• Italy relaxes cannabis penalties

    Sentences in Italy for the sale and possession of cannabis range between two and six years
    The Local (Italy)
    Thursday, February 13, 2014

    Italy's Constitutional Court struck down an anti-drug law from 2006 that imposed tough sentencing for the sale and possession of cannabis, putting it on the same level as heroin and cocaine. The court declared "illegitimate" the law, which imposed sentences of six to 20 years for trafficking in cannabis, whereas the previous law which is now back in force included sentences of between two and six years. Leftist lawmakers and civil society representatives immediately hailed the court ruling, saying it would help ease overcrowding in Italian prisons. (See also: Third White Book on the 2006 Italian drug legislation)

  • Mexico City lawmakers propose legalizing sale of marijuana, regulating production in capital

    Associated Press
    Thursday, February 13, 2014

    legalizar-mexicoLawmakers proposed allowing the sale of marijuana within Mexico City. The local legislature controlled by the leftist Democratic Revolution Party is the most liberal in Mexico and has previously legalized abortion and gay marriage. Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera supports the plan. Approval could force a legal showdown with the federal government, which would have to decide whether to effectively override the local law by enforcing federal laws barring drug trafficking, challenging the city law in the courts, or both. (See also: Mexican officials introduce bills seeking to relax marijuana laws)

  • Cannabis: l'UE espère une décision "réfléchie" du Maroc

    L'ambassadeur de l'Union européenne au Maroc n'est ni pour, ni contre la légalisation du cannabis au Maroc
    H24info (Maroc)
    Mardi, 11 février 2014

    L'Union européenne, qui collabore avec les autorités marocaines pour lutter contre le trafic de drogue, ne veut pas s'immiscer dans le débat sur la légalisation du cannabis au Maroc mais appelle à la "réflexion". "C'est à chaque gouvernement de décider de sa politique en la matière. Il y a des arguments pour (la légalisation) et d'autres contre", a dit Rupert Joy, ambassadeur de l'Union Européenne au Maroc. "(La légalisation) peut avoir des répercussions. Il faut bien réfléchir avant, et que le Maroc décide de manière responsable", poursuit-il.

  • Maroc: La légalisation du cannabis de plus en plus probable

    80 000 familles vivent de cette culture, avec un revenu moyen annuel estimé à 40 000 DH
    La Vie Éco (Maroc)
    Jeudi, 6 février 2014

    culture-cannabis-marocLa légalisation du cannabis en Maroc à des fins thérapeutiques et industrielles permettra les familles de vivre dignement. Après le Parti de l’Istiqlal, le PAM s’apprête à déposer lui aussi une proposition de loi en ce mois de février après avoir terminé ses consultations avec les agriculteurs. Le sujet en tout cas n’est plus tabou, et les parlementaires eux-mêmes, au-delà des calculs électoralistes et politiques que peut revêtir leur initiative, demandent à juste titre un cadre législatif pour son exploitation à des fins médicales et industrielles.

  • Cannabis: un réquisitoire contre la loi

    Des voix dénoncent la politique actuelle, alors que la question de la légalisation revient au Sénat
    Libération (France)
    Mercredi, 5 février 2014

    Le procureur de la République de Grenoble, Jean-Yves Coquillat, n’est ni un fieffé gauchiste ni un grand laxiste. Et pourtant, ce magistrat a osé briser un tabou en évoquant la nécessité d’ouvrir un débat sur la politique de répression de la consommation et de la vente de cannabis, actant «l’échec» de la législation actuelle. Il a aussi évoqué «de faire évoluer le droit en fonction de l’évolution de la société». (A lire aussi: «Est-il simplement possible d'initier le débat sur le cannabis?»)

  • Swiss want to reopen pot legalization debate

    The Local (Switzerland)
    Monday, February 3, 2014

    rolling-jointA Swiss parliamentary committee looking into drug issues wants to reopen the debate on the legalization of marijuana in the wake of developments in the US, Uruguay and New Zealand. "Many models that exist around the world should be studied and analyzed, that is the basis of our reflection," according to committee president Toni Berthel. Switzerland moved to liberalize its drug laws with legislation taking effect on October 1, 2013, that made possession of small amounts of marijuana a ticketing offence. A working group with representatives from Zurich, Basel, Geneva and Bern will discuss possible projects "in the field of cannabis regulation".

  • Why Dutch mayors want to cultivate cannabis

    'We have a bizarre system of banning and allowing cannabis at the same time'
    The Independent (UK)
    Monday, February 3, 2014

    joint-regulation-conferenceIn a manifesto, mayors of cities including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht argue that the current laws allowing the sale but banning the cultivation of marijuana mean the nation’s cannabis cafés have to turn to illegal gangs for their supply, encouraging organised crime and wasting valuable police time dismantling unlawful plantations. The mayors are urging the government to take it a step further and let them grow cannabis too, as a global shift in favour of legalisation is leaving the once forward-thinking Netherlands lagging behind.

  • Uruguay surrenders to win

    Legal pot challenges the endless drug war
    Le Monde Diplomatique (France)
    February 2014

    José Mujica has attempted to change the premises and conditions of the drugs wars through the legalisation of marijuana. Although even the people of Uruguay don’t really back their president’s initial reform, it’s a start. Dr Raquel Peyraube, the leading drug treatment specialist in Uruguay, debunks the claim that legalisation will lead to a rise in schizophrenia, saying that if marijuana caused schizophrenia, the rate of the illness would have risen across society over the past few decades, since marijuana use has grown. Yet the rate has held steady.

  • 35 mayors call for regulated marijuana production; minister says no

    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Friday, January 31, 2014

    aboutaleb2In total, 35 local authorities have signed a manifesto calling on the government to sanction official experiments with legal marijuana production. The council leaders argue regulated growing would end the grey area between semi-legalised sales in cannabis cafes and illegal supply by criminal gangs. The signatories include the mayors of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht and Groningen. 'The current situation is unsustainable,' said Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb.

  • 'First ever' bill proposes legal cannabis in France

    The Local (France)
    Thursday, January 30, 2014

    France has some of the toughest possession statutes in Europe, but a first of its kind bill proposed could change that. People smoking a joint in France face a maximum penalty of a year behind bars and a €3,750 fine for the first offence, yet 13.4 million French people admit to sparking up at least once in their life. Even France’s Interior Minister Manuel Vallls said in an interview, he’d tried it “maybe once.” Esther Benbassa, the lawmaker behind the legislation tells why marijuana should be legalized in France. Legalizing cannabis has come up regularly in France, but the discussion never has never gotten far.

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