heroin

Executed for cannabis in Singapore —amid tentative progress in Southeast Asia

Posted on May 1st, 2023 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

South East AsiaSingapore just executed a man for cannabis—and for just one kilo. Even worse, the trial appears not to have even met basic standards for fairness. This outrage comes just as neighboring Malaysia is finally following through on pledges to limit use of the death penalty—five years after a global outcry when a compassionate care provider was sentenced to be hanged for supplying cannabis oil. Despite the quasi-decriminalization in Thailand, Southeast Asia remains one of the most repressive regions on earth where the herb is concerned.

David Crosby, folk-rock legend (and cannabis advocate), passes on at 81

Posted on January 20th, 2023 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

David CrosbyDavid Crosby, a giant of California's 1960s folk-rock scene and leading light of the Woodstock generation, died Jan. 19 at the age of 81. To the end, he was an unapologetic advocate of cannabis legalization, serving as a member of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

MLK and marijuana: making the connection

Posted on January 15th, 2020 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

MLKMartin Luther King Jr never spoke about cannabis, but his life and works have much to say about the fight for legalization, and against the "New Jim Crow" of the war on drugs. 

Albania, Europe's capital of illicit cannabis, under US pressure to eradicate

Posted on April 23rd, 2019 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

AlbaniaAlbania is pledging another one of its endless and fruitless cannabis eradication campaigns, which never succeed in bumping the country from its spot as Europe's biggest illicit producer. The US is pressing the small Balkan nation for the campaign—and kicking in military aid.

El Chapo guilty: prohibition-fueled narco-wars rage on

Posted on February 13th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , .

ChapoNotorious 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.

Cannabis in the Balkans: from criminals to capitalists?

Posted on January 25th, 2019 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

EuropeA contraband cannabis economy booms in the Balkan Peninsula, where the wars of the 1990s spurred an underground dope-for-guns network that still thrives today. But amid EU pressure to crack down, a legal industry is now starting to emerge.

Sri Lanka to 'replicate' Philippine drug-war police state

Posted on July 17th, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , .

South AsiaSri Lanka has announced that it will start hanging drug convicts, ending a long moratorium on executions. Leaders explicitly hope to "replicate the success" of Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drug campaign in the Philippines, which has now reached the point of mass murder. And while the imminent executions are for cocaine and heroin charges, the move comes amid a widening crackdown on cannabis. Yet proposals to allow medical cultivation provide some hope for a more tolerant model.

Spain and Morocco in heavy crackdown on hashish networks

Posted on March 1st, 2018 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , .

MoroccoOver the past weeks, authorities in Morocco and Spain have unleashed sweeps against hashish smuggling networks, arresting hundreds. One ring was reportedly using Serbian ex-military helicopter pilots to ferry product across the Strait of Gibraltar. This heightened militarization is disappointing, as a legalization initiative in Morocco—the world's top cannabis producer—fell victim to political unrest and intrigues last year.

Who's new

  • Baba Israel
  • Karr Young
  • John Veit
  • YosephLeib
  • Peter Gorman