What a difference a year makes. Around this time in 2019, the cannabis sector was booming. Investors wanted in and stock prices were skyrocketing. Today, share prices have tumbled and analysts are forecasting "many" bankruptcies by the end of the year. Just last month, two Canadian companies, AgMedica and Wayland, were granted creditor protection. Some producers are looking for an exit, even if it means being bought by their competitors. Others looking to beef up their cash reserves are offering to sell off equipment and greenhouses — at a discount. "But in most cases, those are assets you don't want to take on. They're not efficient," said Greg Engel, CEO of cannabis producer Organigram. (See also: Cannabis industry facing a credit crunch as scrutiny, skepticism mount)

Cannabis companies are selling off growing facilities, stores and warehouses as they try to better align their offerings with demand. Industry observers say demand for cannabis is high, but there are so many assets available for sale right now because companies have misjudged what consumers want. They say companies are looking to off-load properties as they cut products and pivot toward items more likely to fly off the shelves. Many have realized their business plans are not sound and that demand for particular products is well below their expectations, leaving them with a glut of pot to sell. Others are struggling to stand out as the number of pot products for sale in the country swells, craft cannabis' share of the market grows and illicit sales remain strong.

From St. John’s to Vancouver, from Southern Ontario to the Far North, Canada’s nearly century-old prohibition on recreational cannabis lifted on Wednesday – and in Ottawa, the Trudeau government also promised new legislation to let people convicted of simple possession apply for pardons more easily. Not everyone who wanted to smoke up on the first day were able to: Relatively few bricks-and-mortar stores were open, and in Ontario, the most populous province, online retail is the only option until physical stores get the go-ahead next year. While demand was strong, supply was short on Day 1, and could be for the weeks to come. (See also: Canadians welcome legal pot sales, put up with supply issues on opening day)

Before Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, there was considerable debate about its potential effects. Some predicted it would trigger an economic “goldrush,” while others worried it would lead to public health “tragedies.” As it turns out, certain trends were already underway before legalization and continued afterward. On the flip side, some changes did not happen as anticipated. The percentage of adults using cannabis had already been increasing prior to 2018. Unsurprisingly, it continued to rise after legalization. There was a boost after legalization beyond the ongoing trend. But part of that might have been from people becoming more open about cannabis use. On the other hand, teenagers’ cannabis use hardly budged after 2018.

Canadians will get pardons if they were convicted of possessing marijuana before it was legalised. That means their criminal record for cannabis possession is kept separate from other criminal records - but it doesn't erase the crime. It could still affect people in situations like job applications, travelling abroad and getting houses - and the person who wants a pardon has to apply and pay for it. Some politicians argue that pardoning doesn't go far enough and something called expungement - when all government records of the crime are erased - should happen instead. "We now need to go back and be able to remove the stain that is on the record," the New Democratic Party's Guy Caron said.

For the first time in history, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to both validate and protect the burgeoning cannabis industry by giving it access to banks, credit unions and insurance companies. The SAFE Banking Act, which easily cleared the House with a 301-123 vote but still has to clear the U.S. Senate before passing into law, would allow financial institutions to work with cannabis companies without fearing retribution. It’s still currently possible under federal law to prosecute banks for doing so; punishments can even include stripping them of deposit insurance. (See also:  How the U.S. cannabis banking bill could hurt Canadian exchanges)

Canada’s federal government is currently working to pass a bill that would provide pardons for people convicted of minor cannabis possession. With a federal election around the corner, it may be too little, too late. As a result of mounting pressure, Canada’s federal government is now struggling to pass this bill before politicians leave the capital for the summer break. If the bill does not pass, it is unlikely to do so before a national election this fall, leaving tens of thousands of lives hanging in the balance. What Canadian legalization lacks are the important measures needed to repair the damage caused by almost a century of prohibition.

Cannabis has been identified as a potential substitute for users of legal or illicit opioids, but a new Vancouver-based study shows the drug may also help reduce people’s cravings for another highly addictive substance: crack cocaine. Scientists at the BC Centre on Substance Use tracked 122 people who consumed crack in and around Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside over a three-year period and found they reported using that drug less frequently when they opted to also consume cannabis. The findings do suggest that cannabinoids might play a role in reducing the harms of crack use for some people. (See also: Study: cannabis may reduce crack use |Therapeutic Use of Cannabis by Crack Addicts in Brazil)

Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth said it is closing its flagship cultivation facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario, and cutting more than a third of its workforce as part of a shift to an “asset-light model” in Canada. Canopy disclosed the new strategy as it reported a net loss of 267 million Canadian dollars ($200 million) for its fiscal third quarter, bringing the struggling company’s red ink in the first three quarters of the year to CA$2.6 billion. Canopy said it is cutting its workforce by approximately 35%. The layoffs come as cannabis companies across North America have been shedding hundreds of jobs and closing facilities because of failing business plans, falling wholesale prices and recession worries.

A new analysis of cannabis research funding in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom has found that $1.56 billion was directed to the topic between 2000 and 2018—with about half of the money spent on understanding the potential harms of the recreational drug. Just over $1 billion came from the biggest funder, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which doled out far more money to research cannabis misuse and its negative effects than on using cannabis as a therapeutic drug. However, overall cannabis research funding in the United States is rising steadily, from less than $30.2 million in 2000 to more than $143 million in 2018, and money to explore cannabis medical treatments is growing—although not as fast as funding for research on harms.

