Schweiz. Grünes Licht für Cannabis-Versuche
Rund 200 000 Schweizer kiffen regelmässig. Um mehr darüber zu erfahren, erlaubt der Nationalrat Pilotversuche mit der weichen Droge. Die Gegner sehen darin einen ersten Schritt zur Liberalisierung von Cannabis. (NZZ – Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 02.06.2020)
https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/nationalrat-definiert-details-fuer-cannabis-projekte-ld.1559266
Mexiko. Mexico Wants to Decriminalize All Drugs and Negotiate With the U.S. to Do the Same
Mexico's president released a new plan last week that called for radical reform to the nation's drug laws and negotiating with the United States to take similar steps.
The plan put forward by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, often referred to by his initials as AMLO, calls for decriminalizing illegal drugs and transferring funding for combating the illicit substances to pay for treatment programs instead. It points to the failure of the decades-long international war on drugs, and calls for negotiating with the international community, and specifically the U.S., to ensure the new strategy's success. (Newsweek, USA, 05.09.2020)
https://www.newsweek.com/mexico-decriminalize-drugs-negotiate-us-1421395?
Global Commission on Drug Policy: Enforcement of Drug Laws: Refocusing on Organized Crime Elites
In this first report of this decade, the Global Commission on Drug Policy outlines how the current international drug control regime works for the benefit of transnational organized crime. It highlights how years of repressive policies targeted at nonviolent drug offenders have resulted in mass incarceration and produced countless adverse impacts on public health, the rule of law, and social cohesion, whilst at the same time reinforcing criminal elites.
(…)
The report contains research on the prerequisites for a successful transition towards the reform of the outdated ideology-based international drug control regime, and provides cutting-edge recommendations on how to ensure that international criminal organizations are effectively disempowered by the transition towards a legally regulated drug market under the control of governments.
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/reports/enforcement-of-drug-laws
Prescription Opioid Distribution after the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana in Colorado.
Kropp Lopez AK, Nichols SD, Chung DY, Kaufman DE, McCall KL, Piper BJ.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(9).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32392702/
Portugal. Portugal isn’t trying to force people with addiction into treatment. It wants to help them stay alive until they’re ready for it.
Across Lisbon, health workers in such vans dispense the treatment every day, for free, to nearly 1,200 people. It’s part of what is perhaps the world’s most radical drug policy — one instituted amid a heroin crisis not unlike the one gripping Philadelphia and the United States. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, USA, 22.04.2020)
https://www.inquirer.com/photo/inq/portugal-lisbon-opioids-philadelphia-pictures-20200422.html
Bolivien. Calls Mount for Release of Afro-Bolivian Coca Union Leader Elena Flores
In Bolivia, activists are calling for the release of Afro-Bolivian union leader Elena Flores, who has been behind bars for over a month. Supporters say Flores, the first woman and first Afro-Bolivian leader of the local coca leaf growers union, was targeted as part of a crackdown on social movements and indigenous groups by the government of right-wing interim President Jeanine Áñez, who took power after the ouster last year of President Evo Morales. (Democracy Now!, USA, 14.04.2020)
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/4/14/headlines/calls_mount_for_release_of_afro_bolivian_coca_union_leader_elena_flores
Reduction in global alcohol-attributable harm unlikely after setback at WHO Executive Board
Casswell, Sally et al.
The Lancet, Volume 395, Issue 10229, 1020 - 1021
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30476-1/fulltext
UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs Once Again Postpones Key Cannabis Vote
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has decided to delay until December a vote due to take place this week on the potential global rescheduling of cannabis. The CND—which is meeting in Vienna, Austria from March 2-6—was due to vote on a set of recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) to loosen restrictions on cannabis and related substances like CBD and THC. (Filter, USA, 05.03.2020)
https://filtermag.org/united-nations-reschedule-cannabis/
Despair, democracy, and the failures of American capitalism
Marmot, Michael
The Lancet, Volume 395, Issue 10229, 1027 - 1028
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30640-1/fulltext
Should cigarette pack sizes be capped?.
