According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) that has just released its annual report, the young Czechs under 24 remain the harder users of cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in Europe. 28% of them have admitted that thaty have smoked marijuana in 2006. The use oh hard drugs is also really high, double than average in the case of ecstasy (12% of users) and methamphetamine (30.000 people).
One of the chief of the scottish police, has recently declared that “Organised criminals have turned Scotland into a cannabis greenhouse”. According to his information, criminal organizations from the far east run a net of greenhouses in the whole country. These grenhouses produces marijuana for the value of 1 billion euro per year. The greenhouses are manned by illegal immigrants, that work there 24 hours a day. Many of them are farmers imported with violence from Vietnam. In the past year, more than 30.000 plants worth 40 million euro have been seized, but that’s just the top of the iceberg. The quality of the weed is extremely high, however you can’t find this weed in Scotland. Almost everything is made to be exported in UK or in Europe.
EU commission expressed concern about an Ice Tea that is producted and legally sold in EU, the C-Ice Swiss Cannabis Ice Tea. That tea is advertised by pointing that it contains 5% cannabis extract and 0.0015% THC – the psychoactive substance of the cannabis. The commission accuses the producer to violate a European Directive 2000/13/EC that forbids giving misleading information about a product. More in general, the Commission is afraid that such a product could trigger positive attitudes toward cannabis use among young people. Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the UK are some of the countries that legally and freely sell the Ice Tea. Many other country have forbidden the sale of the beverage, and they have based their decision on article 30 of the EC Agreement, which approves prohibition of products over moral and social health concerns. What a polemic for just a few drops of (inoffensive) tea!
A few days ago, the Dutch government has announced its decision to extend the cannabis’s availability in pharmacies by five years, so more scientific research will be possible. The sale of cannabis specifically as medicine is legal and managed by the governmet since 2003. The Ministry of Health control the production and the quality through a specifically created agency. Sources inside the ministry say that a Dutch company started working on developing a cannabis-based drug last year. Cannabis has at least 5000 years of use as medicine; it was used in China as herbal medicine. More recently, british queen Victoria used cannabis tincture for menstrual pains. Even the international treaties (Single Convention on Narcotics, New York, 1961 and its modifications) expressly authorize and promote the use of cannabis as medicine (and according to the treaties, this is the only use allowed).
A recently published Swiss study is making a lot of noise for its content, that sounds revolutionnary: “Teens that use cannabis may function better than teen tobacco-users, and appear to be more socially driven and have fewer psychosocial problems than those who do not use either substance”. This statement is contained in the final report of this study that has involved 5.263 students, a very large sample. 3105 of them didn’t use any drug, 455 of them smoke marijuana only and 1703 smoke marijuana mixed with tobacco. The report also says “…even though they are more likely to skip class, they have the same level of good grades; and although they have a worse relationship with their parents, they are not more likely to be depressed”.
Once again, a study shows evidence that marijuana is not a monster. The fact that american scientists have immediately started to scream while reading these results is pretty obvious. How can they justify 80 years of miserable failures in their stupid “war on drugs”?
The Court of Cassazione (Italian Supreme Court) has rejected every charge for a 57 years old man, accused of growing cannabis in his home. The decision of the Supreme Court is in accord with the two decisions of the lower tribunals, that have always recognized the man as not guilty. The man was catched growing a few cannabis plant in his bath tube. When the plants were big enough, the man sold them in a pot with even a little light attached. According to the accuse, every formof cannabis growing should be allowed. According to the judges instead, such little growing operations are legal, if the number of plant is little and if the purpose it’s not growing themto get marijuana.
It has started today in Madrid the Expocannabis 2007. This fair enterely dedicated to cannabis, has arrived to its 3rd edition. This year’s edition is on 3 days, from today (friday) to next sunday 4 november, and it’s dedicated to the growing and the use of cannabis. The Expo is held in the Cubierta de Leganés, a space of more than 1.500 mq. More than 15.000 visitors are expected during the whole weekend, to visit the booths of about 150 epositors, coming from the whole Europe and abroad. There will be moments of discussion, forums etc, but also spaces dedicated to the relax and the party too, like the concerts of weel known artists like Chulito Camacho, Kikeman “El cantautor de la marihuana” and Andy Chango. The price to enter to the fair is 10 euro for one day and 25 euro for the whole weekend (3 days).
A recent survey of the British Home Office shows that marijuana use falls from 25% in 2004 to 21% (still 1.3 million people) in 2007. The statistic is about young people between the ages of 16 and 24. In 2004 marijuana has been reclassified and a new policy that we can define as “confiscate and warn” has been adopted. In the mean time, the use of cocaine powder has grown in the adfult population, up to 2.6% of the population in 2007.
The West Sussex Police is afraid that a cannabis cafè that has been raided already twice could reopen soon. The building is fortified and already during the last two raids (the last one was in the biginning of october) have already used a tractor. Now the barricades has ben reinforced. New reinforcements included razor wire and electric currents. The matter is, the police has suspects and is not certain that the building is used to smoke cannabis, and the reinforcements make everything more difficult. It’s a kind of a game. This is an example of the ridiculous results lead to us by the prohibitionism, a group of man in a “military style” building, a lot of cops outside, paid with public money and why? Bacause these men have decided to smoke the flowers of a plant? For all the people that pay taxes in UK: happy with news like this one?
Singer Amy Winehouse and her husband Blake Fielder-Civil has been arrested last friday,october 19, in Norway, for possesion of a little quantity of marijuana. The couple was arrested together with a third man. The local police was alerted by an anonimous informer. Amy and her husband have spent the night in jail, then have been released the day after after paying a fine of about 500 euro each. A fine is the normal soluction in Norway when the amount of drug is very little like in this case.
