As Colombia’s new president steps up efforts to reform global drug policy, the country’s lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill to legalize and regulate cannabis across the country, pushing it through committee with near support. unanimous.

Liberal MP Carlos Ardila’s bill passed the House of Representatives First Committee by a 31-2 vote.

Con 31 votes a favor y 2 en contra, la #ComisiónPrimera of @CamaraColombia approved, in the first debate, new project of legislative action for regular el cannabis and guaranteeing ingresos tributarios para municipios, distritos y departamentos. #OportunidadParaLasRegiones #ReguleseYa pic.twitter.com/eCGalPweAu

— CARLOS ARDILA 🚩 (@CARLOSARDILA10) October 4, 2022

The proposal for the legalization of cannabis in Colombia wants to regulate “the consumption of cannabis for adults, thus guaranteeing the fundamental right to the free development of the personality”.

It would also promote “a different approach to the one used so far in the fight against the harmful effects on health and society that this psychoactive substance can have, by changing a purely penal approach for a risk reduction and health approach. public. »

“Also, with this legislative act, beneficial strategies for the rural environment will be promoted and others will be implemented to combat the illegal trafficking of this substance, betting on public health and social growth”, indicates the translated description.

The proposal would create regulations and establish a tax structure for legal cannabis sales. Revenues would be distributed to local municipalities to support public health, education and agricultural initiatives.

The bill is one of two cannabis legalization measures currently moving through the Colombian legislature. Another proposal by Liberal MP Juan Carlos Losada was already adopted in the first committee last month.

But so far, the president has not backed any of the specific cannabis reform bills, though he has strongly criticized the wholesale prohibitionist approach to the war on drugs.

Last month, Gustavo Petro told members of the United Nations (UN) that “democracy will die” if world powers do not come together to end prohibition and take a different approach, while millions of lives are at stake. at stake under the current regime.

The president said in another interview last month that the United States and other countries are enabling a “genocide” of preventable overdose deaths by maintaining the status quo of criminalization.

Gustavo Petro also recently spoke about the prospects of legalizing cannabis in Colombia as a way to reduce the influence of the illicit market. He said this change in policy should be followed by the release of those currently imprisoned for 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 the legal cultivation of cannabis, possibly without licensing requirements.

The president also indicated that he would be interested in exploring the idea of ​​exporting cannabis to other countries where the plant is legal.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the American drug enforcement agency, recognizes that its creation resulted from the passage of discriminatory and racist drug laws.

During the latest edition of his video series “ Stories from the Collection“, DEA museum officials discussed the origins of federal drug prohibition and how the agency was ultimately created in conjunction with the punitive policies that were enacted in the early 20th century.

When the government began taking steps to regulate certain substances like opium, “the public view of addiction changed,” the museum historian said.

“The increase in non-medical use – as well as racial, ethnic and class prejudice – has affected public opinion,” they added. “What had been a medical condition became deviant or criminal. This change led to a wave of laws against heroin, marijuana and cocaine. »

To enforce the new laws, a new agency called Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was then created under the aegis of the Treasury Department. The FBN was the predecessor of the DEA.

It is well established that the launching of the War on Drugs – and the way it has continued to be fought – was and remains largely racially and politically motivated. The Library of Congress documented how racist and stigmatizing depictions of cannabis in the media were used to reinforce prohibition, for example.

The director of National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Nora Volkow said separately last year that research has firmly demonstrated that the criminalization of drugs has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

The DEA has taken steps to at least support research into controlled substances like cannabis and psilocybin, increasing annual cultivation quotas to meet study demands and licensing new cannabis cultivators.

Sri Lanka has finished drafting its laws for the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes. Indigenous Medicine Minister Sirira Jayakody. announced that they will soon be submitted for Cabinet approval.

“Cannabis falls under Ayurveda (indigenous medicine) law,” Minister Jayakody told reporters. “It is a subject that falls under the department of Ayurveda. »

“We have to handle this with discipline. We cannot allow its use for recreational purposes. But we can use cannabis and cannabis extracts for medical purposes.

“There is also a strong export demand,” he said, estimating that the country could earn up to 3 billion euros per year from exports.

“We have drawn up the legal provisions. In a few days, we will present them to the government. »

In 2017, Sri Lanka announced plans to establish a 400-hectare cannabis plantation near Ingiriya, to supply cannabis to Ayurvedic practitioners, and potentially for the export of cannabis remedies to the United States.

