Senior Policy Analyst for Transform Drug Policy Foundation (@transformdrugs), mostly tweeting on drug policy/law reform. Own views etc.
London UK
- Tweets 41,372
- Following 1,177
- Followers 20,069
- Likes 15,576
๐ Documents
โ๐ Drug Policy
โ๐ Criminalisation
โ๐ Evidence of Efficacy
โโ ๏ธ This folder is empty
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Literally no one ever calls it 'hippy crack' except moronic tabloids
dailymail.co.uk/news/articleโฆ
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Dissapointing to hear @YvetteCooperMP on Govts drug strategy talking about drug dealers outside schools (a non-issue) & lack of neighbourhood policing (no impact on drug mkts). Pandering to failed populist drug war narratives rather than challenging them
Pls do better @UKLabour
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This is unfair & stupid
Testing for the many performance enhancing drugs, fair enough
But cannabis isnt one of them (although it has medical uses). This is prejudice-laden lifestyle policing, and makes no more sense than alcohol or nicotine testing.
theguardian.com/sport/2021/jโฆ
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Dear @michaelgove
littering is *already* illegal
Controlling N2O under the MDA doesn't make littering any more illegal than it already is
A deposit/recycling scheme would deal with the litter issue overnight. But no, lets criminalise half a million young ppl instead!
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I'm getting the train to Utrecht in the Netherlands on Thursday for the opening of the world's first MDMA shop.
THREAD ๐งต
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This kind of 'get tough' posturing and sloganeering, entirely devoid of meaningful thought, analysis and vision, neatly captures much of whats wrong with UK drug policy.
What does 'roll up county lines' mean?
And do you really need military drums to show how tough you are?
Last week, Home Secretary @patel4witham joined @MerseyPolice and @BTP as they carried out a county lines operation in #Liverpool.
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Here you go - a briefing on portugal from @TransformDrugs tdpf.org.uk/blog/portugal
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This is some of the design work for the hard hitting #decriminalize campaign, from the brilliant @tryggere (The Association for Safer Drug Policies) in Norway - showing the terrible human cost of criminalising people who use drugs
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Asahi beer has paid the #Olympics ยฃ80,000,000 to be top tier brand sponsor.
Sha'carri is denied her crowning career moment for using a drug because its performance enhancing (its not), illegal (not where she used it), & unhealthy (er, alcohol?)
#LetShaCarriRun
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"After more than 50 years of war on drugs, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema wants to regulate the market for cocaine, ecstasy & other drugs. Repression does not work"
Editorial in the Dutch Financial Daily, following last weeks' conference on regulation fd.nl/samenleving/1504317/deโฆโฆ
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We need to legally regulate ALL drugs*, not just cannabis & psychedelics.
*yes, including those scary ones you saw on the news
....in fact, ESPECIALLY those ones.
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THREAD๐งต
What the hell is 'scromiting'?
After this @EveSimmns tweet went nuclear I had a few calls about it - so did a bit of research, since, id never encountered the term in 20years or so of cannabis policy work....
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โDrugs are horrific. There is nothing recreational about them. I have never taken them and will be incredibly tough on anyone who does.โ
@RishiSunak
#hypocrite
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Ministers from Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Malta met this week to discuss legal regulation of cannabis markets for non-medical adult use
This is HUGE deal. Here's why:
THREAD ๐งต 1/
.@SamTanson a @LenertPaulette haten en Echange iwwer d'Reglementรฉierung vun net medezineschemย Cannabis mat Experten aus Dรคitschland, Holland a Malta. "T'ass Zรคit fir eng nei Approche, dofir brauche mir den Dialog mat Lรคnner an Institutiounen dรฉi en รคhnleche Constat gemaach hunn"
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๐๐ฟ๐๐พ๐๐ฝ๐๐ผLEGALISE ๐๐ฝ๐๐พ๐๐ฟ
๐๐ฟ๐๐พ๐๐ฝ๐๐ผ DRUGS๐๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐๐พ๐๐ฟ
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This is a major breakthrough in the UK drug reform debate - congrats to @scotgov for a report that is both bold and carefully considered.
