Louisiana

Podcast: a cannabis coup in the Congo?

Posted on June 2nd, 2024 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , .

DRCThe attempted coup d'etat in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may or may not have been assisted by the CIA, but one of the Americans arrested in the affair is named as a "cannabis entrepreneur"—pointing to the possibility of legal cannabis playing the same destructive role in Central Africa that bananas have played in Central America. Yet while corporate power sees a lucrative new cash crop, lives (and especially Black lives) are still being ruined by cannabis prohibition in the United States. In Episode 228 of the CounterVortex podcastBill Weinberg argues that the old anarchist slogan "Neither your war nor your peace" can be updated as "Neither your prohibition nor your legalization!"

John Sinclair, counterculture icon, passes on at 82

Posted on April 2nd, 2024 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

John SinclairJohn Sinclair—poet, activist and leading figure in America's radical youth movement of the 1960s—died in a Detroit hospital April 2 at the age of 82. He was famous as manager and central personality behind the Motor City proto-punk band MC5, and a founder of the White Panther Party—a militant anti-racist group seen as a white working-class counterpart to the Black Panthers. His conviction and draconian sentence for a small-scale cannabis charge in 1969 made him a national and even global icon, immortalized in an eponymous John Lennon song. The legal battle and campaign to free him ultimately resulted in the overturn of the absurdly harsh marijuana law in his native Michigan.

Decrim bill clears Louisiana legislature

Posted on June 9th, 2021 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

LouisianaThe Louisiana Senate voted 20-17 on June 7 to lift criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis. Introduced by Rep. Cedric Glover (D-Shreveport), HB 652 was overwhelmingly approved by the House in a 68-25 vote in last month. It now awaits the signature of Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Louisiana medical marijuana program expands

Posted on August 5th, 2020 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

LouisianaLouisiana's medical marijuana program has been stalled for years, and was strictly limited to begin with. Now, just as cannabis products are finally becoming available, a wave of progressive legislation in the Pelican State includes measures that could expand the program's scope.

Trump admin wants drug testing for unemployment benefits

Posted on October 8th, 2019 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

Shadow Watch The Trump administration has issued rules allowing drug tests (including for cannabis, of course) for those receiving unemployment benefits. But as more states embrace legalization, pressure is mounting to do away with cannabis testing for workers altogether.

The global state of cannabis legality

Planet WatchThere has been significant progress toward cannabis legalization in the United States and globally over the past years, but pockets persist of the most repressive and reactionary prohibition. What are the prospects for expanding cannabis freedom in the coming year?

A cannabis 'overdose' death in Louisiana? Experts don't buy it.

Posted on June 17th, 2019 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , .

LouisianaA Louisiana coroner declared a local woman's death to be the first on record attributed to a cannabis overdose, winning lurid national headlines. But medical experts and even federal officials as well as advocates are skeptical of the claim.

'False positives' scandal in New Orleans drug testing program

Posted on May 30th, 2019 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

LouisianaA 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.

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