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S.F. takes big step toward opening a supervised drug use site
Advocates have been clamoring for a site where people can use drugs under the supervision of medical staff as the city’s overdose death rate has skyrocketed
San Francisco Chronicle (US)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
San Francisco could be one step closer to opening a supervised drug use site after the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of property for that purpose. Though supervised consumption sites are currently illegal under federal and state law, Mayor London Breed, backed by many supervisors, is pushing to open one.The approved agreement to purchase adjacent properties stated that the buildings would be used to serve people with behavioral health needs, not specifically for a supervised drug consumption site. The Board watered that down even further with a last-minute amendment by Supervisor Matt Haney that added the site wasn’t authorized for “any specific use” and the city “has not committed to a specific use or project on the site.” -
Which towns and cities in New York will ban cannabis sales?
If a city government does choose to ban one or more forms of cannabis sales, residents who oppose this can gather signatures and call a special election
Filter (US)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Local governments in New York State are debating whether or not to ban recreational cannabis sales. They can either “opt in” or “opt out,” but they have to choose. Fast approaching is a December 31 deadline set by the state—if municipalities don’t take action before then, sales will automatically be legal in their city limits. New York State legalized adult-use cannabis in April 2021. Under the law, municipal governments must choose whether or not to allow recreational cannabis sales, including through dispensaries and on-site consumption lounges. If they take no action by the end of the year, such sales will become legal by default. If a city bans cannabis sales, it can reverse course and opt in at a later date. But once it allows cannabis sales, it cannot ban them again. -
Dutch cannabis cafes see rise in business during COVID-19 pandemic
Takeaway sales are booming
Euronews (Europe)
Monday, December 13, 2021
The cannabis trade in the Netherlands booms despite the current coronavirus restrictions. Whether it is to calm their anxiety or ease the boredom of the past two years, many buyers say their consumption has increased during the pandemic. When the Netherlands first locked down in March 2020, there were scenes of "weed panic" with long queues outside coffee shops, the Dutch term for cannabis cafes. But while access to bars, restaurants, and nightclubs has been sharply limited, coffee shops have been able to stay open, mostly for takeaway. A survey by Trimbos, a research institute on mental health and addictions, found that 90 percent of Dutch cannabis users were smoking as much or more since the start of the pandemic. Three-quarters were smoking every day. -
In first for Europe, Malta to legalize recreational marijuana, with several other countries on the cusp
The move comes amid a global shift toward local and nationwide decriminalization, and in some cases legalization, of the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis
The Washington Post (US)
Monday, December 13, 2021
“The transatlantic winds of change that have been blowing in the Americas for a while have now reached the shores in Europe,” Tom Blickman of the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute told a webinar hosted by EMCDDA in October. There’s growing consensus, he said, of a need to “take back control of an illicit and criminal market that in fact is out of control in terms of protecting public health.” Similar to the way cannabis regulations vary among U.S. states, Blickman said, Europe’s laws have likewise developed along “what fits best for local circumstances or national circumstances.” But, he cautioned, laws on both the European and international level that continue to class cannabis as an illicit substance could at some point clash with country-level efforts to legalize it. -
Overdose prevention centres will save lives, say UK senior doctors
Experts have joined forces to call for clinics to be set up where drug users can inject in a supervised setting
The Observer (UK)
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Drug addicts should be allowed to use illicit substances in “supervised injecting facilities” with medical staff on hand to ensure no one dies, health groups are urging ministers. Senior doctors, public health specialists, drug experts and health charities want the government to approve trials of “overdose prevention centres” (OPCs) to cut Britain’s soaring toll of drug deaths. Supporters of the idea say that while letting users consume hard drugs in safe places, watched over by nurses and doctors, is controversial, it reduces fatalities and drug-related crime. Scores of organisations and individuals working in the health and drug fields have signed a statement co-ordinated by the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) calling on ministers to permit the creation of some centres in order to save lives. -
Ministry pushes full cannabis legalisation
Use, processing and sale of flowers and buds will also be legal, with THC content capped
The Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Saturday, December 11, 2021
The Ministry of Public Health will next year push for legalisation of all cannabis parts, lifting the last remaining hurdle preventing full use and commercialisation of the plant. Thailand earlier removed stems, roots, leaves and sprigs of cannabis from its Category 5 narcotics list, but kept flowers and buds on it. The new Narcotics Code no longer has cannabis and hemp on it. The next step is for the ministry to announce a revised narcotics list of all five categories based on the new law. Cannabis in all but one form will no longer be on it, minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. The only exception is cannabidiol (CBD) extracts with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of more than 0.2%, he added. (See also: Rethinking cannabis) -
Opposition delays cannabis reform until December 14
PN requests vote by division, prompting week-long delay
Times of Malta (Malta)
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
A controversial new law on cannabis use will have to wait another week to be approved in parliament, after the opposition requested that MPs be called to vote individually on the matter. The proposed reform was set for its third and final reading in the House, which would normally be followed by a vote. However, while the government MPs said they were voting in favour, the opposition requested what is known as a division. Church organisations, NGOs and lobby groups opposed to easing cannabis laws filed a petition to parliament, in a last-ditch attempt to stop a reform bill from becoming law in its current form. (See also: Cannabis reform: Why the law should be changed - Owen Bonnici | NGOs slammed for lobbying to remove education references from cannabis law) -
After Malta, Germany set to make pot mainstream
Malta risked isolation in Europe by ‘legalising’ home growing and the sale of cannabis from no-profit clubs but with Germany set to embark on a similar path, the wave could become unstoppable
Malta Today (Malta)
Thursday, December 2, 2021
The European Union is currently a hotchpotch of different approaches to cannabis use, ranging from complete prohibition to different levels of decriminalisation and tolerance. Even in liberal enclaves like Barcelona and Amsterdam, the sale of cannabis from licensed clubs or outlets, is only allowed on murky legal grounds. But legalisation remains a rarity, with only Luxembourg preceding Malta in plans to legalise home-growing of a limited number of plants. But that is about to change as Germany, the EU’s economic powerhouse and most populous and influential country, is set to embark on legalisation, which could well have an impact across the continent. -
Cannabis reform is one vote away from becoming law
Opposition MPs raise a number of concerns on cannabis reform in committee stage but do not put forward substantial amendments
Malta Today (Malta)
Tuesday, November 30, 2021The cannabis reform bill in Malta is one step away from being passed in parliament after it cleared committee stage. In a four-hour-long sitting MPs discussed the individual clauses and approved minor changes to the Bill that will allow people to possess up to 7g of cannabis, grow the plant at home and buy from regulated clubs. However, despite being against the reform, the Opposition MPs on the committee did not put forward any substantial amendments. The Bill now has to pass the Third Reading in parliament, which is a mere formality given government’s majority, before being signed into law by the President. (See also: Catholic and social work organisations call for free vote on cannabis law | MUMN wants President to veto cannabis reform) -
Supervised injection sites for drug users to open in New York City
The Manhattan facilities will provide clean needles, administer medication to reverse overdoses and provide users with options for addiction treatment
The New York Times (US)
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
In an attempt to curb a surge in overdose deaths caused by increasingly potent street drugs, New York City will authorize two supervised injection sites in Manhattan to begin operating. Trained staff at two sites — in the neighborhoods of East Harlem and Washington Heights — will provide clean needles, administer naloxone to reverse overdoses and provide users with options for addiction treatment, city health officials said. Users will bring their own drugs. New York, the country’s most populous city, will become the first U.S. city to open officially authorized injection sites — facilities that opponents view as magnets for drug abuse but proponents praise as providing a less punitive and more effective approach to addressing addiction.
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