There will be predictably childish/dismissive responses from Westminster - but like it or not, this is a Govt report, and its a big deal๐
BREAKING: New @Scotgov report calls for:
๐ตDecrim of personal drug possession
๐ตA roadmap to explore legal regulation of drugs
๐ตExpansion of harm reduction & treatment to address drug death crisis
& Calls for Westminster to change laws to allow it
transformdrugs.org/blog/scotโฆ
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This isnt a cannabis death - its a poisoning death, and a direct consequence of prohibition.
news.sky.com/story/cannabis-โฆ
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The police presence at #420 I Hyde park today seemed almost apologetic.
I'm surprised they didn't add (SORRY - ITS NOT OUR FAULT) underneath this message
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Prohibition creates the incentives for organised crime group involvement in the illegal mkt, fueling exploitation and violence.
Blaming cannabis users, while denying access to homegrow or legally regulated supply (associated with zero child murders) is shameless buck-passing
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Harm reduction *is* medical care.
People will go into rehab when they're ready - if forced it rarely works. Harm reduction provision provides a point of regular contact with medical professionals and a gateway to recovery services when appropriate.
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Performative deterrence in sentencing, not only does not work, but also leads to abusive/disproportionate punishments, and a huge burden on taxpayers (5 yr sentence - approx ยฃ200k) and an already overstretched criminal justice system, and overcrowded prisons.
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I'm in Berlin today for the German Govt cannabis legalisation consultation process expert hearings - opened this morning by the minister of health; making the pragmatic case for responsible legal regulation - and identifying the various public health challenges....
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The @Telegraph continues its descent from serious paper to complete joke. That this non-story made the editorial cut (a pathetic attempt to kick the EU) is actually quite tragic. telegraph.co.uk/politics/201โฆ
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Illegal market vapes, sold as cannabis, but either missold or adulterated with (far more risky) synthetic cannabinoids - are a text book example of how prohibition dramatically increases health harms
Legally regulated products reduce this risk to zero
theguardian.com/uk-news/2024โฆ
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I have coronavirus symptoms - flu-y aches, fever, hacking cough - & been told (by phone) I have it, & must self isolate.
But no test means no certainty (that I will have immunity) & I'm also not part of the +ve data set
How do we model / plan the response without proper data?
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1. This is a HUGE DEAL
All 31 UN agencies - including the @WHO @UNHumanRights @UNDP and - at long last - @UNODC - have adopted a common position directing member states to end criminalisation of people who use drugs
The Chief Executives Board of the UN, representing 31 UN agencies, including @UNODC, has adopted a common position recommending decriminalisation of possession and use of drugs.
Read the Transform blog/briefing : transformdrugs.org/un-chief-โฆ
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Not clear how seriously to take this report - it's hard to believe @SuellaBraverman would be stupid enough to actually try this, but it's the kind of performative punitive politics a cornered populist might resort to.
But I can't see actually happening - quick thread
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This is what the first post-prohibition legal cannabis in the EU looks like! Sold *today* in the Netherlands๐๐ณ๐ฑ
I like the plain packaging (hopefully sustainable) even if we seem destined to be stuck with stupid strain names for eternity ๐ญ
HT @cannaindustrie for the pic
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We have issues with all kinds of litter
Alcohol, energy drink & tobacco litter is a *far bigger* problem than nitrous oxide (& yes, often involving groups of ppl 'loitering' in public parks)
But no-one's suggesting collective punishment for anyone possessing those products
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Amanita mushroom edibles are (quasi)legal in the US & now on sale in over 5000 outlets. They are *far* more toxic & risky psilocybin mushrooms which are schedule 1 (alongside heroin, & above fentanyl)
Dumb prohibition only succeed in maximising risks
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forbes.com/sites/willyakowicโฆ
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Devastating news.
Attempts to prevent the execution of Tangaraju Suppiah for cannabis offences (by family, activists, NGOs, various Govts, & the UN) have failed.
A few hours ago he was murdered by hanging, by the barbaric & shameless @govsingapore
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bbc.com/news/world-asia-6539โฆ
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New polling shows a big majority in the UK believe criminalising drugs is ineffective & should be dealt with as a health issue
Political leaders still way behind the public on this @Keir_Starmer @BorisJohnson @pritipatel @kitmalthouse
yougov.co.uk/topics/politicsโฆ
HT @VoltefaceHub
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*ITS OFFICIAL*
The new German Government coalition has confirmed today they will regulate adult use non-med cannabis, enhance harm reduction & allow drug checking
The 'coalition treaty' is online now. Its 177 pages, and in German obv, but here it is! ๐ welt.de/bin/Koalitionsvertraโฆ
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I've been asked how Malta's new law is different from Spain, the Netherlands & Portugal - and, in that context why people saying it is the first EU country to 'legalise' cannabis
So here's a THREAD to explain - with apologies in advance for length/dullness
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Sebastian Steudtner โ a German pro surfer โ has broken the world record surfing a wave over 115 feet tall at Nazare, Portugal.
