Marijuana Legalization

The state has an interest in protecting the ability of its citizens to act freely in pursuit of the good life. Psychoactive drugs that negatively affect one’s cognitive capacities conflict with this goal by undermining the conditions needed for free action. Accordingly, the state has an interest in legally prohibiting certain classes of drugs, including marijuana and other cognition-disrupting substances.

RESUMEN.Reflexionamos sobre el debate que existe en la comunidad científica sobre los artículos de opinión que plantean valorar el posible uso terapéutico que puede tener el consumo regulado del Cannabis y por otra parte los estudios que muestran la relación entre el consumo de esta sustancia y el riesgo de enfermedad mental. Se diferencia entre "riesgo de enfermedad" y causalidad y se explica el concepto de estocasticidad en psiquiatría Debemos valorar así mismo "el coste de oportunidad que está suponiendo que el debate sobre el cannabis se siga planteando como un conflicto bélico entre partidarios y detractores del uso de esta sustancia milenaria y compleja".
Palabras clave: Cannabis, artículo de opinión, causalidad, riesgo de enfermedad, psicosis, enfermedad mental, consumo.
SUMMARY.We reflect on the debate that exists in the scientific community about the opinion articles that propose assessing the possible therapeutic use that the regulated cannabis consumption can have and on the other hand the studies that show the relationship between the consumption of this substance and the risk of mental illness. Differs between "risk of disease" and causality, and explain the concept of stochasticity in psychiatry. We must value "the loss of opportunity that is assuming that the debate on cannabis continues to arise as a war conflict between supporters and detractors of the uso of this ancient and complex substance. En las ciencias de la salud las cosas casi nunca son blancas o negras y la estructura empírica, el momento histórico, nos hace valorar debidamente

Atomik Seeds’ aim is to distribute easy to grow, productive and affordable feminized cannabis seeds to professional and amateur growers, as well as sector dealers. They offer the opportunity of working with new varieties, with exquisite aromas and remarkable power selected by their flavour, production and quality. Atomik Seeds cannabis seeds make up a collection of feminised and autoflowering marijuana strains that are world-renowned for their fast-flowering properties as well as for their amazing organoleptic characteristics. www.atomikseeds.com

The drug design has several branches of development, such as irrational selection, rational search and newer layering, computer subtraction, biological mapping of biological objects, simulation of the target and the drug.
One way or another, the share of rational search and human intellectual activity in the process of developing the design of preparations is, as before, great. Biomolecular mapping and mathematical models are not able to replace the accumulated experience in the design, and as a result, the drug design develops new theoretical methods. One of these methods is to regulate the activity and strength of the drug, through the use of radicals with more or less complementary interaction forces.
The degree of conformity of the chemical compound drug and the target is measured by several quantities: This is the geometric correspondence of the placement of the necessary chemical radicals. This is a quantitative match and a qualitative match. As well as compliance with the degree of mobility, the dynamic behavior of the molecule. Regulation of the activity of a substance is an important parameter that allows you to create drugs with convenient dosage or high safety.
To achieve high safety performance, a method of reducing the energy of the bond between the drug and the target is used. This approach makes it possible to establish a low ceiling of maximum activity. Even in case of overdose. these drugs show low activity, which eliminates the development of critical side effects. .. ...

Background: Observing and documenting major shifts in drug policy in a given jurisdiction offer important lessons for other settings worldwide. After nearly a century of prohibition of non-medical use and sale of cannabis, Canada federally legalized the drug in October 2018. Across this geographically large and diverse country, there is a patchwork of cannabis policies as the provinces and territories have developed their own regulatory frameworks. Objectives: As drug policy transitions are often studied well after implementation, we document early stage cannabis regulatory policy planning in the four most populous provinces
of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Methods: In June 2018, we systematically searched peer-reviewed and gray literature (such as web content, reports, and policy documents authored by varied authorities and organizations) to identify key aspects of the evolving
provincial cannabis legalization frameworks. In the absence of peer-reviewed studies, we reviewed primarily gray literature. Results: For each of the four provinces examined, we provide a succinct overview of early-stage public consultation, plans for cannabis distribution and retail, other key regulatory features, endorsements of a public health approach to legalization, general alignment with alcohol policy, and contentious or standout issues. Conclusions/Importance: Our review clearly illustrates that cannabis legalization in Canada is not unfolding as monolithic policy, despite a federal framework, but with divergent approaches. The public health outcomes that will result from the different provincial/territorial regulatory systems remain to be measured and will be closely monitored.

