3 february 2014
Dutch laws governing marijuana use are so liberal
that even the US pop star Miley Cyrus failed to
spark too much controversy when she lit a joint
on stage in Amsterdam last year.
Now, 35 mayors are urging the government to take
it a step further and let them grow cannabis too,
as a global shift in favour of legalisation is
leaving the once forward-thinking Netherlands lagging behind.
Feb 1, 2014
Discovery of new psychiatric medication, whether for the treatment of
depression, autism or schizophrenia, is at a virtual standstill. As just one
example, the antidepressants on the market today are no more effective at
reversing the mood disorder than those that first became available in the
1950s.
Twenty-three local mayors have drawn up plans to authorise and regulate the production of cannabis in the Netherlands.
The manifesto aims to resolve a long-standing anomaly in Dutch drugs policy. Small amounts of soft drugs can be purchased by individuals in licensed coffeeshops, but the wholesale trade remains illegal and criminals run the supply chain.
27 January 2014
Written by Gordon Darroch
Naturally the response to this story has been mixed, with many focussing on the claim that primary school children are able to buy and consume cannabis. Clearly this is not a good thing, and nobody in their right mind would argue that children should smoke recreationally. However many commentators seem to have missed a very important point – cannabis being so easily available for young and vulnerable people is a direct result of prohibition.
Leaving the control and supply of any product in the hands of criminals ensures that no regulations will ever be enforced by those who sell the product. It has repeatedly been shown that in countries where the laws surrounding cannabis have been relaxed, underage usage has gone down.
Sky News got a typically bland and unimaginative response from Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker to this story, who told them – “Those who grow and supply cannabis face up to 14 years’ imprisonment. Production of cannabis for personal use is also illegal.
“We are determined to bring the criminal gangs who trade in cannabis to justice.”
However he did also mention that he is “leading a study of drugs policy in other countries”, so perhaps there is a chance he will look at the issue differently to his predecessors.
To counter the views of Baker and others who had their say, such as The Daily Mail’s perpetual perpetrator of Reefer Madness Peter Hitchens (who spouted his usual claims that cannabis is already decriminalised, presumably in an attempt to shift more copies of his ‘book’), NORML’s Clark French was invited to be interviewed live on air.
Clark gave a series of passionate and thought provoking answers to the questions put to him by Kay Burley, and attempted (and succeeded) to put down some of the many myths surrounding cannabis. Most importantly, Clark, as a medicinal user, was able to highlight the genuine need he has to be able to access what for him is a vital medicine.
Hopefully Clark’s interview will have planted a seed in the mind of some of Sky News’s viewers, and will spur them on to do some research of their own and question what they have been led to believe. As he puts it in the interview – “We need to stop basing our policy on stigma, and we need to start basing it on science.”
See more at: http://norml-uk.org/2014/01/clark-french-sky-news/#sthash.KIVoSBty.dpuf
With the victory of Georg Wurth at the TV-Show “Millionärswahl” (millionaire election) at the channels Pro7/Sat.1 last Saturday the German Hemp Association celebrates a big success. The DHV will use the winnings to drive forward the debate about rational ways to deal with cannabis in Germany.
27 January 2014
The Dutch Labour Party has backed the idea of legalising marijuana production if it takes the supply chain out of the hands of criminals.
24 January 2014
CNN Reporter Stoned: Gets Giggly Contact High During Story on Colorado Legalization. CNN’s “Gone To Pot” series featured “Cannabis Tours,” a marijuana limo tour of dispensaries in Colorado. Reporter Randi Kaye was in the back of a limo while several people smoked large joints…
11.01.2014
January 13, 2014 “Information Clearing House – “Business Insider” – An investigation by El Universal has found that between the years 2000 and 2012, the U.S. government had an arrangement with Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel that allowed the organization to smuggle billions of dollars of drugs in exchange for information on rival cartels.
By Michael Kelley
The city council of Italian city of Turin has approved a motion in favor of legalizing cannabis on Tuesday, becoming the first major city in the country to make the proposal to allow marijuana to be prescribed for medical reasons.
14.01.2014
