Synthetic cannabis will be forbidden soon!

To react once again to the post of Maarten: after looking to the video of ‘Koppen’, I was looking at the internet whether this reportage didn’t ring a bell with politicians. I was glad to see that someone of a political party in Belgium (Vlaams Belangs) asked the minister of ‘Public Health’, Laurette Onkelinx, to forbid synthetic cannabis. They are working now on a decree (Koninklijk Besluit in Dutch) to make it illegal.

I’ve copied the article below. You can also find it on: http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20110316_047

The last paragraph explains what the plan is to forbid synthetic cannabis. The minister wants that every “ingedrient” must be forbidden which will take time. Like Maarten said in his post, the producents will be always one step ahead by making small adjustments everytime the law changes. But the plan is to group a bunch of “ingredients” together so that small adjustments will make no difference.

Hopefully the decree will be realized soon!

Thanks for reading!

Elly

The danger of synthetic cannabis!

Last week I saw a very interesting reportage on synthetic cannabis in a program called KOPPEN.

http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/mediatheek/programmas/koppen/2.14709/2.14710/1.979183
(last view 25/03/2011)

The problem here is that in this cannabis the active substance isn’t THC but some chemical formula with the same effects as THC and sometimes much stronger. There are even cases where people die from an overdose which is not possible with normal THC.
I believe that we have to protect people from this stuff but that isn’t easy because these chemical components are not prohibited. Even when they change the law and such a chemical formula is forbidden, the producents only have to change the structure a little bit so they are always one step ahead on the legal system.
Because of all these different formula’s an effective saliva test is not possible so users can not get caught.

So i think that Kim is right, we can only legalise normal, ‘flowwer power’ marijhuana for medical purposes. All the other stronger variants and synthetic cannabis should be banned to avoid more victims!

Finally, to reply to the post of elly, I endorse the view expressed by Kim and elly. I also believe that legalizing medical marijhuana at the same level in the whole world would have much more positive than negative consequences!!

Medical marijhuana: “flowerpowerweed” vs. “nederweed”

Hey everyone,

Yesterday I saw a talkshow (“Goedele op dinsdag”, in dutch), where they highlighted the use of cannabis in teens and young adults. It is thought to make them aggressive and violent, committing crimes en getting involved in fights. I was amazed and followed the entire discussion about it. It seems that there is a major difference in the cannabis they used in the sixties and the cannabis that is used at the moment: “flowerpower weed”  versus “neder weed”. The name neder weed is derived from the place where the cannabis is cultivated: The Netherlands, or Nederland in dutch. The difference between those two “species”, if you like, is the amount or concentration of the active substance THC, which is thought to be 7 times higher in neder weed compared to the old weed. The effects of smoking/eating/… the new weed, are thus 7 times stronger. It appears that people who use drugs for a longer period of time, are getting more frustrated about small things, getting violent more easily and so on. I’m sure (also said in the discussion) that it is a mixture of the society of today, the world people live in nowadays and perhaps the ease of buying and using alcohol and drugs, that makes people get angry or frustrated more easily.

I know what you guys are thinking right now, and that is “Now it appears to be dangerous, why legalizing it?”. Well, medical marijhuana is made for medical applications off course. Therefore, it is not allowed to be dangerous, meaning that medical cannabis does have THC in it (off course, it is the active substance), but in a controlled way. For this reason, I would legalize it, because it is much safer (actually totally safe! see previous posts). People who are in pain, and I mean in real pain, would do anything to relieve their pain. If it takes drinking, using morfine or selling cannabis on the street (neder weed), they probably will do it. If they can get medical cannabis, all this isn’t necessary.

To reply on the post of Elly earlier this week, I think it is a good plan to legalize medical marijhuana at the same level in the whole world; there will be no selling and buying between countries to get cannabis in a cheaper way, people won’t have to get there cannabis illegal in a different country, the voilence will go down because of this, … and so on.

What do you guys think?

Grtz!

Differences in legalisation all over the world

Hello!

Like I promised in one of my previous comments, I’m going to talk about the differences in legalisation laws depending on which country you live in.

Fig 1: World laws on cannabis possession (small amount)

As you can notice, in Europe and in some states of the USA, drugs are mainly not allowed.

I’ll go in detail for some neighbouring countries in Europe:

• Belgium: individual use by adults (<3 grams) if it doesn’t cause any problems to their environment. The cultivation of one female cannabis plant for personal use is decriminalized. So there is no other legal way of obtaining cannabis [1, 2]

• Netherlands: possession/ purchase of cannabis is tolerated in small amounts by adults (<5 grams) , only in special shops (called “coffeeshops”).  A recent court decision allowed a medical cannabis to avoid legal prosecution for possession of a small number of cannabis plants; however, the state is appealing the decision. [1]

• United Kingdom: Cannabis is illegal but punishments are usually minor resulting in a confiscation and a “cannabis warning” for small amounts. [1]

• Germany: Cannabis is prohibited by the German BtMG (drug schedule), making it illegal to possess, cultivate, or sell. [1,3]

In this picture below, I focus on the medical possession of the United States of America

Fig 2: US cannabis laws

• California: the possession and cultivation of marijuana is no more criminal — so long as (the law’s) conditions (Proposition 215 [4]) are satisfied – than the possession and acquisition of any prescription drug with a physician’s prescription [1,3]

The legal use of hard drugs is not allowed in any country!

My question of the day is: would it be better to obtain a equal law considering ‘medical use of drugs’ all over the world so that every person has the same medical rights or do you think every country has to make up their own laws?

>> I believe that in terms of medical use, it would be better that every person can be treated the same way so that the endless discussions between different states and countries can be stopped. So break the taboo and let the pride and pettiness of some countries don’t stand in the way!

References:

[1] World cannabis laws, January 2011. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World-cannabis-laws.png

[2] Nieuwe Belgische wetgeving inzake verdovende middelen, March 2003. Retrieved from http://www.just.fgov.be/nl_htm/informatie/htm_justitie_atotz/drugs-11-06-2003.html

[3] Cannabis legal status, Erowid, October 2010. Retrieved from http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_law.shtml

[4] Legislative counsel’s digest California, February 2010. Retrieved from  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_1401-1450/sb_1449_bill_20100405_amended_sen_v98.html

See you!

Elly

What about hard drugs?

I think our position on the use of canabis is clear, but what about hard drugs?

On the internet I found a very interesting article about the possible use of hard drugs in medical applications.

www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/medical/meduse.htm

For example cocaine, derived from the coca shrub erytroxylon. This drug is used for more then 1000 years by the local population of Peru and Bolivia in medical applications. Here it is a standard remedy for toothache, ulcers, rheumatism, asthma and even malaria!

Another example, the amphetamines such as Benzedrine which was first synthesized in 1887. This drug can be used in many medical applications such as narcolepsy, weight loss, depression, and for people with an attention deficit disorder.

Finally there is the large group of psychedelic drugs like LSD. these drugs can help cure derpressions, alcohol abuses and can be very useful for terminal patients.

I think these hard drugs may be very useful in a purely medical applications. But what would be the consequences for the legalization of hard drugs, because I believe we can not compare hard drugs with cannabis, or what do you think about this subject?