Cannabis for therapeutic use is already sold in Sri Lanka in Ayurveda shops. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Health is today the only legal source of cannabis which procures the drug mainly during police raids on illegal shipments. The cannabis thus distributed is often of poor quality.

The only practitioners who are legally authorized to sell cannabis are Ayurvedic practitioners, whose number is estimated at around 16,000. Its medical use is not penalised.

The country has a long history of cannabis use and cultivation. As early as 1860, the island under British control was already producing cannabis on a massive scale, which was exported to China along with opium.

ANRAC will then launch the authorization process for farmers located within the regulatory perimeter (provinces of Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen and Taounate) to carry out the activity of cultivation and production of cannabis within agricultural cooperatives, specifies the press release, adding these players will be authorized gradually on the basis of the needs expressed by the authorized manufacturers.

In addition, the Agency continues to analyze the opportunities offered by the cannabis market in order to develop this sector and promote the conversion of farmers from illicit cultivation to legal, sustainable and income-generating cultivation, the statement concludes.

ANRAC at the heart of the Moroccan regulatory system

The recent appointment of Mohammed El Guerrouj as interim director general of ANRAC marks the acceleration of the operationalization of the agency. ANRAC’s mission will be to implement and monitor the ambitious project to legalize medical cannabis in Morocco.

The agency is notably responsible for issuing authorizations to operators in this new sector. According to local feedback, ANRAC has received numerous authorization requests, particularly following the publication of the six decrees in the Official Bulletin last June, in which all the terms and conditions for participation in the Moroccan cannabis industry are detailed.

In addition to granting authorisations, ANRAC is also responsible for drawing up specifications. The latter provides, among other things, storage conditions, environmental protection, as well as technical and transport standards. The agency’s mission is to follow the journey of cannabis at each of its stages (production, processing, manufacturing, marketing, export and import) and to support operators while developing the cannabis sector.

The agency is also responsible for the certification of seeds and plants to be imported and marketed with the aim of cultivating them in Morocco. These certifications will be based on the categories registered and on the official and cultivable lists in Morocco, in accordance with the laws in force.

The agency must also keep registers, namely that of the authorizations issued by it, that relating to the various activities and operations relating to cannabis and that of the stocks of legal Moroccan cannabis.

On Saturday, October 1, adult-use cannabis retail stores finally opened in Vermont, to lines of people who had been waiting patiently since dawn.

It took state lawmakers two years to approve the retail sale of cannabis for adult use, and more than four years to regulate cultivation and personal possession.

On September 14, the Cannabis Control Board of Vermont granted cannabis licenses to Mountain Girl Cannabis in Rutland and Flora Cannabis in Middlebury and gave the go-ahead to Ceres Med – formerly Champlain Valley Dispensary – in South Burlington to add to the sale of medical products that of products for adults.

Regulators have said delays in issuing licenses for outdoor growers could create supply issues in the early stages of the adult-use market. And indeed, the legal offer was somewhat limited at the opening of sales: a dozen varieties of flowers, sweets and a few vapes. This did not affect the happiness of the first legal buyers.

“Things are changing and things are good. About time,” said Bryan Menard, the first adult buyer at the Ceres Collaborative on Saturday morning, who walked away with 2 1/8 ounces (3.5 grams) of Candy Jack and Kush Cake.

Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas helped pass the 2020 legalization measure as chair of the House of Representatives Government Operations Committee and is now the Democratic nominee for Vermont’s secretary of state. She walked out of the Flora Cannabis store wearing a grinder and a sweatshirt with the FLORA logo.

“I’m growing my own plants this year, so I don’t really need to buy flower,” she told the Seven Days.

“It’s really exciting to see this day finally come after so many years of work to bring cannabis out of the prohibition era and into a legal and regulated market,” she added.

According to 2021 data published by the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Uruguayan Cannabis (IRCCA), the legalization of cannabis in Uruguay has helped keep drug traffickers out of the market.

However, the legal supply of cannabis remains insufficient and only 27% of cannabis consumers buy it legally. The percentage rises to 39% if we take into account that some buyers share the product with their friends and acquaintances, a percentage that has struggled to increase since the introduction of legalization.

