Global Ganja Report

In the big — and, in nearly half of US states now, successful — drive to legalize cannabis, two major arguments have been brought to bear. First, that public oversight of a legal industry will assure transparency and standards for quality. And secondly, that a taxed industry will be a boon to state and local economies.

But now a disturbing new study from an industry advocacy group in California indicates that the legal cannabis sector faces a challenge in the proliferation of ostensibly legal but in fact unregulated psychoactive “hemp” products.

Rights for medicinal cannabis users in the workplace have not kept pace with the law in states that have embraced medical and even “recreational” use. Now a case in Vermont may push state and federal authorities alike to close the loopholes that allow workers to be dismissed—and denied unemployment insurance—for using state-legal medicine.

Raphael Mechoulam, the ground-breaking cannabis researcher who first isolated and identified THC in 1964, died in Israel at the age of 92. His passing was announced March 10 by Jerusalem's Hebrew University, where Mechoulam co-founded the Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research in 2017.

Despite a heretofore uninspiring record, Biden is poised to complete a trifecta of long-sought reforms of federal cannabis law: giving the industry access to financial services, expungement of convictions for possession, and allowing medical research.

The legalization of hemp-derived cannabinoids by the 2018 Farm Bill has left a yawning regulatory gap that is being avidly exploited by purveyors of high-potency edibles and sketchy vape products.


That's the contention of a report just issued by the leading California cannabis trade group, warning that the law inadvertently opened a "Pandora's box" that poses threats to public health.

Small is Beautiful for the Berkshires’ Badass Bud

Nestled in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts is the town of West Stockbridge, where Wiseacre Farm boasts that it is the smallest artisanal cannabis producer in the commonwealth.

Irradiated cannabis? Yes, it’s a reality. While it may sound scary, industry tells us not to worry. Consumer advocacy groups, however, are raising concerns.

The cannabis industry is globalizing fast, which means changes for mainstays of commercial production in Europe and North America, and new players coming on line from regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central America. Here’s a brief overview of a few entries from these categories.