Blackwell, A. K. M., Lee, I., Scollo, M., Wakefield, M., Munafò, M. R., and Marteau, T. M. ( 2020)
Addiction, 115: 802– 809. doi.org/10.1111/add.14770.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.14770
USA. Joe Biden’s new plan to end the opioid epidemic is the most ambitious in the field
The plan emphasizes more addiction treatment and prevention — and less war on drugs. (Vox, 06.03.2020)
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/6/21167803/joe-biden-opioid-epidemic-plan-drug-overdoses
How Former Soviet Countries Are Suppressing Harm Reduction “Propaganda”
Lawmakers in the former Soviet Union are seeking to impose harsher criminal penalties for drug-related “propaganda,” especially online. Their efforts are ostensibly supposed to keep people from promoting drug use. But local advocates fear that this approach will persecute those doing harm reduction work for people using drugs or living with HIV/AIDS. (Filter, USA, 05.03.2020)
https://filtermag.org/soviet-drug-propaganda/
Schweiz. "Der Staat soll alle Drogen regulieren"
Die ärztlich kontrollierte Heroinabgabe war ein entscheidender Faktor, dass die Schliessung der offenen Drogenszene am Letten 1995 klappte. Thilo Beck begann zwei Jahre nach der Schliessung im Zentrum für Suchtmedizin, Arud, zu arbeiten. Warum braucht es die ärztlich kontrollierte Heroinabgabe auch heute noch? Wie hat sich der Drogenkonsum geändert und wo steht heute die Drogenpolitik? Thilo Beck gibt Antworten als «Regionaljournal»-Wochengast. (SRF – Schweizerischer Rundfunk, 16.02.2020)
https://www.srf.ch/news/regional/zuerich-schaffhausen/wochengast-thilo-beck-der-staat-soll-alle-drogen-regulieren
Europa. EU-Tabakbesteuerung sollte Zigarettenkonsum stärker eindämmen
Die derzeitigen Vorschriften zur Tabakbesteuerung funktionieren zwar gut hinsichtlich Vorhersehbarkeit und Stabilität der Steuereinnahmen der Mitgliedstaaten, verhindern den hohen Tabakkonsum in der EU aber nicht mehr ausreichend. Notwendig ist ein umfassenderer Ansatz, der alle Aspekte der Tabakkontrolle einschließlich der öffentlichen Gesundheit, der Besteuerung, der Bekämpfung des illegalen Handels und der Umweltbelange berücksichtigt. Dies geht aus der Bewertung der EU-Vorschriften zur Besteuerung von Tabakwaren hervor, die die Europäische Kommission heute (Montag) veröffentlicht hat. (Europäische Union, 10.02.2020)
https://ec.europa.eu/germany/news/20200210-eu-tabakbesteuerung_de
Umweltschäden durch Tabakanbau: Studie Ruinierte Natur
Diese Studie beschreibt die Umweltschäden durch Tabakanbau, Zigarettenherstellung und Zigarettenkippen. Neben einem Überblick über den ökologischen Fußabdruck des globalen Tabaksektors, zeigen Beispiele aus drei Kontinenten konkrete Folgen.
Mwita M. Mangora stellt dar, wie stark der Tabakanbau in Tansania zur Abholzung des Miombo-Trockenwaldes beiträgt. Farida Akhter beschreibt den massiven Einsatz von Agrochemikalien und die Vergiftung der Flussufer und des Matamuhuri-Flusses in Bangladesch. Susanna Knotz zeigt auf, dass in Deutschland die Umwelt unter dem Tabakmüll, den Zigarettenkippen leidet, konkret am Eintrag von Giftstoffen und Plastik in die Ostsee.
Sonja von Eichborn (Hrsg.); Mwita M. Mangora; Farida Akhter; Susanna Knotz.
