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‘Tide is turning’: New Zealand’s cannabis referendum sparks debate in Australia
Leader of the Australian Greens and federal MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt said the the era of cannabis criminalisation was coming to an end
The New Daily (Australia)
Sunday, October 18, 2020
The cannabis legalisation referendum was watched closely by progressive politicians and campaigners in Australia. For the first time, the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey showed that more Australians now support the legalisation of cannabis (41 per cent) than oppose it (37 per cent). Professor at the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University Nicole Lee said the survey results were ‘significant’. “At the moment the states and territories are responsible for drug policies. Depending on what state you’re in there are different consequences for using it.” The Australian Capital Territory became the first state or territory in Australia to legalise cannabis a year ago, and police data shows there has not been any meaningful increase in cannabis-related arrests since. -
Black and Indigenous entrepreneurs struggle for traction in Canada's cannabis industry
Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation report shows little diversity in leadership of cannabis sector
CBC News (Canada)
Saturday, October 17, 2020
A policy brief by the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and the University of Toronto looked at c-suite level executives, parent companies and licensed producers in Canada. The research reveals that two years after legalization, 84 per cent of cannabis industry leaders are white and 86 per cent are men; only 2 per cent of industry leaders are Indigenous, and just 1 per cent are Black. Lead author Akwasi Owusu-Bempah says the lack of Black and Indigenous leadership in the industry goes beyond just an issue of representation or diversity: "Black and Indigenous people that we found to be underrepresented in leadership in cannabis were the two groups that were most targeted by prohibition. So they were the groups that were most criminalized, for example, for minor possession." -
California outdoor marijuana cultivators to designate products by growing region
The designation of origin will be especially useful in the event of federal cannabis legalization – as well as if and when cannabis growers are allowed to ship products nationwide
Marijuana Business Daily (US)
Thursday, October 15, 2020
California’s marijuana market is borrowing a page from the state’s world-famous wine industry thanks to a new law intended to help outdoor cannabis growers brand and market their products by highlighting where and how they’re produced. When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 67 on Sept. 30, the law established that any cannabis product claiming an “appellation of origin” from a California region must have been grown in the soil and with the sun from that region – in other words, without artificial light or shelter, such as a greenhouse or hoop house. California is leading the way with this legislation, and other West Coast states, including Oregon and Washington state, might take notice. Such designations can help smaller growers distinguish their cannabis. -
Cannabis referendum: More than 100 doctors back legalising recreational use
The NZMA had an existing policy formed in 2012 opposing the legalisation of recreational cannabis, but advocating for a decriminalisation of the drug
RNZ (New Zealand)
Thursday, October 15, 2020
More than 100 doctors have come forward to put their names behind cannabis legalisation, in response to the New Zealand Medical Association's backtracking from opposing the bill to neutrality. They say they fear the Medical Association's decision to oppose the cannabis referendum and legalisation, without having consulted its members, could lead to the referendum failing. The NZMA only changed its stance to a neutral one after several doctors came forward complaining about its stance, and NZMA chair Dr Kate Baddock admitted that it did not consider the proposed legislation before opposing the referendum. Many doctors thought the referendum would pass, and so did not speak up about the NZMA's anti stance. That was until polling showed the referendum was unlikely to pass. -
Mexican Senate set to pass bill to legalize marijuana in next few days
The legislative leader emphasized that “many companies” have approached him and expressed their interest in the proposal
Reuters (UK)
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Sen. Ricardo Monreal, the leader of Lopez Obrador’s MORENA party in the upper chamber of Congress, said in an interview that a vote on the proposal will take place later this week or next week. “The end of the prohibitionist policy is good for the country,” he said, adding that the bill would regulate personal use and sale of marijuana as well as research into the plant. It also contemplates creation of cooperatives that would grow marijuana plus a new regulatory agency. If approved by the Senate, the proposal would then proceed to the lower house for a vote. MORENA and its allies hold majorities in both chambers. While the leader of MORENA in the lower house, Mario Delgado, has proposed that the government tightly administer a future marijuana market, Monreal was noncommittal. -
