Du Nutella au cannabis en vente en Californie

LE FIGARO: Le produit n'a rien à voir avec la marque italienne Ferrero qui commercialise la célèbre pâte à tartiner. Mais il surfe sur le succès de cette dernière.

Ce produit a l'apparence du Nutella, un nom quasi-identique, un packaging similaire et un goût sans doute comparable… Mais «Nugtella», la pâte à tartiner «made in California», possède un ingrédient en plus: de l'huile de cannabis. Ce produit un peu spécial est confectionné par la société Organicares, un dispensaire de marijuana médical situé à San José en Californie, révèle le site américain Huffington Post. Illégal en France, ce produit n'est pas non plus vendu dans les grandes surfaces de cet État de l'Ouest américain. Seuls les habitants possédant une «carte de marijuana médicinale» peuvent se le procurer en toute légalité. » | Par Anne-Laure Frémont | mardi 20 août 2013

Marijuana Legalization, Same-sex Marriage Win Big
Historic changes made in social policy at the ballot box

US Election: America Goes Liberal with Gay Marriage, Abortion and Cannabis Votes

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: US states backed legalising marijuana for recreational use, allowing gay marriage and rejected a call to ban public funding for abortions, in a swathe of state-wide ballots Tuesday.

The generally liberal moves were decided among more than 170 ballot initiatives and referendums held across the country, as it re-elected Democratic President Barack Obama for four more years.

Mr Obama came out in favor of gay marriage months before the election which pitted him against Republican rival Mitt Romney, who insists that marriage should be reserved for a relationship between a man and a woman.

During his first four-year term Mr Obama had also fulfilled a pledge to repeal the controversial Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) law banning openly gay servicemen and women from serving in the US military.


Three states voted Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage, including Maine - which voted in a referendum against it in 2009, but reversed that decision with 54 percent in favor to 46 percent against.

Washington state and Maryland also appeared set to approve the move, which had already been passed by state lawmakers. Both states voted 52-48 percent in favor, according to CNN projections based on partial results. » Source: AFP | Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Three US States Poised to Legalise Cannabis and Defy 'War on Drugs'

THE OBSERVER: Washington, Oregon and Colorado set to allow recreational use

Three US states are set to legalise recreational cannabis use this week in votes that could have major implications for the country's war on drugs.

Alongside their choice for president, residents of Washington, Oregon and Colorado – a swing state – will be asked on Tuesday whether they want to decriminalise cannabis.

If the measures are passed, adults over 21 would be able to possess, distribute and use small amounts. Cannabis for authorised medical use is already permitted and regulated by each state, even though it is against federal law.

Support is particularly strong in Washington and Colorado, but a "yes" vote in any of the states would be interpreted by the Department of Justice as an act of defiance against the federal government's war on drugs – the national law enforcement programme that spends $44bn a year struggling to stem the tide of illegal drugs in the US.

In June 2011, however, the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared that the war on drugs had failed.

In a swing state such as Colorado, putting the liberal measure on the ballot could even help to keep the battleground state – narrowly won for Barack Obama in 2008 – on the president's side. Obama has taken a soft line on medical cannabis use. » | Joanna Walters | Saturday, November 03, 2012

My comment:

Absurd! For a country such as the USA which takes such a harsh line on smoking cigarettes, this is a ridiculous move. Cigarettes, whilst they may not be harmless, are certainly not in the same health-risk league as drugs, soft or hard. This is a retrograde step too far. The US will yet come to rue the day they legalised drugs. The Americans are going bonkers! – © Mark

Santé – Cannabis : Nocif pour la mémoire
FRANCE SOIR: Une étude publiée par l'Inserm (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale) révèle que la consommation de cannabis nuit gravement à la mémoire.

Cannabis et mémoire ne font pas bon ménage. Dans une étude publiée ce vendredi dans la revue Cell, l'Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) met en évidence le fait que la consommation de cannabis altère la mémoire dite « du travail ».

