Many members of law enforcement have a dissenting opinion of drug prohibition policy. Among them is Bénédicte Desforges, a former police officer who worked in the field in an anti-criminology unit in the Paris suburbs.

Having seen the negative effects of the policy of prohibition on society, Bénédicte Desforges became involved in the fight for the decriminalization of all drugs, without exception. She created a collective of police officers, Police Against Prohibition more commonly known as PCP, to promote this vision. Although some of her colleagues prefer to remain silent on the issue, Bénédicte Desforges and her teammates have taken a stand, at the risk of causing tension with those around them.

In this episode, Bénédicte Desforges presents her arguments in favor of the decriminalization of all drugs. She considers that the policy of prohibition is ineffective, because it does not make it possible to regulate the use of drugs and only feeds the policy of numbers. She considers that decriminalization would be a more pragmatic and respectful approach to individual freedoms in terms of drugs. According to her, this would make it possible to better supervise the use of drugs, to prevent the risks associated with their consumption and to fight more effectively against illegal trafficking.

It is important to emphasize that the question of the decriminalization of all drugs is complex and gives rise to heated debates. However, it is essential to hear different perspectives on the issue and to discuss them openly. The commitment of Bénédicte Desforges and her collective of police officers offers interesting and original points of view on a crucial subject for our society.

You can find all of the Let’s Talk Canna podcasts here.

In a decision that upholds a previous verdict, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation again ruled that home cultivation of a small number of Cannabis plants for personal use does not constitute a crime.

This decision follows the appeal filed by a man accused of possession of narcotics while growing a few cannabis plants in his garden for his own use. The Naples Court of Appeal had already partially revised the initial judgment and acquitted the accused.

In 2019, the supreme body of the Court had already decided, in another case, that “the smallest cultivation activities carried out at home, which, by rudimentary techniques, the small number of plants, the very small quantity of products obtainable, the absence of other indicators of their inclusion in the drug market, appear to be intended exclusively for the personal use of the producer are not a crime. »

In other words, if a home cultivation is for personal use only and does not affect public order or health, the cultivation of small amounts of cannabis is legal. The Court of Cassation is however not the Parliament. If the first can suggest how to interpret a law, only the second has the power to modify it.

Until Italian law is changed, more and more trials will end in acquittal, creating a wedge between parliament and the courts.

Change in approach to self-cultivation of cannabis

In the verdict rendered on February 24 and reported by cannareporterthe judges noted that the defendant was “merely” a regular cannabis user and there was no evidence that his future harvest was intended for sale or distribution to third parties.

Furthermore, the cultivation used only rudimentary techniques, which resulted in the production of a limited number of plants and a negligible amount of cannabis.

By applying these criteria, the court confirmed the harmlessness of the defendant’s behavior. They acknowledged that the cannabis found was for personal use only, with no indication of intent to sell or distribute the product.

The ruling has been welcomed by drug policy reform advocates, who see it as a step towards a more rational, evidence-based approach to drug laws.

The Parliament of Catalonia has approved a proposal for a resolution to recognize the model of Cannabis Social Clubs and to demand their inclusion in future strategies related to drugs and addictions, reports the magazine Canamo.

The resolution urges the Catalan government to implement a registry of Cannabis Consumer Associations and other measures to monitor and involve these social harm reduction entities in drug policy decisions, and to integrate into the Catalan administration.

The measure – which was passed with the support of all groups in parliament except Vox – was put forward by the parties Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Junts per Catalunya, En Comú Podem and the CUP.

The motion for a resolution urges the provincial government to implement 12 recommendations, including – in addition to those already mentioned – the creation of a technical commission within the Ministry of Health, made up of members of associations and healthcare professionals. prevention and treatment of addictions and advocating for state and regional legislative changes to ensure safe access to cannabis.

The proposed resolution was promoted by the Federation of Cannabis User Associations (CatFac), which in a press release called the measure “a small, courageous step” that “recognizes the model of user associations as a key element in the development of effective and truly effective risk prevention and minimization strategies”.

