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Sadiq Khan plans pilot to ‘decriminalise’ minor cannabis offences in London
Scheme could ‘divert young people found with small amount of cannabis’ away from arrest by police
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Downing Street has expressed concern over moves to end the prosecution of young people caught with cannabis in some London boroughs, under a pilot scheme being developed by Sadiq Khan. The mayor of London is understood to be developing a plan based on a successful model from Thames Valley police that would offer classes or counselling, rather than arrest, to under-25s caught with small quantities of cannabis. Khan’s office said the plans for three boroughs to trial the approach were still in development and that they did not have the powers to fully decriminalise any drugs. The pilot is yet to receive approval from the mayor’s office for policing and crime. (See also: Young people won’t be arrested for carrying weed in parts of London) -
‘We’re making harm reduction cool’: overdose reversal Narcan becomes a rave essential
As recreational drugs like cocaine are increasingly cut with fentanyl, a movement has sprung up to prevent deaths in nightclubs
The Guardian (UK)
Friday, December 31, 2021
Fentanyl testing strips as well as the opioid-reversal drug naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) are becoming the sine qua non of the party scene, distributed everywhere cultural denizens hang out: nightclubs, art galleries, downtown streetwear stores, even housewarming parties in Brooklyn. Fentanyl has turned into an indiscriminate spectre in the club scene. The deadly synthetic opioid has been flooding the street market as dealers bulk out recreational drugs like cocaine and heroin with fentanyl. No one can say exactly why it has become so common. Many clubbers now see recreational drug use akin to a game of Russian roulette, and as nightclubs reopened this year, warnings spread through social media about bad batches causing accidental overdoses in these communities. -
Support for legalising marijuana in Australia nearly doubles over six years
More than 40% of Australians back legalisation of cannabis for personal use, National Drug Strategy Household Survey finds
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Over 40% of Australians believe marijuana should be legalised, a figure that has nearly doubled since 2013, according to new analysis. Australian researchers have looked into changes in public attitudes towards drug use over time, as measured by responses to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The nationally representative surveys, last conducted in 2019, have been collating data on drug use and attitudes every two to three years since 1985. A review of the survey data showed that 41.1% of respondents supported the legalisation of cannabis for personal use in 2019 – a significant rise from 25.5% in 2013. Don Weatherburn, a professor at the University of NSW’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and a co-author of the analysis, said the increase may be linked to growth in marijuana use. -
Germany legalizes – how does Sweden act?
MP Steensland fears that the German plans will lead to increased accessibility and use, which can be spread throughout the rest of the EU
News Fox24 (US)
Thursday, December 23, 2021
"Does the Swedish government see a need of acting within the EU and vis-à-vis Germany in response to the country’s plans to legalize cannabis to ensure compliance with the EU agreement to 'take all necessary measures to prevent and punish drug trafficking', and if so, in what way ?", Pia Steensland, who is a member of the Christian Democrats in the Riksdag’s social committee, asks Minister Hans Dahlgren. The newly formed German coalition government announced that it wants to allow cannabis and "introduce controlled distribution of cannabis for adults for consumption in licensed stores". It could be interpreted as a violation of both the UN drug conventions and several EU agreements. -
D.A. Chesa Boudin joins critics of Breed’s Tenderloin crackdown to protest plan
“Right now in San Francisco it’s easier to get high than it is to get help. That has to change”
San Francisco Chronicle (US)
Monday, December 20, 2021
District Attorney Chesa Boudin joined other elected officials and activists to criticize Mayor London Breed’s plan to flood San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood with police and crack down on drug dealers as well as people who use drugs in the open. Boudin, Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton and Public Defender Mano Raju said at a news conference that the plan was flawed because it relied on failed policies to deal with problems. Those who provide addiction treatment or harm-reduction services called for the mayor to quickly ramp up “evidence-based” alternatives, including treatment, housing, education and jobs. (See also: Breed’s emergency plan for the Tenderloin draws backlash | Advocacy orgs denounce Mayor Breed’s call for an emergency order) -
