The free neighborhood of Christiania could soon undergo a radical change. The mayor of Copenhagen, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, has indeed indicated that she plans to completely close Pusher Street, this street known to tourists – but not only – for its illegal cannabis trade.

What prompts Ms. Andersen to make this statement is the increase in violence and crime in Pusher Street.

“If the people of Christiania make it clear that they want to close Pusher Street and do something else with this area, the municipality of Copenhagen is ready to help draw up a plan to study what can be done with this street,” said Ms. Andersen in an interview with the tabloid Ekstra Bladet.

Long-standing problems

The violence in Pusher Street is not new. Several gangs are vying for control of this popular place, with its share of stabbings and shootings. A 23-year-old young man, well known to the area, was shot and killed in Pusher Street at the end of October 2022.

Since the 1970s, Christiania or Freetown Christiania, in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, has been the country’s “Green Light” district. It’s a mini-Amsterdam, with comparable canals and architecture and an open tolerance to soft drugs including cannabis.

The military base at Bådsmandsstræde, on the island of Amager, was transformed into a municipality in 1973 and endowed with an autonomous government. Hippies and anarchists established a social democratic government structure and made the region a permanent “social experiment”. The first thing you see upon entering Christiania is a fresco depicting a fan leaf, as well as a fist crushing a hypodermic needle, signifying the rule of no hard drugs in the area.

Since around 1980, hashish has been openly sold in Pusher Street, which is why the neighborhood has enforced a strict no-photography rule. But organized crime comes to darken the picture, and it is no longer the utopia it was.

“The violence and crime around Pusher Street has reached a level that we cannot and do not want to deal with,” Ms Andersen told Ekstra Bladet. “In Copenhagen, I think we have to make room for Christiania. It is both quirky and alternative. He is creative. But this harsh and organized violence must be excluded from the future of Christiania”.

An ongoing debate also proposes to legalize cannabis in the country.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has signed into law a new anti-narcotics bill that aims to prevent money laundering, promote the legalization of medical cannabis for personal use and strengthen penalties for those who supply drugs or weapons to children and adolescents.

The overall idea of ​​the law is to improve the prosecution of organized crime and to regulate the destination of seized assets. The objective is more specifically to stem the rise in homicides and curb organized crime as much as possible, in order to reconquer neighborhoods taken over by drug traffickers.

The situation of insecurity is one of the main concerns of Chilean citizens. According to Telam, President Boric will work to “ensure peace and security”.

“Chile will finally have a law that strengthens the prosecution of drug trafficking and organized crime, preventing these organizations and their members from enriching themselves by committing crimes,” he said.

Chile, against drug trafficking and in favor of cannabis growers

The new “law against drug trafficking” is at the top of the legislative agenda in terms of public security. It is presented by the Chilean executive and parliament as a response to the crisis the country is going through.

“This is a new impetus in our head-on fight against crime,” Boric said. He also indicated that in Chile the cultivation of medical cannabis is officially allowed. This culture must be prescribed by a doctor and reserved for personal use.

“I want all of society and the people listening to know that this is an extra push in the head-on fight we are giving against crime,” Boric said.

“We will stand firmer than ever with the aim of bringing peace of mind and security to the millions of Chilean men and women who inhabit our homeland,” the president concluded.

Medical cannabis has been legal there since 2015 and patients can be prescribed cannabis-based medicines by their doctor for certain pathologies.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has signed legislation allowing interstate cannabis trade, which will only be possible if federal policy changes.

Before signing the law, Jay Inslee urged Congress to modernize national cannabis laws, saying federal legalization “would help our well-regulated cannabis industry stay competitive, while meeting public health and safety standards.” .

He also quipped that Washington State needs a “pony express that goes east to get the message to Washington D.C., so if anybody’s got any fast horses, put ’em on.” at work here”.

As passed, the measure will allow the governor to enter into agreements with other states where cannabis is legal, as soon as there is a federal reform “allowing the transfer of cannabis between states” or a notice from the Federal Department of Justice “allowing or condoning” the trade in cannabis across state lines.

With this signing, the three western coastal states are now able to authorize imports and exports of cannabis within their territory. Oregon was the first state to take the plunge in 2019, followed by California last year.

