stigma

New York initiates clampdown on unlicensed cannabis

Posted on April 26th, 2023 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

NYCIn a paradox, New York authorities are finally unleashing the long-anticipated crackdown on the state’s legion and proliferating unlicensed cannabis retailers—while the licensing program continues to be slowed by obstacles, including legal challenges.

Vermont medical cannabis user challenges urine-test regime for workers

Posted on April 8th, 2023 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , .

medical marijuanaRights for medicinal cannabis users in the workplace have not kept pace with the law in states that have embraced medical and even “recreational” use. Now a case in Vermont may push state and federal authorities alike to close the loopholes that allow workers to be dismissed—and denied unemployment insurance—for using state-legal medicine.

Global industry round-up: Canada, Israel, Costa Rica, Thailand

Planet WatchThe cannabis industry is globalizing fast, which means changes for mainstays of commercial production in Europe and North America, and new players coming on line from regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central America. Here’s a brief overview of a few entries from these categories.

'Kush' scare hits West Africa

Posted on February 15th, 2022 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

AfricaThere has been a flurry of vague but lurid reportage about a supposedly addicting and debilitating pseudo-cannabis that is going around in Sierra Leone and other West African countries. This may be akin to products such as K2 and Spice, widely marketed in the US and Europe—but if reports are to be believed, it is far more dangerous.

Legal cannabis states face push for potency caps

THCWith political and legal space opening for cannabis in state after state, a backlash is manifesting in the idea of caps on the potency—whether of bud, extracts or edibles. Voices from the industry and activist community see this as a throwback to the days of Reefer Madness.

Expungement meets obstacles in Montana too

Posted on January 20th, 2022 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

MontanaVoters in Montana approved a cannabis legalization initiative in 2020, which included language explicitly calling for expungement of past convictions. But the process has been meeting with some resistance from local courts—and plans for a special court to oversee expungement have been dropped.

South Dakota supreme court squelches legalization initiative

Posted on November 30th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

South DakotaSouth Dakota was one of four states that voted to legalize cannabis in November 2020. But now the state's supreme court has barred the amendment from taking effect, after a challenge brought with the support of the Republican governor—and based on narrow legalisms.

Veterans still face VA intransigence on medicinal cannabis

Posted on November 4th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , .

VA medical marijuana accessAmid continued federal intransigence on recognizing cannabis as legitimate medicine for military veterans, advocates take heart in legislation pending on Capitol Hill that would mandate that the VA study the question.

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