Ganja growers and producers say regulations to the updated Dangerous Drugs Act (2015) are too stringent and pose a major impediment to those who represent the backbone of the industry, and, by extension, its development. Vice-president of the Ganja Growers and Producers Association of Jamaica (GGPAJ) Maurice Ellis, who is also an executive member of the Jamaica Licensed Cannabis Association (JLCA), argues that the GGPAJ has been pushing for changes to some of the barriers to entering the industry. The small farmers are at a vast disadvantage as a result of the extensive nature of the rules laid down in law. “When it comes on to the small farmer he's not being left behind; he's actually being left out." (See also: Cannabis Authority taking steps to meet growing demand, says Green)

El Observatorio Europeo del Consumo y Cultivo de Cannabis, OECCC, presenta su informe 2020 sobre las licencias de cannabis en España, donde detallan "la falta de transparencia en las concesiones, unida a una burbuja especulativa internacional". A esto se suman "presiones de multinacionales a los Gobiernos para conseguir una regulación a medida de sus intereses, sin tener en cuenta las necesidades de las personas". En todo el mundo, los cultivadores tradicionales acusan a las multinacionales del cannabis de lobismo sobre los gobiernos, para intentar conseguir una regulación a su medida, que deja fuera a las personas. (Véase también: La industria del cannabis medicinal reclama al Gobierno su legalización)

Cannabis company Clever Leaves has only managed to export a few marijuana derivatives because of the tight regulations threatening to choke Colombia’s ganja industry. Colombia was one of the first countries to regulate the cultivation, commercialization and export of marijuana products. But businesses that invested in cannabis complain delays in regulatory adjustments are stemming exports and discouraging potential investors. The problem is especially serious given competition from other Latin American countries like Uruguay. Colombia has complicated regulations that demand legal cannabis growers get permissions from bodies ranging from agriculture and medical authorities to the anti-narcotics police and drug regulators. (See also: Cocaine country is embracing cannabis exports)

In recent years several African governments have changed their stance and implemented policies that legalise cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and processing, mostly for the export market. In southern Africa, Lesotho led from the front with South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Eswatini also coming to the party in an effort to capitalise on what has been positioned as a future answer to dwindling foreign currency earnings for crops such as tobacco. What is enticing for these states is the existing size and purported potential of the industry over the next few years. (See also: A Sustainable Future for Cannabis Farmers)

Policy changes over the past five years or so have dramatically reshaped the global cannabis market. Not only has there been an unprecedented boom in medical markets, but following policy shifts in several jurisdictions a growing number of countries are also preparing for legal regulation of non-medical use. Such moves look set to bring a clear range of benefits in terms of health and human rights. As this groundbreaking Report, highlights, however, there are also serious concerns about the unfolding market dynamics.

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The legalization of cannabis in Canada was supposed to be a catalyst — the most powerful one yet, investors and analysts alike thought — that would launch companies in the young but potent industry to new heights. Instead, nearly one year later, it has been a nightmare. Since recreational cannabis became legal on Oct. 17, 2018, the shares of what were then the 10 largest Canadian cannabis producers by market capitalization have been bludgeoned, yielding an average negative return of more than 57 per cent for investors. (See also: Short sellers cash in on cannabis as investors get fed-up with money-losing companies)

Two years ago, Canadian cannabis companies were racing to scoop up international assets, from swaths of fertile land in southern Africa to cultivation licences in Jamaica and everything in between. Now, with fears of a cash crunch looming over the industry, some of the same producers who spent tens of millions to build an international presence have started dialling back, putting projects on hold or divesting of their foreign operations altogether. And it’s a trend that some pot analysts expect will only intensify over the next 12 months. “Licensed producers are now in a capital constrained environment and investors want to see profitability.” (See: ‘Building a new industry from scratch is hard’: Cannabis firms brace for more spilled blood in 2020)

The one thing Bay Street’s top cannabis bankers are all in agreement about is how difficult it has become for the pot sector to raise money over the past six months, be it through debt or equity. That trend might continue for the next little while, as investors retreat to safer havens, and wait for companies to rejig their management teams, repair their balance sheets and generate profits — something that has been sorely lacking in the volatile growth industry. According to Financial Post Data, the number of cannabis deals on Bay Street plunged 33 per cent in 2019, versus a year ago. Of the eight biggest debt and equity raises in 2019, seven took place in the first half of the year. Investment firms raised a total of $3.6 billion for the cannabis sector in 2019, 45 per cent less than a year prior.

The Jamaican Government is finalising legislation to allow for marijuana producers to export. Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw says producers could potentially earn $30 million per gallon for exported marijuana oil. “I have set a target for the end of September for the regulations to be promulgated,” said Shaw. “I want us to start exporting extracted oil and buds from Jamaica to external markets.” Jamaica remains concerned about correspondent banking issues in the United States, where banks continue to block legitimate marijuana companies from conducting transactions, whether or not the product enters the US. (See also: Proposals to revolutionise medical cannabis industry put forward to Government)

In November 2021, when it was announced the German government would send a law to the Bundestag to legalize the consumption and possession of marijuana - which was approved on August 16 - a team of researchers led by Justus Haucap, professor of economics at the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, published a study that made the German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, the leader of the liberal party that had been one of the primary backers of the idea along with the Greens, very happy indeed. The Düsseldorf researchers constructed an economic scenario based on the consumption of 400 tons of cannabis per year, a scenario that would bring provide the public coffers with around €4.7 billion ($5.1 billion) per year.

