[esbe]

https://cphpost.dk/national/more-dane...ir-own-cannabi

More Danes grow their own cannabis

Christian Wenande
February 25, 2013 - 21:44

While it is illegal to grow cannabis plants in Denmark, it is legal to buy and sell cannabis seeds

More and more Danes are growing cannabis plants in their own homes, many in order to self-medicate (Photo: Colourbox)
A large number of Danes are growing their own cannabis plants at home, according to a new investigation by drug researcher Helle Dahl.

Dahl, a researcher at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research at Aarhus University, said that her investigation suggested that there were at least 1,200 Danes who grew cannabis plants in their homes, but that many grow the plants for a reason other than getting high.

“There are a number of people who self-medicate against ADHD, as is the case with cancer and AIDS patients who also benefit from [cannabis],” Dahl told P3 radio station.

While it is illegal to grow the plants, it is legal to buy and sell cannabis seeds in Denmark and Dahl said that while there is a grey zone as a result, by growing their own cannabis people are not supporting the criminal element involved in the underground drug trade.

But while growing the plants is illegal, police are cracking down more often on the larger production facilities that have begun springing up in the country recently, which are able to produce up to 400 kilos of cannabis every year. That's just under one fifth of the total amount of cannabis confiscated in Denmark in 2011, according to a publication from last year entitled ‘Cannabis – forbrug, interventioner og markeder i Danmark’ (Cannabis – consumption, interventions and markets in Denmark) by the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research.

The cannabis output from home growers, on the other hand, is relatively small.

Of 550 Danish home growers contacted for the study, only 22 indicated that their home production consisted of more than 100 plants and just five of them had more than 500 plants, which could provide 60 kilos of smoke-ready cannabis a year. Most of the growers had only between one and 50 plants.

“Most of the people grow cannabis for their own use. But people generally grow more plants than they need because you don’t know how much you get from your production beforehand,” Vibeke Asmussen Frank, one of the authors of the publication, told Berlingske newspaper.

The publication also attempts to identify just who the typically Danish cannabis grower really is. But aside from fact that they are mostly male and employed, there are no other general traits in common.

“There are too many Danes who smoke cannabis for them to be part of a marginalised group, and we are not surprised over how widespread growing cannabis actually is,” Frank said.

Related articles:
Majority supports legal cannabis
Legal cannabis rejected by government
Mayor and police at odds over cannabis approach
Experts: Zero-tolerance on ‘cannabis driving’ too severe

[esbe]

This is the third time the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen asks to try legal project. We have a lot of crime here due to cannabis illigal status, including several young dead by shootings.

https://cphpost.dk/local/mayors-rejec...nabis-proposal

Mayors reject legal cannabis proposal

Jyllands-Posten
March 4, 2013 - 10:16
Ahead of conference on the subject, neighbouring councils express their disapproval of City Council's idea to legalise cannabis for a trial period

While neighbouring councils - both Danish and Swedish - have expressed their apprehension about Copenhagen's plan, the City Council will hold a conference later this month to re-fire the legal cannabis debate (Photo: Colourbox)
In Copenhagen, a majority of City Council dreams of legally selling cannabis from pharmacies throughout the city to residents who are over 18 and have a home address within the council's borders.

The plan would, according to Mayor Frank Jensen and his Socialdemokraterne (S) colleagues, be a blow to the gangs who finance a large part of their illegal activities with money earned through the illegal cannabis trade. The council also wants to have closer contact to young cannabis abusers, who today are left to interact with criminals.

Like flies to honey

The justice minister, Morten Bødskov (S), has already rejected City Council's proposal to legalise hash for a trial period, but in two weeks City Council will once again set focus on the subject when it hosts a conference on the legalisation of cannabis. Councillors also plan to release a more detailed proposal for the three-year trial.

But in advance of the conference, several mayors from Copenhagen's neighbouring councils are speaking out against the capital city's wish for a council-run hash market.

"I don't think it is a good idea," Herlev's mayor, Thomas Gyldal Petersen (S), said.

Neither does Helle Adelborg (S), the mayor of Hvidore.

"If you legalise hash, you send the wrong signal to the youth," Adelborg said. "I fear that children will interpret it as acceptable behaviour."

She also didn't think the idea of selling only to Copenhagen residents would work in practice.