Ruinierte Natur. Entwaldung, Pestizide und Nikotin, November 2018
https://www.unfairtobacco.org/material/studie-ruinierte-natur/
Österreich. Drogensituation in Österreich weitgehend stabil
Im jüngsten Jahresbericht der Gesundheit Österreich GmbH wird von 184 Todesfällen aufgrund von Drogenüberdosierung ausgegangen. Bei fast allen Todesfällen waren Opiate im Spiel (93%). Die Zahl ist im Vergleich zu 2017 leicht gestiegen. Die gute Nachricht: Die Zahl der Einsteiger/innen in den risikoreichen Opioidkonsum ist weiterhin rückläufig. Auch bei den legalen Substanzen gibt es positive Entwicklungen. (Institut Sucht Prävention, Österreich, 07.02.2020)
https://www.praevention.at/news/news-detail/bericht-zur-drogensituation-goeg
EU-Kommission bemängelt Unterschiede bei der Tabaksteuer
Brüssel – Ein Päckchen Zigaretten für 2,57 Euro in Bulgarien – oder für 11,37 Euro in Irland: Der Unterschied bei Tabaksteuern in den EU-Staaten schadet aus Sicht der EU-Kommission dem Kampf gegen Krebs und sollte überarbeitet werden. (aerzteblatt.de, 10.02.2020)
https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/109278/EU-Kommission-bemaengelt-Unterschiede-bei-der-Tabaksteuer
Opioid Epidemic Weighs Financially On Black Community
For the past several years, American attention has been fixated on fighting opioid overdoses, revealing communities in economic and social distress. This crisis has cost the U.S. economy $696 billion through 2018, and the government bears less than one-third of the financial costs, with the rest falling on individuals and the private sector. Unfortunately, the related plagues of drug abuse and death have stalked African-American communities for decades, garnering little to no attention leaving one to question just how vulnerable are they economically? (Forbes, USA, 20.02.2020)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/korihale/2020/02/20/opioid-epidemic-weighs-financially-on-black-community
EMCDDA. New EMCDDA programme 2020–22
This month, the EMCDDA has published its Programming Document for the period 2020–22. The document, which includes the 2020 annual work programme, comes at the mid-point of the EMCDDA Strategy 2025 (Roadmap 2020) and coincides with the final year of the EU Drugs Strategy (2013–20). Key activities in this period include the continuation of two projects aimed at partnership with third countries, the release of a reshaped European Drug Report, as well as the ongoing delivery of value to our stakeholders. We are also celebrating ‘25 years of monitoring’ and consolidating our position as the leading European source of information on drugs.
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/12794/20200273_TDAX20001ENN_PDF.pdf
In major shift, UN drug chief questions whether control treaties involving cannabis are out of date
The president of the narcotics enforcement agency of the United Nations is questioning whether the agency’s decades-old drug conventions are outdated given global policy developments in recent years involving drugs such as cannabis. (Marihuana Business Daily, 27.02.2020)
https://mjbizdaily.com/in-major-shift-un-drug-chief-questions-whether-control-treaties-involving-cannabis-are-out-of-date/
Niederlande. Amsterdam will Cannabis für Touristen verbieten
Die niederländische Hauptstadt wird von Touristen überrannt. Weil viele angeben, wegen der Coffeeshops zu kommen, fordert die Bürgermeisterin, den Besuchern Cannabis zu verbieten. (faz.net, 18.02.2020)
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/amsterdam-will-cannabis-fuer-touristen-verbieten-16640008.html
Amsterdam looks to bar foreign visitors from buying cannabis
Mayor cites survey of tourists in the Wallen and Singel as she looks to clean up overcrowded red-light areas. (The Guardian, UK, 13.02.2020)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/13/amsterdam-looks-to-bar-foreign-visitors-from-buying-cannabis-mayor-tourists-red-light-district
Malaysia. PH aims to decriminalise drug possession for personal use before end of 1st term
KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government aims to decriminalise drug possession for personal use before the end of its first term. (New Straits Times, Malaysia, 30.01.2020)
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/01/560979/ph-aims-decriminalise-drug-possession-personal-use-end-1st-term
Can the migration process influence the clinical expression of heroin use disorder in migrants to Italy?
Maremmani I, Carbone MG, Tagliarini C, Ricci M, Lupi AM, Sarandrea L, Ceban A, Maremmani AGI, Casella P.
CNS Spectr. 2020 Jan 23:1-9. doi: 10.1017/S1092852919001846.
Abstract
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31969204
Kolumbien. Farmers prepare mass protests as Colombia abandons counternarcotics strategy
Colombia’s coca growers demand the resignation of the director of the government program to voluntarily eradicate coca, as the country’s counternarcotics strategy is collapsing.
The claim of Hernando Londoño, the director of crop substitution program PNIS, that “coca substitution leaders have not been assassinated” was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the coca farmers, who claim government betrayal left people starving.
