• Marijuana decriminalization law inches toward approval

    Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan proposes a 'four strikes' policy to decriminalize, but not legalize, recreational cannabis use
    The Jerusalem Post (Israel)
    Wednesday, September 13, 2017

    israel cannabis flag courtNine months after Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan initiated legislation to decriminalize, but not legalize, recreational cannabis use, his proposal was sent to the attorney-general for approval. Upon announcing the policy shift, which would still include fines but not an initial criminal record for possession of less than 15 grams, Erdan said adult offenders would be afforded “four strikes” before criminal proceedings are initiated. Following the first offense, an unspecified fine would be levied. After the second offense, the fine would double. If caught a third time, offenders would be offered the option to attend rehab or have their driver’s license revoked. A fourth strike would result in criminal prosecution.

  • Sri Lanka to export cannabis from first plantation

    Traditional herbal medicine market currently depends on handouts from courts which seize illegally grown or smuggled drugs
    The Indian Express (India)
    Wednesday, September 13, 2017

    Sri Lanka is to launch its first official cannabis plantation to supply the traditional medicine market and export to the United States, the health minister said on Wednesday. Rajitha Senaratne said the 100-acre (40-hectare) cannabis farm, which could produce more than 25 tonnes a year and would be under military protection, would ensure a regular high quality supply. “Many ayurvedic doctors have complained that they don’t get good quality cannabis for their preparations,” Senaratne told reporters. “Good cannabis is a vital ingredient in the preparation of traditional medicine.”

  • Marijuana use in the U.S. has increased since 2005, but not because of legislation, study says

    Overall, 12.9 percent of adults have used marijuana since 2015, up from the 6.7 percent 10 years earlier
    Newsweek (US)
    Tuesday, September 12, 2017

    American adults are smoking more pot, but increased cannabis use does not appear to be due to wider availability of legal marijuana, a new study shows. Pot consumption among women almost doubled between 1984 and 2015, from 5.5 percent of adults to 10.6 percent; meanwhile, 14.7 percent more men are toking up since 2000, according to the report from the Public Health Institute. But researchers cautioned against assuming that relaxed laws governing recreational and medicinal pot are driving the trend.

  • Legal marijuana is almost here. If only pot farmers were on board

    California will probably continue to be a major exporter — illegally — to other states
    The New York Times (US)
    Saturday, September 9, 2017

    More than nine months after California voted to legalize recreational marijuana, only a small share of the tens of thousands of cannabis farmers in Northern California have joined the system, according to law enforcement officers and cannabis growers. Despite the promise of a legal marketplace, many growers are staying in the shadows, casting doubt on the promise of a billion-dollar tax windfall for the state and a smooth switch to a regulated market. At the same time, environmental damage and crime associated with illegal cannabis businesses remain entrenched in the state despite legalization, law enforcement officials say.

  • Bermuda to decriminalise small amounts of ganja

    The House passed a cannabis decriminalisation bill in May 2017
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Friday, September 8, 2017

    The new Progressive Labour Party (PLP) government says it will introduce legislation to decriminalise cannabis possession if the amount is under seven grams, Governor John Rankin announced. “The criminalisation of our citizens for minor, non-violent possession of cannabis is an open sore on our society, damaging the lives of hundreds of Bermudians, young and old,” Rankin, said as he delivered the traditional throne speech at the start of the new parliament. “This is also an issue of fairness as black people in our society are far more likely to be arrested, charged and convicted for cannabis possession than white people.” (See also: An Analysis of Cannabis Reform in Bermuda)

  • Few Jamaicans in local ganja industry — Dr Lowe

    There needs to be better clarity between the Cannabis Licensing Board and the Ministry of Health
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Friday, September 8, 2017

    henry loweThere is a negative buzz surrounding Jamaica's budding legal ganja industry. According to Dr Henry Lowe, owner of Medicanja, “It feels like our objective has been to prevent Jamaicans from getting into the business. It's all about what you can't do.” There is a difference of opinion between the Ministry of Health and the Cannabis Licensing Authority concerning where each organisation's authority begins and ends. The high cost is a barrier to entry for locals. “I want to see how many Jamaicans have gotten into medical cannabis. The answer is few, if any…Why? It's expensive, it's very expensive.” In some cases, where there is a Jamaican player, they are simply the front for a foreign entity. (see also: Ganja should fund the high costs of education)

  • LCBO subsidiary to manage Ontario marijuana sales

    The new rules may prompt a resurgence of illegal dispensaries
    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Friday, September 8, 2017

    The Ontario government is launching a monopoly of cannabis stores as a subsidiary of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, a plan private retailers say will fail to crush the black market and challenge legal producers to keep up with the demand for recreational marijuana. The province pledged to open 40 stores next year and a total of 150 separate locations to sell legal weed across the province by 2020. The announcement comes as the federal Liberal government prepares to make good on its promise to legalize recreational use of the drug next summer. (See also: Ontario’s pot-store plan is legitimate – and pathetic)

  • Teen marijuana use falls to 20-year low, defying legalization opponents’ predictions

    Public health experts tend worry more about adolescent than adult drug use because adolescent brains are still developing
    The Washington Post (US)
    Thursday, September 7, 2017

    In 2016, rates of marijuana use among the nation's 12- to 17-year-olds dropped to their lowest level in more than two decades, according federal survey data. Last year, 6.5 percent of adolescents used marijuana on a monthly basis, according to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health. That represents a statistically significant drop from 2014, when the nation's first recreational marijuana shops opened in Washington state and Colorado. The last time monthly teen marijuana use was this low was 1994, according to the survey. The federal data show that adult marijuana use, on the other hand, is rising. (See also: Here's one marijuana trend you should actually be worried about)

  • CBD may protect against psychiatric risk from high-THC cannabis strains

    Neuroscientists find cannabidiol reduces symptoms such as impaired memory in adolescent mice simultaneously exposed to THC
    Indiana University (US)
    Wednesday, 6 September, 2017

    cannabidiolA study by neuroscientists at Indiana University finds that a nonpsychoactive compound in cannabis called cannabidiol, or CBD, appears to protect against the long-term negative psychiatric effects of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. "This is the first study in a rigorously controlled animal model to find that CBD appears to protect the brain against the negative effects of chronic THC," lead author Dr. Ken Mackie, said. "This is especially important since heavy use of cannabis with higher levels of THC poses a serious risk to adolescents." An analysis of cannabis seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found that while THC levels rose 300 percent from 1995 to 2014, the levels of CBD have declined 60 percent.

  • Third Philippine teen killed, threatening to turn sentiment turns against President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war

    Police said they found 14-year-old boy’s body about 70km from his home, his face wrapped in packing tape and his body bearing 30 stab wounds
    South China Morning Post (China)
    Wednesday, 6 September, 2017

    philippines stop killingsA 14-year-old boy whose body was found with dozens of stab wounds is the latest atrocity in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, critics said as outrage built over a trio of teen killings. The National Bureau of Investigation announced it would probe the murder of the boy, who politicians and rights groups said appeared to be the third teenager murdered as part of Duterte’s drug war in the past month. Filipinos have mostly backed Duterte’s drug war even as critics warned the thousands of people killed in the crackdown may amount to a crime against humanity. But the deaths of the three boys have triggered rare street protests and highlighted concerns about alleged police abuse.

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