Global Ganja Report

Activists in North Dakota are heartened by the state's recent reduction of cannabis penalties, but insist that (contrary to media reports) it is not true decriminalization. And they are gearing up a new effort to get a legalization initiative approved in next year's elections.

With industry waiting on the FDA to issue regs for CBD products, the agency instead released a statement explaining why it has not yet done so—including fears that the trendy cannabinoid may cause liver damage. But advocates charge that the claim is based on faulty research.

In a Capitol Hill hearing that advocates hailed as “historic,” numerous Congress members openly embraced lifting the federal strictures on cannabis—and even outright legalization. The discussion was particularly framed in terms of recognizing and correcting the racial and social iniquities of cannabis prohibition and the "war on drugs."

Manufacturers of vape cartridges filled with cannabis distillate for "dabbing" are facing something of a crisis as the market is flooded with counterfeit products. These contraband knock-offs are apparently fooling many consumers—but may contain toxin-laden and adulterated substances. Industry voices are urging buyers to beware.

The arrival of 7-10 as a special day to celebrate extracts and concentrates marks the growing embrace of "dabbing" by the cannabis community. But the laws governing such products and especially their production vary from state to state. And the real risks continue to garner grim headlines that cast the cannabis industry in a very poor light.

Building on longstanding policy that bars federal cannabis enforcement in medical marijuana states, the House of Representatives passed a measure that would instate a similar hands-off approach to enforcement in states that have generally legalized. Other measures would slash funding for the DEA, and call upon the FDA to promulgate regs for CBD.

Cannabis industry leaders have announced certification standards to promote corporate responsibility. The move appears to be prompted by some embarrassing scandals in the young industry. Activists are meanwhile raising more far-reaching demands for drug war "reparations." 

A long hoped-for cannabis legalization bill died in the New York state assembly, but reform advocates got a consolation prize as lawmakers agreed to widen decriminalization and expunge thousands of low-level marijuana convictions.