El hallazgo de seis sembradíos de coca, realizado por el Ejército mexicano a principios de febrero en 4 hectáreas de El Porvenir y otros dos ejidos serranos de Atoyac de Álvarez, ha traído dudas y preguntas sobre qué papel estaría jugando México en las distintas fases de producción y comercialización de cocaína. Los militares incautaron un laboratorio supuestamente destinado a procesar las hojas de coca, donde había sustancias químicas, tambos, trastes y bidones. “Habría que ver si esto es algo experimental”, alertan investigadores que estudian el fenómeno de las drogas ilícitas en América Latina. La presencia de plantíos de coca en México no es un fenómeno sorprendente, dice Laurent Laniel, analista científico del Observatorio Europeo de Drogas y Toxicomanias (EMCDDA).

Almost all cannabis seized by police now comprises high-strength varieties, with outdoor-grown herbal strains and hashish barely found, according to a new analysis. In the first study of its kind for 10 years, researchers found 94% of samples seized were varieties with a high psychoactive content, suggesting they dominate the illicit market. The increasing discrepancy between THC and CBD levels in cannabis could increase the number of users at risk of developing psychotic disorders. "It’s certainly worth putting the real risk into context, which this doesn’t," said Jon Liebling of the United Patients Alliance (UPA). "The risk of early onset psychosis due to long-term heavy use of cannabis is one in 26,000." (See also: How hash and weed all but disappeared from Britain's streets, as high-strength ‘skunk’ took over)

Statistics Canada's quarterly report on cannabis prices suggests the cost chasm between legal and illegal versions of the drug is wide, and getting wider. The data agency reported that the price gap between the two types of cannabis is as wide as $4.72 a gram. Canada legalized recreational cannabis last October, but the rollout across the country has been plagued by delays, limited supply, and other logistical issues. Three months ago, StatsCan's report of the first full quarter of price information showed the gap between legal cannabis and the illegal variety was $3.62 a gram. That means the illegal stuff today is roughly half the cost of the legal variety. So it is not surprising that more than half — 59 per cent — of respondents said they purchased illegal cannabis during the period.

An illegal cannabis delivery start-up in the UK is generating millions of pounds in revenue less than a year after it was created, according to its founder. Dispenseroo, which unlike other online drug markets operates on the open web, has attracted thousands of customers in recent months through guerilla advertising campaigns and word-of-mouth. The unorthodox approach of shunning the dark web means the site is easily found through popular search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, allowing it to grow tenfold in recent months. The founder, who goes by the name “S”, told The Independent that he had never sold drugs before starting Dispenseroo, and only created the service out of frustration with “archaic” cannabis laws in the UK.

The difference between cannabis prices on the illicit and legal markets in the fourth quarter of last year widened slightly from the prior three-month period, according to new figures from Statistics Canada. The average price of cannabis in the illicit market during the fourth quarter of 2019 was $5.73 per gram, slightly higher than the $5.65 reported in the prior quarter but below the $6.44 mark tallied in the year-earlier period, data from StatsCan showed in its quarterly release of crowdsourced pricing information. The average price of legal cannabis in the fourth quarter was $10.30, edging higher from the $10.12 observed in the prior quarter and up from the $9.69 in the fourth quarter of 2018. (See also: Affordable legal cannabis should be priority as illegal pot prices drop, experts say)

Victims of overproduction, cannabis farmers in the Beqaa now long for the time when the Lebanese State was fighting against the cultivation of Indian hemp, burning entire fields. When Syrian refugees began arriving in the Beqaa, the authorities stopped destroying the crops to prevent protests from the already impoverished host community. For a few years now, planting and irrigation of the fields has been done openly. The price of cannabis collapsed to $100 per kilo because farmers in the Beqaa have started planting hemp again, taking advantage of the leniency from authorities. Supply has out stripped demand, and last year, the price of cannabis––80 percent of which is destined for export––fell to $150 per kilogram. Last year’s merchandise hasn’t been sold yet and is laying in the farmers’ barns.

