Global Ganja Report

Notorious narco-lord "Chapo" Guzmán was convicted by a federal jury in New York and faces life in prison. But violence in Mexico has only escalated since his capture. Few media accounts have noted how Chapo and his Sinaloa Cartel rose as militarized narcotics enforcement escalated in Mexico—a trajectory mirrored by the cartels' move from dealing in cannabis to deadly white powders.

A bill that would legalize "recreational" cannabis is moving forward in Hawaii's state legislature. It would build on the dispensary system established by the state's medical marijuana program to bring about a regulated adult-use market.

Already officially studying the possibility of cannabis legalization, Mexico's new President López Obrador has now announced a formal end to the "war on drugs" that has only seemed to fuel the narco-violence over the past 10 years.  However, military troops are still being mobilized for narcotics enforcement—including marijuana eradication.

Israel's internal market for medical cannabis products is limited by the country's relatively small population, but with exports now approved by the cabinet, a multi-billion-dollar industry is foreseen. Since the announcement, share prices of cannabis companies on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange have soared.

The World Health Organization has released its long-anticipated recommendation on cannabis scheduling. But rather than removing it from Schedule I of the Single Convention, it only removes it from Schedule IV, where it is also listed. CBD, however, has indeed been de-scheduled entirely.

Terpenes make your herb smell good, but researchers are postulating that those organic particles that titillate your nostrils may also bind with particulate matter from hydrocarbon emissions to worsen smog. A Colorado study is now putting this to the test—but with no help from the EPA, due to cannabis’ outlaw status under federal law.

California's ArcView Market Research and its affiliated BDS Analytics have released a "2019 Update" to the 6th edition of their report on The State of Legal Marijuana Markets, which was published back in June. The Update takes stock of events in the second half of the year, and anticipates that worldwide spending on legal cannabis will grow 39.1% to $17 billion in 2019.

In Arizona, the statehouse and supreme court are in a race to clarify whether hashish is to be included in the Grand Canyon State's medical marijuana program. The question also has implications for the status of extracts and edibles.