Global Ganja Report

In Episode 35 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg interviews Emily Ramos, Pilar DeJesus and Kara Bhatti, members of the worker-owned marijuana consumer cooperative High Mi Madre, on their lobbying and activist efforts in support of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, still pending in the final countdown to the close of the current New York State legislative session. They emphasize the demand for "Day One Equity" with cannabis legalization in the Empire State—measures for reparative justice and reinvestment in the communities that had for generations been criminalized and oppressed by cannabis prohibition. Listen on SoundCloud, and support our podcast via Patreon.

One of the most iconic events in Jamaica's history as an independent country was the One Love Peace Concert of April 22, 1978, organized by reggae superstar Bob Marley in response to the wave of deadly political violence that was then gripping the island nation.

At the climax of the event, Marley, amid a rendition of his hit "Jammin'," brought Jamaica's two rival political leaders on to the stage at the National Stadium in Kingston, and made them shake hands. They were both reluctant, and the shake was awkward, mutually grudging. But it happened, an ebullient Marley standing between the two sullen statesmen, literally guiding their hands together with his own.

One of these two rivals was then Prime Minister Michael Manley, a populist of the left. The other was his conservative opponent, Edward Seaga—who has just died on his 89th birthday, May 28.

A scandal in New Orleans over false positives in the city's drug testing program comes just as a cannabis legalization bid died in the Louisiana statehouse. The Pelican State continues to have among the harshest cannabis laws in the country, but the contradictions are becoming sharper.

With the end of the legislative session in Albany closing in, odds for legalizing cannabis in New York state this year are fast diminishing. Now a new bill has been introduced, to reconcile rival versions pushed by the Assembly and Gov. Cuomo. It has won support from advocates—but, with the clock ticking, Cuomo equivocates on whether he will support it.

Finally settling a question that has vexed the Arizona medical marijuana program since it was launched nearly a decade ago, the state's highest court ruled that the program does indeed cover concentrates and extracts. The decision is a victory for patients who use edibles, tinctures or hashish.

Colorado's Supreme Court ruled that thanks to the constitutional changes instated by the 2012 cannabis legalization vote, police require probable cause before using drug-sniffing dogs. A dissenting opinion holds that the decision oversteps federal authority, and undermines the jurisprudential basis for Colorado legalization. Are these fears realistic?

Mexico'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.

A group of attorneys general from 38 states and territories penned an open letter urging Capitol Hill to pass a pending bill to allow cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system.