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New Zealand Approves Sale of Domestic Cannabis Products
The island nation of New Zealand has relied on exports to treat medical cannabis patients so far. Allowing the dispensation of domestically cultivated cannabis will help the nascent industry grow and lower overall costs. Last week, New Zealand officials approved the beginning of the domestically sourced medical cannabis market. The...
France reenters medical marijuana industry after more than a half-century hiatus – a cannabis historian explains
David A. Guba, Jr., Bard Early College Baltimore Early in 2022, the French legislature greenlighted the cultivation of cannabis inside French territory to supply the nation’s ongoing pilot program in medical marijuana. The clinical trials were launched in March 2021 with cannabis supplied from abroad and have been overseen by the...
New Forecast: Global Cannabis Market to Hit $57 Billion by 2026
A new report from BDSA, an international cannabis industry data company, was published this week which provided new projections and estimates for the emerging global cannabis industry. “The report projects annual global cannabis sales to grow from $30 billion in 2021 to $57 billion in 2026, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)...
Estonia Now Allowing Farmers to Grow Hemp With Higher THC
A regulatory amendment is now being drawn up by the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs to allow hemp with higher THC limits to be cultivated in the country. In a major advance for the European hemp industry, Estonian regulators are planning to allow hemp farmers to grow crops with a THC level higher than the current 0.2%. By 2023,...
Hong Kong Taking First Steps to Crack Down on CBD
Earlier this summer government officials in Hong Kong announced that they are pursuing a plan to prohibit CBD entirely. The announcement came after it was determined that as many as one-third of CBD products in Hong Kong contain trace amounts of THC. Join Our Mailing List Hong Kong is home to a number of CBD companies...
The International War on the Rights of Medical Cannabis Users
In the United States, the Biden Administration is in favor of banning gun ownership for medical users. In Germany, there is an ongoing debate about driving limits. Such policies rely on outdated criteria to penalize cannabis users' rights. The push to fully and federally legalize cannabis in places like the U.S. and Germany right now...
Medical Cannabis Legalized in Switzerland, With Exports
The Swiss government has joined other European countries in fully legalizing medical cannabis for domestic use, and export. Switzerland is moving forward on its own path to full legalization. With a federal recreational trial pending, the country has now fully and formally legalized medical cannabis use. This has been achieved by...
First-of-its-Kind Multilateral EU Policy Meeting on Cannabis Held in Luxembourg
The first of many high-level meetings on the legalization of cannabis was held in Luxembourg between representatives from Germany, Luxembourg, and Malta. An unprecedented meeting occurred on Friday, July 15. Ministers from Germany, Luxembourg, and Malta met for the first time to kick off a series of meetings between the countries on...
Boris Johnson's Out, Is British Cannabis Reform on Its Way?
The controversial politician was forced to announce his resignation last week. How will this affect the pace of British cannabis reform? Through the lens of history, the passage of Boris Johnson through the country’s top political job may become forever associated, for good or for bad, with Brexit. How that plays out when it comes...
The Bleeding Edge of International Cannabis Reform Is Being Forged by Women
Women are on the front lines of the war to legalize cannabis – and paying a heavy price. There are two high-profile cannabis cases right now that are making global headlines. Both of them involve women who have been caught with cannabis – and face years if not decades in prison. In Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner has just...
Flower Is North America's Most Popular Cannabis Product
For many decades cannabis essentially came in only two forms – cannabis flower and cannabis hashish. If you were lucky then you perhaps had a friend or family member that could make topicals and/or edibles at home. These days, if you live in North America where legal cannabis products are bought and sold, then you know firsthand...
Switzerland Consumes a Whopping 56 Tons of Cannabis Annually
The European continent is undergoing a significant shift when it comes to cannabis policy, and in many ways, Switzerland is at the forefront of it. Low-THC cannabis products (less than 1%) have been legally bought and sold nationwide in Switzerland since 2017. Switzerland is also one of a handful of countries in Europe that is home...
Is Brittney Griner a Cannabis-Related Political Prisoner?
Two-time Gold Medallist Brittney Griner faces up to 10 years in prison for possession of less than 1 gram of cannabis. Critics are crying foul – calling this a trumped-up political case to swap prisoners. The cold war between the U.S. and Russia may be hotter than it has been in decades over the Ukraine war. However, a...
Germany's Burkhard Blienert Keynotes ICBC in Berlin
Germany is in the midst of the most robust and complex cannabis policy and industry endeavor in the history of humankind. Policymakers and industry regulators in Germany have worked diligently since the 2021 election to craft the laws, rules, and regulations that will eventually govern a national adult-use cannabis industry. Given...
PTSD and War Drive Ukraine To Medical Cannabis
Days ago Ukraine’s cabinet approved a draft medical cannabis bill, sending it to Parliament for consideration. Compared to other countries in the region, Ukraine has been very slow to reform its medical cannabis policies. “The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine supported the bill that will regulate the circulation of cannabis plants...
