• Lebanon agriculture minister urges cannabis cultivation for export

    “The planting of cannabis must be organized to benefit the state and the industrial sector, and it is one way of helping the farmers.”
    The Daily Star (Lebanon)
    Friday, December 19, 2014

    cannabis-plants-lebanonAgriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb called for the legalization of cannabis farming in Lebanon to benefit from the revenue of its export. “We are conducting studies on [how to] organize this type of agriculture so that it becomes monitored by the state, and thus the state can buy the harvest and export it to the countries that need it,” Chehayeb said. He added that the state should end its war on cannabis farmers and find workable alternatives. For many poor villages in east Lebanon, the cultivation and sale of marijuana has for decades been the primary source of revenue. Upon pressure by international donors and foreign states, Lebanon launched a crackdown on the farmers after the end of the Civil War. (See also: Cannabis farmers support calls to legalize lucrative crop)

  • Pourquoi Terra Nova veut légaliser le cannabis

    Le think tank prône de créer une filière sous monopole public pour assécher le marché noir et rapporter 2 milliards d'euros à l'Etat
    Líberation (France)
    Vendredi, 19 decembre 2014

    Le groupe de réflexion Terra Nova, proche du PS, a publié un rapport, révélé par Le Monde, intitulé «Cannabis : réguler le marché pour sortir de l’impasse». Il y met en pièces la politique actuelle, «l’une des pires qui se puisse imaginer», et construit des scénarios pour en sortir, notamment une légalisation avec monopole d’Etat qui pourrait avoir un impact budgétaire positif de 1,8 milliard d’euros. Scénarios critiquables, mais qui ont le mérite de parler de la réalité.

  • Victoria to legalise medicinal marijuana

    The reform would ensure no parent would be put in the "terrible position to save your child or obey the law"
    The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
    Friday, December 19, 2014

    A bill to legalise medical marijuana could be put to Victoria's parliament before the end of next year, with the Labor government determined to reform the state's drug laws. Premier Daniel Andrews said that the Victorian Law Reform Commission had been asked to submit a report in August next year to determine not if, but when and how the laws should change to allow terminally and chronically ill people access to medicinal marijuana. (See also: National marijuana legalisation inches closer with new bill)

  • Nebraska and Oklahoma sue Colorado over marijuana law

    The New York Times (US)
    Thursday, December 18, 2014

    colorado-marijuanaNebraska and Oklahoma filed the first major court challenge to marijuana legalization, saying that Colorado’s growing array of state-regulated recreational marijuana shops was piping marijuana into neighboring states and should be shut down. The lawsuit asks the United States Supreme Court to strike down key parts of a 2012 voter-approved measure that legalized marijuana in Colorado for adult use and created a new system of stores, taxes and regulations surrounding retail marijuana. (See also: Colorado vows to defend pot law against states' challenge)

  • First lesson for new inquiry into ice: we've lost the war on drugs

    The appointment of prohibitionist Kay Hull to lead an inquiry into ice use is another example of the Abbott government’s ham fisted approach to policy
    Alex Wodak
    The Guardian (UK)
    Wednesday, December 17, 2014

    Five Labor and three Conservative governments adopted harm minimisation as Australia’s official national drug policy on 2 April 1985 and every Commonwealth, state and territory government since then has implemented harm minimisation programmes. This approach is now endorsed by all the major UN organisations responsible for drug policy. It wasn’t until 29 April 2014 – 25 years after that conclusion – that an Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, could finally admit that “[the war on drugs] is … not a war we will ever finally win. The war on drugs is a war you can lose.”

  • KanaVape: Cannabis e-cigarette to go on sale in the UK

    KanaVape's inventors say it is legal because it does not contain THC
    The Independent (UK)
    Wednesday, December 17, 2014

    The vaping trend seemingly knows no bounds as the first “cannabis” e-cigarette goes on sale in the UK. The KanaVape, which contains hemp, has been legalised for use in France by people with cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions requiring pain relief. It will go on sale around the world tomorrow but the Home Office has cast doubt on whether that would be legal, saying the product must be tested for controlled substances. KanaVape cannot be compared to a joint because it does not contain THC, the chemical causing cannabis highs.

  • Most marijuana grown in the Netherlands is exported, new research shows

    Dutch News (Netherlands)
    Wednesday, December 17, 2014

    Between 78% and 91% of marijuana grown in the Netherlands is exported, according to new justice ministry research. This makes it pointless to regulate marijuana production for sale in licenced cannabis cafes within the Netherlands because illegal growing will continue, Justice minister Opstelten said in a briefing to Parliament. (See for a critical view: The 80% myth revisited)

  • Too harsh to work

    The call to ‘shun drugs, not addicts’ makes little sense as the narcotics law criminalises drug use
    Anand Grover and Tripti Tandon
    The Indian Express (India)
    Wednesday, December 17, 2014

    india-bhang-shopThere is no appetite in India for a serious conversation on drugs. The prime minister’s recent radio talk on the subject confirms that. Yet, drugs and laws to deal with them engage civil liberties, health and justice in a fundamental way that cannot be ignored. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) is one of the harshest laws in the country. No country can "arrest" its way out of the drug problem. Many countries, particularly in Europe and Latin America, have decriminalised personal use and possession of drugs in varying degrees and seen no adverse consequences. (See also: Drug policy in India)

  • France plans to stub out e-joints

    Health minister seeks court ban amid fears new cannabis-laced electronic cigarette could incite further use of drug
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, December 16, 2014

    France has sought to stamp out a new electronic cigarette containing cannabis, launched with the claim that it provides all of the relaxation but none of the mind-altering effects of the drug. The health minister, Marisol Touraine, said the product would incite the consumption of cannabis and she intended to approach the courts to ban it. “I am opposed to such a product being commercialised in France,” she told RTL radio. The product was launched by a French-Czech company called Kanavape which said it hoped to offer millions of people a legal and flavourful way to consume cannabis.

  • Jumblatt renews calls to legalize marijuana

    Jumblatt argued that crop substitution programs have all failed and forced farmers in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to leave their lands
    The Daily Star (Lebanon)
    Sunday, December 14, 2014

    Walid Jumblatt has renewed calls to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana. The head of the Progressive Socialist Party wrote that the time has come to sanction pot and end the state's prosecution of its sellers. "It is time to allow for the cultivation of marijuana, and to drop the right to issue arrest warrants against people who work in this field," the prominent Druze leader said. Jumblatt caused a stir in May when he announced unequivocally that he was for legalizing marijuana. At the time, he told Al-Jadeed television that he supported the cultivation of the drug to help struggling farmers.

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