• Bid to overturn L.A. pot shop ban qualifies for ballot

    The city clerk says activists had turned in enough valid signatures needed to force a vote on a law that bars the sale of cannabis but allows groups of 3 or less to grow and share it
    Los Angeles Times (US)
    Tuesday, September 18, 2012

    Activists seeking to strike down a ban on medical marijuana outlets in Los Angeles saw their challenge qualify for the ballot, dealing a setback to the city's latest attempt at a crackdown. Backers of medical marijuana dispensaries needed 27,425 valid signatures to force a referendum on a law that prohibits the sale of cannabis but allows groups of three people or fewer to cultivate and share the drug. The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 in July to ban medical marijuana shops. Foes said the proliferation of dispensaries had gotten out of control.

  • Q&A: “Pacification of favelas not a real public policy yet”

    IPS
    Tuesday, September 18, 2012

    The "pacification" of the favelas in this Brazilian city, aimed at driving out armed groups and fighting drug trafficking, has not yet become a fully effective public policy, says Eliana Sousa Silva, who has lived in one of Rio’s shantytowns for nearly 30 years. The pacification process begins when elite military police battalions are sent in to crack down on drug trafficking gangs. Once the drug mafias have been run out of the favela, permanent "Police Pacification Units" (UPPs) are installed to carry out community policing.

  • Colorado marijuana legalization initiative leads in new poll

    The Denver Post (US)
    Saturday, September 15, 2012

    A majority of Colorado voters support a ballot measure to legalize limited possession of marijuana, according to a new Denver Post poll. The poll found that the measure, Amendment 64, has the support of 51 percent of likely voters surveyed, compared with 40 percent opposed. While several previous polls have found more support for Amendment 64 than opposition, the Post's survey is the first independent poll to find more than 50 percent support.

  • Can MDMA help to cure depression?

    It is thought to have 500,000 users in the UK, yet research into MDMA – the main ingredient in ecstasy – has been minimal
    The Guardian (UK)
    Saturday, September 15, 2012

    ecstasyThere is a real concern among many scientists that the government's classification of ecstasy as Class A overstates the danger it poses to society and inhibits important research that could help people suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Another area where MDMA could be useful is in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Scientists believe it could be successful at targeting the part of the brain that causes rumination and repetitive thinking about negative experiences.

  • Uruguay's Government Eyes Legalized Marijuana

    Bloomberg Businessweek (US)
    Thursday, September 13, 2012

    marijuana-dollarLeaders in Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American nations wracked by cartel violence are calling for a new approach in the U.S.-led war on drugs. Uruguay President Jose Mujica’s solution is to not just legalize pot but turn the state into the sole supplier of marijuana, replacing dealers who often engage in turf wars as they move $30 million to $40 million of the drug illegally each year, according to Uruguayan government estimates.

  • Cannabis trade 'explosion' causing surge in gun violence, police warn

    Merseyside police chief calls for tougher punishments as trade in drug found to be driving up gang-related violence
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, September 11, 2012

    cannabis-plantsPenalties for growing and selling cannabis must be toughened because a surge in the trade is driving up shootings and gang-related violence, a senior police officer has warned. According to Assistant Chief Constable Andy Ward of Merseyside police, an "explosion" in cannabis production has resulted in bitter struggles between rival gangs keen to exploit the ease by which cannabis can be manufactured and what they regard as easy money.

  • Children's Alliance backs pot measure on ballot

    Prominent organizations are taking sides on Initiative 502's potential impact on children
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Monday, September 10, 2012

    initiative-502As Washington weighs its first chance to legalize recreational marijuana, prominent groups are taking sides about the initiative's potential impact on children. Initiative 502 got an unexpected vote of confidence from the Children's Alliance, a Seattle-based advocacy group with more than 100 social-service agencies as members. The Alliance's board voted to endorse I-502 for a specific reason: Children in minority households pay "a terrible price" for racially biased enforcement of marijuana laws.

  • Drug use is an issue for society, not the criminal justice system

    Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet
    The Age (Australia)
    Monday, September 10, 2012

    There is no reliable evidence that tougher criminal sanctions deter drug use or offending. On the contrary, criminalisation worsens the health and wellbeing of drug users, increases risk behaviours, drives the spread of HIV, encourages other crime and discourages drug users from seeking treatment. A report by Australia21, Alternatives to Prohibition, subtitled Illicit drugs: how we can stop killing and criminalising young Australians, sets out the lessons learnt about the failed war on drugs from other countries, especially Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Portugal.

  • Mayor and police at odds over cannabis approach

    Frank Jensen argues for going a “new way” days after police make small-time busts at Christiania
    The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
    Monday, September 10, 2012

    hash2While Copenhagen's mayor, Frank Jensen, continues to be a vocal advocate for legalising cannabis in the city, arguing that a "paradigm shift" is in order, Copenhagen Police took a strikingly different approach Thursday. As part of the newly-announced 'Task Force Pusher Street', police arrested 28 individuals at Christiania. Jensen argued that the city "needs to go a new way". In an interview with Politiken newspaper on Sunday, the mayor said that the traditional police approach hasn’t worked before and is unlikely to work now.

  • Legal use of cannabis, ecstasy for over-15s backed by state medical body

    "It is really important that we ... don't allow ourselves to become close-minded about the best way to deal with drug problems in our society"
    The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
    Monday, September 10, 2012

    australia21-2landscapeA report by a group of prominent Australians that recommends Australia rethink its criminalisation of illicit drugs has been backed by the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association. The report recommended that cannabis and ecstasy be decriminalised for people aged 16 and older, who are willing to be recorded on a national confidential user's register. Users would be able to purchase drugs from an approved supplier, likely a chemist.

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