Fernanda de la Figuera passed away last weekend. She was known as the Spanish Marijuana Grandmother amongst the activists. Fernanda was a referent for any issue on cannabis in Spain, having a long career since 1973 when she became a home grower. In 1996, she launched ARSECA (Asociación Ramón Santos de Estudios sobre Cannabis de […]
Malta has been heralded by international experts in drug policy for the recent changes to the law criminalizing cannabis and the establishment of not-for-profit cannabis associations. In fact, the new provisions of the law, establish that cannabinoids under 0.2% THC are outside the scope of national legislation pertaining to the control of narcotic and psychotropic […]
The Dutch government’s announcement of more delays for the cannabis experiment has led to sharp criticism from mayors of the cities that are taking part. Paul Depla, mayor of Breda said: ‘Perhaps we should just move directly to legalization given the number of countries which do now have experience of legalized marijuana cultivation.’ The two […]
The Dutch cannabis policy is as famous as it is inconsistent. The biggest inconsistency is the fact that coffeeshops are allowed to sell cannabis under strict conditions, but growing cannabis remains illegal and is actively persecuted. This paradox is known as ‘The backdoor problem’ and has many negative effects. Cannabis is grown in unsafe conditions, […]
Today is Human Rights Day. Human rights and cocaine do not seem to go hand in hand. Human rights and the regulation of cocaine do though. By promoting cocaine regulation, we don’t mean to state cocaine isn’t a dangerous drug. We only argue that prohibiting cocaine makes the drug more dangerous, on both sides of […]
Cannabis will soon be legally available for consumption in Germany. Last week, the newly elected coalition of SPD, Greens, and FDP agreed on this in their coalition agreement. The distribution will be controlled in licensed shops and only to adults. Although in Austria the legalisation of cannabis seems to be a long way off, many […]
From 19th to 21st of November 2021 we participated at the much expected Hanfexpo / Cultiva 2021 in Vienna. The strict COVID-19 measures (2G+: vaccinated or recovered + a negative PCR test and FFP2 mask when walking around) resulted in a fair with a small number of visitors, the exhibitors had only a small assortment, […]
The economists Justus Haucap and Leon Knoke published an updated report on the economic consequences of cannabis legalization in Germany. A summary of their findings: the country could profit almost 5 billion € by collecting taxes (sales, trade, income, social security) and from savings of the police/court/prison system. Download the full 2021 report here (in […]
November 15, 2021—Prague Writing about cannabis is a crime! On November 3, 2021, the Legalizace magazine and its editor-in-chief, Robert Veverka, were convicted of inciting and promoting “toxicomania” by the district court in the town of Bruntál. The editor-in-chief, Robert Veverka, and the publishing company of the Legalizace magazine, both prosecuted since the summer of […]
A theoretical concept of a harm reduction device for current users of smokable cocaine forms By Fabian P Steinmetz & Heino Stöver Although there are great regional differences, smokable forms of cocaine (crack, free-base, paco, etc.) are a drug complex associated with often harmful and problematic drug use patterns. While strategies based on drug prohibition […]
