• Silicon Valley meets Bob Marley

    The rise of cannabis capitalism
    The Economist (UK)
    Saturday, July 4, 2015

    us-legal-cannabis-salesMen in suits swarmed everywhere, but no spliff or bong could be seen. Any doubts that the legal marijuana (or cannabis) industry is now a serious business soon disappeared after a few hours at the Arcview Investor Network forum in Denver on June 26th. PhDs and Harvard MBAs networked with investment bankers and hedge-fund managers to raise money for businesses covering every aspect of marijuana commerce, from consumer guides to insurance.

  • Colombia says rise in coca cultivation shows why it was right to stop spraying

    UN study finds area under crop rose 44% in 2014 during herbicide programme
    The Guardian (UK)
    Thursday, July 2, 2015

    fumigationcolombiaA new UN study showing a steep rise in the cultivation of the leaf used to make cocaine offers fresh support to Colombia’s recent decision to end the aerial spraying of drug crops with herbicides. Justice minister, Yesid Reyes, said the report showed that the aerial aspersion strategy was ineffective. After spraying 1.5m hectares in the past 12 years, the total reduction of coca crops was just 12,000 hectares, Reyes said. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, he added: “Insanity is to continue doing the same thing and expect different results.”

  • It's official: Marijuana is medicine

    Most major news media outlets, however, have spun the JAMA papers negatively
    East Bay Express (US)
    Wednesday, July 1, 2015

    medical-useThe nation's top medical organization released a major series of papers on medical cannabis last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in a move that constitutes a small step for the AMA, but a giant leap in cannabis medical history. In five key papers, teams of researchers systematically reviewed dozens of clinical studies of marijuana, speaking in clear language that the "use of marijuana for chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and spasticity due to multiple sclerosis is supported by high-quality evidence."

  • No to the cultivation of cannabis in Morocco: Interior Minister

    Authorities in the region will ensure the law concerning the cultivation of kif is properly enforced
    Morocco World News (Morocco)
    Wednesday, July 1, 2015

    The Moroccan Minister of Interior, Mohamed Hassad said that the Moroccan government will not authorize the cultivation of cannabis in the country. "The cultivation of kif and its commercialization are and will remain illegal," he said, when a representative from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) called for the legalization of kif cultivation. The representative said that cultivating kif will compensate for the lack of government investment in northern Morocco. (See also: Légalisation du kif : Le ministre de l’Intérieur s’oppose à la requête du PAM)

  • Vancouver’s pot bylaw ignores major concerns

    There is no legal supply for any of the 100 or so shops in the city — none
    The Vancouver Sun (Canada)
    Monday, June 29, 2015

    Vancouver City Council and the police department have clouded the national debate on cannabis with their approach to pot and are pumping money into the pockets of organized crime. Every intelligent person who has studied marijuana and the laws that criminalize it has concluded the century-old prohibition should end and the easily cultivated weed more appropriately regulated to help the sick and stop the imprisonment of our kids. (See also: For-profit pot shops look to skirt Vancouver’s new rules)

  • So you want to legalize weed?

    The ten P's of cannabis regulation
    Newsweek (US)
    Sunday, June 28, 2015

    Up and down the Western Hemisphere, marijuana policy is a growing topic of discussion, and laws are starting to change. In 2014, retail marijuana stores opened in the states of Colorado and Washington, where anyone over 21 years old can purchase a wide variety of marijuana products. Similar stores are expected to open in Oregon and Alaska in the upcoming year. While marijuana remains illegal under U.S. federal law, the Obama administration has decided not to block these efforts. Uruguay became the first country in the world to remove its prohibition on marijuana in late 2013.

  • Using pot to be legal in Oregon — but not selling it

    It will be legal for Oregon residents to own up to eight ounces of marijuana; however, they won’t have a legal way to buy it
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Sunday, June 28, 2015

    Pot stashes in Oregon are legal — up to 8 ounces. So is the homegrown, up to four plants a household. The legalization of recreational marijuana July 1 makes the state the fourth to do so, following Colorado, Washington and Alaska. Washington, D.C., also allows possession of personal amounts, though not sales. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is writing rules for growing and selling legal pot and planning to accept applications from prospective farmers January 1, 2016. Retail sales could start about harvest time next fall. See also: Oregon becomes fourth US state to legalize recreational marijuana)

  • How Britain's khat ban devastated an entire Kenyan town

    Mild stimulant used to be Maua’s most valuable export, bringing prosperity to all involved
    The Guardian (UK)
    Friday, June 26, 2015

    For more than two decades, Maua enjoyed booming business propelled by the growth and sale of khat, known locally as miraa, a popular herb whose leaves and stems are chewed for the mild high they offer. But last year the UK, home to one of khat’s biggest markets, declared the stimulant a class C drug and banned all imports, prompting Maua’s rapid descent into economic purgatory.

  • Kreuzberg will kontrollierten Cannabishandel erlauben

    Für Herrmann liegen die Erfolgsaussichten bei 50:50
    Die Welt (Germany)
    Freitag, 26. Juni 2015

    Der Berliner Bezirk Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg will Cannabis legal verkaufen lassen und hat dafür einen Antrag gestellt. Es ist der erste dieser Art einer Kommune. Bezirksbürgermeisterin Monika Herrmann (Grüne) unterschrieb das 25 Seiten umfassende Papier und schickte es an das zuständige Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM) in Bonn. In vier Verkaufsstellen sollen die Cannabis-Produkte staatlich kontrolliert registrierten Konsumenten aus dem Bezirk verkauft werden. (Mehr dazu: Kiffer brauchen Ausweis und Konsumtagebuch | Vorbild Friedrichshain: Bremen folgt Berlin)

  • Vancouver to weed out illegal marijuana dispensaries

    All eyes on the city as council makes ‘historic’ move toward regulation of at least 100 ‘medical marijuana’ shops
    The Vancouver Sun (Canada)
    Thursday, June 25, 2015

    Vancouver changed the landscape of Canada’s cannabis culture, becoming the first city in Canada to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries. The action, which will see a two-tiered licensing system aimed at weeding out for-profit dispensaries in favour of non-profit compassion clubs, comes as the federal government continues to reject calls to loosen its drug policies. Dispensary owners have 60 days to apply for a licence and will have to qualify under tight criteria, including criminal records checks and limits on where their shops can be located. (See also: Grey area leads to green rush)

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