Global Ganja Report

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Dec. 18 to accelerate the reclassification of marijuana, a move that would ease decades-old restrictions that have classified the drug alongside heroin as having no accepted medical value.

The US Controlled Substances Act ranks drugs along a five-tier spectrum based on their potential for abuse and recognized medical value. Schedule I drugs are those with a high likelihood of abuse, no accepted medical use, and considerable health risks even when administered under medical supervision. Since 1970, marijuana has been listed alongside heroin as a Schedule I drug. Schedule V drugs are those with accepted medical uses and a relatively low likelihood of abuse.

The US Supreme Court announced Dec. 15 that it will not hear a case challenging the federal illegality of marijuana. The case, Canna Provisions v. Bondi, was brought by four Massachusetts commercial cannabis growers. The businesses alleged that the Controlled Substances Act exceeds the powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause and violates the right to due process under the Fifth Amendment.

Indonesia repatriated two Dutch nationals, one of whom had been on death row, to the Netherlands on Dec. 8, following a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries. Both were convicted of smuggling illegal substances and had been serving lengthy sentences under the Indonesian drug laws before their repatriation.

Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican singer who helped transform the local genres of ska and rocksteady into the international sensation of reggae, died Nov. 24 at the age of 81. Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness called him "a true cultural giant whose music carried the heart of our nation to the world."

It was federal subsidies for healthcare that were center-stage in the government shutdown and the Capitol Hill deal that finally ended it. But the fight over the heretofore ambiguous legal status of hemp-derived THC was also at issue in the end—and this could represent a serious blow to America’s farmers.

In response to the growing tensions between the Trump White House and Colombia, the South American nation's President Gustavo Petro called for replacing the policy of marijuana prohibition with a regulatory framework allowing for adult use and international export of cannabis, like "any good."

The Supreme Court announced Oct. 20 that it will consider whether a federal law prohibiting gun possession by unlawful drug users violates the Second Amendment, marking the latest firearms dispute to reach the high court following its landmark 2022 ruling that significantly expanded gun rights.

State and local law enforcement made nearly 190,000 marijuana possession-related arrests in 2024—comprising more than 22% of all drug arrests nationwide, according to data compiled by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and posted on its Crime Data Explorer website. According to the database, police made at least 204,036 arrests for marijuana-related violations last year.