• Medical marijuana grow licences exploited by criminals to sell weed on the illegal market, police say

    Lack of oversight allows system to be exploited, activist says
    CBC News (Canada)
    Thursday, November 19, 2020

    canada pot flag2A lack of oversight into who is growing medical cannabis and how much is being grown is allowing criminals to sell pot on the illegal market, according to police and pot activists. That's creating tension in residential neighbourhoods in Winnipeg where large amounts of plants are being grown and with medical marijuana users who say it's not fair the laws meant to help people who need pot are being exploited for financial gain. "The lack of oversight by Health Canada has allowed the system to be manipulated and abused by people who are only in it for their own personal benefit," said cannabis activist and medical licence holder Steven Stairs. 

  • EU top court rules that CBD is not a narcotic drug

    ‘CBD doesn’t appear to have any … harmful effect on human health,’ the judges wrote
    Politico (US)
    Thursday, November 19, 2020

    eu flagThe European Union's highest court ruled today that cannabidiol (CBD) isn't a narcotic drug. The decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is a setback for EU countries that are cracking down on CBD products, arguing they are harmful to people's health. At issue was a French case against a Czech company that sold CBD extracted from the whole cannabis plant to use in electronic cigarette cartridges. France only allows extraction from cannabis seeds and fiber — not the whole plant. The court ruled the law that prompted this legal action against the Czech producers was an unnecessary restriction of the free movement of goods because the substance doesn't pose a threat to human health. 

  • Vancouver proposes decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs

    Calls for decriminalization have grown louder as overdose deaths have shattered records across the country
    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Wednesday, November 18, 2020

    Vancouver is proposing to become the first Canadian city to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. Mayor Kennedy Stewart, who is forwarding the motion, says it would allow the city to fully embrace a health-focused approach to substance use. “We all know that the overdose crisis is getting worse, it’s been impacted by COVID, and the level of deaths is intolerable,” Mr. Stewart said. “This can help to reduce stigma and connect folks with health care.” The mayor will introduce the motion Tuesday. If approved by council, the city and Vancouver Coastal Health will submit a formal request to the federal ministers of Health and Public Safety and to Justice Minister and Attorney-General David Lametti. (See also: Vancouver mayor proposes decriminalization of simple drug possession)

  • Cannabis resin now 25% more potent, global study reveals

    Concentrations of intoxicating THC have risen, data from more than 80,000 street drug samples gathered over 50 years shows
    The Observer (UK)
    Sunday, November 15, 2020

    hash cannabis leafCannabis resin – or “hash” – has increased in strength by nearly 25% over the past half century, a major international study has revealed. Researchers with the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath analysed data from more than 80,000 cannabis street samples tested in the past 50 years in the US, UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Italy and New Zealand. The findings reveal concentrations of THC – the intoxicating component of cannabis responsible for giving users a “high” – have changed over time. In herbal cannabis, THC concentrations increased by 14% between 1970 and 2017. This was primarily due to a rising market share of stronger varieties, such as sinsemilla. Concentrations in cannabis resin increased by 24% between 1975 and 2017.

  • Mexican Senate committees approve marijuana legalization bill with floor vote planned soon

    Advocates are still hoping for further revisions to promote consumers’ rights and social equity in the legal market
    Marijuana Moment (US)
    Friday, November 13, 2020

    mexico debate cannabisSeveral Mexican Senate committees on Friday tentatively approved a revised bill to legalize marijuana during a joint hearing, with a formal in-person vote scheduled next week. The legislation, which has circulated in draft form this month and further amended ahead of the meeting, would establish a regulated cannabis market in Mexico, allowing adults 18 and older to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of marijuana and cultivate up to four plants for personal use. Members of the Senate’s United Commissions of Justice, Health, and Legislative Studies advanced the bill, months after passing an earlier version. The panels first voted to dispense with that previous bill during Friday’s session.