London cannabis dealers would welcome the legalisation of their trade, despite apprehension that they would be excluded from enjoying the fruits of the process and lose their livelihood. This was one of the key findings of a research project by London Metropolitan University and the Evening Standard in which two criminologists carried out interviews with cannabis dealers to glean their views on legalisation. Two dealers described dual cannabis markets, one for “pure weed” smoked by the older generation and another for skunk, smoked by young people. They were adamant that high-potency skunk should not be legalised as it was a contributing factor to street violence and mental illness, despite skunk being “more profitable”. (See also: 50 arrests as police swoop on 'cannabis cafe' in east London)

Marihuana más potente, más cara y de origen local. El cannabis que se consume en Europa cada vez coloca más. En consonancia, cuesta más. Y eso pese a que cada vez se produce más en el continente y por tanto los costes de transporte y riesgos de cruzar fronteras son menores, según la Unión Europea, que sigue señalando a España como la principal puerta de entrada a Europa del hachís que viene de Marruecos, aunque también admite que el mercado está cada vez más diversificado. La UE ha presentado su Informe sobre los mercados de drogas de la UE 2019, un documento que radiografía el estado de la cuestión del sector con un enfoque en clave más de seguridad y policial que otra cosa.

The recognition that people who sell drugs can play a crucial role in reducing the harms caused by drug criminalization is not limited to reformers, syringe service workers and researchers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also aware—although the evidence of this comes from a leaked intelligence report, rather than any public FBI acknowledgment. In an April 9, 2019 “Situational Information Report” found on a hacked server sharing intelligence with North Texas law enforcement—among the documents published by the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets—the FBI’s Denver Division recorded that drug sellers were practicing common harm reduction measures amid the arrival of a fentanyl-adulterated supply, dubbed “Sleepy Dope,” to Pueblo, Colorado.

Sales of regulated adult-use cannabis in Canada overtook illegal transactions for the first time in the third quarter of 2020, according to new Statistics Canada data. That development demonstrates the success of legalization in these early years, experts say, though more needs to be done regarding taxes and promotions rules to put the regulated industry on firmer ground to compete with the legacy market. Falling prices, a wider breadth of consistent inventory and growing retail options have all contributed to the legal market’s success. Spending on nonmedical cannabis products in the third quarter of last year reached 824 million Canadian dollars ($644 million).

After an 11-year-old girl died recently due to a shooting incident in Merksem, politicians have stressed that tackling narco-terror is a top priority, without exception. Ministers and mayors have spoken about stronger controls and even deploying the army to tackle the growing crisis. Could the legalisation of cocaine be part of the solution to reduce drug violence in Belgium? Criminologist Tom Decorte from Ghent University thinks so. He has claimed that it is precisely the illegality of the drug business that creates the biggest economic incentive for criminals and by legalising and regulating it, violent competition could be reduced or even eradicated. (See also: Fines for using hard drugs could increase from €150 to €1,000 |Belgium in Brief: Carrots, sticks, and cocaine)

La apuesta es cambiar el paradigma en el combate contra el tráfico de drogas: legalizar en vez de prohibir y, con ello, terminar con el mercado negro, los carteles y el crimen asociado. En Colombia, un proyecto de ley que establece un marco regulatorio de la hoja de coca y sus derivados fue aprobado en su primer debate en el Congreso. En Chile, el ex candidato presidencial Daniel Jadue, del Partido Comunista, propuso un sistema de este tipo en su programa y, en México, organizaciones que investigan sobre políticas públicas y criminalidad, como el Instituto RIA y la ONG México Unido contra la Delincuencia, promueven la discusión del tema.

En Reino Unido lleva unos meses funcionando un servicio ilegal de compra de marihuana y hachís a través de una página web que la policía no ha conseguido tumbar. La empresa clandestina se llama Dispenseroo y funciona de manera similar a como lo hacen los mercados de venta de drogas en la deep web, pero funcionando a través de una página web normal que se puede encontrar por medio de los buscadores comerciales y a la que se puede acceder con cualquier navegador. Su creador, que se presenta a sí mismo con la letra “S”, declaró al diario The Independent que nunca antes había vendido drogas y que su proyecto ilegal de venta de cannabis tiene que más que ver con las restrictivas leyes que Reino Unido aplica al cannabis, que valora como “arcaicas”.

