Mike Babins and Maria Petrucci cleared grey-market cannabis from the shelves of their dispensary last year on the eve of federal legalization, uncertain what the new market would bring. A year later, sales of recreational pot have been brisk and longtime customers have remained loyal following the Evergreen Cannabis Store’s months-long transition from a “grey market” municipal licence to a provincial licence under the new system. “I’m so happy to see how many of those people come back and say, ‘Wow, this weed is so much better.’” Black-market cannabis still accounts for about two-thirds of the cannabis bought in Canada, so B.C.’s 85 licensed private retailers and seven government stores may be competing more with illicit operators than with each other.

Luxembourg steps up preparations for new legislation to fully legalise recreational cannabis. "After decades of repressive policies, we have acknowledged that this policy does not work, that it did not meet expectations. So it's time to change mindsets, change our concepts and try something else," said Health Minister Étienne Schneider, who is also vice prime minister. Luxembourg wouldn't become a cannabis tourism hotspot, mainly because non-residents wouldn't be allowed to buy it. "It is not about meddling in [other EU countries'] national policies, but simply of discussing the observations we made in Luxembourg," Schneider said. "I hope that this Luxembourg initiative will also have a positive impact on the other countries of the European Union."

Minister of Justice Sam Tanson of Luxembourg defended the government's decision to regulate recreational cannabis consumption, pointing out that this was already included in the governing coalition's programme before the last national elections in 2018. The initial plan of the coalition between the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), and the Green Party (déi Gréng) was to legalise cannabis. However, Tanson explained that because the government does not want to allow cannabis consumption in public spaces, they now prefer to talk about "regulation" rather than "legalisation." Tanson stressed that the long-term goal of the government remains the creation of state-approved selling points for cannabis. 

After New Zealand’s referendum to legalise cannabis failed, social service agencies are seeking a new path to decriminalisation of drug use, but obstacles are plenty. A coalition of social service, advocacy and health organisations released an open letter calling on prime minister Jacinda Ardern to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 “to ensure drug use is treated as a health and social issue”. Signatories include the New Zealand Medical Association, Public Health Association, Auckland and Wellington City Missions, Mental Health Foundation, and the Māori Law Society, along with 20 others. “Our laws prevent people accessing help when they need it, and they leave thousands every year with a conviction that impacts livelihoods, mental health, relationships, travel, housing and education,” the letter says.

British Columbia used to supply half of Canada’s marijuana, export it to the United States by the hockey bag, and bring home a bong-full of blue ribbons for its exotic “B.C. bud” strains from international Cannabis Cup competitions in Amsterdam. Premier John Horgan argues that this history is the main reason why legal marijuana has fizzled so far in B.C., a year into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bold legalization experiment. Horgan’s government is moving to take over the “economic development” part of legal cannabis from Ottawa, because its ponderous Health Canada licence system for growers is working great for mass-market producers in Ontario and Quebec. And it’s killing B.C. bud. (See also: British Columbia chamber lobbies province over craft cannabis cultivation)

A village in Lebanon, where cannabis grows everywhere, has long counted on hashish for income. But the country’s economic crisis has farmers reconsidering the crop. The Lebanese pound has lost 80 percent of its value against the United States dollar since last fall, and farmers have taken the hit. The costs of imported fuel and fertilizer needed to grow the crop have soared, while the Lebanese pounds that growers earn by selling their hash are worth less and less. Lebanon’s financial crisis has also undermined the drug’s domestic market, and the war in Syria has snarled smuggling routes, making it harder for middlemen to reach foreign markets.

The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, which aims to cater for those who use marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, has been met with fierce opposition in Parliament. The cannabis plant in South Africa was decriminalised by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in September 2018 and gave Parliament 24 months to amend the relevant laws. Almost five years later, Parliament is now looking to finalise the bill, which was tabled in 2020. Although it is not a criminal offence for an adult citizen to use, possess or grow cannabis for personal consumption at home, the buying and selling of marijuana remains illegal. The public was invited to provide comments on the proposed amendments to the bill.

