Federal Scientists Recommend Easing Restrictions on Marijuana

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In newly disclosed documents, federal researchers find that cannabis may have medical uses and is less likely to cause harm than drugs like heroin.

Marijuana is neither as risky nor as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances and has potential medical benefits, and therefore should be removed from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs, federal scientists have concluded.

The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued Health and Human Services officials for its release and published it online on Friday night. An H.H.S. official confirmed the authenticity of the document.

The records shed light for the first time on the thinking of federal health officials who are pondering a momentous change. The agencies involved have not publicly commented on their debates over what amounts to a reconsideration of marijuana at the federal level.

Since 1970, marijuana has been considered a so-called Schedule I drug, a category that also includes heroin. Schedule I drugs have no medical use and a high potential for abuse, and they carry severe criminal penalties under federal trafficking laws.

The documents show that scientists at the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse have recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration make marijuana a Schedule III drug, alongside the likes of ketamine and testosterone, which are available by prescription. » | Christina Jewett and Noah Weiland | Friday, January 12, 2024

We are certainly living in a topsy-turvy world! Despite the war on cigarette-smoking and tobacco, the West seems to be determined to ease all restrictions on soft drugs like marijuana. I have never ever tried marijuana or any other similar substance in my not-so-short life. I have never been tempted to do so. Such substances have never appealed to me. What I used to enjoy was smoking cigarettes. But the government has increased the prices of cigarettes so much now that their price are totally out of proportion with the pleasure gained from smoking them. A packet of quality cigarettes in the UK now is extortionately expensive. Moreover, there are so many laws governing where one can enjoy a puff that it is virtually impossible to enjoy a smoke outside of one's own home at all! These are the reasons why I quit smoking in 2022. I would never have quit otherwise, because smoking was a source of great pleasure for me.

It is therefore rather annoying that I have been deprived of one of my great pleasures when governments around the West are busy making it far easier to enjoy a substance that has traditionally been frowned upon. I am damn sure that the recreational use of marijuana is NOT healthier than smoking a conventional cigarette. Actually, there are health benefits to smoking cigarettes in moderation; and that is a fact! If you don't believe me, google it! You'll be surprised. – © Mark Alexander

‘Potheads, Go Giggle Elsewhere’: Public Weed Ban Begins in Amsterdam

THE GUARDIAN: Tourists and residents now face €100 fine for public smoking in De Wallen, but some business owners are worried about impact

A worker hangs signs in the Nieuwmarkt publicising the new ban. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock
Thick fumes of cannabis smoke were noticeably absent from the air of Amsterdam’s red light district on Thursday, the familiar smell replaced by dank canal water and rats on the first day of a ban on smoking marijuana in public.

After years of complaints from residents about wild behaviour from 18 million annual visitors, a crackdown on nuisance tourism is in full swing. Last month, the municipality started a “stay away” campaign – aimed first at misbehaving Britons – that banned alcohol sales in shops at the weekend and imposed earlier closing times for window brothels and pubs.

Now, tourists and residents alike face a €100 (£87) fine for public cannabis smoking in and around the red light district, to “reduce crowding and nuisance in the area”. » | Senay Boztas in Amsterdam | Thursday, May 25, 2023

A Singapour, un homme a été pendu pour le trafic d’un kilo de cannabis

LE MONDE : La cité-Etat assume sa politique de tolérance zéro face aux affaires de drogue et le recours à la peine capitale, dans un contexte régional d’assouplissement des sanctions.

