• Why overdose deaths have fallen here - despite more overdose

    “Without access to and rapid scale-up of harm reduction and treatment strategies, the number of overdose deaths in BC would be 2.5 times as high”
    Filter (US)
    Tuesday, January 14, 2020

    canada safe heroin dcrRoughly 66 times every single day in British Columbia, someone calls 911 for a suspected drug overdose. And 66 times every day, an operator answers one of those calls, assesses the situation, and dispatches firefighters or paramedics (never police). And then those professionals rush out and, nearly 66 times every single day, they save a person’s life. “When BCEHS [BC Emergency Health Services] paramedics respond to a potential overdose patient, the patient has a 99 percent chance of survival,” reads an email from Shannon Miller, a spokesperson for the agency. If Vancouver is so great with harm reduction, why are overdose numbers there so high? An analysis of relevant data can help explain.

  • Danish parties want to decriminalise hard drugs

    Liberal Alliance, Alternativet and Enhedslisten look to Portugal for inspiration
    The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
    Tuesday, January 14, 2020

    cocaine useA new report in Denmark revealed that more young Danes are consuming cocaine. Now several Danish parties want to change the law on the drugs to allow people to use it for their own consumption. “Despite our ban and hard line on drugs, we see more and more young people using them. So we look to countries like Portugal, where the number of abusers and deaths have dropped in the wake of drug decriminalisation,” Sikandar Siddique, the spokesperson for judicial issues for Alternativet, told TV2 News. Last month, in Norway, the attorney general proposed a similar change to the law, stating that current policy has not had the desired impact.

  • The Great Cannabis Crash of 2019

    California is famous for its cyclical booms and busts: housing, dotcoms, gold mining. Guess which industry is next
    East Bay Express (US)
    Tuesday, January 14, 2020

    california cannabis greenhouseBad news about the so-called "Green Rush" rolled in slowly at first, picking up steam around the end of last summer. Stocks started to dive. Layoffs were announced. Executives who just months earlier were forecasting great riches suddenly acknowledged — mostly in whispers — the deepening gloom. Since last August, the North American Marijuana Index, which tracks cannabis stocks, has fallen by half. The problem with pot stocks isn't limited to California. It's continental: too many investors looking for a quick buck creates a bubble, as with Internet stocks in 1999, or housing in 2007. That bubble has now burst. (See also: Dare we hope for federal legalization?)

  • Birthplace of semi-legal pot risks falling behind U.S.

    Despite a thriving marijuana culture, the Netherlands could miss out on billions of euros in profits
    Bloomberg (US)
    Monday, January 13, 2020

    Since the Netherlands decriminalized marijuana in 1976, Amsterdam’s “coffee shops” have become a destination for weed lovers from around the globe. But pot has never been fully legalized in the country: You won’t get busted for smoking or selling small quantities, but producing or selling it in bulk remains a legal gray zone. And that’s proving to be a handicap for the Dutch marijuana industry as full legalization speeds ahead elsewhere. Dutch seeds are considered the gold standard worldwide, and people with ties to the Netherlands are a big part of the global business. Many of the country’s growers say the future lies across the Atlantic, where Canada and 11 U.S. states now allow recreational pot use, and many more states permit medicinal consumption.

  • Investors rush to bring weed to the masses

    Low-cost ETFs are being rolled out at a furious pace, but returns have been abysmal
    The Economist (UK)
    Monday, January 13, 2020

    etf cannabis chart economistEurope's first cannabis exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Medical Cannabis and Wellness ETF, dubbed CBSX, launched in Germany. A joint project of Purpose Investments, a Canadian asset manager, and HANetf, a British ETF platform, the fund will invest in businesses that grow, make and distribute medical cannabis products. One of the goals of the new venture is to democratise cannabis investments, which have been inaccessible (because companies are still private) or expensive (because investors must buy stocks individually). The rise of ETFs—pooled portfolios designed to replicate the performance of an asset class—has made investing cheap and easy. Marijuana ETFs have proved popular in America. And yet anyone betting on cannabis ETFs last year would have seen their money go up in smoke.

