-
Lebanon’s economy is going to pot — in a good way, it hopes
Hezbollah is against hash; it was one of the few groups to object to legalization
Los Angeles Times (US)
Sunday, September 29, 2020
Lebanon is scrabbling to escape an existential, multilayered crisis that has gutted the currrency to less than a quarter of its previous value, brought the specter of shortages to a place renowned for its excess and spurred a full-scale rejection of the country’s ruling order. Lebanon is broke. It produces very little, relying on imports for almost everything, and dollars are scarce. In its desperate drive for foreign currency, it’s trying to develop homegrown industries, including taking advantage of what is its most famous export: Lebanese hash. The country is responsible for 6% of the global cannabis supply, making it the world’s third-largest exporter of the stuff, according to a report last year by the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime — this, despite the fact that cannabis had until recently been illegal. -
Special permit to enable more small farmers to enter medical cannabis field
Those who seek to enter the industry via the special permit will benefit from concessions such as reduced and deferred fees, and variations in existing infrastructure and security arrangements
Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
Monday, September 28, 2020
The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) says the Cultivator's (Transitional) Special Permit Policy, which is in an advanced stage of completion, will enable more small and subsistence farmers to access the opportunities available within the medicinal cannabis industry. Acting senior legal officer at the CLA, Sheldon Reid, in a JIS interview said that the special permit, which will last for two years, will allow farmers to continue to cultivate while they prepare to transition to licensing status. He noted that the cost of obtaining a licence is prohibitive for some small and subsistence farmers, and argued that the permit will provide another avenue for them to enter the legal sector. -
L'appel de trois maires LR pour "légaliser la consommation de cannabis"
Avec la législation la plus répressive d’Europe, les Français sont pourtant les plus gros consommateurs
Le Journal de Dimanche (France)
Samedi, 26 setembre 2020
Les maires Les Républicains Gil Avérous (Châteauroux), Boris Ravignon (Charleville-Mézières) et Arnaud Robinet (Reims) réclament dans cette tribune la légalisation de la consommation de cannabis, ayant recours à un cannabis obligatoirement cultivé en France, traçable du producteur au consommateur en passant par le réseau de distribution contrôlé et fiscalisé par l’Etat. Ils estiment que ceci est "le meilleur moyen d’en anéantir le trafic et de ruiner les trafiquants". La prohibition du cannabis "à la française" est un échec. En réalité, le laxisme derrière un paravent d’une prohibition fictive, c’est maintenant que nous l’avons. (Lire aussi: À Reims, le maire veut expérimenter la dépénalisation du cannabis) -
Residents-only rule for coffeeshops proposed in Amsterdam
Increasing numbers of councillors believe that a vote could be a close one, with a new drive to change the type of tourist who chooses to visit
Dutch News (Netherlands)
Friday, September 25, 2020
Amsterdam city council is gearing up for a new discussion on banning non-residents from its coffeeshops next month, after two new proposals were submitted. Although a national law says only Dutch residents can buy cannabis from the shops, Amsterdam has never enforced the ruling. When Dutch drug laws were tightened in 2013, there were concerns that the residents-only rule would drive dealing onto the street and create more nuisance, the late Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan said at the time. But now thanks to a citizen’s petition and new set of proposals from the opposition VVD party, a foreign visitor ban is back on the table and up for debate again. -
Overdoses are killing more people in Western Canada than COVID-19. B.C. has a bold new plan
Editorial
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Friday, September 25, 2020
Canada’s other epidemic, the opioids overdose crisis, is more deadly than ever this year. Deaths in British Columbia hit new highs over the spring, including a monthly record of 181 illicit drug toxicity deaths in June, and Alberta revealed that opioid poisoning killed 301 people in the spring – also a record. In both provinces this year, overdoses have taken far more lives than COVID-19. This public-health challenge, like the fight against the virus, is far from over. Work to date has saved thousands of lives, but more must be done. Last week, B.C. took a major step toward ensuring a safer supply of clean drugs, regulated and overseen by medical professionals. The goal is to protect addicted people whose lives are at risk because of the toxicity of illicit drugs sold on the street. -
Swiss cities authorised to distribute cannabis for scientific studies
