pilot project

  • The new cabinet is to sanction experiments with legal marijuana production to be sold in cannabis cafes. Details are still sketchy, but between six and 10 local authority areas will probably be singled out for the experiment, which will lead to council-licenced growers producing marijuana for sale in their own locality. Breda and Eindhoven are among the cities which have already come forward. While officials turn a blind eye to the sale of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, how the drug ends up in licenced coffee shops remains a grey area. Dozens of local authorities have for years argued for licenced production to remove drugs gangs from the entire chain. (See also: Legal cannabis cultivation in Netherlands to test organized crime impact)

  • Elio Di RupoPour qu'un tel lieu puisse voir le jour, il faudrait que ce soit dans le cadre d'une étude et avec l'accord du ministère de la Santé. Ou il faut que la loi change.C'est la dernière idée lancée par Georges-Louis Bouchez, chef de file de l'opposition MR à Mons, et qui a fait l'objet d'une motion au dernier conseil communal de Mons ce 25 avril: ouvrir un cannabis social club à Mons. Soit un cercle fermé où s'organise la consommation et la production de cannabis à usage privé. Pour qu'une telle association puisse durer dans le temps, il faut un changement de législation. "Je déposerai au Parlement dans les prochains jours une proposition de loi-cadre instaurant un marché réglementé du cannabis en Belgique", a précisé Elio Di Rupo, Bourgmestre de Mons. (Lire aussi: Mons: Le Cannabis Social Club en guise d’étude scientifique)

  • nl kuipers depla wietexperimentEl Gobierno neerlandés inauguró la fase inicial de un experimento para la venta del primer cannabis cultivado legalmente en Países Bajos, que se entregará a los 'coffeeshop' mediante un transporte seguro, un proyecto que llega tras cinco años de preparativos y entre temores a un boicot de los narcotraficantes. La propuesta para iniciar un experimento de cultivo legal de cannabis empezó a debatirse en 2017 y recibió la aprobación del Senado en 2019, pero su inicio ha sido pospuesto por diferentes motivos, hasta que, el pasado febrero, el Gobierno del liberal Mark Rutte prometió comenzar con un número limitado de productores y probar la idea a pequeña escala.

  • The Australian drug expert who pioneered the nation's first legal injecting centre is on a collision course with the Baird government and NSW Police by vowing to break the law and roll out pill testing at Sydney's music festivals. President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, Alex Wodak, joined forces with emergency medical specialist David Caldicott in announcing a privately funded drug testing "trial" will commence with or without the blessing of a government that has repeatedly blocked the proposal in favour of a hard line, law enforcement strategy. (See also: Mass arrests part of NSW pill testing program proposal)

  • switzerland cannabis3On 15 May 2021, an amendment to the Narcotics Act permitting pilot trials involving the controlled dispensing of cannabis for recreational purposes in Switzerland will come into force. The trials will provide a scientific basis on the advantages and disadvantages of controlled access to cannabis, and to provide a solid scientific basis for any future decision making on cannabis regulation. On 25 September 2020, Parliament passed an amendment to the Federal Act on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (NarcA). With its new article 8a NarcA the revised act provides a legal basis for conducting scientific pilot trials with cannabis that are limited in terms of both time and place. The amended Act enters into force on 15 May 2021 and will remain in effect for ten years.

  • denmark cannabis flagDanish officials across five political parties have proposed a plan for an adult-use cannabis pilot similar to a program proposed in its capital city. Earlier this month, the proposal was presented in Danish Parliament instructing the government to start legislative work that will result in a bill that legalizes cannabis for five years. According to submitted documentation, that bill will look like one put forth in Copenhagen with sales at state-controlled outlets, and it’s legal for citizens to buy, possess, grow and consume cannabis for personal use. The proposed scheme would set up public outlets in municipalities wishing to join the program. Production would be legalized, and take place domestically in Denmark.

