In a test starting 2018, therapeutic marijuana will be legal in Denmark for 1,500 patients suffering from chronic diseases. Danish farmers are lobbying the government to allow them to satisfy this new market, Dagens Nyheter reports.

Since it's currently illegal to grow marijuana in Denmark, cannabis for the trial is being imported from the state-run production of the Netherlands. 

But as the only producer for medicinal marijuana in Europe the Netherlands can only supply a tenth of the demand for therapeutic cannabis the Danish test group is facing. Should the test result in permanent legalization of medicinal marijuana the problem will become all the more acute.  

Four-year effort could become a permanent fixture in the future.

Following years of deliberation, the government has finally agreed to launch a trial assessing the possible legal use of medicinal cannabis by patients suffering from illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and spinal damage.

The Health Ministry revealed that 22 million kroner has been set aside for the four-year trial period, which will commence on 1 January 2018.

Proposed law would raise legal limits and lower fines.

Many motorists punished for driving under the influence of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) – the active ingredient in cannabis – complain that the effect of the drug had long worn off. THC can be detected in the bloodstream for three months after the intake of cannabis.

And now a new bill prepared for Parliament by the Transport and Construction Ministry will seek to address this by lessening the penalties handed out to drivers with small traces of THC.

The new proposal would reduce the penalties for operating a vehicle with less than 0.003 mg of THC in the blood to a clip on the driver’s licence and a half month’s salary in fines.

In Christiania, Denmark, after a shoot-out between a known drug dealer and police officers, cannabis-friendly residents have decided that the unregulated drug market in their midst needs to end.

“Pusher Street” in Christiania, a semi-autonomous cannabis hippy haven in the middle of Copenhagen, is struggling with its identity right now as one of the most pot-friendly enclaves in any European city outside of Amsterdam.

Cigarette and alcohol use among 15- and 16-year-olds is declining across Europe but the numbers using cannabis are growing, an EU survey shows.

The Espad report for 2015 includes most EU countries, but not Germany or the UK, and data for Spain is incomplete. 

In 2015 "current smokers" accounted for 21% of those surveyed, and the highest total was in Italy (37%). 

In 1995-2015 those using alcohol in the past 30 days fell from 56% to 47%. Top in cannabis use were the Czechs (37%).

That figure for Czech teenagers reporting a lifetime experience of cannabis was higher than the level in the US - 31% in comparable surveys. 

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Inhabitants of Copenhagen neighbourhood tear down market stalls selling hash after suspected dealer shoots two police officers.

Residents of the self-proclaimed autonomous Christiania neighbourhood in Copenhagen have torn down market stalls selling hash after a man shot two police officers and a bystander.

One of the officers is in a critical condition and the other officer and the bystander are stable after the incident on Wednesday, police said. The 25-year-old gunman, a suspected drug dealer, fled the scene and was later injured in a shootout with police south of the city. He died at Copenhagen university hospital.

A majority of Danes support legalizing cannabis at the same time the government is preparing new hardline initatives. 

Amidst a new debate on cannabis, spurred by a massive police action at Christiania, a majority of Danes are in favour of legalization. 

Last month’s annual report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has revealed that Danish cannabis is Europe’s strongest by far.

However, Metroxpress reports that according to figures it has obtained from Giftlinjen, Denmark’s poison control hotline, the use of marijuana has resulted in the number of Danes calling poison control centres to skyrocket in recent months.

Puff, puff, pass (out)

The figures revealed that last year, Giftlinjen received a total of 203 calls concerning cannabis overuse. The number of Danes seeking help at hospitals for the same reason has also increased.