15 February 2014 On February 12th, the Italian Constitutional Court ruled that the 2006 Italian drug legislation (the so called Fini Giovanardi law) is uncostitutional. Consequently, the 1990 legislation, as emended by the 1993 popular referendum (which decriminalized possession for personal use), has been restored.
Mujica: US and Europe must change their drug policy
Thursday, February 13, 2014 By Malena Castaldi and Felipe Llambias MONTEVIDEO – The United States and Europe need a new strategy in the war on drugs and should look at alternatives such as the regulated sale of marijuana, says Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, whose country recently legalized the production and sale of cannabis.
AND NOW HEMP AS WELL
6 February 2014 The United States federal government may not be ready to sanction marijuana use, but a new agriculture bill is set to legalize preliminary stages of hemp production in states that allow the practice. A new farm bill, passed by Congress on Tuesday, would allow universities and state agriculture departments to establish industrial […]
Nope, still no such thing as a fatal marijuana overdose
6 February, 2014 By David Bienenstock By all accounts, 31-year-old mother of three Gemma Moss recently smoked half a joint to help her sleep, and then she never woke up. It’s a tragic passing that quickly yielded giddy tabloid headlines touting her as “the first woman in Britain to be poisoned to death by cannabis”, […]
Czech police chose “wrong weapon” in raids on marijuana cultivation suppliers
3 February 2014, by Ian Willoughby In November, the Czech police’s drugs unit raided dozens of “grow shops”, businesses that sell products necessary for the cultivation of marijuana. The police justified the large-scale confiscation of goods on the grounds that a court had ruled it was illegal for the shops to offer in one place […]
Why Dutch mayors want to cultivate cannabis
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, […]
End the Ban on Psychoactive Drug Research
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.
Dutch town halls demand powers to decriminalise cannabis production
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. […]
Clark French on Sky News
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 […]
German cannabis activist wins 1 million euro in TV show
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