  • denmark cannabis flagA majority in the Citizens' Representation in Copenhagen voted yes to a proposal for a cannabis pilot project. The politicians voted for the municipality's administration to put together a proposal, which the government must decide on. The idea is to make Copenhagen an experimental city for the legalization of cannabis. There have been attempts to get legalization through for years, but successive governments have said no. Now the idea has again been given the green light. (See also:Today, a new proposal for the legalization of cannabis will be up and running in Copenhagen)

  • Die CDU will den von der Gesundheitsdezernentin Rosemarie Heilig angestrebten Modellversuch zur Entkriminalisierung von Cannabis erst einmal in Ruhe prüfen. Die SPD begrüßt dagegen den Modellversuch und drückt aufs Tempo. Die Experten hatten sich auf der Ersten Frankfurter Fachtagung zu Cannabis einhellig geäußert, dass das Betäubungsmittelgesetz, das den Cannabiskonsum verbietet, versagt hat. Es habe keine abschreckende Wirkung, der Cannabiskonsum habe zugenommen, auf dem Schwarzmarkt seien gefährliche Beimischungen unterwegs. (Mehr dazu: Drogenkonsum: Ex-Oberstaatsanwalt fordert Straffreiheit | Polizei fordert Spielraum bei Haschisch-Delikten)

  • switzerland flag cannabis2The ‘Weed Care’ experiment in the city of Basel was supposed to launch on September 15. But it has been put on hold because traces of pesticides were found in some of the supposedly organic plants. Basel’s health department said on Friday that the delay could last several weeks or even months as products must now be analysed again by an independent body. Six cannabinoid products – four types of cannabis flowers and two types of hashish – were due to go on sale in nine pharmacies from next week. The Federal Office of Public Health approved the pilot scheme in April as part of a project by the University of Basel, its psychiatric clinics and the cantonal health department.

  • In der Kölner Innenstadt soll der Verkauf von Cannabis legal möglich werden, so wünscht es sich eine Mehrheit in der Bezirksvertretung. Geplant ist eine Arbeitsgruppe „AG Cannabis“ zu gründen und Abgabestellen in Apotheken einzurichten. Eine Mehrheit aus Grünen, FDP, Linken, Deine Freunde und der Ratsgruppe Gut beschlossen in der Bezirksvertretung den Modellversuch. In der „AG-Cannabis“ soll eine Strategie zur kontrollierten Abgabe des Rauschmittels entwickelt werden. In der Arbeitsgruppe sollen Mitglieder von Suchthilfeträgern, Drogenexperten, die Polizei und Fachpolitiker miteinander diskutieren.

  • dlr28-deWährend die Reform der Cannabispolitik in Amerika Fahrt aufnimmt, scheint Europa hinterherzuhinken. Genauer gesagt, die europäischen Staaten auf nationaler Regierungsebene, wo die Leugnung der Veränderungen in der politischen Landschaft und die Trägheit bei der Reaktion auf Forderungen nach einem Wandel noch immer vorherrschen. Auf lokaler Ebene hingegen führt die Ernüchterung hinsichtlich der aktuellen Cannabispolitik zur Entstehung neuer Ideen. In verschiedenen europäischen Ländern prüfen lokale und regionale Behörden eine Regulierung, entweder unter dem Druck von Basisbewegungen – vor allem den Cannabis Social Clubs(CSC) – oder wegen der Verstrickung krimineller Gruppen und zur Aufrechterhaltung der öffentlichen Ordnung.

    Publikation speichern (PDF)

  • La politique répressive contre le cannabis va-t-elle opérer un tournant? Genève sera-t-il prêt à changer sa pratique? Ce n’est pas exclu. Dans une interview accordée à la Tribune de Genèveet consacrée au deal de rue, le procureur général Olivier Jornot a ouvert une brèche. Il a déclaré: «Dans le domaine des produits de type cannabique, la prévalence est telle que la réflexion sur un allégement de la prohibition a tout son sens.» Une expérience pilote pourrait en effet être lancée ces prochains mois à Genève. Son contenu est pour l’heure gardé secret. On sait toutefois qu’elle s’inspire des propositions faites par un groupe de travail interpartis à Genève, qui a travaillé de 2012 à 2014.

  • netherlands coffeeshop rolling jointsHealth Minister Ernst Kuipers said that the experiment in regulated cultivated cannabis will be postponed again. He expects that "as it stands now" only legally produced cannabis will be able to be sold in coffeeshops in eleven municipalities in 2024, and that it is not possible to launch the project during the second quarter of 2023 as previously announced. He does want to try to begin with a "start-up phase" in a smaller number of municipalities. The government intends to adopt a position on the legalization of cannabis in 2024. Due to the postponement of the experiment, the research report on this will not be ready by then. That is why Kuipers and Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz will look over the situation and draw whatever conclusions they can on the basis of the information available at that time.