En effet, l'équipe de Giovanni Marsicano (unité Inserm 862 « Neurocentre Magendie » à l'Université Bordeaux Segalen), en collaboration avec l'équipe de Xia Zhang (Université d'Ottawa, Canada), a révélé de quelle manière cette drogue agit sur les connexions s'établissant entre les neurones du cerveau. » | Par A. K. | vendredi 02 mars 2012

Marijuana scrambles your brain and leads to memory loss »

Tunisie : légalisation de la consommation de la zatla ?
INVESTIR EN TUNISIE: Les pratiques étranges ne cessent d’augmenter dans la Tunisie poste-révolutionnaire. Après le phénomène du djihadisme, du salafisme, du 6ème Califat, de l’excision… une manifestation a été annoncée pour la dépénalisation de la consommation du cannabis ou zatla en Tunisie.

Zatla, cette drogue douce tant convoitée par quelques Tunisiens, qui se sont mobilisés pour lancer un événement afin de faire légaliser son usage. « Tous unis pour la légalisation du cannabis », c’est le slogan levé, samedi 18 février 2012, devant l’Assemblée nationale constituante, au Bardo.

Plus de 4000 personnes se sont réunis, ont tous répondu présents à «Legalize it», appel à manifestation lancé via des pages d'événements créées sur Facebook. Les fumeurs de joints veulent visiblement sortir de la clandestinité. » | M.Kh | mardi 21 février 2012

Cannabis dépénalisé : Fillon dit trop fois non

FRANCE SOIR: François Fillon s'est dit fermement opposé à la dépénalisation du cannabis vendredi. Une option qu'il ne peut « envisager une seconde », a insisté le chef du gouvernement.

« Ni sur le plan sanitaire, ni sur le plan politique, ni sur le plan moral, je ne puis envisager une seconde de voir l'Etat annoncer officiellement à sa jeunesse que le cannabis est désormais en vente libre ». François Fillon est venu grossir les rangs des anti-cannabis déclarés vendredi, deux jours après le plaidoyer du député socialiste Daniel Vaillant en faveur d'une « légalisation contrôlée » de cette drogue. « J'ai pris connaissance avec peine des débats ambigus qui agitent le Parti socialiste sur la dépénalisation du cannabis », a commenté le Premier ministre lors d'un meeting devant des militants UMP à Nice. » | Par Actu France Soir | Vendredi 17 Juin 2011

Manifestation pour la dépénalisation du cannabis
LE POINT: Plusieurs centaines de personnes ont manifesté samedi, à Paris notamment, pour réclamer la dépénalisation de la consommation de cannabis, la régulation de sa production et sa prescription dans un cadre thérapeutique.

Les manifestants étaient 1.500 dans la capitale selon les organisateurs, 250 selon la police. Environ 60 personnes ont défilé dans le centre de Lyon en scandant "cannabis légal", une vingtaine ont été signalées à Cognac (Charente), une dizaine à Marseille... » | AFP | Samedi 07 Mai 2011

Les jeunes Suisses boivent et fument toujours autant
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Selon une étude d’Addiction Info Suisse, la consommation d’alcool, de tabac et de cannabis des jeunes de 15 ans est toujours aussi élevée.

L’attitude des jeunes face à l’alcool, le tabac et le cannabis n’a guère changé: leur consommation reste toujours aussi élevée qu’il y a quatre ans, selon une nouvelle enquête réalisée par Addiction Info Suisse auprès des écoliers de 15 ans. Environ un quart des adolescents boivent de l’alcool une fois par semaine et un jeune sur dix fume quotidiennement.

La consommation d’alcool et de cannabis avait atteint un sommet dans l’enquête réalisée en 2002 auprès des 11-15 ans, a rappelé mardi l’organisation. L’étude est effectuée tous les quatre ans sur mandat de l’Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP). Cette fois, l’accent a été mis sur les jeunes de 15 ans, un âge qui représente une étape importante du développement des adolescents. » | ATS | Mardi 29 Mars 2011

Cameron Quiet on Dope
MIRROR: DAVID Cameron faced damaging questions about his honesty last night [February 11, 2007] after refusing to comment on revelations that he DID smoke cannabis at Eton and Oxford.

A new biography discloses that the Tory leader narrowly avoided being expelled from Eton aged 15 for smoking "spliffs".

It also refers to his "infrequent and moderate" consumption of cannabis during his three years at university. >>> Oonagh Blackman Political Editor | Monday, February 12, 2007

NZ Garden Chain Was 'Cornerstone' of Marijuana Industry
The 16-store chain was described by police as forming part of the backbone of the country's cannabis industry. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: To most keen gardeners, a trip to the local garden centre means little more than the purchase of some bedding plants, a bag of potting mix and perhaps some gardening tips.

