• MPs accuse Cannabis Licensing Authority of ignoring small farmers

    The situation is distressing as the pilot was an attempt to integrate the small farmers into formal cannabis cultivation but was doomed before even getting off the ground
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Thursday, July 8, 2021

    jamaica ganja growingThe Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) and the State have been accused of having no real interest in ensuring that small farmers get their fair share of the legal marijuana pie, as pilot cultivation programmes have been allowed to fall by the wayside and emphasis placed on heavy regulation. This sentiment was expressed by Government and Opposition politicians at a meeting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), which had in attendance senior representatives of the CLA and its parent ministry. The pilot project for cultivation launched in Accompong, St Elizabeth crashed out with the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, while that planned for Orange Hill, Westmoreland did not get off the ground due to problems with land access.

  • Majority of Swiss support the legalisation of cannabis

    One third are clearly in favour of the legalisation of cannabis with effective health protection, one third is rather in favour
    Swissinfo (Switzerland)
    Thursday, July 1, 2021

    switzerland cannabis3Most Swiss accept the idea of legalising cannabis for recreational purposes provided there are rules to protect minors, according to a survey. Nearly two-thirds of people surveyed want the minimum age of consumption to be set at 18, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) said. Two-thirds are in favor of conducting pilot tests on the controlled distribution of cannabis for recreational purposes. The survey was conducted by the Sotomo Institute from the end of January to the beginning of April. It consulted 3,166 adults living in Switzerland. About 70% of the respondents find it important to reform the cannabis law in Switzerland, according to the survey. They cite limiting the black market and improving consumer safety as important reasons for legalisation.

  • Licenced marijuana experiment may be delayed: NOS

    Not all the cities involved will be ready to participate in the autumn and that the start date of September/October would not be met
    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Thursday, July 1, 2021

    netherlands cannabis flagA Dutch experiment involving the licenced production and sale of cannabis which is due to start this autumn is likely to be delayed, broadcaster NOS reported. Arnhem mayor Ahmed Marcouch has told the city council that there are still many uncertainties that need to be ironed out and although a justice ministry spokesman did not use the word ‘delay’ he did point to the tough conditions surrounding the experiment. In total 10 cities, but not the big four, are taking part in the experiment which aims to remove the grey area between licenced cannabis cafes, or coffee shops, and the illegal drugs trade. Independent research will assess the impact of having a closed chain from plantation to retail on crime and public order. (See also: Dutch legal cannabis cultivation trial stalled)

  • Massachusetts cannabis workers unionize, part of a national movement

    “Workers have the opportunity to shape the industry and make sure the jobs are good, family-sustaining jobs with a living wage, affordable and quality health care and a secure retirement”
    Filter (US)
    Thursday, July 1, 2021

    cannabis workersMany cannabis cultivation workers share common challenges. They frequently lack a living wage, benefits (like health care and retirement plans) or pathways for professional development. Workers and advocates are concerned that the growth of many companies amid the nationwide cannabis boom is coming at the expense of underpaid employees, while corporation heads rake in profits. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is the most active union working with cannabis workers, organizing with them since 2013. It now has more than 10,000 members in working laboratories, processing and manufacturing plants, cultivation facilities and medical and adult-use dispensaries. 

  • ‘Movie-plot’ cocaine case highlights shipping industry drug problem

    The case is one of many highlighting the vulnerability of the global shipping industry — in which Switzerland is a key player — to criminal activity by drug traffickers
    Swissinfo (Switzerland)
    Monday, June 28, 2021

    msc gayane cocaine bustOn June 17, 2019, US law enforcement agents boarded a shipping vessel in Philadelphia and seized 19.75 tons of cocaine with a street value of over $1 billion. It was one of the largest drug seizures in US history and prompted the company to invest millions in security upgrades. The vessel in question – the MSC Gayane – was part of the fleet of the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Corporation, which handles about 16 of the world’s seaborne trade, the second-most after Danish-based Maersk, according to a ranking of shipping operators. UN experts note the illicit drugs trade has been on the rise in the five-year period leading up to 2019 and that drug barons appear to be taking larger risks, sending more cocaine at one time. (See also: Jail sentence for first of MSC Gayane crew in cocaine smuggling case)

