Congressional Democratic leaders filed a marijuana legalization bill last week aimed at remedying the injustices of the drug war. But my experience as a regulator overseeing the implementation of Massachusetts’s effort to end marijuana prohibition tells me that without stronger measures, their plans will fall short of that worthy goal. In every state that has attempted to equitably legalize cannabis, big corporations quickly took over the market while those who were arrested and imprisoned under prohibition got next to nothing. We need to reverse this outcome at the federal level. But as federal lawmakers grapple with the complexities of beginning to repair the harms of the unjust war on drugs, it is critical that they study the experiences of states that have already attempted this.

The gap between federal and state marijuana policies continues to widen and shows no signs of stopping, congressional researchers said in a new report that also lays out options for how lawmakers could address the growing schism. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published the 101-page analysis just days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to federally legalize cannabis. It covers a wide range of policy implications caused by the ongoing prohibition of marijuana under federal law as more states move to legalize for medical and adult use. From banking challenges to trafficking trends, CRS thoroughly covered how the status quo “creates unique consequences for individuals who act in compliance with state law but violate federal law.”

The Zurich city government and the Zurich University Hospital said that the Federal Office of Public Health approved the conditions for the organic production of two separate strains of cannabis. The project, Zuri Can - Cannabis with Responsibility, is intended to study the impact of regulated cannabis supply on the consumption and health of consumers. The project was delayed last October following objections by the health office. The sale of cannabis products from pharmacies and social clubs to control groups is now due to begin next August. A maximum of 2,100 participants can take part in the large-scale pilot project in Switzerland's biggest city. (See also: Zurich set to legalize cannabis In Swiss trial program)

City politicians in Copenhagen are in support of trialling a legalization of the sale of cannabis and will approach the government over the issue. “There’s a new government, so it makes sense for us in Copenhagen to again make clear our view that it is important for us that something is done about the hash market in Copenhagen,” said Socialist People’s Party councillor Klaus Mygind. City councillors say a trial would undermine criminal hash dealers and also make it easier to reach young people who are struggling with addiction. The idea is based on the establishment of five or six points of sale in the city, which would be staffed by specially trained advisors. 44 of the 55 representatives on the city council support the proposal.

Ahead of a City Council cannabis conference on Friday, Copenhagen officials say they are ready to make another push to legalise the substance. According to prepared documents from the council, the city is proposing a three-year trial, arguing that “the legal sale of cannabis will result in decreased gang criminality, more prevention and a better life for average cannabis users”. (See also: Danes importing pot advice from Pete Holmes)

While Copenhagen managed to convince the government to let them open a legal injection room to improve the living conditions of drug addicts, they have had less luck tackling the organised crime associated with the cannabis trade – the mayor wants to legalise cannabis, but the government has said ‘no’. So how does the city’s mayor, Frank Jensen (Socialdemo-kraterne), hope to tackle these issues? The Copenhagen Post interviewed him to find out.

After three spurned attempts to get a trial programme for legal cannabis off the ground, city officials in Copenhagen will try once again. Led by Mayor Frank Jensen, Copenhagen officials have thrice requested a trial programme that would legalize cannabis in the city, with sales handled by public authorities. Each time, including the most recent effort in 2014, the request has been rejected by the national government. But now the left-wing Red-Green Alliance and the libertarian-leaning Liberal Alliance (LA) think the time is ripe to try again, especially with an increasing number of Copenhagen shootings that are believed to be the result of rival gangs fighting for control of the illicit cannabis market. (See also: Copenhagen again pushing towards legalising cannabis)

The Copenhagen City Council is pushing ahead with a proposal to decriminalise cannabis, and has set up a committee to investigate the best way to regulate the supply and distribution. The favoured option is for 30 or 40 cannabis shops controlled by the city in which adults may legally buy cannabis. By a margin of 39 votes to nine, the City Council decided to draw up a detailed outline of how the plan would work. Subsequently, the resulting proposal still has to be ratified by the Danish parliament, which has blocked similar movements in the past. But after the national elections in September 2011 the current parliament could support decriminalisation this time around.

Councils have pleaded with the Dutch government to give them more autonomy in their experiments with legal cannabis production rather than imposing a ‘one size fits all’ solution. The new government plans to allow around 10 local authorities to regulate small-scale production in an attempt to take criminal gangs out of the supply chain. The coalition agreement has set a target of seeing ‘uniform experiments in the permitted cultivation of cannabis for recreational use’ introduced within six months. But local mayors who have expressed an interest in the scheme argue that a diverse approach has more chance of succeeding.

Un informe realizado por el Transnational Institute (TNI) bajo el nombre Cannabis Regulation in Europe: Country Report Spain, realizado por el profesor del Instituto Vasco de Criminología Xabier Arana, ha analizado y comparado las tres legislaciones de esas tres comunidades autónomas para comprobar sus similitudes, diferencias y poder plantear escenarios posibles de regulación del cannabis en todo el Estado. El informe del TNI también recoge cuatro alternativas para la regulación del cannabis en España de cuatro organizaciones distintas. Algunas piden la legalización completa del cannabis, otras quieren normalizar el cultivo doméstico para uso personas y otras se centran en los usos terapéuticos del la planta y sus componentes.

