Global Ganja Report

The post-Soviet republics of Central Asia have emerged as a key smuggling route for hashish making its way from Afghanistan to European markets—as well as developing their own local hashish (and opium) production. As ever, the illegal economy is breeding destructive gunplay throughout the region. But in these authoritarian nations, proosals for legalization have been marginalized—until now.

A federal judge in Sacramento on Sept. 12 ruled that sheriff's deputies and other officials in Northern California's Siskiyou County did not discriminate against Hmong residents while carrying out marijuana enforcement operations and other investigations last year.

It has been a year and counting since Ohio passed its medical marijuana law in June 2016, and nobody has yet received any cannabis under the program. The logjam is due to the failure of the state to issue licenses to any cultivators, processors, dispensaries or testing labs.

Finally, the first sign of progress is seen as a local technical college has come forward to offer cannabis testing services.

Morocco has long been the world's leading cannabis producer, but the conservative monarchy has managed to keep any talk of legalization out of political discourse—until last year, when the country's biggest opposition party submitted a bill in parliament to at least allow cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes. Now that effort has been dealt a setback, with the unexpected resignation of Ilyas El-Omari as head of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM).

Amid the legal ambiguities about the status of cannabidiol (CBD), authorities in one state that had cracked down on preparations of the salutary cannabinoid are now admitting that they themselves are confused. Weeks after Indiana State Excise Police declared products containing CBD oil to be illegal—and carrying out a raid on an Indianapolis-aread natural goods store to prove it—state officials say they don’t actually know if CBD oil products are illegal or not.

It has been a long, slow ride for patients hoping to get access to medical marijuana in the Lone Star state—and then just special strains of low-THC cannabis, and only for those suffering from "intractable epilepsy." Three dispensaries are hoping to get final approval from Texas authorities to start cultivating next month. Of course, it will be several more months before they can actually begin distributing—and then ambiguities in the law may mean further delays. Activists and lawmakers are pushing both to clear things up and expand the scope of the program.

Hemp Business Journal reports that products infused with CBD oil are leading growth in hermp-derived products sold in the United States generally, which in 2016 had a collective retail value of $688 million. This figure represents a five year 22% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Joining more traditional products such as shelled seed, protein powder, soaps and lotions, are growing lines of medicinal preparations such as CBD edibles. Hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) accounted for $130 million in sales last year.

The first decisive step toward the liberalized atmosphere for cannabis across much of the country was quite arguably San Francisco's Proposition P of 1991—the popular initiative that protected medical marijuana use in the city. So it's heartwarming that the City by the Bay has just established an Office of Cannabis to oversee legal sales.