A basic legislation proposal for introducing a regulated cannabis market in Czechia should be finished by the end of March, the country’s National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil said after a meeting of experts. The proposal should lay the foundations for the rules of handing licenses to producers, distributors and sellers, as well as to the formation of so-called cannabis clubs and the cultivation of cannabis. The idea is to "create three principles of regulation". This should cover licensing, cannabis clubs and self-growing. The so-called substantive plan should be in place by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The proposal should then be discussed by coalition politicians and the government. Work would then continue on drafting specific paragraphs.

British American Tobacco said it will buy a nearly 20% stake in Canada-based cannabis producer Organigram for about 126 million pounds ($175.8 million) as it seeks to expand beyond its main tobacco business. Big tobacco and liquor companies in North America have already made large investments in the nascent industry, with cannabis seen as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. With top Democratic lawmakers in the United States also promising to decriminalise marijuana use, analysts and experts predict record investment in the industry this year. The deal will give BAT access to R&D technologies, product innovation and cannabis expertise, it said in a statement, with an initial focus on natural remedy cannabidiol (CBD).

Canopy Growth Corp. led another mass selloff in the Canadian cannabis space after an earnings miss had investors once again looking for a bottom in the battered sector. Both retail and institutional investors have called the bottom on the cannabis industry multiple times through an eight-month-long bear market that has seen the North American Marijuana Index shed almost 60 per cent of its value. Finding a bottom in cannabis stocks has proven to be challenging, given the constant cycle of bad news, including a lack of profitability, significant writedowns and dwindling cash reserves and withdrawn guidance. (See also: Sliding pot prices are leaving cannabis producers vulnerable to writedowns | Canopy Growth, Aurora post steep losses, revenue declines as legal cannabis sector falters)

The Ganja Growers Producers Association Jamaica (GGPAJ) says it is strongly opposed to the Government's embrace of hemp cultivation and has made a number of demands designed to protect the local cannabis industry from what they see as a threat. The GGPAJ's position is outlined in a letter sent to Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) CEO Lincoln Allen as a battle appears to be brewing between the association and its stakeholder groupings on one hand, and “some big corporate interests on the other hand”, regarding the large-scale cultivation of hemp in Jamaica. The association is asking that indisputable scientific evidence be provided about the non-threat or threat to the local ganja industry. (See also: Ganja industry could go up in smoke | Gov't says no plan for industrial hemp industry)

The British Columbia government announced that they will allow “small-scale producers”, including nurseries, the option of delivering cannabis directly to licensed retailers, as well as farm-gate sales, in the coming years. The provincial government says the decision came from recommendations from long-time cannabis growers, Indigenous leaders and other stakeholders, and is one more step towards allowing for so-called “farm-gate” sales, which the Province also says it continues to work towards. The “targeted launch” for both programs is 2022. How they are defining “small scale” producers is unknown. Federal regulations require that licence holders selling into a provincial retail system must have a processing licence, as well as product sales licences.

Things haven’t been this good in the illicit cannabis industry in British Columbia in many years. Factors such as increased wholesale prices on the black market, a low level of enforcement, and too many challenges for legal players from all levels of government are helping to encourage people to not transition into the legal market. As BC works to create a thriving legal cannabis industry alongside what is arguably one of the most robust illicit cannabis industries on the planet, the appeal of staying in the black market is strong. Even as many former black market growers and retailers do successfully make the transition to the legal industry, many others continue operating as they have for years. (See also: StatsCan: Legal pot spending beat black market for first time in Q2)

Beijing's leading drug enforcement body has blamed the legalization of marijuana in Canada and parts of the United States for a spike in the amount of drugs smuggled into the country, describing it as a "new threat to China." Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission, said that the number of cannabis users in China had grown by more than 25% in 2018, rising to about 24,000 people. "In two years, we have found increasing cannabis trafficked from North America to China," he said, though he conceded there were "few cannabis abusers in China" relative to the total population. Anyone found with more than 50 grams of a controlled substance can face the death penalty in China. (See also: China nominates Hong Kong occupy-era police chief for UN post)

Elio Di Rupo, leader of the French speaking socialist party, reiterated his party’s plan to legalise cannabis in Belgium in order to prevent young people being forced to aquire it in a criminal milieu controled by ‘mafia-like’ elements. "We are going to resubmit a legislation to legalize cannabis and we will do everything to get the government to agree,” Di Rupo said in an interview to La Libre. Meanwhile however the Christian democrats have rallied against the plans. (See also: Belgium legislates in favour of medicinal cannabis | Legalising cannabis could generate up to 144 million euros for Belgium)

For some time now patients in Belgium have been able to use cannabis on medical grounds.  So far the problem has been that suitable cannabis has been hard to get hold of as cannabis cultivation was banned in Belgium. This ban is now being lifted for cannabis for medicinal purposes but cultivation will have to meet strict norms. "A newly established Cannabis Office will organise the cultivation of all cannabis" lawmaker Nele Lijnen (Flemish liberal), who took the initiative for the law said. "It will issue licences.  The office will also purchase the cannabis production and sell it on to chemists and hospitals." Medicinal cannabis will only be available on doctor's prescription.

Los berlineses tendrán a su disposición la compra de marihuana y hachís para fumarla tranquilamente en un bar. Alemania estrena coffee shops. Así lo han decidido los gobernantes de uno de los distritos de la capital, el de Friedrichshein-Kreuzberg, para acabar con el negocio clandestino y la criminalidad que rodea el consumo ilegal. La iniciativa de la alcaldesa del distrito, Monika Herrmann de Los Verdes, se aprobó por unanimidad.

