Italy is set to legalise small-scale cultivation of cannabis. A reform to that effect was passed by justice committee of the lower house of the Italian parliament on Wednesday.

The reform seeks to decriminalise growth of up to four female cannabis plants at home. The reform also seeks to increase punishment for trafficking and dealing cannabis. The punishment has been raised from up to six years to 10 years.

The reform was put forward by Italian PM Riccardo Magi. If the reform goes all the way through, it will make Italy one of first European countries to decriminalise domestic cultivation of Cannabis.

The reform has come two years after Italy's supreme court ruled that small scale cultivation of cannabis was legal. The landmark ruling came in 2019.

In UK, cannabis cultivation remains illegal. In 2018, medicinal cannabis was legalised in UK. Some British MPs have backed a move similar to Italy towards decriminalisation.

In United States, cannabis has been legalised in third of the states. Connecticut, New Mexico and Virginia have been the latest to join the list.

Italy is set to legalise small-scale cultivation of cannabis. A reform to that effect was passed by justice committee of the lower house of the Italian parliament on Wednesday.

Italy is set to legalise small-scale cultivation of cannabis. A reform to that effect was passed by justice committee of the lower house of the Italian parliament on Wednesday. The reform seeks to decriminalise growth of up to four female cannabis plants at home. The reform also seeks to increase punishment for trafficking and dealing cannabis. The punishment has been raised from up to six years to 10 years. The reform was put forward by Italian PM Riccardo Magi. If the reform goes all the way through, it will make Italy one of first European countries to decriminalise domestic cultivation of Cannabis. The reform has come two years after Italy's supreme court ruled that small scale cultivation of cannabis was legal. The landmark ruling came in 2019. In UK, cannabis cultivation remains illegal. In 2018, medicinal cannabis was legalised in UK. Some British MPs have backed a move similar to Italy towards decriminalisation. In United States, cannabis has been legalised in third of the states. Connecticut, New Mexico and Virginia have been the latest to join the list.

Italy set to legalise home cultivation of cannabis

Amsterdam is plagued by overflowing hordes of tourists and is considering a ban on visitors from cannabis-vending coffee shops, to balance the quality of life for locals and the demands of travellers.

Amsterdam is plagued by overflowing hordes of tourists and is considering a ban on visitors from cannabis-vending coffee shops, to balance the quality of life for locals and the demands of travellers. Young tourists commissioned by Mayor Femke Halsema conducted a survey which revealed that half the respondents chose to visit the Dutch capital because they wanted to experience a cannabis cafe. The survey sought to investigate "what would happen to the willingness of tourists to visit Amsterdam if either the availability or accessibility of one or more of these factors should reduce or disappear," by observing the most popular reasons for visiting Amsterdam. Addressing the ever-increasing flood of tourists has been a consistent issue for Amsterdam, as the famously liberal city strains to deal with a surge in visitors and vulgar vacationists. Approximately 57 per cent of respondents put coffee shops near the top of their list of important reasons for coming to Amsterdam, while 34 per cent indicated they'd come to Amsterdam less often if they weren't able to visit coffee shops. Eleven per cent stated that the sole reason they were visiting is for the cannabis cafe. Halsema, before conducting the survey, sent a letter to councillors and suggested that the city's coffee shops can put "the quality of life in the city centre under pressure." On April 1, 2020, new measures will be in place to regulate group tours of the area and prevent tour groups from passing the red-light windows, touring past 10 pm and idling in "places that are sensitive to pressure" such as narrow bridges or new entryways. Anyone found in violation of the rules would be fined $205.

Amsterdam considers banning tourists from cannabis cafes

Two years ago, the city of Adelanto, a crumbling outpost in California&#39;s Mojave desert, was facing a bleak future as it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and struggled with double-digit unemployment. 
 
