In a few days, next july 1st, the dutch law will be aligned to European Union regulation about tobacco. This mean end of the smoking in bars, clubs, restaurants and every other place opened to the public,even the traditional dutch “eetcafè” that are tipycal dutch bar when you can also eat a bread or a salad. Many people have written to us to ask what will it happen to the coffeshops, if the new ban will apply to coffeshops too. In short: no. In practical it will mean a drastical change of the habits of many people. The joint will be allowed, yes. But only pure. The purpose of the ban is to protect the workers from the conseguences of the passive tobacco smoke. And that’s it. Ab Klink, health minister, that mixing tobacco with soft drugs in coffee shops (where cannabis products can be bought over the counter) will not be permitted from July 1. Staff in these coffee shops have the same right as workers in other cafes to a tobacco-free working environment, said Klink.

The Oaksterdam University has celebrated this week its first 160 graduates in “Agricultural science of the cultivation of the marijuana”. The deus-ex-machina  of this operation is Richard Lee, formerly a pusher in the Oakland area, that took inspiration from similar project that exist in Amsterdam. Thanks to the proposition 215, in California is possible to grow cannabis if the purpose is to produce medical marijuana and Lee has open his school to give the right technical  and egal knowledge. Different counties regulates the matter in different ways, so each city has a maximum number of plant per person, per cooperative or per company. Lee university teachs not only to grow marijuana at the higher level, but also to deal with the law in the correct way. As a law’s teachers they have hired Chris Conrad and Laurence Lichter. Lee is preparing to open another school in L.A. The full course costs 200 USD, 125 euro. This is their internet address if you want to know more: http://www.oaksterdamuniversity.com/

A few weeks ago,the first marijuana vending machine opened in L.A. These machines supply marijuana to people who are prescribed marijuana for health reasons. First the patience need to get a prescription from a doctor; then the patience is fingeprinted; then a prepaid card is issued, that also contains information about the dosage and type of drug prescribed. Once a patience has a card, whenever he need a new supply, he can access the Anytime Vending Machines. The first one of this machines was positioned at the Herbal Nutrition Centre in Los Angeles. There are strict security measures to avoid that someone else can pickup the presciption, included a live fingerprint scan.

The proposals to re-insert the cannabis into Class B has generated a fight between the British government and the  Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). Les Iversen, pharmacologist at Oxford University and member of the Council said to the press that he was not happy with “what appears to be a deliberate leak about the government’s alleged intention to reclassify cannabis or marijuana”, and ignoring the Council recommendations while doing that. “There is no significantly new evidence to suggest that cannabis is any more harmful than in the last review we did 18 months ago,” said the Rev. Martin Blakeborough, founder of the association Kaleidoscope,that helps people that have troubles with drugs. It seems that every new home secretary want to show how tough he is. Tough? Or weak?

It seems that Marc Emery, Vancouver’s  Prince of Pot, has  agreed to a five-year prison term in a plea bargain over U.S.  marijuana seed-selling charges and money laundering. Emery has faced the prospective of a long (life) enprisonement, and now it seems that he close a deal  with with US authorities to spend 5 years in a Canadian jail. Many Canadian have seen this decision as a matter of indipendence for Canada as country. Emery haven’t even been in USA, and Canadian laws aren’t so strict about cannabis seeds.Before being arrested under request of the USA, Emery was just once fine 2.000$. His tax declaration stated “marijuana seeds vendor”. We have read a beautiful reflection about this case, written by a canadian, have a read here

Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary of the government of Gordon Brown, has announced that she wants to reserve the the choice of his predecessor to downgrade the prducts derived from Cannabis from class C back to class B. In this way every offender risk up to 14 years of jail. Ms Smith said: “Though statistics show that cannabis use has fallen significantly, there is a real public concern about the potential mental health effects of cannabis use.” Question: what are the scientific evidence of these potential mental health effects? Which data about consumers, increment or decrement of the use etc have been used and why aren’t they released to the public? You know the answer. And if you live in UK,you know what to do.

Unlucky day for a student, probably a minor: the militaries of the italian Guardia di Finanza of Milan have catched the guy during a control using  a dog. The animal went crazy once arrived close to the guy. The police then found 40 gr of hashish hidden in his underwear. Later, at home, they have found other 170 gr. and 1000 euro cash. Periodical check with the use of dogs are becoming more and more popular in Italy. And just yesterday the Corte di Cassazione, the italian higher court, have changed his opinion, deciding that growing one plant on the balcony is a crime. During the last half year instead, the same supreme court stated that a few plant are equivalent to personal user (so not punishable).

Singapore is well know in the world as a fast growing Asian miracle. A little country that in a few decades became an important actor in the international scene, at economical, medical, social and sometimes legal. We says legal because the system of laws, that are the toughest in the world, especially about drugs but not only: if  our memory is not failing, you can be imprisoned in SIngapore as turist we you bring into the country bubblegum, yes ladys and gentlemen, not the famous strain of weed, the bubblegum that we buy for 1 euro per package and we chew. With this premises, nobody would expect to find any drug user in the country.Instaed the scene is really active. High-flying foreign bankers and other expatriates use ecstasy and snort cocaine and smoke marijuana. They risk up to 10 years of jail, and a fine up to 20.000 USD. But the real risk is for their suppliers. In Singapore, anyone caught carrying more than 15 grams of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine, 500 grams of cannabis or 250 grams of methamphetamines faces a mandatory death sentence by hanging. Singapore defends its position by saying it needs tough laws to deter drug traffickers. We believe that it’s all another lie. If you care for someone, why would you send him to jail for 10 years, once you have admitted that he has a problem? If you are going to visit Singapore, please take the maximum care and go there clean and stay clean.

Industrial hemp is  still considered an illegal drug: it can sound like a joke, in the year 2007, but it’ not like this. This decision comes by a tribunal of a country that is yes civilised, but that has shown now for 80 years all its stupidity in the the so called “war on drugs”. Economical interest against hemp are so strong that in the tribunal a judge can still says nowadays that hemp is a drug because it contains traces of THC. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland dismissed the farmers’ lawsuit against the U.S. government that Wayne Hauge and Dave Monson presented to keep the federal government barred from prosecuting them for growing industrial hemp under state regulations approved last year. This shows once again how strong are the economic reasons at the base of the cannabis prohibition. The government doesn’t care of the public health, just to protect the interest of the lobbies that finances the elections campains. Here it is, the “biggest democracy in the world”.

On the Ministry of Cannabis blog, we sometime speak about politic, but, of course, we don’t take the side. Today we wanna speak about mr.Ron Paul, and it’s difficult for us do not appreciate his ideas and his vision of the future. The american president is a weird figure outside US. Only 200 million people on the planet have the right to vote for him, but its influence in the life of every world’s citizen is greater than national government. For these reasons, we greet with respect the choice of mr Paul. Today we wanna link to an interview of him, when he speak about marijuana, medical and non medical, and freedom of choice in general. Now we expect that you win, mr Paul, and put all these beautiful words in practice.