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Canadian province experiments with decriminalising hard drugs
Canada's province of British Columbia is starting a first-in-the-nation trial decriminalising small amounts of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin
BBC News (UK)
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Adults can possess up to 2.5g of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and morphine. Canada's federal government granted the request by the west coast province to try out the three-year decriminalization experiment. Ahead of the pilot's launch, British Columbia and federal officials outlined the rules under the federally approved exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. While those substances will remain illegal, adults found in possession of a combined total of less than 2.5g of the drugs will not be arrested, charged or have their substances seized. (See also: What you need to know about the decriminalization of possessing illicit drugs in B.C. | Decriminalization yet another 'half measure' as B.C. confronts full-sized drug crisis, advocates say) -
In the weeds: Germany's plan to legalise cannabis in 2024 likely delayed
Berlin unveiled its bold project to legalise cannabis in October 2022 but has yet to draft the law it then needs to present to the European Commission to launch talks
Euronews (Europe)
Friday, January 27, 2023
Germany's plans to legalise cannabis consumption in 2024 are looking increasingly unlikely as it has yet to submit its proposals to the European Commission, the health ministry confirmed to Euronews. The ministry said that its draft law for the legalisation of cannabis is “currently being drafted” within the federal government. “A large number of legal and operational questions concerning implementation need to be answered and coordinated between the ministries in charge” before it can be submitted to the European Commission, it added. Berlin unveiled its bold project to legalise cannabis in October 2022. Under the plan, German consumers would be allowed to buy up to 30 grammes of cannabis for private consumption with supplies cultivated and distributed through a controlled market. -
Cannabis 'Harm Reduction' clubs can apply to sell home-grown drug from February
Rules for clubs outlined during convention for cannabis regulation
Times of Malta (Malta)
Friday, January 27, 2023
Cannabis clubs - dubbed Cannabis Harm Reduction Associations - can apply to sell home-grown marijuana from next month but must abide by a list of regulations outlined on Friday. The associations are the only way to legally buy the drug, which was legalised in December 2021. They can apply for licensing from February 28 through a non-profit model set by the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC). They must be non-profit and can only sell their own product, meaning that only seeds can be imported from abroad. This means that cannabis legally sold in Malta must be grown in the country. (See also: Who came up with those new ‘cannabis rules’, anyway? Cheech and Chong?) -
New Yorker jailed during ‘war on drugs’ becomes cannabis pioneer
Roland Conner, 50, opens pop-up marijuana shop in Greenwich Village, only second legal dispensary in the state
The Guardian (UK)
Thursday, January 26, 2023
As a New York City teenager, 50-year old Roland Conner found himself harshly punished for minor offenses related to marijuana. A 1991 arrest resulted in a months-long incarceration, as America’s flawed “war on drugs” had an unfairly disproportionate impact on Black and brown youth. Since that period in his life, native New Yorker Conner has gone on to operate a property management business and manage a transitional housing facility in the Bronx borough. His next horizon? Operating one of New York state’s newly licensed dispensaries for recreational cannabis, at a store he’s calling Smacked! in the upscale Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. -
Legalising cocaine would stem drug violence, Belgian criminologist suggests
"The idea hatched 100 years ago to criminalise hard drugs does not work in the modern world"
The Brussels Times (Belgium)
Saturday, January 21, 2023
After an 11-year-old girl died recently due to a shooting incident in Merksem, politicians have stressed that tackling narco-terror is a top priority, without exception. Ministers and mayors have spoken about stronger controls and even deploying the army to tackle the growing crisis. Could the legalisation of cocaine be part of the solution to reduce drug violence in Belgium? Criminologist Tom Decorte from Ghent University thinks so. He has claimed that it is precisely the illegality of the drug business that creates the biggest economic incentive for criminals and by legalising and regulating it, violent competition could be reduced or even eradicated. (See also: Fines for using hard drugs could increase from €150 to €1,000 | Belgium in Brief: Carrots, sticks, and cocaine) -
