Otto chilogrammi di marijuana sono stati sequestrati dalla polizia nel corso di controlli nel quartiere di Librino, a Catania. La droga, contenuta in sette sacchi, e' stata trovata in un nascondiglio all'interno del "Palazzo di cemento" di Librino. La sostanza stupefacente avrebbe fruttato, secondo una stima degli investigatori, circa 160 mila euro.

sicilianews24.it

A challenge to the marijuana laws of the southern African nation Swaziland is going all the way to the High Court. Dr. Ben Diamini wants cannabis legalized, and he has also called upon the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade to grant him a 10-year exclusive license to grow "dagga," as the herb is called locallly.

Dr. Diamini pointed out that in the past 5,000 years, no one has died of cannabis anywhere in the world. He wants to High Court to help him get an order allowing him to operate a cannabis processing factory and set up a marketing company, with all dagga growers in Swaziland as suppliers, reports Mtheto Lungu at Africa News. He said that his factory will then solicit orders from local and international pharmacies.

africanews.com

In den Niederlanden sollen die ersten Coffeeshops geschlossen werden. Wie das Justizministerium mitteilte, unterliegen die Haschischlokale künftig strengeren Auflagen. Viele werden ganz dicht gemacht, die verbleibenden in geschlossene Clubs umgewandelt. Vermögen aus Straftaten wird unter Anwendung von Steuergesetzen beschlagnahmt. Fünf Städte im Süden des Landes beteiligen sich an der Maßnahme.

derstandard.at
kurier.at
oe24.at
Coffee_Shop_(Niederlande) @ de.wikipedia

The Netherlands' justice minister and five southern Dutch cities say they will implement new restrictions on marijuana cafes after a wave of drug-related gangland violence.

They said Friday the measures include shutting down many cafes, using tax and accounting laws to seize criminal assets, and introducing a "members only" pass system for remaining cafes.

The government has previously floated the idea of a nationwide pass system that would make it difficult for tourists to buy marijuana, despite the country's famed tolerance policy, which allows sale and possession of small amounts of weed.

washingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.com
ap
rnw.nl
Cannabis_coffee_shop [wiki]

Yesterday The BoomBox reported that hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow was busted for marijuana possession at Los Angeles' LAX airport, but according to the rapper-turned-preacher, those reports are false. Not long after the news broke via TMZ.com, Blow took to his Twitter page to discredit the story.

"What is this I hear 'bout me being busted for weed at the airport?" he wrote Thursday. "Not true. Isn't weed legal in California? TMZ is bugging." The New York native went on to ponder if his 500 new followers had anything to do with the story.

theboombox.com
old zack

Despite widespread allegations about his involvement in Afghanistan's drug trade and other illicit activities, the US government has never taken steps to prosecute Ahmed Wali Karzai, the younger half-brother of the Afghan President—though a leaked diplomatic cable suggests American officials may have come very close.

This revelation was contained in one of a series of Afghanistan-related communiqués released by WikiLeaks on Thursday. The document in question is a confidential summary of a February 4, 2010, meeting of an interagency group known as the Next-Corruption Leadership Board. The board—which was co-chaired by Kabul embassy official Earl Anthony Wayne and Major General Michael Flynn, then the top military intelligence official in Afghanistan—had convened to review potential anti-corruption measures. Specifically discussed were "possible courses of action ("COAs") that U.S. military and Embassy personnel may employ against criminal and corrupt Afghan officials in an effort to change their behavior." During the meeting, board members agreed to "apply a set of minimum COAs against high-profile corrupt officials to signal a change in U.S. policy on corruption" and to "begin a series of high-level demarches to persuade the Karzai government to follow through on promises to tackle corruption."

motherjones.com
old zack

In Deutschland ist sie bereits verboten, nun wird die Partydroge Mephedron in der gesamten Europäischen Union auf den Index gesetzt. Das haben die EU-Justizminister beschlossen.

"Dünger" oder "Badesalz" - im Internet ist die Partydroge Mephedron häufig unter verharmlosenden Bezeichnungen erhältlich. Manch einer nennt sie auch kurz "Meow" - sprich: Miau. Die Substanz wirkt ähnlich wie Ecstasy oder Kokain, ist aber mit einem Preis von 10 bis 15 Euro pro Gramm deutlich billiger. Nun ist die Droge wegen ihrer gefährlichen Nebenwirkungen europaweit verboten worden.

spiegel.de

National Police have broken up an organisation which distributed heroin across Spain, hidden in vehicles. Eight arrests were made, and nine kilos of the drug impounded. It had been transported to Sevilla hidden in the spare wheel of a vehicle.

typicallyspanish.com