Washington’s bill states that if either of two federal conditions are met, state regulators will be required to provide written notice of the policy change, as well as any “statutory amendments necessary to authorize the sale.” , delivery and receipt of cannabis” from out-of-state businesses.

In California, the state attorney general could trigger interstate cannabis trade enforcement regardless of federal considerations. In January, state regulators asked Attorney General Rob Bonta to prepare these guidelines.

In the event of federal legalization of cannabis in the United States, the regulatory authorities will have to adopt the necessary rules for the import and export of cannabis. However, the authority to enter into agreements with other states will rest exclusively with the governor of each state.

The Swiss city of Bern will join Basel, Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva and will legally distribute cannabis this fall.

The Bernese pilot trial for the regulated sale of cannabis in pharmacies, called SCRIPT for Safer Cannabis – Research In Pharmacies randomized controlled Trialhas just been authorized by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) and the Cantonal Ethics Commission and the Ethics Commission of North-West and Central Switzerland.

Main objective: to assess the health and social effects of selling cannabis in “strictly regulated, non-profit” pharmacies. To do this, the study will be monitored by the Universities of Bern and Lucerne. It will last 3 years, from October 2023 to April 2026.

It will be carried out in the cities of Bern, Biel and Lucerne and should start “probably in the fall”. The experiment plans to recruit 1,091 participants, including approximately 600 in the federal city.

Only people who already use cannabis for recreational purposes and who are at least 18 years old will be able to participate in the study. Only half of the participants will be allowed to buy cannabis products for the first six months.

Measuring the effects of legalization

According to Reto Auer, head of the SCRIPT study at the University of Bern: “The objective of the study is to test the health and social effects of selling cannabis in strictly regulated, non-profit pharmacies. “.

In this context, study participants will be able to obtain cannabis products, which have been produced specifically for the study, in selected pharmacies. With the amount of the sale, the pharmacies will cover their expenses and will do so on a non-profit basis.

The study aims to test a regulation that aims for strict control of supply and demand while allowing risk reduction measures. Thus, for example, no advertising will be allowed, the products will be sold in neutral and standardized packages.

Reto Auer explains: “These elements should make the products less attractive, especially for young people. We know the effectiveness of these measures from the field of smoking prevention”, before adding: “the aim of our study is therefore not a simple legalization of cannabis, but consists in testing risk reduction measures for address the problems caused by a ban and the illicit market while controlling the supply and demand for these products”.

The study should provide data for possible future regulation of cannabis at the federal level aimed at promoting public health and social security.

Colombia’s cannabis legalization bill has officially passed the country’s House of Representatives and now needs to go to the Senate to clear the final two hurdles before possibly being passed on to the President.

After a close vote last month, lawmakers took up the bill on Tuesday, approving it in the sixth of eight required debates, by a vote of 98 to 57. The bill must now go to a Senate committee, then be passed by the Senate for promulgation.

Colombia is “ready to take a step forward towards a new drug policy that abandons the failed paradigm of prohibition and paves the way for a policy guided by public health guidelines, the prevention of consumption and the guarantee citizens’ rights,” said the author of the bill, MP Juan Carlos Losada Vargas of the Liberal Party.

“We are a long way from starting to write a new history in the fight against drugs; at this stage it is a matter of political will,” he said. “Every vote is decisive. »

#HISTORICO🚨 Aprobado con 98 votos nuestro proyecto de #CannabisDeUsoAdulto in 6to debate.

Hoy @CamaraColombia Demonstrate that somos a country that quiere cambiar la fallida política prohibicionista de drugs a una basada en la prevention y la salud pública.#EsHoraDeRegular pic.twitter.com/RQhncCq2im

— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) May 9, 2023

Last year, the House and Senate passed different versions of the legalization legislation, and the two bodies decided to make the bills identical in December. The Senate overwhelmingly approved its version of the bill that month, after receiving initial approval from the House.

As a constitutional amendment proposal, the proposal must go through the full legislative process in each house twice, in separate calendar years, in order to be enacted.

The legalization bill supports “the right to free personality development, allowing citizens to decide on cannabis consumption within a regulated legal framework.” And it would mitigate “arbitrary, discriminatory or unequal treatment of the population that consumes”.

It also calls for public education campaigns and the promotion of drug treatment services.

