Southeast Asia

US citizen caught in Duterte's anti-drug sweeps —and 200,000 Filipinos

Posted on June 8th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , .

South East Asia A young man from Wisconsin has been jailed on a cannabis charge in the Philippines, and his mother back in the states says she fears for his life. The case has brought some stateside media attention to President Duterte's relentless and draconian "drug war," which has sent nearly 200,000 Filipinos to prison.

Prohibition Partners analyze Asian cannabis market

leafA new report by the British think-tank Prohibition Partners foresees a $5.8 billion cannabis market in Asia by 2024—if the tentative seeds of liberalization now witnessed across the continent in fact bear fruit.

Will high-profile cannabis bust boost Burma legalization effort?

Posted on April 29th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

South East AsiaA US citizen was among a trio arrested in Burma for running a 20-acre cannabis plantation. The three could face life in prison, or even the death penalty. But the controversy could give new political energy to Burma's emergent legalization movement.

Global steps toward cannabis liberation in 2018

Planet Watch2018 saw historic strides toward the liberation of the cannabis plant, from the proverbial four corners of the Earth—North America to the Antipodes. Canadian legalization garnered big headlines, but there were significant breaks with the global prohibition regime in several other countries—including some seemingly unlikely candidates, in regions where the anti-cannabis stigma is deeply entrenched.

Paranoid international reactions to Canadian legalization

Posted on October 31st, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

cannabisWhile Canada's move to officially legalize cannabis has been hailed as courageous and historic by advocates around the world, some of the planet's most intolerant governments are reacting with dismay—even threatening to have their own citizens arrested if they indulge in legal marijuana on Canadian sovereign territory.

UN 'shadow report' blasts drug war as 'failure'

earthAn international network of non-governmental organizations has submitted a "shadow report" to the United Nations, calling the war on drugs a "spectacular failure"—and calling on the world's governments to reconsider it. The report takes heart from the growing official tolerance of cannabis in several countries around the world, but warns of escalating and horrific repression in the name of drug enforcement in several others. Will the UN take heed when it revisits the question of drug policy in 2019?

Cannabis case prompts Malaysia to abolish death penalty

Posted on October 12th, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

South East AsiaMalaysia's surprise announcement that it will abolish the death penalty is a breakthrough for conservative Southeast Asia—and follows a global outcry over the death sentence meted out to a provider of medicinal cannabis oil. But will the reform come in time to save the life of Muhammad Lukman?

Advocates reach out to Hmong growers in Trinity County

CaliforniaRecent years have seen ethnic tensions in the northernmost parts of the Emerald Triangle, as Hmong growers—immigrants from the Southeast Asian nation of Laos—have established themselves in local cannabis cultivation. This has led to civil rights litigation and a polarized atmosphere in Siskiyou County. But just to the south in Trinity County, a group is working to head off tensions by helping Hmong growers negotiate the transition to licensed cultivation.

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