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Raphael Mechoulam, ‘Father of Cannabis Research,’ dies at 92
His work helped break down the chemical structures of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, to figure out how cannabis makes users high
The New York Times (US)
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Raphael Mechoulam, a pioneering Israeli chemist who is credited with opening the field of cannabis science after identifying the structure and function of the key compounds of cannabis, died on March 9 at his home in Jerusalem. He was 92. Professor Mechoulam’s groundbreaking work with cannabis began in the early 1960s, just before the use of marijuana and other drugs exploded in countries around the world, bringing seismic changes to popular culture while also kicking off decades-long battles about health effects and enforcement. His research earned him the unofficial title “the father of cannabis research.” -
France to keep a cautious watch on German cannabis bill
As Germany moves towards the legalisation of recreational cannabis in 2024, the French government intends to keep a close eye on developments in its European neighbour’s legislative framework
Euractiv (Europe)
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Germany is looking into legalising the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes from next year, according to a draft plan Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented to the European Commission. “France will closely monitor the evolution of the German legislative framework, especially with regard to its potential impact on cross-border regions,” the office of French Health Minister François Braun. France is currently opposed to the legalisation of cannabis and has one of Europe’s most restrictive legislations. It also has Europe’s second-highest consumption levels with around 900,000 daily cannabis users, according to figures from the Interior Ministry. -
Australia spends billions ‘failing to police’ cannabis that earns black market $25bn a year, Greens say
David Shoebridge says legalising the drug would bring in $28bn in tax revenue in first decade
The Guardian (UK)
Friday, March 17, 2023
Australia’s cannabis industry could be earning the black market $25bn a year and, rather than policing it, we could be gaining revenue from it by legalising it, Greens senator David Shoebridge has said. “Law enforcement is spending billions of public dollars failing to police cannabis, and the opportunity here is to turn that all on its head by legalising it,” he said. In answer to a question from Shoebridge during Senate estimates on how much cannabis Australians consumed, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (Acic) provided data from the nation’s wastewater which found 14.6 kilograms of THC (the psychoactive compound found in cannabis) per thousand people a year. -
Legal cannabis plans breach international law – State Council
Luxembourg has already had to scale back plans to fully legalise cannabis
Luxembourg Times (Luxembourg)
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Luxembourg's plans to allow residents to grow four cannabis plants at their home have been thrown into question after the country's de-facto upper chamber stated the proposals would breach international law. Lawmakers who put forward the draft law "risk exposing themselves to criticism on the international level of non-conformity with international law," the State Council said in a legal opinion. While Luxembourg's plans would breach international law, they would conform with existing EU law, the state council found, given the country would not completely legalise cannabis. (See also: Cannabis cultivé chez soi : l’Europe ne dit pas non) -
These are the rules cannabis associations will have to follow
New legal notice spells out fines, membership rules and paperwork requirements
Times of Malta (Malta)
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Cannabis associations that sell to non-members or minors will face fines of up to €10,000, with the associations also required to cough up money for harm reduction and community projects. A newly-published legal notice spells out what cannabis associations in Malta will need to do to obtain a permit allowing them to sell cannabis to registered members - from what records they must keep to who they can employ. The legal notice comes 15 months after the government effectively legalised recreational cannabis and weeks after the sector's new regulator started accepting registration applications. (See also: Small cannabis clubs should be able to cultivate weed in grow tents – Releaf) -
Lauterbach wants to present new proposal
Besides critical voices, there is also support for the legalisation project
Legal Tribune Online (Germany)
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Germany's Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is sticking to his legalisation plans. In the coming weeks, he will present a proposal for cannabis legalisation that conforms to European law. "In the meantime, we have changed the original key point paper somewhat," Lauterbach said, without giving details. The proposal that he will present will be in conformity with European law on the one hand, and on the other hand will achieve the goals of the Federal Government. Scientists from Nijmegen University concluded in an expert report that the introduction of a state-controlled, national cannabis licensing system by an EU member state is possible under certain conditions in accordance with European and international law. -
À Chefchaouen, les coopératives s’apprêtent à lancer la saison de culture du cannabis légalisé
Tel Quel (Maroc)
Mardi, 7 mars 2023
Un atelier de travail s’est tenu, le 6 mars au siège de la province de Chefchaouen, afin d’examiner les modalités concrètes de soutien aux coopératives pour le lancement de la saison de culture du cannabis légalisé. Cet atelier, qui s’est déroulé en présence du gouverneur de la province de Chefchaouen, Mohammed Alami Ouaddane, du directeur général de l’Agence nationale de réglementation des activités relatives au cannabis (ANRAC), Mohammed El Guerrouj, des chefs des services extérieurs concernés, et des représentants de 11 coopératives spécialisées dans la production et la valorisation du cannabis, a permis aux coopératives concernées de présenter leur perception sur le sujet, et a été l’occasion d’écouter les interventions des services techniques qui les accompagnent. -
Farmers say making dagga legal has only made them poorer
Eastern Cape remains the province with the highest number of cannabis and hemp licences issued in South Africa
Scrolla (South Africa)
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Small-scale cannabis farmers in the rural parts of the Eastern Cape are feeling the pinch of obtaining farming licences. This is particularly difficult for a 27-year-old farmer who has been involved in the cannabis industry for the past four years. Originally from Mcobothini, in Lusikisiki, the farmer has managed to find a secluded area where he plants approximately 500 trees of cannabis annually with plans to expand his production. “Obtaining cannabis farming licences has proven to be more difficult than I thought, but they have promised to come up with a way forward,” he said. He said another problem is that licences are only issued to cooperatives — and not to individuals. -
Is legalisation a human rights imperative?
Criminal law scholars from the University of Nijmegen show that cannabis legalisation in Germany could succeed under European and international law
Legal Tribune Online (Germany)
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Does the cannabis legalisation planned by the German government's traffic lights coalition violate European law and relevant UN agreements? While Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) presented an expert opinion by law professor Bernhard Wegener from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Munich, who answered this question with a clear "yes", LTO has received an unpublished legal study by two scientists from the University of Nijmegen, which comes to the opposite conclusion. They examined the relevant EU Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA, which obliges Member States to criminalise any form of illicit trafficking in drugs and thus also in cannabis. -
Jamaican ganja farmers outraged after licence granted to import Canadian herb
"I am very angry that a country that does not allow Jamaican imports or exports from Jamaica into their market could be granted permission to export to Jamaica”
Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Some local ganja farmers are fuming over reports that a licence has been granted to a company to import Canadian cannabis into Jamaica. Speaking inside the ‘Jamaica Cannabis Industry Forum’ WhatsApp group, President of the Jamaica Cannabis Licensed Association, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, asked growers to figuratively “holster [their] weapons and keep [their] powder dry”, noting that the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) was aware of the ire created within the local industry following the latest development. (See also: Hylton slams Hill’s ‘dubious’ claim on ganja imports | Gov't to formulate local cannabis policy following Canadian company backlash)
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