During a public hearing in the Senate last year, Justice Minister Néstor Osuna said that Colombia had been the victim of a “failed war conceived 50 years ago and which, due to a absurd prohibitionism, brought us a lot of blood, armed conflicts, mafias and crimes”.

The House of Representatives gave its initial approval to the legalization bill last year. The head of the interior ministry also came out in favor of the reform proposal at the time. The vote came shortly after a congressional committee pushed through that measure and another legalization bill.

President Gustavo Petro, a progressive who since taking office in August has vigorously advocated for an end to the criminalization of drugs internationally, spoke of the possible benefits of legalizing cannabis.

Last year, the president delivered a speech at a meeting of the United Nations (UN), urging member countries to radically change their approach to drug policy and end prohibition .

Mr. Petro also raised the possibility of legalizing cannabis in Colombia in order to reduce the influence of the illicit market. He also indicated that this change in policy should be followed by the release of those currently imprisoned for possession of cannabis.

He spoke of the economic potential of a legal cannabis industry, in which small towns in the Andes, Corinto and Miranda could benefit from legal cannabis cultivation, possibly without licensing requirements.

A document obtained by the German Press Agency hints at plans by the German government to heavily regulate future Cannabis Clubs, associations that will produce cannabis for their members on a non-profit basis.

According to the details of the project, which is far from final, the non-profit associations could be operational by the end of this year.

The report by the German press agency indicates that Germany could limit the distribution of cannabis only to members of the association and to a maximum of 50 grams per month per person. Clubs would be limited to 500 members.

Consumers between the ages of 18 and 21 would be subject to a limit of 30g per month and 10% THC.

For comparison, Canada limits sales to 30 grams of flowers per person per purchase, with no lower limit for young people. However, provinces have different lower age limits, with most set at 19.

The bill also maintains that possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis and cultivation of up to three plants for personal use should be allowed.

Other details of the regulations, which the news agency said could be changed following Bundestag deliberations, would require ‘plain’ packaging and no ‘consumer incentives’ for young people. . Consumption on the site of the associations would be prohibited. It will however be authorized in public, but not between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. for pedestrian areas, and must be carried out more than 250 meters from schools, playgrounds, sports facilities, nurseries and other places deemed vulnerable by the government.

Labels should show package weight, harvest date, best before date and grower, as well as THC and CBD content.

The report by the German press agency also specifies that the premises of Cannabis Clubs as well as places where cannabis is stored or grown must be fenced and equipped with burglar-proof doors and windows.

Clubs would also be required to keep records of the following:

• The origin of their seeds
• The number of plants grown and stored
• Inventory Levels
• The amount of cannabis distributed to members
• The quantity of product packed
• The amount destroyed

The German legalization project also includes the implementation of pilot projects aimed at testing the commercial legalization of cannabis in certain municipalities. Details have yet to be worked out.

The US Congress will consider for the eighth time a bill to allow cannabis companies to use banking services.

A group of bipartisan lawmakers reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the House of Representatives and the Senate last Wednesday, after its previous blockages in the, the last being last year.

The bill, which has been amended since last session, was introduced by Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Earl Blumenauer, and Republicans Steve Daines and Dave Joyce.

The bill, which has always enjoyed strong bipartisan support, has already been passed seven times by the House of Representatives.

“For the first time, we have the opportunity to push the SAFE Banking Bill through the Senate Banking Committee and have it voted on by the Senate,” Merkley said in a statement. “Let’s make 2023 the year this bill is signed to ensure that all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need to keep their employees, businesses and communities safe. »

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer voiced support for the legislation on Thursday and said he would ensure it included criminal justice provisions when considered

“The SAFE Banking Act will provide urgent relief to cannabis businesses of all sizes and serve as a springboard for broader reforms,” said Matt Darin, CEO of cannabis operator Curaleaf, in a statement after the proposed reintroduction of banking. law.

Under current federal law, banks and credit unions face federal prosecution and penalties if they provide services to legal cannabis businesses, as cannabis is still federally illegal.

Without access to financial services, legal cannabis businesses are forced to operate in cash only, which can fuel theft, money laundering and organized crime.

