SteveRolles

Some UK Police & Crime commissioners have called for cannabis to be made a Class A drug In this interview I shoot down this ridiculous idea, and try to map out a better way forward t.co/VXiARjVEaG

'Making a drug class A will deter use & help keep communities safe' A familiar Government narrative - but true or false? Cocaine has been class A for 60 years - hows that worked out? Here's a graph showing the 100x increase in cocaine-related deaths over the last 30 years 1/

Drugs death data has always been something of a minefield - and UK methodology has evolved over this period But stats pedantry aside, I hope this illustrates that any assumption harsher penalties will deliver better outcomes is tragically misguided & scientifically untenable 3/

'Making a drug class A will deter use & help keep communities safe' A familiar Government narrative - but true or false? Cocaine has been class A for 60 years - hows that worked out? Here's a graph showing the 100x increase in cocaine-related deaths over the last 30 years 1/

Fascinating session at @CannRegulators assoc conference on novel & new cannabinoids - including an 'alphabet soup' of new semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as Delta8 & HHC nominally legalised in the US by the 2019 Farm bill & widely sold, largely unregulated, across the US 1/🧵

Some places where the novel legal product mkts have become established (eg in NZ for SCRAs & Czechia for hemp derived cannabinoids) regulation models have been established before cannabis is legalised. While this is obviously mad it's also a legacy of cannabis prohibition 7/🧵

Fascinating session at @CannRegulators assoc conference on novel & new cannabinoids - including an 'alphabet soup' of new semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as Delta8 & HHC nominally legalised in the US by the 2019 Farm bill & widely sold, largely unregulated, across the US 1/🧵

Notably use of these 'intoxicating hemp' products is twice as high in cannabis US prohibition states than in regulated cannabis states. It is clear that the market opportunity for these products is created by the farm bill loophole combined with cannabis prohibition 5/🧵

Fascinating session at @CannRegulators assoc conference on novel & new cannabinoids - including an 'alphabet soup' of new semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as Delta8 & HHC nominally legalised in the US by the 2019 Farm bill & widely sold, largely unregulated, across the US 1/🧵

The speakers have made it clear how little is known about most of these substances in terms of toxicology, potency & risks. Even consumers often dont know what they are using Amazingly these products are legal (but unregulated) in many states where cannabis remains illegal 3/🧵

Fascinating session at @CannRegulators assoc conference on novel & new cannabinoids - including an 'alphabet soup' of new semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as Delta8 & HHC nominally legalised in the US by the 2019 Farm bill & widely sold, largely unregulated, across the US 1/🧵

I'm in Denver, Colorado this week for a triple whammy of cannabis policy events.... Quick thread (discussion on policy to follow as they come up....) 1/🧵

On Thursday morning I'm joining a meeting of the Minority Cannabis Business Association - to learn about how evolving experiences with equity programs can help shape future devlopmenta in the UK and Europe. minoritycannabis.org 4/🧵

I'm in Denver, Colorado this week for a triple whammy of cannabis policy events.... Quick thread (discussion on policy to follow as they come up....) 1/🧵

First up today is the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) summit; regulators from US reform states meeting external stakeholders (Inc a few international voices like us) to explore development and implementation of best practice www.cann-ra.org/meetings/8cu... 2/🧵

The Czech house of deputies today approved a penal reform Bill that; 🟢 Decriminalises possession of up to 100g of cannabis in the home 🟢Allows for home cultivation of cannabis (3 plants) for personal use 🟢 Permits medical/therapeutic use of psylocibin 1/🧵

The Exec Director of UN Office on Drugs & Crime, Ghada Fathi Waly, has apparently resigned. Awaiting more info - & can only speculate as to the reasons, but seems likely related to massive funding cuts and broader institutional crisis at the failing agency. 1/

Unless UNODC evolves (likely to involve *major* institutional reform) it faces an existential threat from the accelerating paradigm shift - away from a 'war on drugs'- & towards pragmatic reform rooted in health, human rights & the SDGs. That such reform is a threat ,is itself telling 5/

The Exec Director of UN Office on Drugs & Crime, Ghada Fathi Waly, has apparently resigned. Awaiting more info - & can only speculate as to the reasons, but seems likely related to massive funding cuts and broader institutional crisis at the failing agency. 1/

Waly conspicuously failed to engage with the systemic challenges threatening the drug control framework. Support from other UN agencies, & growing numbers of member states has inevitably waned. Patience with the drug control agencies' decades of chronic failure is evidently running out 3/

The Exec Director of UN Office on Drugs & Crime, Ghada Fathi Waly, has apparently resigned. Awaiting more info - & can only speculate as to the reasons, but seems likely related to massive funding cuts and broader institutional crisis at the failing agency. 1/