Global Ganja Report

Things have moved slowly in authoritarian Thailand since passage of a medical marijuana law last year. But now one of the country's leading universities is launching a "Ganja Studies Department," and attendant research facility. With plans to train a new generation of cultivators and entrepreneurs, the crafters of the program are voicing aspirations to make Thailand Asia's cannabis leader.

In Washington state, glitches in the "seed-to-sale" tracking system nearly paralyzed the cannabis industry statewide last month, costing retailers hundreds of thousands of dollars and forcing temporary lay-offs of employees. Similar headlines have been seen from across the country's legalized states—pointing to a persistent issue.

In a Capitol Hill hearing that advocates hailed as “historic,” numerous Congress members openly embraced lifting the federal strictures on cannabis—and even outright legalization. The discussion was particularly framed in terms of recognizing and correcting the racial and social iniquities of cannabis prohibition and the "war on drugs."

Manufacturers of vape cartridges filled with cannabis distillate for "dabbing" are facing something of a crisis as the market is flooded with counterfeit products. These contraband knock-offs are apparently fooling many consumers—but may contain toxin-laden and adulterated substances. Industry voices are urging buyers to beware.

A Native American tribe in South Dakota is taking the US Department of Agriculture to court to demand its right to cultivate low-THC cannabis—and to force the agency to live up to its regulatory responsibilities under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Cannabis industry leaders have announced certification standards to promote corporate responsibility. The move appears to be prompted by some embarrassing scandals in the young industry. Activists are meanwhile raising more far-reaching demands for drug war "reparations." 

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.

The East African nation of Uganda is preparing to become the continent's next big commercial cannabis producer. But after the Agriculture Ministry approved cultivation licenses, other cabinet ministers demanded that legality be clarified before planting commences. International investors are anxiously awaiting a resolution.