Looks quite risky to me. We should probably jail him to put a stop to this sort of thing.
nitter.app/buitengebieden_/statusโฆ
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Interesting to learn that Rishi โDrugs are horrific,There is nothing recreational about them. I have never taken them and I will be incredibly tough on anyone who doesโ Sunak is an investor in two pubs.
Our anti-drugs Prime Minister *actually sells drugs*
HT @TheNewImpostor
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BREAKING GOOD NEWS!:
Iceland will open its 1st supervised drug consumption facility / overdose prevention center in Jan 2022! A mobile facility run by the Red Cross.
Here's the announcement (in Icelandic of course!)
@PeteKrykant_OPC @Drug_Science @HRInews @MartinTransform
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Here is new Australian PM @AlboMP on drug law reform in 1999
"We are a society that is full of contradictions. Some drugs are legally sanctioned and others are outlawed. To say that the reason for this is to do with public health and safety is a nonsense."
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Decriminalisation usually refers to ending criminal sanctions for posession of small amounts for personal use (which is what Portugal did).
Legalisation is moving to legally regulated production and supply. Which has only happened with cannabis thus far (& not in Portugal)
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Im always amazed to stumble across fields of opium poppies in the UK
Here, as far as the eye can see, near Winchester, yesterday
All 100% legal for use as opioid medicines (inc. diamorphine aka heroin)
Puts our international interdiction/ eradication efforts in perspective
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No @ImogenWK the jury (the science jury) isn't out - it's delivered its verdict; the evidence shows that while not risk free, vaping is vastly safer than smoked tobacco.
Please learn about the concept of #HarmReduction
theguardian.com/commentisfreโฆ
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Always a lovely feeling to open a box of your new book and see the fruits of several years work!
Free online publication date is April 19th - but you can buy a print copy *now* from buff.ly/3wKLGCx (discounted till the end of the week)
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Reclassifying cannabis as a Class A drug โflies in the face of all evidence and reasonโ
I'm pleased @niamhrelease and I had an opportunity to respond to this Ill considered conservative PCC proposal in the @Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09โฆ
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Desperately sad news that Russell Newcombe has died.
Educator, campaigner, harm reduction trailblazer, psychonaut, and an endlessly fascinating, generous and lovely human - He will be terribly missed. RIP ๐
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A legally regulated opium mkt being proposed as a form of harm reduction in India (its cheap, users actually like it, & its smoked, so much harder to OD on than injecting)
I always thought this was good idea with much wider international possibilities
indianexpress.com/article/ciโฆ
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Legalising cocaine would stem drug violence, Belgian criminologist @tomDecorte1 suggests (correctly)
brusselstimes.com/belgium/35โฆ
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Luxembourg have just legalised cannabis!
I didn't anticipate them being first, but then I didn't see Uruguay coming either. But my questionable rune reading skills aside - this is GOOD NEWS. The North American wave has finally reached EU shores.
druglawreform.info/en/newsroโฆ
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AMAZING FACT:
According to the UN, the UK (where medical cannabis is still banned as it has 'no medical use') is now the WORLDS LARGEST PRODUCER *and* EXPORTER OF MEDICAL CANNABIS
95 tonnes in 2016 (45% of global total)
see p.43-44 incb.org/documents/Narcotic-โฆ
HT @tblickman
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THREAD:
Portugal ended the criminalisation of personal possession for all drugs 20 years ago
It wasnโt the first country to do so & many have done so since. But its perhaps the most famous.
Our new briefing reviews whatโs actually happened since 2001
transformdrugs.org/blog/drugโฆ
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Shock revelation in the Daily Mail that ancient humans, dating back over 10000 years, were taking a range of depressant, stimulant and halucinogenic drugs -
Coming next week: OMG THEY STILL ARE!
dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/โฆ
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This one of the compelling poster campaigns promoting harm reduction and drug law reform from our friends and colleagues in Norway - @tryggere, the Assoiation for Safer Drug Policies..
