• Federal prosecutors told to avoid drug possession charges when possible in new directive

    Criminal Code charges should be sought only in 'most serious cases,' says director of public prosecutions
    CBC News (Canada)
    Wednesday, August 19, 2020

    handcuffsFederal lawyers are being asked to avoid prosecuting simple drug possession cases unless major public safety concerns are at play — a move that comes amid a push on the federal government to reconsider decriminalization. The directive, which was issued earlier this week, revises the Public Prosecution Service of Canada's (PPSC) approach to simple possession offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Director of Public Prosecutions Kathleen Roussel is now asking her team of lawyers to focus on seeking charges only in "the most serious cases" and to otherwise ask for alternative measures, such as restorative justice and Indigenous approaches to divert simple possession cases away from the criminal justice system.

  • Bill proposes the cultivation of medical cannabis and industrial hemp in Brazil

    Text wants to expand access to medicine and create yet another option for agribusiness in the country
    Folha de S. Paulo (Brazil)
    Wednesday, August 19, 2020

    brasil maconhaThe cannabis sector is heating up for a big start in Brazil. Deputy Paulo Teixeira (PT-SP) handed over the proposed law 399/2015, which legalizes the cultivation of cannabis in Brazil for medical and industrial use, to the president of the Chamber of Deputies. The proposal foresees an increase in plant-based medicine because it reduces the cost of imported input, lowering the price of cannabis drugs. "In pharmacies, there are two Cannabis-based medicines registered by Anvisa [Health Surveillance Agency], Sativex, produced by the English company GW Pharma, and Cannabidiol, by Brazilian Prati-Donaduzzi," says Teixeira. On average, each costs R $ 2,500. Prati's cannabidiol comes from Canada. (See also: Brazilian plan for legal cultivation of industrial hemp, MMJ moving ahead as nation battles pandemic)

  • Cannabis Bill carries harsh penalties

    “The Bill is saying that people can grow cannabis but can’t buy seeds. How then are they supposed to grow it?’’
    Mail & Guardian (South Africa)
    Friday, August 14, 2020

    sa dagga is my rightIf a person is found with more than 1kg of dried cannabis or nine flowering plants they could be jailed for up to 15 years. These are just some of the “arbitrary” limits on personal cannabis possession and cultivation imposed in the new Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. Such limits are likely to be challenged should the legislation be passed by Parliament in its present form. The Bill caps private, personal home possession of cannabis at 600g a person, or 1.2kg of dried cannabis per household. Trading in the plant carries a potential jail term of 15 years. The Bill will be tabled in Parliament during the next session and was drafted in response to a Constitutional Court judgment that upheld the right to personal, private possession and cultivation of cannabis. (See also: New bill not all that dope, say activists)

  • Where vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris stands on marijuana

    Harris, a former attorney general of California, made marijuana reform a major component of her criminal justice platform when she unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary
    Marijuana Moment (US)
    Wednesday, August 12, 2020

    kamela harris cannabisJoe Biden has selected Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his vice presidential running mate. She has evolved significantly on marijuana policy over her career. Though she coauthored an official voter guide argument opposing a California cannabis legalization measure as a prosecutor in 2010, she went on to sponsor legislation to federally deschedule marijuana in 2019. Harris is the chief Senate sponsor of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act—a comprehensive piece of legalization legislation that includes various social equity and restorative justice provisions. Advocates will be watching to see if she continues to advocate for the reform move as she’s on-boarded to the Biden campaign. (See also: 67% of Americans are ready to end federal cannabis prohibition)

  • Why the Drug User Liberation Front gave out free, checked drugs in Vancouver

    “The Drug User Liberation Front showed that safer supply can be implemented through multiple pathways including buyers clubs”
    Filter (US)
    Tuesday, August 11, 2020

    canada safe supply cocaineThe Drug User Liberation Front, a Vancouver-based activist group, made a serious statement on June 23. During a protest in the city’s Downtown Eastside, they gave out free, checked and illegal drugs to their community. They did this in response to British Columbia’s monthly overdose death numbers reaching a then–record high of 170 in May. Over 200 people are estimated to have received small quantities of drugs, including opium and cocaine, at the event. Given the dangerous adulteration of the drug supply, exacerbated by the pandemic, there’s a good chance that one or two lives were saved that day. (See also: A domestic safe supply of injectable heroin would save lives)

