Egypt's market for the illegal drug hashish is going through a shortage that is stoking a wide variety of theories, many of them coloured by a sense of widespread distrust towards the government.

The authorities have very little tolerance for hashish, and are happy to take the credit for curbing the trade in a series of busts since the beginning of the year that have netted at least six tonnes of the drug.

A report on Saturday in the official Al-Ahram newspaper, headlined "The Interior Ministry imposes its control over the drug market," announced the end of the hashish trade.

aawsat.com
afp
france24.com
iol.co.za
middle-east-online.com

The Dutch cabinet wants to discourage foreigners from coming to the Netherlands to buy drugs by limiting the amounts permitted to be sold and by only allowing debit card payment, the government said last week.

The Netherlands has one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies with legal use of marijuana but some cities at the border near Belgium want to close down marijuana-selling coffee shops because they are drawing too many foreign visitors.

edmontonjournal.com

As an avid stoner and a medicinal marijuana grower I am constantly bombarded by statistics of the latest and greatest strains. With dispensaries, clubs, and your neighborhood dealer all telling you their shit is the best and citing 20% plus figures of THC content it is important to ask the question, 20% of what? And does it matter?

hailmaryjane.com

Again, next time you hear or read about law enforcement or federal anti-drug agencies employing the claim ‘We don’t make the laws, we only enforce them’, please reference the below totally biased, paranoid, inaccurate and self-serving example from the Drug Enforcement Administration to counter such claims.

Unlike the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), it is not clear that Drug Enforcement Administration is mandated by Congress to oppose any efforts by citizens to peaceably and lawfully change cannabis laws.

opposingviews.com
norml.org

10 years of CannaTrade – Special Price!
For our anniversary, we are offering the 3-day ticket for the amazing price of CHF 25.-/EUR 17.- (instead of CHF 39.-).

cannatrade.com

Violence in Mexico has escalated dramatically in recent years. In 2009 alone, at least 6,500 people were killed in apparent drug-related incidents, and more than 2,000 have already died in such violence this year. The recent killings of three people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez (just across the border from El Paso) have left many wondering whether the situation is hopeless.

In Mexico last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lamented the “cycle of violence and crime that has affected communities on both sides of the border” and pledged continued U.S. engagement. With Washington's support, the Mexican government has been pursuing an aggressive multiyear campaign to confront criminal groups tied to the drug trade. To understand those efforts' chances of success, let's look beyond five common misperceptions about Mexico's plight.

chron.com

One of Mexico's most famous drug lords said in a rare interview published Sunday that he lives in fear of getting caught and believes the military has closed in on him four times.

"I'm terrified of being incarcerated," Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada told the Mexican news magazine, Proceso, adding that he would even contemplate suicide if he was about to be caught. "I'd like to think that yes, I would kill myself."

forbes.com
reuters.com
Ismael "el Mayo" Zambada