"Running water doesn't understand council borders, and this proposal wouldn't either. I have a hard time believing that the cannabis would remain in Copenhagen."

There is also scepticism in Frederiksberg.

"Legal cannabis in Copenhagen would be like flies to honey for some of the most vulnerable youth throughout Greater Copenhagen," Frederiksberg's mayor, Jørgen Glenthøj (Konservative) said.

Swedes are "hysterical"

In November, 19 mayors of councils in southern Sweden wrote to Jensen to warn against the legalisation of cannabis in Copenhagen. In his response to the Swedes, Jensen wrote that with legalisation he hoped to take money away from the criminal element.

"In no way is the objective of legalisation to get more to smoke cannabis," Jensen wrote. "Therefore, it would continue to be forbidden for those under 18. And as long as there are restrictions, there is a risk of a black market. That is a basic fact."

City Council member Lars Aslan Rasmussen (S) dismissed the Swedish mayors' concerns.

"The Swedes have a hysterical approach to drugs and alcohol, and they have a huge illegal market," he said. "Just because the Swedes don't have control over their own misuse policies, that shouldn't mean that we are kept from trying a new approach."
Related articles:
Sweden urges city not to legalise cannabis
More Danes grow their own cannabis
Mayor and police at odds over cannabis approach
Frank Jensen on accommodating foreigners, legalising dope and setting the national agenda
Majority supports legal cannabis

[esbe]

https://cphpost.dk/local/copenhagen-l...rt-cannabis-us

Copenhagen looking to import cannabis from the US

Justin Cremer
March 12, 2013 - 13:22

Part of the city's plan to legalise cannabis, which will be presented at a conference on Friday, is to explore importing from two US states that recently legalised use of the substance.

Although two US states have legalised cannabis, there are still several legal barriers that would hinder Copenhagen from importing the substance

Ahead of a City Council cannabis conference on Friday, Copenhagen officials say they are ready to make another push to legalise the substance.

According to prepared documents from the council, the city is proposing a three-year trial, arguing that “the legal sale of cannabis will result in decreased gang criminality, more prevention and a better life for average cannabis users”.

An intriguing element of the plan calls for the possible import of cannabis from the US states of Colorado and Washington, where voters in November legalised its recreational use.

The Copenhagen Post spoke with the deputy mayor for social affairs, Mikkel Warming (Enhedslisten), about the city's plans.

“If we get the three-year trial, it will be important to work as quickly and effectively as possible, so we are looking abroad for where we could import cannabis,” Warming said. “Yes, we are looking at Colorado and Washington, but we're also looking at places like Great Britain, where there is state-controlled production of marijuana for medical purposes.”

Mikkel Warming said the the ban on cannabis has failed and it is time to try something new

“We realise of course that there are a lot of international conventions and regulations to deal with, but we think it is possible,” he said, adding that despite the production of heroin being illegal, Denmark is still able to legally import it for use in municipal injection rooms.

“The US states of Colorado and Washington recently legalised marijuana for recreational use, so it makes sense to learn from their experiences and to explore the possibility of importing from them.”

Warming said that at this point there has been no formal outreach to officials in Colorado or Washington about the legality or practicality of importing cannabis, but one of the main speakers at Friday's conference will be Peter Holmes, the city attorney of Seattle, Washington.

“It would be strange not to use the occasion to address practicalities with Mr Holmes,” Warming said. He added that Copenhagen would not make any arrangements with Colorado or Washington without discussing the issue with the appropriate federal authorities in the US.

“It is vital that the production and import is legal on all levels,” he said, adding that although cannabis is still an illegal substance on the federal level in the US, he still thinks a solution could be found. “It's possible if there is the political will for it in the United States.”

Regardless of the feasibility of importing cannabis from the US, Warming said that the conference aims to put pressure on the national government to convince parliament that the legalisation of cannabis is a good idea.

“This is common sense,” he said. “As local politicians, we are closer to reality. The ban on cannabis has failed. People can get it anywhere, it is mixed with harder drugs and it finances crime.”

“If we get the trial, which would be a three-year experiment, we will try it and then see what the results are,” Warming said. “If it is successful, we will work towards permanent legalisation in Copenhagen and the whole of Denmark.”