Comunicado de prensa

A new recognition in Catalonia of the model of Cannabis Social Clubs as a strategia for prevention and reduction of riesgos. pic.twitter.com/HAScgXJfGN

— CatFAC (@Cat_FAC) February 16, 2023

At the federal level, a recent proposal to legalize cannabis failed to pass.

The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, informed the Dutch government earlier this week that the city wanted to participate in the legal cannabis experiment, which allows the legal production of cannabis for certain coffeeshops in a municipality.

Amsterdam is now considering which district could participate in the national experiment. The Amsterdam triangle, made up of the mayor, the general prosecutor and the chief of police, agreed in January to take part in the experiment. It should start in 2024, with an exception for the cities of Tilburg and Breda from October 2023.

Amsterdam wants to participate in the cannabis trial as the eleventh municipality, but with only one urban district

Initially, ten Dutch municipalities could take part in the experiment. Amsterdam has expressed interest several times in the past, but participation proved impractical due to the large number (166) of coffee shops in the city.

The government is now preparing an extension of the experiment to include an eleventh municipality. The experimentation amendment that would make this possible is currently being considered by the Lower House.

Amsterdam explains its desire to participate with a single district in particular by the size of the city:

“The size and population of several districts in Amsterdam make them suitable for participating in the experiment. Amsterdam is now in talks with the ministries of J&V and VWS on further details. The municipality will soon start discussions with the districts and the coffee shop sector about the proposed participation. The goal is to select a district for the experiment in May. »

Why is Amsterdam an exception?

When setting up the wietexperiment, we already knew that if a district wanted to participate, all the coffee shops in the district had to participate. An exception will therefore seem to be made for Amsterdam, which will select a district and a certain number of coffees.

Goed nieuws voor het wietexperiment. In eleven zoektocht naar een 11e stad heeft @AmsterdamNL zich gemeld. Samen puts @DilanYesilgoz zal ik uiteraard goed kijken naar de voorwaarden, maar deelname van deze stad aan het experiment zou natuurlijk erg mooi zijn.https://t.co/qTdeOkaJe3

—Ernst Kuipers (@ministerVWS) February 21, 2023

Experimenting with legal production for coffeeshops, now supplied by the black market, should clarify whether it is possible to supply coffeehouses with quality-controlled cannabis in a “closed chain” and in a regulated manner. It will study in detail the effects on public order, crime and public health.

While the full experiment is suffering delay after delay and is not expected to be launched before 2024, the Dutch Minister of Health, Ernst Kuipers, announced on Wednesday February 22 that a pilot start-up phase would be launched during the last quarter of 2023. in the towns of Tilberg and Breda.

It should start with three growers who will be able to supply products to coffeeshops in these cities.

A total of ten towns are involved in the experiment. Other municipalities should join them, and Amsterdam announced last Tuesday its wish to join the experiment of the legal production of cannabis for the coffeeshops of one of its seven districts.

Three producers will therefore take part in the initial phase and supply all licensed coffeeshops in the cities of Tilberg and Breda. Each establishment will only be able to have in stock a maximum of 500 grams of “legal” weed, but will be able to continue to source from its former illegal producers.

There ” wietexperiment was first approved by the Dutch Senate in 2019 after several years, and has since been blocked for various reasons.

The goal of the break-in period is to “train with all processes and systems”, said Health Minister Ernst Kuipers. The minister told MPs that the initial period would last six months and that he hoped then that other cities would join the project.

The objective of the experiment is to remove the gray area in which the production of cannabis for coffeeshops takes place, which is still illegal, while reducing nuisance and crime.

Banking difficulties

Ten growers were originally selected for the trial, but one has since lost his license and only one of the remaining is ready to start.

In particular, growers find it difficult to obtain a bank account due to banks’ concerns about potential money laundering.

Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz told MPs that it is up to the banks themselves to decide who they open accounts for, but that they should be clearer about the conditions they require for acceptance .

The mayors of Tilburg and Breda both welcomed the news of the launch of the experiment.

“We can finally take the first steps towards the legalization of soft drugs,” said Tilburg Mayor Theo Weterings.

The Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish government, rejected the proposal to legalize cannabis for therapeutic and recreational use. The initiative was presented by the Republican Left of Catalonia and supported by Unidas Podemos, PNV and Cs, among other parliamentary forces.

This is the second time that the Lower House has rejected this law during the current legislature. The previous vote, proposed by Más País, another left-wing party, was rejected by the same groups.

Full Cannabis Legalization

The objective of the law, as defended by Republican deputy Marta Rosique, was to legalize cannabis and regulate its uses because “denying it or banning it will not make consumption disappear”.

For Rosique, it is a question of public health by considering cannabis as a medicine and thus facilitating its access to citizens who need this substance as medical therapy through a medical prescription.

“In the current situation, people are resorting to illegal means of treatment,” she argues. The law also provides for the regulation of recreational use, as well as cultivation, transport, possession, consumption, dispensing and marketing.

According to the ERC MEP, it is necessary to “decriminalize cannabis, as various European states have done”, in order to “focus on the prevention and treatment of addictions”.

Access to this substance would be through individual or community self-cultivation via non-profit associations. It is estimated that more than 200,000 people could benefit from legalization for medical purposes in Spain, according to the Spanish Medical Cannabis Observatory.

The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), through the voice of Alfredo Sancho, has been reluctant to mix therapeutic and recreational regulation.

“We have always maintained that these are two different debates, one helps the quality of life of thousands of patients who suffer from pain and the other does not”, underlined the socialist deputy.

On the side of the Popular Party (PP), Eduardo Carazo insisted on the “no” to consumption which “has a negative impact on health”.

A position shared by Vox which, through Juan Luis Steegmann, highlighted the “mental and physical harm” associated with cannabis use.

Meanwhile, parties that backed the bill argue that prohibition is ineffective and that other similar initiatives in autonomous communities like Navarre and Catalonia have received majority support in their regional assemblies.

Other initiatives

This is the third bill in Congress in the last two years that aims to regulate cannabis, although the one presented by Unidas Podemos has not yet been debated in Parliament.

A few weeks ago, Ciudadanos registered a non-legislative proposal to seek regulatory changes to establish a “guarantee regulation” that facilitates access to medical cannabis and accurate information on its therapeutic properties by doctors, companies, patients and institutions.

In addition, last year the Health Committee of the Congress of Deputies gave the green light to the opinion of the subcommittee which studied the legalization of cannabis for medical use. The text was approved with the support of the PSOE, Unidas Podemos, Ciudadanos, PNV and PDeCAT, despite the votes against by the Popular Group and VOX.

Despite this approval, no concrete progress has been made.

Cannabis retail sales in Canada hit a new monthly record last December, totaling over 295 million across the country

Sales eclipsed the previous monthly record of 273 million euros and rose nearly 14% from the total sales of 260 million euros recorded in November, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada presented in Canadian dollars.

Ontario, which now has more than 1,600 retail stores, recorded sales of more than 118 million, a 35% year-over-year increase. It is followed by Alberta, which recorded sales of 51.3 million euros and British Columbia which recorded sales of 43.8 million euros.

For the year, total sales exceeded C$4.5 billion (€3.1 billion) nationwide, an increase of almost 18% over the previous year.

Ontario Driving the Cannabis Economy

In October, theOntario Cannabis Store (OCS) released its latest quarterly report for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which runs from January 1 to March 31, 2022, and noted that the pace of retail store openings had slowed compared to the previous quarter.

There were approximately 1,500 stores open at the end of the fourth quarter, with stores operating in 233 municipalities across the province. According to this report, on average, Ontarians live within 4 kilometers of a cannabis retail store.