L’exécution à Singapour, mercredi 26 avril, de Tangaraju Suppiah, un Singapourien d’origine tamoule de 46 ans, pour trafic d’un peu plus d’un kilogramme de cannabis, confirme que la cité-Etat de 5,5 millions d’habitants n’a aucune intention de réformer sa justice, particulièrement sévère face au trafic de drogue. Onze personnes ont été pendues en 2022 – toutes pour des affaires liées aux stupéfiants – après deux ans sans exécution. » | Par Brice Pedroletti (Bangkok, correspondant en Asie du Sud-Est) | jeudi 27 avril 2023

Article réservé aux abonnés

LIRE AUSSI À PROPOS DE SINGAPOUR :

Singapour révoque une loi pénalisant l’homosexualité : Le texte, qui n’était toutefois plus appliqué, prévoyait une peine maximale de deux ans d’emprisonnement. Son abrogation « met la législation en accord avec l’évolution des mentalités », avait estimé le premier ministre, Lee Hsien Loong, fin août. »

What Cannabis Legalization in Germany Will Look Like | DW News

Apr 16, 2023 | Germany is pulling back on plans for a broad commercialization of cannabis following some political opposition, as well as concerns from EU. Government ministers presented the new plan this week, calling for a 'model-project' to precede any further commercial sales. New legislation would otherwise legalize possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis and allow private growth of up three plants. It would also permit so-called 'Cannabis Clubs' for adult consumption. Under the new concept, a nationwide commercialization of cannabis would only come after a 5-year model project with a more limited scale. The exact outlines of the model, including the area involved, have yet to be clarified. But the plan calls for scientific- and policy-evaluation along the way, with results to be offered to the EU.

Morocco: The Kings of Rif I ARTE.tv Documentary

Dec 9, 2022 | Morocco has long been one of the world's largest producers of cannabis resin, but it's a trade that was illicit and unregulated. For decades, authorities cracked down on the hashish trade, one of the few industries open to the impoverished people of the Rif. But now, restrictions around cannabis have been relaxed for medicinal, cosmetic, and industrial uses – opening the way for a whole new growth industry. | Available until the 18/09/2025

Marijuana Majority

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Americans support marijuana legalization, but many of their political leaders do not.

A decade ago, no American lived in a state where marijuana was legal to smoke, vape or eat recreationally. Today, nearly half of Americans do or will soon: Voters approved legalization ballot measures this month in Maryland and Missouri, bringing the number of states allowing any adult use to 21.

Legalization may not make major news often anymore, but it’s a big deal. It amounts to America’s largest change to its drug policy in decades. By aligning marijuana with alcohol and tobacco, rather than harder drugs, the policy change is giving birth to a new industry. And, over time, it could reduce the hundreds of thousands of marijuana arrests made in the U.S. every year, freeing up police resources.

The change came about largely because of the support of voters, not politicians or lawmakers. While the public backs legalization, some prominent political leaders do not: President Biden has said he’s opposed. Donald Trump has characterized legalization as an issue for states to decide, but his 2020 presidential campaign said marijuana should remain illegal. » | German Lopez | The Morning | Wednesday, November 23, 2022

How New York City Became a Free-for-All of Unlicensed Weed: Shops selling weed have proliferated since the state legalized cannabis last year, thriving in confusion over their legality and a lack of enforcement. »

Drogenkonsum mit fatalen Folgen: Wenn Cannabis gefährliche Psychosen auslöst | REUPLOAD | SPIEGEL TV

Jul 22, 2022 Als entschieden wurde, dass Cannabis in Deutschland bald legal werden soll, haben sich Millionen Kiffer gefreut. Schließlich funktioniert die kontrollierte Abgabe in anderen Ländern bereits ziemlich gut. Zur Wahrheit gehört aber auch, dass Cannabis immer häufiger zu schweren Psychosen führt – mitunter mit fatalen Folgen.

Gesundheitsschäden sind deutlich sichtbar. Meiner Meinung nach sollte der Gebrauch solcher Drogen illegal bleiben. Es ergibt absolut keinen Sinn, den Konsum solcher Drogen zu legalisieren, insbesondere in einer Zeit, in der es immer schwieriger wird, normale Zigaretten zu konsumieren. – © Mark Alexander

En Thaïlande, le cannabis dépénalisé

LE MONDE : Cette mesure était une promesse de campagne du partenaire de coalition des généraux thaïlandais qui dirigent le gouvernement qui a succédé à la junte militaire en 2019.