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I want to be supportive of @WHO (they've done a lot of good work on tobacco/alcohol/drugs historically), but their position on vaping is inexplicable & deeply irresponsible; unscientific scaremongering, preferencing smoked tobacco, & abandoning harm reduction pragmatism.
Vaping increasesย your risk of seizures, typically within 24 hours of doing it.
Donโtย let #vaping harm your health.
Community note
This post is based on inconclusive evidence utilizing studies that have not been peer reviewed. The claim is based on approximately 120 incidents that occured since 2019 with an inconclusive outcome.
journal-
jahonline.org/article/S1054-โฆ
epsy health-
epsyhealth.com/seizure-epilepโฆ
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Stumbled across this vast field of legal opium poppy near Winchester today, cultivated for the pharma industry, incl heroin (which UK is the world biggest legal manufacturer of)
Absurd we still have troops risking their lives eradicating identical opium poppies in Afghanistan
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The Italian supreme court just effectively legalised home growing of cannabis for personal use.
The Italian Supreme Court ruling said that "it is not a crime if the cultivation of minimal quantities (of marijuana) takes place in a domestic form, for exclusively personal use". ansa.it/english/news/2019/12โฆ
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Good to see some intelligent discussions on cocaine regulation now taking place in Europe (previously almost exclusively in Colombia)
Interesting to see how UN conventions will be negotiated (maybe, like cannabis, with a scientific trial 'exemption'?)
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swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-capitโฆ
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PM contenders & max prison sentences for confessed crimes:
Johnson/Gove
COCAINE > 7yrs
Stewart
OPIUM > 7yrs
Raab/Hunt/Leadsome
CANNABIS > 5yrs
....
Criminal records > 0
Total prison time > 0
Hypocrits who back criminalisation of other pple who use drugs
> ALL OF THEM
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To quote @RishiSunak
โDrugs are horrific,There is nothing recreational about them. I have never taken them and I will be incredibly tough on anyone who does.โ
Yet here he is, again, actively promoting a drug responsible for 9600 annual deaths in the UK
#hypocrisy
Whether itโs vital repairs to your local theatre or keeping the door open at the local pub weโre levelling up communities across the UK.
Weโve announced that 45 more projects will receive the cash they need to stay open โ creating opportunities and boosting local economies.
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By no means reflective of all police sentiment- but grim & depressing that any police would think it clever to publicly revel in suffering like this.
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No. There's been a catastrophic failing on testing & contact tracing
They're only testing ppl in hospitals, & now some NHS staff.
No public testing on request, let alone outreach
If you want to get tested you basically have to be a Minister, a Royal, Idris Elba, or a Tiger
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Recent @scotgov calls for decriminalisation of drug possession have provoked a tediously predictable uptick in attempts to discredit Portugal's famous 2001 decrim reforms, (with echoes of similar recent efforts in Ireland & the USA)
It's worth digging into this a bit
THREAD๐งต1/
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littering is already illegal
Criminalising 1000s of young people for N20 possession doesnt make littering any more illegal
Did you consider that a deposit-based recycling scheme might actually work, whereas mass crimainlisation will just make social & health harms worse?
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Drug-nerd twitter- if you had to recommend one or two books (or long reads) on the history of the 'war on drugs' (including that phrase specifically) what would they be?
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As use of illegal cannabis, cocaine, benzos are all rising (& drug related deaths reach new records) look at what we are achieving with smoking (with the biggest fall amongst young people)
... through sensible regulation, public health education, and NOT CRIMINALISING ANYONE.
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Welcome to have the high commissioner for Human rights @UNHumanRights addressing the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs for the first time:
'if drugs can destroy lives, the same is true if drug policies'
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Ideally all drugs should be regulated.
But if this is inevitably going to be a sequenced, incremental process -
We should REGULATE THE DRUGS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GREATEST HARMS FIRST.
