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Left to flourish, cannabis farms see profits fall
Farmers’ cannabis crops are no longer targeted by the Army
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
Monday, November 17, 2014
For the second year in a row, cannabis farmers in the Bekaa Valley have been able to reap their harvests without being harassed or prosecuted by the security forces. But now farmers are facing a new problem: a flooded market and falling prices. The northern Bekaa Valley has been subjected to shelling and threats of attacks by the Syrian rebels, and as a result, the Army and other security forces have been forced to concentrate their efforts on neutralizing the security and military danger posed by the rebels in this area. -
The new strain of cannabis that could help treat psychosis
Although widely seen as a potential trigger for schizophrenia, marijuana also contains an ingredient that appears to have antipsychotic effects
The Observer (UK)
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Dr David Potter and GW Pharmaceuticals – a company that is exploring how cannabis could help treat a range of illnesses ranging from epilepsy to cancer – have turned their attention to developing a cannabis-based treatment for psychosis and related illnesses such as schizophrenia. For a drug that is widely seen as a trigger for acute psychotic illness in young users, this at first sounds preposterous. But, as Potter explains, the cannabis plant is much more than just a psychedelic weed. A cannabinoid known as CBD (or cannabidiol) appears to have almost the exact opposite effect. -
Cannabis hedge funds join the green rush
Entrepreneurs and investors work to leverage the legalization of marijuana into a windfall
Los Angeles Times (US)
Saturday, November 15, 2014
The pot business is exploding. The devotees toiling away since states started legalizing medical marijuana nearly 20 years ago now must compete in a radically different business culture. The rapid spread of laws permitting recreational pot is enticing hedge fund managers, venture capitalists, software developers and many others to get in on what inevitably is being touted as a green rush. Pot critics say the thirst for high returns has the marijuana industry starting to resemble Big Tobacco, with profit-hungry companies using the kind of marketing imagery and sales tactics that entice children and glamorize drug use. (See also: Cannabis legalization doesn’t have to mean commercialization) -
GOP congressman: Republicans should embrace marijuana legalization
The Washington Post (US)
Saturday, November 14, 2014
The federal courthouse in right-leaning Orange County, Calif., is named after former president and Republican Party icon Ronald Reagan. Countless drug cases prosecuted in that building can be traced back to an expanded war on drugs under the 40th president, who once called marijuana “probably the most dangerous drug.” The Republican congressman who represents the land of Reagan, however, wants marijuana legalized. After winning reelection in a landslide last week despite that well-publicized position, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday with a message for his party. -
The UN really wishes that voters in Alaska and Oregon hadn’t legalized weed
If anything, U.N. condemnation may simply galvanize more conservative support for marijuana legalization measures
The Washington Post (US)
Friday, November 14, 2014
The director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Yury Fedotov, said that state-level marijuana legalization initiatives in the U.S. are violations of longstanding international drug treaties. "I don't see how [state-level marijuana legalization] can be compatible with existing conventions," he said according to Reuters. Fedotov's remarks are coming less than a month after Assistant Secretary of State Brownfield outlined an official policy of "flexibility" in the U.S.'s interpretation of existing U.N. drug control conventions, which require countries to outlaw the sale and use of cannabis. (See also: Fatal attraction: Brownfield's flexibility doctrine and global drug policy reform) -
A top UN official is not happy about US states legalizing weed
'The US is violating the treaties. But the question is, are these treaties still fit for the 21st century?'
Vice News
Thursday, November 13, 2014
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The UN's top narcotics official said on Wednesday that recent votes by US states to legalize marijuana have put America in deeper violation of the international conventions that guide drug policy around the world. Earlier this month, voters in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington DC legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana. Similar ballot initiatives have already passed and taken effect in Colorado and Washington. -
Pot legalization: Gateway to what?
Advocates look to further reduce drug-related arrests, incarceration
US News and World Report (US)
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) plans to stay on the sidelines of future pot legalization campaigns – already supported by groups plotting ballot campaigns in 2016 – and pour resources into fights for criminal justice reform. One model to replicate is California's Proposition 47, approved by 58 percent to lower penalties for drug possession and other nonviolent crimes. "We would love to be able to have ballot initiatives in a number of states that may look very similar to Proposition 47," says ACLU's Alison Holcomb . "Hopefully we will be able to find states where we can go further and say, ‘Let’s decriminalize the possession of drugs and let’s talk about what we can do to address drug use and abuse.’" -
U.S. states' pot legalization not in line with international law: U.N. agency
Reuters
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Moves by some U.S. states to legalize marijuana are not in line with international drugs conventions, the U.N. anti-narcotics chief said, adding he would discuss the issue in Washington next week. Residents of Oregon, Alaska, and the U.S. capital voted to allow the use of marijuana, boosting the legalization movement as cannabis usage is increasingly recognized by the American mainstream. "I don't see how (the new laws) can be compatible with existing conventions," Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said. (See also: A top UN official says marijuana legalization in the US violates international law) -
China’s marijuana surprise
Despite a long anti-drug crusade, Beijing is positioned to be a major player in the cannabis market
The Diplomat (US)
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
An economic stir is happening in China, but it’s in an industry you might not expect. With more than half of the 600 relevant patents filed with the World Intellectual Property Office now owned by Chinese companies, the country is well positioned to dominate the global cannabis market. Which is very surprising for a nation where drug trafficking is still punishable by death and mere possession of the substance can result in a lengthy spell behind bars. China is uniquely poised to take advantage of cannabis production because of its strong patent control and the fact that its production of pharmaceuticals is surpassing the West. -
The dark-horse policy reform that has both Obama and some GOPers optimistic
The Huffington Post (US web)
Monday, November 10, 204
With Democrats holding the White House and Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, it's been suggested that the odds are slim of any major legislation becoming law over the next two years. But officials in the Obama administration and on Capitol Hill say there is one issue that may have enough cross-party appeal to break through the logjams. That issue is criminal justice reform. During the 2014 midterm elections, voters approved sweeping drug and criminal justice reform measures in multiple states, setting the stage for what may prove to be even more significant policy shifts over the next two years and beyond.
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