Une vendeuse de produits à base de cannabis à l’occasion du salon « Thailand : 420 Legalaew ! », organisé par Highland dans la province de Nakhon Pathom, en Thaïlande, le 11 juin 2022. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
A quelques encablures du quartier des temples et du palais royal, Khao San Road, la Mecque du touriste étranger à Bangkok, avec ses bars, ses guest houses et ses boutiques de souvenirs, a vu apparaître ces dernières semaines un nouveau type de commerce : celui du cannabis, connu sous le terme de ganja en Thaïlande, sous toutes ses formes et variétés, ou presque.

Frame, 31 ans, sa sœur Fen et un troisième frère, qui n’ont pas donné leur nom, ont investi 400 000 baths (12 000 euros) de leurs économies dans un weed truck, camion à herbe baptisé Good Gets (les bons plans), dont l’étal réfrigéré expose une demi-douzaine de variétés de fleurs rangées dans des bocaux. Ils en font pousser chez eux et en achètent à un fournisseur dans leur province natale, à Surat Thani, dans le sud du pays. Moyennant une obole journalière versée à la police, ils occupent depuis le 20 juin cet emplacement un peu à l’écart de la rue principale, celle où les bars rivalisent de puissance sonore pour attirer le chaland : « On n’a pas osé se mettre là-bas, on ne parle pas assez bien anglais », dit l’un des frères. » | Par Brice Pedroletti (Bangkok, correspondant en Asie du Sud-Est) | lundi 11 juillet 2022

Article réservé aux abonnés

Germany’s Move to Legalise Cannabis Expected to Create ‘Domino Effect’

THE GUARDIAN: Coalition government consults health experts, economists and growers in race to clear legal hurdles within two years

The German government’s official motivation for legalisation is to break up the illegal cannabis trade. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
Germany is mulling over the consequences of soon becoming the world’s largest potential market for legally sold cannabis, as the country’s left-liberal government presses ahead with plans to allow the controlled distribution of the drug among adults.

Olaf Scholz’s coalition government has in recent weeks reiterated its 2021 coalition-deal vow to legalise for recreational use what its Green and liberal party minister have taken to referring to as Bubatz, a slang word for weed popular among German rappers.

A consultation process consisting of five public hearings with health experts, economists and cannabis growers concluded this week, firing the starting gun for a race to clear legal and regulatory hurdles within one to two years. A draft bill is expected within the second half of 2022.

Europe’s largest economy joining Canada and California in legalising cannabis for recreational use could create momentum to change the UN convention that restricts the cultivation of the plant and also puts pressure on neighbouring European states to follow Germany’s lead. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Friday, July 1, 2022

The world is going stark, staring mad! Governments across the West have been waging a war on tobacco and the smoking of cigarettes—though not, you notice, on cigars, because the one percenters enjoy puffing on those and would not tolerate their luxury habit being curtailed—and the UK Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, and the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, have declared that they want to make England and Wales smoke-free by 2030. Now this crap from Germany!

So, someone please correct me if I am wrong, but the message of this is clear as far as I can tell: It will soon be acceptable to be stoned out of one’s mind and will not only be allowed, but encouraged; but to enjoy a few puffs on a cigarette will not only be discouraged and made so expensive that ordinary folk won’t be able to afford the habit, but it will also be illegal. Go figure! Talk about a topsy-turvy world, this is it! These politicians, wusses all, make me sick!

The official motivation for legalizing cannabis is to break up the illegal cannabis trade. This is tosh! Absolute tosh! Let me tell you the two main motivations as I see them: The authorities have lost control of the illegal cannabis market and are finding it too expensive to police; and then, in addition, the German government sees an opportunity to make the proverbial killing from its legalization. Money aplenty will be made by the German government, especially in the form of taxes. This proposal is cynical, to say the least. This is Geldmacherei if ever I saw it!

