Legalise cannabis and pick up £1bn a year in taxes

In the opinion of Liberal Democrats, in case the sale of cannabis is legalized in the UK it could help to raise £1bn a year in taxes and also reduce the health risks to those who use it. The party has described the existing drug laws as "outdated and harmful" because they generate billions of pounds for organized crime but wastes police time, and harms the employment prospects of those who are convicted for possessing personal amounts of cannabis.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 8 March 2016.

An independent panel of scientists, academics and police chiefs had been asked by the Lib Dems to develop a framework for regulating the market. They have concluded that Britons should be able to grow small quantities of cannabis, or buy licensed products from approved retailers and adds that use of marijuana in public places should continue to be strictly controlled and restricted to those aged 18 or over.
As a member of Lib Dem has indicated - the UK is spending billions in its fight of a losing battle on drug use in which financial and human cost is vast and this desperately needs to change. The report has drawn references to the policies currently enforced in the US states of Colorado, Washington DC and Alaska, where laws surrounding cannabis use have been relaxed.
The recommendation is that retail cannabis should be sold in plain packaging with health warning labels, and the cost should initially be set "at or near" the current prices on the black market.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Use of marijuana in the United States has doubled in last decade

Warning has been sounded on addiction to marijuana - researchers have found that 9.5 per cent of adults in the United States smoke marijuana, this was 4.1 per cent in 2001-2002. Or – a nearly double addiction in a decade as revealed by a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz sated 22 October 2015.

Statistics show that one in 10 adults smokes marijuana in the US and this is attributed to relaxation of laws with regard to attitudes about pot. However, the rise in marijuana use has also been accompanied by an increase in abuse and dependence.
About three in 10 people who use marijuana meet the criteria for addiction as indicated by the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Therefore, the scientific community should convey information to the public about the potential harms.
The increases have been noticed among women and individuals who were black, Hispanic, who live in the South, and are middle-aged or older. The finding is based on interviews with 79,000 people regarding alcohol use, drug use and related psychiatric conditions over a year. And, the surveys were conducted in 2001-2002 and 2012-2013.
Incidentally, 23 US states now allow medical marijuana and four states have legalized marijuana for recreational use. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Drones are the new delivery boys of drug peddlers in Ohio prison

Drug peddlers have gone hi-tech – they are using drones as delivery boys. It has been reported that a drone had dropped a package of drugs into the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Ohio and the inmates who were outside began to fight for the booty. Pepper spray was used to disperse the inmates.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 5 August 2015.

The incident happened on July 29 and has created a new front in the war on drugs in prison.
The consignment contained almost a quarter of an ounce (7 grams) of heroin, over 2 ounces (57 grams) of marijuana and more than 5 ounces (140 grams) of tobacco. It seems there have been earlier instances of drones breaching security. The authorities have initiated action to increase awareness and improve drone detection.
The video footage has revealed that the drone was seen over recreation yards immediately before a fight began.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the drone had indeed dropped a package that was meant for a particular inmate on the north recreation yard, and it was thrown over a fence to the south recreation yard. Obviously, it was a well-coordinated mission.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Pot gets tag of legality in District of Columbia

#marijuana #pot #MarijuanaPolicyProject #whitehouse It has finally come to pass and the District of Columbia has given the tag of legality to the possession of small amounts of marijuana in spite of opposition from Congress as reported in news.sky.com dated 26 February 2015.
The capital now falls in line with Alaska, Colorado and Washington State by making marijuana lawful for recreational use and, this reflects a rapidly shifting legal landscape for the drug. However, it still remains illegal under the federal law.
It is now legal to possess up to 2oz (56g) for use at home, and permission is given to people to grow up to three mature plants. Of course, smoking marijuana in public remains illegal, as also the buying or selling of the drug.
As Robert Capecchi of the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that advocates for legalization, has remarked – this action can be considered to be a major milestone to putting the curtains down on the prohibition of marijuana in the United States.
He went on to add - if the president can brew and drink beer in the White House, adults should also be allowed to grow and consume a less harmful substance like pot in the confines of their houses.

Jamaica decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana

#marijuana #jamaicanweed #reggaemusic #ganja Taking from the United States that has legalized use of marijuana and its purchase and sale in some states, Jamaica is set to follow suit. A proposal has been approved in parliament to assign final legislative approval to an act that will decriminalize small amounts of pot and establish a licensing agency that will regulate a marijuana industry that would be lawful.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 26 February 2015.
Marijuana has been illegal in Jamaica for decades whether taken a medicinal herb or puffed as a sacrament by Rastafarians or converted into songs in the island's famed reggae music.
However, following years of dialogue about this drug, and emboldened by changes to drug laws in US states, Jamaica's Parliament gave its legislative approval and, this would pave the way for a "cannabis licensing authority" to be established that would deal with regulating the cultivation and distribution of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes.
It is expected that the Governor-General will be formally signing it into law in coming days.
As per the provisions of the act, possession of up to 2 ounces of marijuana would be treated as a petty offense that could result in a ticket but not in a criminal record. Moreover, it will be permissible to cultivate up to five plants on any premises. And, tourists who have been prescribed medical marijuana abroad will be able to apply for permits that would authorize them to legally buy small amounts of Jamaican weed which is also known as "ganja".

Jamaica to go the US way and relax cannabis laws

#jamaica #marijuana #cannabis #ganja Jamaica plans to go the US way and relax laws relating to cannabis or ‘ganja’ as it is known locally. The Jamaican cabinet has approved a bill that would decriminalize possession of small quantities of cannabis and gradually pave the way for a legal medical marijuana industry.
The bill would create a cannabis licensing authority that would handle the regulations necessary to cultivate, sell and distribute the herb for medical, scientific and therapeutic purposes. Jamaica wants to position itself suitable to take advantage of the significant economic opportunities that is offered by this emerging industry.
Under the terms of the proposed bill, the possession of 2 ounces or less would be treated as an offence but, it would not result in a criminal record. Permission would be given to cultivate maximum of five plants on any premises.
Rastafarians, who use marijuana as a sacrament, could also legally use it for religious purposes for the first time in Jamaica - the spiritual movement was founded in the 1930s.
Incidentally, the debate has raged on the Caribbean island for a long time over laws that govern use of marijuana and, with several countries and US states relaxing their laws on the herb, Jamaica plans to follow suit.