de trois ans, la distribution, la vente et la consommation de cannabis dans le cadre d’associations contrôlées par l’Etat.