The Nation reports

ISLAMABAD  –  The National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence on Wednesday unanimously recommended amendments in ‘The Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority Bill’ to make it in conformity with the Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs, 1961.

The third meeting of the standing committee was held at the Parliament House here under the chairmanship of Fateh Ullah Khan, MNA. On presentation of the bill, the committee was informed that Pakistan being a signatory to the Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs, 1961, was required to establish an agency of the government to regulate cultivation of cannabis plant, extraction, refining, manufacturing and sale of derivatives of the plant for medical and industrial use.

The committee was informed that the same was the reason behind introducing ‘The Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority Bill, 2024’ in the National Assembly. After extensive debate, the committee while proposing certain amendments in ‘The Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority Bill, 2024’ unanimously recommended that the National Assembly, on consideration of these amendments, may pass the said bill.

https://www.nation.com.pk/08-Aug-2024/na-body-recommends-amendments-in-cannabis-control-bill?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93114992&utm_content=93114992&utm_source=hs_email

The Massachusetts CCC descended into total chaos today, after a scheduled 10am meeting to discuss internal Commission governance started 30 or so minutes late and without the presence of acting CCC Chair Ava Concepcion.

Then, in shocking moments (depicted in the video below), the three remaining CCC Commissioners (Chair Shannon O’Brien is currently suspended) were unable to come to consensus as to who would serve as Chair in Concepction’s absence.

Commissioner Kimberly Roy, who was running the meeting, noted her previous disagreements with CCC legal counsel related to a Fall, 2023, delegation memo by O’Brien making Roy acting-Chair. CCC staff, shockingly, overrode that memo (however, it is quite likely that legal decision is under review by state oversight authorities).

A motion to make Commissioner Kimberly Roy failed 2-1, with Commissioner Nurys Camargo voting no, just minutes after Camargo made remarks about how much work there was to be done that day, and why the CCC needed to pick an acting chair quickly.

Camargo then turned down the opportunity to be acting Chair, and a motion to make Stebbins chair was voted down 2-1 (with Roy in opposition).

In turn, the CCC was forced to take a recess because they cannot move forward with today’s agenda in the absence of an agreement as to who will serve as acting chair.

I will have an update as soon as the CCC returns to session.

Werner has just been slain!!!

Authorities in Guyana have seized a semi-submersible vessel used in drug trafficking in one of the country’s jungles, Interpol said. The seizure was part of a broader operation to tackle drug trafficking and theft in more than two dozen countries, the law enforcement agency said.

Interpol said the homemade “narco submarine” The boat intercepted in Guyana could carry as much as 3 tons of cocaine at a time. The boat warned that smugglers in the region could send such semi-submarines down the rivers of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean and eventually arrive in Western Europe.

The “narco sub” was seized along with 615 tons of illegal drugs and 505 tons of precursor chemicals worth $1.6 billion, as well as 65 stolen cars, in 31 different countries, Interpol said. The international law enforcement agency coordinated the effort, dubbed Operation Lionfish Hurricane, between April and May in a bid to crack down on drug trafficking networks in South America, Africa and Europe.

According to Interpol, their operation led to 206 arrests. Authorities seized more than 56 tons of cocaine and 52 tons of other drugs, including marijuana, ketamine and tramadol, a prescription opioid that is strictly regulated in several countries due to its high potential for abuse and dependence. The United Nations has noted a sharp increase in the trafficking of tramadol in various parts of the world over the past decade.

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Authorities seize ‘narco-submarine’ in South American jungle, illegal drugs and chemicals worth $1.6 billion