• Defaulted Lebanon hopes to pay off debts with cannabis

    McKinsey suggested that legalizing the cultivation of cannabis would bring in up to $1 billion per year in revenue for the government
    Al-Monitor (Middle East)
    Monday, March 30, 2020

    The Lebanese government is looking to cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes to improve the country's economic situation. Lebanon is the third most indebted country in the world, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 170%. Parliamentary committees passed a draft law on Feb. 26, legalizing cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use. The draft law will be transferred to the parliament for approval. The Lebanese Parliament closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, but, the law is expected to pass after it reconvenes. The type of plant that Lebanon seeks to cultivate is specific to medical industries. The Lebanese state does not accept the use of hashish as a resource to support the economy.

  • Estonia won its war on fentanyl, then things got worse

    Fentanyls are easier to make and smuggle than heroin, and far more profitable to sell
    Associated Press (US)
    Thursday, March 26, 2020

    estonia fentanyl userFor nearly two decades Estonia battled a fentanyl epidemic so severe its overdose death rate was almost six times the European average. Once fentanyl landed, heroin disappeared. After Estonian police choked off fentanyl supply in 2017, users turned to cocktails of other kinds of synthetic drugs, including amphetamines, alpha-PVP, a dangerous stimulant also known as flakka, and prescription drugs. There are signs that the U.S. is on a similar path, tipping from plant-based drugs like heroin to synthetic ones like fentanyl and methamphetamine. That could herald big changes and cement the role of China -- an important source of illicit synthetic drugs -- as a vital link in the worldwide drug trafficking business. (See also: What we can learn from a tiny Baltic country's two-decade fentanyl crisis)

  • B.C. releases plan to provide safe supply of drugs during COVID-19 pandemic

    Substance users will be able to access virtual prescriptions and home delivery of safe drugs
    CBC News (Canada)
    Thursday, March 26, 2020

    canada opioid crisis emergencyThe provincial government says safe prescription drugs will be provided to people who use substances amid fears the illegal drug supply is becoming increasingly toxic as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy announced new guidelines for prescribers to provide medications to patients, including home delivery and giving prescriptions through virtual visits. British Columbia currently faces two public health emergencies: one related to the rapid spread of COVID-19, the other the ongoing opioid overdose crisis declared an emergency in 2016. (See also: ‘Safe supply’ of drugs good news in Vancouver, but is it only here for the pandemic?)

  • A shortage of illicit drugs is imminent due to the coronavirus lockdown

    ... and the consequences could be deadly
    The Independent (UK)
    Tuesday, March 24, 2020

    cocaine seizureWe’ve already witnessed the havoc of coronavirus as panic-buying compromises supply and distribution of food and some medicines. The illicit drug market is not immune to coronavirus either. We are a net importer of drugs like cocaine and heroin, so when borders are shut moving drugs becomes more difficult. People don’t behave rationally, whether it’s about the supply of toilet roll or cocaine. When one drug is in short supply, another takes its place. If, for example, heroin is substituted with fentanyl – fifty times more potent – the potential for overdose is clear. If ever there was a time to introduce drug consumption rooms, it is now. (See also: Impact of Covid-19 on drugs trade likely to hit recreational cocaine users most | How coronavirus is changing the market for illegal drugs)

  • Why the 'legalization' of cannabis is not what Ghanaians think it is

    It has been misconstrued by some Ghanaians to mean legalization of cannabis for personal use, which is not the case
    Pulse / Reuters (Ghana)
    Saturday, March 21, 2020

    Parliament passed the new Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019, which enhanced the powers of the country’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances. In the bill, parliament decided to incorporate a clause that will allow for the industrial use of cannabis with THC level of not more than 0.3 percent. This is to allow companies producing jute sacks for cocoa and other produce to set up their plants and produce them locally instead of importing them from India and other countries. However, this has been misconstrued by some Ghanaians to mean legalization of cannabis for personal use, which is not the case. (See also: Parliament has not legalized ‘wee’ for public consumption - MP)

