• Lifting ban on cocaine plant can help millions of lives, MPs told

    Coca can treat muscle pain and could provide income for impoverished farmers, says study
    The Independent (UK)
    Monday, October 7, 2013

    LAPAZ_AFPGETTYAn independent report, Coca leaf: A Political Dilemma?, commissioned by the influential All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform has urged that coca’s illegal status be reviewed and research conducted into the possible legal uses of the leaf which, it is claimed, could benefit the lives of millions of the world’s poorest people.

  • Cabinet to consider changes to ganja laws

    The Cabinet should be asked to consider changes to the laws governing the use of ganja before year end
    The Gleaner (Jamaica)
    Monday, October 7, 2013

    mark-goldingJustice Minister Mark Golding says international events and changes in the United States - the chief opponent of Jamaica's decriminalisation efforts over the years - make this the right time for lawmakers to consider changes. He said the recommendations which Cabinet will be asked to consider are standing on the shoulders of the recommendations of the National Commission on Ganja, chaired by the late Professor Barry Chevannes more than a decade ago.

  • La seconde vie du kif marocain

    Le Maroc s’apprêterait à légaliser la culture du cannabis pour en limiter le trafic et explorer les filières médicinales et industrielles
    El Watan
    Vendredi 4 octobre 2013

    Le Parlement à Rabat étude une proposition de loi légalisant la culture du cannabis. Proposition de loi portée par le Parti authenticité et modernité (PAM, proche du Palais royal) et la Coalition marocaine pour l’utilisation du cannabis à des fins médicinales et industrielles. Le texte en question propose entre autres la dépénalisation de la détention, de la production et du façonnement du cannabis pour usage médical. Selon l’hebdomadaire La Vie économique, même les islamistes du PJD (au pouvoir) ont été approché et auraient accueilli favorablement ce projet inédit. Le débat n’est pas nouveau au Maroc.

  • Decision yet to be reached on making 'kratom' legal

    The Nation (Thailand)
    Friday, October 4, 2013

    kratom-bustPublic Health Minister Pradit Sintavanarong confirmed yesterday that the narcotics control committee under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has still not reached a decision on whether to remove kratom from the prohibited narcotics list. It could take another two months for the sub-panel, assigned to gather information on the tropical evergreen, to reach its conclusions. (See also: Justice favours legalising krathom and Kratom in Thailand)

  • Rio police charged over torture and death of missing favela man

    Amarildo de Souza's disappearance sparked protests against the 'pacification' programme to clean up favelas before World Cup
    The Guardian (UK)
    Thursday, October 3, 2013

    Ten police in Rio de Janeiro have been charged with the torture and killing of a resident of the city's biggest favela in a case that has highlighted anger about extrajudicial killings. For more than two months, Amarildo de Souza was simply classified as "missing", but the suspicious circumstances of his disappearance and the notorious record of Rio's police sparked demonstrations that forced the authorities to respond.

  • A legal high is a cheaper high

    Study shows Israel could lower the cost of marijuana by 40% and swell its coffers by over NIS 1 billion if it legalizes the drug
    The Times of Israel (Israel)
    Wednesday, October 2, 2013

    pro-legalization-israelA study by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies showed that if marijuana were legalized and taxed at a similar rate to cigarettes, it would yield about NIS 950 million (268 million USD) in taxes, while it could save the state the NIS 700 million (198 million USD) on enforcement every year. In a public opinion survey on marijuana legalization whose results are analyzed in the paper, only 26% of Israelis support legalization, while 64% opposes it. A large majority (75%) believe marijuana has legitimate medical uses.

  • War on illegal drugs failing, medical researchers warn

    Illegal drugs are now cheaper and purer globally than at any time over the last 20 years, a report has warned
    BBC News (UK)
    Tuesday, October 1, 2013

    drugwar-mexicoThe global “war on drugs” has been such a failure that illegal substances are now cheaper and purer than at any period over the past two decades, warns a new report by the Vancouver-based International Centre for Science in Drug Policy. Data from seven international government-funded drug surveillance systems show that drug use should be considered a public health rather than a criminal justice issue.

  • Medical marijuana licences no longer a home-grown option

    Suppliers will have to be approved and licensed by federal government
    CBC News (Canada)
    Tuesday, October 1, 2013

    med-marijuana-grower-canadaStarting next year, thousands of medical marijuana users will have to dig up their gardens and start buying only from suppliers approved and licensed by Ottawa. Health Canada announced the changes in June. Starting Oct. 1, licences will no longer be issued to people who wish to grow their own medical marijuana. As of April 2014, the practice will be outlawed. Anyone using medical marijuana will need to get it from a licensed medical supplier. (See also: Conservative government launching billion-dollar free market)

  • Lebanon: Greener grass

    Villages in the Bekaa valley cling to cannabis cultivation as their only means of survival
    Caravan (India)
    Tuesday, October 1, 2013

    Cannabis cultivation in Lebanon, which dates back centuries, became organised during French rule in the early 20th century, but it was in the lawless years of the Lebanese Civil War, between 1975 and 1990, that production really took off. After the end of the war, in 1990, the Lebanese government, the international community and Syria — then in de facto control of Lebanon’s politics — negotiated a complete annihilation of Lebanon’s cannabis fields. International aid programs were introduced to replace the plants with crops like beets or sunflowers. Initially, the campaign was successful at eradicating illegal crops, but as international donor money supporting crop replacement fell short of expectations, fields were soon awash with the tall, green plants again.

  • Mixed feelings over new Swiss cannabis law

    Up to 500,000 people in Switzerland are believed to be occasional cannabis smokers
    Swissinfo (Switzerland)
    Monday, September 30, 2013

    From October 1, 2013, an adult caught smoking cannabis in Switzerland can escape formal legal proceedings by paying a fine. Anyone over 18 caught in possession of up to ten grams of cannabis will receive a CHF100 ($110) fine and not have it put on their criminal record. Supporters of the revision, which was approved by parliament a year ago, argue that liberalising the legislation and shifting from criminal offence to misdemeanour is a realistic approach. (Loi fédérale sur les stupéfiants et les substances psychotropes)

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