• CLA issues 50 cannabis licences in two years

    The CLA's job is to create regulations to guide the development of an orderly legal ganja and hemp industry in Jamaica
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Sunday, December 8, 2019

    The four-year-old Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) reached another major milestone last week by issuing its 50th licence for medicinal use of the drug. The 50th licensee is Outlier Biopharma, a Montego Bay-based company, which provides consulting and advisory services to companies that wish to expand capacity and lower their operational cost, while improving their return on investment. In making the announcement, the CLA acknowledged that, as at October 31 this year, it had issued a total of 49 licences. There are a further 16 applications at the granted stage that will be issued on the payment of the respective fees and security bonds. In addition, there are 259 applications at the conditionally approved stage. (See also: Americans behind Jamaica's latest medical hemp company)

  • Brazilian court decision could encourage other cannabis companies to seek approval for cultivation

    Increased ‘judicialization’ expected
    Marijuana Business Daily (US)
    Friday, December 6, 2019

    brazil flag cannabisAfter Brazil’s health authority shelved a proposal on domestic cannabis cultivation, a court decided in the opposite direction, allowing – for the first time in Brazil – a company to grow hemp commercially. The court’s decision could spur other cannabis companies to appeal to the judicial system for permission to cultivate domestically. The ruling of the Federal Court of the Federal District authorized Schoenmaker Humanko, part of the Terra Viva group – a large Brazilian floricultural company – to import hempseeds of varieties with less than 0.3% THC to grow in Brazil. In his decision, the judge allowed the company to “sell the seeds, leaves and fibers exclusively for industrial purposes, including as inputs,” under supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and ANVISA, the Brazilian National Sanitary Surveillance Agency.

  • Dutch fear making a hash of cannabis reform

    Some worry consumers and small-scale producers will suffer from plan to crack down on black market
    Politico (EU)
    Thursday, December 5, 2019

    nl amsterdam weedThe Netherlands has long been a mecca for buzz-seeking tourists on account of its lax cannabis laws. What many of them don't know is that cannabis is not — and has never been — legal in the country. Instead, under a policy of tolerance known as gedoogbeleid, the Netherlands turns a blind eye to designated coffee shops selling weed — even though it's officially illegal for those shops to purchase cannabis from producers. But this muddled policy will soon change in parts of the country, at least for a while. The Dutch government is launching an experiment in 10 municipalities, starting this January and rolling out over the year, that will allow coffee shops to purchase cannabis from up to 10 state-approved growers, rather than through illicit sources.

  • Brazil approves cannabis-based products sold in pharmacies

    Health group vetos cultivation and sales will be restricted to prescription medicine
    Folha de S. Paulo (Brazil)
    Wednesday, December 4, 2019

    brazil flag cannabisBrazil’s national health agency (ANVISA) approved new rules for the registration of cannabis-based products for medicinal purposes in the country, authorizing their sale in pharmacies. By three votes to one, the agency rejected a proposal that would endorse cultivation for research and production of medicines - which in practice will force companies to import raw materials. Nonetheless, HempMeds, the first company to bring drugs to Brazil, saw the move as an important step, especially in reducing the cost to patients. (See also: New guidelines approved for medical cannabis in Brazil | Brazil’s new medical cannabis rules reject domestic cultivation, potentially setting up large import market)

  • La légalisation du cannabis récréatif dans les limbes

    La mesure, qui sera en premier lieu soumise au Conseil de gouvernement, pourrait bien mettre le Luxembourg dans une position délicate
    Luxemburger Wort (Luxembourg)
    Mercredi, 4 decembre 2019

    luxembourg cannabisSi l'usage thérapeutique du cannabis est déjà entré dans une phase de test, son emploi «à des fins récréatives» n'est pas encore à l'ordre du jour de la Chambre. Annoncée à plusieurs reprises par le gouvernement de Luxembourg, la mesure devrait «prochainement» aboutir à un projet de loi, a annoncé Etienne Schneider (LSAP), ministre de la Santé. Le projet de loi qui inquiète les voisins du Grand-Duché n'est pas encore prêt. Aucune date précise n'a été avancée. La future disposition pourrait entrer en conflit avec des conventions internationales ratifiées par le pays. (A lire aussi: Luxembourg : plus d’obstacles que prévu sur le cannabis)

