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Iran plans to decriminalise drug use allowing government to give diluted drugs to addicts
The judicial committee has also proposed a draft law halting the death penalty for carrying and distributing less than 100kg of traditional drugs such as opium
The Independent (UK)
Thursday, July 27, 2017Iran
could be on the verge of decriminalising some forms of drug use to allow the government to distribute drugs to addicts. By allowing the government to give out diluted rugs to addicts, the proposal aims to cut the relationship between drug addicts and drug traffickers. “The plan to distribute [low-grade] drugs is similar to what used to be implemented before the [1979 Iran’s Islamic] Revolution,” said Hassan Norouzi, the spokesperson for the Parliament’s Judicial and Legal Commission, according to IFPNews. Iran’s Drug Control Organisation said there are now 2.8 million people “regularly consuming drugs" in the strictly conservative country. (See also: Iran drug addicts double in six years | Iran drafts law to provide addicts with coupons for drugs from government) -
Senators defy Jeff Sessions and vote to extend medical marijuana protections
Earlier this year, the Attorney General urged lawmakers to drop the policy
The Huffington Post (US)
Thursday, July 27, 2017
A congressional committee voted to extend protections of state medical marijuana programs against federal interference, in defiance of a request from Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this year urging his former colleagues to abandon the policy. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), that would add a clause to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) fiscal year 2018 budget that blocks the Department of Justice from using funding for federal prosecutions of medical marijuana providers that are legalized by individual states or jurisdictions. -
Why the South African state needs to lose its fight against marijuana policy reform
The point isn’t whether marijuana causes harm, but whether criminal prohibition is the best way to address those harms
The Conversation (US)
Thursday, July 27, 2017
South Africa is among many countries facing challenges to their drug control policies, particularly around marijuana, known locally as dagga. The Medicines Control Council is developing guidelines for production for medicinal use and the country’s highest drug policy guardian has recommended broader decriminalisation. The key battle ground, however, is in the courts. A new trial is due to start in which the state is likely to expend considerable energy trying to prove that marijuana use is seriously harmful. South African Police Service statistics suggest that most anti-drug activity is against those in possession of small quantities. (See also: Dagga couple fight on to legalise herb) -
Why Jokowi's war on drugs is doing more harm than good
Following Duterte's violent approach to drug trafficking will not solve Indonesia's drug problem
Al Jazeera
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has directed police to shoot suspected drug dealers, citing the need to be "firm" in the face of a national "narcotics emergency". Widodo's statement, echoing earlier remarks from National Police chief Tito Karnavian, has elicited criticism from human rights groups, and drawn parallels to the stance of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose brutal anti-drug crackdown has resulted in more than 7,000 deaths. Duterte's campaign of extra-judicial and vigilante executions has been strongly condemned by the United Nations. -
Drug consumption rooms ruled out by government
Policies could be developed by local bodies
BBC News (UK)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
The UK government has dismissed a call from its own advisory body to consider introducing drug consumption rooms. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) had said the rooms had the potential to reduce drug deaths. In response to a record number of drug deaths, ACMD recommended in 2016 that "consideration should be given" to the introduction of drug consumption rooms. The rooms offer a space for users to take class A drugs under the supervision of medical professionals. The government said it has no plans to back consumption rooms but policies could be developed by local bodies. (See also: Campaigners attack Government's new flagship drugs strategy as 'same failed old recipe' | Who will this ‘new’ Home Office drugs strategy help?) -
Forget pot producers - here's a better way for investors to cash in on cannabis legalization
One of the key attractions is the prospect of consolidation and eventual takeovers of leading cannabis players by Big Pharma and Big Tobacco
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
A big chunk of the capital invested in the flood of cannabis-related startups is certain to go down the drain, and it could take years to wring real value out of the survivors. “There’s no doubt the risk appetite has to be high, and you have to view yourself as an early pioneer and believe in the movement – beside the economic upside,” says Jeanne Sullivan, a New York venture capitalist and veteran tech investor who has focused on cannabis businesses for the past several years. Welcome to one of the many pitfalls awaiting those tempted to leap into the biggest horticultural investing craze since the Dutch went wild over tulips in the 1630s. -
Rodrigo Duterte pushing Philippines' drugs market to Indonesia, anti-narcotics chief says
Anti-narcotics chief calls for increased death penalty
ABC News (Australia)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Indonesia's anti-narcotics chief has declared Indonesia to have the "biggest" illicit drugs market in the world, revealing 72 international drug syndicates were detected last year. Commissioner General Budi Waseso said the sustained extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders in the Philippines had led to an increase in trafficking into Indonesia. The anti-drugs chief has softened his previous praise for Mr Duterte's bloody crackdown on drugs. "I will not follow or copy it, I don't even support it," he said. He called for the increased use of the death penalty. -
What actually happened to violent crime after Washington legalized marijuana
Washington’s violent crime rate in 2015 was substantially lower than the national rate, according to the FBI data
The News Tribune (US)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
An upcoming report from a U.S. Department of Justice task force is expected to link marijuana use to violent crime, which some fear might signal the start of a Trump administration crackdown. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been quick to tie marijuana use to violent crime, fueling some advocates’ concerns about what might come out of the report from the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. However, since voters approved Initiative 502, FBI crime statistics show lower rates of violent crime in Washington than before legalization. The downturn in violent crime in Washington is in line with national trends. A Pew Research Center analysis of the FBI data found that nationwide, the rate of reported violent crimes in 2015 was roughly half what it was in 1993. (See also: Regulating marijuana like alcohol does not cause public safety problems)
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/marijuana/article163750293.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/marijuana/article163750293.html#storylink=cpy -
Duterte hits drug war critics
Duterte says he will continue his war on drugs despite pressure from international human rights groups and other institutions
Rappler (Philippines)
Monday, July 24, 2017
President Rodrigo Duterte blasted his critics who allegedly turn a blind eye on crimes in the country while supporting "Western experts" who have condemned his bloody drug war. The President was referring to international human rights organizations and institutions that have called him out over alleged human rights violations in carrying out his war on drugs, one of the topics he discussed in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). This tirade comes 4 days after US lawmakers held a hearing on human rights complaints against his administration – the latest action from the international community in connection to his drug war. -
Roosendaal and Limburg have most drugs-related problems: CBS
Roosendaal is followed by four towns in Limburg plus Rotterdam
Dutch News (Netherlands)
Monday, July 24, 2017
People living in the south of the Netherlands experience most problems with drugs and dealers, according to new research by national statistics office CBS. The CBS says over one in eight people living in the Noord-Brabant town of Roosendaal experience problems, making it the worst place in the country in terms of drugs nuisance. Noord-Brabant and Limburg have proportionally more problems with drugs because they are popular with drugs tourists from Belgium and Germany. In 2009, Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom closed all their cannabis cafes in an effort to stop drugs tourism but that has led to a surge in street dealing, critics say.
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