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France to decriminalise cannabis possession within months, interior minister says
The current laws primarily target people from poor areas and immigrant communities, and this would likely continue despite the change
Talking Drugs (UK)
Thursday, May 25, 2017
France’s newly-appointed Minister of the Interior, Gérard Collomb, has said that personal cannabis possession may no longer be prosecuted from as soon as September, although this change may be accompanied by unprecedented strict rules on people with convictions for selling drugs. Collomb said that new rules are set to be implemented under which someone found in possession of cannabis will be given a ticket and required to pay a fine, instead of being prosecuted or imprisoned. The plans, which he revealed during an interview with French news channel BFMTV on 24 May, could be in place "within three to four months". (See also: France to scrap prison terms for cannabis users | Contraventionnalisation du cannabis en France: Décryptage) -
Proportion of UK drug users using dark net to buy drugs 'doubles in three years'
'We're talking about 15-year-olds getting hold of LSD. It's a complete disaster'
The Independent (UK)
Thursday, May 25, 2017
There has been a huge rise in the number of UK drug users using the dark internet to buy illegal substances, a new survey has revealed. The Global Drug Survey found more users are buying their drugs on the dark net in the UK than almost anywhere else in the world. The mass of hidden web pages allows users to connect with online drug dealers while hiding their computer IP addresses to avoid being traced. Purchases are made using the virtual currency Bitcoin, which allows customers and sellers to remain anonymous. Younger drug users and those without a job or a university degree, were statistically more likely to use secret online websites to buy their drugs. (See also: From Dealer to Doorstep – How Drugs Are Sold On the Dark Net) -
Tufton appeals to WHO for more leadership on ganja
Tufton tendered his position while addressing the 70th World Health Assembly in Geneva
Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Minister of Health, Christopher Tufton has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to remove cannabis from its current classification as a Schedule 1 Drug (illegal drug) deemed to have no medicinal benefits to a schedule that reflects its important potential for medicinal use.“Removing cannabis from its current classification is an important step in facilitating efforts by countries like Jamaica to promote its medicinal uses while maintaining a sound public health approach,” the minister said. Tufton's recommendations comes amidst WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence ongoing review of the medicinal value of cannabis. -
Canada eases steps to open supervised drug injection sites amid opioid crisis
New legislation streamlines the more than two dozen requirements previously needed to launch facilities, which offer supervision and sterile equipment
The Guardian (UK)
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Canada’s government has made it easier to open supervised drug injection sites across the country, offering communities a lifeline as they battle an opioid crisis that has claimed thousands of lives in recent years. New legislation passed this week streamlines the more than two dozen requirements previously needed to launch these facilities, which offer a medically supervised space and sterile equipment for people who use drugs intravenously. “Solid evidence shows that, when properly set up and maintained, supervised consumption sites save lives, and they do it without increasing drug use or crime in the neighbourhood,” Jane Philpott, Canada’s health minister, told parliament this week. -
The expanding universe of synthetic drugs
From “legal highs” to fentanyl, there are more drugs on offer than ever before
The Economist (UK)
Saturday, May 20, 2017
The 20th century saw new drugs created from scratch: amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and more. It also saw a far more spirited, if often fruitless, policing of the line between drugs-as-medicine and drugs-of-choice — a line that was in many cases drawn according to the sort of people who chose to use the drug, rather than any essential danger it posed. These prohibitions rarely improved public health or public order; but they did encourage some of those who served the markets on the wrong side of the line to investigate the potential of molecules similar to those in existing drugs but not yet subject to any sanction. -
Police time and money go to pot
In the year 2014-2015, a whopping R3.5-billion was spent on dagga criminalisation
Mail & Guardian (South Africa)
Friday, May 19, 2017
In 2015-2016, 259 165 people were arrested for drug-related crimes, according to the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) crime statistics. The police do not release the breakdown of their arrests according to drug type. The police did reveal in their 2015-2016 annual crime report that, nationally, possession of cannabis made up for a staggering 65% of all drug-related crimes recorded by police. This statistic has not changed much since 2006-2007. That report provides another interesting statistic. The police confiscated 362 099kg of dagga. All other drugs – cocaine, heroin and crystal meth – amounted to 1 370kg. -
Federal bills from Colorado legislators seek to shield state marijuana laws, open banking
Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner seek more accessible financial services for cannabis businesses
The Cannabist (US)
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Colorado federal lawmakers amplified efforts to protect state-enacted marijuana laws and cannabis businesses supporting banking legislation for the marijuana industry. Reps. Diana DeGette and Mike Coffman introduced the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2017, which would add a provision to the Controlled Substances Act that would prevent federal preemption of state law. Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner, announced their sponsorship of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2017, the Senate companion bill to legislation introduced a few weeks back by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colorado. -
California takes right steps in crafting state’s marijuana regulations
Adult-use marijuana, like medical marijuana, is now legal in the state of California
The Sacramento Bee (US)
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
When Proposition 64 passed last November by the largest margin of any marijuana legalization ballot measure in history, it represented a resounding message from more than 8 million California voters to federal, state and local policymakers. With the input of hundreds of respected state and local organizations, including local government and law enforcement, Proposition 64 was carefully and specifically drafted to safeguard public safety, public health and the environment, preserve local control, curb market monopolies and, above all else, protect our children. -
Is Colombia sacrificing coca farmers' trust for US Aid dollars?
The priority placed by Colombia's government on reaching eradication goals has put enormous pressure on security forces destroy as much coca as possible
InSight Crime
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Colombia's defense minister divulged new coca eradication figures ahead of a meeting between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his US counterpart Donald Trump, a sign of commitment to US policy preferences that may come at the expense of harming trust between Colombia's government and important segments of its own population. With regard to the upcoming meeting, Villegas praised the fact that the US Congress recently approved a $450 million aid package known as "Peace Colombia," which is aimed at supporting the country's peace agreement with the FARC. -
Why are abuse claims in Cambodia’s war on drugs being ignored?
Hun Sen’s campaign may not feature the violence of Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown in the Philippines, but advocates still warn of ‘gradual but deadly’ rights abuses
South China Morning Post (Hongkong)
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
On New Year’s Day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a six-month crackdown on the drug scourge that he said had become an increasing grievance for the country’s people. His announcement came shortly after a state visit by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who in 2016 launched a violent anti-drugs campaign in his own country that went on to kill 7,000 people in seven months. Given that Duterte’s crackdown was suspended after rogue police officers kidnapped and killed a South Korean businessman, it is perhaps not surprising that Hun Sen, after the first spike in detentions in February, rushed to assure Cambodians that his campaign would not be bloody.
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