It is looking at practices of territory when new imperial regime takes over. Looking at Mexico as historical practices in the Western United States, looking at laws a clauzwitz method of conquering versus practice at hand. Propaganda, strategic, and medicine.

Neither non-lethal violence nor psychochemical weapons are new concepts. History provides examples of attempts to use these both to limit the scope of war and to turn mind-altering compounds into weapons. One of these substances has been marijuana. Although previous efforts to find its military applications failed, the idea persists – as indicated by a US patent granted in 2017. As “weaponized cannabis” may again attract the interest of government agencies, the consequences of its potential deployment call for a debate. In an attempt to encourage such a discussion, in the context of the ongoing decriminalization/legalization of marijuana in some countries and US states, the article raises ethical issues pertaining to weaponized cannabinoids. It argues against the militarization of the drug, on the basis that such a development would constitute an ultimate instrumentalization of marijuana and result in a dangerous destabilizing reconstruction of its meaning along the lines of state coercion.

This comment is a response to Al-Hamdani et al. (forthcoming) in this issue. The authors of that paper advocate plain packaging and warning label regulation for cannabis drawing on research from Canadian tobacco labelling and based on the public health dangers of cannabis. While we acknowledge the harmful

Why are sex worker rights groups advocating for decriminalizing sex work, but not for legalizing it? In this paper, I will explain why efforts to decriminalize sex work deserve the same support as efforts to decriminalize abortion, marijuana, or non-procreational sex. Many human rights advocates now recognize that decriminalizing sexual transactions which take place among consenting adults in private, including informally contracting for sexual services, is necessary for protecting our fundamental human and civil rights. Yet decriminalizing individual acts of prostitution opens the door to various kinds of organized and public market activities, and there is little consensus among progressive reformers about how wide this door should be pushed opened. A consensus has been forming, nevertheless, among sex worker rights organizations. These groups generally hold that regulatory restrictions specific to sex work (“legalization”), which limit where and how contracting for sexual services can take place, leads to practices that are punitive toward sex workers in ways similar to criminalization. In this paper, I will consider the arguments for decriminalization and against legalization, and argue that accepting levels of governmental oversight above the norm may be a necessary compromise in order to change policies regarding a controversial activity.

Streszczenie. Wyjątkowa sytuacja prawna Holandii odgrywa nieocenioną rolę w sporze o le-galizację narkotyków miękkich. Jednak temat ten, mimo oryginalnych uregulowań, od dawna nie jest już kontrowersyjny. Wynika to z ciekawych uwarunkowań społeczeństwa holenderskiego oraz ważnych czynników historycznych. Artykuł przedstawia analizę tych specyficznych elementów wpływających na kształt regulacji odnoszących się do polityki narkotykowej. Ma on na celu uka-zanie, jak istotne dla skuteczności prawa jest uwzględnienie takich uwarunkowań w procesie legi-slacyjnym. Słowa kluczowe: miękkie narkotyki, polityka narkotykowa, legalizacja, Królestwo Niderlan-dów, uwarunkowania społeczne. W sporze o legalizację narkotyków miękkich niezmiernie ważną rolę od-grywa sytuacja prawna w Holandii, czyli w kraju, w którym legalnie możemy zakupić marihuanę i haszysz oraz wyroby zawierające te środki odurzające. To również Holendrzy spopularyzowali pojęcie " narkotyków miękkich " , opierając swoją ustawę opiumową na podziale narkotyków na dwie grupy. Niniejsza praca skupiać się będzie na analizie charakteru regulacji holender-skich, sposobie ich tworzenia, ale przede wszystkim na historycznych i społecz-nych uwarunkowaniach społeczeństwa, które miały wpływ na kształt holender-skiej polityki narkotykowej. Ma ona na celu ukazanie, jak istotne dla skuteczności prawa jest uwzględnienie tych czynników w procesie legislacyjnym. Aktualne przepisy odnoszące się do polityki narkotykowej w Holandii bazu-ją na podziale środków odurzających na " twarde " i " miękkie ". Podział ten został dokonany prawdopodobnie ze względu na stopień uzależniania danej substancji oraz poziom ryzyka dla zdrowia w przypadku jej zażywania, co wciąż budzi wiele kontrowersji ze względu na brak jednoznacznych i oficjalnych danych. Do grupy pierwszej (list I załączona do ustawy opiumowej) zalicza się środki, takie * Uniwersytet Łódzki, Wydział Prawa i Administracji, Katedra Teorii i Filozofii Prawa, nazi-mekm@yahoo.com.

