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Inside California's cannabis crisis
Small weed farms are facing extinction under oppressive regulations, high taxes, and a statewide collapse in cannabis pricing
Rolling Stone (US)
Monday, February 21, 2022
California’s marijuana market, which reached an estimated $4.4 billion in sales in 2020, has seemingly reached peak cannabis capitalism. But the overwhelming sense amongst the so-called “legacy growers” is that they’re at a breaking point, exhausted by the regulations of the industry that they largely created. Protecting existing growers was a pillar of Proposition 64, which legalized marijuana for adult use. Legalization advocates included a provision to encourage legacy growers to join the legal market, promising that no cultivation site would be larger than one acre until 2023, so that small farms wouldn’t face competition from multi-acre ‘mega farms’ for at least five years. But cannabis industry lobbyists persuaded the California Department of Food and Agriculture to change the provision. -
In blow for cannabis advocates, Italy's high court blocks referendum
Currently, the cultivation of cannabis plants incurs a sentence ranging from two to six years in prison
Euronews (Europe)
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
A referendum on making growing cannabis legal in Italy has been blocked by the country's constitutional court. In a ruling judges said the law would have forced Italy to violate its international obligations to prevent drug trafficking. But critics said that the court had stifled the democratic process after a petition gained 630,000 signatures, well above the threshhold to trigger a referendum on the issue. Supporters of the referendum believed that the legalisation of cannabis, which they say is no more harmful than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco, would have made it possible to remedy overcrowding in prisons while focusing police action on violent criminal organisations. (See also: Top Italian court blocks marijuana and psilocybin referendum from going before vote) -
Schumer asks for input as Democrats finalize cannabis bill
The letter comes after Schumer indicated during a press conference last week that he was aiming to introduce the legislation as soon as April that would lift the federal prohibition on cannabis
The Hill (US)
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Top Senate Democrats are asking their colleagues for input as they work to finalize cannabis reform legislation, with the aim of introducing a bill this spring. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) sent a letter to their colleagues to invite them "into the drafting process as we work to finalize this legislation." "In order to appropriately address such a nuanced issue, we respectfully request the input, advice and guidance of Chairs and Ranking Members of relevant committees as well as senators who have dealt with the challenges and realities of legalization in their own states," they wrote. (See also: Schumer asks senators to help shape marijuana legalization bill he plans to file soon) -
Europe should follow Malta's example on cannabis reform, says minister
Malta’s law allows users to carry seven grams of the drug and store up to 50 grams at home, making it the first EU state to legalise cannabis
Euronews (Europe)
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Malta’s new cannabis rules should serve as a model for other European states of how to end the unnecessary prosecution of low-level drug users and strike a blow against organised crime, according to the minister responsible for the law, Owen Bonnici. The new law, passed by the Maltese parliament in December 2021, prevented recreational users from being dragged through the courts or tribunal process for possession of small amounts of cannabis. But it also allows for users and, eventually, non-profit organisations to grow cannabis plants and distribute it to other smokers via cannabis associations, meaning they no longer have to source the drug via the black market and put money into the pockets of international criminal gangs. -
Justice minister proposes further decriminalizing recreational cannabis use
The plan won’t allow prosecution ‘other than in exceptional cases,’ limits fines to NIS 1,000, won’t differentiate between first and repeated offenses
The Times of Israel (Israel)
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar published a list of proposed new regulations that, if approved, will further decriminalize recreational cannabis use in Israel. Under the new draft guidelines, recreational marijuana use will not be considered a criminal offense at all, and will become an administrative offense — similar to most traffic violations. Recreational use of the drug is currently illegal, though the Public Security Ministry partially decriminalized it in 2017, setting fines and treatment for initial offenders instead of criminal procedures. Under the current rules, first and second offenses are subject to a fine of NIS 1,000 and NIS 2,000 respectively, a third offense requires a conditional settlement deal, and a fourth offense means a possible indictment. (See also: Sa'ar drafts decriminalization of cannabis plan) -