It's official: recreational cannabis reform is now law
Legal notice published, following president's signature
Times of Malta (Malta)
Saturday, December 18, 2021
A bill to allow recreational cannabis use has been signed by President George Vella and is now part of Maltese law. Legal Notice 478 notes that the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis Act has now come into force and establishes Innovation Minister Owen Bonnici as the minister responsible for it. The legal notice was published four days after the bill was sent to President Vella for his signature, after a majority of MPs voted in its favour. Appeals from some factions for the president to refuse to sign the law were shot down by the head of state himself: “In no way can the president, under our system, impose his decision on those representing the people in parliament, whether he agrees with it or not.” (See also: 'This is no smokescreen' - Owen Bonnici interviewed on cannabis reform) -
S.F. Mayor Breed declares state of emergency in the Tenderloin
Critics, including the public defender and harm-reduction advocates who work with people who use drugs, were quick to slam her plan for more policing
San Francisco Chronicle (US)
Friday, December 17, 2021
San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin, allowing city officials to bypass some bureaucratic hurdles as they try to stem a tide of fatal overdoses and street crime. The declaration would allow city officials to suspend rules around zoning, planning codes and contracts, enabling them to quickly set up a “linkage” facility that offers shelter, mental health and hygiene to people suffering from addiction. Her announcement comes after Breed unveiled a plan for the downtown neighborhood, ramping up funding for police overtime and infrastructure, such as public toilets, while adding social workers and outreach staff to lure more people into treatment — or jail those who refuse. (Opinion: Breed’s plan to shut down Tenderloin drug markets is progressive) -
Up in Smoke: Is the legal-cannabis industry on the verge of collapsing?
Huge swaths of California are pot deserts, with no dispensaries within reasonable driving distance
East Bay Express (US)
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
When legalization proponents sold voters on Prop. 64 in 2016, one of their chief arguments in favor of the measure was that legal weed would yield a cash bonanza for state and local governments throughout California. And indeed, they seem to have been right. But now, many of those very same people argue that those taxes need to be reduced or eliminated altogether. And indeed, they seem to be right about that, too. Nobody could know precisely what would happen, though plenty of people were certain that they did know, or at least sounded like they did. Most people thought the legal market would overtake the illicit market. The market for illicit pot in California is still much larger than the legal market—approaching three times the size, by some estimates. -
Berlin metro offers passengers edible hemp tickets
Berlin's public transport operator is offering hemp-oil laced edible metro tickets for stressed commuters
Deutsche Welle (Germany)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Berlin's public transport company (BVG) has come up with a way for passengers in the German capital to unwind from the stress of Christmas and COVID. BVG is offering customers the chance to buy day tickets impregnated with hemp oil, which it promises will have a "calming effect" when they are eaten. The tickets, which cost € 8.80 ($ 9.95) each, are made from edible paper and are sprinkled with "no more than three drops" of hemp oil. BVG says the oil was obtained from the seed of the cannabis plant. Unlike the flowers, this contains none of the intoxicating substances such as THC. As a result, the operator says, the oil on the tickets — which are valid for 24 hours — is "completely harmless to health" and "completely legal." -
Cannabis bill approved in parliament, in first for Europe
Law will allow recreational use and growing of cannabis
Times of Malta (Malta)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Parliament approved a cannabis law that will allow users to carry, buy and grow amounts of the drug, making Malta the first European country to introduce laws to regulate recreational cannabis use. MPs backed the Responsible Use of Cannabis bill by 36 votes to 27. All Labour MPs voted in favour of the bill while the opposition voted against it. The reform must be signed into law by President George Vella - a process that usually happens within days of parliamentary votes. Vella, a doctor by profession, has faced calls from NGOs and lobby groups that oppose the reform plans to refuse to sign the bill into law. (See also: Through the smoke: What you need to know about new cannabis rules | Malta becomes first European country to legalise recreational cannabis)
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