cartels

Corporate cannabis eyes Mexico —amid escalating narco-violence

Posted on November 14th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , .

MexicoThere is a discomforting sense that Mexico is perpetually on the eve of cannabis legalization, as the country's Congress wins a six-month extension from the Supreme Court to pass a law freeing the herb. But foreign capital is already eyeing Mexico's emergent legal cannabis sector—even amid a terrifying escalation in the bloody cartel wars. 

Will Italy’s new government embrace cannabis legalization?

Posted on September 18th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

ItalyWith the fall of Italy’s far-right government, advocates are hoping the path may be cleared now for the country to become Europe's first to formally legalize cannabis. Meanwhile, thanks to a loophole in the law, low-THC varieties are sold openly in shops across the country. And Italy’s internal THC limit is actually slightly higher than the ultra-cautious European Union standard.

Illicit market thrives in post-'legalization' states —but why?

cannabis Some states that have legalized cannabis are seeing a surge in the illicit market—and attendant police raids and repression. The dystopia that legalization was supposed to leave behind has proved disconcertingly persistent. But is the problem, as conservatives claim, legalization itself—or that is hasn't gone far enough?

Mexico rejects US drug war aid, proposes binational decrim

Posted on May 20th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

MexicoMexico's new populist president announced that he is dropping out of the regional US-led drug enforcement pact, and will be turning down the aid package offered through the program. Instead, he is proposing a dialogue with Washington on across-the-board drug decriminalization in both nations. And Mexican lawmakers say they will pass a cannabis legalization bill by the end of the year.

Mexico militarizes marijuana enforcement —despite legalization moves

Posted on March 10th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , .

Mexico Despite his boast to have "ended" the drug war and pledge to explore cannabis legalization, Mexico's new populist president is seeking to create a special anti-drug National Guard drawing from the military and police forces. This plan is moving rapidly ahead—and the military is still being sent against cannabis growers and traffickers.

El Chapo guilty: prohibition-fueled narco-wars rage on

Posted on February 13th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , .

ChapoNotorious narco-lord "Chapo" Guzmán was convicted by a federal jury in New York and faces life in prison. But violence in Mexico has only escalated since his capture. Few media accounts have noted how Chapo and his Sinaloa Cartel rose as militarized narcotics enforcement escalated in Mexico—a trajectory mirrored by the cartels' move from dealing in cannabis to deadly white powders.

Cannabis in the Balkans: from criminals to capitalists?

Posted on January 25th, 2019 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

EuropeA contraband cannabis economy booms in the Balkan Peninsula, where the wars of the 1990s spurred an underground dope-for-guns network that still thrives today. But amid EU pressure to crack down, a legal industry is now starting to emerge.

Netherlands a 'narco state'? Don't believe the hype

Posted on March 6th, 2018 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

cannabisThe Dutch police association has released a lurid report asserting that the Netherlands is becoming a "narco-state," with authorities unable to keep ahead of criminal enterprises bringing illegal drugs into the country. There have in fact been some recent cases of grisly narco-violence in the Netherlands, of the kind more commonly associated with Mexico or Colombia. The report will provide further propaganda for opponents of the Dutch gedoogbeleid (tolerance policy) toward the sale of cannabis—but a link between that and the recent violence is dubious.

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