• Belize to decriminalize 10 grams of marijuana

    Persons found in possession of marijuana could be issued a fine of up to $15 per gram
    Amandala (Belize)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    Cabinet and Parliament are soon expected to put their stamp of approval on a set of recommendations presented by the committee for the decriminalization of marijuana installed back in 2012. This will mean that all persons who have a police record for the possession of 10 grams of marijuana or less will have their criminal record for that conviction expunged forthwith, as the law will no longer deem the possession of marijuana for “private, personal use” to be an offense prosecutable as a crime in Belize. (See also: Belize to decriminalize 10 grams of marijuana)

  • Cannabis: what's in a name?

    Recent studies have used “hash” and “skunk” to describe varying strengths of cannabis
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    Users often make the claim that “sativas” produce a more “head-high” while “indicas” a more “body-high”, and that this could potentially be because of differences in THC content and CBD/THC ratio. However, there is no evidence to support the notion that CBD/THC ratios differ among the different types. Furthermore, nowadays there has been extensive crossbreeding which would make a further distinction between the types less meaningful.

  • Die grüne Welle

    Im Kampf gegen weiche Drogen propagieren Fachleute den kontrollierten Verkauf von Cannabis
    Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Schweiz)
    Dienstag, 3. März 2015

    In der deutschen Drogenpolitik ist ein radikaler Wandel zu beobachten. Angefacht von Gewaltexzessen und befeuert durch die Zunahme des Drogenhandels in Grossstädten eine Debatte über die Legalisierung von Cannabis entbrannt. Fachleute erklären die Drogen politik für gescheitert. Juristen, Suchtexperten und Kommunal politiker fordern eine Entkriminalisierung des Cannabiskonsums. Nur so könnten die Dealer vertrieben, der Schwarzmarkt ausgetrocknet und die Konsumenten vor gefährlicher Ware geschützt werden. (30 Prozent würde Cannabis legal und reguliert erwerben können | Google translate: The green wave | Cannabis policy reform in Europe)

  • How do you treat pain when most of the world's population can't get opioids?

    Rational policies to reduce opioid abuse without halting access to pain relief could set a global example
    Los Angeles Times (US)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    In the United States, where doctors write more than 250 million prescriptions for painkillers a year, the frequency of abuse and overdose represents a public health crisis. More than 15,000 Americans died from an overdose of prescription opioids in 2013. In other parts of the world, however, the crisis is that strong painkillers such as morphine aren't available at all. More than 70% of the world's population live in countries with no access to opioids. That has been the case in India.

  • Why ‘Special K’ is good medicine

    It’s on the WHO’s list of essential medicines, and is invaluable in developing countries. So why is the UN discussing increased regulation of ketamine?
    The Daily Beast (US)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    In the global world of illicit drug policies, the granddaddy of them all is the United States. But as the U.S. starts to, perhaps, question the effectiveness of its abstinence-or-incarceration approach, China seems more than happy to pick up and go where the U.S. hasn’t gone. Next week, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) will decide whether or not to schedule the drug ketamine internationally, as China has suggested it should.

  • Two headlines perfectly sum up everything wrong with American drug policy

    Congress and the Justice Department have largely played a "wait and see" game when it comes to the application of federal laws to state drug policy
    The Washington Post (US)
    Monday, March 2, 2015

    two-headlinesTwo stories published last week perfectly sum up the state of American drug policy. On Friday, Colorado released its first annual report on the state of the marijuana industry, which sold 17 tons of weed worth $700 million last year. That same day The Daily Beast reported on the case of Fate Vincent Winslow, a homeless man who in 2008 sold $20 worth of weed to an undercover cop and is currently serving a life sentence for it.

  • 2014 performance of cannabis stocks by quarter

    Marijuana stocks in general are extremely volatile
    Marijuana Business Daily (US)
    Monday, March 2, 2014

    cannabis-stocks-2014Cannabis stocks proved lucrative at the beginning of 2014, but the chances of a solid return deteriorated in the second half of the year. An investor who pumped money into a mix of securities followed by the Viridian Cannabis Stock Index in early January of last year could’ve netted a 938% return at the end of the first quarter. That equates to a profit of nearly $94,000 on an initial investment of $10,000. But a similar investment made in the second quarter would’ve only netted an investor $283 in profits. From there, the chances of a loss increased dramatically.

  • Ganja decriminalisation: Three the hard way

    Raymond Pryce, Paul Burke, Delano Seiveright found common cause in the long struggle
    Jamaica Observer
    Monday, March 2, 2015

    February 24, 2015 was an especially emotional day for three of the stalwarts who have fought for the decriminalisation of ganja. It was the day the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the bill now being called the ganja law. Raymond Pryce, the People’s National Party member of Parliament for Northeast St Elizabeth and his colleague Paul Burke, PNP general secretary, found common cause with Delano Seiveright who will be seeking a Jamaica Labour Party seat in St Thomas, to keep the issue on the front burner for years.

  • Teens are being used as guinea pigs in the synthetic drugs market

    And police can't keep up
    The Guardian (UK)
    Monday, March 2, 2015

    The low volume, high frequency internet drugs market makes it hard for police to target. And even harder for teenagers to know what they’re taking. After the Future Music Festival in Sydney, 177 people will face court on drugs charges. Yet police sniffer dogs, which have been shown to be little more than a psychological deterrent, are not detecting new and emerging drugs that are widely available in Australia. These "new" drugs are freely available online and over the counter in NSW, despite amendments to the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act to include emerging psychoactive substances (EPS) over a year ago.

  • With new anti-marijuana rules in force, police raid ‘grow shops’

    The new opium law making it illegal to help people grow marijuana came into effect on March 1
    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Monday, March 2, 2015

    Police in the Netherlands have made immediate use of their new powers to clamp down on marijuana cultivation with three raids in different parts of the province. New legislation came into effect on March 1 which makes it a criminal offence to help people set up plantations by selling equipment which can be used to grow marijuana. (See also: War rhetoric surrounds new Dutch growshop law)

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