The 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, July 18 – 23 marks an important moment in the history of drug policy that might just be the beginning of the end of the “War on Drugs”. The policy document that will be the centre piece of the conference is the Vienna Declaration which calls on governments around the world to develop policies related to psychoactive substances that are based on scientific evidence and public health principles rather than continuing the costly and ineffective approach based on the criminalization of drugs and punishment of drug users. The Declaration is an important benchmark in that it marks a scientific consensus among those studying drug policies, infectious diseases, public health and human rights that current drug policies are causing more harm than drug use itself.

whyprohibition.ca

A National Police statement said that the 11,100 kilos of hashish was found hidden in a cargo of frozen sardines which arrived at the Port of Algeciras.

38 bank accounts have been frozen and seven properties searched as part of the operation, which has also seen eight top of the range vehicles impounded along with 240,000 € in cash.

typicallyspanish.com

via

Legalizing pot may drop the price of a marijuana cigarette to as little as $1.50 in California, but taxing weed may create a whole new black market, according to a new RAND Corp. study.

suntimes.com

Heute Nacht ist Hans Georg Behr verstorben wir alle kennen ihn als Autor des grossartigen Buches “von Hanf ist die Rede” oder auch von “Weltmacht Droge” und “unsere Unterwelten”. Desweiteren erarbeitete er fantastische Geschichtsromane wie “die Mogulin” oder “Söhne der Wüste”.

hanfplantage.de
derstandard.at
bild.de

Cost could drop to $38 per ounce if Proposition 19 passes, Rand Corp. researchers say. The tax implications and probable rise in consumption are impossible to predict, study finds.

latimes.com
contracostatimes.com
ap

Two recently-released reports show that global drug policy is in the dark ages, and that the UN shares the blame for it.

One was the UN's own World Drug Report, an annual product of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), analyzing illicit drug use, production, and trafficking. One of the phenomena discussed by UNODC each year, of course, is cultivation of coca, the plant from which cocaine gets derived. Coca is grown in the Andean nations of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.

huffingtonpost.com

Alberta police shut down eight Edmonton-area marijuana grow operations in a Tuesday sweep of more than a dozen properties.

Police said the homes and commercial properties are associated with one "robust" criminal organization that has been based in the capital region for about 10 years.

edmontonjournal.com