 | NORML News: WORLD WiDE WEED |
 WITH INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR HARRY CORDING, Norml News Autumn 2004
western australia decriminalises! Western Australia has become the second Australian state to decriminalise cannabis in a bid to reduce police and court workloads and divert more users to counselling. Possession of small amounts of cannabis is already decriminalised in South Australia, and in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory - both self-governing, but still subject to federal Parliament.
The new WA laws are part of a growing trend to ease prosecutions for cannabis possession, which make up by far the largest drug caseload for Australian police. Numerous reports and studies have recommended its removal from criminal sanctions.
New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland still treat cannabis possession as a criminal offence but give police wide discretion to issue cautions rather than make arrests.
The new WA laws provide for fines of up to A$150 and compulsory drug education for people caught with up to 30 grams and A$200 fine for growing two plants.
As in South Australia, hydroponically grown plants remain illegal, and dealing is still a criminal offence. In SA, fines of up to A$150 may be imposed on people caught with less than 100g grams or one non-hydroponically grown.
The Liberal Opposition has condemned the new laws and promised to repeal them if elected. Christiania: back to the future Three decades of cannabis tolerance may come to an end in Denmark with the right-wing government announcing proposals for tougher penalties. Users - who in the past received only a police caution for possession - now face mandatory fines for even the smallest amounts. Dealers caught with larger amounts face longer prison sentences.
Predictably, the street price of hash almost doubled in March. The impact is most keenly felt in Christiania, an oasis of cannabis and counterculture in the heart of Copenhagen. Until a few weeks ago Christiania, a 34-hectare former army barracks taken over by squatters in 1971, was Copenhagen's second biggest tourist attraction. It was also home to Europe's largest hash market, Pusher Street - lined by stalls selling cannabis, but no hard drugs. Recently several hundred police raided Christiania, seized assets and made more than 60 arrests.
While the new legislation was being put before parliament, several hundred Danes held a noisy protest outside, singing and puffing joints. RASTA RIGHTS! A select committee of the Jamaican parliament has recommended that Rastafarians should be allowed to use ganja for "sacramental purposes" and that using small amounts in public be decriminalised.
It also recommended that Jamaica begin a campaign to revise the UN's International Convention on Psychotropic Substances. "In particular, we recommend that a case be made for Rastafarians to be exempted under Article 32 of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which protects religious use of substances prohibited under that treaty," the Select Committee said.
The National Commission on Ganja also recommended decriminalising ganja so that the use of small quantities of ganja in public is made a minor offence which would not appear on criminal records. Billionaire supports nevada legalisation initiative The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana has launched a petition in Nevada, USA, to legalise the use of marijuana in private by people over 21.
The initiative has received financial support from Peter Lewis, the American insurance magnate and philanthropist who has given millions of dollars to civil liberties groups and the cause of legalising cannabis. Lewis was busted arriving in New Zealand for the 2000 America's Cup, and discharged without conviction after agreeing to make a contribution to a drug rehabilitation centre. A leading Dutch drug researcher predicted little change in drug use if citizens support the initiative. Peter Cohen said the argument that laws control the flow of marijuana is "very useful for politicians," but has little to do with reality. Research had found no link between drug policy and use rates. Cannabis depenalised in uk January 29 2004 was a historic day for Britain, with cannabis changed from class B to class C, the same category as steroids and antidepressants.
Possession remains illegal but will "ordinarily not be an arrestable offence", according to police, meaning cannabis is effectively decriminalised in practise.
However, the law has been changed to permit arrest in certain circumstances, such as smoking outside a school, and penalties for dealing were increased to a maximum of 14 years in prison. Authorities have continued to prosecute people who had started coffeeshops in the UK in the mistaken belief it would be tolerated. The Sweet Leaf in Brixton, where "blatant open dealing" was alleged to have taken place, is being prosecuted, while Cafe Cairo next door, which allows smoking but not dealing, has been left alone.
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