Global Ganja Report

Cannabis may be legal in California, but illicit cultivation persists—especially in the National Forests, where it often takes a grave ecological toll. The CROP Project—for Cannabis Removal On Public Lands—is now bringing together environmentalists, law enforcement and the legal cannabis industry for a coordinated approach to the problem.

Hemp and hemp-derived CBD were officially legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, but the US Department of Agriculture has failed to bring its regulations into conformity with the new federal law—until now. Interim regs have just been issued by the USDA, with a 60-day public comment period to follow—meaning a final rule will likely be in place in time for next year's planting season.

Having cannabis removed from the federal list of controlled substances has long been the holy grail of legalization advocates. Several bills have now been introduced on Capitol Hill to do exactly that. Do any stand a chance of becoming law in the current polarized climate?

There has been significant progress toward cannabis legalization in the United States and globally over the past years, but pockets persist of the most repressive and reactionary prohibition. What are the prospects for expanding cannabis freedom in the coming year?

Cannabis is turning into a key issue testing the limits of First Nations sovereignty in Canada—right up there with the long-standing struggles over oil, mineral, timber and hydro-electric development. At least one First Nation is operating a cannabis outlet without provincial authorization, in a direct challenge to authorities. And if accommodations are not reached with provincial and federal regulators, more may be set to follow.

A Native American tribe in South Dakota is taking the US Department of Agriculture to court to demand its right to cultivate low-THC cannabis—and to force the agency to live up to its regulatory responsibilities under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Building on longstanding policy that bars federal cannabis enforcement in medical marijuana states, the House of Representatives passed a measure that would instate a similar hands-off approach to enforcement in states that have generally legalized. Other measures would slash funding for the DEA, and call upon the FDA to promulgate regs for CBD.

California's Native American nations were completely overlooked in the text of Proposition 64, and its enabling legislation. Now one tribe in San Diego County has staked its economic future to legal cannabis—and is standing up for its rights.