The UK government will eventually inevitably follow suit, of course.

So, in the name of fairness, if drug addicts and junkies can get their kicks and fixes, why can’t smokers get some pleasure, too? I trust, therefore, that the high taxes on cigarettes will be brought down soon. If governments are going to let people smoke pot, they should certainly allow them to smoke cigarettes. There will be a domino effect alright! Be sure of that! Oh, and while we are on the subject, can someone in high places contact Philip Morris in Switzerland and demand that they stop sending us their inferior quality cigarettes: their crap. I know this is happening for two reasons: First of all, until early April, I was a smoker of Marlboro Reds (made by Philip Morris). It was clear to me that the quality of these cigarettes, in spite of their very high price, was very inferior to Marlboro Reds in years gone by. Secondly, not so long ago, in a German documentary on Philip Morris on YouTube, one of the directors of Philip Morris stated loud and clear that all the best quality cigarettes these days are exported to the Orient. Ironically, in the Orient, cigarettes are much cheaper than in the Occident. We have to pay the highest of prices for them, yet we are sold the most inferior of cigarettes in exchange.

Make smoking cool again! Make smoking cheaper! Better a whiff than a spliff! – © Mark Alexander

Canada : The Authorities Have Lost Their Minds!

With many thanks to Klaus Becker on Pinterest for this super photograph.
The Canadian government legalized the smoking of cannabis/marijuana three years ago; yet they are introducing ever more stringent laws against the smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Clearly, these laws are redolent of a Nanny State. How stupid can people get? This means that you can legally get stoned out of your mind, yet enjoying a humble cigarette is becoming ever more difficult. How nonsensical is that? I had always thought that Canadians were smarter than this. Obviously, I was mistaken. – © Mark Alexander

The pros, cons and unknowns of legal cannabis in Canada 3 years later: Legalization has had a positive effect on the justice system, but public health data is lacking, experts say »

Written warning on every cigarette in Canadian world-first: Poison in every puff’ message proposed amid government concern photo warnings on tobacco packages have lost impact »

Marokkanische Polizei beschlagnahmt Rekordmenge an Cannabis

31 TONNEN
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Polizei in der marokkanischen Hafenstadt Tanger hat laut eigenen Angaben eine „Rekordmenge“ Cannabis beschlagnahmt. Die sichergestellten Drogen - 31 Tonnen - sollten in Lebensmittelattrappen exportiert werden.

In einem Lagerhaus in der Nähe von Tanger fanden Ermittler laut Angaben der Generaldirektion für nationale Sicherheit am Mittwoch 31 Tonnen Cannabis und knapp 200 Kilogramm Cannabisharz . Die Drogen waren demnach in Attrappen von Obst und Gemüse versteckt und sollten mutmaßlich als Lebensmittel getarnt exportiert werden. » | Quelle: AFP | Donnerstag, 28. April 2022

Malta to Legalise Cannabis for Personal Use in European First

THE GUARDIAN: Move by EU’s smallest member state likely to be followed by reform across rest of continent in 2022

Malta will this week become the first European country to legalise the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use, pipping Luxembourg to the post, as the continent undergoes a wave of change to its drug laws.

Possession of up to seven grams of the drug will be legal for those aged 18 and above, and it will permissible to grow up to four cannabis plants at home, with up to 50g of the dried product storable.

A vote in favour of the legislation in the Maltese parliament on Tuesday will be followed by the law being signed by the president in order for it to be enacted by the weekend, Owen Bonnici, the minister responsible, told the Guardian.

The move by Malta, the EU’s smallest member state, is likely to be followed by reform across Europe in 2022. Germany recently announced a move to establish a legally regulated market, following announcements from the governments of Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. A referendum in Italy is planned, while Canada, Mexico and 18 US states have already enacted similar legislation. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Monday, December 13, 2021



This is crazy. Nuts! – © Mark

Commentary: I Don’t Defend Using Cigarettes or Tobacco. I Defend the Individual Freedom to Use Them.

