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Dr Gandhi to move Bill to legalise recreational drugs
"To treat drug addicts as a patients and not criminals," is hall mark of the NDPS amendment bill
Times of India (India)
Wednesday, July 13, 2016Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi said that he was working on an amendment to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act 1985 of India to legalize common recreational drugs. The draft of the bill has been prepared by a group of Delhi based lawyers and professionals and discussions will be held among various politicians, lawyers, psychiatrists, academicians, social activists, drug users, religious leaders and media personalities this weekend to elicit their opinions and give it a final shape. (See also: Gandhi blames NDPS Act for state’s drug menace)
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Swedish cannabis cultivation hits a high
Police in Sweden are finding it difficult to locate cannabis producers
The Local (Sweden)
Monday, July 11, 2016Cannabis cultivation in Sweden has increased exponentially in recent years, to the degree that some parts of the country are now becoming self-sufficient. According to a report from radio station P1, the growth in home cultivation of the drug has made some parts of Sweden self-sufficient, and provided competition for imported Moroccan hashish in particular. While cannabis is illegal in Sweden, the seeds as well as the equipment used in cultivation of the plants are not. (See also: Police say Swedish marijuana production on the rise)
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The pot law that could be 'deal-breaker for the drug war'
California's Adult Use of Marijuana Act could have ramifications far beyond the state's borders
Rolling Stone (US)
Tuesday, July 5, 2016California's pot legalization initiative, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), qualified for the ballot in November, setting the stage for a vote that will have ramifications far beyond California's borders. If the AUMA passes it will make California the heaviest domino to fall in the nationwide effort to legalize marijuana, the most obvious being the state's size and sheer number of people. One in 10 Americans lives in California, while the Los Angeles basin alone is home to more people than Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska — the states that have so far legalized adult use marijuana — combined. California has the sixth largest economy in the world.
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Body count rises as new Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed
The former Davao city mayor said medals would be given to citizens who shot and killed drug dealers
Asian Correspondent
Monday, July 4, 2016Newly-installed Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has reiterated his tough stance on crime by urging the public to not only kill drug dealers, but addicts as well. His remarks came barely a day after he was sworn in as the country’s 16th president in Manilay, Vice reported. Speaking to a crowd of 500 in a Manila slum, Duterte said: “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.” (See also: Thirty killed in four days in Philippine war on drugs)
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Toronto board of health approves supervised injection sites
Final approval left to council after emotional board meeting sees overwhelming support for harm reduction measure
Toronto Star (Canada)
Monday, July 4, 2016The stories of Toronto residents who died of overdoses on Toronto streets were heard for hours by board of health members, told by their friends, family and support workers advocating for supervised injection sites at an emotional meeting that saw an overwhelming push for what advocates say would be a life-saving measure. The board unanimously agreed, signalling a new approach to harm reduction as a public health problem — one that has yet to be implemented in Ontario. (See also: Toronto approves three supervised injection sites in downtown core)
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To better understand pot, Ottawa should look to Colorado
Opponents often fret that young people’s consumption could skyrocket in a more permissive environment. Colorado’s experience argues otherwise
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Sunday, July 3, 2016Not being first has its advantages when it comes to social policy reforms. The State of Colorado has compiled a deep trove of useful data when it comes to the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Health officials there recently published conclusions from a wide-ranging survey of nearly 20,000 middle-school and secondary students. The central finding: Colorado’s schools have not become stoner nirvanas. The Liberal government’s new Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation should take a look at what’s there. (See also: Canada’s stances on pot and Mexicans are not ‘red flag’ issues for U.S.)
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High hopes: Punjab's Swaraj Party wants to decriminalise opium & cannabis
The Party also wants the government to take over the liquor retail business in the state
CatchNews (India)
Saturday, July 2, 2016The Swaraj Party has advocated decriminalisation of organic drugs, such as poppy husk, opium and cannabis, by bringing out a suitable amendment in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Party president Prof. Manjit Singh says: "When organic drugs were brought under the purview of the act, their rates increased enormously in the black market." A group of experts feels that the time has come to shed the moralistic cloud surrounding the subject, and demystify it through a modern and scientific approach, with the age-old empiricism of the past.
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The safe room
In some European cities, drug dealers and addicts are watched over by the police at legal consumption rooms
The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Saturday, July 2, 2016With Australia struggling to curb its crisis with methamphetamine two leading drug reform campaigners, Dr Alex Wodak and Matt Noffs, embarked on a research mission to Europe. Switzerland and Germany account for more than a third of the 90 officially sanctioned drug consumption rooms worldwide. Drug consumption patterns among the 60 or so cities that have introduced the rooms differ, but the rooms all serve the same purpose, which is to provide a safe environment where users can inject or inhale their drug of choice under the supervision of trained staff.
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How and why Italy's cannabis laws could soon change
In July, Italy's parliament will begin debating historic changes to cannabis laws that could see the drug legalized
The Local (Italy)
Thursday, June 30, 2016Italian citizens will be able to hold up to 15 grams of herb at home and take up to five grams with them when they go out. People will be free to cultivate a maximum of five plants at home but will be forbidden to sell. Growers will be allowed to join to form social clubs of no more than 50 members, where they can swap and share their produce. They will, however, be forbidden from selling the fruit of their labour. The proposals were first put forward last year by the inter-parliamentary group, Cannabis Legale. Since then, they have been signed by 220 MPs and 73 senators. (Growing cannabis for personal use is crime says top court)
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Jamaica proposes marijuana dispensers for tourists at airports following legalisation
The kiosks and desks would give people a license to purchase up to 2 ounces of the drug to use during their stay
The Independent (UK)
Thursday, June 30, 2016Jamaica is planning to install marijuana-dispensing kiosks for tourists who have a prescription for medical marijuana, in order to regulate a growing drug market and to bring in more government revenue. The new Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) is drawing up plans for the kiosks just two months after small amounts of the drug were finally legalized in a country where marijuana has long been part of the culture. The dispensers would be situated at airports and seaports, manned by a person with medical training. (See also: Ganja ATMs! - Port kiosks to issue tourists with medical cards to buy weed)
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