• Seek drug reform within international law: Tom Blickman

    Stigmatisation and international laws that tilt towards prohibition of drugs make it difficult to find a common ground for a rational debate
    Delhi Post (india)
    Monday, October 1, 2018

    Tom Blickman Dating back to the latter part of 1800s, precisely in 1894-95, the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission consisting of medical experts of Indian and British origin concluded that moderate use of cannabis was the rule in India, and produced practically no ill-effects. “What countries like Uruguay and Canada are doing now, India had already proposed 120 years ago,” says Tom Blickman from the Transnational Institute (TNI), an international policy think tank based in the Netherlands. “Had the wisdom of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission’s recommendations prevailed, we would have prevented a lot of misery by erroneous drug control policies,” he points out. (See also: A legal hallucination)

  • Landmark California marijuana legislation gives residents chance to 'reclaim their lives'

    Pot convictions disproportionately affect communities of color
    USA Today (US)
    Monday, October 1, 2018

    Hailed by advocates as a chance for people to “reclaim their lives,” a new California law will soon make it easier for people with past marijuana convictions to get their records expunged completely, or their sentences significantly reduced. Assembly Bill 1793 – passed by overwhelming majority in the California state Legislature and signed into law Sunday night by Gov. Jerry Brown – will streamline a previously tedious process that made it difficult for residents with a prior cannabis-related conviction to clear their names.

  • Govt pressed for new law on marijuana and kratom

    Experts, academics say current legislation coming in the way of medical use
    The Nation (Thailand)
    Monday, October 1, 2018

    Academics and medical practitioners are pushing for swift legislative reform to legalise the medical use of marijuana and kratom, saying current laws are infringing on people’s rights. Dr Niyada Kiatying-Angsulee, manager of the Drug System Monitoring and Development Centre, lamented that the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) was taking so much time amending the Narcotics Act as it applies to marijuana and kratom. Her centre and 13 other organisations asked the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order, to issue an order hastening the amendment that would allow for the medical use of marijuana and kratom and research into developing medicines from them.

  • Refuting science, Jerry Brown vetoes safe injection plan

    “People will die because of his veto,” said one advocate of supervised drug injection sites
    Mother Jones (US)
    Monday, October 1, 2018

    Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed San Francisco to open what could have been the nation’s first supervised drug injection sites. “Fundamentally, I do not believe that enabling illegal drug use in government sponsored injection centers – with no corresponding requirement that the user undergo treatment – will reduce drug addiction,” Brown wrote in his veto message. The veto drew sharp criticism from proponents, who argue that providing clean, monitored space for drug users to use illicit drugs would reduce overdose deaths. “I am shocked that the Governor turned his back on the science and the experts and instead used outdated drug war ideology to justify his veto,” said Laura Thomas of the Drug Policy Alliance.

  • Money launderers are taking EU to the cleaners, experts say

    Experts say the EU's efforts are simply no match for criminals who have seen through the lack of a centralised authority tasked with fighting fraud across the bloc
    The Local (Denmark)
    Sunday, September 30, 2018

    European Union nations may boast the world's most stringent anti-money laundering rules, but recent scandals show that criminals are good at exploiting the bloc's Achilles' heel: A patent lack of coordination. "There are problems relating to coordination at various levels: at the national level, between prudential and anti-money laundering institutions, and between states and the European Union," said Laure Brillaud at Transparency International. The EU's parliament in August adopted a new anti-money laundering directive, a move the European Commission said would bring more transparency to improve the fight against money laundering. (See also: Danish banks in gigantic money-laundering scandal | Shameful September as money-laundering woes dog Europe's banks)

  • NCA's decision on pill testing betrays public trust

    The misinformation campaign run by some groups has massively contributed to Australia's inability to institute pill-testing programs
    The Canberra Times (Australia)
    Saturday, September 29, 2018

    The National Capital Authority has blocked a proposal for pill testing at this year's Spilt Milk festival in Canberra. It was able to do this because the festival is held on grounds that the NCA's manages. It made this decision despite the support of the ACT government, including police and health services, widespread community support, and a successful pill-testing service at the Groovin' the Moo festival earlier this year. The NCA also appears to have made its decision without involving the level of expertise that pill-testing proponents have on their side. (See also: Pill testing every weekend 'next step' to reduce harm, Rattenbury says | Pill testing no silver bullet for festival safety, but it's part of the solution)

  • U.S. cannabis producers fear Canada will 'dominate the industry'

    Perhaps for the first time ever, Canada has a shot at leading the world in a new economic activity
    The Huffington Post (Canada)
    Saturday, September 29, 2018

    The CEO of California-based marijuana producer and seller Terra Tech is watching the cannabis industry boom north of the border with more than a little apprehension — because he is already seeing the beginnings of an invasion of U.S. markets by Canada's cannabis firms, today the world's largest. "The concern for some of the players is the market will be dominated by Canadian companies, shareholders and banks if we allow too much time to pass," Peterson said by phone from California. With Canada set to legalize recreational marijuana on Oct. 17, Canadian cannabis stock prices have soared, giving these startup firms enormous amounts of money with which to invest in their business.

  • Duterte confesses: 'My only sin is the extrajudicial killings'

    Philippines president’s admission in speech could add weight to international criminal court inquiry
    The Guardian (UK)
    Friday, September 28, 2018

    President Rodrigo Duterte has admitted for the first time to authorising extrajudicial killings as part of his war on drugs in the Philippines. Duterte made the admission during a speech, where he directly challenged anyone who criticised how he ran the country. “I told the military, what is my fault? Did I steal even one peso?” said Duterte. “My only sin is the extrajudicial killings.” Duterte has previously addressed the existence of extra-judicial killings but has always denied they were state-sponsored. This direct acknowledgment of his role in the deaths could give further weight to the ongoing preliminary investigation by the international criminal court (ICC).

  • A major study questioned the evidence for safe injection sites. It’s now been retracted

    The study suggested the evidence for safe injection sites was weak. But it had its own fatal methodological flaw
    Vox (US)
    Thursday, September 27, 2018

    A major meta-analysis published earlier this year that questioned the empirical evidence for supervised drug consumption sites has been retracted by the International Journal of Drug Policy. But the meta-analysis, which I reported on shortly after it published, concluded that supervised consumption sites have a small favorable relation to drug-related crimes, but no significant effect on several other outcomes, like overdose mortality and syringe sharing. In short, the meta-analysis didn’t conclude that supervised consumption sites were bad, but they didn’t appear to do much on key outcomes like overdose death. But the meta-analysis apparently had serious methodological flaws in how it evaluated outcomes.

  • Cannabis cultivation and consumption pattern in Jamaica 2017-2018

    Approximately 21 per cent of total farmers across the island are women while about 79 per cent are men
    The Gleaner (Jamaica)
    Wednesday, September 26, 2018

    jamaica flag ganjaFifty-three per cent of cannabis enthusiasts want Jamaica to fully legalise cannabis while 27 per cent want Jamaica to legalise but with strict controls. Only 18 per cent are content with the current state of decriminalisation and two per cent want the laws to be reverted to where they were prior to 2015. Traditionally, ganja is grown outdoor in Jamaica so that the plant can benefit from the sunlight. Our research shows that 77 per cent of farmers grow in open field outdoors, 17 per cent grow indoors, while six per cent grow in greenhouses. Unlike regular agriculture that fails to attract large numbers of young people, cannabis cultivation appears to be quite attractive to young people given its high return per crop yield compared to other agricultural commodities.

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