  • Canopy Growth CEO’s partial-year compensation tops CA$45 million

    Canopy’s median employee earned CA$43,000 – or slightly more than the company’s planned contribution to Klein’s retirement plan
    Marijuana Business Daily (US)
    Thursday, August 11, 2020

    canada cannabis stock broker2Canopy Growth’s chief executive earned 1,042 times more than the median compensation for the cannabis producer’s other employees in fiscal 2020. The partial-year compensation for CEO David Klein was about $33.8 million (CA$45 million), including salary, bonus, stock options and other compensation, the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company disclosed in its proxy statement released after the fiscal year ended March 31. That likely puts Klein – who began his job in mid-January – among the top CEO earners in Canada across all industries. He inherited a company that lost CA$1.39 billion in fiscal year 2020.

  • It could take 10 years to measure the impact of legalising weed

    Should New Zealand’s proposed law be even stronger?
    The Conversation (UK)
    Tuesday, August 11, 2020

    The referendum on legalising recreational cannabis use is just over a month away. Campaigns for and against the change are well under way. We’ve had expert reports from the Helen Clark Foundation, the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research and meetings around the country to discuss the likely effects of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill (CLCB). So, what can be learned from other countries that have already legalised cannabis or reformed their laws? And how does New Zealand’s proposed law stack up against the overseas evidence?

  • Here are the new cannabis rules proposed for South Africa – including limits, penalties and criminal records

    While the draft bill introduces new offences, it also makes provisions for people convicted on cannabis-related offences in the past
    BusinessTech (South Africa)
    Tuesday, August 11, 2020

    Justice and Correctional Services minister Ronald Lamola has published the draft Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. The bill will give effect to the Constitutional Court judgement that declared some parts of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act and Medicines and Related Substances Control Act unconstitutional. In 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that the use of cannabis is legal for both personal and medical use. However, it is currently still unlawful to use it outside of your private home, as well as buying and selling it. The new draft bill outlines new possession rules for cannabis users at the home as well as for people who wish to cultivate the plant. It also introduces new offences, as well as provisions for people who previously received a criminal record for cannabis possession.

  • Just 257 pardons granted for pot possession in program's 1st year

    Government had estimated 10,000 Canadians could be eligible for clearing record for simple possession
    CBC News (Canada)
    Sunday, August 9, 2020

    It has been one year since the government launched a program offering Canadians with a criminal record for simple pot possession a fast, free pardon — but only 257 people have been granted one so far. Critics say the low number proves the program is "unconscionable" and a "total failure." They're calling on the government to deliver an automatic removal of those criminal records. According to figures provided by the Parole Board of Canada (PBC), 458 people have applied to the program. Of those, 259 were accepted for consideration, with 257 granted and two discontinued. Another 194 applications were returned because the person was ineligible or the file was incomplete, while five more are still in the works.

  • Bermuda’s consultations on recreational cannabis bill generally supportive

    The refined bill is going to be brought to the legislature “shortly”
    Marijuana Business Daily (US)
    Thursday, August 6, 2020

    cannabis plantationA refined draft bill to lay the legal groundwork for a regulated adult-use cannabis regime in Bermuda will soon be presented to the island’s legislature. That puts the British island territory among a small group of countries where the establishment of a regulated industry for recreational marijuana is under active consideration. Bermuda recently concluded month-long public consultations over the proposed law and policy document outlining how a regulated cannabis market would look on the island. The proposal is a major pivot from the government’s previous plan to establish a medical industry. That plan was scrapped after it was concluded it “did not go far enough to meet public expectation,” the attorney-general said. (See also: New cannabis law ‘will help overcome stigma’)

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