The relationship between the United States and drug policy has been tense since the inception of the " war on drugs " in the mid-20th century. This paper will focus mainly on the drug trade around cannabis and cannabis control policies that can reduce international disorder stemming from the war on drugs. I argue that the failure of the war on drugs, joint with the losses it has created, produces an ethical obligation of the United States to pursue alternative policies on drugs, namely the legalization of cannabis. After giving a brief background on the origin of the war on the drugs, I analyze the failure of the war on drugs to achieve its intended goal and highlight the consequences that materialized. I then present evidence of how legalizing cannabis domestically in the United States can end the war on drugs while achieving its initial goals, with the benefit of reducing international casualties. With a cosmopolitan view, I conclude by presenting the United States with an ethical obligation to pursue a policy of legalization instead of placing moral weight on individual drug use.

A fair and properly informed social policy on cannabis legalization should consider the positive as well as the negative effects of its use. A review of published studies on the subjective effects of cannabis use from 1970 to 2019 identifies 134 reported positive effects of cannabis on cognition, perception and creativity.  A review of unpublished anecdotal evidence suggests 73 additional enhancement effects. These comprise a pool of items that may potentially be further analyzed to produce a standard checklist or psychometric instrument to assess positive cognitive effects of cannabis. Use of cannabis to enhance cognition, creativity and self-insight may constitute a legitimate category of cannabis use distinct from medicinal and recreational use. The commonly reported subjective effect of improved mental clarity suggests that cannabinoids might yield novel medications to treat thought disorder in anxiety-related and other psychiatric conditions.

Why is support for marijuana legalization among African Americans notably modest given that such a policy would drastically reduce the number of African Americans arrested annually for nonviolent drug offenses? In this article I assess whether the urban frustration argument is an adequate explanation for Blacks’ generally low levels of support for marijuana legalization. I analyzed merged Supplemental Homicide Report and Drug Arrest data and General Social Survey data to determine the extent to which race-specific murder victimization rates and race-specific drug arrest rates in U.S. cities are predictive of support for marijuana legalization among Blacks and Whites between 1990 and 2000. Findings indicate that Blacks’ level of support for marijuana legalization is greatest in those cities with the highest Black drug arrest rates. Consequently, these findings provide no support for the urban frustration argument.

I argue that cultural anthropology can explain two persistent riddles of American criminal justice: (1) Why do we have mass incarceration when mass incarceration is ineffective and socially destructive? (2) Why do we have victimless crimes when criminal law is ostensibly based on the utilitarian harm principle?

One answer is found in the anthropological “survivals” known as “uncleanness” and “taboos.” These visceral, often subconscious, feelings function to preserve order, the status quo, and class distinctions. Despite the gains made in civil rights, nonwhites and the underclass remain “the other,” and they threaten to “contaminate” the majority population. Crime itself, as a threat to social stability, has become charged with a powerful ability to attract and repel. Crime and criminals are described using terms for dirt and feces. The majority culture’s response to crime (which is linked with its unconscious response to the lower class and minorities) is to expel such pollution into sealed containers called prisons. The ritualism of civic religion completes the purification process.

Deeply felt taboos also persist concerning sex and drugs. While marijuana possession and use harms no one but the user, marijuana is historically taboo on account of its association with minorities and radicals. Incest is criminalized and sex with minors is hyper-punished because they violate deeply felt sexual taboos.

I argue that one promising solution is to help people develop a stronger taboo (through education) that can cancel out the dehumanizing taboos toward criminals (just as the taboo against homophobia has supplanted the taboo against homosexuality). We will continue to overpunish until hyper-punishment itself becomes repulsive.