What Are the Top 10 Cannabis Economies in Europe?
Things are starting to change in a hurry on the cannabis front across the EU. Here is a brief overview of the leading cannabis countries across the region as it experiences a European “summer of cannabis love." Things are definitely moving in Europe on the cannabis front this summer. Countries are beginning to see a post-Covid wave...
Going Global With the International Cannabis Business Conference
The legal cannabis industry is now a global powerhouse by many measures, and it's growing every year. It is estimated that over $31 billion in legal cannabis was sold in 2021 alone, and the rate of growth expected for the emerging global cannabis industry is off the charts. No other global industry has as bright of a future as the...
You Will Love This Cannabis Legalization News From Germany
Germany’s Health Ministry announced that it will start holding hearings to discuss various aspects of legalizing cannabis sales for adult-use nationwide. It’s a huge announcement and moves Germany one step closer to inevitably launching legal adult-use sales nationwide. As of right now, only one country, Canada,...
New Law Releases Thailand's Cannabis Criminals and Allows Home Grow
Thailand is implementing a very unique and bold approach to cannabis policy. On June 9th a new law goes into effect that will, among other things, legalize home cultivation for every household in the nation. Thailand will launch a registration program in which households can sign up to cultivate low-THC cannabis and make use of...
Brazilian Medical Cannabis Consumption Increases 110% in One Year
Brazil is moving rapidly into the global cannabis arena. Currently, the country imports 18 cannabinoid drugs. Last year 40,191 people filed permits to individually import cannabinoids for personal, medical use. The year before, only 19,150 applications were filed. And between 2015 and 2021, a total of 75,203 applications were...
Japan Considers Very Limited Medical Cannabis Reform
Japan’s Health Ministry is considering reforming the nation’s cannabis laws to provide for the legal use of medical cannabis. A panel comprised of Japan Health Ministry experts met last week to continue discussions regarding revisions to Japan’s 1948 Cannabis Control Law. It’s the latest step in what will likely be a...
Top 20 German Cannabis Firms to Watch in 2022
Make no mistake – the German cannabis industry is going to morph dramatically over the next 24 months. Recreational legalization changes everything! However, there is likely to be a direct connection between early movers in the medical and recreational space – just because of certification infrastructure and the need to track and...
Israel Can Now Ship Medical Cannabis Seeds to the U.S.
In a historic first, medical cannabis seeds were legally exported this week from Israel to the United States according to Israel’s Agriculture Ministry. Last August Israel’s government reformed cannabis export laws to permit the legal export of medical cannabis seeds, with this week’s shipment to the United States serving as...
London's Mayor Teeters on the Edge of Cannabis Legalization
Sadiq Khan appointed a former member of Tony Blair’s cabinet and current Labour shadow cabinet member to examine cannabis decriminalization. Sadiq Khan has been on a cannabis decriminalization kick for the past couple of years. He announced in April 2021 that he wanted to set up a commission to examine the impact of cannabis...
Why Europe Needs To Standardize Its Cannabis Regulations
Cannabis reform continues to march across the European continent and it’s creating tremendous opportunities in the legal cannabis industry. No other large industry on the planet is growing at the rate of the emerging cannabis space, and there’s no end in sight — especially on the European continent. Europe’s legal...
Thailand Giving Away One Million Free Cannabis Plants
Thailand recently legalized growing cannabis at home. The Thai government is celebrating by giving away one million free cannabis plants to households across the country. CNN reported the giveaway was announced on Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnivirakul's Facebook page earlier this month. He would like cannabis plants to be grown...
55% Of Australians Want To Regulate Cannabis Like Alcohol
Back in 2012, I was part of a network of activists pushing for legal cannabis at the state level here in the United States. We were able to get adult-use cannabis legalization on the ballot in three states that year – Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Cannabis ≠ Tomatoes The activists in Colorado had the best political...
Sardinia Cleaning Polluted Land With Hemp Crops
Italy’s second-largest island has passed a measure to create a regulated hemp market to help clean up the environment. A new law designed to increase phytoremediation of polluted land may well put hemp production on steroids on Italy’s second-largest island – Sardinia. The measure, which passed by unanimous vote on the island,...
European Cannabis Week Coming to Germany in July 2022
The European continent is the most exciting place for cannabis industry pursuits and policy reform efforts right now, and Germany is at the heart of it. Having served as the medical cannabis industry capital of Europe in recent years, Germany is trending towards full adult-use legalization and the launch of legal adult-use cannabis...
Why Isn't Home Growing Popular With European Lawmakers?
Italy is leading the way with preserving the specific right of home grow in Europe, but this is still a thorny political issue just about everywhere on the continent. Italy is not letting up on the cannabis home grow conversation. Indeed, after the Constitutional Court refused to allow a cannabis referendum, the issue has...