Canopy Growth’s chief executive earned 1,042 times more than the median compensation for the cannabis producer’s other employees in fiscal 2020. The partial-year compensation for CEO David Klein was about $33.8 million (CA$45 million), including salary, bonus, stock options and other compensation, the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company disclosed in its proxy statement released after the fiscal year ended March 31. That likely puts Klein – who began his job in mid-January – among the top CEO earners in Canada across all industries. He inherited a company that lost CA$1.39 billion in fiscal year 2020.

Canopy Growth is ceasing cannabis cultivation in Africa, Canada, Colombia and the United States in a bid to “improve efficiencies” in its global operations. The company also said it is eliminating 85 full-time positions. Almost half the workforce reduction is coming from the company’s Colombian operations. The downsizing does not affect Europe. Canopy’s pullback comes after Canadian producers raked up collective net losses exceeding 6 billion Canadian dollars ($4.5 billion) in 2019, the first calendar year recreational cannabis products were allowed to be sold in Canada. Many companies, including Canopy and competitor Aurora Cannabis, invested heavily in far-flung areas of the world, where actual medical marijuana markets remain years – maybe decades – away.

En su Informe correspondiente a 2022, la Junta Internacional de Fiscalización de Estupefacientes (JIFE), el “órgano independiente y cuasi judicial constituido por expertos” que supervisa la aplicación de los tratados de fiscalización de drogas de la ONU, se centra en la legalización del cannabis. Cada año, en el primer capítulo de su informe anual, la Junta aborda una cuestión específica que considera importante para los debates sobre políticas de drogas y el funcionamiento del sistema internacional de fiscalización de estupefacientes. Este año se centra en la legalización del cannabis, porque, como muchos han observado, una década después de que el primer Estado regulara legalmente el cannabis recreativo para adultos, “un número creciente de Estados ha adoptado políticas que permiten el consumo de cannabis con fines no médicos ni científicos”.

In the context of a fast changing and well documented market in legal highs, the case of khat (Catha edulis) provides an interesting anomaly. It is first of all a plant-based substance that undergoes minimal transformation or processing in the journey from farm to market. Secondly, khat has been consumed for hundreds if not thousands of years in the highlands of Eastern Africa and Southern Arabia. In European countries, khat use was first observed during the 1980s, but has only attracted wider attention in recent years.

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Khat has been consumed for hundreds if not thousands of years in the highlands of Eastern Africa and Southern Arabia. Outside that area, khat use was first observed during the 1980s, but has only attracted wider attention in recent years. Where khat has been studied extensively, namely Australia, the UK and until recently the Netherlands, governments have steered clear of prohibition because the negative medical and social harms do not merit such controls. Where strict bans on khat have been introduced they have had severe unintended negative consequences and failed to further the integration, social incusion and economic prosperity of Somali communities in particular, which chew khat most widely. Experi­ences fromNorth America andScandi­navia show that a ban will not solve problems associated with kath but tend to increase them.

The City of Vancouver voted unanimously in favour of supporting a peer-led program that would help get a safe supply of drugs to individuals at high risk of overdose. Coun. Jean Swanson called for the approval of North America’s first compassion club that gives access to prescription heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Swanson said that given the overdose crisis, blamed on tainted street drugs, federal approval is needed for the project run by the Drug User Liberation Front, which has teamed up with Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users to host giveaways of substances purchased from the dark web — “so they won’t be arrested for saving lives.” (See also: Vancouver votes to support application that would create safe drug 'compassion clubs' | Toronto’s bid to decriminalize drugs hangs in the balance)

A finales de este año, Colombia podría estar realizando su primera exportación comercial de marihuana medicinal, después de dos años de haberse aprobado la regulación para el cultivo de este producto. Esto marcará un hito para esta industria, que más pronto que tarde apunta a estar en el top de las exportaciones del país, según empresarios del sector. En 2016 se aprobó la Ley 1787 sobre el acceso al uso médico y científico del cannabis y sus derivados, pero solo fue reglamentada en abril del 2017 con el decreto 613. Desde entonces, en el país se han concedido 331 licencias para producir marihuana medicinal. Si bien el total de licencias no significa que todas las personas o empresas ya estén produciendo cannabis medicinal, sí da una idea del interés que tiene la industria.

A new study suggests cannabis could be a safer and more effective substitute for opioids in the treatment of chronic pain, but can it help fight the opioid crisis? Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Centre on Substance Use conducted over 5,000 interviews with 1,152 people who used heroin and other drugs and reported chronic pain at some point from June 2014 to June 2017.  The participants were largely from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and lead author M-J Milloy said the study aimed to discover "new interventions" that might "lower or address the risk of overdose" in heavy opioid users.

First-mover advantage: It’s a phrase long used by Canadian cannabis companies that have spent billions of dollars to accelerate their international sprawl since legalization in 2018. But as Germany moves to open its adult-use market, it remains unclear to what degree Canada’s early start will help its companies succeed abroad. While medical cannabis has been legal since 2017, Germany would be the first country in the European Union to legalize the drug for recreational use. As Europe’s largest economy with nearly double Canada’s population, Germany’s recreational market is expected to quickly outpace domestic demand. With the prospect of a new cash source in grasp, Canadian companies are jostling to position themselves to capitalize on the new opportunity.

Consuming cannabis every day could delay at-risk youth from moving on to injecting more dangerous drugs, according to a new study that casts doubt upon the age-old assumption that marijuana acts as a gateway for teens to try other more harmful substances. The research, from scientists at the BC Centre on Substance Use, also adds to other work that has suggested marijuana could be used as a substitute for people addicted to opioids. Researchers repeatedly interviewed 481 homeless young people in Vancouver’s downtown core who had never injected any drugs and found - over a decade of tracking this at-risk cohort - that daily cannabis use was associated with a 34 per cent decrease in the rate people started injecting drugs.