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Parliamentary drug summit to hear case in favour of decriminalising possession
Doctors and researchers say there is a strong argument – and wide public support – for replacing criminal penalties with a harm reduction approach
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Senior doctors and researchers will tell an annual parliamentary drug policy summit in Australia it is “time to be courageous” and remove all criminal penalties for drug possession. Criminologist Caitlin Hughes said there was “strong public support” for decriminalisation, which would save the public money without necessarily increasing drug use or crime. “Decriminalisation removes criminal penalties for use and possession by law or in practice. It does not provide a legal avenue to obtain drugs,” the University of New South Wales drug policy specialist said. (Drug decriminalisation helps minimise harm) -
Majority of Canadians agree pot should be legal: poll
The government has convinced the population of the wisdom of its promise, but that public consultations are still needed to determine how to proceed
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Monday, February 29, 2016
A strong majority in Canada agree with the Liberal government’s plan to legalize marijuana, and half of them feel users should be able to grow their own pot at home, a new Globe and Mail/Nanos Research poll has found. The poll also found that Canadians would prefer that cannabis be sold in dedicated dispensaries or pharmacies than through a liquor store. The poll of 1,000 Canadians found that legalizing marijuana is supported or somewhat supported by 68 per cent of the population. (See also: Legalizing pot: How should Canada tax it, and by how much) -
Campaign group led by police officials calls for rethink on war on drugs
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition pressure group says current policy on drugs doing more harm and urges reform
The Guardian (UK)
Monday, February 29, 2016
Former and serving police officers and officials from Britain, Europe and the US have told politicians that the “war on drugs” is lost and they must take the trade out of the hands of organised crime. They called for an evidence-based approach to drug use in the UK that seeks to not only minimise harm but also allow for the potential benefits that certain illegal drugs can have. Ron Hogg, police and crime commissioner for Durham, who is well known for instructing his force not to prioritise the prosecution of drug users, said it was time to give up on the war on drugs. -
Pill testing trial to begin at Sydney music festivals, vows drug expert Alex Wodak
The pill testing trial would be launched without costing taxpayers a cent
The Sidney Morning Herald (Australia)
Sunday, February 28, 2016
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) -
Is kratom the new bath salts?
Kratom fans say it’s like a ‘safe opiate,’ but law enforcement paints a picture of addiction and psychosis
The Daily Beast (US)
Saturday, February 27, 2016
The botanical substance is both a stimulant and a sedative. It is common and illegal in Thailand, where it grows naturally, but little-known and largely legal in the United States. The federal government is cracking down on kratom. Last month, the FDA asked U.S. Marshals to seize nearly 90,000 bottles of dietary supplements containing kratom, which is derived from tropical trees that grow throughout Southeast Asia. In 2014, the Marshals took over 25,000 pounds of raw kratom from a company in Van Nuys, California, at the FDA’s request. -
Experten sehen kaum Chancen für Koalitionsplan
Freigabe von Cannabis
Radio Bremen (Germany)
Freitag, 26. Februar, 2016
Das Bremer Modellprojekt für eine kontrollierte Abgabe von Cannabis hat nach Einschätzung von Experten kaum Erfolgschancen. Sie plädierten für eine Reform des Betäubungsmittelgesetzes auf Bundesebene. Die rot-grünen Koalitionsfraktionen hatten die Experten-Anhörung eigentlich als einen der letzten Schritte hin zu einem möglichen Cannabis-Modellversuch in Bremen gesehen. Ihr Plan, der auch schon im Koalitionsvertrag festgehalten ist, sieht vor, Joints für Erwachsene legal in Apotheken anzubieten. Außerdem soll die Polizei entlastet werden, da sie Kiffer nicht mehr verfolgen müsste. (Mehr dazu: Lieber nur als Medizin | So stehen die Parteien zur Drogenpolitik) -
Iran executed all adult men in one village for drug offences, official reveals
UN anti-drug agency urged to stop funding Iran’s war on narcotics until Tehran ends use of death penalty for drug offences
The Guardian (UK)
Friday, February 26, 2016
The entire adult male population of a village in southern Iran has been executed for drug offences, according to Iran’s vice-president for women and family affairs. The matter came to light after Shahindokht Molaverdi revealed it during an interview with the semi-official Mehr news agency in rare comments from a senior government official highlighting the country’s high rate of executions of drug traffickers. According to Amnesty International, Iran remains a prolific executioner, second only to China. (Infographic: Capital Punishment in Iran - 2015) -
Marijuana advocates say ‘next fight’ is legalizing storefront dispensaries
Justice Michael Phelan gave the federal government six months to rewrite the current regulations
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The federal government should use a court decision ordering it to rewrite the rules on medical marijuana as an opportunity to legalize the storefront sale of such medicine, experts and commercial growers say. A Federal Court judge in British Columbia ruled that patients have a right to grow their own medical marijuana, overturning regulations that forced them to purchase it through federally licensed producers. Justice Michael Phelan said that “dispensaries are at the heart of cannabis access,” and suggested the growth of such illegal storefront shops is connected to the restrictive nature of the current medical marijuana system. -
Study: Pot-related visits to Colorado ERs higher for out-of-state visitors
Future efforts should focus on educating visitors on safe and appropriate marijuana usage
Chicago Tribune (US)
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Marijuana-related emergency room visits in Colorado have increased at a higher rate for out-of-state guests than for residents since cannabis was legalized, according to a new study. The Northwestern Medicine and the University of Colorado School of Medicine looked at ER visits at more than 100 hospitals in Colorado in which there was a diagnosis of patients having used cannabis. Researchers compared the records from 2012, when the Colorado ballot measure passed to legalize marijuana, with 2014, when it was legally sold for recreational use. The study did not look at whether ER patients smoked marijuana or ingested edible marijuana products. Inexperienced users are unaware of the delayed effect of edibles. -
Lift the Ban!
Kofi Annan on Why it's time to legalize drugs
Der Spiegel (Germany)
Monday, February 22, 2016
In my experience, good public policy is best shaped by the dispassionate analysis of what in practice has worked, or not. Policy based on common assumptions and popular sentiments can become a recipe for mistaken prescriptions and misguided interventions. Nowhere is this divorce between rhetoric and reality more evident than in the formulation of global drug policies, where too often emotions and ideology rather than evidence have prevailed. Scientific evidence and our concern for health and human rights must shape drug policy.
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