Warming said that, in addition to questions about how to get legal cannabis if the proposal is approved, there are still several details to work out, including who would be allowed to purchase cannabis from city-run dispensaries. Warming said that, due to concerns over “hash tourism”, sales would only be made to residents of Denmark over the age of 18. However, Warming said sales could further be restricted to residents of either the Greater Copenhagen area or just residents of the city itself.

[mean mr.mustard]

"If you legalise hash, you send the wrong signal to the youth," Adelborg said. "I fear that children will interpret it as acceptable behaviour."



Isn't this the same country where people may legally whore out their animals for sex?

Hash doesn't seem so bad all of a sudden.

It's about time somebody legalized herb there!!

If you're free enough to perform in your very own home donkey show you should be free enough to be high for it right??

Originally Posted by mean mr.mustard

"

people may legally whore out their animals for sex?

thank you!

it is not that often that my WTF meter gets redlined but that did it

[GMT]

I find it interesting that they are talking about hash rather than bud. Hash is by definition a processed and concentrated form of the drug. I suspect that the idea is to remove as much impurity and therefore to seek a reliable strength, so as to move the product towards medicine. However there are more reliable methods of doing this. GW pharma the uk company they made reference to, produce their products containing 2 active compounds, what they are talking about would contain all of the compounds, making it harder to maintain constant strength. Given the natural variability in this situation, I would have assumed that the approach should also legalize the sale of bud, which will have a greater variability, yet a lower strength, allowing greater flexibility and control over the strength of the effect of the product from a customers point of view.

[esbe]

Originally Posted by mean mr.mustard

Isn't this the same country where people may legally whore out their animals for sex?

Hash doesn't seem so bad all of a sudden.

It's about time somebody legalized herb there!!

If you're free enough to perform in your very own home donkey show you should be free enough to be high for it right??

jeje, here its legal to fuck a cow but illegal to blow a jay. the fine for getting caught for that is around 500 usd first time, and more and more the next times.

[sprinkl]

God damn conservatives... How anybody still votes for someone with christian ties is beyond my human comprehension. Bunch of child sodomizing, lying bastards...

I hope for you the power of common sense will win in your country... Here in Belgium they're trying hard to tackle the image of the most natural medicine we've ever had, again. More and more bad studies about cannabis in the news, nothing good ever... Can you say media control!

[PrinceOfPersia]

lol esben.. word word! cant be said better
we live in a wicked world

[esbe]

https://cphpost.dk/national/life-afte...-its-ambitions

Life after cannabis prohibition: The city announces its ambitions

Peter Stanners
March 15, 2013 - 22:53

The Copenhagen Model will see the production, sale and consumption of cannabis legalised, but many questions remain

The conference was the latest attempt by mayor Frank Jensen (Socialdemokraterne), centre, to legalise cannabis in Copenhagen for a trial period

The tide is turning against the criminalisation of cannabis. Portugal, the Netherlands and several US states have to varying degrees decriminalised its use and now Copenhagen has decided to join the movement with a three-year trial to decriminalise the drug.

But while city officials envisage Copenhagen undertaking the world’s most ambitious decriminalisation project – both the production and sale would be legalised – large questions remain about what shape the so-called 'Copenhagen Model' would actually take.

Today around 150 attendees gathered in the City Hall’s banquet room to hear the City Council’s plan.

“We would like to have fewer smokers, a lower incidence of cannabis psychosis and less crime,” the deputy mayor for social affairs, Mikkel Warming (Enhedslisten), told the audience. “But criminalising cannabis doesn’t work. It’s here to stay. Legalisation won’t be a miracle cure, but it will open up solutions to some of the problems that cannabis creates.”

The conflict is this. One the one hand, the city wants to take the one billion kroner cannabis trade out of the hands of criminals. But the fear is that legalisation could increase consumption. Given the documented connections between mental illness and cannabis use, more users could mean higher rate of mental health problems in Copenhagen.

So the question becomes whether it is possible to decriminalise cannabis while also minimising the number of people who use it.


Seattle city attorney Peter Holmes argues that the US government will soon have no choice but to decriminalise cannabis

One of the primary goals of the trial is to take the cannabis trade out of the hands of criminals. This would require offering a competitive product at competitive prices from locations in the city that are as accessible as the illegal market.

