 Good evening. Join me. This is Dragan Report Air News. Promise. Life. Dragan Report Air News. Love and hope and trust and confidence. Tonight, there's something special to talk about. So won't you join us? Hello, I'm Peter Szaroszy and you are watching Drag Reporter News, our monthly update from the world of drug policy reform. Connecticut legalizes cannabis. Connecticut last week became the 19 states to legalize recreational cannabis and the force to adopt legislation this year alone. The move is likely to spur more legalization in the densely populated region and encourage further consolidation in the industry. With marijuana now having widespread acceptance in more than half the US population reports Bloomberg. Under the new law, the state will let adults 21 and over possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis as of July 1st and legalized sales are expected to start in May 2022. Connecticut could generate $500 million to $600 million in combined recreational and medical sales by the end of 2023, reports Cantor-Figerard analyst. Germany, cannabis legalization becomes election campaign issue. The opposition Free Democrats Party, FDP, for whom civil liberties are major issue, have called for the limited and legal sales to adults of cannabis for leisure consumption. In view of growing global sales of cannabis for medical purposes and private pressure, the business-friendly FDP is even looking to turn cannabis made in Germany into a lucrative export product, reports the Deutsche Welle. The Green Party, the Left Party and the Social Democrats all agree with the FDP that the present drug policies based on prohibition are a failure. They are all calling for new approaches to pave a path between strategies like legalization, decriminalization and regulation. If the ruling conservatives will be ousted by a new opposition coalition in the autumn, there is a good chance that Germany will reform its drug laws. Federal support for harm reduction in the US. The Biden administration recently announced its plan to fund harm reduction programs reported the New York Times. The American Rescue Act, which was passed by the Congress in March allocates $30 million specifically to fund harm reduction programs. Although the amount is relatively small, it is a significant step because this is the first time in the US history that the federal government supports harm reduction. EMCDDA publishes its annual drug report. On June 9, the EU Drugs Agency, EMCDDA published its European Drug Report 2021. Trends and developments, the latest annual review of the drug situation in Europe. Cannabis cultivation and synthetic drug production within the EU appears stable at pre-pandemic levels but no decline seen in the detection of production sites concludes the report. We are witnessing a dynamic and adaptive drug market resilient to COVID-19 restrictions, said Alexis Ghostdale, the director of EMCDDA. Specific concerns were raised in the report around the misuse of benzodiazepines, either diverted from therapeutic use or not licensed for medical use in Europe. The 50th anniversary of the US war on drugs. This June marks the 50th anniversary of the war on drugs, an ongoing campaign that has to a large extent reshaped American politics, society and economy, writes Nathaniel Lee on CNBC. Despite a steep decline in illicit drug usage in the earlier years, drug use in the US is climbing again and more quickly than ever. According to the substance abuse and mental health services administration, the number of illicit drug users rose to 13% of Americans 12 years older in 2019, nearly reaching its peak from 40 years ago. If the goal of the war on drugs was to decrease drug usage and prevent drug-related deaths, it hasn't made much progress, concludes the article. The government of Canada helping expand access to safer supply across Canada. The Canadian Ministry of Health announced nearly one million dollars for a project that will help support and build capacity in communities across Canada to provide safer supply services. This initiative will help increase access to pharmaceutical alternatives to toxic illegal drug supply and prevent overdoses. Tragically, there was a substantial increase in drug use and related harms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for watching Drug Reporter News. Please don't forget that we are a non-profit organization. Support us at drugreporter.net and follow us on social media, Twitter and Facebook. Thank you.