The legalization of cannabis in Uruguay introduced three mechanisms for the acquisition of cannabis: self-cultivation, Cannabis Social Clubs and purchase in pharmacies. The State supervises these 3 access routes and limits them for the moment to people residing in the country, although Congress plans to open the market to passing tourists.

About 49,630 Uruguayans are registered to buy from the 28 pharmacies in the country that sell cannabis, 14,035 grow at home and 7,166 are members of the 249 registered Clubs.

“Cannabis regulation has been more effective than law enforcement in hitting drug trafficking,” says Mercedes Ponce de León, director of the Cannabis Business Hub and ExpoCannabis Uruguay.

Legalization has also enabled the birth of a nascent medical cannabis export industry. According to data from the Uruguay XXI information portal, in 2020 exports doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 7.3 million euros. In 2021, revenues reached 8.1 million euros and in the first half of 2022, 4.4 million euros.

At the moment, exports focus on flowers for medical use and are mainly destined for the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Israel, Argentina and Brazil.

Upcoming fixes

The government now plans to sell cannabis with more “oomph” in pharmacies by the end of the year in order to attract more consumers to the legal market. The varieties available are indeed limited in number and in THC, at 9%, a relatively low percentage.

“There are some users who are asking for a higher percentage of THC or more variety, and that conspires against the efficiency of the system because it means that some consumers who might be buying from pharmacies are moving to other regulated market options or to the black market,” explains Daniel Radío, Secretary General of the National Drugs Council.

Authorized pharmacies are also few in number compared to the total population. The latter also encounter difficulties with the banking system due to international legislation around cannabis.

Another barrier to membership, cannabis users must register on a national register. Some prefer not to give their identity, even if the information is only used for consumer research, according to the government.

As for the clubs, they can only have a limited number of members (between 15 and 45), and in many of them there is even a waiting list to register. The regulations establish that the stock of each member cannot exceed 40 grams per month.

Clandestine self-cultivation

Experts say the biggest suppliers to the illegal market are now small local growers who grow their own plants without registration.

According to Marcos Baudean, professor at ORT University in Uruguay and researcher for the Monitor Cannabis project, “there are many more home growers who do not appear in the registers”, so it is impossible to make a concrete estimate of the share of the black market.

Despite this, the professor assures that unregistered growers “have already exceeded” the number of trafficking networks in the sale of cannabis. Nevertheless, drug traffickers continue to be present in Uruguay, mainly by selling the famous “prensado”, bricks of very cheap and low quality pressed cannabis.

In Chile, 75 members of Congress were subjected to a drug test with the aim of “detecting possible parliamentary links with drug trafficking”.

This curious measure comes after the approval, on July 13, of a bill regulating the control of the consumption of drugs and narcotics by sitting deputies.

A coin toss determined which lawmakers had to submit to a hair drug test that was to detect the presence of THC, cocaine, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, methamphetamines and opiates.

Members of Congress who use drugs for medical purposes obviously had the option of declaring it beforehand.

Mixed reviews

According El Paísthe members of the Frente Ampliothe party to which progressive President Gabriel Boric belongs, admitted that they were “between a rock and a hard place, because a rejection of the bill could have been interpreted as an anti-transparency position”.

Among the deputies in favor, Juan Antonio Coloma, of the conservative Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party, said: “If there are parliamentarians who use drugs, it is because they buy them, and they buy, they can be extorted by those who supply them”.

Across the aisle is lawmaker Jaime Sáez of the Frente Amplio Democratic Revolution party. Sáez is one of the officials who was drawn and has already declared that he uses recreational cannabis under medical supervision.

“I hope that after this media show, there will be a thorough debate that will allow us to regulate the consumption of cannabis in Chile. About five million Chileans use cannabis. We are neither drug addicts, nor mentally ill, nor criminals,” he said.

What results?

According The Terceraan official document says that of the 75 MPs who had to take the mandatory test, all tested negative.

“None of them showed any violation of the rules of the regulation which prohibits the abuse of narcotic or psychotropic substances or drugs”, he specified.

However, three deputies did not appear for the test: Marisela Santibáñez (PC), Clara Sagardía (IND-Frente Amplio) and Jorge Durán (RN).

While Santibáñez and Sagardía filed for protection against the drug testing settlement (along with three other deputies), Durán was out of the country.

Consequently, all three will have to appear before the Ethics Committee of the Assembly.

