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)

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.

Nueva York da el primer paso para sumarse a la decena de Estados donde el consumo de marihuana con fines recreativos es legal. El gobernador demócrata Andrew Cuomo lo propuso al presentar los objetivos de la agenda legislativa con la que arrancará en enero su tercer mandado. Puede generar 1.300 millones de dólares anuales a través de impuestos locales y estatales. El cannabis medicinal ya está permitido, pero solo para pacientes que sufren enfermedades como el cáncer, el sida o dolencias crónicas graves. La iniciativa se anuncia después de que la ciudad de Nueva York pusiera fin el pasado 1 de septiembre a los arrestos de ciudadanos que consumen marihuana en público.

Organizaciones aseguran que el dictamen que regula el consumo lúdico de la mariguana, aprobado en el Pleno de la Cámara de Diputados, mantiene una criminalización contra usuarios, e incumple el mandato de la Corte de eliminar su prohibición. México Unido Contra la Delincuencia destacó que aunque la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación fue clara y ordenó al legislativo eliminar su prohibición y regular todas las acciones necesarias para acceder al consumo, el proyecto de ley aprobado incumple con este mandato. Con ello, señala, se pierde la oportunidad de dejar de criminalizar usuarios, evitar que la policía y otras autoridades persigan administrativa y penalmente la posesión de la sustancia y reorientar la estrategia de seguridad hacia la persecución de otros delitos que sí dejan víctimas.

Canada’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.

Los cambios políticos ocurridos en los últimos cinco años han reconfigurado dramáticamente el mercado del cannabis. No solo ha habido un boom sin precedentes en el mercado medicinal sino que, siguiendo los cambios políticos en muchas jurisdicciones, un número creciente de países también se están preparando para la regulación legal del uso no medicinal. Tales movimientos son impulsados por el reconocimiento de la inefectividad probada de las políticas represivas durante décadas, que han acarreado graves consecuencias negativas y apuntan a proporcionar un amplio rango de beneficios en términos de la salud y los derechos humanos.

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This much we know: Americans like to do drugs. That might explain why a prescient headline in the satirical publication The Onion stands as one of the most enduring comments on American drug enforcement — “Drugs Win Drug War.” While that article was published in 1998, it was only during the past decade that its parody devolved into grim reality. In many ways, this reality has been an aching nadir, with more lives lost annually to overdoses than AIDS, gun violence and car crashes. But this past decade also brought its highs (pun intended): Recreational marijuana prohibitions started to fall in a domestic domino effect as one state after another accepted that it was pointless to criminalize the use of such a widely consumed drug.

A controversial new law on cannabis use will have to wait another week to be approved in parliament, after the opposition requested that MPs be called to vote individually on the matter. The proposed reform was set for its third and final reading in the House, which would normally be followed by a vote. However, while the government MPs said they were voting in favour, the opposition requested what is known as a division. Church organisations, NGOs and lobby groups opposed to easing cannabis laws filed a petition to parliament, in a last-ditch attempt to stop a reform bill from becoming law in its current form. (See also: Cannabis reform: Why the law should be changed - Owen Bonnici | NGOs slammed for lobbying to remove education references from cannabis law)

Opposition spokesman on tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeill is urging the Government to formulate a policy framework to define its position on cannabis. Cannabis could provide opportunities, including a new retail market, with appropriate properties operating as dispensaries for the legal sale. “This further gives us the opportunity for branding products such as Orange Hill ganja, as well as a dedicated source of income straight from the retail market to these approved growers,” he said. The UN estimates that 37,000 acres of illegal ganja is grown in Jamaica for each crop cycle, with a production of approximately 66 million pounds per year. Given the estimated value of between $9,000 and $22,000 per pound, this equates to $1.48 trillion, or about 70 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The federal government is moving toward a restrictive market for recreational marijuana, vowing to impose potency limits, controls on advertising, and strict rules over the production and sale of the drug. Ottawa has unveiled a nine-member panel to draw up Canada’s new marijuana framework, sending out the clearest signal to date that it is not bowing to the demands of members of the illegal pot industry that has boomed in recent months. (See also: Prohibit marijuana for Canadians under 25? How about a hit of reality | 7 in 10 Canadians support marijuana legalization)