In 2014, almost two decades after having legalized marijuana for medical purposes, Colorado was the first state to experiment with its full legalization for adults aged 21 and older. The new competition entering the medical market created a natural experiment, which allows us to measure the impact of recreational marijuana on existing medical marijuana sales. Within this paper, I explore this experimental framework applying various econometric techniques to county-level tax revenues from 2012 until 2015. The findings demonstrate that the growth in the legal recreational market substantially reduces medical sales in touristic areas, whereas its effect in other regions appears to be marginal. Within the analysis, I also examined how tourism affects sales per capita, seasonality, and the entry choice of entrepreneurs. The results suggest that recreational and medical markets are affected in multiple ways.
Additionally, by collecting data from the leading listing service for marijuana dispensaries, the potential interrelation between the segments and the effect of supply density on prices is also explored. On one hand, price competition occurs only in the more mature medical market; on the other, the price-setting mechanism of medical suppliers appears to be clearly affected by the entry of retail competitors, although in a counter-intuitive direction.
Qualitative analysis has also been performed to investigate whether the recreational and medical market are actually supplying a product with similar qualities.
Building on microeconomic and behavioral models, this study shows how successful price discrimination is achieved by policy-makers on marijuana users through the dual-licensing scheme. In fact, properly established tax differential may not only be an effective revenue-raising device, but could also answer to ethical concerns regarding those in real need.
Taken together, the work attempts to shed light not only on the potential benefit of the full marijuana legalization, but also on its critical limits, which should be monitored for its successful implementation.

Adding cannabinoids to anorexia-stricken mice helped the animals recover from the eating disorder and return to a normal weight, according to a new research report from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Brussels.
Cindy Casteels, a post-doctoral researcher, has also published a PhD thesis in molecular imaging of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor in movement disorders. Cannabinoids are chemical compounds found in the brain, and the most well-known cannabinoid is THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.

Este trabajo es un estudio de la historia universal sobre el consumo de cannabis. Vemos como el cannabis es una sustancia que se encontraba restringida a un determinado ámbito geográfico, se introdujo progresivamente en el comercio mundial, en diferentes épocas y lugares. La expansión del consumo de cannabis se produjo gracias a soldados, marineros, mercaderes, diplomáticos, estudiantes, inmigrantes, trabajadores extranjeros, refugiados y por último turistas que a lo largo de la historia han llevado su consumo desde Asia central a cualquier punto de nuestro planeta. El transporte del cannabis por diferentes fines ha sido una variable crucial para el éxito de la mundialización de esta planta.

This book is a study of the universal history of cannabis use. We see how cannabis is a substance that was restricted to a specific geographical area, was introduced progressively in world trade, at different times and places. The expansion of cannabis use came from soldiers, sailors, merchants, diplomats, students, immigrants, foreign workers, refugees and lastly tourists throughout history have taken their consumption from Central Asia to any point on our planet . The transport of cannabis for different purposes has been a crucial variable for the success of the globalization of this plant.

Describes the psychoactive constituents of cannabis and the effects on potency of growth conditions, genetics, harvesting techniques, and processing. Includes variations in THC and CBD content, species differentiation, seeds, grafting, cloning, bonsai marijuana, growing techniques, extraction of THC, preparation of hashish and hash oil, smoking vs eating, testing for THC and CBD, as well as legal concerns. Illustrated.

The purpose of this explanatory research is to evaluate the impact of medical marijuana legalization (MML) in Colorado on crime. Specifically, does legalization lead to a decline in crime rates (property crimes, burglary, larceny/theft, violent crimes, robbery, driving under the influence) associates with marijuana in comparison to the national rate. This study uses exixting aggregated data (national crime rates, state of Colorado crime rates) and interrupted time series regression to examine the effect of medical marijuana laws on violent crimes, property crimes and DUI for alcohol arrests. Overall findings indicate that the Colorado Medical Marijuana law significantly reduced two types of crime – burglary and robbery. For violent crime, property crimes, and DUI, the effect was neutral(neither increasing nor decreasing crime).

Is the "Woodstock generation" and its doings a factor in comprehending prophecy? Before one writes that off as but another flake view, consider that the word "sorceries" (Greek, pharmakeia) and its cognates are spoken of four times in the Book of Revelation, and not without reason. The drugs used at that time fell into a certain class, and they had a profound affect within the collective consciousness of humankind through the opening of an inter-dimensional gateway to the demonic realm, and that on a global scale.

