The Sensi Seed company is iconic in the marijuana world. They fight hard for reform, embrace marijuana culture in a way that few companies do, and have some of the highest quality genetics that I have ever seen. If you don’t follow them on Twitter yet, I highly encourage you to give them a follow. They sent out a tweet recently about a petition that has been started in Europe, see below:
Sensi Seeds would like to highlight a petition that could put the European cannabis legislation on the agenda of the European Commission. The initiators of the petition are making use of their right to submit citizens’ initiatives to the European Commission and if the petition receives 1 million signatures, the European Commission will be required to vote on cannabis legalisation.
Currently, the cannabis policies in the European Union vary widely. Some member states tolerate certain forms of cannabis possession or use, while others employ administrative sanctions and criminal penalties. Generally speaking, the possession and use of cannabis is a crime in Europe and Weed Like to Talk is looking to change this.
20 million users
The report titled ‘European Drug Report 2013: Trends and developments‘ states that 77 million European adults (aged 15 – 64 years) have used cannabis at some point in their lives. More than 20 million people have used cannabis in the past year, making cannabis the most popular drug in the European Union. Still, the possession and use of cannabis remain predominantly illegal, even though it is known that it causes no life-threatening health issues, especially in comparison to legal alcohol and tobacco products. Furthermore, the illegal status of cannabis creates a substantial black market, which threatens public health, is socially unjust and consumes police capacity and therefore tax money, while a regulated cannabis market would, in fact, produce tax revenues.
Weed Like to Talk
The above information is what moved three French students to take action. They were sick of the impractical policy measures and have turned to the innovative tools offered by direct democracy, such as the citizens’ initiatives.
A citizens’ initiative requires a civic committee, in this case Weed Like to Talk, to collect 1 million signatures from across seven EU countries. If Weed Like to Talk can achieve this, the committee can submit its proposal for a communal cannabis policy based on a legal, regulated market and the European Parliament will be required to vote on it.
The proposal contains a summary for a communal policy for controlled and regulated cannabis production, use and sale. Its three cornerstones are:
- Ensure equality in the law and non-discrimination for all EU citizens.
- Protect consumers and safeguard their health.
- Stop the illegal trade in cannabis and move to legalise cannabis and harmonise national legislation within the EU.
Support this initiative
If each of the 20 million cannabis users signs this petition, it would be more than enough to send a powerful signal to the European Parliament/European Commission. By offering your support to Weed Like to Talk, you are contributing to a changed Europe; a Europe that is not afraid to make simple, progressive decisions by listening to its citizens.
