• EU finance ministers call for restrictions on €500 note over crime fears

    According to Europol, the high-value banknote accounts for a third of all the euro notes in circulation
    The Guardian (UK)
    Friday, February 12, 2016

    500-euros-smallEU finance ministers have called for an investigation into the €500 note, amid growing concern it is making life easier for terrorists, money launderers and drug barons. The French finance minister, Michel Sapin, said it was right to ask questions about the use of the euro’s largest-denomination note. “The €500 note is more used to conceal then to purchase, more used for easing dishonest transactions than to allow you and I to buy something to feed ourselves,” he said. (See also: Criminal links of €500 banknote could spell its demise | Swiss 1,000-franc note here to stay, says national bank)

  • HSBC sued over drug cartel murders after laundering probe

    Bank accused of aiding and abetting Sinaloa, other cartels
    Bloomberg (US)
    Tuesday, February 9, 2016

    Families of U.S. citizens murdered by drug gangs in Mexico sued HSBC Holdings Plc, claiming the bank can be held responsible for the deaths because it let cartels launder billions of dollars to operate their businesses. The lawsuit brings fresh scrutiny to the Mexican activities of HSBC, which in 2012 paid $1.9 billion to resolve a criminal investigation into whether it violated U.S. sanctions laws and laundered at least $881 million on behalf of drug cartels.

  • Elite ‘African Group’ in Vienna undermines AU drug policy

    A small group of African countries in Vienna submited their own document on drug policy to the UN, despite a more enlightened African Union position
    The South African Health News Service
    Sunday, February 7, 2016

    liberia_drugsSouth Africa’s mission in Vienna submitted a minority reactionary “African Group” (AG) position on drug policy to the United Nations, despite the African Union's more progressive “Common African Position” (CAP). The AG position supports stronger control over ketamine, used as an anaesthetic in places without electricity or oxygen supplies. The AG document also does not mention “harm reduction”, focusing only on punishment for supply and use illegal drugs. (See: The AU Common African Position and the Africa Group’s Submitted Position)

  • Liberals’ vow to legalize pot creating chaos, police say

    Different jurisdictions are tackling the matter differently
    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Sunday, February 7, 2016

    canada-marijuana-thumbCanada’s frontline officers and police chiefs are alarmed by the growing chaos in the marijuana industry, saying the Liberal Party’s promise to eventually legalize the drug has sparked confusion across the country. Illegal pot dispensaries are opening up from coast to coast at the same time as some users feel they should no longer be subject to the Criminal Code, prompting law-enforcement officials to urge the Trudeau government to remind Canadians that marijuana remains an illegal drug.

  • Scholars, politicians kick off debate on legalising drug sale

    Opine that controlled sale of traditional drugs should be allowed
    The Tribune (India)
    Saturday, February 6, 2016

    opium-cultivation-bhopalWith less than a year before the Assembly elections, several civil society activists, scholars and politicians — for the first time — have joined hands and launched a campaign demanding that controlled sale of traditional drugs — opium, poppy husk and cannabis — should be legalised in the state. The move has come at a juncture when the Punjab Government is busy in showcasing seizures and arrests made by Punjab Police under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

  • Städte setzen auf Cannabis-Klubs

    Mit Versuchen zur legalen Abgabe wollen die Städte Schwung in die Debatte bringen
    Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland)
    Freitag, 5. Februar 2016

    swiss-cannabis-cowIm Bundeshaus hat Drogenpolitik keine Konjunktur, dafür kommt Dynamik aus den Städten. Vertreter aus Zürich, Genf, Basel, Bern, Winterthur treffen sich um Versuchen mit legalem Cannabis-Konsum zum Durchbruch zu verhelfen. Geht der Plan der Kommunen auf, so sollen die Versuche mit rund 1000 Teilnehmern schon im kommenden Jahr starten. Die Städte sind hochmotiviert, denn die geltende Gesetzgebung macht ihnen zu schaffen: Cannabis wird trotz Verbot praktisch ungehemmt konsumiert. (Mehr dazu: Cannabis-Clubs: Bundesrat Berset wagt sich an die Gras-Frage)

  • The tipping point in addiction

    Unscientific acceptance of the value of 12-step programs in the treatment of addictive behavior
    Basis (US)
    Friday, February 5, 2016

    addictThe other giant error in addiction is the neurobiological "chronic brain disease" hypothesis, created and widely publicized by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This idea, derived from studies with rats, has nothing to do with addiction in humans, as has been shown by an overwhelming body of evidence. Addictive episodes in humans are precipitated by psychological factors: loss of relationships, humiliations, grief, loss of self-esteem and so on.

  • Legal marijuana sales projected to reach $6.7 billion in 2016

    The biggest driver of growth in coming years is sure to be new laws being passed by states
    Time (US)
    Monday, February 1, 2016

    Just how big is the market for legal pot? A new report by a leading marijuana industry investment and research firm found legal cannabis sales jumped 17%, to $5.4 billion, in 2015 and they will grow by a whopping 25% this year to reach $6.7 billion in total U.S. sales. ArcView Market Research will release its fourth edition of The State of Legal Marijuana Markets report, and it includes the prediction that the legal cannabis market will see a whopping $21.8 billion in total annual sales by 2020.


  • See inside the Himalayan villages that grow cannabis

    Ganja grows wild in the Indian Himalayas, and it’s nearly impossible to curb its illegal cultivation
    National Geographic (US)
    Monday, February 1, 2016

    india-cannabis-himalayaCannabis is illegal in India, but many villagers have turned to charas manufacturing out of financial necessity. “Nearly 400 of the 640 districts in India have cannabis cultivation,” says Romesh Bhattacharji, ex-Narcotics Commissioner of India. "It's time for the Indian Government to stop being a slave of UN-backed policies: since 1985, cannabis use and cultivation has only proliferated." "The obligation to eliminate cannabis in countries with widespread traditional use is a clear example of the colonial background of the [UN] Convention," says Tom Blickman, from the Dutch think-tank Transnational Institute. "It would never pass nowadays."

  • West Africa: Forging a West African consensus on UNGASS

    Drug policies focusing on law enforcement, incarceration, punishment and repression failed to eradicate supply, demand and harm caused by illicit drugs
    All Africa
    Monday, February 1, 2016

    A news story cited Ghana's Deputy Superintendent of Police, David Selom Hukportie, as bemoaning the formidable challenges he faces trying to destroy marijuana farms across the country. Mr. Hukportie, who also heads the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Police Service, said the effort was like "trying to kill a swarm of flies with one's bare hands". The government of Ghana - as well as those of Benin and Senegal - have recently taken a progressive approach to drugs in line with the AU Common African Position for UNGASS 2016. (See also: The road after the UNGASS fracas: Are things falling apart for Africa?)

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