Global Ganja Report

It has long been established that cannabis can effectively treat glaucoma, a condition that damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness. However, new research indicates that while THC helps fight glaucoma, its cousin cannabinoid CBD has the opposite effect—and could actually counteract the efficacy of THC.

When the United Kingdom announced the historic step of rescheduling cannabis and allowing physicians to prescribe it two months ago, there was concern from patients and advocates as to whether actual herbaceous flower would be allowed, or only extracts. Now the first patient is approved to receive cannabis under the program, and it is indeed to be dried flower. The bad news: with the National Health Service barred by bureaucratic hurdles from providing it, patients are at the mercy of the market—and the price is prohibitive. 

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.

Days after legalizing medical marijuana, New Zealand's government has confirmed that a referendum on general cannabis legalization will be held in 2020. With the Green Party aggressively pushing the idea, prospects seem good for Aotearoa to follow Uruguay and Canada as the world's third country to legalize.

Colombia is facing a strange contradiction—foreign capital is pouring in for the legalized cannabis sector, yet the new right-wing President Iván Duque is returning to the hardline "drug war" policies that the country has moved away from in recent years. This means not only a resumption of glyphosate spraying to wipe out illegal crops in the countryside, but an overturn of the former decriminalization policy. Street arrests for cannabis use and possession have soared since Duque issued his recrim decree.

As evidence mounts for the efficacy of cannabis in treating PTSD, medical marijuana is fast being normalized in the veterans' community. But many have been "exiled" from their home states that have no medical marijuana programs—and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs is only beginning to demonstrate any tolerance on the question.

With general legalization in Oregon, the number of people enrolled in the state medical marijuana program is plummeting, and there is talk of actually ending it. Authorities have already dramatically slashed the limit for daily sales, supposedly in a crackdown on diversion to the black market—which continues to thrive, even amid the notorious over-supply.

The push to legalize cannabis in the Empire State got a significant boost on Election Day as Democrats took control of the state Senate—long controlled by Republicans. A re-elected Gov. Cuomo played to a progressive base on the campaign trail, and will no longer be able to blame GOP intransigence for lack of progress. Will New York become the 11th state to legalize in 2019?