Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce of Jamaica, Senator Aubyn Hill, has suggested the legalised sale of marijuana to visitors as a way for Jamaica to earn revenue from countries that do not allow imports of the herb. "We don't have to send it in plane loads [as an export item]. We have to get our act together through the CLA [Cannabis Licensing Authority] , through the ministry, through RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Agency], and make sure the people who come here to buy our export product called tourism and hotels and jerk and so on, have access — legal, proper, regulated access — to this product," he said. (See also: Cannabis sector eager to expand tourism market; Hill said his comments were confined to the sale of medical cannabis)

Lo que acaba de pasar en la Comisión Primera del Senado es histórico: por primera vez avanza un proyecto relacionado con la hoja de coca y sus usos. En específico, se trata del que busca regular toda la cadena de valor de la hoja de coca, desde su producción hasta su procesamiento y distribución en el mercado, una iniciativa de los senadores Iván Marulanda (Alianza Verde) y Feliciano Valencia (Mais), más 21 congresistas que les respaldan. Para el senador Marulanda, esta victoria representa “un cambio radical” en la política contra las drogas. Empieza, según dijo, “una nueva era” en esa política porque se está escribiendo un camino hacia la regulación del Estado en la hoja de coca. (Véase también: Regular el mercado de la coca: una respuesta alternativa a la guerra contra las drogas)

En la Argentina se está preparando una nueva ley de cannabis que apunta al uso recreativo, basada en la reducción de daños y con un objetivo de máxima: quitarles al narcotráfico y sus aliados en las fuerzas de seguridad y el Poder Judicial la regulación ilegal del mercado. Sus propulsores, unas 28 organizaciones de la sociedad civil, entre científicas, académicas, especializadas en salud mental y de Derechos Humanos, aseguran que por primera vez en la historia del país es posible una reforma profunda de las políticas de drogas. El Acuerdo por la Regulación Legal del Cannabis para personas mayores de 18 años, lanzado en septiembre pasado al cumplirse tres décadas de la ley de drogas, plantea la despenalización.

En los Países Bajos el cannabis sigue siendo técnicamente ilegal. Aunque el consumo recreativo está tolerado por las autoridades el cultivo de la marihuana aún está perseguido. Esto ha convertido el sistema holandés en una paradoja de difícil digestión. El absurdo legal que tolera su consumo mientras criminaliza su cultivo llevó a que hasta 35 ciudades pidiesen la regulación del cultivo de cannabis. El Gobierno aprobó el pasado junio un interesante experimento: durante los próximos cuatro años 10 localidades podrán dar licencias de cultivo a granjeros de la marihuana para que provean de hierba a todos los ‘coffeeshops’ bajo su jurisdicción. Casi un año después de su aprobación aún no hay una estrategia concreta.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to federally legalize marijuana for the second time in history, also adopting a pair of amendments to the legislation before final passage. Following an hour of debate on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act from House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) the full chamber voted 220-204 to end federal cannabis prohibition and promote social equity in the industry. Nadler’s MORE Act would deschedule marijuana by removing it from the list of federally banned drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, it would not require states to legalize cannabis and would maintain a level of regulatory discretion up to states. (See also: Prospects for federal marijuana reform: Q&A with GOP Rep. Nancy Mace)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed sweeping legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, the first time either chamber of Congress has voted to legalize cannabis. The measure, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, passed on a largely party-line vote of 228-164. Six Democrats voted against the legislation and five Republicans voted for it. The GOP-controlled Senate is not expected to take up the measure. The legislation would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and expunge some marijuana convictions for nonviolent criminals. (See also: House approves federal marijuana legalization bill in historic vote)

Ever since Canada became the first major country to legalize marijuana for adults a year ago, other nations have been paying attention. The small South American nation of Uruguay was the first to legalize marijuana for adults. New Zealand, Luxembourg and Mexico are among those that have looked to Canada for guidance or lessons, while Russia has chastised it for its “barefaced″ flouting of international anti-drug treaties. Mexico’s legalization is not likely to mirror Canada’s, where a few massive corporations have dominated production and more artisanal growers have largely been shut out. Russia laments the “barefaced″ and “blatant violation by Canada of its international obligations″ under anti-drug treaties.

The common wisdom among investors and analysts in the cannabis industry has been that bigger is better. They predict that cannabis will follow the path of alcohol after Prohibition ended in the U.S., quickly consolidating to a few major companies. Or even become like the oligopoly of tobacco. Since obtaining one of Canada’s earliest licenses for commercial cultivation of medical marijuana about five years ago, Canopy Growth had built a global weed empire. The company employed more than 2,000 people and had more than 4 million square feet of marijuana under cultivation, an 80,000-square-foot warehouse stocked to the rafters with inventory, and $78 million (U.S.) in fiscal 2018 revenue.

Given a choice, Canadians prefer to buy illicit weed. Nearly 80 per cent of all sales since legalization are from the “black market” – or more aptly named the “original market.” Contrary to what the government and the legal industry would have consumers believe, much of the illicit cannabis on the market today is of higher quality than that grown by licensed producers (LPs). The legalization of cannabis was a step in the right direction. But it also ushered in an elitist regulatory system that promoted big business to thrive in the face of the pre-existing culture and industry. The government encouraged titans of capital to build a new cannabis industry right on top of the original, underground industry, by people who know more about corporate financing models than how to grow the plant. 

No pressure, Colorado and Washington, but the world is scrutinizing your every move. That was the take-home message of an event today at the Brookings Institution, discussing the international impact of the move toward marijuana legalization at the state-level in the U.S. Laws passed in Colorado and Washington, with other states presumably to come, create a tension with the U.S. obligations toward three major international treaties governing drug control.