But when undercover police called in at Switched on Gardener, a New Zealand chain of garden supply shops, the advice they were given had nothing to do with rose blight. Instead, they were allegedly given tips on how to cultivate cannabis, and were able to buy cannabis plants and other drugs over the counter.

The 16-store chain, described by police as forming part of the backbone of the country's $800 million cannabis industry has now been closed down after one of the country's biggest ever anti-drugs crackdowns[.]

During a two-year operation police also raided 19 other gardening businesses across New Zealand arresting 250 people and dismantling over 100 commercial cannabis growing operatinos [sic] allegedly linked to the businesses. >>> Anne Barrowclough, Sydney | Wednesday, April 28, 2010

This Stupid, Stupid Government!
Cannabis: Not banning the drug is contributing to a growing mental health threat for the British population. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: The great puzzle of our time is why some pleasures are official sins, while others are smirkingly condoned by authority.

Understand why and you will know what is wrong with our degenerate ruling class.

In theory, the idea is that we all have a stern national duty to take lots of care of ourselves so that we do not become a burden on the holy, wonderful NHS.

We guard ourselves from self-inflicted illness or injury for the sake of others.

Since my childhood I have been ceaselessly lectured about how to stay safe and healthy, with varying degrees of success.

The simple slogans of the TV campaigns still echo in my memory, and no doubt in millions of others.

'Don't ask a man to drink and drive', 'One for the road? None for the road!', 'Clunk Click every trip'.
Propaganda isn't enough on its own. Law and fear are needed too.

Listen to an Englishman whinge when his driving licence is taken away, and you will see that there is still such a thing as punishment in our society, and it works.

I can remember the measurable change in the national atmosphere when the police began serious breathalysing.

Similar determination made us all wear seat belts. If only they'd do the same about the arrogant, murderous cretins who use mobile phones while driving.

The authorities also quite clearly know that advertising and the behaviour of actors and presenters on TV and in films affect behaviour.

That is why they have banned tobacco commercials and why it now seems astonishing that Joan Bakewell used to smoke while presenting the BBC's Late Night Line-Up in the Sixties. They Rave about the Peril of Sunbeds... Then Let Us Fry Our Brains on Cannabis >>> Peter Hitchens | Saturday, April 25, 2009

Revealed: Government Helpline Tells Children 'Cannabis Is Safer than Alcohol'
Absurd and disgraceful! How low will this dreadful government stoop? - Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Children calling the Government's drugs helpline are being told that cannabis is safer than alcohol and that ecstasy will not damage their health, an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has found.

Advisers manning the “Frank” helpline are informing callers they believed to be children as young as 13 that alcohol is a “much more powerful drug than cannabis” and that using the illegal drug recreationally is not harmful because it “doesn’t get you that high”.

Callers are also being told that taking ecstasy will not lead to long-term damage and that if they are in doubt, to “just take half a pill and if you are handling that OK, you can take the other half.”

They are even being told that they would be able to smoke a cannabis joint, on top of ecstasy, with no ill-effects.

The advice, given to reporters who rang the helpline posing as young people, has alarmed anti-drugs campaigners who branded it “scandalous” and “irresponsible.”

Health experts have condemned the advice given to children as “frankly appalling”, “factually incorrect” and “worryingly cavalier”. >>> By Julie Henry, David Barrett and Alex Ralph | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Barack Obama's Half-brother George Arrested in Kenya over Drugs
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's Kenyan half-brother, George, has been arrested by police in Nairobi on suspicion of possessing marijuana.

The 24-year-old, who denies the allegation, was told he would face a court hearing on Monday.

President Obama's young half-sibling was in the headlines last year after it was revealed that he was living in a corrugated iron shack in a sprawling slum as his brother ran for the most powerful job in the world.

George, who was the son of Mr Obama's father by his second wife, was one of the president's few close relatives who did not travel to Washington for the inauguration on Jan 20.

The two met previously when Mr Obama visited his ancestral homeland in an encounter that he described as a "painful affair" in his memoir Dreams from My Father.

Inspector Augustine Mutembei said the trainee mechanic would face charges of possession of cannabis and resisting arrest. >>> By Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, January 31, 2008

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