legalization

'Wild West' on the East Coast: post-MRTA free-for-all persists in New York

Posted on January 11th, 2022 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

NYCThe boom in "gray market" cannabis street sales in the Big Apple since legalization took effect in New York state has now reached the point of actual unlicensed and unregulated storefront dispensaries—which are apparently tolerated. This development is raising skeptical eyebrows from aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs still waiting for Albany to put a regulation structure in place.

Malta becomes first European country to legalize cannabis

Posted on December 19th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

MaltaThe Mediterranean island nation of Malta has become the first European Union member state to legalize cannabis. It's a seemingly unlikely candidate, and the country's powerful conservative bloc is still trying last-minute maneuvers to prevent the law from taking effect. But if Malta can pull it off, is the rest of Europe far behind?

German company in talks for cannabis concession in Afghanistan

Posted on December 12th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

AfghanistanThe widely denied media reports turned out to be true, even if not all the details were correct. Cannabis Now can confirm that the new regime in Afghanistan is in talks with a foreign company to establish legal cannabis production for the export market.

South Dakota supreme court squelches legalization initiative

Posted on November 30th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

South DakotaSouth Dakota was one of four states that voted to legalize cannabis in November 2020. But now the state's supreme court has barred the amendment from taking effect, after a challenge brought with the support of the Republican governor—and based on narrow legalisms.

Advances for cannabis conviction expungement —and obstacles

Posted on November 18th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

leafNearly 20 states have now approved initiatives or legislation to legalize cannabis, and demands are growing to wipe out past convictions for personal possession. Authorities in some of these states have started to respond—but things are not moving fast enough for advocates of a socially just model of legalization.

Podcast: the dialectics of cannabis liberation II

Posted on October 25th, 2021 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

cannabisIn Episode 94 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg presents a cannabis harvest season interview with Karla Avila in Northern California's Emerald Triangle. A licensed producer of artisanal outdoor cannabis for the legal market through her homestead-based Flowerdaze Farm, Avila is an advocate for small-scale "legacy" growers through her work with the Trinity County Agriculture Alliance. She is also a founder of the statewide Origins Council, which is seeking to establish official "appellations" for cannabis, certifying a strain's regional origin. Avila discusses the challenges facing small legacy growers who are struggling to keep alive heirloom genetics and ecologically sound cultivation methods in a legal market increasingly dominated by large-scale enterprises on an agribusiness model. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

Cannabis euphoria in NYC —but for how long?

Posted on October 6th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

NYCNew York's new Gov. Kathy Hochul is hyping the coming cannabis boom in the state — although no adult-use licenses have yet been issued, and the bureaucracy is just starting to move on this. Meanwhile, the cops in Gotham City are turning a blind eye to small outfits that are setting up tables in the parks and on the sidewalks, selling edibles, extracts and bud. How long will this utopian free-for-all last?

VA still punishing vets for using medicinal cannabis

Posted on September 21st, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

VA medical marijuana accessMilitary veterans continue to be denied much-needed treatment by the VA because of their cannabis use, even in states that have legalized. While there has been some progress on the question, vets are still being cut off—amid a combined national crisis of veteran suicides and opioid abuse.

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