• Germany mulls state cannabis body for pain relief

    Germany's government has plans to set up a pharmaceutical agency to regulate the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Sunday, November 1, 2015

    medical-useA so-called cannabis agency has been proposed in draft legislation put forward by the federal health ministry, the "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper reported. The bill was reportedly awaiting approval from the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel. As outlined in the draft, the new state-owned body would be tasked with regulating the price of medicinal hemp and making sure the drug was grown and sold purely for pharmaceutical purposes. Patients in need of pain relief would not be allowed to grow their own cannabis plants.

  • On ballot, Ohio grapples with specter of marijuana monopoly

    One of the nation’s oddest legalization campaigns
    The New York Times (US)
    Sunday, November 1, 2015

    no-on-3Ohio lawyer Don Wirtshafter has fought for decades to make marijuana legal, calling it “my life’s work.” But when Ohio voters go to the polls to consider a constitutional amendment to allow marijuana for both medical and personal use, he will vote against it. Issue 3, as the proposed amendment is known, is bankrolled by wealthy investors spending nearly $25 million to put it on the ballot and sell it to voters. If it passes, they will have exclusive rights to growing commercial marijuana in Ohio. (Ohio's marijuana legalization ballot measure, explained | ResponsibleOhio’s MJ legalization ballot initiative ‘a bad deal’)

  • Multi-agency squad smashes illegal hemp cultivation in Odisha

    Police suspect that outlawed Maoist organisations are encouraging hemp cultivations in certain districts of the state
    Outlook (India)
    Saturday, October 31, 2015

    india-cannabis-odishaWith the help of multi-agency squad comprising excise, revenue and forest officials, the Odisha police have destroyed over 3600 acres of hemp cultivation in the State in 2014-15. Suspecting that extensive illegal hemp cultivation is benefiting the Maoist organisations directly, the Odisha police have taken up cudgels to destroy these cultivations, a senior police official said. Ever since it was perceived that the Maoists are encouraging hemp cultivation in an organised way, the State police have made plans to destroy these cultivations and block the fund-flow to the rebel organisations. (See also: Ganja: Orissa’s new cash crop)

  • Altruistic marijuana grower is guilty but goes unpunished

    The ruling may have considerable impact on future cases involving marijuana production
    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Friday, October 30, 2015

    doede-de-jongDutch cannabis grower Doede de Jong has been found guilty of cultivating cannabis by the appeal court but will not be punished because he had done all he could to ensure a safe, legal supply to licenced coffee shops. He is the second 'altruistic' marijuana grower found guilty in court without being punished. The government is under increasing pressure to allow regulated production to supply coffeeshops and remove the grey area between licenced sales and illegal production. (See also: Landmark ruling for cannabis grower | Dutch increasingly support regulated cannabis cultivation)

  • Government awards third ganja research licence

    Timeless Herbal Care Ltd is now able to develop an international global brand for Jamaican medical ganja
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Monday, October 26, 2015

    Canadian nutraceutical and pharmaceutical company, Timeless Herbal Care Limited (THC), which has operations in Jamaica, is the first private entity to be granted a ganja research licence by the Government. The licence is the third to be issued following similar awards to the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech). The licence permits THC to cultivate ganja locally for research and development, in keeping with provisions outlined in the amended Dangerous Drugs Act.

  • Marseille : ce n’est pas le cannabis qui tue, c’est la prohibition

    Uruguay s’est lancé sur la voie d’un marché régulé du cannabis par lassitude face aux règlements de compte
    Libération (France)
    Lundi, 26 octobre 2015

    france-legalisationEst-il acceptable de mourir sous les balles, dans une cité en France, quand on a 15 ans ? Non. Il est temps de réfléchir autrement. Ce qui tue, ce n’est pas le cannabis, principal produit en vente dans ces cités. Ce qui tue, c’est la prohibition, système injuste et inefficace mais meilleur allié des trafiquants, puisque l’interdiction du produit justifie leur activité. En France, on doit se poser la question d’une forme de légalisation.

  • As prohibition crumbles, cannabis consumers are less apt to abuse it

    Alarming reports not only exaggerate the bad news in the study; they overlook the good news
    Forbes (US)
    Thursday, October 22, 2015

    Contrary to what prohibitionists assume, the increase in marijuana-related problems following legalization may not be proportional to the increase in consumption. It’s plausible that people prone to excess are less likely to be deterred by prohibition than people of more moderate habits. Problem users may represent a smaller share of cannabis consumers after legalization than they did before, which means marijuana’s benefit-to-cost ratio would improve. A study in JAMA Psychiatry provides some evidence that as the number of cannabis consumers increases, the percentage who experience serious cannabis-related problems will decline.

  • Could Iran be the next country to legalise cannabis and opium?

    Re-introducing the cultivation of plants such as poppy and cannabis under state supervision?
    The Conversation
    Thursday, October 22, 2015

    After Uruguay courageously legalised the use of cannabis under a new drug policy, could Iran be the next country to make it legal? From the outside, the image of Iran as retrograde and inherently conservative hardly fits with the reality of a more dynamic domestic political debate within. But drug policy is one of the areas of debate in which the Islamic Republic has produced some interesting, yet paradoxical, policies. (See also: A new way to get stoned in Iran)

  • Was wird aus der Idee, Gras legal zu verkaufen?

    Der Kreuzberger Versuch, Coffeeshops zu legalisieren, ist gescheitert. Das war zu erwarten. Aber andere deutsche Städte ziehen nach
    Die Zeit (Germany)
    Donnerstag, 22. Oktober 2015

    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.

  • In U.S., 58% back legal marijuana use

    Majority favors legal marijuana for third consecutive year; younger generations more supportive than older generations
    Gallup (US)
    Wednesday, October 21, 2015

    gallup-oct-2015A majority of Americans continue to say marijuana use should be legal in the United States, with 58% holding that view, tying the high point in Gallup's 46-year trend. Americans' support for legal marijuana has steadily grown over time. When Gallup first asked the question, in 1969, 12% of Americans thought marijuana use should be legal, with little change in two early 1970s polls. The higher level of support comes as many states and localities are changing, or considering changing, their laws on marijuana. (Gallup: Support for legal marijuana at an all-time high and likely to grow)

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