Los Mossos d’Esquadra activaron en el 2018 el 'Pla d'Acció Marihuana' para luchar contra el 'boom' de esta droga en Catalunya. Dentro de ese plan, la Comisaría General de Investigación Criminal (CGIC) encargó al Área Central de Análisis de la Criminalidad (ACAC) el informe 'El Mercado de la marihuana en Catalunya', que analiza las causas y los riesgos de este fenómeno y que ha sido entregado a la Fiscalía de Catalunya. Las conclusiones del estudio avanzan un escenario preocupante para la paz social: la dimensión de algunas estructuras criminales –la mayoría de origen extranjero– afincadas en Catalunya y dedicadas a la producción y exportación de marihuana hace temer a la policía catalana que en un futuro próximo estas puedan tratar de corromper a los poderes públicos.

Los vecinos de Christiania están en pie de guerra contra las pandillas que han tomado el control del barrio, generando una creciente inseguridad entre los residentes. En el corazón de la polémica se encuentra Pusher Street, conocido también como el Distrito Verde: una calle de unos 100 metros con una plaza adyacente, alrededor de la que se vertebra el barrio. Aquí normalmente se levantan una veintena de puestos ambulantes que mayoritariamente venden hachís. La alcaldesa de Copenhague, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, calificó la acción protagonizada por los vecinos como “el principio del fin de Pusher Street”, tras las protestas de la semana pasada. Andersen ha declarado en más de una ocasión que, desde el Ayuntamiento, están abiertos a empezar un debate sobre la legalización del cannabis recreacional.

Caribbean states face challenges of youth involvement in crime, violence, gangs and other anti-social activities. It is not uncommonly heard the “drug problem” is to be blamed for this. This briefing wants to show this relation is far more complex and often misunderstood.

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El mercado de cocaína fumable se estableció hace décadas, por lo que no se trata de un fenómeno nuevo. En lugar de desaparecer, está experimentando una expansión paulatina, y ha pasado de constituir un hábito bastante localizado y aislado en la región andina en la década de 1970 a tener un alcance que se despliega en todas las direcciones, en toda América del Norte y del Sur, incluidas las regiones del Caribe y América Central. Las sociedades del continente americano han convivido con las cocaínas fumables durante más de cuatro décadas, pero —aunque resulte sorprendente—, existen pocos estudios sobre la evolución del mercado y pocas pruebas de primera mano sobre cómo se comercializa realmente esta sustancia y cómo la utilizan millones de personas en la región.

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The Netherlands is world leader in the production and trading of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and amphetamines, with total turnover up to 2017 estimated at €18.9bn, according to a report by the Dutch police academy. The estimate is conservative and the real amount is likely to be ‘many times higher’, with the national turnover of synthetic drugs thought to be between €3bn to €5bn. Good infrastructure and a central geographical position make the Netherlands a good place to base both legal and illegal business. (See also: Dutch ecstasy, amphetamine production among world's largest | Much less ecstasy used (and produced?) in the Netherlands than recent report suggests | Dutch drugs gangs are moving into crystal meth, police say)

It was sold on the streets and at parties. It was sold to people from all walks of life, from university students to businessmen to middle-class workers. It was sold not only in its leafy form but also in edibles like cakes, brownies, cheesecakes and the like. There have even been some stories of some marijuana dealers making home deliveries. But how has this changed since marijuana was decriminalised? Are more people buying weed? Are people buying more weed? Have the prices changed since decriminalisation? Or is it business as usual? Business Day approached – let’s call them “small businessmen” on Trinidad – who specialised in the distribution of the plant, and the word on the street is, so far, nothing has changed. But according to consultants on the law, changes will come and soon.