A Cabinet minister has denied that behind the scenes talks with London are the reason for a delay in sending controversial legislation on legalising cannabis in Bermuda to the Governor for consideration. The remarks came after OBA former premier Craig Cannonier said the fact that the Cannabis Licensing Bill had not been sent to Government House more than four weeks after passing Parliament was “unusual”. Mr Cannonier insisted he had information that the delay may have been caused by correspondence between the Government and 10 Downing Street over the issue. However, Jason Hayward, the Economy and Labour Minister, dismissed the suggestion. Mr Hayward told a press conference: “I am not aware of any negotiations.”

Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew has signed proposed legislation regarding cannabis in Thailand, emphasising that it cannot be used for recreational purposes. "The new law will clearly stipulate that cannabis must be used for medical purposes only. It will also encourage the use of cannabis for a range of health benefits," Dr Cholnan said. "Regarding the using of cannabis for recreational purposes, there will be a clear measure to control and prevent this. Under the Narcotics Code, products containing over 0.2% THC by weight will be considered illegal. (See also: Thailand's new government to ban cannabis for recreational use | Draft bill on cannabis control not finished, says Cholnan)

Just over a year after the last government passed two now-defunct draft bills to legalize and decriminalize recreational cannabis, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted to advance a bill that would decriminalize the possession of up to 50 grams of cannabis or 15 cannabis seeds for individual recreational use. The law would also change the current fines system for cannabis use in public. While users now face first time offense fines of NIS 1,000 and second time offense fines of NIS 2,000 before criminal charges are issued, the new law would lower the fines to NIS 500 and eliminate the option to criminalize the user.

El ministro del Interior, Jorge Larrañaga, anunció que su cartera “seguramente” tendrá la “facultad inspectiva” de los clubes cannábicos, para monitorear que no estén volcando sus excedentes al tráfico en Brasil, donde la marihuana cuesta más del doble que en Uruguay. Larrañaga detalló que actualmente en el país hay 159 clubes cannábicos, que pueden tener hasta 45 integrantes cada uno, con una cantidad de gramos habilitada para su consumo anualmente. Hay denuncias de la Policía de Brasil, “donde se ha detectado el ingreso a dicho país de una cantidad importante, de forma periódica, de marihuana producida en Uruguay”.

Ministers will publish their proposals for the planned experiment with legal marijuana cultivation by the summer, justice minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus has told Dutch parliament in a briefing. The new government pledged to experiment with cultivating marijuana in an effort to remove the grey area between illegal supply and licenced cannabis cafes or coffee shops, where small amounts of marijuana can be bought for personal use. A specialist commission is due to report on how the experiment should be carried out by May 31, 2018. The experiment itself will run for four years in six to 10 local authority areas. (See also: Design of cannabis cultivation experiment to be clarified in the course of 2018 | Coffee shops react with caution)

El ministro de Turismo, Germán Cardoso, entiende que la venta legal de marihuana para turistas "tiene que formar parte del debate" que se dé entre los partidos que integran la coalición de gobierno liderada por el presidente Luis Lacalle Pou. El exdiputado colorado dijo que no tiene "del todo claro" si corresponde definir una política de turismo, pero cree que el gobierno tiene que analizar la ley que regula la venta, producción y consumo de cannabis en Uruguay. "Por lo menos tenemos que hacer el intento de analizarlo y allí introducir modificaciones", sostuvo. Cardoso cree que es "absolutamente contradictorio" que en la norma no estén contemplados los turistas que vienen al país porque, a su entender, se los está "obligando a la ilegalidad".

La posible venta de marihuana a extranjeros ha sido motivo de debate recurrente en el mapa político nacional, y la discusión se renueva cada vez que se acerca una nueva temporada de verano, la época en la que más turistas llegan al Uruguay. Es que se presume que son muchos los extranjeros que, estando en Uruguay, desean fumar cannabis, pero como la venta en farmacias está prohibida para quienes no sean ciudadanos uruguayos ni tengan residencia permanente en el país, terminan en el mercado negro. Y, precisamente, desde un inicio uno de los objetivos centrales de la ley de regulación y control del cannabis, de 2013, era quitarle este mercado al narcotráfico. En este contexto es que ingresó hace más de un año al Parlamento un proyecto de ley del diputado del Frente Amplio Eduardo Antonini.

The Ministry of Public Health will next year push for legalisation of all cannabis parts, lifting the last remaining hurdle preventing full use and commercialisation of the plant. Thailand earlier removed stems, roots, leaves and sprigs of cannabis from its Category 5 narcotics list, but kept flowers and buds on it. The new Narcotics Code no longer has cannabis and hemp on it. The next step is for the ministry to announce a revised narcotics list of all five categories based on the new law. Cannabis in all but one form will no longer be on it, minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. The only exception is cannabidiol (CBD) extracts with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of more than 0.2%, he added. (See also: Rethinking cannabis)

People convicted of minor drug offences can have their convictions expunged, the Attorney-General said. But Kathy Lynn Simmons warned that offenders who had their convictions erased may still be blocked from entering the US. The expungement laws passed last year were now in force. An expungement order would erase criminal conviction records for the offence of simple possession of cannabis of seven grams or less, for offences committed before December 20, 2017, when possession of that amount was decriminalised. “By allowing expungement of criminal records … the Government has ensured that persons formerly convicted are not excluded from the social justice reforms that are being instituted."