  • Mexico supreme court strikes down laws that ban use of recreational marijuana

    Adults will be able to apply for permits to grow and consume cannabis after decision that moves country toward legalisation
    The Guardian (UK)
    Monday, June 28, 2021

    mexico cannabis smoker protestMexico’s supreme court has struck down laws prohibiting the use of recreational marijuana, moving the country toward cannabis legalisation even as the country’s congress drags its feet on a legalisation bill. The court ruled that sections of the country’s general health law prohibiting personal consumption and home cultivation of marijuana were unconstitutional. Adults wanting to cultivate and consume their own cannabis will be able to apply for permits from the health secretariat. Criminal penalties for possessing more than five grammes of marijuana or selling the drug remain in place. The supreme court first granted injunctions in 2015 in favour of four applicants seeking injunctions to consume and grow marijuana. (See also: The Supreme Court is forcing Mexico to legalize weed, sort of)

  • Germany: Cannabis legalization becomes election campaign issue

    After Germany's upcoming parliamentary election, drugs legalization looks set to be a new issue on the political agenda
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Saturday, June 26, 2021

    germany cannabis flagWith watershed elections looming in Germany, some politicians are talking about a new approach to drug control. The opposition Free Democrats (FDP), for whom civil liberties are a major issue, have called for the limited and legal sale to adults of "cannabis for leisure consumption." In view of growing global sales of cannabis for medical purposes and private pleasure, the business-friendly FDP is even looking to turn "Cannabis Made in Germany" into a lucrative export product. Four of the six parties currently represented in the Bundestag, the German parliament, are committed to backing an end to the cannabis prohibition policy.

  • Campaign for legal kratom use nears goal

    A local community sets the standard for responsible cultivation, which the government hopes to replicate once the plant is decriminalised
    The Bangkok Post (Thailand)
    Thursday, June 24, 2021

    After being listed as an illegal narcotic for many decades, Thais will finally be allowed to use and own Mitragyna speciosa, also known as kratom, as traditional medicine by August this year. On May 28, an announcement was made in the Royal Gazette which effectively removed the plant from the list of narcotics. As new laws take effect 90 days after their publication in the Gazette, kratom use and possession will be effectively decriminalised on Aug 24. Prior to its decriminalisation, kratom was categorised as a Class 5 Narcotic substance under the Narcotics Act, which made consuming, cultivating and possessing any part of the plant illegal.

  • French court overturns ruling banning legal sale of cannabidiol

    The Cour de cassation did not rule whether selling CBD in France was legal or not, and ordered a lower court to rule again on a case involving the owner of a shop selling CBD
    France24 (France)
    Wednesday, June 23, 2021

    france cofyshopFrance's highest appeals court overturned a ruling that stores in the country can't legally sell cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotic compound related to cannabis that is being researched for a variety of medical applications. Based on the free trade of goods within the European Union, the Cour de cassation ruled that judges could not find the sale of CBD in France illegal if it had been legally produced in a member state of the bloc. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled last year that no national law can prohibit the sale of CBD legally produced in a member state, the French court also said.

  • MDMA gangs are literally polluting Europe

    Drug makers in Belgium and the Netherlands are poisoning nature reserves and damaging wastewater plants as they compete to supply the world with stimulants
    Vice (UK)
    Friday, June 18, 2021

    Noxious dumps in “drug pits” is one of many new ways  drug gangs in the Netherlands and Belgium are disposing of the toxic waste created in one of the world’s largest MDMA and amphetamine producing regions. While drug users may be aware of the price of an ecstasy pill and its psychoactive effects, the collateral damage on the environment caused by this huge illicit, and therefore unregulated, industry is not understood. Drug gangs in the Netherlands and Belgium, which have started setting up equally toxic meth labs and cocaine extraction labs on top of well-established MDMA and speed production industries, are increasingly resorting to dumping chemicals in more remote, pristine nature reserves and forests in order to escape detection. 

Page 44 of 471