“This legislation will save lives and livelihoods. It is high time for Congress to address the irrational, unjust, and dangerous ban on basic banking services for legal cannabis businesses,” said Mr. Blumenauer, Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

What’s in the SAFE Act?

Broadly, the bill seeks to protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses from penalties from federal regulators. Under the SAFE Banking Act, federal regulators will be barred from taking several punitive actions against banks:

• Prohibit, penalize or discourage a bank from providing financial services to legal cannabis businesses
• Terminate or limit a bank’s federal deposit insurance if the bank provides these services
• Recommend or encourage a bank to stop providing banking services to cannabis businesses
• Taking action on a loan made to a cannabis business owner or operator

The legislation also creates a safe harbor against criminal prosecution, liability and asset forfeiture for banks, their officers or employees.

Uganda’s Constitutional Court struck down a law that criminalized drugs and narcotics, such as cannabis and khat.

This decision follows a procedure initiated six years ago by a group of khat growers in response to the 2015 law, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Actrepealed in its entirety after the Court ruled that it had been passed without the required quorum in parliament.

For a law to be debated and passed by the Ugandan parliament, at least one third of all voting members must be present in the chamber. Even though the law has been overturned, there is still a risk of arrest for the cultivation, possession, consumption or sale of drugs prohibited or restricted under other Ugandan laws.

To read : Uganda approves cultivation of medical cannabis

The farmers against the state

In the 2017 petition, Ugandan farmers, under their umbrella organization, Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Associationasked the Constitutional Court to annul the law passed by the country’s Parliament which, in their view, does not comply with the principles of legality, equality, rationality and proportionality guaranteed by the Constitution, since they have never been consulted.

Growers have also argued that they are aggrieved by the manner in which the law seeks to prohibit the cultivation, possession, consumption, sale, purchase, storage, distribution, transportation, export, importation and other culture-related transactions, arguing that this decision was not supported by any evidence, scientific or otherwise.

Last Friday, Uganda’s Constitutional Court, represented by a five-judge panel, ruled that the way the law was enacted was illegal and that the only solution was to repeal it.

“At the voting stage, the bill must garner a sufficient number of votes to be legally passed. The sufficient number of votes is prescribed by Article 89, paragraph 1, of the Constitution. This is the majority of the quorum”.

The judges of the Constitutional Court therefore consider that any bill adopted without the aforementioned procedure having been respected is null and void.

“I have already established that, on the evidence presented to the Court, the Speaker of Parliament failed to verify the quorum required by Rule 23(3) of the Rules of Procedure for the 9th Parliament, 2012. I I also concluded that the evidence presented in court supported the petitioners’ assertion that there was no quorum at the time of the passage of the bill for the enactment of the law,” Judge Kibeedi ruled.

Repeal of the law

In repealing the entire act, Justice Kibeedi held that since the provisions prohibiting trade in miraa, the local name for khat, were not dealt with by Parliament independently of the rest of the provisions of the narcotics and psychotropic substances (control), the entire law must be annulled.

“As such, there is nothing to salvage in the contested law”, he judged, before annulling the law and awarding costs to the applicant.

Commenting on the judgment, Kizito Vincent, the president of the petitioners hailed this development as a great victory.

“This is a big win for a Ugandan farmer who sells miraa. Previously, our members were arrested, their businesses destroyed and many others lost their property. Following the enactment of the law, our businesses were crippled as we could no longer export and sell freely, while we have enough scientific research to prove that miraa is not dangerous,” Mr. Kizito.

“The research we conducted shows that miraa is a food and a medicine. Many of our members have been able to educate children and build homes through the sale and trade of the miraa, but the government did not take this into account when developing this law. »

He said he was ready to work with the government to ensure the streamlining of his business.

However, according to legal experts, the repeal of the current law means that the previous law, the National Drug Policy and Authority Actremains in place to fill the gap.

On April 25, the Czech Ministry of Agriculture announced through a press release that CBD and other hemp-derived cannabinoids were not permitted in food and that the authority national inspection of agricultural and food products (SZPI) would therefore ban them. Many experts, economists and entrepreneurs in the cannabis sector have criticized this decision, deeming it illogical and unnecessary.

The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), which brings together European companies promoting the full use of hemp, has decided to act.

The Czech Agriculture Ministry’s announcement followed the European Commission’s (EC) decision last June to halt the processing of applications for authorization of novel CBD foods due to concerns about their security profile.

