Global Ganja Report

In the near future, the CBD, THC or other cannabinoids you consume in edibles or medications may not be derived from cannabis at all, but grown in a laboratory.

Kevin Chen, CEO and co-founder of Hyasynth Bio, describes the Montreal-based start-up as "focused on engineering strains of yeast to produce the active compounds of cannabis without having to grow plants."

The global cannabis economy is now reaching Oceania, with commercial cultivation underway in Australia, a legalization referendum coming up in New Zealand, and legal barriers starting to come down in the Pacific Islands. 

Canada's largest licensed producer of cannabis, with globe-spanning operations, is shutting down two massive greenhouses in British Columbia, and laying off hundreds of workers. Industry observers call it a sign that infrastructure overshot the market in the post-legalization euphoria.

Political space for cannabis is generally on the upswing, but there are some intersecting trends that advocates will need to keep a sharp eye on in the coming year. Corporate cannabis will increase pressure on independent producers, while prohibitionists will try to leverage the vape health scare for anti-cannabis propaganda. And the cannabis industry's own terminology may be actually adding to the confusion.

A new study in Canada on cannabis and driving casts doubt on zero-tolerance limits for THC. The study's authors say that THC can indeed impair driving—but that applying laws designed for booze to marijuana is bad science and bad policy.

The higher consciousness associated with the best values of the cannabis community is manifested in Toronto activist Amy Anonymous, who for nine years now has been giving out bags of milk, cookies, warm clothes and (for those who want it) cannabis, to help the city's homeless make it through the harsh Canadian winter.

Bernie Sanders has released his plan for cannabis legalization, which features provisions to keep Big Tobacco from colonizing the new industry. But other exponents of corporate power are already getting a jump on the cannabis sector, and could just as effectively squeeze out independent operators.

With the legal cannabis market increasingly dominated by "Big Bud," more Canadians are turning to homegrown—both for reasons of economy and an ethic of self-sufficiency. And they are fighting in the courts and the public squares for their right to do so—challenging both the federal limit on plants per household and efforts by two provinces to ban homegrown outright. So far, they are winning.