Global Ganja Report

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?

New York's Gov. Cuomo is broaching a cannabis common market for the tri-state area, joining with New Jersey and Connecticut to harmonize regulations and even cooperate in joint purchasing. But the move is being considered partly as a reaction to the vaping scare, and official statements reveal some dangerous confusion as to the distinction between vaping cannabis extracts and smoking actual cannabis.

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?

With the end of the legislative session in Albany closing in, odds for legalizing cannabis in New York state this year are fast diminishing. Now a new bill has been introduced, to reconcile rival versions pushed by the Assembly and Gov. Cuomo. It has won support from advocates—but, with the clock ticking, Cuomo equivocates on whether he will support it.

In a win both for cannabis freedom and racial justice, Vermont's top court ruled in favor of a motorist whose car was searched on the ostensible basis that a state trooper smelled pot—and the probable basis that he is African American.

The first of July opened a new chapter for legal cannabis in two New England states—at least in theory. Vermont's adult use law officially took effect, while Massachusetts was slated to see the first legal adult-use sales. But the Vermont law doesn't allow for commercial sales, and legal sales in Massachusetts remain delayed.

A deadly five-car pile-up on a Bay Area freeway brings into sharp focus the questions around cannabis use and road safety. Media exploitation of such carnage as propaganda against legalization, however, is missing some critical points.

Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA) on Feb. 27 announced the introduction of legislation aimed at decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level. The ambitiously named "Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017" would actually take cannabis off the federal controlled substances list—leaving regulation up to the states, and essentually giving the herb the same status as alcohol and tobacco. The bill revives an effort frst launched in the Senate by Bernie Sanders in 2015.