Con relativa frecuencia, durante un paseo se nota la llegada del aroma inconfundible que desprenden las plantas de marihuana y eso ocurre tanto en zonas rurales como urbanas. Esa anécdota da la medida de hasta que punto el cultivo de esta planta ha arraigado en España, plataforma exportadora a toda Europa. Su producción se da en diferentes escalas; desde la de aquel que tiene una maceta para un supuesto autoconsumo, hasta la de la banda más profesionalizada y peligrosa. La maría reina ahora mismo por encima de la mayoría de drogas. Existen bandas extranjeras que optan por tener en España sus propias plantaciones con las que satisfacer la demanda de sus clientes en el país de origen.

For centuries, the mountains of the Rif have been a centre of cannabis farming. Morocco is to this day the biggest producer of cannabis resin in the world, according to the United Nations. In July 2021 in an effort to improve the economy of one of the poorest regions, the kingdom decided to officially approve a bill legalising the production of cannabis for industrial, medicinal and cosmetic uses in the Rif. Up to now, the local farmers who have made the choice to grow cannabis legally are still few. By May, only about 400 of them had received authorization to begin. According to Khalid Mouna, a Moroccan anthropologist, with a focus on the Rif and kif, the small-scale local farmers might become the ones who will be left behind by the new law.

Former Australian Federal Police boss Mick Palmer has said the prohibition of cannabis use “is not just failing, it is causing real harm” as he described his journey from a hard-nosed policeman to a vocal advocate for cannabis law reform. He said the widespread use of cannabis indicated fear of arrest was not working as a deterrent. In 2019, 37 per cent of Australians said they had used cannabis at least once. However, for those unfortunate enough to be arrested for use and possession of cannabis, Palmer said, the outcome could be a “severe, whole-of-life” punishment, with convictions having the ability to wreck people’s careers. (See also: A new leaf? Push for Victoria to lead the way on cannabis legalisation)

The Eastern Cape government is calling for the protection of the local cannabis industry in South Africa. Dohne Agricultural Development Institute research director Dr Mfundo Maqubela said in a virtual presentation to Parliament’s Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee that there could be no cannabis industry if the local market is not developed. Last November, the Eastern Cape government embarked on a roadshow to gauge public sentiment about the draft bill. The bill in its present form has been accused of discriminating against people who did not have access to private spaces in which to grow their own cannabis, and it failed to make provisions on how growers could access seeds for cultivation. (See also: The poor must be included in SA’s cannabis industry boom, says Cosatu)

France is known for having some of the strictest laws regarding marijuana in Europe – while simultaneously maintaining one of the highest rates of cannabis usage in the EU. A group of French senators – from the Socialist, Green and centre-right Les Républicains parties – are trying to change those laws, and call for marijuana to be legalised in France. The group of 31 co-signed a statement published in French newspaper, Le Monde, on August 10th. In the statement, the senators promised to launch a ‘consultation process’ to submit a bill to legalise marijuana in the coming months. Nearly one in two French people (45 percent) said they were in favour of legalisation, according to a survey by the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).

In Nhlangano, in the south of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), the illegal farming of the mountainous kingdom’s famous “Swazi gold” is a risk many grandmothers are ready to take. In what is known locally as the “gardens of Eden”, a generation of grandparents are growing cannabis, many of them sole carers for some of the many children orphaned by the HIV/Aids epidemic that gripped southern Africa. Currently, there is only one legal Eswatini cannabis grower: the US-based Profile Solutions Inc has a licence to grow and process medical cannabis and hemp for a minimum of 10 years. But, despite the risks, the Swazi gold grandmothers do not want to join the legal market: “Legalising weed might be a threat to our market, as prices might drop. We want the current situation to remain in place.”

In 2018 Canada became the second country, after Uruguay, to legalise recreational use. By catching the green wave, Canopy Growth’s co-chief executive, Bruce Linton, has built, in under six years, a company valued by the stock market at £11.5bn, positioned to be the number one global player. Though Canopy has yet to make a profit, revenues reached C$225m last year. More than half comes from its recreational cannabis brand Tweed, even though legalisation only took hold halfway through the year. But breaking America is the biggest prize in the near future. Canopy recently signed a C$4.5bn deal giving it an option to buy the US cannabis firm Acreage, putting it in pole position to grab a slice of the US if it opens up further.

