Canada’s medical cannabis industry is making a push in the Senate to ban large-scale outdoor cannabis cultivation. Allan Rewak, the executive director of the Cannabis Canada Council, an industry association that represents licensed producers of medical marijuana, urged senators Wednesday to prohibit large-scale outdoor cultivation in the government’s pot legalization legislation. But others have made the push for the government to open up outdoor pot cultivation to reduce the carbon footprint of growing weed indoors. “There are significant environmental costs to indoor production, including electricity usage,” he said. “Outdoor production can mitigate some of these problems and should be considered an option.”

A handful of the Netherlands’ medium sized cities have come forward to take part in the government’s controversial regulated marijuana experiment but the five biggest cities have all said no, the Volkskrant said. Tilburg, Almere, Breda and Nijmegen had signed up for the trials by the June 11 deadline and Groningen is also considering the idea, even though the city’s 12 cannabis cafes are opposed. The experiment with regulated growing is supposed to remove the gray area between the sale of marijuana in council-licenced coffee shops and the illegal cultivation and supply. However, there are so many problems with the proposals that the big cities, where most of the coffee shops are located, see no point in taking part.

Ohioans rejected a very unusual marijuana legalization proposal. Beyond legalizing pot, the ballot initiative would have given campaign donors direct rights to the state's 10 pot farms as an explicit gift for their support. Even legalization advocates argued it was a flagrant display of would-be members of the pot industry trying to cash in on a movement motivated primarily by social justice issues. Some legalization backers are increasingly concerned that the interests of the pot industry, which will grow more and more as legalization spreads, will take priority over the public's best interests.

Since the Netherlands decriminalized marijuana in 1976, Amsterdam’s “coffee shops” have become a destination for weed lovers from around the globe. But pot has never been fully legalized in the country: You won’t get busted for smoking or selling small quantities, but producing or selling it in bulk remains a legal gray zone. And that’s proving to be a handicap for the Dutch marijuana industry as full legalization speeds ahead elsewhere. Dutch seeds are considered the gold standard worldwide, and people with ties to the Netherlands are a big part of the global business. Many of the country’s growers say the future lies across the Atlantic, where Canada and 11 U.S. states now allow recreational pot use, and many more states permit medicinal consumption.

Senior operating staff working at CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s Pelham, Ont. facility late last year brought cannabis seeds from the black market into production rooms, leading to some illicitly-grown pot flowing into the legal market. In an apparent effort to conceal the black market cannabis seeds from regulatory inspections and other staff members, some CannTrust employees changed the names of as many as 20 strains to those which the company was licensed to sell in the legal medical and recreational markets. Adding cannabis seeds obtained through the black market would have allowed CannTrust to significantly bolster its production at a time when it had overcommitted itself with supply contracts with provinces and other licensed marijuana producers.

Smoking cannabis in public is forbidden in the centre of Amsterdam from Thursday, as part of a raft of measures to restrain party tourism. In the Burgwallen Oude-Zijde central area, tourists and residents smoking cannabis in public now risk a €100 fine. On streets such as the Oudezijds Achterburgwal – brimming with prostitution windows, bars, ‘cannabis museums’ and erotic shows – signs warn tourists of the new ban in English and in Dutch. The council has introduced a set of measures, including earlier closing times for brothels and bars, a crackdown on alcohol sales in the red light district, a “stay away” advertising campaign to deter nuisance visitors and now the ban on smoking cannabis in public. (See also: Smoke signals: will public cannabis ban deter nuisance tourism?)

In die Debatte über eine Lockerung der Bremer Cannabispolitik kommt erneut Bewegung. In einem Interview mit der Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ) hat sich Bremens Bürgermeister Andreas Bovenschulte dafür ausgesprochen, die kontrollierte Abgabe von Cannabis in einem Modellversuch zu testen. Ziel des neuen Vorstoßes ist es laut Bovenschulte, durch die kontrollierte Abgabe von Cannabis einen besseren Jugendschutz und bessere Prävention gewährleisten zu können. Der NOZ sagte er wörtlich: "Man muss sagen: In Sachen Cannabis ist dieses Ziel in der Vergangenheit verfehlt worden." Bremen wolle den Modellversuch in Kooperation mit weiteren Ländern oder Kommunen angehen.

