Global Ganja Report

The Canadian province of British Columbia changed its drug policy dramatically in January 2023 in an effort to address its dire opioid crisis. New Democratic Party provincial leaders decriminalized possession and public use of drugs including fentanyl and heroin. But now, after pressure from law enforcement and a backlash from the opposition Conservatives, BC is reversing course, and making public use of drugs illegal again. Personal possession will remain decriminalized, for now.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on April 2 signed a law recriminalizing the possession of personal quantities of illicit drugs. The law overturns Measure 110, approved by voters with 58% support in 2020, which made personal-use possession of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine only punishable by a ticket and a maximum fine of $100.

Authorities in southern Oregon are making accusations of criminal labor and environmental practices by illicit cannabis growers—and carrying out militarized raids. The grim headlines are starting to make legalization in the Beaver State look like something of Pyrrhic victory.

Voters in Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon and South Dakota passed statewide ballot measures favoring medical marijuana, adult-use cannabis legalization or hemp cultivation in the Nov. 3 elections.

California is moving toward adopting official "appellations" for cannabis, certifying a strain's regional origin. The concept is inspired by the wine industry, where such a certification system has long been in place in several producer countries. Wine appellations, often a mark of prestige, provide a model for what is now to be applied to high-end cannabis.

A federal appeals court in Denver has held that protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act apply to "all workers"—including those in the cannabis industry. The ruling sets an important precedent, boosting efforts to unionize the new legal industry.

Driven by the notorious market glut in Oregon, wholesale cannabis prices have predictably plunged in the Beaver State. They have done so less precipitously in other western states. But this is offset by continued high prices elsewhere in the country, especially the East Coast—making for an overall upward trend this year.

In Washington state, glitches in the "seed-to-sale" tracking system nearly paralyzed the cannabis industry statewide last month, costing retailers hundreds of thousands of dollars and forcing temporary lay-offs of employees. Similar headlines have been seen from across the country's legalized states—pointing to a persistent issue.