• Nurses condemn the arrests of safe supply providers

    Now is not the time to strong-arm an end to community-led models of safe supply
    The Tyee (Canada)
    Tuesday, October 31, 2023

    With drug poisoning (overdose) now the leading cause of death in British Columbia, there remains an urgent need to invest in and scale up safe supply programs in addition to supporting existing models, broadening the range of safe supply medications and removing barriers to access. We also need to address the root cause of this crisis: a toxic, unregulated drug supply. What we do not need are more police crackdowns directed at people who are stepping up to save lives and who are forced to do so illegally because of government inaction. As harm reduction nurses, we condemn the recent Vancouver Police Department arrests of Drug User Liberation Front organizers. (See also: Study shows selling tested drugs saves lives)

  • New report aims to protect small cannabis from corporate takeover

    The report urges a gradual legalization approach
    Forbes (US)
    Thursday, October 26, 2023

    cannabis dollar shadowWhen cannabis is legalized, a lot is at stake for the existing, state-level industry. The entrepreneurs who make up weed’s $33.8 billion market are predominantly small business owners. A new report says they’re worth protecting. The report, How to Federally Legalize Cannabis Without Violating the Constitution or Undermining Equity and Justice,” was ideated by the Parabola Center for Law and Policy. It offers a clear blueprint for Congress to protect the cannabis industry, ensure justice, and not obliterate the hard work that the states have done in the last decade. America’s weed industry is made up of over 10,000 small businesses providing an estimated 400,000 jobs across the country. The report was written to address “concerns that federal marijuana legalization would wipe out current state markets and replace them with a national monopoly.”

  • DULF organizers arrested for operating safe drug compassion club

    Vancouver police action follows criticism of the organization from BC United
    The Tyee (Canada)
    Thursday, October 26, 2023

    canada dulf safe supplyVancouver police have arrested drug policy activists Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum after executing search warrants on the Drug User Liberation Front office and their homes. Since 2020, Nyx and Kalicum have held protest events and operated a compassion club to supply tested heroin, cocaine and meth to drug users, despite the risk of arrest for breaking Canada’s controlled substances laws. Nyx and Kalicum said they were driven to break drug laws through firsthand experience of the overdose crisis. Vancouver police say Nyx and Kalicum were arrested so police could question them as part of an ongoing investigation. DULF has operated a compassion club for months and has frequently spoken to media about the specifics of the model. (See also: Study shows selling tested drugs saves lives)

  • Funding to residential drug treatment should increase as alternative to custody, says assembly

    Citizens’ Assembly on drug use recommends end to State’s criminal justice approach to people possessing drugs for personal use
    The Irish Times (Ireland)
    Sunday, October 22, 2023

    ireland citizen assemblyThe Government of Ireland should increase funding to residential drug treatment facilities to provide an alternative to custodial sentences for convicted people dealing with problematic drug use, a Citizens’ Assembly has said. Some 85 per cent of members opposed retaining the current criminal justice approach to personal drug possession, instead calling for a health-led approach to illegal drug use. The citizens voted by 39 to 38 for a comprehensive health-led strategy, rather than legalisation of cannabis. The assembly has been meeting since April to consider changes to drug policy, with a final report now to be prepared on its recommendations and sent to Government. (See also: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs ends in disarray)

  • Hill touts legalised ganja sale to tourists

    I am talking about people who you don't have to take your product overseas to export it — we'll bring them here for you
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Saturday, October 21, 2023

    jamaica flag ganja2Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce of Jamaica, Senator Aubyn Hill, has suggested the legalised sale of marijuana to visitors as a way for Jamaica to earn revenue from countries that do not allow imports of the herb. "We don't have to send it in plane loads [as an export item]. We have to get our act together through the CLA [Cannabis Licensing Authority] , through the ministry, through RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Agency], and make sure the people who come here to buy our export product called tourism and hotels and jerk and so on, have access — legal, proper, regulated access — to this product," he said. (See also: Cannabis sector eager to expand tourism market; Hill said his comments were confined to the sale of medical cannabis)