The modified idealist (or eclectic) hermeneutic of Amillennialism isn't "standardized", that is, it remains—as its name indicates—open to modification, and this paper suggests the need for such.

This seeks to bring clarity to a field of vision that is cloudy, and understanding so that we may know—in general—about where we are, and how to prepare ourselves spiritually, as well as perceiving the causes for the escalating deterioration of our world.

The drug legalization debate is not a new debate although it has been getting a lot more attention these days. Throughout the 20th century the debate has been on-again and off-again and is still sparking controversy nowadays. On a global scale, however the drug use situation has remained stable for the last five years. The estimated number of drug user-related deaths worldwide in 2011 amounts to 210,546.
As to be more precise on the vast topic that is the legalization of drugs, people ought to know what such a topic entice. Often mistaken, they confuse legalization with decriminalization. While decriminalization is the removal of criminal penalties for recreational drug use and for the possession of small amounts of such drugs, the legalization of drugs however is the removal of criminal penalties for the manufacture, sale and possession of large quantities of recreational drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

The cobbler scam is one of the biggest scams of India involving around 1600cr. of money. This money was meant to be provided to the poor cobblers at low rates if interest and tax modifications. The money however did not reach the cobblers because of involvement of some of the top businessmen and politicians including Saddruddin Daya-owner of Dawood shoes, Rafique Tejani-Owner of Metro Shoes, Kishore Signapurkar-Owner of Milano Shoes, Abu Asim Azmi-Partner in City walk Shoes. The investigation was started by a complaint by the BMC and charge sheets were filed against the 28 people accused however, all of them are out on bail and the case is still waiting for a trial.

Ethical consumerism theory aims to describe, explain, and evaluate the ways in which producers and consumers use the market to support social and environmental values. The literature draws insights from empirical studies of sectors that largely take place on the legal market, such as textiles and agri-food. This paper takes a first step toward theorizing ethical consumerism in semi-legal sectors where market activities occur legally and illegally. How does extant theory extend to sectors such as sex work, cigarettes, and recreational drugs? This study draws on the case of recreational cannabis (marijuana) in Portland, Oregon (USA). Data from 33 interviews, structured fieldwork at 64 dispensaries, and the US Census Bureau American Community Survey are analyzed using qualitative, quantitative, and spatial methods. The findings are compared to twelve suggestions that emerge from the literature on fair trade, organics, alternative agriculture, and political consumerism. I argue that not all ethical consumerism theory extends to semi-legal sectors. Cannabis closely resembles theoretical expectations in terms of supply/demand, prioritization of ethical issues, and pervasiveness of false claims, but differs in terms of who organizes, which types of strategies are pursued, and how ethical products are framed. The differences stem from several pervasive stigmas about cannabis. I also argue that the stigmas that set cannabis apart from other (more legal sectors) and present challenges to ethical consumerism in cannabis are directly related to the War on Drugs. These insights suggest that prohibition (and its lingering effects) can inhibit the emergence of ethical consumerism.

The purpose of this applied research project has three parts: create a framework to explore marijuana legislations; assess the validity of the framework; and provide recommendations to improve future marijuana legislation.

When states legalize marijuana, there are several implications that should be addressed to ensure that states do not pervert the social experiment known as commercial for-profit marijuana legalization. Legislative mandates and provisions establish a solution for marijuana’s current illegal status. In addition, regulatory policies influence consumption, industry growth, and community interactions. The presence and quality of current legislative mandates provide a basis to begin an exploratory study.

The exploratory framework created in this study is based on four legislative criteria: federalism conflict, regulatory control & design, public health & safety and marijuana tax. Each legislative standard was assessed using document analysis. The 2015 ballot initiative measure Proposition 205, cited as The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act were, and its associated documents were used to test the soundness of the framework.

The exploration found that many of the legislative standards in The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act were addressed to some degree. Of the four legislative standards, federalism conflict resolution was the least supported. Federalism conflict resolution is essential to the drafting of marijuana legislation as it is one of the main justifications for introducing the social experiment into a host state.

