Global Cannabis Commission Report
Robin Room, Benedikt Fischer, Wayne Hall, Simon Lenton, and Peter Reuter, "Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate," Global Cannabis Commission, presented Oct. 2, 2008.
On October 2, the Global Cannabis Commission, a group of top scientists commissioned by the Beckley Foundation, a British think tank, issued its groundbreaking report, "Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate," at a seminar in the Moses Room of the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster. These distinguished researchers lay out what's known about marijuana's physical and psychological risks and -- something most other commission reports have not done -- what is known about the effects of various types of marijuana policies and reforms thereof. Rather than recommending a specific policy direction, the report lays out a number of alternatives, some of which (such as decriminalization or depenalization) clearly stay within the bounds of current international treaties, and some of which may not. While stopping short of endorsing legal regulation as the only acceptable alternative, the commission clearly found significant advantages in such a system, under which producers and sellers would be licensed, availability to youth would be legally restricted, and quality and potency would be monitored and controlled.
The full report can be downloaded here.