For their part, the parliamentarians who filed the application for protection claim that this new regulation “violates their fundamental rights, such as the physical and psychological integrity of people or the respect and protection of privacy”.

Testing of the remaining 77 MPs is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

The Amsterdam City Council voted last week in the General Affairs Committee against the introduction of Criterion I, the residency criterion, and with it the ban on coffeeshops for tourists, which had been imagined by the current mayor of Amsterdam, Femka Halsema.

Most political groups, including the left-wing coalition PvdA, GroenLinks and D66, opposed the introduction of the Residence Criteria and thus the banning of coffeeshops for tourists.

“We are planning a massive transfer to street trading. We believe it is not wise to go for millions of illegal drug deals,” said Rob Hofland (D66), who spoke out against the plan.

Trip to Amsterdam: our selection of coffeeshops

But he also proposed a strict control framework:

“We could ask to inspect the books of account. Coffees that refuse, we can monitor them more strictly. The cafes that participate, we can give them advantages, such as having a larger stock. »

Other proposals were also discussed. Like banning consumption in the streets and intervening in places where there is an overconcentration of coffeeshops. But also against stores that sell products associated with cannabis.

The Council therefore requested that these proposals, as well as those of the coffeeshop industry itself, be considered.

Mayor Halsema responds

In response to the proposals and the rejected plan, Femke Halsema explained to the council that she wants to reduce the demand for cannabis in the city.

“None of your proposals reduce this demand,” the mayor said. “The solutions you propose are not related to the problem we identify. We must not have excessive expectations regarding the prohibition of consumption in the street. »

She continued: “There is so much money in this market that it is attractive for serious crime to invest in it. »

Ms Halsema also slammed opponents of her plan. “You rely solely on your intuition. Our studies show that the number of tourists, who come to the city to consume, will decrease and that they will also come less often. »

The mayor warned against closing cafes. “We don’t do it just like that. If you reduce the number of cafes, without doing anything about the number of people who buy there, the turnover of a small number of cafes increases. It’s easier to do something about favoritism. »

The return of the “i-criterion”?

Now that there is definitely no majority, Criterion I should be dropped. Mayor Halsema, however, wishes to keep it in mind.

“No hard feelings, but it’s simmering. We let Criterion I simmer in your head,” she said.

Reacting to the AT5 article, Simone van Breda, president of the coffeeshop union, therefore wrote on LinkedIn: “I think the article is slightly premature. But we are cautiously positive. It has yet to be submitted to the board, but there is no majority on the board for Criterion I so far. »

The municipality, together with the police and the Amsterdam public prosecutor, will now write a letter to respond to the proposals of the city council and the coffeeshop industry.

The government of Grenada has created a commission on the legalization and regulation of cannabis.

This decision is part of the Government of Grenada’s policy to legalize cannabis, develop the cannabis industry and maximize the potential of hemp and its derivative products.

It also continues efforts in the Caribbean region to consider the common legalization of cannabis. Recently, the Dutch part of the northern Caribbean island of St. Maarten also launched a consultation on legalization.

The Grenada Commission is mandated to:

– organize broad consultations and raise public awareness of the political decision to legalize cannabis within a legal and regulatory framework, to develop the cannabis industry and to maximize the potential of hemp and its by-products

– prepare a final report with advice on the design of a new legislative and regulatory framework aimed at legalizing cannabis within a legal and regulatory framework for its production and sale

– develop the medical cannabis industry and maximize the export potential of hemp and its by-products

– provide recommendations on the institutional structure for the implementation of the provisions of the legislation aimed at legalizing cannabis within a legal and regulatory framework, in accordance with the political decision of the government.

Former Senator Rolanda McQueen was named chair of the commission, which includes members with expertise in law, medicine, religion, business, youth development, as well as service providers in nongovernmental organizations.

The commission held its first meeting on September 20, 2022 and is expected to carry out its mission over a period of fourteen months.

“The establishment of the Commission on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation is another of the steps taken by the government to deliver the agricultural sector transformation agenda,” said a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and Cooperatives.

In keeping with the transformative policy of the government to legalize cannabis within a legal and regulatory framework, develop the cannabis industry, and maximize the potential of hemp and its by-products, we have established a Commission on Legalization and Regulation.

— MOALFC Genada (@moagrenada) September 21, 2022