In a press release, coca growers federation COCCAM said that at least 56 community leaders promoting and facilitating the removal of coca have been assassinated since the program took force in May 2017.
An additional 29 coca farmers who took part in the removal of coca have additionally been assassinated, COCCAM said.
In an interview with several media, coca growers said they were fed up with the bullshit of the administration of President Ivan Duque and said they would join national strikes that are being organized for March. (Colombia Reports, 29.01.2020)
https://colombiareports.com/farmers-prepare-mass-protests-as-colombia-abandoning-counternarcotics-strategy/
USA. The Wrong Way to Fight the Opioid Crisis
People struggling with addiction who share a lethal dose of drugs are being prosecuted as killers. (The New Yorker, 03.02.2020)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/10/the-wrong-way-to-fight-the-opioid-crisis
USA. White House Releases 2020 National Drug Control Strategy
Today, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Jim Carroll released the Trump Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy, which establishes the President’s priorities for addressing the challenge of drug trafficking and use. (White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), USA, 03.02.2020)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/white-house-releases-2020-national-drug-control-strategy
Drug Decriminalisation Across the World
The criminalisation of people who use drugs compounds drug-related challenges and worsens health and welfare outcomes. Across the world, there is a growing number of jurisdictions where the possession of scheduled drugs for personal use has been decriminalised. In some countries and federal states, this has been extended to the cultivation of cannabis for personal use or the sharing of substances where there is no financial gain (also known as ‘social sharing’).
In the context of drug policy, ‘decriminalisation’ refers to the removal of criminal penalties for activities related to drug use. In some legal systems criminal penalties are replaced by civil sanctions, while in other systems no penalties are applied – please see our glossary for more detailed definitions.
Some form of decriminalisation has been adopted in 30 countries – with significant differences and levels of effectiveness. This interactive map provides an overview of these models, offering insights into decriminalisation laws, their implementation and impact.
The inclusion of a jurisdiction in the map is not an endorsement. For example, countries like Mexico and Russia are highlighted below, despite the fact both countries have ineffectual frameworks as detailed in their country profiles. The gold standard of decriminalisation is the removal of all punishment for drug use, and the availability and accessibility of evidence- and human rights-based harm reduction, health and social services on a voluntary basis.
This map has been developed in partnership with Release, the International Drug Policy Consortium, and Accountability International, thanks to the financial support of the Robert Carr Fund and Open Society Foundations. This map will be updated regularly – if you do have any comments or feedback please contact us. This map will be updated regularly – if you do have any comments or feedback please contact us. (Talking Drugs, UK, Januar 2020)
https://www.talkingdrugs.org/drug-decriminalisation
Niederlande. MPs, health experts and lawyers call for new approach to drugs
MPs, television celebrities, lawyers, leading lights from the dance scene and health experts are among the 79 people who have signed a new manifesto calling for major reform in official Dutch drugs policy. ‘The need for a new and realistic drugs policy is greater than ever. The international drug trade has taken root in the Netherlands and with serious consequences,’ the online manifesto states. ‘Mayors are receiving death threats, a lawyer was murdered and ecstasy waste dumping is threatening the environment. But the manifest powerlessness in the face of drug-related crime is making for ever greater repression.’ The signatories, including D66 MP Vera Bergkamp, former VVD minister Frits Bolkestein and dance pioneer Duncan Stutterheim, say the aim is to reduce the risk of drugs to health and boost public safety – firstly by tackling the revenue model. ‘A regulated – not a free – drugs market the starting point of a new drugs policy,’ the manifesto states. ‘lllegality fuels crime. That is why we must tackle the revenue model of the criminals and make a regulated- not a free – drug market the starting point of a new drugs policy.’ (DutchNews.nl, Niederlande, 20.01.2020)
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/01/mps-health-experts-and-lawyers-call-for-new-approach-to-drugs/
USA. Major drugstore chains sue doctors in sprawling federal opioid case
Major drugstore chains — which face an October trial in the mammoth federal opioid litigation — have sued doctors across northeast Ohio, claiming that physicians are the real culprits in the nation’s deadly drug epidemic. (Washington Post, 08.01.2020)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/major-drugstore-chains-sue-doctors-in-sprawling-federal-opioid-case/2020/01/07/3ac9cd70-317d-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html
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