• Rat beschließt: Verkauf von Cannabis soll in der Kölner Innenstadt legal werden

    Voraussetzung für die Abgabe von Cannabis ist eine Erlaubnis des Bundesinstituts für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte
    Der Westen (Germany)
    Montag, 12. März 2018

    In der Kölner Innenstadt soll der Verkauf von Cannabis legal möglich werden, so wünscht es sich eine Mehrheit in der Bezirksvertretung. Geplant ist eine Arbeitsgruppe „AG Cannabis“ zu gründen und Abgabestellen in Apotheken einzurichten. Eine Mehrheit aus Grünen, FDP, Linken, Deine Freunde und der Ratsgruppe Gut beschlossen in der Bezirksvertretung den Modellversuch. In der „AG-Cannabis“ soll eine Strategie zur kontrollierten Abgabe des Rauschmittels entwickelt werden. In der Arbeitsgruppe sollen Mitglieder von Suchthilfeträgern, Drogenexperten, die Polizei und Fachpolitiker miteinander diskutieren.

  • Sessions: US prosecutors won’t take on small-time pot cases

    It remains to be seen whether prosecutors will seek to punish state-sanctioned pot businesses
    Associated Press (US)
    Saturday, March 10, 2018

    Federal prosecutors won’t take on small-time marijuana cases, despite the Justice Department’s decision to lift an Obama-era policy that discouraged U.S. authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. Federal law enforcement lacks the resources to take on “routine cases” and will continue to focus on drug gangs and larger conspiracies. The comments come after the Trump administration in January threw the burgeoning marijuana legalization movement into uncertainty by reversing the largely hands-off approach that prevailed during the Obama administration, saying federal prosecutors should instead handle marijuana cases however they see fit.

  • 5 facts about cannabis laws in Germany

    Cannabis is illegal in Germany, but there are exceptions to the rule
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Saturday, March 10, 2018

    germany thresholdsGermany's drug laws have evolved over the past 30 years, with punishments becoming more severe, and, paradoxically, the definition of "drug offender" becoming more pliable. The private consumption of cannabis, for example, is commonly known to be relatively relaxed. A police officer stops someone on the street for smoking a joint, and — as many people during lazy summer months can confirm — it will probably be taken away without further repercussions. However, the law clearly prohibits cannabis with few exceptions. So what does it say? Here’s a look at the status of cannabis in German law and politics in five key points.

  • Colombia looks to become the world’s supplier of legal pot

    The biggest potential market, the United States, remains closed off, with even states that have legalized use banning cannabis imports
    The Washington Post (US)
    Saturday, March 10, 2018

    Tens of thousands of Colombians died in the U.S.-backed war on drugs. But after an official about-face on marijuana, Colombia is looking to exchange gun-toting traffickers for corporate backers in a bid to become the Saudi Arabia of legal pot. Two years ago, the country passed a landmark law legalizing medical marijuana for both domestic use and export, laying the groundwork for the new industry. The government started handing out the first licenses to grow, process and export medicinal cannabis in September and has approved 33 companies so far. Legal growers such as Canadian-owned PharmaCielo are now raising test crops for upcoming product lines, with the first commercial sales and exports slated for the coming weeks and months.

  • FDA is using 'bad science' by claiming kratom is an opioid

    Thirty-five thousand Americans have signed a petition urging the White House to step in and conduct real research on kratom
    The Hill (US)
    Friday, March 9, 2018

    Last month, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) continued its attacks on kratom, a natural plant used by millions of Americans for an improved quality of life and pain reduction. According to the FDA, kratom should be banned for its opioid-like qualities, its potential deadliness, and its link to 23 salmonella poisonings across the country. Let’s break down all of these falsehoods. First, regulation is the better approach than banning. Kratom users won’t go away if it’s made illegal; the plant has been imported for years because of its popularity and safe use in Asia.

  • International Narcotics Control Board remains troubled by Canada's pot legalization plan

    NDP MP says Canada had plenty of time to deal with international drug treaties and did not act
    CBC (Canada)
    Thursday, March 8, 2018

    The International Narcotics Control Board is expressing concerns about the Trudeau government's plan to legalize recreational cannabis use in Canada, warning the move will place Canada in violation of international drug control conventions. The board reaffirmed its opposition in its 2017 report, which states that using cannabis for anything other than medical or scientific purposes would be a violation of conventions Canada has signed. "As the board has stated repeatedly, if passed into law, provisions of Bill C-45, which permit non-medical and non-scientific use of cannabis, would be incompatible with the obligations assumed by Canada under the 1961 Convention as amended," the report said.

  • From ‘skyrocketing’ demand to scepticism: one year of medical marijuana in Germany

    Health insurance companies have been receiving a large number of applications for the reimbursement of medical marijuana costs
    The Local (Germany)
    Thursday, March 8, 2018

    Since medical marijuana was legalized in Germany in March last year, an increasing number of patients are being prescribed the drug. But the healthcare industry has been less enthusiastic about the boom and many questions have gone unanswered. Demand for cannabis has shot up since it was legalized about a year ago. Around 44,000 units of the plant covered by health insurance were distributed to patients in 2017. Doctors on the other hand are under pressure as they need to give precise reasons for prescribing cannabis. Some doctors fear for their reputation as marijuana can evoke associations with “druggies” or habitual users of drugs. Its medical efficacy is also partly controversial.

  • Marijuana decriminalization leaps first legislative hurdle

    First- and second-time offenders to be hit with fines, rather than criminal penalties, under new government proposal
    The Times of Israel (Israel)
    Thursday, March 8, 2018

    Lawmakers advanced a proposal to decriminalize personal recreational marijuana use, imposing fines rather than criminal penalties for first and second-time offenders. The proposal cleared its first reading in the Knesset with 38 MKs in favors, and none opposed. It must still pass another two readings to become law. Under the proposal backed by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, whose office oversees the police, first-time offenders would be charged a NIS 1,000 ($265) fine but would not have a criminal case filed them. That sum would be doubled on the second offense.

  • Police probe of Brazilian marijuana researcher sparks protests

    Researchers are concerned about potential restrictions to academic freedom
    Nature (US)
    Thursday, March 8, 2018

    A police investigation targeting Brazil’s most prominent marijuana researcher has ignited a wave of protest among scientists. They say that the move by authorities from the state of São Paulo threatens research freedoms at a time when science in the country faces severe problems because of draconian budget cuts. Police questioned Elisaldo Carlini, a retired professor of psychopharmacology at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), on 21 February on suspicion of inciting drug crime, according to authorities. They are still investigating the case and have not charged Carlini with anything.

  • UK revealed to be world's biggest producer of medical cannabis

    A significant part of the UK's legal cannabis production goes towards a cannabis-based medicine called Sativex
    The Herald (UK)
    Tuesday, March 6, 2018

    GW Pharmaceuticals' growing facility. (Image: GW Pharmaceuticals)The UK is the world's largest producer and exporter of legal cannabis for medical and scientific use, according to a report from the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The UK produced a 95 tonnes of legal cannabis in 2016 – accounting for 44.9 per cent of the world total – while the government refuses to allow medical cannabis in the UK on the basis that it has "no therapeutic value". Steve Rolles of Transform said: "It is scandalous and untenable for the UK government to maintain that cannabis has no medical uses, at the same time as licensing the world's biggest government approved medical cannabis production and export market." (See also: UK Drugs Minister opposes cannabis law reform while her husband profits from a license to grow it)

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