In May, Arkansas became the latest state to cash in on the sale of medical cannabis. Lines of people wrapped around a newly opened dispensary, drawing in customers from all four corners of the Southern U.S. state. “I see them standing outside the window with a big smile on their face,” said Bud Watkins, manager … Read more
Thailand recently became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical cannabis. Since the new law was passed in December, some medical cannabis advocates have expressed disappointment the legislation will effectively exclude the private sector from the lucrative industry, worth tens of billions of dollars globally, in favor of government agencies. U.S.-supported new agency … Read more
Canada became the largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace in October. Power was first in line at a store in the eastern city of Saint John’s, Newfoundland. Canadian Ian Power was one of the first people to buy legal recreational cannabis in Canada, but he has no plans to smoke it. He plans … Read more
Almost 20% of all legal marijuana products submitted for testing to the California government since July 1 have been rejected. The testing has been especially tough on cannabis-infused cookies, candies and tinctures. Often, the products are frequently strong enough, according to data released Tuesday by the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control. Sixty-five percent of all … Read more
It is now legal to smoke marijuana in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, but there’s a caveat. At 4:20 p.m. local time on Monday, July 30, the Georgian Constitutional Court legalized marijuana consumption while retaining laws against growing, storing and selling the drug. In the historic ruling that subverted decades of harshly restrictive drug … Read more
A Lebanese lawmaker has introduced a draft bill in parliament that would legalize the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Speaking to the Associated Press, Antoine Habchi said he is proposing using the plant as alternative medicine to fight addiction and at the same time as a way to help Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley restore its … Read more
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced today that cannabis will be legal nationwide beginning October 17. The declaration comes after both houses of parliament voted to legalize the drug for recreational use, making Canada the first G-7 country to do so, and the second in the world following Uruguay. Trudeau welcomed the vote, tweeting: “It’s … Read more
If you want to sell cannabis or cannabis products, you must register with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) for a seller’s permit. Cannabis cultivators, processors, manufacturers, retailers, microbusinesses, and distributors making sales are required to obtain and maintain a seller’s permit as a prerequisite for applying for a license with the … Read more
Proposition 64 approving production, distribution, sale, and possession of adult recreational cannabis—passed by California voters in November 2016— ushers in a new era in the state. When the measure takes effect January 1, 2018, adult recreational use of cannabis will join medical use as a legal practice in California. But a shadow hangs over Proposition … Read more
It is no secret that cannabis occupies a strange place in the cannon of U.S. legislative history. It is both legal (in 29 states) and aggressively illegal (Federal). It is both recreational and medicinal. And it is portrayed as the boogie man for all manner of social ills, yet the U.S. government single-highhandedly engineered a … Read more
Blockchain technology has the potential to become a dominant technology in our lifetime. It is increasing its footprint in our daily lives every day and is expected to play a major role in trade, business, healthcare management, and finance and more. This is not a new social media platform but a technology for exchanging value … Read more
According to a recent poll by Gallup, 64% of Americans favor legalizing the plant. When Gallup starting asking Americans the question back in 1969, only 12% of Americans were for legalizing marijuana. “The trajectory of Americans’ views on marijuana is similar to that of their views on same-sex marriage over the past couple of decades,” … Read more
Canada’s legalization of recreational cannabis has occupied much of the media attention this year, but there is a quiet movement to partially or totally legalized cannabis in a lot of countries. Another trend has to do with reclassifying cannabis as generally safe and different from synthetic, addictive narcotics like heroin. Latin America is a hotbed … Read more
The war on cannabis began on or about May 26, 1971, when President Richard Nixon told his chief of staff, Bob Haldeman, “I want a goddamn strong statement on marijuana …I mean one on marijuana that just tears the ass out of them.” The famous Nixon tapes contain recorded conversations between Nixon and his staff … Read more
For Jamaicans, cannabis, or ganja, as it is known in the island nation, has cultural and religious meaning like no other place in the world. Yet ganja remains only partially legal today owing to the paranoia of Jamaica’s early 20th century elite rulers (mostly white) who made the plant illegal in 1913 by enacting the … Read more
During the past two decades, more than half of U.S. states implemented policies that legalizes marijuana use for medical purposes. Researchers have been studying the health ramifications of this sweeping public policy decision. Now, NIDA-supported researchers have found that providing legal and practical access to marijuana may have positive impacts on opioid use. Economists Dr. … Read more
The U.S. government is dealing with an opioid epidemic of its own making. Americans make up about 4.6% of the world’s population but consume 80% of the world’s opioid supply, according to the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. Opioids offer strong pain relief and are highly addictive (to the surprise of the whole of … Read more
Earlier this year, California sent Prop 65 notices to more than 700 California-based cannabis businesses. This means cannabis businesses are required to place a warning on all products that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm and could be exposed to liability for failing to warn. In this case, California deems marijuana smoke … Read more
Underneath the growing public support and booming cannabis industry, federal law still considers marijuana as illegal, even though state law may say otherwise. The administration of former President Barack Obama took a hands-off approach and left it up to the states to govern and prosecute the use of marijuana. Under Federal law, marijuana is considered … Read more
There is no shortage of iconic reference points to describe the stoner weed lifestyle: Cheech and Chong, The Grateful Dead and Bob Marley come to mind if you think about easy laughing, elation and heightened awareness. The cannabis community of the 1960s emerged out of the social and cultural upheaval that accompanied the Vietnam War … Read more
Former President Barack Obama said he thought marijuana should be treated just like alcohol and tobacco. Obama, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published last year, said he doesn’t think legalizing marijuana will put an end to the drug war in America, but regulation on a national scale is a better option than continuing … Read more
Drug overdose deaths and opioid-involved deaths continue to increase in the United States. The majority of drug overdose deaths (more than six out of ten) involve an opioid. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription opioids and heroin) quadrupled. From 2000 to 2015 more than half a million people died from … Read more
The hemp plant’s economic importance in America dates back to the 17th century before the birth of the nation, where it was used in the production of rope, sails, and clothing. Domestic production for industrial purposes flourished until after the Civil War. In the late 19th century, marijuana was introduced into western medicine and sold … Read more
Earlier this year, South Africa’s courts ruled that home use of cannabis will be legal. To which pro-marijuana activist Julian Stobbs says: Chill. The ruling from the Western Cape province High Court does apply across the nation, but the decision is really more about privacy than it is about pot. The ruling struck down part … Read more
As cannabis approaches mainstream recreational adoption in North America, it is easy to think the plant’s use as a source of pleasure and relaxation is a recent occurrence. In fact, Cannabis sativa (marijuana) has a long medicinal, recreational and spiritual history. More than 4,500 years ago, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung (or Shennong) became the first … Read more
Native Americans are not shy about exploiting their special status within the United States. Tribal sovereignty is the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the U.S. One example is Chenega Corp., an Alaska Native Corporation. Its IT subsidiary, Chenega Technology Services Corp. of Anchorage, Alaska, recently received a $500 … Read more
Some form of legalized marijuana exist in twenty-six states and the District of Columbia. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use of cannabis California’s Prop. 64 measure allows adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants in their homes. Other … Read more
The drive towards legalizing marijuana in the U.S. has overshadowed the prevalence of cannibis use in Europe. The reality is that Europeans are smoking a lot. In some European countries, use prevalence among all adults in surveys of the general popoulation exceeds 30%. All the data comes from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and … Read more
Cannabis’ medicinal qualities were exploited before the Christian era in Asia, mainly in India. In most ancient cultures, “getting high” was not the main use for the plant. Hemp fiber was valued for making clothes and other textiles, and its seeds were used for food and oil. The types of plant used for these purposes … Read more