• Cambodian official says human rights 'need to be put aside' in drug war

    Amnesty International report describes arbitrary arrests by police and torture in prison and drug treatment centres
    Reuters (UK)
    Wednesday, May 13, 2020

    cambodia drug warA Cambodian official defended an anti-drug campaign that has been decried as rife with abuses, saying human rights “need to be put aside” to fight drugs that destroy families and fuel violent crime. The comments came in response to rights group Amnesty International, which said in a report that the campaign that has seen 55,000 people arrested had led to torture and caused dangerous prison overcrowding while fuelling corruption. Amnesty cited interviews with dozens of people who described arbitrary arrests by police and torture in prison and drug treatment centres. (See also: Cambodia: Abusive “war on drugs”, rife with torture and corruption, must be overhauled)

  • Albania, once haven of illicit cannabis, set to legalise crop for medical use

    Albania holds a parliamentary election next year, and the idea of regularising a potential source of jobs and money could be a vote-winner
    Reuters (UK)
    Tuesday, May 12, 2020

    Albaniaalbania cannabis eradication2 plans to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, six years after beginning a crackdown on an illegal trade that turned it, by some accounts, into Europe’s largest outdoor grower of cannabis. Prime Minister Edi Rama said the time was ripe for one of Europe’s poorest countries to enter the lucrative market, emulating its neighbours North Macedonia, Greece and Italy - the latter a destination of tonnes of cannabis from Albania. “Illegal cultivation is completely under control,” Rama said. “This is the third or fourth year of consolidation. We plan to pass the bill in this session of parliament.” Villagers were asking for a full amnesty for those convicted on cannabis charges - not merely the amnesty for dodging tax on illicit earnings that Rama is proposing in addition to the legalisation.

  • B.C. moves to 'safe supply' as overdose deaths spike during COVID-19 pandemic

    ‘It took two ... health crises to get this to happen,' says advocate
    CBC News (Canada)
    Tuesday, May 12, 2020

    canada covid19 muralThe new guidelines were announced in late March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — concerns about the drug supply becoming even further adulterated because of disrupted global supply chains and about people being able to access their treatment while in self-isolation. "It will ensure that less people turn to the poisoned drug supply and it will ensure that less people have to venture out to pharmacies regularly and still put themselves at risk and put the community at risk," said B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy in late March. (See also: As homeless people were moved out of Oppenheimer Park, many were prescribed a safe supply of drugs)

  • Albanian gov't working to legalize cultivation of medical cannabis

    Currently, cannabis possession - excluding amounts for personal use-, cultivation and transport is illegal in Albania and there is no medical marijuana program
    Tirana Times (Albania)
    Sunday, May 10, 2020

    albania cannabis eradicationThe Albanian government is close to concluding a draft law which allows for the cultivation of medical cannabis in the country. According to Rama, the government has been working on the draft law for a year now after continuous consultations with foreign experts. "The draft will be available very soon for public discussion, just like the one on the fiscal amnesty, which is ready and is being discussed with several international institutions," Rama said, emphasizing the importance of these discussions. The EU delegation to Albania stepped in to clarify that it had not been involved "in preparation, drafting or consultation of draft reports concerning plans for cultivation and legalization of cannabis for medical purposes in Albania."

  • Coronavirus: The tide is coming for medicinal cannabis

    Cannabis researchers in Canada say the plant-based drug may provide resistance to SARS-CoV-2
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Friday, May 8, 2020

    med marijuanaPreliminary research is emerging out of Canada that certain strains of the psychoactive drug cannabis may also increase resistance to the coronavirus. If the study, which is not yet peer reviewed, can be verified, it would appear that cannabis works in a similar way to nicotine. As with the research into nicotine's effect on the coronavirus, it is thought that some strains of cannabis reduce the virus' ability to enter the lungs, where it takes hold, reproduces and spreads. In a paper on preprints.org,  where scientists can publish non-peer-reviewed results, the researchers write that their specially developed strains of cannabis effectively stop the virus from entering the human body.  