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Strangely relieved to not have a home secretary, even in only for a few hours
In my entire politically-aware adult life, they have *all* been awful (on drugs, but also more generally)
& there's a competitive tabloid ratchet effect; they actually seem to get incrementally worse
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Here's @kierstarmer posing for a photo-op surrounded by barrels of whiskey
Starmer supports criminalisation of people who use other drugs - but is happy to promote this particularly deadly one
There are 21,000 alcohol-related deaths a year in England alone
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More than 99% of psychedelics use is recreational
But recreational psychedelic use seems to occupy less than 1% of public discourse
Some drug users get more psychedelic renaissance than others
We urgently need a rebalancing away from privileged voices and corporate interests
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Hi @jasperhamill
Please don't refer to people who use cannabis as 'potheads' in a news report. Its lazy & stigmatising
Also, why do you refer to cannabis as marijuana, pot, weed, reefer AND cannabis in the same report? Its cannabis - just call it that
metro.co.uk/2019/05/31/amoreโฆ
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THREAD๐งต
A fascinating new technical report on the 'effects of cannabis legalization' was publsihed this month.
It was commissioned by the German Govt to inform their cannabis reforms (in part as a repsonse to opposition backlash)
Read here๐
bundesgesundheitsministeriumโฆ
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Good to see @SadiqKhan is seriously considering drug law reform, & an expert commission is (if balanced & genuinely independent) is a sensible way forward.
theguardian.com/politics/202โฆ
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Malta's proposed new cannabis law:
๐ decriminalises personal possession of up to 7grams
๐ allows up to 4 plants for personal cultivation
๐ allows registered cannabis associations (cannabis social clubs model)
lovinmalta.com/news/seven-grโฆ
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THREAD๐งต
Luxembourg's Govt-appointed working group on non medical cannabis has finally published its proposals, including:
๐ขDecrim of possession (3g), & homegrow (4plants)
๐ขA rationed (30g month. 5g day) residents-only retail mkt (operating as a fixed-term research 'pilot')
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Opposition to harm reduction is often framed as opposition to 'enabling' - but I struggle to see this logic as anything other than wanting to use pain and death as a form of deterrence, and 'sending the right message'.
Its sado-moralism
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Bragging about drug seizures is familar police territory even if supply side enforcement has little or no impact on availability and use.
But bragging about smashing in doors and *not* finding drugs is a new one on me.
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Been seeing these posters all over North London where I live.
They are advertising 'premium flower and edibles' with images of a woman on a cannabis leaf and someone in a balaclava smoking, and a QR code
Sadly, cannabis is still illegal in the UK.
So what's going on?
1/๐งต
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Today/tommorow is the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) thematic session on the implementation of international drug policy commitments.
Im scheduled as one of the civil society contributers this afternoon....
What's it all about?
THREAD๐งต
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๐ฅGreat to see Germany's lower house approve the cannabis regulation bill - which will now come into force on April 1st๐ฅ
There were concerns it could be derailed (see our linked explainer) but in the end cannabis possession, homegrowing, & social clubs have been legalised๐
|BREAKING| ๐ฉ๐ช๐Germany has voted to legally regulate cannabis for adult use, adding another name to the growing list of countries that have opted to legalise and regulate their cannabis market!
People will be able to access legal cannabis through non-profit membership clubs.
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A growing majority support cannabis legalisation in the UK - now 52% support to 32% opposed.
Party leaders will soon wake up to the idea that drug reform is a political asset not a liability.
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THEY DID IT!
First country in Europe to actually pass it into law.
An unexpected trailblazer like Uruguay, and also like Uruguay showing pragmatism and common sense caution around risks of over commercialisation.
Very well done indeed @Releafmalta @OwenBonnici et al
BREAKING: Malta's parliament just voted to pass its cannabis legalisation Bill into law!
When enacted at the weekend it will be legal to possess, grow your own (up to 4 plants) & establish not for profit cannabis social clubs
CONGRATULATIONS MALTA!
@Releafmalta @ownbonnici
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FDA Approves Magic Mushrooms For Treating Depression
inquisitr.com/5041351/fda-apโฆ
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Ahead of a citizensโ assembly on drugs, poll shows 54% of Irish adults favour legalisation/regulation of cannabis, & 50% support decriminalisation of personal use of all drugs
Public, once again, shown to be way ahead of politicians on drug reform
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businesspost.ie/analysis-opiโฆ
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"Labourโs refusal to commit to decriminalisation is weak: if Britain committed to a sensible, humane approach, it would represent a devastating blow to this most catastrophic of global policies."
Strong call from @OwenJones84
In the @guardian
theguardian.com/commentisfreโฆ
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