The official body that's overseen the legal cannabis regulatory process in Massachusetts has given the much anticipated "commence operations" notice. It has taken two years for the Cannabis Control Commission's rollout of this rather unique model for cannabis reform. On entering one of the new cannabis stores, customers are directed to either an express line, for experienced connoisseurs, or a queue for the "full service", where a "budtender" will educate as to the effects and assorted flavours of the products. Massachusetts has placed a firm emphasis on its "social equity" programme, which is designed to ensure that people from ethnic communities – most notably black people and those with Latin backgrounds – are not excluded from the new industry.

As Canada continues to work out the kinks of legalizing cannabis—and jurisdictions around the world follow suit—harm reduction advocates and drug policy researchers have their sights set on the regulation of all drugs, a reform they say is necessary to save lives and look at the issue from a public health perspective. Legalizing drugs would be different from decriminalizing drugs—the latter would make it legal to possess and use small amounts of banned substances but not to produce or sell them. Legalization would mean securing a safe supply of drugs and, with varying degrees of strictness, making those drugs accessible to the public.

Government scientists are preparing for India’s first human clinical trials to test cannabis-based compounds on select diseases in line with what they say is a global resurgence in the medical applications of marijuana derivatives. The researchers have sought regulatory approval for a trial to evaluate these compounds on cancer patients at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. They are also planning trials in other hospitals for a difficult-to-treat form of epilepsy and a blood disorder called sickle cell anaemia. The Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu, a unit of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research that has cultivated cannabis for research on a one-acre plot, will formulate the derivative compounds for the trials. (See also:Made-in-India drugs to be based on weed soon)

A recent study by Radboud University Nijmegen that concluded that regulating cannabis cultivation could improve human rights is no reason for the Netherlands to change its policy on marijuana, Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice said. He argues that it can not be conclusively stated that regulating cannabis cultivation and trade will decrease violent crime. A recent vote at a meeting of the Association of Dutch Municipalities showed that the vast majority of municipalities in the Netherlands supports experiments with regulated cannabis cultivation.

Prohibitionists warn that it’s dangerous even to discuss legalizing marijuana because such talk sends “the wrong message” to the youth of America, encouraging them to smoke pot. If so, you might expect that the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington, approved by voters more than a year ago, would have a noticeable impact on marijuana use by teenagers. Yet the latest data from the government-sponsored Monitoring the Future Study indicate that teenagers continued smoking pot at pretty much the same rates as before.

Statistics Canada's quarterly report on cannabis prices suggests the cost chasm between legal and illegal versions of the drug is wide, and getting wider. The data agency reported that the price gap between the two types of cannabis is as wide as $4.72 a gram. Canada legalized recreational cannabis last October, but the rollout across the country has been plagued by delays, limited supply, and other logistical issues. Three months ago, StatsCan's report of the first full quarter of price information showed the gap between legal cannabis and the illegal variety was $3.62 a gram. That means the illegal stuff today is roughly half the cost of the legal variety. So it is not surprising that more than half — 59 per cent — of respondents said they purchased illegal cannabis during the period.

A leading drug reform advocate and esteemed doctor is calling for a shake up to the illicit drug market, suggesting substances like MDMA, marijuana and ecstasy should be regulated and sold at chemists. Speaking onToday,Dr Alex Wodak, head of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, called for the idea to be considered as a way of reducing deaths. “You can’t prevent deaths completely. But if you reduce them a lot that’s well worthwhile,” Dr Wodak said. “I’m not saying (it’s) safe, I’m saying it’s safer. Nothing is safe — it is only you can reduce the risk, you can’t eliminate the risk. And we should try to reduce the risk.” (See also: Former top cop backs Dr Alex Wodak's call to regulate MDMA)

When lawmakers crafted the law legalizing marijuana in Illinois, they tried to make sure it would right what many see as past wrongs linked to the drug. In addition to expunging hundreds of thousands of criminal records for marijuana arrests and convictions, the law’s architects added provisions meant to benefit communities that have been the most adversely affected by law enforcement’s efforts to combat the drug. The so-called social equity provisions are expected to help black applicants. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, also established ways for qualified applicants to pay lower licensing fees and get business loans and technical assistance. And it earmarked part of marijuana sales revenue for neighborhood development grants.

Illinois will likely become the 11th state in the US to allow small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. The state’s Democrat-controlled House sent a legalisation plan to governor JB Pristzker, also a Democrat. Pritzker was elected in 2018; he campaigned as a support of legalization. “This will have a transformational impact on our state, creating opportunity in the communities that need it most and giving so many a second chance,” Mr Pritzker said. The rule would make it legal for those 21 and older to buy marijuana at licensed dispensaries. Residents could possess up to 1 ounce (30 grams) and non-residents could have 15 grams. (See also: In landmark move, Illinois lawmakers approve adult-use cannabis program that could hit $2 billion in sales | Marijuana advocates hit unexpected roadblocks)

Las modificaciones que los diputados hicieron a la Ley Federal para la Regulación del Cannabis viola derechos humanos de los consumidores de mariguana y acaba con el contenido social de la reforma, al eliminar el trato preferencial a campesinos, ejidatarios, comunidades indígenas y marginadas en la producción de esa droga, advirtieron los senadores de Morena Jesusa Rodríguez y José Narro. Lamentaron que se haya eliminado esa preferencia para el cultivo de mariguana, que incluía también a comunidades afectadas por el crimen organizado. Rodríguez coincidió, sin embargo, con la propuesta contenida en el proyecto de dictamen, de aceptar los cambios para que la ley se promulgue, entre en vigor y se presente de inmediato una iniciativa para corregir lo mal hecho por los diputados.