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German Government legalises Smoking Of Weed On The Street.

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ILLUSTRATION – A hand holds a dried cannabis flower: Germany has now decided to introduce controlled release on April 1. Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa 

 

 

After decades of public debate and lengthy deliberations in parliament, adults in Germany will legally be able to smoke weed on the street beginning on April 1.

 

That became possible after the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, gave a law partially legalizing cannabis the green light on Friday, and decided not to send the legislation to a mediation committee. It had been passed by the lower house last month.

 

After years of cannabis policy that had led to unnecessary deaths and a growing black market, the new law was designed to “close Pandora’s box,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said.

 

The landmark legislation allows for adult possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal use in public. Three live cannabis plants will be legal in one’s own home and up to 50 grams of cannabis for personal use there.

 

Smoking weed in public spaces is to be banned in schools, sports facilities and within 100 metres of these locations.

 

The law also authorizes non-commercial “cultivation associations,” in which up to 500 adult members residing in Germany can grow cannabis collectively and supply it to each other for personal consumption – with a maximum of 50 grams per member per month.

 

An initial assessment of the law is due no later than 18 months after it takes effect to determine its impact on the protection of children and young people is to be presented.

 

Not everyone has a high opinion of the new law.

 

The German Police Union (GdP) expects difficulties, conflict with citizens and more work for police from the new law.

 

“The federal states have missed the opportunity to exercise political common sense in the face of many unanswered questions,” said the deputy federal chairman of the GdP, Alexander Poitz, on Friday.

 

“Police, customs, judicial authorities and youth welfare offices are now facing unnecessary challenges,” he said.

 

He predicted that beginning on Monday, “our colleagues will find themselves in numerous conflict situations with citizens,” because there remain uncertainties on all sides.

 

The police union had wanted Bundesrat lawmakers to send the bill to a mediation committee, which would have slowed its passage. But in the end only four of Germany’s 16 federal states backed this move, and the legislation was therefore allowed to pass.

 

Health Minister Lauterbach praised the new law saying, “the cannabis policy of the last 10 years has failed.”

 

Speaking after the Bundesrat vote, Lauterbach cited a doubling of consumption among children and young people, a doubling of the number of drug-related deaths and a growing black market.

 

“It couldn’t go on like this. I was also against cannabis legalization for years,” he commented.

 

He expects that the black market could be reduced by 75% as a result of the new law. He acknowledged that politicians from the states of Saxony and Bavaria had warned that legalizing pot would open a Pandora’s box, but said that box “is wide open, and with this measure today, that we are fighting the black market, we are trying to close Pandora’s box.”

 

The new law makes Germany the third European Union country to legalize cannabis for personal use, alongside Malta and Luxembourg.

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Israeli missiles hit site in Iran: Report

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Israeli missiles have hit a site in Iran, US outlet ABC News has reported, citing a US official.

Iran’s Fars news agency said explosions were heard at an airport in the Iranian city of Isafahan but the cause was not immediately known. Several flights were diverted over Iranian airspace, CNN reported.

Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in a retaliatory strike after a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria.

Most of the drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory.

Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests” as the UN secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril”.

Israel had said it was going to retaliate against Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attack.

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Father Completes Boston Marathon To Honour Children Allegedly Killed By Wife

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Patrick Clancy, the father of three children who were allegedly strangled by their mother, has honoured their memory after crossing the Boston Marathon finish line.

‘They had short lives – but they had good lives,’ Clancy said as he completed the famous 26.2-mile course through the Massachusetts capital while raising more than $75,000 for the hospital, which treated them.

‘I love my kids. They’re wonderful people. They had a lot of friends, everybody loved them,’ Clancy, 33, added after he accomplished the iconic race in 3:59:19 Monday.

According to Daily mail on Tuesday, the marathon served as therapy for Clancy, whose partner, depressed midwife Lindsay Clancy, allegedly killed their three kids in January 2023.

Lindsay is accused of using exercise bands to strangle Cora, five, Dawson, three, and baby Callan in the basement of their Duxbury, MA home, while Clancy briefly left to pick up a takeaway.

After allegedly strangling her children, Lindsay attempted to take her own life by slashing her wrists and jumping out of an upstairs bedroom window. Despite surviving, she was left paralyzed from the waist down and continues to undergo treatment.

Clancy forgave his wife, attributing her actions to postpartum psychosis.

Postpartum psychosis, according to the National Institutes of Health, is a severe mental illness marked by extreme confusion, detachment from reality, paranoia, delusions, disorganized thinking, and hallucinations.

It typically arises within the first six weeks after childbirth and requires immediate medical and psychiatric intervention, especially if there is a risk of suicide or harm to the baby (filicide).

“On his donation page for Boston Children’s Hospital, Clancy said, ‘In the short time they were here, my kids brought me so much joy and couldn’t have made their dad prouder.'”

‘In many ways, I’m just trying to be more like them. Their passion in life was infectious.’

‘With Cora, Dawson, and Callan in spirit, see you at the finish line,’ he said in an update just before the marathon kicked off on Monday.

Clancy stated that the funds raised through his fundraiser are earmarked for “the very best medical care, breakthrough research, and vital support services for sick kids and their families.”

In October, Lindsay was held without bail and committed to psychiatric care because a judge deemed her “at imminent risk of self-harm.”

Lindsay pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and strangulation.

Lindsay was arraigned on February 7 from her Brigham and Women’s Hospital bed, and her next court date is scheduled for May 28.

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IranIsraelcrisis: UK Speaks On Proscribing IRGC As Terrorist Organisation

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In the wake of Iran’s recent drone and missile attack on Israel, the UK government has voiced its stance on the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Laura Farris, the Junior Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, while addressing the issue during an interview with Sky News on Tuesday, highlight the UK’s approach to handling relations with Iran amidst rising regional conflicts.

When queried about the possibility of the UK designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Minister Farris noted the value of maintaining diplomatic dialogue with Iran.

She emphasized that while the UK has not currently labeled the IRGC as a terrorist entity, stringent restrictions are in place against the commanders and the organization broadly.

She said, “No one is denying that they are a malign force. We have repeatedly sanctioned both individual commanders and the IRGC more generally, so that puts very severe restrictions on their ability to move. And we’re not suggesting that they’re not a problem.

“[But] one of the things [foreign secretary David Cameron] has been saying more widely is at the moment we have a direct diplomatic channel, a direct line of communication to Tehran.

“Even though relations are difficult, and those conversations are not always easy, there is actually something positive about being able to have face-to-face diplomatic relations.

“This is a unique moment of tension in the Middle East and for the wider region. Everything is focused on cool heads, avoiding escalation.”

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