This Dec. 17, 2019 photo shows a group of cigarettes in New York. About 14% of U.S adults were cigarette smokers last year, for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, the adult vaping rate still appears to be rising, according to a new government report. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE: The once-glorified cigarette graced the silver screen and could be seen in almost every magazine. Lucky Strike advertisements were as American as apple pie. Joe Camel was a four-legged hero and probably more popular than Spuds MacKenzie. Who didn’t want to look as cool as James Dean with a cigarette between their lips? On the battlefield, a cigarette provided tranquility even if just for a moment. Taking a few drags in a foxhole on a French battlefield while German soldiers were heard yelling or reloading was a little reminder of home.

For decades, cigarettes were a normal part of life. People smoked in every setting. From dinner parties, at the office, on airplanes or in the kitchen after a long day. It was normal and accepted. Then we started learning about the negative health implications. Americans became aware smoking cigarettes can have long-term negative effects on our bodies. We learned a lot of about nicotine and its addictiveness. Cancer was then linked to tobacco use. Long-term cigarette or cigar smoking could cause lung cancer. As people became aware, folks changed their behavior. Tobacco use, naturally, started to decline. » | Jess Nuñez | Wednesday, November 25, 2020

As far as I am concerned, the problem of obesity, as brought out in this German documentary started at around the time that the authorities and do-gooders started waging a war on cigarette-smoking and smokers.

I am going to stick my neck out here and state that there is a DIRECT CORRELATION between the decrease in the use of tobacco and the increase in obesity and the incidence of type-2 diabetes. When people smoked cigarettes more, both obesity and type-2 diabetes were far less prevalent in society.

Further, the authorities keep pushing vaping and e-cigarettes as alternatives to smoking real, traditional, combustible cigarettes, yet they have absolutely no reliable data on the long-term health consequences of vaping. This is grossly irresponsible on the part of medical people and governments worldwide.

People have been fed fairy stories, myths and lies about smoking cigarettes. If you listen to what they say about the dangers of smoking, if you dare indulge in the pleasurable habit, you will end up wrinkled, bald, toothless and you'll cough your lungs up! This is all balderdash, of course. I have smoked for most of my adult life and have very few wrinkles, a full mouthful of healthy teeth, a headful of thick, dark hair and I NEVER EVER cough! Moreover, I am not fat and I DO NOT suffer from diabetes. I believe that being a moderate smoker has helped me stay relatively slim and keep diabetes at bay. So, if I wish to do so, I shall continue to smoke real cigarettes despite the nonsense being talked about them. I am as proud to be a smoker as I am to be gay! I make absolutely no excuses for either!

As it happens, I have not smoked a cigarette for about ten days now. I had no intention of giving up smoking—and maybe I haven't long-term—but due to inclement weather, it was too wet to go out and buy cigarettes; so I didn't and did without. I haven't bothered to buy any cigarettes since that time.

Despite having a twenty-a-day habit for most of my adult life, I find it very easy to stop smoking when I wish to do so. Hence, I do not believe thaat smoking is half as addictive as they say it is. In my opinion and experience, smoking cigarettes is a habit rather than an addiction. Smoking is addictive only if one allows it to become so. Personally, all my adult life, I have refused to allow myself to become addicted to anything. When it comes to cigarettes, addiction is a choice: one becomes addicted if one allows oneself to become so. Basta!

At this point, I should add that I find it both maddening and stupid that at the very time that they are clamping down so much on smoking cigarettes, they are relaxing laws on smoking cannabis and other soft drugs. It is maddening because they have made the life of a smoker so difficult and expensive; it is stupid, because they are replacing one habit they say is so unhealthy with an even unhealthier one: smoking cannabis!

I would be the first person to admit that it is far better not to smoke at all. But only if the person doesn't replace smoking cigarettes with a habit which is even unhealthier than smoking cigarettes has ever been.

