• Dry spell: Hashish prices skyrocket, users fret amid shortage

    The notion of a "dry" Egypt is so unfathomable that even following mainstream reports of the crackdown, many are still seeking an explanation for the hash shortage
    Egypt Independent (Egypt)
    Thursday, April 1, 2010

    egypt-hashFor the past two months local drug consumers in Egypt – which the most conservative estimates place at around 7 million – have been in the throes of what has become the talk of the town: the ongoing hashish shortage and its resultant price hikes. The majority of Egypt's hashish is imported from Morocco, while a smaller percentage is brought from Lebanon. Many have now turned to illicit pharmaceuticals, such as opiate-based analgesics like Tramadol, Altadol (street name: strawberries) and Epidural, the prices of which have marginally increased recently.

  • Coffee shop owner sentenced for running criminal organisation

    NRC Handelsblad (The Netherlands)
    Thursday, March 25, 2010

    The owner of the Netherlands' largest cannabis-selling coffee shop was convicted for running a criminal organisation that purchased large quantities of drugs and processed and stored them. Meddy Willemsen, of the Checkpoint coffee shop in the southern border town Terneuzen, was given a 10 milion euro fine.The Middelburg district court ruled the cafe regularly had more than the legal limit of 500 grammes of cannabis on its premises. (See also: Coffee shop trial is test for Dutch drugs policy | Owner of massive cannabis café cleared of most charges on appeal)

  • Jury still out on government’s hash crackdown

    Politicians generally agree that the past years’ police raids on Christiania’s hash trade have been unsuccessful, but they differ on forwarding a viable solution
    The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
    Thursday, March 18, 2010

    It was exactly six years ago this week that police conducted their first full-scale raid on Pusher Street, the famed road in the city’s Christiania area where people could openly buy hashish. The raids were the result of the Liberal-Conservative government’s decision to crack down hard on the area’s hash trade. But today, both police and politicians admit that the trade still thrives on the street, if in a somewhat more discreet fashion.

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  • Mephedrone: the class D solution

    The urge to criminalise 'legal highs' is understandable – but could lead to even more dangerous experimentation
    David Nutt
    The Guardian online (UK)
    Wednesday, March 17 , 2010

    The deaths of two young men in Scunthorpe last Monday that have been linked to the new "legal high" mephedrone (colloquially known as plant food, meow meow, m-cat, or bubbles) has raised a great deal of public concern and loud calls for it to be made illegal. I support the government's position that to rush into controlling mephedrone is premature, as previous claims of fatalities from this drug have turned out to be false alarms. To make it illegal without proper evidence of harm would be wrong and might have unwanted consequences, such as a switch to more dangerous drugs or alcohol.

  • US waves white flag in disastrous 'war on drugs'

    After 40 years, Washington is quietly giving up on a futile battle that has spread corruption and destroyed thousands of lives
    Hugh O'Shaughnessy
    The Independent (UK)
    Sunday, January 17, 2010

    dealingAfter 40 years of defeat and failure, America's "war on drugs" is being buried in the same fashion as it was born – amid bloodshed, confusion, corruption and scandal. US agents are being pulled from South America; Washington is putting its narcotics policy under review, and a newly confident region is no longer prepared to swallow its fatal Prohibition error. Indeed, after the expenditure of billions of dollars and the violent deaths of tens of thousands of people, a suitable epitaph for America's longest "war" may well be the plan, in Bolivia, for every family to be given the right to grow coca in its own backyard.

  • MP: Approval for city ‘coffee shop’ plan unlikely

    Justice Minister to consider proposal to set up state-sanctioned cannabis stores in Copenhagen
    The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
    Friday, January 15, 2010

    The Copenhagen City Council’s plan to set up shops selling cannabis as a way to remove the market from the control of gangs is not likely to be embraced enthusiastically in parliament, according to a Conservative Party politician. A broad majority of council members have voted for a proposal to run a three-year trial in which stores staffed by healthcare professionals would sell cannabis in small quantities at about 50 kroner per gram – similar to the current street price. Only city residents would be able to buy the cannabis thus preventing Amsterdam-style ‘marijuana tourism’.

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  • New drug guidelines are Europe's most liberal

    Czech rules on narcotics possession designed to aid law enforcement
    The Prague Post (Czech Republic)
    Wednesday, December 23, 2009

    pargue-marijuana-marchLong known for a liberal policy on drugs, the Czech Republic is now officially quantifying its status as one of European Union's most lenient member states when it comes to decriminalizing drug possession. But these new guidelines come among signs that the rest of Czech drug policy is not keeping pace with other EU members and contradicts law enforcement tactics being utilized to tackle alcohol abuse.

  • Council may enter drug trade

    City supports draft model to offer small quantities of cannabis to residents at current street prices
    The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
    Thursday, September 24, 2009

    hash-smokingA City Council majority is backing a plan to legalise the sale of cannabis, which could see two thirds of the market taken away from criminal gangs. A memorandum drawn up by council staff, is proposing that state-licensed shops sell the drug in small quantities at 50 kroner per gram – similar to the current street price.

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  • Marijuana's journey to legal health treatment

    The Canadian experience
    CBC News (Canada)
    Monday, August 17, 2009

    med-marijuana-health-canadaIn 2001, Canada became the first country to adopt a formal system to regulate the medicinal use of marijuana — the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations. The policy allowed people suffering from terminal illnesses or severe conditions such as epilepsy, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and cancer to use the drug if it eased their symptoms. Some people would be able to grow marijuana themselves under strict guidelines.

  • Too many in jail for drugs offenses in Brazil

    Marina Lemle
    Comunidad segura
    August 13, 2009

    The Ministry of Justice in Brazil announced the results of research that show that there are too many people behind bars in Brazil for drug trafficking. The Ministry subsequently recommended a review of drug legislation in light of the data and in support of human rights, seems to indicate that things are changing, or at least that change is in the air for drug policy in the nation. The study was a joint project of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, and the University of Brasília UnB, coordinated by Luciana Boiteux.

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