Central America

Global industry round-up: Canada, Israel, Costa Rica, Thailand

Planet WatchThe cannabis industry is globalizing fast, which means changes for mainstays of commercial production in Europe and North America, and new players coming on line from regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central America. Here’s a brief overview of a few entries from these categories.

Panama approves medical marijuana law —Costa Rica next?

Posted on September 2nd, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , .

Central AmericaPanama's national legislature approved a medical marijuana law—a first for the nations of the Central American isthmus. Advocates in neighboring Costa Rica are taking heart, and redoubling efforts to make their country the next. But cultural conservatives are pledging resistance in both countries.

Lay-offs at Canopy grow facility in British Columbia

Posted on March 12th, 2020 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , .

CanadaCanada's largest licensed producer of cannabis, with globe-spanning operations, is shutting down two massive greenhouses in British Columbia, and laying off hundreds of workers. Industry observers call it a sign that infrastructure overshot the market in the post-legalization euphoria.

Mexico rejects US drug war aid, proposes binational decrim

Posted on May 20th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

MexicoMexico's new populist president announced that he is dropping out of the regional US-led drug enforcement pact, and will be turning down the aid package offered through the program. Instead, he is proposing a dialogue with Washington on across-the-board drug decriminalization in both nations. And Mexican lawmakers say they will pass a cannabis legalization bill by the end of the year.

Costa Rican activists launch medical marijuana effort as cannabis overtakes tobacco

Posted on April 3rd, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

Central America Cannabis is still illegal in Costa Rica, but a new government study reveals that it has overtaken tobacco as the smoking substance of choice in the traditionally peaceful Central American nation. Simultaneously, Costa Rican activists have launched a new association to press for a medical marijuana program. These developments come as a crusading anti-gay conservative was defeated in the presidential race by a center-left candidate who campaigned on a gay marriage platform. Will cannabis be the next item on Costa Rica's cultural agenda?

Panama parliament debates medical marijuana measure

Posted on March 8th, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

Central AmericaPanama may be the next Latin American country to pass a medical marijuana law, with the nation's National Assembly now debating a measure. But, in sharp contrast to that in neighboring Colombia, the Panamanian program would fly pretty close to the ground. In a play to social conservatives, the law would only allow imports, and users would be limited to extracts rather than herbaceous cannabis. And even this may face a fight from opposition lawmakers.

Nicaragua: army assassination disguised as marijuana raid?

Posted on November 28th, 2017 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

Central AmericaThe International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women march in Nicaragua's capital Nov. 25 was ironically set upon by the riot police, with several women detained. The Managua march was emotionally charged, as it was led by Elea Valle—a campesina woman whose husband and two young sons were killed two weeks earlier in a raid by army troops on their home in the country's eastern rainforest.

Rights violations seen in federal Mara crackdown

Posted on August 2nd, 2017 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

border wallCivil rights organizations in New York are trying to determine if police and school officials on Long Island helped federal authorities detain students in the country illegally on the basis of dubious claims of ties to Central American gangs. The controversy comes days after President Trump's inflammatory speech before law enforcement officers in Long Island's Suffolk County on July 28. There was a major outcry over Trump's urging of police to be "rough" with suspects in the speech. This outrage nearly eclipsed media coverage of his pledge in the speech to "destroy" the MS-13 gang network, calling its members "animals."

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