• Could medical cannabis break the painkiller epidemic?

    A body of research suggests yes, but scientists are having to fight red tape to study whether medical marijuana could substitute for opioid drugs
    Scientific American (US)
    Thursday, September 1, 2016

    The U.S. “is in the midst of an unprecedented opioid epidemic,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Prescription opioid overdoses killed more than 165,000 Americans between 1999 and 2014, and the health and social costs of abusing such drugs are estimated to be as much as $55 billion a year. The problem has led experts to scramble for a less dangerous alternative for pain relief—and some research points to medical marijuana. Animal studies have shown that cannabinoid chemical compounds found in marijuana can work synergistically with opioids to mitigate pain.

  • DEA’s sudden 'herbal heroin' ban triggers stiff resistance from kratom community

    An association whose leadership includes Nancy Pelosi’s son plans a lawsuit, lobbying and a march on Washington
    US News and World Report (US)
    Thursday, September 1, 2016

    kratomAn increasingly popular plant product called "herbal heroin" by detractors is about to become illegal in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would make kratom a Schedule I substance after a 30-day waiting period, where it would remain for two or three years under an emergency scheduling order that ultimately could become permanent. The American Kratom Association is fundraising to hire lawyers to fight the ban in court and to secure lobbyists and a public relations firm. (See also: Individuals in the US increasingly use kratom for self-management of pain and opioid withdrawal)

  • Section 44 to ease ya ba ban

    Paiboon says social problems will lessen
    The Bangkok Post (Thailand)
    Tuesday, August 30, 2016

    paiboonThe Justice Ministry will seek the use of Section 44 under the interim charter to remove methamphetamine, or ya ba, from the dangerous narcotics list to allow health authorities to make medical use of the substance. Speaking at a meeting on drugs control, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said that though a bill is being reviewed to reform the law on drugs, which could allow the controlled use of methamphetamine, he can speed things up under the powerful Section 44. Gen Paiboon said the bill will seek to distinguish drug abusers from drug traffickers. (See also: Downgrading ‘yaba’ does not make it legal, says Paiboon)

  • Legal minds demand new drugs policy respectful of human rights

    More than 550 Argentine magistrates, judges and lawyers will call for wholesale reforms based on human rights
    Buenos Aires Herald (Argentina)
    Monday, August 29, 2016

    despanalizacion-marchaIntroducing a declaration endorsed by 250 magistrates and 300 legal experts, an Argentine civil society organization dealing with criminal law (Asociación Pensamiento Penal) asks for a modification to the national drugs law 23.737, which still allows for the criminalization of possession for personal consumption. The new push coincides with the 30-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark "Bazterrica" ruling. They call on the government are seeking a fresh approach, which includes decriminalization, the end of forced anti-drug treatment and the creation of policies focused on harm reduction.

  • Ten years of drug policy failure in Brazil

    Under the 2006 law many users have simply been prosecuted as traffickers
    Human Rights Watch (US)
    Sunday, August 28, 2016

    brazil-prisonTen years ago this week, Brazil passed a law intended to distinguish dangerous drug traffickers from simple drug users. By replacing jail sentences for users of any illegal drug with penalties such as community service, and increasing penalties for drug trafficking, the new law aimed to reduce the number of people detained for drug possession and weaken criminal organizations that smuggle and sell drugs. None of that happened. In 2005, 9 percent of those in prison were detained on drug charges -- now it’s 28 percent, and among women, 64 percent.

  • Will Myanmar’s economy ever kick its opium habit?

    Poppy fields are here to stay; "if we don’t grow it, we don’t eat", say its impoverished farmers
    South China Morning Post (China)
    Saturday, August 27, 2016

    A recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates Myanmar had 55,000 hectares of poppies under cultivation in 2015, most of it in Shan State. Some say that is a conservative estimate and place the figure at closer to 160,000 hectares. "Most farmers grow it because of poverty," says Tom Kramer, a researcher for the Netherlands’ Transnational Institute who has been visiting Myanmar regularly since 1993. "They grow poppy as a cash crop to address food shortages and to access health and education." (See also: Bouncing Back - Relapse in the Golden Triangle)

  • Sweden moves to battle high rate of drug deaths

    Sweden has among the highest number of drug-related deaths in the EU despite its zero-tolerance policy
    The Local (Sweden)
    Friday, August 26, 2016

    sweden-needlesSweden reported 92.9 deaths linked to narcotics use per million of adults in 2014, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) – more than four times the European average of 19.2 deaths per million. The drug-induced mortality rate has also soared from a domestic perspective in the past two decades, from 70 cases in 1995 to 609 in 2014. The centre-left government has now tasked the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) to investigate the reasons. The country's tough 'zero tolerance' policy may be pushing up the number of drug-related deaths.

  • Seattle’s potential solution for heroin epidemic: Places for legal drug use

    Similar facilities have operated for at least a decade in Australia, the Netherlands and Canada
    The New York Times (US)
    Thursday, August 25, 2016

    heroin_syringeA task force established to combat a heroin epidemic in the Seattle metropolitan area has endorsed a strategy of establishing places where addicts would be allowed to take drugs without fear of being arrested. At these sites, called safe consumption facilities, addicts would receive clean needles and syringes and would be permitted to inject heroin, smoke crack cocaine and take other addictive drugs under the supervision of trained authorities. (See also: Seattle could open housing for homeless where it’s OK to use heroin)

  • Denmark takes small step towards medicinal cannabis

    Most politicians are positively inclined to holding the trial
    The Local (Denmark)
    Tuesday, August 24, 2016

    denmark-cannabisThe Region of Southern Denmark agreed to move forward on a plan that could see the region become the first in the nation to prescribe cannabis for medicinal use. Despite ongoing debates about legalizing cannabis use – and Danes’ overwhelming support of legalizing it for medicinal use – Denmark has historically taken an official hard-line stance on cannabis for both recreational and medicinal use. Parliament is currently considering loosening the national laws on medicinal cannabis. (See also: Danish politicians positive over medicinal cannabis trial)

  • Weed is effectively legal in the UK

    The law needs to catch up
    Vice (UK)
    Monday, August 23, 2016

    Arrests for cannabis possession in England and Wales have fallen by 46 percent since 2010. Cautions have dropped by 48 percent and charges by 33 percent. Durham's police chief said cannabis growers will only be targeted if they're growing commercially, and that users wouldn't be targeted unless they smoke it in a "blatant" way. Sara Thornton, Leader of the National Police Chiefs Council, said policing weed has "never been a top priority", and that police are more likely to simply "record" reports of small-scale cannabis farms, rather than investigating them. Only one in four people caught with weed are actually charged, and 40 percent are let off with a caution.

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