Councillors in Berlin have voted to launch the country's first cannabis cafe in their district. A large majority in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg council have backed the move as part of efforts to curb local drug dealing, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily reports. District Mayor Monika Herrmann says the "prohibition policy" of the past few decades has failed: "We now have to think about offbeat solutions." (See also: Berlin borough pushing for Germany’s first cannabis coffee-shop | Kreuzberg stimmt für Coffeeshop)

A coalition of political parties in the German capital agreed to push for partial decriminalization of cannabis. The initial effects will be limited. Berlin's Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left Party agreed to seek a "scientifically monitored pilot project for the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults." The initiative could be a step toward getting marijuana decriminalized. In the past attempts by city districts to legalize pot foundered on the Federal Intoxicants Law, which bans cannabis. The city, which is also one of Germany's 16 federal states, has better chances for success. (See also: Neuer Senat will Cannabis aus Apotheken - nicht aus Coffee-Shops)

Berlin's public transport company (BVG) has come up with a way for passengers in the German capital to unwind from the stress of Christmas and COVID. BVG is offering customers the chance to buy day tickets impregnated with hemp oil, which it promises will have a "calming effect" when they are eaten. The tickets, which cost € 8.80 ($ 9.95) each, are made from edible paper and are sprinkled with "no more than three drops" of hemp oil. BVG says the oil was obtained from the seed of the cannabis plant. Unlike the flowers, this contains none of the intoxicating substances such as THC. As a result, the operator says, the oil on the tickets — which are valid for 24 hours — is "completely harmless to health" and "completely legal."

The manager of Berlin’s notorious Görlitzer Park has come under fire after creating zones for drug dealers to conduct their business. Amid harsh political criticism, the dealers say they have few other options. Berlin government authorities have strongly criticized the plan as an ‘open invitation to break the law’. Authorities have long considered drug dealing in Berlin’s Görlitzer Park to be a problem. Police raids are frequent but efforts to curb the sale of illicit substances have largely failed. Cengiz Demirci, the newly appointed park manager’s ‘solution’ to the issue has drawn criticism from the Berlin government, who argue that the move “supports organized drug trafficking”. (See also: Berlin park designates 'pink zone' areas for drug dealers | Neue Regel im Görlitzer Park: Platzanweiser für Dealer)

A new marijuana policy could make it legal for individuals to posses up to 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of the drug in the German capital. The regulation would make Berlin among the most cannabis-friendly in Europe. German federal law prohibits the possession of marijuana beyond a "small amount" but leaves it up to the states to determine exactly what that amount should be. Most states, including Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, define a "small amount" as 6 grams.

Die rot-rot-grüne Koalition will ein Modellprojekt zur kontrollierten Abgabe von Cannabis auf den Weg bringen. Ein entsprechender Antrag solle im September an das zuständige Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM) gehen, sagte Catherina Pieroth, Sprecherin für Gesundheits- und Drogenpolitik der Grünen-Fraktion im Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus. Das Projekt solle zwei Jahre laufen und wissenschaftlich begleitet werden. Damit werde eine Vereinbarung aus dem Koalitionsvertrag umgesetzt, heißt es weiter. Geplant ist, dass eine noch nicht näher benannte Zahl von Teilnehmern legal Cannabisprodukte erwerben kann. Sie müssen sich im Vorfeld melden, Angaben über ihren Konsum und ihr Konsumverhalten machen. Zwei bis drei Abgabestellen solle es geben.

Kreuzberg and Berlin in general are going through an extremely messy fight over how best to control the weed trade. It’s a fight where police raids and dealer violence are turning parts of the area upside down, without delivering much in the way of results. In an attempt to supplant the dealers, the Green-controlled local borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg wants to set up a weed-selling coffee shop by the park. But the city as a whole remains against the idea.

The ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) has reacted angrily after the Senate rejected a controversial law to legalise cannabis, which will now be sent back to the House of Assembly in the British Overseas Territory. The Cannabis Licensing Act, setting out a regulatory framework for growing, selling and using the drug, was passed by MPs two weeks ago. But in the Upper House, senators opposed the legislation, six votes to five, handing a major defeat to the PLP five months after it was re-elected with a huge 24-seat majority. All three independent senators – who are chosen by the governor – and three Opposition One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) senators voted the Bill down; the five government senators voted in favour. (See also: Government to push on with cannabis law despite Senate rejection)

The new Progressive Labour Party (PLP) government says it will introduce legislation to decriminalise cannabis possession if the amount is under seven grams, Governor John Rankin announced. “The criminalisation of our citizens for minor, non-violent possession of cannabis is an open sore on our society, damaging the lives of hundreds of Bermudians, young and old,” Rankin, said as he delivered the traditional throne speech at the start of the new parliament. “This is also an issue of fairness as black people in our society are far more likely to be arrested, charged and convicted for cannabis possession than white people.” (See also: An Analysis of Cannabis Reform in Bermuda)

A refined draft bill to lay the legal groundwork for a regulated adult-use cannabis regime in Bermuda will soon be presented to the island’s legislature. That puts the British island territory among a small group of countries where the establishment of a regulated industry for recreational marijuana is under active consideration. Bermuda recently concluded month-long public consultations over the proposed law and policy document outlining how a regulated cannabis market would look on the island. The proposal is a major pivot from the government’s previous plan to establish a medical industry. That plan was scrapped after it was concluded it “did not go far enough to meet public expectation,” the attorney-general said. (See also: New cannabis law ‘will help overcome stigma’)