Legalisation of cannabis delayed due to coronavirus pandemic
According to the National Drugs Coordinator, Alain Origer, it is also a question of keeping up with the times, because cannabis is no longer what it was ten years ago
RTL (Luxembourg)
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Minister of Health Paulette Lenert confirmed that work on the cannabis legalisation project had been going on for months, even though it had been delayed by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. As this is a sensitive issue, the authorities are communicating less on the subject, but work is progressing. Lenert stressed that it was not the government's intention to legalise cannabis because it was "cool". It has been found that more and more young people are using this substance, but also that the quality available on the market is becoming increasingly dangerous. The idea is to create, through legalisation, a new market, which will make prevention more effective. -
Medical cannabis doesn't cause cognitive decline in seniors, study finds
"Although the cannabis patients have been using it consistently for at least a year, we have not found that their cognitive function is lower than of people similar to them in age and background"
The Jerusalem Post (Israel)
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
A new study conducted at Haifa University's School of Public Health has found no evidence of cognitive decline in senior citizens who regularly smoke medical cannabis to treat chronic pain. Chronic pain affects 19%-37% of the adult population worldwide and medical cannabis has, in recent years, been raised by patients and researchers alike as a "highly effective" possible treatment. According to the researchers however, most studies done to date have mainly examined the effect of cannabis use on cognitive function in young people. "Previous studies have shown that medical cannabis can have long-term effects on the brain when consumed at a young age, but this is not necessarily the same effect when consumed in old age." -
Legalising cocaine is ‘something to consider,’ says Antwerp mayor
De Wever's N-VA is the main opposition party in the federal parliament and the largest party in the Flemish government
The Brussels Times (Belgium)
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Legalising cocaine is “an option that people need to dare to consider,” according to the mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever (N-VA). De Wever, whose port city is one of the European continent’s major entry points for illegal drugs including cocaine, says he has given up on the illusion that the war against drugs can be won. “The battle against alcohol and nicotine has also been abandoned,” he says. “Those products are legalised. We accept the social consequences.” De Wever has some experience of the problem. In 2017 he announced a plan for the city services to work more closely on a new repressive drugs policy as a test of whether the city could cope with a problem that has local, national and international aspects. (See also: Belgian police seize 11.5T of cocaine in ‘largest overseas drug bust ever’) -
amaMpondo traditional leaders reject Private Use Cannabis Bill
The cannabis farmers want the Bill to open more economic doors for them, and not one that will smother their business
SABC News (South Africa)
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Traditional leaders from the amaMpondo nation and cannabis farmers in the Eastern Cape have rejected the Private Use Cannabis Bill. They are calling for a comprehensive consultation process that must also be extended to the indigenous cannabis farmers in deep rural areas. The area known as Mpondoland is the cannabis belt of South Africa. Cultivating and selling cannabis provides a livelihood to many here. Now they believe that the new bill threatens their only means of generating an income. Cannabis farmers says the Bill proposes that a household will only be allowed to have up to eight plants for private use. “We have been planting cannabis in our fatherland here in Pondoland. Now there are restrictions that prohibit us from using and selling it. The restrictions seek to deprive us and enrich the rich.” -
WHO cannabis recommendations still face uphill battle for adoption
The EU position on the recommendations remains unclear
Marijuana Business Daily (US)
Thursday, October 8, 2020
The World Health Organization’s cannabis scheduling recommendations appeared to have limited support at a United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) “intersessional” meeting in Vienna. That means the proposals still face an uphill battle ahead of December’s expected vote. As a result, cannabis businesses counting on the adoption of all the WHO recommendations shouldn’t get their hopes up. Many of the countries that actively participated in the meeting expressed strong opposition to changing the status quo. Most of the six cannabis scheduling recommendations would either have little impact on international drug controls or actually tighten requirements, according to an analysis by a United Nations monitoring body.
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