• Money on the table for a safe drug consumption site in Seattle

    As other cities in King County balk, Seattle’s City Council preps for a major public-health effort
    Seattle Weekly (US)
    Tuesday, November 7, 2017

    Despite the backlash from various King County cities against the idea of establishing safe drug consumption sites, the Seattle City Council is moving ahead on its own. It has already set aside substantial funds in the 2018 city budget to create one — and to study the possibility of creating more. City Councilmember Rob Johnson, who represents Wallingford and the University District, introduced two budget amendments in late October to interim Mayor Tim Burgess’s proposed 2018 city budget — amendments known in City Hall as “green sheets” — that set aside $550,000 for building and operating a safe consumption site, and an unspecified amount for a feasibility study on where best to site the proposed facility (or, possibly, more facilities).

  • The truth about the US ‘opioid crisis’ – prescriptions aren’t the problem

    The overdose epidemic is unmistakable. But it’s driven by illicit use of drugs. If moral panic results in more patients in pain, that would be a disaster
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, November 7, 2017

    The news media is awash with hysteria about the opioid crisis (or opioid epidemic). But what exactly are we talking about? If you Google “opioid crisis”, nine times out of 10 the first paragraph of whatever you’re reading will report on death rates. That’s right, the overdose crisis. For example, the lead article on the “opioid crisis” on the US National Institutes of Health website begins with this sentence: “Every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids.” Is the opioid crisis the same as the overdose crisis? No. One has to do with addiction rates, the other with death rates. And addiction rates aren’t rising much, if at all, except perhaps among middle-class whites.

  • How big tobacco, alcohol and pharma companies could enter the cannabis industry

    The Canadian cannabis industry: Enter the giants
    NCV Newswire (Canada)
    Monday, November 6, 2017

    The entrance of Constellation Brands in the cannabis industry has broken the insulation around cannabis companies — it is now incumbent upon the industry to embrace and prepare for the forthcoming wave of disruptive entrants that are better capitalized, more mature and better recognized than existing licensed producers. The cannabis industry is on fire. The combined market cap for public companies is over C$8.5B, provincial governments are preparing for the legalization of adult-use and, given that most governments are pursuing some version of a government-led model, licensed producers are identifying and securing supply agreement opportunities to lock in market share and stabilize revenues.

  • Les 500 000 fumeurs suisses de cannabis valent une fortune

    Le débat sur la libre consommation d’herbe progresse en Suisse comme ailleurs. Avec à la clé des centaines de millions de francs de revenus pour l’État, selon le modèle qui serait appliqué
    Le Matin Dimanche (Suisse)
    Dimanche, 5 novembre 2017

    Le cannabis légal ? La bataille politique promet d’être âpre, mais les vents poussent en ce sens. Le succès commercial de l’herbe en vente légale, le CBD, malgré sa faible teneur en substance psychotrope, dédramatise son usage. Plusieurs grandes villes sont favorables à une levée de l’interdit, dont Zurich, Bâle, Berne, Lucerne. Genève plancherait aussi dessus. La population est mûre: un sondage publié cet été donnait 66% des 1200 personnes interrogées d’accord pour une libéralisation. Les producteurs de CBD sont prêts: la Suisse dispose déjà d’un nombre important de cultivateurs en activité.

  • Ready or not, recreational marijuana use is coming to Canada

    Even with the uncertainty, many investors are betting there is money to be made on legal marijuana
    The New York Times (US)
    Saturday, November 4, 2017

    Proposing legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana was the easy part for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With about eight months to go before Canada becomes the second nation after Uruguay to take this step, the federal government and the provinces are staring at a formidable to-do list. Ottawa still has to set the limit at which drivers will be declared impaired under criminal law, and must determine the rules for advertising and the standards for growers. Working out most of the details affecting consumers is largely up to the 10 provinces. (See also: $250,000 fines, jail time for illegal Ontario dispensaries after new marijuana legislation comes in)

  • Belize GG assents to legislation allowing for decriminalisation of marijuana

    Political parties gave it bi-partisan support
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Saturday, November 4, 2017

    One week after the Belize Senate gave the green light to the passage of legislation decriminalising 10 grams or less of marijuana, Governor General Sir Colville Young has assented to the bill. The Dean Barrow government had successfully piloted the amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act that also provides for monetary and non-recordable penalties for possession on school premises and in specified circumstances make smoking on private premises no longer an offence. Despite opposition from the churches, legislators voted in favour of the measures but Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte is warning that it is still very much a crime to grow and retail marijuana. (See also: The politics and business of marijuana)

  • Canada government facing resistance from Senate over pot law

    Conservative senators will meet to discuss strategy about delaying the bill if necessary
    Reuters (UK)
    Friday, November 3, 2017

    The Canadian government’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana by next July could be in jeopardy, with opposition brewing among some in the Senate and concerns that the deadline to pass the bill is rapidly approaching. The Senate’s approval is needed to pass laws though it does not often block bills passed by the elected House of Commons. Some senators say police need more time to prepare and also oppose setting the federal age of legal use at 18. The legislation is not expected to reach the upper house until December and some senators have said they will take as long as they need to review it.

  • Guyana to host consultations on marijuana use

    Many Caribbean countries' legislations do not currently allow for full legislation under international law and national approaches to addressing this issue have resulted in various positions
    Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
    Friday, November 3, 2017

    mc logoGuyana will host a consultation on the use of marijuana as part of the efforts by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments to conduct in-depth research so as to inform decision making on the issue. The Regional Commission on Marijuana, established by CARICOM, will meet with various stakeholders including youth and faith-based organisations. The region-wide consultations are intended to obtain information on the social, economic, health and legal issues related to marijuana use in the Caribbean. “Such information would, among other outcomes, determine whether there should be a change in the current drug classification, modelled after the UN Conventions for which many, if not all, CARICOM members are party to,” the CARICOM Secretariat said.

  • Legalized marijuana presents opportunity of a lifetime for Canadian entrepreneurs

    Canada is creating a $23 billion business opportunity. And that's just the beginning
    CBC (Canada)
    Friday, November 3, 2017

    The modern-day prospectors in Canada's new cannabis market are working hard and cutting deals as the final eight months tick down to the day when recreational marijuana is fully legalized. Like the gold miners who trekked to the Yukon 120 years ago, today's fortune hunters are forging into the unknown. Some will get rich, some won't make it, and a few will leave their mark for generations. The motherlode is an industry valued at $23 billion, according to research from accounting firm Deloitte. That includes growing and retail sales, transportation, security, edibles, taxes, and tourism.

  • For want of other options, charas sustains this village in Kullu

    Police and other agencies regularly conduct drives to destroy crops, with the latest drive held last month
    The Indian Express (India)
    Tuesday, October 31, 2017

    From children as young as five to those in their sixties, Malana’s villagers are busy doing what they always do this time of the year: extracting charas from the seeds of cannabis plants they bring from Parvati Valley and adjoining areas. September and October are the peak season for the crop. Official sources estimate that in the entire Kullu valley, about 4,000 acres is under cannabis cultivation. “There has been no official survey; these conservative estimates are based on inputs gathered from intelligence and local people,” said a government official. (See also: HP govt to encourage people to stop sowing cannabis, poppy | Odisha second in country to destroy cannabis cultivation)

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