The minister for reforms Owen Bonnici has tabled the first reading of Malta's government proposed cannabis reform. Taking to Twitter, Bonnici said the bill “will establish a new legal framework governing responsible use of cannabis.” The cannabis reform White Paper attracted more than 350 submissions from organisations and individuals when the public consultation closed last May. Government is proposing full decriminalisation for adults in possession of 7g or less of cannabis for personal use and proceedings before the Commissioner for Justice, rather than the criminal court, for those with more than 7g but less than 28g.

El Gobierno neerlandés inauguró la fase inicial de un experimento para la venta del primer cannabis cultivado legalmente en Países Bajos, que se entregará a los 'coffeeshop' mediante un transporte seguro, un proyecto que llega tras cinco años de preparativos y entre temores a un boicot de los narcotraficantes. La propuesta para iniciar un experimento de cultivo legal de cannabis empezó a debatirse en 2017 y recibió la aprobación del Senado en 2019, pero su inicio ha sido pospuesto por diferentes motivos, hasta que, el pasado febrero, el Gobierno del liberal Mark Rutte prometió comenzar con un número limitado de productores y probar la idea a pequeña escala.

Los cultivadores de cannabis podrán postularse en julio como proveedores al gobierno holandés en julio para abastecer legalmente a algunos de los famosas coffee shops del país, anunció el Ministerio de Salud. El Gobierno había dado luz verde a un experimento en gran escala en 2018, que permitía a diez municipios cultivar cannabis legalmente. El objetivo del experimento era medir los efectos del cultivo de la cannabis en la delincuencia, la seguridad, el orden público y la salud. Según el plan del gobierno, que ha sido aprobado por el Consejo de Estado, los municipios interesados supervisarán durante varios años el cultivo de la cannabis y su distribución a los cafés, que podrán venderla a los clientes.

El combate al narcotráfico y específicamente al llamado "prensado paraguayo" fue uno de los objetivos que la administración de José Mujica se propuso al momento de incentivar la legalización de la producción, distribución y venta de cannabis. Sin embargo, el narcotráfico de marihuana aún es una realidad en Uruguay y las autoridades entienden que eso se debe a una oferta estatal "insuficiente". El director del Instituto de Regulación y Control del Cannabis (IRCCA), Martín Rodríguez, dijo que el ingreso de marihuana de origen paraguaya se debe a la existencia de una "mayor demanda" de marihuana frente una oferta "insuficiente" del Estado.

Der Paritätische Bremen fordert eine Neuausrichtung der Drogen- und Suchtpolitik in Bremen. Der Spitzenverband der Wohlfahrtspflege will, dass legaler Konsum und kontrollierter Verkauf von Cannabis möglich werden. Ebenso plädiert der Verband in einem veröffentlichten Positionspapier für einen Drogenkonsumraum in Bremen, mehr Hilfen für Suchtkranke, bessere Prävention und weniger Strafverfolgung. Der Paritätische spricht sich dafür aus, dass Cannabis in Bremen zum Eigengebrauch legal gekauft und angebaut werden kann. Das bei der Strafverfolgung eingesparte Geld solle in die Jugendarbeit und Prävention gesteckt werden. Auch solle der Führerschein nicht allein auf der Grundlage von Cannabisfunden eingezogen werden, heißt es im Positionspapier des Verbands.

Luxembourg residents hoping to legally grow cannabis at home might not have to wait till after the elections, after Parliament announced it will vote before the end of the month on a bill calling for legalisation. The law will “have to be debated and voted on in public session during the week of June 26”, an article on the Parliament’s website said. The bill stipulates adults can legally grow up to four plants. The plants must not be visible from a public space and consumers must not use cannabis products outside their residence. People who hold, transport or acquire cannabis products for their personal use would be allowed to carry up to three grams. Violators would risk a fine of €251 to €2,500.