Tobacco firm Imperial Brands is investing in UK biotech company Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCT). The move comes as campaigning to allow marijuana products for medicinal purposes gathers pace. A company subsidiary, Imperial Brands Ventures, is taking a stake in the UK firm, but its size is unknown. Tobacco companies are trying to diversify away from their core product. Imperial's website bears the motto: "From tobacco to something better." Imperial now sees itself as "a dynamic fast-moving consumer goods company borne out of a strong tobacco heritage".

Imperial Brands Plc gained the services of a leader in the field of medicinal cannabis as the British tobacco manufacturer seeks to further its push beyond cigarettes. Simon Langelier, a 30-year veteran of Philip Morris International Inc., joined the board as a non-executive director. Langelier is chairman of PharmaCielo Ltd., a supplier of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts. He joined the Canadian-based company in 2015 after a career at Philip Morris that included heading up the next-generation products unit from 2007 to 2010. Imperial stands to benefit from his experience in tobacco and “wider consumer adjacencies,” Chairman Mark Williamson said. (See also: Canadian company PharmaCielo Ltd could be the first to grow legal pot in Colombia)

Acabada la legislatura con un Gobierno de coalición progresista, en el ámbito de la regulación del cannabis todo sigue igual que antes de que echara a andar en 2020. No se ha aprobado ni una sola norma para avanzar en el uso de esta planta, ni siquiera el medicinal que un buen número de países de la UE y de otras partes del mundo han legalizado en los últimos años. La formación de un Gobierno con PSOE y Unidas Podemos hizo augurar muchas expectativas en torno a un tema que cuenta con un amplio respaldo social. Según la encuesta del Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) de abril de 2021, la mitad de la población española -el 49,7%- apoya legalizar la venta de marihuana en determinados establecimientos y condiciones, porcentaje favorable que sube hasta el 90,1% si es para un uso medicinal.

Artículo por artículo y a través del "trabajo militante", Unidas Podemos sigue desarrollando un proyecto de ley para la regulación integral del cannabis. Según los cálculos que manejan en la formación morada, para la segunda quincena de mayo se completará la revisión del grueso de la iniciativa. Si bien se evitan establecer plazos, por la flexibilidad que implica su método de trabajo con asociaciones y organizaciones prorregulación, los representantes de la formación que coordinan esta iniciativa ley, con la diputada Lucía Muñoz a la cabeza, avanzan que estará lista "más pronto que tarde" y que su objetivo es llevarla al Congreso en la segunda mitad de la legislatura.

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) accepted a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The historic vote could have far-reaching implications for the global medical cannabis industry, ranging from regulatory oversight to scientific research into the plant and its use as a medicine. The eagerly awaited approval of Recommendation 5.1 had a slim majority in favor with 27 votes for, 1 abstention and 25 votes against. The CND – the main drug policymaking body within the United Nations – turned down all five remaining recommendations. (See also: UN green lights medicinal cannabis but fails to challenge colonial legacy of its prohibition)

The Agriculture Ministry will revise a 2020 ministerial decree that lists marijuana as a “medicinal plant”. Signed on Feb. 3, the decree includes marijuana (Cannabis sativa) as one of 66 medicinal plants whose production is under the supervision of the ministry’s horticulture directorate general. The decree went viral after the Nusantara Marijuana Network (LGN) posted a photo of the document on its Instagram account, @lgn_id. The ministry responded that it would revise the decree because of Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo’s commitment to “eradicate drug abuse”. Marijuana had been listed as a medicinal plant since 2006 because the ministry wanted to help marijuana farmers shift to growing other crops. 

Lenta pero sostenidamente, el pequeño Uruguay se convierte en un gigante de la industria mundial del cannabis. La República Oriental no sólo es un Estado pionero por el carácter paradigmático de su ley regulatoria, sancionada en diciembre de 2013, que lo convirtió en el primer país en el mundo en dar el paso hacia el fin del prohicionismo, sino por el desarrollo e interés que genera en el resto del mundo, con empresas que apuestan a generar allí productos para todos los usos que ofrece la planta milenaria: medicinal, industrial, "recreativo" o adulto y alimenticio. Todas las consultoras interesadas en el tema calculan que en pocos años la ola verde moverá decenas de miles de millones de dólares.

En diciembre de 2013, Uruguay asumió el control de la producción, comercialización y distribución de la marihuana con el objetivo de "terminar con el narcotráfico y mejorar la salud de la población". No han sido pocos los obstáculos a los que se ha enfrentado y sigue enfrentando a día de hoy esta ley. La negación de los bancos a trabajar con empresas que comercializan marihuana, el avance del turismo cannábico y los mercados clandestinos surgidos a raíz de la ley o el escaso desarrollo del cannabis medicinal son algunos de los problemas a resolver tras cinco años de regulación. Sin embargo, pese a los problemas, las resistencias de parte de la sociedad y del propio aparato del Estado, Uruguay ha establecido un modelo innovador y ha marcado un camino para otros países que ahora se plantean un proceso similar.

Illinois is about to make history as the first state to legalize recreational cannabis and allow commercial sales through the state legislature instead of via a voter initiative. But this historic piece of legislation almost died along the way over the increasingly contentious issue of homegrow. Lawmakers compromised by allowing only medical cannabis patients to cultivate for themselves; recreational consumers can’t grow at all. It actually represents a worrying trend for those who believe that the right to grow your own cannabis is an essential part of a truly equitable legalization plan. Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey appear poised to make the same mistake. Some of the biggest players in New York’s nascent cannabis industry have been aggressively lobbying against homegrowing.