Any pilot projects that involve the distribution of cannabis will be regulated by a strict framework along with an enforcement order
Swissinfo (Switzerland)
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Parliament has approved a modification to the Swiss narcotics law that will allow studies of recreational cannabis use in the country’s largest cities. Both houses approved the change to the law following debate over whether the cannabis had to be of local or organic origin. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party saw this as an opportunity to support the country’s agriculture sector. Parliament ultimately decided that Swiss and organic cannabis should be used as far as possible. The vote paves the way for scientific studies on the effects of the controlled use of cannabis. This is intended to help evaluate the effects of new regulations on the recreational use of cannabis and ultimately, combat the black market distribution of cannabis. -
Draft cannabis bill ‘completely misses the mark’
Legislators seem oblivious to the business and tax-generating potential of the industry
Moneyweb (South Africa)
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Two years ago, the Constitutional Court of South Africa decriminalised the possession and cultivation of cannabis in private by adults for personal private consumption. It was a historic day that left many weed lovers on a natural high. After the long wait for the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill to be made public, the industry’s hopes and expectations slumped when it was tabled in Parliament on September 1. (The call for comments opened on September 9 and closes on October 9.) According to industry experts, it’s not what is in the Bill that resulted in the anti-climax, it’s how it has ‘completely missed the mark’ by failing to highlight the business opportunities that lay before it. -
Money laundering: How Moroccan cannabis becomes Emirati gold
Illegal proceeds are turned into gold in order to evade detection and allow for money laundering practices in the UAE
Morocco World News (Morocco)
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Years of investigations have revealed the intricate money laundering network that turns Moroccan hash into gold in Dubai. Revelations into the dealings of Kaloti Jewellery International Group in Dubai have unearthed Moroccan examples of a global problem. Earnings from the sale of Moroccan cannabis in Europe move through shadowy networks as gold bullion, destined for Dubai. Investigations into gold refiner Kaloti unearthed reports of tonnes of Moroccan gold coated in silver to evade the country’s gold export limits. Yet Moroccan hash also turns into gold for money laundering in Europe itself. Some gold retailers on the continent are perfectly happy to turn bundles of small currency into solid gold, for a good commission. -
Colombia lawmakers seek to take control of cocaine market. It’s a long shot
Colombia has suffered a slew of massacres this year, many of them linked to the ongoing conflicts
Los Angeles Times (US)
Monday, September 21, 2020
Legislators weary of Colombia’s whack-a-mole anti-narcotics efforts propose to stop the often violent trafficking of cocaine that has plagued the country for decades. The plan calls for the national government to take control of the drug market by purchasing coca leaf harvests and regulating cocaine sales. The challenges include cost, pushback from an international community that wants to maintain the status quo, and the potential reaction of an illegal drug empire that does not hesitate to use violence to get its way. The legislators who authored the bill, which is scheduled for congressional debate in October, insist the approach could reduce the waste of public funds, help protect Colombia’s environment and generate a better public health approach to the issue of drug consumption. -
BC to allow “small-scale producers” to deliver cannabis directly to licensed retailers as well as farm-gate sales beginning in 2022
“This is clearly an attempt to shore up the cannabis vote right before a potential early election”
Stratcann (Canada)
Sunday, September 20, 2020
The British Columbia government announced that they will allow “small-scale producers”, including nurseries, the option of delivering cannabis directly to licensed retailers, as well as farm-gate sales, in the coming years. The provincial government says the decision came from recommendations from long-time cannabis growers, Indigenous leaders and other stakeholders, and is one more step towards allowing for so-called “farm-gate” sales, which the Province also says it continues to work towards. The “targeted launch” for both programs is 2022. How they are defining “small scale” producers is unknown. Federal regulations require that licence holders selling into a provincial retail system must have a processing licence, as well as product sales licences.
Page 67 of 471