The city is open to both external and domestic suppliers for its product, which would most likely be sold through an established chain of stores, such as pharmacies. This would be easier to implement during a trial period as having to construct new specialist outlets or expecting the private sector to step up would likely take much longer to get running.

The city has not settled on a final model, however, nor has it established a concrete plan for preventing cannabis tourism and ensuring that vulnerable users get the help they need.

Let the state control it

There was plenty of advice to be heard from experts today, however. Among them was Willy Pedersen, a professor of sociology at the University of Oslo. He argued that that the best way to legalise cannabis, while also minimising its use, would be to establish state-run dispensaries similar to the Swedish and Norwegian alcohol monopolies.

Pedersen argued that if weren’t state controlled, the private sector would seek to use ‘cannabis culture’ to encourage more people to consume cannabis and boost its profits.

“What we all want is a reduced consumption of cannabis,” Pedersen told The Copenhagen Post. “But the cannabis culture romanticises cannabis use and encourages people to consume it, while privatised sale creates an incentive for businesses to sell as much product as possible.”

But if pot were in the hands of the state, would crime really be reduced? This is one of the major goals of the trial as Copenhagen's increase in gun crime has been attributed gangs fighting over a share in the highly lucrative illegal cannabis trade.

Speaking to the conference, Kim Møller from the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research at Aarhus University said that while crime may drop in the long-term after decriminalisation, in the short-term the gangs would simply move to fighting over other sources of income.

Mental health issues

The connection between mental health problems and cannabis use is seen by many as the most troubling aspect of legalising cannabis. The city argues, however, that a legal network of cannabis outlets would provide new points of contact between social workers and at-risk users. Their hope is that more users would find treatment if legalisation were to be enacted.


Over 150 people attended the city council's conference about legalising cannabis in Copenhagen (Photo: Peter Stanners)
Dan Orbe from the council’s anonymous drug counselling organisation, U-Turn, argued that the city needed to recognise that it might need to set aside more funding for counselling and preventative programmes. Orbe also added that the city would probably have to completely overhaul its current strategy for preventing drug use among young people.

Laws and conventions

Gearing the police and social services to deal with changes brought about by legal cannabis may not be the most pressing problem facing the city, however. Denmark is a signatory of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs that controls the production and sale of cannabis.

Not wanting to break their commitment to the convention, the Netherlands’ novel solution was to make cannabis illegal but not punishable under certain conditions. This non-enforcement policy makes consumption in coffee shops legal, even though the coffee shops still have to source their products from illegal sources.

The Copenhagen Model will challenge the convention more directly, however, by decriminalising the possession and sale of cannabis. This approach more closely follow the strategy of the US state of Washington, where in November 2012, voters passed a law that legalised the possession and cultivation of cannabis.

Seattle's city attorney, Peter Holmes, explained that the initiative passed by promising voters that cannabis would be heavily taxed and regulated.

Cannabis possession and cultivation in the United States is still highly illegal under federal law, however, meaning that the state of Washington - along with Colorado, which also passed legalisation in November - has placed itself in a tricky position with Washington, DC.

But Holmes argues that there is no option left except legalising cannabis.

“The prohibition of cannabis has not achieved its stated objectives because the demand is too strong,” Holmes told The Copenhagen Post, adding that pressure from the US to maintain Draconian legislation on cannabis may be a reason why the Danish government has repeatedly turned down the city’s attempts to legalise the drug, most recently last year.

But as more countries move to legalise the drug, Holmes argues that the US will have to accept that prohibition has not worked

“The world hasn’t ended [after cannabis was legalised]. What we are witnessing now is just the crack in the dyke and more states will soon follow our lead with legalisation," he said. "The genie is out of the bottle.”

Holmes was careful to state that Copenhagen needed to find its own solution, however, and that what works in Seattle may not work in Copenhagen.

“The conference has confirmed that we need to find our own plan for Copenhagen,” Mayor Frank Jensen (Socialdemokraterne) said in his closing statements. “We need to end a failed policy and take responsibility. City Hall now needs to take the lead.”

Related articles:
Stop criminalising pot smokers, demonstrators say
Copenhagen looking to import cannabis from the US
Majority supports legal cannabis
Legal cannabis rejected by government
Could legalising pot clean up the rot?