Global Ganja Report

Terpenes, the chemical compounds that give your herb its distinctive smell and flavor, are increasingly recognized as a vital part of the overall cannabis experience. But with the growing popularity of vape pens and concentrates, industry is now adding terpenes to products in an effort to recreate that whole-flower feel. These may come from plants other than cannabis—and some may even be synthetic.

Amid the seemingly endless hype about CBD, its once better-known sibling cannabinoid THC seems to increasingly languish in the shadows—both in terms of media attention and industry investment.

After years of upholding employee firings for use of cannabis even under state medical marijuana programs, the courts are finally starting to turn around on the question.

One of the ways state medical marijuana programs have failed to fully extend protection to medicinal users is in failure to defend against employment discrimination. This is now beginning to change, thanks to a few recent court decisions in favor of patients and employees.

The case of an elderly grandmother who was jailed for cannabis possession because her Michigan state medical marijuana card had expired exemplifies the dilemmas faced by patients who fall between cracks in the bureaucracy. Keeping paperwork in order can be a challenge for those already burdened with disabling health conditions.

With Oklahoma’s passage of a medical marijuana law, advocacy organizations say there is now only one state in the entire union without some sort of legal provision for medicinal use of either herbal cannabis or cannabinoid extracts: Idaho. And with a governor's race this year, there may be hope even there. One by one, even the most culturally conservative states are succumbing to the demands of patients and the findings of science to pass laws to allow use of (at least) extracts containing cannabinoids, or (at most) actual herbaceous marijuana, for either medical or "recreational" purposes.

As Colorado voters go to the polls today to choose gubernatorial candidates, the Democratic favorite is Jared Polis—now a progressive member of Congress and perhaps the foremost cannabis advocate on Capitol Hill. Support from the state's now-formidable cannabis voting bloc could put him on the path to becoming the most herbal-friendly governor in the United States.

A deadly five-car pile-up on a Bay Area freeway brings into sharp focus the questions around cannabis use and road safety. Media exploitation of such carnage as propaganda against legalization, however, is missing some critical points.

Suddenly, New York state's political establishment is looking seriously at cannabis legalization, driven by growing concerns over long-entrenched racial discrimination in enforcement of the marijuana laws. But there is a growing realization that legalization alone will not be enough to correct this legacy unless it is implemented in way explicitly designed to do so.