Germany has awarded contracts to supply domestically-grown cannabis to two Canadian companies, as it seeks to develop its own medicinal marijuana industry and reduce reliance on imports. Drugs regulator BfArM said it would purchase 4,000 kg and 3,200 kg of cannabis over four years from German production subsidiaries of Canada’s Aurora Cannabis and Aphria, respectively. Another tender over a four-year harvest of 3200 kg has been delayed because an unidentified bidder who lost out is challenging the procedure with a regulator. The first home-grown harvest is slated for late 2020. (See also: Canopy Growth CEO expects to hit $1B in revenue for fiscal year 2020)

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Investment, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Dermon Spence has indicated that there could be headway in sight for the difficulties with banking for the local cannabis industry. Jamaica's legal cannabis industry continues to be severely hampered as banks refuse to handle ganja money, the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has acknowledged. With the strong lobby by the Jamaican Government and the changing environment in the United States for cannabis banking, there were some positive developments in sight. The country's banking industry is tied to that of the US through correspondent banking arrangements. Local banks are cautious and are “unwilling to transact business with individuals and companies operating in the legal cannabis industry”

Six months after cannabis was legalized in Canada, many of the people in search of a financial windfall appear ready to turn their attention elsewhere. “We’re very bullish on the globe, on the U.S. -- not so much on Canada,” Loren DeFalco, partner at CB1 Capital, a New York based cannabis-focused investment advisory company, said at a cannabis investors’ conference in Toronto. His sentiments were echoed, in whole or in part, by other industry insiders. Reasons for the pessimism around Canada included advertising restrictions making it difficult to build a popular brand, consumers being unsure where to find trustworthy knowledge about cannabis and the slow rollout of retail distribution in Ontario and B.C., which has left many with no easy access to a physical cannabis store.

Cam Battley believes that in the not-too-distant future, his company — one of Canada’s largest licensed producers — will be exporting a “significant chunk” of the cannabis it is growing domestically. “We have a massive market over in Europe, even in Latin America,” says Battley, chief corporate officer at Aurora Cannabis Inc. “These countries are legalizing medicinal cannabis one by one but they’re not growing as much as us. They’re going to need product, and we’ve already got the ball rolling on exporting.”  It’s a sentiment shared by other major producers that are spending tens of millions of dollars to build up international footholds with the intent of being key players in the emerging global cannabis industry. But before they can make good on those ambitions, some things will have to change.

The global story about cannabis — the most-used recreational drug in the world — is about as fuzzy as your body feels after taking your first hit. While some places, such as states in the US, have legalized the drug, it is strictly prohibited in others. Almost 200 million people smoke pot worldwide according to the 2019 World Drug Report, and that number is rising. Whether this is a good or bad thing seems somewhat hard to decipher with inconsistent global regulations on the drug, conflicting research studies and little concrete evidence of its long-term effects. But how can we decide whether to condemn or support the devil's lettuce when our own governments can't seem to figure it out?

El prosecretario de la Presidencia, Rodrigo Ferrés, y el secretario nacional de Drogas, Daniel Radío, recibieron en el Torre Ejecutiva a una delegación de la Cámara de Empresas de Cannabis Medicinal y acordaron la constitución de una comisión para analizar modificaciones al decreto 46/2015 que regula esa actividad. Ferrés (también presidente de la Junta Nacional de Drogas) dijo en conferencia de prensa que el presidente Luis Lacalle Pou "tomó la decisión de impulsar a esta industria incipiente que puede generar muchos recursos, trabajo y, por su calidad de producción, una marca país". Buscará "mejorar el marco jurídico" para "mejorar la operatividad" de la industria del cannabis medicinal y que "pueda desarrollarse en su mayor potencialidad", especialmente en materia de exportaciones.

Under the federal government’s new legal regime, for the first time in Canadian history, minors in possession of more than five grams of dried cannabis can catch criminal charges. Add that, according to the Toronto Star, people of colour are already three times as likely to be booked for cannabis crimes than white people, (despite not using it any more frequently) and, strangely, legalization could have even worse consequences for young black people. It’s evident that the stigma attached to cannabis use, which marketers are so eager to reduce and normalize, is not the same for white people as it is for black communities.

Minister of State for Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green, says the Government, through its Alternative Development Programme (ADP), is committed to assisting traditional cannabis growers to transition to the emerging legal medicinal industry. “The ADP was specifically created to offer farmers the technical and financial support they need to enter the legal industry. It is designed to guide the transition of small traditional Jamaican ganja farmers into the regulated and licensed cannabis industry,” he noted. “The ultimate goal is to create an environment where farmers can operate legally and where Jamaica can be positioned as a world leader in the global cannabis sector,” he added.

With the issuance of a wide-ranging ministry report on the medical cannabis industry, Israel is for the first time making clear its intention to back the burgeoning sector, according to a ministry official. The white paper on Israel’s Medical Cannabis Innovation, published earlier this month, maps out the industry’s ecosystem — the key players, leading startups, breakthrough research at academic institutions, government regulations, and opportunities that await investors should they decide to take the plunge. The global medical cannabis industry is expected to grow from $13.4 billion in 2018 to $44 billion by 2024, according to the IMARC Group.

The Ganja Growers and Producers Association (GGPAJ) says despite the success of several Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) operators, Jamaica's regulated cannabis industry has failed to live up to its potential. In a statement the GGPAJ said while the 2015 legislation was progressive, the regulations are unworkable, restrictive and draconian. It said that the industry was not designed with a ground-up approach and blamed both of the major political parties for the state of affairs. It accepted culpability too, saying it has so far failed to adequately lobby on behalf of the local sector, but claimed it can still be rescued as an inclusionary income generating enterprise for thousands of Jamaicans with a new approach. (See also: Cannabis agency defends its stewardship on ganja)