The Support Don’t Punish campaign for decriminalising the use of illicit substances is very relevant in Lebanon where the law on drug use and the jumble of the criminal justice system harms young Lebanese whose future is often jeopardised by judicial flaws, the NGO Skoun said. Skoun, which runs addiction treatment centres, has been strongly lobbying for amending the criminal law regarding drug use, with punishment ranging from 3 months to 3 years in prison, in the case of personal consumption, along with a fine. “If you get arrested and prosecuted for drug use it will be on your criminal record and for at least 3 years you cannot apply for a job or get housing loan or move on with your life,” said Michelle Wazan, drug policy coordinator at Skoun.

The use of cannabis is not completely banned in India as its medical and scientific use is allowed under the law, the Centre has told the Delhi High Court, which refused to advance the date of hearing of the plea seeking to legalise its use on various grounds including medicinal purposes. The bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakhder refused to allow the early hearing application by the petitioner Great Legalisation Movement India Trust which contended that there were reports to suggest that cannabinoids helped in countering the impact of COVID-19. The petition, which is listed for further hearing in March, has challenged provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act which prohibit the use of cannabis and has contended that the drug has medicinal and industrial benefits.

The Malta government has not yet set a date to motion a bill to potentially legalise recreational marijuana, parliamentary secretary for reforms Julia Farrugia Portelli has said. She confirmed that talks with stakeholders were currently under way and said that a campaign to educate people about the drug and its effects would necessarily be part and parcel of any law to legalise marijuana. Farrugia Portelli is piloting a proposed reform on the recreational use of marijuana and had previously told this newspaper that the government would be insisting on certain rules in this regard, including a minimum legal age of 21 for buying the drug, and an absolute prohibition to smoke in public places, among other things. (See also: PN and PD discussed possible legalisation of recreational marijuana)

Colombia tiene una oportunidad. Puede sacudirse los prejuicios, dejar a un lado las herencias conservadoras basadas en mentiras, escuchar a la ciencia y a los economistas, y abrirle la puerta a la legalización de la marihuana recreativa. Al hacerlo, puede estar a la altura de varios lugares del mundo donde han visto los impuestos subir, controlar el consumo, mejorar la educación y, en general, encontrar que la legalización no es el apocalipsis, sino un necesario reconocimiento de las libertades individuales. Por más que haya gritos y desinformación, el debate en torno a esto parece saldado. (Véase también: Este es el proyecto que busca legalizar la marihuana en Colombia)

South Africans will be allowed to possess up to 600g of dried cannabis in the privacy of their homes for personal use, but can forget about selling their stash legally any time soon if the new cannabis Bill is passed in its present form. The Regulation of Cannabis Bill, drafted by the ministry of justice, will provide guidelines as to how much cannabis people can grow and possess, but continues to outlaw trading in the medicinal and recreational herb. The Bill was drafted in response to the Constitutional Court judgment in September 2018 that ended the ban on private cannabis cultivation, possession and consumption. The court gave the government two years to revise legislation and create a framework for legal cultivation and possession of the plant.

The prison sentence for a woman who was cultivating cannabis for her personal use, has led to the proposal of legal amendments that will give the Maltese courts discretion on how to sentence such cases. Justice Minister Owen Bonnici presented a package of legal amendments that will give the courts discretion on whether to sentence to jail people who can show that the cultivation of cannabis was for their strict personal use. Malta removed a previous mandatory term of imprisonment of six months for people found cultivating cannabis “in a small quantity not exceeding one plant, in circumstances where the Court is satisfied that such cultivation was for personal use.” Cultivation of cannabis will remain illegal under the new rules.

Possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis is not a punishable offence in Switzerland, regardless of whether you are a minor or an adult, the Federal Court has confirmed. In publishing its precedent decision, the Federal Court in Lausanne cleared up any lingering confusion around differences in treatment between adults and minors – no distinction should be made, judges ruled. The court said that while the protection of minors was a key component of the narcotics law, imposing heftier fines on youths was not the solution. Rather, judges said, prevention, therapy, and larger punishments for dealers was a better strategy.

Malta will soon allow people to purchase weed from “cannabis associations”, an exciting step forward for the country’s long-suffering cannabis communities. However, don’t expect these associations to resemble the famous social clubs of Barcelona or the coffeeshops of Amsterdam, places you can visit to smoke the plant in a relaxed atmosphere. Anyone who wants to set up a cannabis association must first set up a NGO by registering with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations and then apply for a license with the newly-established Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis. Lovin Malta recently met up with Reforms Minister Owen Bonnici to delve into the specifics of the bill which he presented to Parliament this month.

After the new law on the private cultivation and consumption of cannabis was passed in Luxembourg, RTL spoke to Minister of Justice Sam Tanson about the nitty-gritty details of the new legislation. The text of the law is clear: it will now be permitted to have four cannabis plants in the home. There are no provisions on the size of the plants or the quantity harvested. While adults in a household can only consume and keep for themselves what they reap from the four plants, there are no limits on either the quantity of cannabis or the THC content. Tanson pointed out that each plant is unique and no one can predict exactly how big it might turn out, how much it might yield, or how strong it might be.