  • Ghana legalizes cannabis for health and industrial purposes

    The new law empowers to grant licences for the cultivation of cannabis of not more than 0.3 percent THC
    GhanaWeb (Ghana)
    Saturday, March 21, 2020

    ghana flag cannabisGhana has legalized the use of cannabis for health and industrial purposes as it joins other African countries hoping to derive economic and health benefits from the substance. On Friday the country’s Parliament passed into law the Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019. The law now makes the country’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) a Commission with enhanced powers to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances. The Commission, however, will have the mandate to control and eliminate the trafficking of prohibited narcotic drugs to ensure public safety. The Hemp Association of Ghana (HAG) has already signed a deal with a Ghanaian-owned Cannabis business operator based in Portugal. (See also: Ghana legalises use of cannabis for health and industrial purposes)

  • Marijuana businesses allowed to stay open in San Francisco, New York

    While cannabis stores are allowed to remain open, many are exercising caution to prevent community spread of the coronavirus
    The Hill (US)
    Thursday, March 19, 2020

    cannabis handsAs hundreds of businesses in cities such as San Francisco and New York close due to the coronavirus outbreak, medical marijuana stores remain open as officials revise public health orders to include cannabis as an essential medicine. San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) this week announced changes to the city's public health order that allowed only essential businesses such as grocery stores, banks and pharmacies to remain open while residents are required to stay at home, according to NPR. Dispensaries and marijuana delivery services are now also deemed as critical businesses, according to city officials. (See also: Coronavirus: Legal cannabis sales surge as US weed lobby tells smokers not to share joints)

  • Honduras goes from transit nation to cocaine producer

    Honduran drug traffickers are now almost certainly able to produce their own cocaine hydrochloride
    InSight Crime
    Thursday, March 19, 2020

    Over the last decade, Honduras has seen a proliferation of laboratories capable of transforming coca leaf into cocaine hydrochloride. This means that Honduras, once only a transit point for drugs, is becoming a cocaine producer. According to sources within the Honduran police consulted by InSight Crime, as well as reporting by La Prensa, 12 laboratories have been identified between 2009 and 2020. All the laboratories were used to transform the coca leaf while others also operated as nurseries for coca plants. The information gathered showed that at least one of these facilities was successful in producing hydrochloride to make cocaine.

  • Big cannabis in the UK

    Is industry support for wider patient access motivated by promises of recreational market worth billions?
    BMJ (UK)
    Wednesday, March 18, 2020

    cannabis genomeThe BMJ has uncovered links between companies, campaign groups and individuals lobbying for wider patient access to cannabis for medical use and a parallel campaign to create a lucrative recreational market for the drug in the UK. The article focuses on the links between commercial organisations that are seeking new markets for recreational cannabis and patient groups and researchers. Some suggest that the debate is being fuelled by a growing breed of new companies, ranging from large scale cannabis growers and distributors in Canada to UK and international investment groups, which are manoeuvring to take advantage of a widely anticipated shift in the UK’s cannabis regulatory landscape.

  • 'The legal stuff is garbage': why Canada's cannabis black market keeps thriving

    North America’s biggest companies have seen their market values lose billions, prompting comparisons to dotcom bust
    The Guardian (UK)
    Wednesday, March 18, 2020

    cannabis dispensary smellingCannabis may be legal in Vancouver but visitors looking to score are likely to run into a seemingly counterintuitive suggestion: try the black market. Recreational marijuana was legalised across Canada in October 2018. And yet on Reddit, the specialist forum website used by millions every day, many of Vancouver’s cannabis connoisseurs still swear by their underground supply. This is one of the major issues facing North America’s marijuana companies, which experts say are in the midst of a dotcom-style market crash. Little over a year ago companies that cultivate and sell cannabis were seen by investors as one of the hottest tickets in town. Now billions of dollars have been wiped off the market values of the industry’s largest companies.

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