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Individual imports of cannabis continue to grow in Brazil
Access to nonregistered products – often called “compassionate use” – is common throughout the region
Marijuana Business Daily (US)
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
The cumulative number of authorizations for individual patients in Brazil to import nonregistered medical cannabis products reached 18,650 at the end of March, according to data of the country’s health regulator. National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) approvals to import the products have been growing rapidly in the past year, and although this route is intended to be a special access scheme for exceptional cases, Brazil has become the largest market in Latin America. Nonregistered medical cannabis products, regardless of THC content, can be imported only by individual patients after a doctor and ANVISA have signed off. The health agency does not restrict the products to only CBD, but in practice CBD represents the majority of imports. -
Thai cabinet approves draft law expanding access to cannabis
The draft law would also hand responsibility to the Public Health Ministry to use seized cannabis for medical use
Associated Press (US)
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Thailand’s Cabinet approved a proposal from the Public Health Ministry that would allow health professionals, farmers and medical patients to grow, produce and export cannabis and its products. The Public Health Minister submitted a draft amendment to the Narcotics Act to expand access to medical cannabis in Thailand. The draft amendment would allow patients who are certified by doctors, traditional and applied medicine professionals, and farmers to ask for permission from the ministry to produce, import, export, distribute and possess cannabis. The existing law allows only government units and those who are involved in medical cannabis development with permission from the ministry to engage in such activities to develop medical knowledge in collaboration with the government. -
Congressional researchers admit legalizing marijuana hurts Mexican drug cartel profits
Lawmakers in Mexico who have been working on legalization legislation have also argued that regulating the plant will mitigate the influence of drug trafficking organizations
Marijuana Moment (US)
Monday, August 3, 2020
Demand for marijuana illegally trafficked from Mexico will continue to decline as the legalization movement spreads, a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) states. With a growing number of U.S. states—as well as Canada—allowing people to legally purchase cannabis in a regulated market, they’re less inclined to seek out the product through illicit channels. “Authorities are projecting a continued decline in U.S. demand for Mexican marijuana because drugs ‘other than marijuana’ will likely predominate,” CRS wrote in the report. “This is also the case due to legalized cannabis or medical cannabis in several U.S. states and Canada, reducing its value as part of Mexican trafficking organizations’ portfolio.” -
Campaigners demand reform as official figures show one in five found guilty of cannabis possession is black
Warning of link between convictions and police stop-and-search policy
The Independent (UK)
Monday, August 3, 2020
One in five of those found guilty of cannabis possession in England and Wales last year was black, official figures show, prompting accusations of racial injustice at the heart of the UK’s drug laws. Campaigners said the rate was grossly disproportionate when only an estimated 3 per cent of the population is black. They also warned of a link between the convictions and the police stop and search policy, a central concern during the Black Lives Matter protests. The latest figures, obtained from the Ministry of Justice, show one in five, 21 per cent, of those convicted in 2018-19 was black. But the true figure could be even higher, because in 23 per cent of cases data on ethnicity was not recorded. -
Criminalising cannabis use by children is unconstitutional, court rules
Court hears children are languishing for months in detention for trivial offences
GroundUp (South Africa)
Monday, August 3, 2020
Children found guilty of trivial offences, including the possession or use of cannabis, may not be incarcerated, the Johannesburg High Court has ruled. Section 4b of the Drug Trafficking Act, in so far as it applied to children, is unconstitutional and a child oriented approach should be followed to deal with drug use, which should include drug awareness, educational programs, treatment and rehabilitation. Regarding drug testing at schools, the South African Schools Act made it abundantly clear that the principal must have reasonable suspicion to test, no criminal proceedings may be instituted, the results must remain confidential, and it only authorised disciplinary proceedings. And yet, evidence suggested that hundreds of learners had been subjected to these tests and 24 had been unlawfully detained. -
King Mswati, Stem Holdings and the multi-billion political dagga cold war
Dagga farmers don’t want the industry to be captured by white monopoly capitalism
Swaziland News (eSwatini)
Saturday, August 1, 2020
King Mswati allegedly entered into a deal with Stem Holdings and manipulated provisions of the Prevention of Organized Crime Act (POCA) by unleashing police officers on dagga farmers after Parliament refused to approve the Cannabis Bill, threatening the now controversial project. Around 2018 in the midst of escalating calls to legalize dagga, local and international companies applied for a cannabis license through the Ministry of Health but Stem Holdings allegedly approached royalty through the then Minister of Economic Planning and Development Prince Sihlangusemphi, a brother to the king later appointed into a position in the army equivalent to that of Minister of Defense. (See also: MP ‘Magawugawu’ on police surveillance, faces arrest over sentiments threatening King’s dagga deals) -
Senator files new bill to federally legalize marijuana and regulate it like tobacco
A federal age requirement for marijuana sales would be set at 21 under the measure
Marijuana Moment (US)
Friday, July 31, 2020
Democratic senator Tina Smith (D-MN) filed a new bill to federally legalize marijuana, creating yet another potential avenue through which Congress could enact the policy change. Titled the “Substance Regulation and Safety Act”, it would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and direct several federal agencies to develop regulations for the plant. The bill would deschedule cannabis, require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop rules that treat marijuana the same as tobacco, create a national research institute to evaluate the risks and benefits of cannabis, require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to impose quality control standards and mandate that the Department of Transportation study methods for detecting THC-impaired driving. -
Some WHO cannabis recommendations draw strong opposition at recent UN meeting
European countries not only were largely silent during the open debate, they also did not make use of the opportunity to bring in experts
Marijuana Business Daily (US)
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Two of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations might face an uphill battle getting adopted later this year by the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). That revelation stems from an analysis of statements made by U.N.-member states at a recent two-day CND meeting. Still, many in the cannabis industry are hoping for a positive outcome at the end of the year, when a vote is planned. The reason: If the two recommendations discussed at the CND meeting in June are approved, international trade in certain CBD preparations is expected to become more free. -
First major study by Glasgow experts finds Scottish public support drug consumption rooms
Study found that 61 per cent of people agreed with the introduction of DCRs in Scotland, whilst only 15 per cent disagreed
The Herald (Scotland)
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Research from a Glasgow university has revealed that the majority of Scots back the introduction of drug consumption rooms (DCRs) – with academics insisting the idea remains an option despite UK Government opposition. Scotland is Europe’s drugs death capital with more fatalities per person than any other nation, according to the latest data – amid reports that the rate has risen further during the Covid-19 lockdown. The Scottish Government has long-backed introducing supervised DCRs in a bid to treat the crisis as a health issue, but the UK Government renewed its opposition to the policy during February’s drugs death summit in Glasgow. (See also: Study finds ‘compelling’ case for safe drug taking facilities) -
Over 1,100 children trafficked into UK drug trade, data shows
Drug charity calls for legal regulation of drug market to protect vulnerable children
The Guardian (UK)
Thursday, July 30, 2020
More than 1,100 children have been trafficked into the UK’s drug trade, new Home Office figures reveal. The data obtained by the drug reform charity Transform shows that 1,173 children were enslaved by drug dealers in 2019. Figures from January to December 2019 show that the majority of the 1,853 people estimated by the Home Office to have been trafficked into the illicit drugs business were children. Transform obtained the Home Office statistics through a freedom of information request and released them on Thursday to mark the UN’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. (See also: UK must regulate drug market to combat human trafficking)
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