  • The Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill: pretty good so far

    Home cultivation will be limited to two plants per person and four plants per household
    Public Address (New Zealand)
    Wednesday, December 4, 2019

    nz cannabis flag2As you’re probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It’s notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren’t actually new. A minimum age of purchase of 20, regulation of potency, restriction of use to private homes and licensed premises, inclusion of harm-reduction messaging, permission for physical but not online retail, recognition of “social sharing”, permission for home cultivation, no importation of cannabis products, regulated sale of edibles and concentrates, and a ban on advertising and most marketing – these were all clearly laid out in the Cabinet paper in May.

  • Drug Foundation praises the proposed cannabis law – but National says it's not up to scratch

    Individuals will be allowed to carry only 14g of dried cannabis
    New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
    Tuesday, December 3, 2019

    The Government outlined details of what they'll be voting for in next year's cannabis referendum. The New Zealand Drug Foundation is welcoming the proposed new law which would regulate the use of cannabis, if it's made legal after next year's referendum. But National said although the draft bill was well-intentioned it's not doing the job it needs to do. At the 2020 election, New Zealanders will be asked: "Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?" The legislation specifies a minimum age of 20 to use or purchase a recreational cannabis product. It prohibits the consumption of cannabis in public spaces, limiting use to private homes and licensed premises. (See also: Cannabis referendum: Proposed possession, purchase limits and supply details unveiled)

  • Personal drug use and possession should be decriminalised, former Supreme Court justice argues

    A new paper is calling on Australian governments to decriminalise personal drug use
    ABC News (Australia)
    Monday, December 2, 2019

    Richard RefshaugeThe criminalisation of illicit drugs is causing more harm than good, a prominent former judge has said, calling for criminal offences relating to personal drug possession to be abolished. Retired ACT Supreme Court Justice Richard Refshauge is the patron of Directions Health Services that has produced a position paper on the matter. "We know that in certain cases it's clear that penalties can reduce illegal behaviour," he said. "In the case of drugs the evidence is all the other way. Putting people who use small amounts of drugs occasionally into the criminal justice system actually piles prejudice, upon prejudice, upon prejudice." In September, the ACT Government passed laws to legalise personal cannabis use.

  • ‘B.C. bud’ cannabis still underground, John Horgan hopes to rescue it

    Legal marijuana mostly from out of province, not selling well
    Nelson Star (Canada)
    Monday, December 2, 2019

    British Columbia used to supply half of Canada’s marijuana, export it to the United States by the hockey bag, and bring home a bong-full of blue ribbons for its exotic “B.C. bud” strains from international Cannabis Cup competitions in Amsterdam. Premier John Horgan argues that this history is the main reason why legal marijuana has fizzled so far in B.C., a year into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bold legalization experiment. Horgan’s government is moving to take over the “economic development” part of legal cannabis from Ottawa, because its ponderous Health Canada licence system for growers is working great for mass-market producers in Ontario and Quebec. And it’s killing B.C. bud. (See also: British Columbia chamber lobbies province over craft cannabis cultivation)

  • Consider decriminalisation to tackle drug death ‘crisis’, say treatment providers in unprecedented plea

    Frontline services demand end to ideology-driven policy to save ‘thousands of lives’
    The Independent (UK)
    Sunday, December 1, 2019

    The future UK government has been urged to consider every available measure to curb the current drug death “crisis”, including decriminalisation, in an unprecedented plea from the UK’s major drug treatment providers. They implored the next government to be “brave and radical” in the changes they make to current drug laws, described as “not fit for the modern world”. An independent commission must be established to revamp “incredibly outdated” policy, with no options off the table, said the UK’s largest drug treatment provider, Change Grow Live. Ahead of the general election, the charity urged all political parties to commit to setting up this commission and implementing whatever it recommends.

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