  • A tale of two cannabis legalization experiments

    California legalized recreational cannabis two years before Canada. Now, both face similar challenges and are hampered by the legacy of prohibition
    Policy Options (Canada)
    Tuesday, October 17, 2023

    california dispensaryIt’s been five years since the Canadian government legalized and regulated non-medical cannabis cultivation, commerce, and consumption. California is ahead of us by two years, having followed a similar experiment in 2016 when it legalized recreational cannabis. Today, California and Canada are facing similar challenges though they have adopted vastly different regulations. The two jurisdictions offer an interesting contrast in how regulatory frameworks can support or undermine a nascent legal cannabis industry. Evidence from the past five years suggests that the regulations have failed to provide equitable access to the industry and develop balanced tax structures. Legalization in Canada and California also remains hampered by the legacy of global cannabis prohibition.

  • The evidence shows that safer supply drug programs work

    Our research found that people receiving safer supply experienced fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits. This can't be ignored
    National Post (Canada)
    Thusday, October 12, 2023

    canada safe supplyThe mounting moral panic against safer supply and other harm reduction interventions to counter the toxic drug crisis is not based in evidence. The reality is safer supply works. We are researchers who have been studying safer supply in British Columbia and Ontario for several years. Multiple published studies and program evaluations, including our own and those led by colleagues, have found that people receiving safer supply report decreased use of fentanyl from the unregulated street supply, fewer overdoses and better health and social outcomes. Our research, using hospital data published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in September last year, reported rapid improvements in health indicators among people receiving safer supply.

  • 5 years of legal cannabis: fewer charges, many hospitalizations and more than a few questions

    As retailers made it easier to buy cannabis, hospitalization numbers ticked upwar
    CBC News (Canada)
    Tuesday, October 10, 2023

    canada cannabis retailWhen Canada legalized the use of cannabis in October 2018 after decades of prohibition, the goals were to improve safety and public health as well as to reduce access by youth, crime and the illegal market. Five years later, public health experts say legalization hasn't created any health benefits — but it has been linked to some serious concerns. The Canadian Medical Association Journal includes a commentary taking stock on what's happened with the legalization of non-medical cannabis. More than a quarter of Canadian adults — 27 per cent — say they use cannabis, up from 22 per cent in 2017. The CMAJ paper notes the important social justice benefits from substantial reductions in criminal arrests and charges, along with the associated stigma.

  • Cannabis in Canada: Debunking myths about the real impacts of legalization

    Canada’s cannabis legalization experience can offer valuable insights to countries navigating the same terrain
    The Conversation
    Monday, October 9, 2023

    canada flag cannabisBefore Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, there was considerable debate about its potential effects. Some predicted it would trigger an economic “goldrush,” while others worried it would lead to public health “tragedies.” As it turns out, certain trends were already underway before legalization and continued afterward. On the flip side, some changes did not happen as anticipated. The percentage of adults using cannabis had already been increasing prior to 2018. Unsurprisingly, it continued to rise after legalization. There was a boost after legalization beyond the ongoing trend. But part of that might have been from people becoming more open about cannabis use. On the other hand, teenagers’ cannabis use hardly budged after 2018.

  • Cannabis firms are cut off from the US financial system, but relief is in sight

    US Senate is eyeing a bill that would allow banks to do business with cannabis companies – now, if only they would vote on it
    The Guardian (UK)
    Sunday, October 8, 2023

    dollar cannabisImagine that you run a perfectly legal business but are unable to open a simple checking account at a national bank. Believe it or not, that’s the case right now for anyone licensed to sell cannabis in the US. Given the size of the cannabis industry, it’s pretty shocking. But it may be about to change. In the US, 38 states have legalized marijuana for medical use and 23 of them have legalized it for recreational purposes, including three territories and the District of Columbia. An additional eight states have decriminalized its use. Both red and blue states with legalized marijuana laws have collected $15bn in tax revenue between 2014 and 2022, with $3.77bn in tax revenue attributed to 2022 alone.

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