Reforms parliamentary secretary Rebecca Buttigieg has refused to give a detailed timeline on when cannabis associations will start operating. “This is a complex sector and I am interested in doing things properly. We will issue our proposals soon,” she said. Last year, Malta became the first country in the EU to officially legalise recreational cannabis use. The law allows possession of up to 7g of cannabis and the growing of four plants at home. It also provides for regulated clubs from where cannabis can be sold to registered members. But despite the legal framework, the cannabis authority is yet to issue licensing for the operation of cannabis authorities, meaning users can either grow their own cannabis, or buy from the black market.

Headlines are screaming Marijuana Makes Young Brains Go to Pot. But a new study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, does not in any way prove that casual marijuana use is bad for your brain. Whatever brain changes are seen in casual users, they don’t predict addiction, otherwise, all casual users would become addicted—or at least, a much larger proportion than actually do. Several generations of American adults survived far higher rates of marijuana use than we see now—without encountering a major epidemic of cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, or lack of motivation. (See also: Does researching casual marijuana use cause brain abnormalities? and Striking a Nerve: Bungling the Cannabis Story)

The government in North Macedonia is considering allowing recreational use of marijuana in cafes and hospitality places in the capital, Skopje, and in other tourist hotspots, like the lakeside town of Ohrid, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said. “The idea is to allow consumption of marijuana in cafes, both in existing and new ones, and in tourist places, including Skopje, if they respect certain standards on ventilation, proof of origin of the marijuana and so on,” Zaev told Deutsche Welle. He added that the government envisages strict regulation in this sphere, taking Amsterdam in the Netherlands as an example. The Prime Minister said this was part of the government’s planned package of measures aimed at stimulating the economy, which has been hit hard by the COVID health crisis.

Norway's government proposed a bill aimed at decriminalising the possession and use of small amounts of narcotics, saying users should be offered treatment rather than face jail. "Decades of repression have taught us that punishment doesn't work. On the contrary, punishment can make things worse," Education Minister Guri Melby told a press conference. "Drug addicts need help, not punishment," she added. Under the centre-right coalition government's proposal, both possession and the use of small quantities of drugs, including heroin, cocaine and cannabis, would no longer be punishable under the criminal code, but users would still have to seek help. "They are still forbidden, but no longer punishable," Health Minister Bent Hoie said. (See also: The Norwegian decriminalization model (proposed bill))

An analysis by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) concludes that most of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations would either have little impact on international drug controls or actually tighten requirements. The analysis was provided to member states shortly before the start of the first in a series of UN meetings. The WHO recommendations are often celebrated as a positive step toward the easing of the international control of cannabis, which would be a positive development for the industry. But regarding practical implications in the level of international control, the INCB document found that, if adopted two recommendations would imply no meaningful change and two others would mean more control for pure THC.

The increase in cases of charas seizure in Himachal, especially in Kullu, despite police and state government running several programmes to destroy the cannabis crops has left the agencies clueless for years. After some Nepalese were arrested while smuggling charas consignments from Nepal to India to sell it in the name of “Malana cream” in the last few years, police fear that a large quantity of charas being supplied in the market may have been brought from Nepal. The area where cannabis is cultivated in Kullu has decreased over the years due to strict law and police action. (See also: Cannabis crop destroyed on 6,175 bighas in Kullu | Drones to spot cannabis crop in Himachal)

Le président du groupe de l’Istiqlal à la Chambre des Représentants, Noureddine Mediane, évoque la nécessité pour l’Etat de revoir son système répressif contre les 200.000 familles vivant du cannabis. "La culture du cannabis est toujours considérée comme un sujet tabou au Maroc. Je pense que nous devons rompre avec cet état d’esprit. D’où mon idée de lancer un débat national sur cette culture si répandue dans notre pays. Ce débat doit trancher si nous devons maintenir cette culture ou la faire disparaître définitivement."

People would be allowed to grow six marijuana plants for personal use and give their friends pot as a gift under a proposed law being introduced to the New South Wales parliament, as the government comes under more pressure to enact drug reform. The legislation would also allow people to carry up to 50g of cannabis, in a change that Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham hopes would reduce the number of Aboriginal people caught under laws he believes are racist. Government data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals Aboriginal people were 10 times more likely to have a marijuana-related interaction with police than non-Indigenous people.

Police in New South Wales pursue more than 80% of Indigenous people found with small amounts of cannabis through the courts while letting others off with warnings, forcing young Aboriginal people into a criminal justice system that legal experts say “they will potentially never get out of”. Between 2013 and 2017 the police disproportionately used the justice system to prosecute Indigenous people, despite the existence of a specific cautioning scheme introduced to keep minor drug offences out of the courts. During the five year period, 82.55% of all Indigenous people found with a non-indictable quantity of cannabis were pursued through the courts, compared with only 52.29% for the non-Indigenous population.