Poland became the latest country to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes this week. The Independent reports: Under new regulations that came into force on Wednesday cannabis from imported plants can be processed at Polish pharmacies - as long as it has been logged with the country's Office for Registration of Medical Products. Pharmacists are already prepared to make the drugs, according to the Polish Pharmaceutical Chamber (PPC). ... A spokesman said: "Given the fact that there are nearly…

A new marijuana policy went into effect this Monday in Switzerland. The new law, passed by parliament last year, allows adults caught with up to 10 grams of marijuana to pay a $110 fine to avoid legal proceedings. Growing, consuming, and selling marijuana are all still against Swiss law, but the new policy shows signs that Switzerland may go the way of other European countries that are more tolerant of marijuana use. An estimated 500,000 of Switzerland’s eight million residents use marijuana occasionally.…

Many people are at least vaguely aware that government-sanctioned medical marijuana programs exist in Canada and the Netherlands. But few Americans are aware that another of America's strongest allies, Israel, also has a national medical marijuana program. And, according to a translation posted by MAPS of a recent article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, that program is growing. Three hundred patients are now enrolled, representing a 1,400% increase in new permissions to use medical marijuana in…

Germany is about to become the fifth country to allow at least some patients to use natural marijuana as medicine. According to a report from the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine, the German government recently notified four patients that they would be allowed to receive medical marijuana produced under the Dutch government's medical marijuana program. The German program remains limited to special cases. Other German patients have been allowed to use a liquid extract made from Dutch…

The Dutch have evolved a mostly workable but somewhat contradictory system for handling marijuana: While technically illegal, possession and sale of small amounts through regulated "coffee shops" have been tolerated since the mid-'70s. This has effectively separated the retail market for marijuana from more dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin, but because marijuana cultivation remains banned, coffee shops have no legitimate source for their product. A group of 30 Dutch mayors has now proposed…

In preparation for a parliamentary hearing scheduled for October 15, a coalition of German health organizations, including the German AIDS Support Society, the German Society for Pain Therapy, and the German Epilepsy Association, have issued a statement calling on the government to facilitate access to medical cannabis for patients without threat of prosecution. The Berlin Declaration, as it's called, is in German, but the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine has provided the following…

"If something is not legal, you can't regulate it very effectively."             -- Prof. Robin Room, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne   On October 2, the Global Cannabis Commission, a group of top scientists commissioned by the Beckley Foundation, issued its groundbreaking report, "Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate." Your faithful correspondent was able to attend the daylong seminar in which the report was discussed, held in the distinctly imposing Moses Room of the House…

I'm off to London to represent MPP at the launch of the Beckley Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission Report October 2 and 3. This document, put together by some of the world's top researchers and drug policy analysts, promises to be of great value in efforts to base marijuana policy on facts and data rather than spin or political expediency. So you won't see me posting for a few days (outside of meetings, I will be fully occupied recovering from jet lag), but I will post a full report early next…

In the marijuana reform movement, one of the comments I often overhear in conversations, see posted in online message forums, or read in blog comments relates to the Netherlands and their treatment of marijuana. "Treat marijuana like the Netherlands does" seems to be the rallying cry for lots of misinformed people. Jeffrey Stinson recently did a short piece on how marijuana is treated in the Netherlands for USA Today. Though brief, the story zeroes in on one important fact: Marijuana in the Netherlands…