Record 100 tonnes of cocaine seized in Port of Antwerp last year
Less cocaine seized in Rotterdam but more was found in Antwerp
The Brussels Times (Belgium)
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Last year, Belgian customs intercepted just under 110 tonnes of cocaine in the Port of Antwerp, a new record, as it marks the first time the 100-tonne mark has been passed. The port, together with the Dutch equivalent in Rotterdam, is preferred by international drug trafficking and related criminal organisations due to its central location in north-western Europe, as well as its long tradition with transport lines from South America. For international drug criminals, Antwerp and Rotterdam are two gateways to mainland Europe. However, in Rotterdam, the quantity of cocaine seized did decrease: from 70 tonnes in 2021 to around 50 tonnes in 2022. (See also: Young girl (11) dies in drug-related shooting in Antwerp | Less cocaine seized in Rotterdam but more was found in Antwerp)
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This guy plans to open a store that sells heroin, meth, and crack
Jerry Martin knows he’ll get arrested if he opens up a store in Vancouver that sells heroin, meth, MDMA, and more. “That’s the whole idea,” he said
Vice (UK)
Friday, January 6, 2023
A Vancouver man is planning to open what would be Canada’s first store that sells heroin, cocaine, meth, MDMA, and other drugs as a way to reduce the rising number of deaths stemming from the overdose crisis. Jerry Martin, 51, wants to open the brick-and-mortar shop by the end of January, when British Columbia’s new drug decriminalization policy kicks in. The pilot project, which will last three years, will mean it’s no longer illegal to possess up to 2.5 grams of opioids, crack and powder cocaine, meth, and MDMA. Selling those drugs will remain illegal. But Martin, a former cocaine user, believes providing drugs that have been tested for contaminants will save the lives of drug users. -
Illegal weed delivery start-up Dispenseroo sees meteoric growth in the UK
‘I just wanted a change of career – I’d never sold drugs ever in my life before this,’ says Dispenseroo founder
The Inependent (UK)
Thursday, January 5, 2023
An illegal cannabis delivery start-up in the UK is generating millions of pounds in revenue less than a year after it was created, according to its founder. Dispenseroo, which unlike other online drug markets operates on the open web, has attracted thousands of customers in recent months through guerilla advertising campaigns and word-of-mouth. The unorthodox approach of shunning the dark web means the site is easily found through popular search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, allowing it to grow tenfold in recent months. The founder, who goes by the name “S”, told The Independent that he had never sold drugs before starting Dispenseroo, and only created the service out of frustration with “archaic” cannabis laws in the UK. -
‘This is another revolution’: could legalisation of cannabis transform Mexico’s economy?
Despite frustrating legislative delays, farmers in Mexico are keen to start growing a crop that may be more profitable than rice, corn or sugar
The Guardian (UK)
Thursday, January 5, 2023
The pungent aroma of cannabis and the sound of dub music fill the air at a hacienda as about 150 smokers, users, growers, activists and business people gather for Mexico’s second annual Toquefest. In anticipation of the long-delayed legalisation of cannabis – after a number of supreme court decisions decreed the right to cultivate and deemed unconstitutional the ban on recreational use – the war on weed in Mexico is winding down and the festival is just one of 20 marijuana-related events being held across the country. Bills have been passed in both legislative chambers over the past two years but they have not agreed on the same version. -
Pass cannabis controls now
Editorial
The Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Since December, MPs in Thailand have been working on getting the long-awaited cannabis and hemp control bill to pass its second reading. This push is a breath of fresh air not only for patients and medical practitioners but also investors looking to export cannabis as a cash crop. The reason? The bill had been filibustered by a number of political parties, both in the government coalition and the opposition, since September, with the Democrat, Pheu Thai, and the libertarian Move Forward Party (MFP) withdrawing their support for the legislation, which aimed to lay out the rules to control cannabis consumption after it was deregulated in June last year. (See also: Vote trims weed control bill)
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