• Dutch 'cannabis card' rollout in disarray

    Agence France-Presse (AFP)
    Tuesday, May 8, 2012

    wietpasA week after a contentious rollout of a new Dutch law to stub out cannabis sales to foreigners, enforcement is in disarray as some police are untrained and several coffee shops have closed in protest. Drug tourists are simply dodging the "cannabis card" law by heading elsewhere in the country for their fix, since the rule has entered into force in just three southern Dutch provinces so far. "It takes time for everything to be put into place," Justice and Safety Ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Menten admitted.

  • Connecticut aims to avoid states' medical marijuana woes

    Associated Press
    Saturday, May 5, 2012

    Connecticut lawmakers' approval of the use of medical marijuana includes strict regulations for the cultivation and distribution in an attempt to avoid problems other states have run into when legalizing the plant for medical use. The bill, passed by the state Senate, is headed to Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who said in a statement that he plans to sign it, as he believes the law would "avoid the problems encountered in some other states."

  • Netherlands bans tourists from buying marijuana

    Yes, in Amsterdam, too
    The Christian Science Monitor (US)
    Friday, May 4, 2012

    For visitors to the Netherlands who enjoy the relaxing effects of marijuana, life has just become a little less easy going, particularly for those Germans living just west of the border who used to just pop over for a fresh supply. New legislation is restricting the sale of cannabis to residents of the country and banning tourists from purchasing the drug at the coffee shops, famous for selling it.

  • What Is President Obama’s Problem With Medical Marijuana?

    Time Magazine (US)
    Thursday, May 3, 2012

    For a brief moment in 2009, medical marijuana advocates exhaled. A new President had taken office promising to call off the federal prosecutors in states that had legalized weed for the sick. Medical marijuana patients and the growing industry thought they were in the clear. But they weren’t. Two years later, the Obama Administration is cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries and growers just as harshly as George W. Bush did. In 2011, the Department of Justice revised its guidance to U.S. Attorneys, allowing them to target any medical marijuana activity except for ill patients and their immediate caregivers.

  • Cannabis: Britain's growth industry

    At farms across the UK, business is booming – but now violent gangs are muscling in
    The Independent (UK)
    Wednesday, May 2, 2012

    Given the current economic conditions, the Government is keen to encourage all sort of new entrepreneurial initiatives. But the growth of Britain's private cannabis farms is probably not quite what the Treasury had in mind. A clandestine industry has sprung up in the bedrooms, living rooms, cellars and roof tops of Britain. Some do it for personal consumption, others grow cannabis for organised criminal networks who make millions out of what they know is a comparatively low risk, high-profit crime. (See also: Cannabis production booming in Britain, say police)

  • Fresh protests as weed pass takes effect

    RNW (Netherlands)
    Wednesday, May 2, 2012

    weg-wietpasThere are mounting protests in the south of the Netherlands against the introduction of the 'weed pass'. As of 1 May, coffeeshops in southern Dutch cities are only allowed to sell marijuana and hashish to Dutch residents with a special card. Foreign tourists are prohibited from purchasing weed. Coffeeshop owners in Maastricht and other southern Dutch cities are up in arms about the new regulation. In Maastricht, 12 of the 13 coffeeshops closed their doors in protest.

  • Dutch 'cannabis card' roll-out draws defiance

    AFP
    Tuesday, May 1, 2012

    New Dutch laws to stub out the sale of cannabis to foreign dope tourists kicked in Tuesday -- and were met with defiance from southern coffee shops including in Maastricht. At least one coffee shop in the southern city continued sales to Belgian and German buyers in contravention of the new "cannabis card" rules -- and was promptly slapped with a police warning to stop sales to non-residents within 24 hours. (See also: Protestors just say no to Dutch cannabis ban)

  • UK police find 20 cannabis farms a day

    AFP
    Monday, April 30, 2012

    Police discovered more than 20 cannabis farms and factories in the UK every day last year, seizing drugs worth up to £100 million, according to a report by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Criminals attempt to reduce risk and minimise potential losses by employing a large number of so-called "gardeners" to manage smaller farms across residential neighbourhoods. A total of 7,865 farms were found across the UK in 2011/2012, an increase of 15 percent from the 6,866 found in 2009/2010 and up more than 150 percent from the 3,032 found four years ago, the ACPO study found.

  • Dutch judge upholds ban on foreigners buying pot

    Associated Press
    Friday, April 27, 2012

    coffeeshopA Dutch judge on Friday upheld the government's plan to introduce a "weed pass" to prevent foreigners from buying marijuana in coffee shops in the Netherlands. Amsterdam, whose scores of coffee shops are a major tourism drawcard, opposes the plan, and mayor Eberhard van der Laan says he wants to hammer out a compromise. A lawyer for coffee shop owners said he would file an urgent appeal against the ruling by a judge at The Hague District court that clears the way for the introduction of the pass in southern provinces on May 1.

  • Will banning marijuana sales to foreigners hurt Holland's economy?

    Dutch weed may be getting more exclusive thanks to a rule barring international tourists from patronizing the country's pot-selling cafes
    The Week
    Friday, April 27, 2012

    The mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, understandably opposes the ban: Roughly a third of the four million foreign tourists who visit the city each year smoke marijuana in the local coffee shops. Ten percent of tourists who visit Holland do so exclusively for the pot. The cafes do $2.6 billion in business a year, generating $503 million in tax revenue.

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