• WMA warns against making essential anaesthetic a controlled drug

    Scheduling ketamine would restrict its availability worldwide, which would lead to harmful impact on animal health and welfare, as well on public health
    WMA press release
    Friday, March 6, 2015

    The World Medical Association is urging its 111 member associations to lobby their governments to oppose scheduling the anaesthetic agent Ketamine as a controlled drug. The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs is due to vote next Friday (March 13) on whether to schedule Ketamine because of concern about its use as an illicit recreational drug in many countries. But the WMA warns that if it is made a controlled drug, it would effectively prevent the drug’s use in many poor countries where it is the only alternative for short term pain relief in surgery.

  • Is it legal to get high on bhang in India?

    Growing marijuana is illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but harvesting the leaves that grow by themselves in the wild is allowed
    The Wall Street Journal (US)
    Friday, March, 6, 2015

    For centuries bhang – which is a paste created by grinding cannabis leaves – has been mixed in milk, laddoos or pakoras as a special treat with a kick for Holi, the Hindu festival of color and spring. Technically, the cultivation, sale, purchase, transportation and importation of cannabis is usually prohibited in India. Does that mean everyone participating in the bhang revelry on Holi is breaking the law? A close look at India’s federal drug law reveals the huge loopholes that will allow millions to get high on bhang.

  • Justizminister will Cannabisbesitz straffrei stellen

    Für den persönlichen Gebrauch soll man kleinere Mengen von Cannabis besitzen können, ohne dafür bestraft zu werden
    Die Presse (Österreich)
    Freitag, 6. März 2015

    Der Besitz von kleineren Mengen Cannabis soll straffrei werden in Österreich. Das Justizministerium von Wolfgang Brandstetter erklärte dass eine derartige Gesetzesänderung geplant ist. Auch der Erwerb beim Dealer würde laut Ministerium dann zum Eigengebrauch straffrei bleiben – für den Käufer. Sofern dieser mit den Gesundheitsbehörden kooperiert. Zuletzt liefen Gespräche über diese Novelle zwischen Brandstetter und SPÖ-Gesundheitsministerin Sabine Oberhauser. Der Besitz von Cannabis ist momentan strafbar. (Google translate: Austria: Justice minister wants to decriminalize cannabis possession)

  • In Germany, it's a painstaking path to medical marijuana

    As with any other medication, the prescription of cannabis can only be authorized after a usage-risk assessment has been done
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Thursday, March 5, 2015

    Only few Germans are allowed to smoke marijuana to relieve pain. But that all could change. The federal government wants to prevent citizens from being able to grow plants themselves, but it has indicated that it wants to make it easier for cannabis patients to receive their medication. Federal drug represenative Marlene M. announced last month that the government was considering a law that would allow such patients to have their medicine covered by health insurance.

  • Cannabis lovers greet Green legalization plan

    Possession of 30 grams of cannabis for personal use and the cultivation of three cannabis plants would be allowed
    The Local (Germany)
    Wednesday, March 4, 2015

    German pro-legalization campaigners welcomed a draft law presented by the Green party that would allow adults to consume cannabis under strict conditions. The Greens reckon that a tax of €6-7 per gram of cannabis could also bring in €1-2 billion per year to state coffers, based on current average street prices of €10-12 per gram. They hope that their plan will massively reduce the burden on the police and judiciary. (Die Welt: Grüne wollen jedem drei Cannabis-Pflanzen gönnen | Der Spiegel: Cannabis-Gesetz der Grünen: Kiffen, aber richtig | SZ: Kiffen - bitte erst mit 18)

  • A majority favors marijuana legalization for first time

    According to nation’s most authoritative survey
    The Washington Post (US)
    Wednesday, march 4, 2015

    us-marijuana-poll-gssFor the first time, the General Social Survey – a large, national survey conducted every two years and widely considered to represent the gold standard for public opinion research – shows a majority of Americans favoring the legalization of marijuana. Fifty-two percent said pot should be legalized, 42 percent opposed it, and another 7 percent were undecided. Support is up 9 percentage points from 2012, the last time the survey was conducted. (See also: America’s new drug policy landscape)

  • UN special envoy: ‘The current international control system for drugs has failed’

    The endo-cannabinoid system refers to receptors in the human brain involved in body functions including appetite, pain, memory and mood
    The Raw Story / AFP
    Wednesday, March 4, 2015

    medical-cannabisMarijuana will become an unavoidable policy issue for health watchdogs in coming years. Growing scientific evidence about the medical benefits and a rollback of laws banning the drug mean that health agencies will have to make a determination on marijuana. “The WHO (World Health Organization) will probably have to come up with a new stance on cannabis soon, given the pressure it is facing,” Pavel Pachta, former deputy secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board, told the Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids conference in Prague.

  • D.C. pot advocates threaten public smoke-in to protest ban on pot clubs

    A loophole in a voter-approved ballot measure could allow clubs with membership fees
    The Washington Post (US)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    After just five days of pot being legal in the nation’s capital, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve new limits on marijuana use. The legislation introduced last week by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) prohibits smoking in bars, clubs and virtually anywhere else outside a private home that residents may gather to smoke the drug. Adam Eidinger, head of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign, warned that the restrictions rendered void an agreement that he had struck last year with Bowser to try to prevent public displays of marijuana smoking in D.C. that might provoke opponents in Congress.

  • UK should begin decriminalising drugs, say Richard Branson and Nick Clegg

    Virgin founder and deputy prime minister argue that ‘war on drugs’ has failed and urge UK to follow Portuguese example
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    Sir Richard Branson and Nick Clegg are urging the UK to begin decriminalising the use and possession of almost all drugs, following the example of Portugal. The Virgin founder and deputy prime minister argue in a Guardian article that the "war on drugs" has failed. "As an investment, the war on drugs has failed to deliver any returns," they write. "If it were a business, it would have been shut down a long time ago. This is not what success looks like." (See also: Knives out for Clegg as anti-drugs lobby targets Lib Dems)

  • UN drugs body warns US states and Uruguay over cannabis legalisation

    International Narcotics Control Board report says US and Uruguay are breaking drug treaties and warns of huge rise in abuse of ADHD treatment Ritalin
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    The United Nations has renewed its warnings to Uruguay and the US states of Colorado and Washington that their cannabis legalisation policies fail to comply with the international drug treaties. The annual report from the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board, which is responsible for policing the drug treaties, said it would send a high-level mission to Uruguay, which became the first country to legalise the production, distribution, sale and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes.

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