Thailand’s military government is carrying out an experiment: What happens when a country in Asia, a region where drug laws tend to be harsh, essentially legalizes marijuana overnight? But the high times may not last. Sprawling draft legislation, which is expected to move through Parliament in the coming weeks, will seek to regulate legal gray areas around the cultivation, sale and consumption of the drug. It could become law as early as next year. Exactly how the law would affect the industry and consumers, will depend very much on the fine print. But, for the moment, its exact scope and focus are being negotiated in a parliamentary committee, out of the public eye.

More changes to the law on cannabis could be in the works, the Minister of Social Development and Sport in Bermuda has signalled. Michael Weeks said that more discussions on the island’s attitude to the drug would take place — with further liberalisation of the law not ruled out. Mr Weeks said: “Legalisation is something that’s going to have to be talked about and may have to be sooner rather than later. There’s an almost worldwide trend. Right now, here, it’s medical use, but some countries have legalised for recreational purposes.” Two licences have been issued to local doctors to prescribe the drug for medical reasons. Parliament approved the decriminalisation of 7g or less of cannabis last December.

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to delist the cannabis plant from the government's Category 5 narcotics list, following the publication of a Ministry of Public Health announcement in the Royal Gazette. Only cannabis oil extracts containing more than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the psychoactive ingredient responsible for feelings of euphoria -- are still considered a Category 5 substance, regulated by narcotics control and suppression laws. The UN will also examine the country's draft law on cannabis and hemp and if it decides the bill violates the 1961 Convention on narcotic drugs, Thailand will be required to take corrective steps and report back. The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) admitted there are concerns about impacts from the delisting because Thailand is a signatory of the 1961 treaty on narcotic drugs.

Jamaica’s decriminalisation of ganja in 2015 brought with it many expectations, one being the ability to export its hi-grade herb. With a relatively small marketplace (a 2016-2017 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey says 17 per cent of Jamaicans use ganja), investors are eager to expand their market base beyond Jamaica’s 2.9 million citizens. Given Jamaica’s ideal growing conditions and its reputation for producing high-quality varieties, with potentially unique medicinal applications, a licensed producer would have a field of endless opportunities if it developed an international market for its strain. Intellectual property rights protecting that strain would also allow the producer to maximise its earning potential.

The issue of cannabis legalisation around the world was once again thrust into the spotlight following a vote by the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs to reclassify it as one that is less dangerous and has medical or therapeutic benefits. Experts said the result could prompt greater medical research and legalisation efforts around the world. But it also illustrated a separate issue: Asian nations are starkly divided on their views towards marijuana use, a not entirely surprising outcome given the efforts made to recognise its benefits in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. Thailand said it would no longer classify cannabis plants and extracts as a Category 5 narcotic – though cannabis buds containing high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, will remain illegal.

South-East Asia is notorious for its brutal approach to policing drug use and production. But in Thailand change is afoot, as authorities seek to develop a homegrown medical marijuana industry. Its conservative, military-dominated Government has spearheaded the effort, which seeks to make Thailand a regional centre for the production and distribution of medical marijuana. The Federal Government has approved the sale of medicinal marijuana, but it still won't be easy for people to get a prescription.First outlawed in 1935, marijuana has reportedly been a part of traditional Thai medicine and cooking for centuries, mainly used as a versatile form of pain relief. Thailand legalised medical marijuana in December 2018, making it the first country in South-East Asia to do so.

Parliament passed the new Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019, which enhanced the powers of the country’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances. In the bill, parliament decided to incorporate a clause that will allow for the industrial use of cannabis with THC level of not more than 0.3 percent. This is to allow companies producing jute sacks for cocoa and other produce to set up their plants and produce them locally instead of importing them from India and other countries. However, this has been misconstrued by some Ghanaians to mean legalization of cannabis for personal use, which is not the case. (See also: Parliament has not legalized ‘wee’ for public consumption - MP)

Across the world, CBD is growing in popularity as a medicinal treatment for pain, anxiety and inflammation though the scientific world is still divided on its effectiveness as a remedy. Back in India, most patients procure it through the grey market which puts a question mark over quality. It’s only on January 31 that India’s first medical cannabis clinic opened in Bengaluru. Launched by a Bhubaneswar-based startup, Hempcann Solutions, the clinic has the license to prescribe CBD and THC medication by an ayurvedic doctor. “Patients can then order these medicines online from our website. We are not stocking them in the clinic as of now,” a spokesperson of the company said.

Legalizing marijuana is associated with a decline in youth cannabis consumption, according to a new study in a journal published by the American Medical Association. The research, which analyzed federal data on marijuana use trends among 1.4 million high school students from 1993 to 2017, showed that self-reported past-month youth cannabis use declined by an average of eight percent in states that legalized recreational marijuana. There was also a nine percent drop in reports of using marijuana 10 or more times over the past 30 days in those states, the study found. However, there was no statistically significant change in consumption rates in states that legalized medical cannabis alone. (See also: US teens may be finding it harder to buy cannabis after legalisation)