  • Israel announces plan to legalize recreational cannabis within 9 months

    According to recommendations of interministerial team, marijuana will be sold to users aged 21 and up, but not for consumption in public
    The Times of Israel (Israel)
    Thursday, November 12, 2020

    israel cannabisIsrael is planning to legalize cannabis for recreational use within nine months while balancing “liberalism and responsibility,” Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn said. Nissenkorn presented the recommendations of an interministerial team that has been reviewing the matter, alongside Likud MK Sharren Haskel and Blue and White MK Ram Shefa, who have been leading their respective parties’ efforts on the issue. The justice minister said an explanatory memorandum of a bill formulated in accordance with the recommendations would be published by the end of November and that the legalization would go into effect nine months after it is approved. (See also: Israel lays out plan to legalize recreational cannabis, looking to Canada as a blueprint)

  • Government committee said set to recommend full cannabis legalization

    Recommendation reportedly to be released in coming days, after Health Ministry changed tack to back recreational use
    The Times of Israel (Israel)
    Monday, November 9, 2020

    A governmental committee tasked with reviewing Israel’s cannabis laws is reportedly set to recommend full legalization in a report. The inter-ministerial committee made up of representatives from the Israel Police, the Public Security Ministry and the Health Ministry will recommend that the government continue efforts to decriminalize cannabis on the way to full legalization. The recommendations come after a change in tack from the Health Ministry, which was previously opposed to legalizing the drug beyond medical use, the report said. In June, two linked bills to legalize cannabis use passed preliminary readings in the Knesset ahead of the three votes required for them to become law. (See also: Israel lays out plan to legalize recreational cannabis, looking to Canada as a blueprint)

  • Mexico is poised to legalize marijuana, but advocates don’t like the details

    Advocates fear the legislation, if approved as written, will cut Mexican-owned businesses out of a lucrative new market while doing little to loosen the grip of organized crime on the drug trade
    The Washington Post (US)
    Sunday, November 8, 2020

    mexico mariguana liberacion marcha2It's the moment for which advocates of legal marijuana here have been waiting: Mexican lawmakers, working under a court order, have until mid-December to finalize rules that will make the country the world's largest market for legal pot. Advocates have long argued that legalization would put a dent in the black market; allow for safe, regulated consumption; create jobs; and cut down on crime. But rather than counting down the days with glee, they’re waging an 11th-hour campaign to change legislation that they say would favor large corporations over small businesses and family-owned farms, while doing little to address the issues at the root of the country’s illegal drug trade.

  • Crime commissioner says its "ludicrous" to chase drug addicts who need help

    David Jamieson is a major support of Drug Consumption Rooms, which have been a core part of drugs policy in most European countries - but are banned in the UK
    Daily Record (UK)
    Friday, November 6, 2020

    David JamiesonThe man running the UK’s most progressive drug diversion scheme believes it’s “totally ludicrous” for officers to seek to arrest drug users at a mobile drugs van in Scotland. David Jamieson, crime commissioner for the West Midlands, set up the  Divert scheme in Birmingham to channel drug addicts committing low level crimes into treatment instead of jail. He revealed that, in just five weeks, more than 100 minor drug offenders have agreed to enter into treatment programmes instead of being dealt with in courts. He is a major support of Drug Consumption Rooms, which have been a core part of drugs policy in most European countries - but are banned in the UK.

  • Oregon becomes first US state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs

    Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota voted to legalize recreational marijuana in nationwide push to relax drug laws
    The Guardian (UK)
    Wednesday, November 4, 2020

    us nj cannabisA nationwide push to relax drug laws scored significant victories on Tuesday as four states voted to legalize marijuana, and Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs. Voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota passed state ballot measures to legalize recreational cannabis use, major victories in the movement to undo the harms of cannabis criminalization. The states join the District of Columbia and 11 other states that have already legalized adult use of cannabis, which remains illegal at the federal level in the US. The win puts New Jersey on the path to have the largest weed market on the east coast and one of the largest in the US. It also increases pressure on neighboring states, particularly New York, to follow suit.

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