Formal Statement of Research Purpose: The purpose of this applied research has three parts. The first purpose is to create a framework to explore recreational marijuana legislation. The second purpose is to assess the validity of the framework. The third purpose is to provide recommendations to improve future recreational marijuana legislation.

en Peña, Florencia y León, Beatriz. “La medicina social en México V. Género, sexualidad, violencia y cultura”. Asociación Latinoamericana de Medicina Social, Región México, A.C, Ediciones Eón, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. México. 2010. pp. 129 – 139.

Subtitled "Recommendations for the implementation of Cannabis policies aligned with international Human Rights standards, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2016 UNGASS outcome document", this report explains how the reform of hemp and cannabis policies can sustain or make harder – depending on the policy options chosen – the attainment of the 2030 United Nations agenda for Sustainable Development. | The reformist trend in Cannabis policy globally is an ongoing movement unlikely to be stopped. A deficit of democratic monitoring of the generalization of legal Cannabis markets could represent a threat for affected populations and public health. Ethics are needed. A renewed interest and takeover of the topic Cannabis by all categories of the population are urgent. A one-size-fits-all policy seems neither desirable nor possible, both for geographical imperatives and for the diversity of uses and products of the plant. This makes consensual policy models (exportable and generalizable) difficult to emerge. Rather than trying to solve the equation of the perfect Cannabis policy and its infinite variables, a more feasible approach would be to step aside, list all the different public policies that affect, or are involved with Cannabis, and address them individually. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals is but a perfect tool for this purpose. This discussion paper highlights important research and experiential outcomes from scholars, civil society organizations, affected populations, and market stakeholders. It seeks to show the potential of the Cannabis plant in appropriately regulated settings as transformative for our societies – so long as ethical practices and sustainable approaches are kept central. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive guide. It is designed as a valuable resource to contribute to post-prohibition studies, and help understand, from diverse public policy perspectives, the links between the policies of Cannabis and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the impact of the former on the latter.

Cannabis has been a part of human society for more than 10,000 years. Despite this fact, common knowledge of cannabis is often limited to the fact that it can get the user high. The word cannabis has an interesting history as the plant migrated though the ancient civilizations toward Europe. The word cannabis has only been a part of the English language for 230 years. Derived from the Greek language, the etymology of cannabis originates from ganja, a Hindu word. The Chinese however, display their historical reverence for cannabis plant within the strokes making the pinyin character ma (麻). Some Biblical researchers believe cannabis has Semitic origins and was a likely ingredient in sacred anointing oils mentioned within the Old Testament. This literary research offers a unique etymological perspective into the history of cannabis.

Abstrak Studi ini membahas problematika perihal tanaman ganja di Indonesia, pro dan kontra mengenai pemanfatan tanaman ganja untuk medis. Selain pemanfaatan untuk medis studi ini juga membahas pemanfaatan tanaman ganja untuk industri. Studi Ini juga bertujuan untuk mendorong paradigma masyarakat terkait ganja, masyarakat hanya tau penyalahgunaan ganja saja tanpa tahu manfaat-manfaat tanaman ganja dan studi ini juga bertujuan untuk mendorong pemerintah untuk memanfaatkan tanaman ganja untuk kebutuhan industi yang lebih ramah lingkungan dan berkelanjutan.

El cáñamo, planta que ha acompañado al hombre durante milenios, también ha sido
parte importante de la tradición agrícola de Chile. Desde la llegada de los colonizadores
españoles tuvo vital importancia tanto para esta tierra como para el Imperio Español,
debido a la utilización de su fibra para la creación de vestimentas, mechas de velas,
jarcias, aceites, semillas para pájaros, entre otros muchos usos que elevaron a Chile
como un punto referencial de exportación, teniendo un incentivo importante por
parte de los reyes. Una vez independizado y hasta mediados del siglo XX, el cáñamo
se mantuvo en base a altibajos económicos, pero siempre considerado como un
cultivo importante a la hora de la extracción de materias primas, hasta que una vez
consumada la prohibición, el consumo lúdico de cannabis y la internación de la fibra
sintética, llevaron a colapsar una industria rica en historia.