Cannabis companies are positioning themselves for the greater likelihood that federal cannabis restrictions will be loosened significantly. Sales are already booming. Cannabis sales hit $20 billion last year — a 50 percent jump over 2019. Legalization continues to spread across the country, with more than one-third of Americans now living in states where marijuana is fully legal. “There's no stopping the industry now,” said Andrew Kline, who recently joined the law firm Perkins Coie after serving as public policy director for the National Cannabis Industry Association. “The bigger players are going to be interested in acquiring smaller companies and becoming multi-state operators or expanding their footprint in different states.”

The pungent aroma of cannabis and the sound of dub music fill the air at a hacienda as about 150 smokers, users, growers, activists and business people gather for Mexico’s second annual Toquefest. In anticipation of the long-delayed legalisation of cannabis – after a number of supreme court decisions decreed the right to cultivate and deemed unconstitutional the ban on recreational use – the war on weed in Mexico is winding down and the festival is just one of 20 marijuana-related events being held across the country. Bills have been passed in both legislative chambers over the past two years but they have not agreed on the same version.

The cannabis legalisation referendum was watched closely by progressive politicians and campaigners in Australia. For the first time, the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey showed that more Australians now support the legalisation of cannabis (41 per cent) than oppose it (37 per cent). Professor at the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University Nicole Lee said the survey results were ‘significant’. “At the moment the states and territories are responsible for drug policies. Depending on what state you’re in there are different consequences for using it.” The Australian Capital Territory became the first state or territory in Australia to legalise cannabis a year ago, and police data shows there has not been any meaningful increase in cannabis-related arrests since.

Despite knowing that they could be penalised under provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, for growing cannabis, villagers came out in the open to put conditions that they would stop cultivating the illicit crop if all Government welfare programmes were implemented in their locality. About 10,000 residents of 35 villages of Ralegada gram panchayats assembled at Dhuliput to put forth their 19-point demand. “We are not getting actual price for our agricultural produce. Most of the villagers of Ralegada and other neighbouring gram panchayats depend on cannabis cultivation. The money earned from cannabis cultivation helps us send our wards to distant places for education.” (See also: Ganja confiscation leads to overcrowding in Odisha jails | From Odisha to Rajasthan, cannabis trade on a new high)

Organizaciones que fomentan la despenalización de la mariguana rechazaron el dictamen que se discute en el Senado, pues dijeron está hecho “a modo”. Lamentaron que sus demandas no fueron consideradas por los legisladores y mucho menos los dejaron hacer uso de la máxima tribuna para dar a conocer sus demandas en materia de regulación de la hierba. Las organizaciones agrupadas en el Movimiento Cannábico Mexicano, además manifestaron que las propuestas del anteproyecto de dictamen se basan en el miedo, prejuicios y las necesidades de regular el “uso problemático” en vez de reconocer la posibilidad de un “uso responsable” por parte de los adultos. (Véase también: Organizaciones piden cambios al predictamen del Senado para regular la marihuana)

Une large majorité des quelque 250.000 personnes qui ont participé à une consultation citoyenne sur le cannabis dit "récréatif" plébiscitent la légalisation de cette drogue dont l'usage est interdit en France, a-t-on appris de sources parlementaires. Quelque 80,8% des répondants se disent d'accord avec une autorisation de la consommation et de la production dans un cadre régi par la loi, selon les résultats de cette consultation lancée mi-janvier par une mission d'information parlementaire. 13,8% se déclarent favorables à une dépénalisation. A l'inverse, 4,6% sont pour un renforcement des sanctions et seulement 0,8% pour le maintien du cadre légal en vigueur. (Lire aussi: Interrogés lors d’une consultation citoyenne, les Français se disent partisans d’une légalisation du cannabis récréatif)