There is much more I could say about this subject, but for now, I shall leave it at that. – © Mark

L’Allemagne va légaliser le cannabis

Le libéral Christian Lindner, le social-démocrate Olaf Scholz, ministre des Finances sortant et futur chancellier, et les deux écologistes Die Grünen, Annabela Baerbock et Robert Habeck. TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP
LE FIGARO : Le futur gouvernement alliant le SPD, les Verts et les libéraux a dévoilé, mercredi, son contrat de coalition.

Deux des trois partis qui vont gouverner l’Allemagne s’appuient sur des fondements idéologiques différents. Les Verts et le FDP, qui se partagent tous les deux un électorat jeune et libéral, ont néanmoins milité ensemble pour faire adopter par le futur gouvernement une proposition de légalisation du cannabis. Le projet figure en page 87 de leur contrat de coalition, présenté mercredi à Berlin, qui en compte 177. Il rompt avec des années de politique sécuritaire, privilégiée par la CDU, en matière de drogue. «Nous introduisons la distribution contrôlée de cannabis aux adultes à des fins récréatives dans les magasins agréés, ce qui permet de contrôler la qualité, d’empêcher la distribution de substances contaminées et de protéger la santé publique , écrivent les auteurs du document. » | Par Pierre Avril | Publié : mercredi 24 novembre 2021 ; mis à jour : jeudi 25 novembre 2021

Should the Government Be Reviewing Medicinal Cannabis? | Alexis Conran

The controversial topic of legalised cannbis use for medicinal purposes has divided many members of the public, as well as senior politicians. Journalist Peter Hitchens tells Alexis Conran that it should not be legalised as it will do more harm then good, and clashes with Saira Khan.

How Neighboring States Struggle When Pot Becomes Legal

Since recreational marijuana became legally available in Colorado last year, officials say more pot is illegally coming through the border of states like Nebraska and Oklahoma, draining state resources as the number of arrests keeps growing. Now, the attorneys general of those states filed a federal lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to declare Colorado's marijuana law unconstitutional.

Legal Weed Comes to California

California will become the eighth state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana in 2018. The new law however, is raising a lot of questions for the state's users -- and producers -- of the drug. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports from Los Angeles, where only a handful of dispensaries will be ready to hit the ground running in the new year.

Bishop Ron Allen: Pot Legalization a Sad Day for California

Former drug addict has a warning for the state on 'Fox & Friends.'

Le Canada va légaliser le cannabis

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Canada compte adopter des lois «qui légaliseront et règlementeront la consommation de marijuana».

Le candidat Justin Trudeau l'avait promis. Désormais élu, il le confirme ce 4 décembre 2015 dans son discours de politique générale pour 2016, lu au Parlement par le Gouverneur général du Canada. Le cannabis sera légalisé.

Le Canada devient ainsi le premier pays du G7 à légaliser cette drogue douce.

Le nouveau gouvernement libéral, élu le 19 octobre, souhaite ainsi adopter au cours de la prochaine année des «mesures législatives (...) qui légaliseront et réglementeront la consommation de marijuana et limiteront l'accès à cette substance», a dit le Gouverneur général, David Johnston, en lisant le discours préparé par M. Trudeau, assis à ses côtés dans la Chambre des communes. » | afp/nxp | vendredi 4. Décembre 2015

Nutella attaque en justice Nugtella

LE SOIR: Ferrero veut protéger ses droits et éviter toute confusion avec cette pâte à tartiner à la marijuana

Les fabricants de la pâte à tartiner Nutella, soit la société italienne Ferrero, vont agir en justice contre les fabricants américains de Nugtella, une pâte à tartiner au chocolat, aux noisettes et... à la marijuana.

Pour consommer du Nugtella, un habitant de la Californie doit posséder une «carte de marijuana médicinale». » | Rédaction en ligne | dimanche 25 août 2013

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