While Caribbean governments have opened the door wider to discussions of medical ganja, they have not dealt with it in a way that will provide security for the current producers. This is primarily due to the fact that Jamaica and other Caribbean countries are still trapped by structural factors that inhibit them from capturing the benefits of engaging in trade within the global capitalist system. As it currently stands, there is nothing that will enable Caribbean states from heavily regulating the production and trade of ganja – and once legalized it will become subject to the same rules and norms that govern the trade of any other commodity. When viewed through the theory of the Plantation Economic Model (defined below), once ganja is legalized and opened up as a legitimate site of investment, the current power imbalances within the domestic and international economies will carry over, displacing those individuals who have been relying on the ganja trade as a source of income and employment for decades.
The new entrepreneurs of the Caribbean’s legal ganja economy will not be the small farmer and cultivator in the hills – or the low level hustler on the street corner, but rather international investors and the domestic elite who are best positioned to capitalize on the new industry. Similar parallels can be seen in the agricultural, tourism and financial service industries – where the majority of opportunities for Caribbean people exist as cheap labour. During my time in both St. Vincent and St. Lucia, through numerous interviews with producers and traffickers, I have seen increasing concern and skepticism over who would truly benefit from the legalization of ganja in the Caribbean. Looking at the case of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, this paper will argue that due to the massive imbalances in power and wealth between small, dependent countries and multinational corporations, legalization should not be pursued in the absence of a clear, highly regulated platform to ensure that the poor and marginalized will not be displaced from their participation in what has largely been a communal social safety net (via the provision of income and employment), operating in the Crown Land forest reserves.
The unfortunate reality for the Caribbean is that it rarely gets chances to take the lead in new or emerging industries – and in a perfect world St. Vincent and St. Lucia should legalize ganja. Currently, the global capitalist system would view the legalization of ganja similar to any other commodity, and would in turn be subject to the same rules that govern the trade regime which has historically decimated the region. The Plantation Economic Model, economies of scale and the imbalance of power in the international capitalist system suggest that larger nations such as United States, Canada, and Israel would be able to produce ganja at a cheaper rate due to the greater availability of land, capital, technology – and their use of market distorting agricultural subsidies.
With this in mind, the discussion of ganja reform as a platform for progressive social transformation needs to take center stage going forward. In the countries and states where ganja has been legalized, we have seen the benefits disproportionately accrue to socially dominant groups – particularly along the lines of race, class, and gender. Without a platform that takes this into consideration – and scales up the benefits to the average person, the Caribbean may find itself on the outside looking in, seeing further increases in poverty, unemployment, and foreign economic domination.

Artículos, documentos monográficos y ensayos de lectura como contribución a la reflexión y el debate en materia de drogas Confiamos en que esta serie de artículos, ensayos y documentos monográficos de lectura sean de su interés y contribuyan a la reflexión y debate sobre las políticas sobre drogas. Lo expresado en estos documentos no es necesariamente reflejo de la opinión o posición de la SE-CICAD ni de la OEA sobre las materias aquí tratadas. Secretaría Ejecutiva de CICAD/OEA MODELOS DE REGULACIÓN DE CANNABIS EN LAS AMÉRICAS

In the current legal landscape, it is possible to craft policy that combats drug abuse and drug harms, protects human rights, and complies with international drug control law in good faith, by regulating the recreational uses of cannabis products rather than outlawing them. This essay proposes exactly that solution.
The international drug control Conventions establish the international legal regime for cannabis, but they are silent on “recreational” or “adult use.” However, they do include broad exemptions in the case of “other than medical and scientific uses in the context of industry.” They are not prohibition treaties, but Framework Conventions on the Control of Some Medicines within the Medical and Pharmaceutical Sectors. Shortcomings in the history of the drug control Conventions, and the current hegemony of one particular interpretation (articulated around prohibition), may have impacted our interpretive frames and discouraged legal scholarship from the study of these exemptions for non-medical uses, purposefully added in the treaty.
Via an applicatory contestation of the Conventions reliant on classical methods of treaty interpretation, this essay underlines the relevance of these exemptions in the context of domestic “cannabis legalization” efforts. The legal scheme which applies to the Cannabis plant and its derivatives is two-fold: (1) activities related to medical and scientific purposes are under control, (2) activities for “other than medical and scientific purposes” are exempt from control, provided that two requirements are met: implement effective measures to avoid harms & provide reasonable statistical reporting to the INCB.
This existing, good faith, legitimate international legal regime for adult-use cannabis opens an alternative pathway for decision-makers, appeasing rule tension and rerouting international relations on Cannabis matters onto less conflictual tracks.