&quot;We were about to vanish, to be incorporated into another city,&quot; says councilman John &quot;Bug&quot; Woodard Jr. &quot;The place was dying and in total despair.&quot; 
 
Today, however, the once-desolate town is firmly back on the map, having joined a handful of communities in California in embracing large-scale commercial cannabis cultivation - a move that smells of success as the state prepares to vote in November on legalising the use of recreational marijuana. 
 
Though California already allows the use of medical marijuana, the initiative to fully legalise the drug - seen as likely to succeed - is expected to transform the most populous state in the US and one of the world&#39;s largest economies into a new epicentre for cannabis, bringing in billions in revenue. 
 
According to the Arcview Group, a cannabis investment and research firm based in California, medical and recreational marijuana sales are expected to more than double to $6.5 billion in the Golden State by 2020 if the drug becomes fully legal after November. 
 
Nationwide, the legal cannabis market - which stood at about $5.7 billion in 2015 - is projected to reach more than $23 billion by 2020, according to Arcview. 
 
Apart from California, several other states including Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada will also vote on legalising recreational marijuana on November 8, at the same time as casting ballots in the presidential race. 
 
A similar ballot measure in California failed in 2010 but support has grown since, with Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker among backers of the latest initiative, which has the support of 58 per cent of voters according to a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. 
 
Celebrities join scramble 
 
For Adelanto, the signs pointed to an opportunity too good to pass up. 
 
Last November, the town became among the first in California to permit medical marijuana cultivation. 
 
The decision to welcome marijuana growers led to a flood of high-end investors rushing to the town of 32,000 residents to buy up warehouses and plots of land in two so-called &quot;green zones&quot; earmarked for cannabis cultivation, local officials say. 
 
&quot;All of a sudden, we have people driving over here in Bentleys to look at property,&quot; said Woodard, 57, a real-estate agent with wispy shoulder-length hair who organizes an annual jazz festival in the desert. 
 
&quot;Here you have a building that was bought for $725,000 a couple years ago and now it&#39;s worth four million,&quot; he added, pointing to an expanse of land dotted with warehouses surrounded by Joshua trees and brush. 
 
&quot;When you say Adelanto now, everybody knows where it is.&quot; 
 
Among the celebrities who have reportedly joined the mad scramble to snag a producer license in the city, Woodard says, are rapper Snoop Dogg, one of reggae legend Bob Marley&#39;s sons, Ky-Mani Marley, and actor Tommy Chong, of cult comedy duo &quot;Cheech &amp; Chong.&quot; 
 
City officials said they expect cannabis production to easily reach 100 tons annually once farming gets fully underway, bringing in much-needed tax revenue to the decrepit town until now known more for its three prisons than for being pot-friendly. 
 
Blossoming industry 
 
&quot;We are on the precipice of taking over the industry,&quot; Jermaine Wright, a former pastor and member of the city council, said assuredly. &quot;We&#39;re doing what no other city has done when it comes to marijuana and this is going to bring in other businesses and manufacturing.&quot; 
 
The city&#39;s cannabis ordinance stipulates that 40 to 50 percent of the workforce must be drawn from the local population, a measure that should significantly reduce unemployment, local officials say. 
 
So far Adelanto, which means progress in English, has issued 35 licenses to grow cannabis and expects to hand out more in coming months, Woodard said. 
 
Dan Olson, who owns a company that manufactures air filtration equipment in one of the &quot;green zones,&quot; said he has seen the town transform as it prepares for the expected windfall from cannabis farming. 
 
&quot;I go out for a walk in the desert every morning and I can see the change,&quot; said Olson, whose company has been in the city for 12 years. &quot;You now see all these cars with black tinted windows driving around and you see all these warehouses where the weeds have been pulled and you know it&#39;s going cultivation.&quot; 
 
Christopher Goodman, 59, who is in the process of purchasing several warehouses in the city, said he expects to reap millions from his investment. 
 
