Global Ganja Report

Protests have spread across the country in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police—a haunting crystallization of institutionalized racism in law enforcement. The protests have been punctuated by looting in many cities, and cannabis businesses have not been spared. How the industry reacts at this moment will reveal much about the soul of America's cannabis community.

Lockdowns and economic paralysis imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak are spurring a new emphasis on self-sufficiency. Even before the crisis, medicinal cannabis users facing shortages at local dispensaries were turning to home cultivation.

The arrest of a Rudolph Giuliani associate on suspicion of influence-peddling related to the cannabis industry has opened a window into the sleazy underside of the business. Sacramento's mayor has called for an investigation, and the FBI is said to be conducting its own probe. Legalization was supposed to take cannabis out of the hands of criminal networks, but the new model often looks like crony capitalism.

A ground-breaking study is set to begin in Australia, to determine if cannabis can improve the quality of life of those suffering from dementia. Elderly care facilities are watching closely, hoping cannabis will prove a key to help those they look after lead happier lives, with less medication.

A federal appeals court in Denver has held that protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act apply to "all workers"—including those in the cannabis industry. The ruling sets an important precedent, boosting efforts to unionize the new legal industry.

Among the multiple grim challenges facing humanity at this moment is the specter of "antibiotic apocalypse"—so-called "superbugs" developing resistance to common antibiotics, portending a plague of incurable infections. Research in Australia now reveals anti-bacterial properties in CBD, effective even against the growing ranks of resistant superbugs. Many in the stateside cannabis industry say the development is further evidence that legal barriers to research need to come down—and fast.

Hardcore Tuna-heads aren't going to be able to resist this one. They already know the basic outline of Jorma Kaukonen's life: an authenticity-obsessed student of traditional finger-picking country blues in the folk revival of the early '60s (Harlem legend Blind Gary Davis was his special inspiration), he was catapulted to stardom when he went electric as the lead guitarist for the Jefferson Airplane, flagship band of the San Francisco sound.

As demands mount for expungement of cannabis convictions in the 10 states that have legalized, as well as in Canada, the cumbersome bureaucracy of court systems is an obstacle. Now San Francisco has teamed with a software company to automate the process—a partnership that could serve as a model for other jurisdictions across North America.