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Cannabis cafés and self-growing: Czechia presents draft of new marijuana law
Under new plans, Czechia plans to liberalize aspects of cannabis growth and use, but has omitted previous plans to regulate the domestic cannabis market
Expats / ČTK (Czech Republic)
Thursday, January 11, 2024
The Czech government presented a draft of a cannabis regulation bill that, does not include the previously envisioned regulated cannabis market. The Pirates party, which has traditionally been a strong advocate of cannabis legalization, stated that the text was a "compromise version" and they plan to negotiate additions. The proposed bill includes rules for legal cultivation, operation of cannabis clubs, licensed sales and exports, and taxation. It also sets restrictions on production and sales, and proposes registration of users, small growers, and cannabis clubs. Although there was consensus on certain points, there is still a political debate about cannabis clubs. The Pirates want to discuss an extension of the bill to allow for a pilot testing of a regulated market. -
Minister signs bill banning recreational use of weed
Once the law is put in place, cannabis stores must sell only the parts of the cannabis plant that are deemed legal in Thailand
The Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Monday, January 8, 2024
Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew has signed proposed legislation regarding cannabis in Thailand, emphasising that it cannot be used for recreational purposes. "The new law will clearly stipulate that cannabis must be used for medical purposes only. It will also encourage the use of cannabis for a range of health benefits," Dr Cholnan said. "Regarding the using of cannabis for recreational purposes, there will be a clear measure to control and prevent this. Under the Narcotics Code, products containing over 0.2% THC by weight will be considered illegal. (See also: Thailand's new government to ban cannabis for recreational use | Draft bill on cannabis control not finished, says Cholnan) -
As the mayor of Amsterdam, I can see the Netherlands risks becoming a narco-state
We’re proud of our health-led drugs policy, but the rise of the global illegal drugs trade means we need international solutions
The Guardian (UK)
Friday, January 5, 2024
In the Netherlands, we used to look on the international “war on drugs” with a certain amount of disdain. Its solutions were prohibition, criminalisation, stiff penalties and sentences; our national drug policy, on the other hand, focused for decades on reducing the health risks for users – and was relatively successful. Amsterdam, as an international financial hub, now serves as a marketplace where the demand for drugs is being determined, and negotiations and payments are being made from all over the world. It has become a destination for drug lords to launder their money or channel it to tax havens. Their money is increasingly contaminating the legal economy, especially in real estate, business services and hospitality. (See also: Amsterdam mayor wants Europe to decriminalize cocaine: “War on drugs isn’t working) -
Barcelona city council threatens to shut down cannabis social clubs
It's not the first time that cannabis social clubs in Barcelona are under threat of closure
Forbes (US)
Thursday, January 4, 2024
The Barcelona City Council is considering tightening regulations on access to cannabis social clubs. The concept of cannabis social clubs has drawn numerous locals and tourists to Barcelona over the years, who seek a legal way to consume cannabis rather than supporting the illegal market, especially since adult-use cannabis remains illegal in Spain. But now, the City Council is exploring ways to legally close cannabis social clubs, according to the Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es. The City Council, along with the Guàrdia Urbana, the municipal police force for Barcelona, has recently launched a renewed inspection campaign targeting about twenty cannabis social clubs, signaling a shift from their tolerance policy pursued over the years. -
Swiss capital Bern considers legal cocaine project
Wealthy Switzerland has one of the highest levels of cocaine use in Europe
Reuters (UK)
Wednesday, December 20. 2023
Switzerland's capital is examining a pilot project to allow the sale of cocaine for recreational use - a radical approach to the war on drugs that is not thought to have been tried elsewhere. The municipal council in Bern has supported the idea, which still needs to overcome opposition from the city government and will also require a change in national law. "The war on drugs has failed, and we have to look at new ideas," said Eva Chen, a member of the Bern council from the Alternative Left Party who co-sponsored the proposal. "Control and legalisation can do better than mere repression." (See also: Swiss capital exploring legal cocaine sales) -
High time: after five years, Dutch start legal cannabis trial
Despite the anti-legalisation party PVV gaining significant power in the recent election, Kuipers is not worried about interference with the experiment
Dutch News (Netherlands)
Friday, December 15, 2023
The Netherlands’ legal weed experiment kicked off in Breda and Tilburg, with Europe’s first ever licensed and controlled cannabis arriving in city coffeeshops. Health minister Ernst Kuipers joined Breda’s mayor Paul Delpa and Tilburg’s mayor Theo Weterings in coffeeshop De Baron in Breda to unpack the first box and scan the first barcodes in a low key, early morning launch. If successful, the decades old gedoog policy of tolerance, which Delpa brands “devious”, will end and smokers will now know exactly where and how their weed was produced, under strict government control. (See also: Shops in 2 Dutch cities start selling legally grown cannabis in an experiment to regulate pot trade)
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Legal Cannabis cultivation pilot set to begin on Friday
The closed coffeeshop chain experiment is to see whether the entire cannabis chain can be regulated
NL Times (Netherlands)
Thursday, December 14, 2023
The Netherlands’ long-awaited experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation starts in Tilburg and Breda on Friday. Coffeeshops in these two municipalities will be the first to sell weed that was legally grown and is required to meet certain quality standards. During this startup phase of the experiment, coffeeshops in Tilburg and Breda can sell both legal cannabis and weed bought under the tolerance policy. That is because only two legal growers are ready to supply the coffeeshops - not enough to meet their demand. In September, the government expected that another two growers would be ready to supply the Tilburg and Breda coffeeshops from February 2024. (See also: Netherlands begins trial to make cannabis fully legal) -
Scholz’s SPD puts cannabis legalisation on hold
The initial law would have allowed personal cultivation and possession of certain amounts for adults from 1 April 2024
Euractiv (Europe)
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Germany’s plans to legalise cannabis appear to be in limbo after the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition announced that the law will not be passed this year as initially planned. Plans to hold a vote on the law in mid-December, as agreed on this summer between coalition members, the SPD, the Greens and the liberal SPD, have now been put on hold. The suspension of the vote appears to have been mainly the result of internal tensions, with several SPD MPs threatening to vote against legalisation because they felt their concerns had not been considered. -
After 50 years, a Danish commune is shaken from Its utopian dream
The semiautonomous community of Christiania, in the heart of Copenhagen, was created as a post-’60s anarchistic paradise. But violence and drugs may spell its end
The New York Times (US)
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Founded in 1971 by squatters on an abandoned military base, Christiania was devised as a post-’60s anarchistic utopia, where people could live outside of Denmark’s market economy. Denmark’s government oscillated between attempting, without much success, to bring the community to heel or turning a blind eye as Christianites flouted property laws and drug laws. But now, after 50 years, with worsening gang violence and fresh attempts by the government to normalize the commune, some residents see their dream of an alternative society fading. -
NSW drug law overhaul would allow six marijuana plants for personal use
Law being introduced to NSW parliament would allow adults to give pot to their friends as long as it is not sold
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
People would be allowed to grow six marijuana plants for personal use and give their friends pot as a gift under a proposed law being introduced to the New South Wales parliament, as the government comes under more pressure to enact drug reform. The legislation would also allow people to carry up to 50g of cannabis, in a change that Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham hopes would reduce the number of Aboriginal people caught under laws he believes are racist. Government data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals Aboriginal people were 10 times more likely to have a marijuana-related interaction with police than non-Indigenous people.
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