&quot;The demand is here and the more people get educated about cannabis the more people will use it,&quot; said Goodman, who was in the auto business before turning to cannabis farming several years ago. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ll tell you what, I&#39;d much rather smoke cannabis than drink beer and I mean that wholeheartedly.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The initiative to fully legalise the drug is expected to transform California into an epicentre for cannabis bringing in billions in revenue

Two years ago, the city of Adelanto, a crumbling outpost in California's Mojave desert, was facing a bleak future as it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and struggled with double-digit unemployment. "We were about to vanish, to be incorporated into another city," says councilman John "Bug" Woodard Jr. "The place was dying and in total despair." Today, however, the once-desolate town is firmly back on the map, having joined a handful of communities in California in embracing large-scale commercial cannabis cultivation - a move that smells of success as the state prepares to vote in November on legalising the use of recreational marijuana. Though California already allows the use of medical marijuana, the initiative to fully legalise the drug - seen as likely to succeed - is expected to transform the most populous state in the US and one of the world's largest economies into a new epicentre for cannabis, bringing in billions in revenue. According to the Arcview Group, a cannabis investment and research firm based in California, medical and recreational marijuana sales are expected to more than double to $6.5 billion in the Golden State by 2020 if the drug becomes fully legal after November. Nationwide, the legal cannabis market - which stood at about $5.7 billion in 2015 - is projected to reach more than $23 billion by 2020, according to Arcview. Apart from California, several other states including Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada will also vote on legalising recreational marijuana on November 8, at the same time as casting ballots in the presidential race. A similar ballot measure in California failed in 2010 but support has grown since, with Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker among backers of the latest initiative, which has the support of 58 per cent of voters according to a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Celebrities join scramble For Adelanto, the signs pointed to an opportunity too good to pass up. Last November, the town became among the first in California to permit medical marijuana cultivation. The decision to welcome marijuana growers led to a flood of high-end investors rushing to the town of 32,000 residents to buy up warehouses and plots of land in two so-called "green zones" earmarked for cannabis cultivation, local officials say. "All of a sudden, we have people driving over here in Bentleys to look at property," said Woodard, 57, a real-estate agent with wispy shoulder-length hair who organizes an annual jazz festival in the desert. "Here you have a building that was bought for $725,000 a couple years ago and now it's worth four million," he added, pointing to an expanse of land dotted with warehouses surrounded by Joshua trees and brush. "When you say Adelanto now, everybody knows where it is." Among the celebrities who have reportedly joined the mad scramble to snag a producer license in the city, Woodard says, are rapper Snoop Dogg, one of reggae legend Bob Marley's sons, Ky-Mani Marley, and actor Tommy Chong, of cult comedy duo "Cheech & Chong." City officials said they expect cannabis production to easily reach 100 tons annually once farming gets fully underway, bringing in much-needed tax revenue to the decrepit town until now known more for its three prisons than for being pot-friendly. Blossoming industry "We are on the precipice of taking over the industry," Jermaine Wright, a former pastor and member of the city council, said assuredly. "We're doing what no other city has done when it comes to marijuana and this is going to bring in other businesses and manufacturing." The city's cannabis ordinance stipulates that 40 to 50 percent of the workforce must be drawn from the local population, a measure that should significantly reduce unemployment, local officials say. So far Adelanto, which means progress in English, has issued 35 licenses to grow cannabis and expects to hand out more in coming months, Woodard said. Dan Olson, who owns a company that manufactures air filtration equipment in one of the "green zones," said he has seen the town transform as it prepares for the expected windfall from cannabis farming. "I go out for a walk in the desert every morning and I can see the change," said Olson, whose company has been in the city for 12 years. "You now see all these cars with black tinted windows driving around and you see all these warehouses where the weeds have been pulled and you know it's going cultivation." Christopher Goodman, 59, who is in the process of purchasing several warehouses in the city, said he expects to reap millions from his investment. "The demand is here and the more people get educated about cannabis the more people will use it," said Goodman, who was in the auto business before turning to cannabis farming several years ago. "I'll tell you what, I'd much rather smoke cannabis than drink beer and I mean that wholeheartedly." (AFP)

Cannabis: The new California gold rush

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