  • The opioid epidemic was already a national crisis. Covid-19 could be making things worse

    Walk-in clinics and syringe exchange programs have been closed. Community support groups are meeting virtually
    CNN Health (US)
    Thursday, May 7, 2020

    Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the nation was in the throes of another public health crisis: the opioid epidemic. More than 2 million Americans struggle with opioid use disorder, and about 130 Americans on average die every day from an opioid overdose. Opioids account for a majority of drug overdose deaths, the leading cause of accidental death in the US. It's a crisis that's been a priority for officials at the federal, state and local levels for years. Now, the coronavirus has disrupted all matters of life across the country -- including efforts to combat the nation's opioid problem. As local officials report spikes in overdose calls and deaths, experts and advocates say they're concerned the coronavirus pandemic is making an already serious problem worse.

  • “We’re human beings. Help us.”

    Drugs and homelessness in the pandemic
    Filter (US)
    Wednesday, May 6, 2020

    homelessCOVID-19 and the lockdown have obviously hit many different groups in different ways, but few as severely as street-homeless people who use drugs. There are the obvious health impacts that make them more vulnerable to any disease, the impossibility of self-isolating when you don’t have a home, and the constant need to source the drugs you rely on—or face the nightmare of going into withdrawal in the midst of a pandemic. But in fact, the problems are even more complex. The increase in risky behaviors is an alarming aspect of the coronavirus-drug use nexus. In the case of fentanyl, Europe has thus far been largely spared the nightmarish situation of North America.

  • Ontario’s legal pot stores celebrate one year in business — but most cannabis users are still buying illegally

    The current pace at which stores are being approved in Ontario is “not going to put a major dent in satisfying demand”
    The Toronto Star (Canada)
    Wednesday, May 6, 2020

    canada cannabis retailCanada’s black market of pot is still riding rampant over licensed retailers, a year into what many say continues to be a slow rollout of brick-and-mortar stores in Ontario and regulatory challenges. Retail stores in Ontario sold approximately $200 million in recreational pot last year, accounting for the lion’s share of just under $300 million in estimated Ontario Cannabis Store recreational sales, said Cheri Mara, chief commercial officer for the OCS. That’s far below the estimated $2.9-billion provincial market value. “I wouldn’t be honest with you if I said we were happy with that number … when our mandate is to eradicate the illicit market,” she said.

  • Canada’s Safe-Supply vending machines project is even more important now

    Most doctors still lack the will and courage to prescribe safe supply
    Filter (US)
    Tuesday, May 5, 2020

    mysafeDue to the increase in opioid overdoses, British Columbia declared a public health emergency in 2016. Fentanyl was in town, contributing to thousands of deaths. The nationwide overdose crisis killed about 11 Canadians a day between January 2016 and September 2019. An innovation pioneered by Dr. Mark Tyndall – helpful for any community impacted by drug-related problems, but more relevant amid COVID-19 social distancing – represents an step forward. Tyndall saw the need to provide a safe supply of drugs to people, removing the possibility of adulteration, in a way that supported drug-user autonomy. His idea was to make the opioid hydromorphone (Dilaudid) available through “vending machines” in a project called MySafe. (See also: MySafe: When technology and drug policy meet)

  • Cannabis in high demand amid coronavirus pandemic

    Moves by state governments to keep pot stores open show how deeply the cannabis industry is already rooted in the US economy
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Tuesday, May 5, 2020

    us buying marijuana dispensaryAccording to cannabis industry analytics firm Headset, pot sales in the United States spiked in mid-March, with sales growth peaking at 64% in the week ended March 16 — the highest growth rate since at least the beginning of 2019. But after people had apparently replenished their stockpiles for fear dispensaries might be closed amid virus shutdowns, sales decelerated during the last two weeks of the month to the "mid- to high-single-digit range," the Headset analysts said. In the course of April, most US federal states surprisingly declared cannabis an "essential good" like groceries, allowing pot dispensaries to offer curbside delivery. In Germany efforts to ensure a high-quality domestic supply, means the country is now aiming for the first local cannabis harvest by the end of this year.

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