http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...marijuana.html
Copenhagen votes to legalise marijuana
Marijuana could soon be legalised in Copenhagen, after the city voted overwhelmingly in favour of a scheme that would see the drug sold through a network of state-run shops and cafes.
The scheme, if approved by the Danish parliament at the start of next year, could make the city the first to fully legalise, rather than simply tolerate, marijuana consumption.
The drug is already sold openly on the streets of Christiania, a self-proclaimed 'free town' in the city centre, despite the closure of the neighbourhood's Amsterdam-style coffee shops in 2004.
But marijuana has never been officially decriminalised and those caught in possession of even small amounts face fines of up to £450.
"We are thinking of perhaps 30 to 40 public sales houses, where the people aren't interested in selling you more, they're interested in you," said Mikkel Warming, the Mayor in charge of Social Affairs at Copenhagen City Council. "Who is it better for youngsters to buy marijuana from? A drug pusher, who wants them to use more, who wants them to buy hard drugs, or a civil servant?"
The City Council voted on Thursday night, by a margin of 39 votes to nine, to empower Mr Warming's Social Affairs committee to draw up a detailed outline of how the plan would work.
The proposal will then be sent to to the Danish Parliament for approval early next year.
"We want to make it a little bit more concrete what kind of decriminalisation we want: should it be a public buying system, should there be an age limit?" Mr Warming explained.
He said he was opposed to instituting cannabis cafés, where marijuana use is tolerated, despite it remaining illegal to grow and import the drug.
This, he argued, would leave the revenues, which are estimated at £200m, in the control of the city's notorious biker gangs.
"We don't want an Amsterdam model. We want a way to make it legal to import or grow marijuana." he said.
Cannabis possession and production in the Netherlands are still technically punishable by fines. Its notorious coffee shops are also illegally but are tolerated.
The Danish parliament voted down a previous proposal submitted by Copenhagen City Council three years ago.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...marijuana.html
Colombian president calls for legalisation of marijuana
Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian president, has called for the global legalisation of marijuana to help combat the trafficking of harder drugs and related violence.
Mr Santos added his voice to a growing list of influential figures in Latin America demanding a rethink of the policies that have been used for decades to fight the drugs trade.
He said legalising softer drugs such as marijuana worldwide could help improve international efforts to deal with harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
"The world needs to discuss new approaches ... we are basically still thinking within the same framework as we have done for the last 40 years," he said.
Asked if making marijuana legal could offer a way forward, Mr Santos said it could and that he would support it "provided everyone does it at the same time". But he emphasised that other countries needed to take the lead, saying the issue was "a matter of national security" for Colombia, whereas "in other countries this is mainly a health and crime issue".
"Drug trafficking is what finances the violence and the irregular groups in our country. I would be crucified if I took the first step," he said in an interview with Metro, the global free daily newspaper chain.
His comments are the latest sign that Latin American nations scarred by violence associated with the trafficking of drugs to the US and Europe want to pressure global leaders to tackle the issue afresh.
Last month Felipe Calderón, the Mexican president, used a speech in New York to warn the US that as the world's "largest consumer of drugs" it may have to consider legalisation "to reduce the astronomical earnings of criminal organisations".
In June a report by politicians and former world leaders said that the global war on drugs has fuelled organised crime and recommended an end to the criminalisation of drug users and the legalisation of some banned substances.
Ernesto Zedillo, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Cesar Gaviria, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia respectively, were among the 19-member commission that drew up the report.
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