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Weed all about it
Uruguay's cannabis law
The Economist (UK)
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
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“A critical turning point in the failed war against drugs,” is the verdict of Martin Jelsma of the Drugs and Democracy Programme at the Transnational Institute, an Amsterdam-based think-tank. On December 10th Uruguay’s Senate approved a law that not only legalised marijuana use but also regulated its production and sale. Others have gone down this route before: the American states of Colorado and Washington legalised marijuana for recreational use in 2012. But Uruguay is the first country to do so. -
More U.N. states quietly say no to drug war
Inter Press Service (IPS)
Saturday, December 7, 2013
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An internal United Nations draft document leaked last weekend has offered outsiders a rare look at longstanding disagreements between member states over the course of U.N. drug policy. The document, first publicised by The Guardian and obtained by IPS, contains over 100 specific policy recommendations and proposals from member states, many at odds with the status quo on illicit drug eradication and prohibition. -
Thailand’s cure for meth addiction? A leafy jungle stimulant
Seen as an emerging threat in the US, 'Kratom' could wean addicts off meth, Thailand’s justice minister argues
Global Post
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
The legal status of kratom is under review in Thailand. Options include making kratom available only by prescription, decriminalizing small amounts and total legalization. “There’s never been a single death associated with kratom,” said Pascal Tanguay, who investigated kratom use for the Transnational Institute. “People have been chewing this for thousands of years with no cases of overdose, psychosis, murder, violent crime. Never in all of recorded history.” -
Analysis: Colombia’s fight against the coca trade
Obinna AnyadikeIRIN (UN)
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
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EL TARRA, 28 August 2013 (IRIN) - The Colombian government believes people should just say no to growing coca: those that do not, risk aerial spraying of their illicit crop with powerful pesticides, or manual destruction by work teams hired by private firms and supported by the security forces. -
Uruguay poised to legalize marijuana: Is this the right way forward?
Vatican Radio
Friday, August 2, 2013
Uruguay is poised to become the first nation in the world to create a legal, regulated marijuana market. .. but is this the right way forward? Martin Jelsma is a leading expert on Latin America and international drugs policies. He told Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges that he's in favour of the new law in Uruguay and says it is not intended to liberalize the cannabis market but instead regulate it.
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Legalization of marijuana seeks to protect teens and minor addicts from addiction - expert
Roman KozarevThe Voice of Russia (Russia)
Thursday, August 1, 2013
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Uruguay's House of Representatives has passed a bill to legalize marijuana by 50 of the 96 MPs following 13 hours of tough debates. Now the bill is to be approved by the Senate to make Uruguay the first country to regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. President Jose Mujica believes that the measure will remove profits from drug dealers and divert users from harder drugs. Martin Jelsma, the Coordinator of Drugs & Democracy program at Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, shared his thoughts on the new legislation with the Voice of Russia. -
Nederland wietland ingehaald door Uruguay
NOS Op 3 (The Netherlands)
Thursday, August 1, 2013
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Wij hebben het er al jaren over, Uruguay doet 't gewoon: wiet wordt er legaal. Niet alleen de verkoop, ook de productie. Daarmee is Uruguay het eerste land ter wereld waar wiet legaal is, en zijn wij onze koppositie een beetje kwijt... -
In Mexico, guilty till proven innocent
Maureen MeyerCNN (US)
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The case of Yanira Maldonado brought international attention once more to the innocent people getting caught in Mexico's drug war. Maldonado, a U.S. citizen and mother of seven children, was released late last week after spending more than a week in a prison in Nogales, Mexico, accused of trying to transport marijuana aboard a bus. -
De wankele 'Weense consensus' over drugsbeleid
Internationale Spectator
April 2013??
Nederland is met zijn drugsbeleid in de achterhoede terecht gekomen, zo stelt Martin Jelsma. Zo zijn Uruguay en de Amerikaanse staten Washington en Colorado met hun besluit om de cannabismarkt van teelt tot gebruik te legaliseren, Nederland voorbijgestreefd. Ze schenden daarbij de VN-verdragen en lijken daarmee hervorming van het wereldwijde drugsbeleid af te dwingen. Ook vanuit het door drugsgeweld geteisterde Latijns-Amerika wordt de roep om legalisering van de drugsmarkt steeds groter.
Download het artikel (PDF)De PDF van dit artikel is met toestemming van de redactie overgenomen uit de Internationale Spectator, maandblad voor internationale politiek, uitgegeven door de Koninklijke Van Gorcum te Assen namens het Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen ‘Clingendael’ te Den Haag.
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Towards a ceasefire
Winding down the war on drugs. Experiments in legalisation are showing what a post-war approach to drug control could look like
The Economist (UK)
Saturday, February 23, 2013
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Partial reforms have their limits. Most drug crime is not cannabis-related. Moving from punishment to harm reduction may help drug users, but it leaves gangsters in control of supplies and revenues. Many countries still stick to prohibition. The votes in Colorado and Washington were hardly imaginable ten years ago and make deeper change likely. They weaken the Single Convention, the illegal trade, and the prohibition industry that feeds on it.
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