The EIHA has therefore requested clarification on the traditional status of natural products based on hemp extracts, by filing an application under Article 4 of the Community Novel Foods Regulation.

A 14th century papal soup

EC rules state that if it can be proven that the food in question was widely consumed as food in the EC before May 1997, it does not need to go through the novel food procedure. . The Novel Food is not a legally binding EU regulation, but only a recommendation. Each Member State can therefore judge for itself what is or is not a novel food.

The EIHA has identified almost 30 examples of the use of hemp and cannabis extracts over the centuries. Among these examples was a soup recipe from Pope Martin V’s personal chef in the 14th century.

This Roman dish contained juices from cannabis flowers and leaves mixed with spices including saffron, breadcrumbs and onion.

Lorenza Romanese, Director General of EIHA, explained to Business of Cannabis that the association had chosen the route of article 4 because an increasing number of countries do not allow or want to restrict the use of hemp extracts which naturally contain cannabinoids.

A traditional food

She added: “The Czech Ministry of Agriculture may have felt some pressure from the European Food Safety Authority following concerns it expressed in June last year to the subject of CBD isolates. »

“However, we intend to demonstrate to the Czech Ministry of Agriculture that natural hemp plant extracts are a traditional food that has been used in Czechia and Europe for centuries.”

With the Czech Republic being at the forefront of moves to introduce a recreational cannabis market – and having independently raised the limit of THC in CBD to 1% in the field – EIHA believes there is a chance reasonable for her to succeed.

The EIHA’s Article 4 request was made directly to the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, which has four months to make a decision, although this may be delayed.

Ms Romanese, strongly supported by CzechHemp, the Czech hemp group, is trying to convince Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the validity of her position.

This Tuesday morning, Petr Fiala also tweeted that he was against the ban on CBD in the Czech Republic.

Návrh Státní zemědělské inspekce na zákaz CBD extraktu v potravinách nepovažuji za šťastný a potvrzuje to i zpětná vazba, kterou mám od občanů a podnikatelů.

Až dokončíme konsolidační balíček, setkám se s ministerm zemědělství @ZNekula a požádám ho, aby zkusil najít schůdnější…

— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) May 9, 2023

Back to 2019

Ms Romanese stressed that Member States can act independently under the precautionary principle and that if they refuse to recognize the legality of products based on natural hemp extracts, they could be sanctioned by their own courts of the Court of justice of the European Communities.

In parallel, EIHA continues to work on its New Food Applications for CBD isolate, synthetic CBD and a full-spectrum hemp extract based on 10% CBD oil, despite the association not acknowledging not broad-spectrum or full-spectrum hemp extracts as falling under the Novel Food classification.

Lorenza Romanese added: “Both enriched CBD and isolated CBD are new, while the others are not and have been used in Europe for some time. Our goal is for the European Commission to recognize this and open the European market to traditional products or, if you like, to restore the market as it was until 2019”.

EU rules on CBD products were changed in 2019 when the EC determined they were derived from processes developed since 1997 and therefore new.

CzecHemp President Hanka Gabrielová welcomed the development saying, “A clear distinction between what is new and what is a traditional food ingredient is essential to the existence of the hemp industry itself. . »

“Consumer demand for CBD exists and cannot be ignored. A constructive path to meaningful regulation, as represented by traditional hemp extracts, is in the interest and protection of consumers. Hemp is part of the renewable sources and sustainability strategy and its support is really important. »

Ms Romanese added: “CBD and other cannabinoids have always been present in hemp food products over the centuries, especially in hemp oil obtained from whole seeds or tops with the seeds. blackberries. »

“This history of consumption is well documented and the use of hemp extracts as foods has even been endorsed by the European Commission in a communication dating back to 1998.”

“By declaring natural extracts as traditional foods, the Czech Republic would only restore the situation prior to 2019, when the Novel Foods Catalog entry for Cannabis sativa L. was arbitrarily changed. »

“The EIHA looks forward to a constructive discussion with the Czech authorities, in synergy with the Czech hemp sector, with the aim of achieving the best outcome for both consumers and commercial operators. »

Discussions that will also be important for France where the lack of regulation and divergent interests are sources of confusion.