The decriminalization and regulation of cannabis has been occurring in many jurisdictions in the United States – but also closer to home and more significantly in Jamaica. While unable to directly compete with these long-established producers, the Windward Islands are home to their own significant, albeit illegal, cannabis economy. A pressing task facing the cash strapped governments of the Windward Islands, particularly St Vincent and St Lucia is to capitalize on the current climate of drug reform and adopt creative decriminalization policies which will ensure that they are able to transition the employment, income generation and value added opportunities from the ganja economy to the legal economy.

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L'impact de la culture du cannabis sur la biodiversité et les ressources a été au centre d'un webinaire organisé à l'initiative de l'Alliance marocaine pour le climat et le développement durable, en collaboration avec l'Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature (UICN). Tom Blickman, chargé de projet senior au Transnational Institute, un think tank d’Amsterdam, a indiqué qu’au cours des 50 dernières années, les cultivateurs de cannabis marocains ont fait preuve d’une remarquable résilience aux tentatives du gouvernement d’éradiquer ou de réduire la culture du cannabis, ainsi que d’une capacité remarquable à s’adapter aux conditions changeantes du marché international. le défi est de trouver un modèle de développement durable qui inclut la culture du cannabis au Maroc.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that he would push to legalize recreational marijuana next year, a move that could bring in more than $1.3 billion in revenue annually and put New York in line with several neighboring states. The highly anticipated proposal came in a speech Mr. Cuomo gave in Manhattan, in which he outlined his agenda for the first 100 days of his third term. “The fact is we have had two criminal justice systems: one for the wealthy and the well off, and one for everyone else,” Mr. Cuomo said, describing the injustice that he said had “for too long targeted the African-American and minority communities.”

The Czech cabinet approved a plan for fighting addictions until 2025. It includes the introduction of a strictly regulated cannabis market based on rules drafted by an expert group. The plan still has to pass through both houses of the Czech parliament and be signed by the president before it becomes law. National anti-drug policy coordinator Jindřich Vobořil previously said that the plan would have five priorities. One of them will be a controlled cannabis market. Another one is the tax policy, which could bring Czechia up to CZK 15 billion a year. The remaining three priorities are prevention and treatment, promoting the relevant steps in the EU, and preparing for possible impacts.

Czech National Anti-drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil wants to strictly regulate the Czech cannabis market as cannabis sales should be decriminalised and regulated at the European level. While recreational cannabis is not allowed in Czechia, possession and growing at home has been decriminalised since 2010 but is still punishable as a civil offence. Market regulation and decriminalisation of cannabis users were among the topics of a meeting of European anti-drug coordinators, organised under the Czech EU Presidency. “We hope it will be a coordinated effort (to regulate the cannabis market). It is impossible not to talk about it on an EU-wide basis. Prohibition has not proved to be effective enough; we need to look for other models of control,” Vobořil said. (See also: Anti-drug coordinator: Czechia could soon legalise sale and growing of marijuana)

Czechia plans to introduce a new, regulated cannabis market allowing people to consume up to 5 grams of cannabis recreationally per day, and legalize the growth and distribution of the drug. Seznam Zprávyreports that under the government’s new plans, consumers would need to register in a database, and growers and sellers would need to pay annual fees. According to the state’s anti-drug policy coordinator Jindřich Vobořil and the Pirate Party, which is part of the current coalition, the proposal could earn the government around CZK 2 billion per year. The regulation is still in its draft form and will be debated in parliament this month. If approved, it could be implemented as early as next year.

On April 5, the government approved the 2023-2025 Addiction Policy Action Plan, a wide-ranging policy reform package, including the liberalisation and possible legalisation of recreational cannabis use, sale and production in the Czech Republic. With government parties enjoying a majority in both chambers of parliament, a newly elected pro-legalisation president and widespread public support to ease the rules, the declared goal of legalisation coming into force in 2024 doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Seeing it as a homerun, however, would be a mistake, according to Lukas Hurt, a long-time pro-legalisation activist and editor-in-chief of Magazin Konopi, an online and print publication he co-founded in 2018 that specialises in covering the medical uses of cannabis.

A flourishing dagga industry is high on the agenda of new Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, especially in the Pondoland area, where locals have been farming the wisdom herb for a long time. If he has his way, Mabuyane says he intends to formalise the cultivation and trade in dagga which he says would have immense economic benefits for the people in the province. Mabuyane said those who had been growing dagga illegally for years would have to be embraced. “My attitude is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but [we] must affirm those people who have been in the industry formally or informally, and set up cooperatives, formalise them and make them understand that they must work within the law so that we maximise opportunities out of this,” he said.

Andre De Caires of  the Cannabis Movement of St. Lucia is not satisfied with the pace at which the recently formed Cannabis Commission is working. The commission’s mandate is to “consult and provide advice on the design of a legislative and regulatory framework for cannabis”.  A workshop in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, facilitated by the Transnational Institute brought together activists and farmers’ representatives from across the region. Discussions centred on management of the cannabis industry in the face of the enormous influx of investment money from cannabis companies “that do not exactly share the interest of the farmers, and the development of the islands as their first priority”.