  • NCSA keeping 'eye' on marijuana cultivation by Rastas

    The NCSA’s position is that we support the decriminalization of marijuana for medical purposes
    The Loop (Barbados)
    Monday, January 13, 2020

    barbados hunteThe National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has said they will be monitoring closely the new legislation which allows Rastafarians in Barbados to cultivate and use marijuana for sacramental purposes. Last year, the House of Parliament passed the Sacramental Cannabis Act 2018 which allows those within the Rastafarian faith to grow and cultivate marijuana on the premises where they worship. The legislation states that those who wish to grow and use the plant for sacramental purposes would need to apply for a permit. The Manager of the NCSA, Betty Hunte, said the possibility of marijuana falling into "the wrong hands" is a real concern, as is the case with any drug. 

  • Pot politics: Some Northeast states regroup on legalization

    Supporters remain hopeful, particularly about New Jersey, where the question is now headed to voters this fall
    Associated Press (US)
    Monday, January 13, 2020

    us capitol cannabisA year ago, marijuana legalization looked like it was on a roll in the Northeast — it had already passed in three of the region’s states and was a priority for governors in three more, including the populous New York. Now, after legislative efforts stalled and a vaping sickness stirred new concerns, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut still want to make recreational pot legal. And they and Pennsylvania’s governor have been comparing notes on how to do it. “This year, let’s work with our neighbors ... to coordinate a safe and fair system,” New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week. His state hosted the four Democratic governors for an October summit on the issue.

  • Why is medical marijuana a high ranking priority for Thailand's military?

    Put simply, the military establishment recognises there are huge business and tax revenue-raising opportunities to be had
    ABC (Australia)
    Sunday, January 12, 2020

    thailand dr ganjaSouth-East Asia is notorious for its brutal approach to policing drug use and production. But in Thailand change is afoot, as authorities seek to develop a homegrown medical marijuana industry. Its conservative, military-dominated Government has spearheaded the effort, which seeks to make Thailand a regional centre for the production and distribution of medical marijuana. The Federal Government has approved the sale of medicinal marijuana, but it still won't be easy for people to get a prescription.First outlawed in 1935, marijuana has reportedly been a part of traditional Thai medicine and cooking for centuries, mainly used as a versatile form of pain relief. Thailand legalised medical marijuana in December 2018, making it the first country in South-East Asia to do so.

  • Belgium’s most powerful politician has a drugs problem

    Bart De Wever is under attack from the far right over the drug war in Antwerp
    Politico (US)
    Saturday, January 11, 2020

    antwerp harbourDrug gangs increasingly choose Antwerp over the port of Rotterdam since checks there have become tougher. Almost one-third of all cocaine intercepted in European ports was in the port of Antwerp, according to Europol's latest EU Drug Markets Report. Belgian customs announced that 2019 was a new record year. They intercepted 61 tons of cocaine, which is more than 10 times as much as five years earlier. This upsurge has less to do with increased controls than with growing European consumption, according to narcotics experts. Critically, the drug problem exposes Belgium's most influential politician, Bart De Wever, Antwerp's mayor, to being politically outflanked by the far right.

  • Canberra's cannabis laws do not address supply problem, meaning buying the drug will remain illegal

    Buying, selling and trading cannabis after January 31 will remain illegal in the ACT
    ABC (Australia)
    Saturday, January 11, 2020

    australia cannabis map2Cannabis will be legal in the ACT come the end of the month, but those hoping to light up might have to break the law to do so. The controversial new laws legalise growing, possessing and smoking small quantities of cannabis. If you are over 18 you can grow the plant, collect up to 50 grams of dried bud, and smoke it as you like within your own home (provided there are no children around). But the laws do not offer any guidance at all on how it is supposed to be acquired. There will not be any cannabis shops opening up, as buying and selling the drug remains strictly illegal. It also cannot be gifted from one person to another. Cultivating two plants — to a limit of four per household — is perfectly legal but buying cannabis seeds is not.

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