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Chaos as Health Minister Tried to Ban Cannabis Edibles in South Africa

1 month ago | talkingdrugs.org | Daniel Itai

After trying to unilaterally ban cannabis edibles in South Africa, and having this decision reversed by the President in late March, Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi has vowed he will ensure that edibles are banned in the future. On 7 March, Motsoaledi published new regulation related to the sale, importation or manufacturing of foodstuffs containing hemp and cannabis under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act.
In Numbers: How The UK Media Talks About Nitazenes

Feb 12, 2025 | talkingdrugs.org | André Gomes |Anoushka Singh |Anastasia Bezverkha

Over the past year, we have seen an increasing amount of attention given to nitazenes. A relatively unknown yet potent class of synthetic opioids first produced in the 1950s, nitazenes have recently resurfaced across multiple illegal markets around the globe.
Azerbaijan: Between the Soviet Legacy and International Drug Control

Dec 5, 2024 | talkingdrugs.org | Aysel Sultan

Recent debates on international drug control emphasise how colonial legacies are maintained in today’s global anti-drug agendas, with devastating consequences. Driving the discussion to under-explored regions, this recent article published in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development calls for increased attention to this dynamic in former Soviet States, particularly Azerbaijan.
What Does the Future Hold for UK Cannabis?

Sep 12, 2024 | talkingdrugs.org | Michael Sassano

After a recent conversation with Pierre van Weperen of Grow Group PLC and Grow Pharma, his vision of the United Kingdom’s cannabis market inspired continued rumination on the state of the marketplace and its future directions. For advocates and those in the cannabis industry, cannabis regulation is in constant need of evolution and reform; this is a natural process of a burgeoning market built on decades of suspicion, criminalisation, and prohibition.
"Cannabis Substitution Therapy": Can Cannabis Ease Opioid Withdrawal?

Sep 5, 2024 | talkingdrugs.org | Mattha Busby |Anastasia Bezverkha

Rosie Rurka had a reputation as the frontline drugs worker who brought people back from the dead with naloxone after they had overdosed at the beginning of British Columbia’s overdose crisis. Now, she is better known for supplying people addicted to opioids with high-dose cannabis edibles, in a “cannabis substitution” approach. “People need something to get over the hump in the post-acute withdrawal stage,” says Rurka, herself a former intravenous user on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Invisible Borders and Gang Governance in Honduras

Jul 24, 2024 | talkingdrugs.org | Fritz Pinnow |Anastasia Bezverkha

Jason* walks into the small, dimly lit room and sits down on one of the sofas across from his friends. His phone blares with a sporadic chatter from within his pocket: “Chikis turning from Paris into Germany.
"Wake Up Call": How Police Drug Seizures Cause Overdoses

Feb 8, 2024 | talkingdrugs.org | Mattha Busby |Anastasia Bezverkha

A former senior policeman has urged officers across the world to stop conducting searches and executing raids for drugs, describing evidence that more people die from overdoses after seizures of illegal drugs nearby as a “wake up call”.
How Can Digital Technologies Help Harm Reduction?

Aug 9, 2023 | talkingdrugs.org | C. Dreams

Drug addiction and problematic use are complicated concerns that affect millions of individuals all over the world. In the midst of the campaign for drug decriminalisation and harm reduction, there’s an evident interest in utilising social media, and its widespread accessibility, to ensure that HR information is able to reach as many folks as possible.