• Op-ed: Approve I-502, legalize marijuana and cripple organized crime in B.C.

    Passing Initiative 502 and legalizing marijuana could be one of the best ways to reduce gang violence in British Columbia
    Evan Wood and David Bratzer
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Tuesday, October 30, 2012

    initiative-502Passing Initiative 502 is one of the best ways to reduce international gang violence? Like the violent cartels gripping Mexico, British Columbia is affected by the organized-crime groups which control its huge marijuana industry. These gangs produce and export BC Bud to American consumers, including the 6.8 million residents of Washington state.

  • Wietpas scrapped but coffee shop entry rights a grey area

    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Monday, October 29, 2012

    dealer-gezochtThe new cabinet plans to press ahead with restricting access to the country's cannabis cafes to local residents but is dropping the introduction of compulsory registration of users via a membership card system. 'The wietpas will go but entrance to coffee shops will be restricted to residents with ID or a residency permit and a local council statement of residency,’ the coalition agreement states. (See also: Cannabis pass abolished? Not really)

  • UK aid to Iran's war on drugs has led to rise in hangings, UN warns

    Human rights groups say executions raise concerns over violation of death penalty standards
    The Observer (UK)
    Sunday, October 28, 2012

    Britain's funding of Iran's anti-drugs trafficking programmes has been called into question after a UN watchdog expressed alarm at a sharp rise in the number of narcotics smugglers executed in the Islamic state. A new report by Christof Heyns, the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, spells out concerns that the flow of overseas aid to Iran has been followed by an increase in hangings.

  • Will recreational marijuana get the green light in three States?

    Time Magazine (US)
    Thursday, October 25, 2012

    yeson64If you live in Colorado, Washington or Oregon, your state may soon be the first in the nation to allow possession of marijuana—in limited quantities—for recreational use. It all depends on what happens Nov. 6. Pot is no stranger to the ballot in Colorado, where smokers consume more than two million ounces of marijuana each year and the state spends more than $40 million annually enforcing its prohibition. A ballot initiative to legalize marijuana failed 59% to 41% in 2006, six years after a referendum approved medical marijuana for use in the state.

  • Could drug decriminalization save Brazil’s slums?

    The Washington Post (US)
    Wednesday, October 24, 2012

    Brazil has been struggling with drug violence for years. The problem got so bad that the country passed a law in 2006 to distinguish between dealers and users in handing out sentences, meant to reduce the overwhelming pressure on the justice and jail systems and to better single out dealers. But since then, the number of Brazilians in prison for drug charges has more than doubled and its total prison population has grown by 37 percent.

  • Uruguay plans to legalise marijuana under state monopoly

    José Mujica's government says more damage is done by illegal dealings in drug
    The Guardian Weekly (UK)
    Tuesday, October 23, 2012

    no-mas-presosThe president of Uruguay, José Mujica, has announced plans to legalise the production and sale of marijuana under a state monopoly, triggering a lively controversy in Montevideo. The relevant bill will soon be tabled in parliament, where the governing centre-left coalition led by the Broad Front (FA) enjoys a majority but is divided on this issue. "The negative effects of consuming marijuana are far less harmful than the outbreak of violence associated with the black market."

  • Global drug policies need radical reform, says report

    LSE press release (UK)
    Tuesday, October 23, 2012

    lse-ideas2The global war on drugs has failed and international policy requires radical reform to remove outmoded, unscientific thinking, according to a major new report, Governing The Global Drug Wars, from the London School of Economics and Political Science which has been endorsed by President Santos of Colombia. It explores the “overwhelming” empirical data showing that the current system has failed. It argues that the human cost of pursuing many international policies renders them unjustifiable – from mass incarceration in the US and Asia, to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia, and violence dominating Latin America.

  • Medical marijuana: disabled veteran's appeal could change US drugs policy

    Michael Krawitz was denied treatments after the VA learned of his prescription but advocates see promise in a recent hearing
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, October 23, 2012

    asa-rescheduleA disabled veteran has told an appeals court that the department of veteran affairs policy on medical marijuana has caused him pain and significant economic harm, in a development campaigners say is a positive step in the battle to push for the drug's reclassification. Michael Krawitz, one of five plaintiffs involved in a legal case before the court of appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit, told the Guardian that the VA denied him pain treatment after they discovered he had been prescribed medical marijuana while abroad.

  • Marijuana legalization leads in new polls, but not a lock

    The Seattle Times (US)
    Monday, October 22, 2012

    Washington is emerging as the most likely state to be the first to legalize marijuana according to new polls. But even with a huge fundraising advantage, and less organized opposition, Initiative 502 is far from a lock as voters begin casting ballots. A poll released today by Strategies 360 finds a 54-to-38 lead for I-502, with about 7 percent undecided (rounding errors cause it not add up to 100 percent). A larger poll last week, the KCTS 9 Washington Poll, gave I-502 a 51-to-41 lead among all voters; among likely voters, it leads 47-40 percent, indicating considerable uncertainty. (See also: Marijuana Initiative 502 a tough sell in Eastern Washington)

  • Drug ‘shooting galleries’ to be tested by France

    France 24 (France)
    Monday, October 22, 2012

    marisol-touraineFrance’s health minister, Marisol Touraine, has said trial centres where drug addicts can safely inject their own drugs with sterile needles provided by medical professionals could open before the end of the year in a handful of French cities. “I hope that experimental trials will be announced before the end of the year,” Touraine told French BFM television, adding that a handful of cities were ready to test the new program.

Page 396 of 471