  • The Dutch government experiment with regulated marijuana cultivation must not give the impression that the state is encouraging the use of the drug, the ministers responsible for the trial have told MPs in a briefing. ‘On the contrary, using cannabis can lead to acute health problems, such as accidents, panic attacks and psychotic episodes,’ the ministers said. ‘It can also lead to addiction and lung problems, partly due to the way it is inhaled in combination with tobacco.’ For this reason, all the packaging will carry a compulsory health warning and there will be leaflets inside the packets with further warnings. The packaging should not be attractive and the THC-CBD levels in the drug should be indicated as well.

  • The government’s highest advisory body, the Council of State, has thrown its weight behind criticism of plans to begin trials of regulated marijuana production in the Netherlands. The organisation says the experiment should be bigger than the government has determined, a criticism made last month by a panel of experts set up to develop the proposals. The Council of State, which points out the experiment conflicts with European law and United Nations’ treaties, states that the trial must be ‘useful, believable and scientific’ to have any merit. But the experiment as now planned – with just six to 10 councils taking part over a four year period – will not be big enough to allow useful conclusions to be drawn, the council said.

  • netherlands coffeeshop rolling jointsThe government’s plans to experiment with regulated marijuana cultivation should be carried out far more widely than in just six to 10 local authority areas, the government commission working on the plans has said. The current plan is not wide enough to be properly representative and to allow methodological analysis, and would, therefore, be pretty pointless, the commission said. The experiment with regulated growing is supposed to remove the gray area between the sale of marijuana in council-licenced coffee shops and the illegal cultivation and supply. The commission also recommends that the state should decide who should grow the marijuana. (See also: Amsterdam won’t take part in regulated marijuana trials)

  • netherlands cannabis flagThe government won't be able to draw conclusions from the regulated cannabis experiment in the Netherlands in 2024. The experimentstarts later than planned, also delaying the evaluation. The Cabinet does not want to draw any conclusions without the evaluation, Ministers Dilan Yeşilgöz (Justice and Security) and Ernst Kuipers (Public Health, Welfare, and Sports) said in a letter to parliament. The Rutte IV Cabinet agreed to publish the results in 2024 in the coalition agreement. As things now stand, the researchers won’t be able to prepare their “comprehensive analysis” on the three most important points for the Cabinet: prevention, health, and safety. The experiment is only successful if “progress on all three elements” is visible.

  • Sadiq KhanDowning Street has expressed concern over moves to end the prosecution of young people caught with cannabis in some London boroughs, under a pilot scheme being developed by Sadiq Khan. The mayor of London is understood to be developing a plan based on a successful model from Thames Valley police that would offer classes or counselling, rather than arrest, to under-25s caught with small quantities of cannabis. Khan’s office said the plans for three boroughs to trial the approach were still in development and that they did not have the powers to fully decriminalise any drugs. The pilot is yet to receive approval from the mayor’s office for policing and crime. (See also: Young people won’t be arrested for carrying weed in parts of London)

  • australia dcr kings crossVictoria will keep its supervised injecting room in North Richmond open for another three years and is set to create a second facility near Queen Victoria Market, the Government has announced. The North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room, which started as a trial in 2018, has been a controversial issue since before its creation and has been the subject of a community campaign against the facility. After a two-year review of the trial, an independent expert panel recommended a second facility be set up to take pressure off the North Richmond service. An independent review of the North Richmond facility found it had saved at least 21 lives.

  • uk dcr van glasgowThe new chair of the SNP’s drug deaths taskforce is confident legal barriers to setting up drug consumption rooms can be overcome as he insisted the facilities would not be a “free-for-all" or be a magnet for drug dealers after fears raised by a UK minister. David Strang was speaking in response to UK Government Home Office and Justice Minister, Kit Malthouse, who told MSPs to stop focusing on drug consumption rooms being set up, appealing for a focus on better treatment options instead of “wrestling with these legal and practical difficulties”. The Scottish Government is determined to allow safe consumption facilities to operate, despite the UK Government holding the legal powers to allow the policy to be implemented.

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