Scotland's drug deaths: Consumption room pilot on track despite warning over legal barriers
Work is going on with reference to a pilot for a safer drug consumption facility in Glasgow
The Herald (UK)
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
The new chair of the SNP’s drug deaths taskforce is confident legal barriers to setting up drug consumption rooms can be overcome as he insisted the facilities would not be a “free-for-all" or be a magnet for drug dealers after fears raised by a UK minister. David Strang was speaking in response to UK Government Home Office and Justice Minister, Kit Malthouse, who told MSPs to stop focusing on drug consumption rooms being set up, appealing for a focus on better treatment options instead of “wrestling with these legal and practical difficulties”. The Scottish Government is determined to allow safe consumption facilities to operate, despite the UK Government holding the legal powers to allow the policy to be implemented. -
Budding market: Lucrative cannabis industry looks to leverage ex-politicians’ sway
Increasing numbers of former leaders and security chiefs find new careers in the country’s tightly controlled cannabis industry, which hopes to use influence to change laws
The Times of Israel (Israel)
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Not too long ago, Ehud Olmert was trying to lead Israel to a historic peace agreement. These days, the former Israeli prime minister is pushing a different message: Legalize marijuana. Olmert is among a group of former Israeli leaders and security chiefs who have found new careers in the country’s tightly controlled medical cannabis industry. They hope not only to cash in on the local market, but also to clear the way for the country’s major marijuana producers to export. “Everything will change dramatically overnight if there will be legalization,” Olmert, an adviser to the startup Univo, said. In Israel alone, he said, “the market would be unlimited. It would be huge.” Israel is one of the world leaders in medical cannabis consumption and marijuana possession is decriminalized. -
A cannabis monopoly asteroid is coming
Op-Ed by Shaleen Title
Marijuana Moment (US)
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
If you think two or three powerful companies owning and controlling the sales of all regulated marijuana sounds like a good thing, you can click away from this article. But if the thought of a market controlled by Marijuamazon, Canna-uber, or Weedbook (excuse me, Weedaverse) is unsettling to you, I want to introduce you to a valuable concept: antitrust laws. As the power grab for control of the multibillion-dollar industry heats up, consumers and patients need antitrust protection. By applying the concepts of antitrust law to all federal cannabis reform now, we can avoid the creation of national monopolies before it’s too late and create a diverse and fair marijuana market instead. (See also: Schumer gives update on federal marijuana legalization and banking in meeting with equity advocates) -
Can delta-8 THC provide some of the benefits of pot – with less paranoia and anxiety?
Delta-8 THC products have become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the hemp industry
The Conversation (Australia)
Monday, January 31, 2022
Over the past year, you may have seen something called delta-8 THC or “delta 8” appear in convenience stores and pharmacies alongside CBD gummies, oils and lotions. Delta-8 THC is a hemp-derived compound that’s closely related to delta-9 THC – what’s commonly called THC and is the psychoactive component of cannabis that’s responsible for the high that users feel. Like garden variety marijuana, delta-8 THC can be vaped or eaten. However, it’s rarely smoked. Anecdotally, its fans swear by its benefits – that it helps with relaxation and pain relief without intense highs that can veer into anxiety or paranoia. -
Cannabis: French high court ruling puts CBD products back on sale
In its ruling, the court noted that the flowers and leaves of certain varieties of cannabis were “devoid of narcotic properties” and could therefore be marketed in France
The Local (France)
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, has temporarily overturned a ban on the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) flowers and leaves in France, less than a month after it was introduced by the government. This is just the latest stage in France’s convoluted history with cannabis. A ministerial order had banned the sale of hemp flower and leaf loaded with CBD, from December 31st 2021 – but the Conseil d’Etat has provisionally overruled that decision, pending further examination of the order. Following the Conseil’s decision, the only requirement is that the finished CBD product must have a THC content of 0. As with leaves and flowers, the sale of these products is prohibited to minors.
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