Global Ganja Report

Colombia is at a crossroads with the historic election of the left-populist Gustavo Petro as president. But will he be able to close the country’s cannabis gap? Big Bud is booming, while small peasant producers face continued eradication.

Irradiated cannabis? Yes, it’s a reality. While it may sound scary, industry tells us not to worry. Consumer advocacy groups, however, are raising concerns.

The cannabis industry is globalizing fast, which means changes for mainstays of commercial production in Europe and North America, and new players coming on line from regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central America. Here’s a brief overview of a few entries from these categories.

Critical legislation that would allow the cannabis industry to access financial services has passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for yet a sixth time—but will likely be killed once again by the Senate, where the Democratic majority is razor-thin.

The boom in "gray market" cannabis street sales in the Big Apple since legalization took effect in New York state has now reached the point of actual unlicensed and unregulated storefront dispensaries—which are apparently tolerated. This development is raising skeptical eyebrows from aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs still waiting for Albany to put a regulation structure in place.

In a struggling former prison town in New York state, the closed prison is being converted into a cannabis grow facility, raising hopes for an economic renaissance. Cannabis has been posed as a post-industrial future for the Hudson Valley region, but there is a particular sense of poetic justice to this case.

New York's new Gov. Kathy Hochul is hyping the coming cannabis boom in the state — although no adult-use licenses have yet been issued, and the bureaucracy is just starting to move on this. Meanwhile, the cops in Gotham City are turning a blind eye to small outfits that are setting up tables in the parks and on the sidewalks, selling edibles, extracts and bud. How long will this utopian free-for-all last?

It's been a week since Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer of New York, joined by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), unveiled much-anticipated draft legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level, calling it a "long overdue" move "to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs." The proposed Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act would remove the plant from the Controlled Substances Act, and allow states to craft their own cannabis policies as they do with alcohol. It would also create a federal regulatory framework and impose an excise tax for cannabis products. It includes measures that would expunge prior convictions and allow those serving time for applicable crimes to petition for resentencing.