This is despite the fact that a number of major cities, including Mississauga and its nearly 900,000 residents, ban cannabis retailers from operating. The city is one of 66 Ontario municipalities that have opted out of selling cannabis at retail, but that may soon change.

Earlier this month, the Toronto Sun reported that a city councilor had asked the city to submit a report on lifting the ban. Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie also said she would vote to open cannabis sales in Mississauga, as she has done in the past.

While the city has no retail store, nearby Toronto has over 400 stores.

According to the OCS report, more than 96% of sales in the quarter were made in stores of the type brick-and-mortar, with the rest of the sales taking place online. Dried flowers accounted for around 50% of total sales, followed by pre-rolls (15%), vapes (16%), and edibles and concentrates (5% each).

At the time of the report’s release, the top retailers in the province by number of stores were Tokyo Smoke (60), Spiritleaf (43), Sessions (42), Fire & Flower (37) and True North (36).

A report released last May found that Ontario could accommodate around 2,000 cannabis stores to reach its “optimal level.”

A committee of the Philippine Parliament has considered a bill to decriminalize the production, sale and consumption of cannabis in the Philippines.

The lower house’s Dangerous Drugs Committee, chaired by Robert Ace Barbers, has offered to form a technical working group with the Health Committee to flesh out the bill introduced by former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

In his speech, Alvarez used colorful language to describe the current state of cannabis in the country.

“The classification of cannabis and its derivatives as a dangerous drug is bullshit. It does not mean anything. And we have to correct this nonsense,” he said on Tuesday, February 21.

“If the government allows harmful products like alcoholic beverages, carcinogenic cigarettes and sugary drinks that promote diabetes, why can’t we decriminalize the production and sale of a substance that is less harmful, that has many benefits and which can be a source of revenue for the government? asked Mr. Alvarez.

The former House leader also argued that legalizing cannabis in the Philippines would generate wealth that the government could use for its programs and projects.

“We can decriminalize cannabis and its derivatives, and we can collect billions in taxes on its production and sale. We can use these additional revenues to build more roads and bridges, more classrooms and hospitals, and more public services in pursuit of the common good. We can also use the additional taxes collected to help our country pay off our deep debt caused by the economic crisis during the pandemic,” Mr. Alvarez said.

What the bill says

Republic Act 9165, also known as the Amended Dangerous Drugs Act, classifies cannabis as a dangerous drug and substance.

Those found guilty of cultivation of cannabis and possession of 10 grams of cannabis resin or cannabis resin oil, as well as 500 grams or more of cannabis, are liable to a fine of up to 10 million pesetas and life imprisonment.

Alvarez’s proposal, House Bill 6783, seeks to exclude cannabis, cannabis resin and extracts, and cannabis tinctures from the list.

Batanes representative Ciriaco Gato expressed concern that removing cannabis from the list would pave the way for recreational use of cannabis.

“I think that if alcohol and tobacco are really bad, so is cannabis. As to which is more harmful, I think it depends on the amount,” Gato said, arguing that a variety of cannabis has negative effects. “Cannabis, like alcohol, has certain effects from a medical and social point of view. »

Outlook

The proposal is still in its infancy, and it is not among the priority bills of the Marcos administration. The Dangerous Drugs Commission is also seeking to conduct a more in-depth examination of the subject.

“I would like to listen to the opinions of all the members first, and the opinions of the experts,” Barbers told Rappler when asked if he would support the measure and possibly defend it during the House plenum. .

“A lot of discussion will have to be had because if the intention of the proponent is to remove it from the list, there must be reasons why they want to remove it,” he added. “Before pursuing the idea of ​​making it available for sale, it must be removed [de la liste des drogues dangereuses]. »

In addition to the bill introduced by Alvarez, numerous bills aimed at legalizing medical cannabis in the Philippines have been submitted to the health committee. The House, led by then-Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in the 17th Congress previously approved a bill to legalize medical cannabis, but the proposal did not pass the Senate.