The exodus of cannabis executives in Canada is in full swing after their companies raked up collective net losses exceeding CA$6 billion ($4.4 billion) in 2019, the first calendar year recreational products were allowed to be sold. Most of Canada’s top cannabis producers have replaced their chief executives or chief financial officers after failing to meet customer and investor expectations. Experts say the CEOs spent too much money on greenhouses, were too focused on investors and did not pay enough attention to customers, real markets or quality control. Many simply lacked the professional toolkit necessary to steer a cannabis company and ended up chasing too many opportunities in far-flung areas of the world where actual marijuana markets remain years away.

Years of investigations have revealed the intricate money laundering network that turns Moroccan hash into gold in Dubai. Revelations into the dealings of Kaloti Jewellery International Group in Dubai have unearthed Moroccan examples of a global problem. Earnings from the sale of Moroccan cannabis in Europe move through shadowy networks as gold bullion, destined for Dubai. Investigations into gold refiner Kaloti unearthed reportsof tonnes of Moroccan gold coated in silver to evade the country’s gold export limits. Yet Moroccan hash also turns into gold for money laundering in Europe itself. Some gold retailers on the continent are perfectly happy to turn bundles of small currency into solid gold, for a good commission.

Authorities in Thailand overseeing a flood of patents for medical cannabis must consider the public interest, otherwise a commercial monopoly of the medicines and cultivation would result, experts warn. Advocacy group Thai Drug Watch said that the Intellectual Property Department is jeopardising public access to cannabinoid medicines and other drugs by limiting its focus to the economic benefits for big business. This would place full control over the entire product chain of medical cannabis in the hands of transnational pharmaceutical companies, it added. (See also: Will Thailand’s legal medical marijuana seed a new black market?)

Despite a growing clamour by some sections and NGOs in India to legalise the recreational use of cannabis, more than half of the respondents (55 per cent) surveyed for the India Today Group-Karvy Insights Mood of the Nation (MOTN) 2021 poll are against the move. Only 36 per cent of those surveyed favoured legalisation of cannabis, whose consumption is banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances or NDPS Act. Moreover, an overwhelming 89 per cent of the respondents felt drug addiction was a serious problem in the country. See: Complete findings of the Mood of the Nation January 2021 survey.

It was a happy – and seemingly high – new year in Illinois after cannabis sales of more than $3m were made on the first day of the drug being legal for recreational use in the state. Some 37 dispensaries made 77,128 transactions as thousands of residents saw in the start of 2020 by lighting up. "The amazing thing about that is that there's a significant portion of these dollars that go directly into this community reinvestment fund, so we can continue to rebuild communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs," said Toi Hutchinson, senior adviser for cannabis control. Illinois is now the 11th US state to legalise the sale of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes.

More than half of the European population support legalization of adult use of cannabis and around 30% of them are interested in purchasing it, according to polling data by industry consultants. Europe's liberal approach could reap multiple financial and economic benefits as seen in the United States, which has witnessed a surge in cannabis use during pandemic-induced lockdowns. While majority of Europeans support regulated cannabis shops, most do not favor growing the plant at home, according to the report by London-based consultancy Hanway and pot producer Curaleaf International. The report comes a week after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to end the federal ban on marijuana.

Morocco’s rugged Rif Mountains have long been renowned for their cannabis but traditional varieties are being smoked out by foreign hybrids offering higher yields and greater potency. The local strain of marijuana, known as Beldiya, is coveted by afficionados but is gradually disappearing from the fields. Nowadays in Ketama, a region in the heart of the northern Rif, a strain called “Critical” is king. Major cannabis producers decide what to plant and “hybrid plants have become a market all on their own,” said Moroccan anthropologist Khalid Mouna, who has written a thesis on the economics of Ketama’s cannabis production. Critical, which Mouna said comes from the Netherlands, is the latest hybrid created in laboratories in Europe or North America to be introduced to Morocco.

Morocco’s government adopted bill 13-21, intending to legalize the production of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use in its weekly meeting after a few weeks of discussion. After the approval, Morocco will be among the first countries on the African continent to permit the use of cannabis for medical and therapeutic purposes. Observers were certain Morocco would make such a move after the country voted to remove cannabis from the list of the UN’s Schedule IV category of drugs that have limited or no therapeutic use. The North African country was the only member of the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs (NCD) in the MENA to vote in favor of the cannabis’ removal from the list of toxic substances. (See also: Morocco’s new cannabis legalization bill explained)

This policy briefing discusses whether or not the aim of reducing cannabis cultivation is realistic or beneficial for Morocco, what it would actually mean for the major production area the Rif – one of the poorest, most densely populated and environmentally fragile regions in the country – and what that could imply for meaningful sustainable development. The briefing will give some historical background, discuss developments in the cannabis market, and highlight environmental and social consequences as well as the recent debate about regulation in Morocco and about European policies.

Download the briefing (PDF) | Version en français (PDF)