North Brabant is Europe's biggest producer of synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy and amphetamine. In 2017, 21 active ecstasy laboratories were dismantled in the EU, up from 11 in 2016 — and all of them were in the Netherlands, according to a report released by the EU drugs agency in June. Local government experts estimate the annual volume of waste from illicit drug production is about 255,000 kg per year. Most of it is dumped in the countryside, resulting in 109 reported findings in 2018, up from 83 in 2017. "It's a very complex issue, but we must seek to regulate this type of drugs on an EU-level in a different way," says Maarten Groothuizen, MP and justice spokesman for the D66 party, hinting at the Dutch gedoogbeleid (“tolerance policy”) that's already in place for the sale of cannabis in coffee shops.

Die Fraktionen von SPD und Grünen in Bremen wollen den Konsum von Cannabis legalisieren. Dazu soll der rot-grüne Senat ein wissenschaftlich begleitetes Modellprojekt zur kontrollierten Abgabe der Droge erarbeiten. Nach den Plänen der beiden Fraktionen soll der Besitz von Cannabis für den Eigenbrauch und der Anbau geringer Mengen straffrei bleiben. Einen entsprechenden Antrag wollen die beiden Fraktionen in den Landtag einbringen. (Mehr dazu: Stressfreier kiffen in Bremen | Bremen will Cannabis-Anbau straffrei machen)

Cannabis-Konsum soll künftig nicht mehr von der Polizei verfolgt und eine legale Abgabe in Bremen möglich werden. Darauf haben sich Sozialdemokraten und Grüne bei den Koalitionsverhandlungen geeinigt. Ab wann nicht mehr strafverfolgt werden soll und wo die legale Abgabe von Cannabis erfolgen könnte, ließen Müller und SPD-Landeschef Dieter Reinken im Pressegespräch nach den Koalitionsverhandlungen noch offen. Ein Cannabis-Verkauf am Kiosk ist nicht geplant: Müller bringt Apotheken als mögliche Abgabestellen ins Gespräch: „Es könnte zum Beispiel eine Abgabestelle in Bremen und eine in Bremerhaven geben.“ Für das Modellprojekt wolle man sich auch mit Berlin austauschen. (Mehr dazu: Bremer SPD bremst Cannabis-Pläne)

Die Länder Bremen und Thüringen haben im Bundesrat einen Antrag zu einem liberaleren Umgang mit Cannabis eingereicht. Darin wird die Bundesregierung aufgefordert, eine Änderung des Betäubungsmittelgesetzes einzuleiten, um eine Rechtsgrundlage für wissenschaftlich begleitete Modellprojekte zu schaffen. Dabei sollen Erwachsene Gebrauchsmengen von Cannabis erhalten können. Den Weg über die Länderkammer halten Senat und Parlament für unumgänglich. Denn das Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, das dem CDU-geführten Bundesgesundheitsministerium unterstellt ist, blockiert bislang solche Cannabis-Modellprojekte. (Mehr dazu: Cannabis-Antrag ohne Aussicht auf Erfolg | Berliner Senat unterstützt Cannabis-Modellversuche)

An estimated 1.3 million people in the UK regularly use CBD for a variety of health and wellness reasons – but ingestible CBD products occupy a hazy legal area, characterised by unclear enforcement, restrictive drug laws and over-exuberant marketing claims. This has led to a booming, but not-quite-fully-legal, consumer market. Having until now stood idly by as the CBD craze swept the country, the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has unveiled new plans to better regulate the cannabidiol industry and issue new safety advice for consumers. Under the FSA's new rules, CBD companies have until the end of March, 2021 to submit a product safety dossier to the regulators, or else be pulled from the shelves.

Ein in Berlin geplanter Modellversuch zur kontrollierten Abgabe von Cannabis als Genussmittel kann voraussichtlich nicht in die Tat umgesetzt werden. Das Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM) lehnte den entsprechenden Antrag ab. Das Vorhabenverstößt  aus Sicht des Instituts gegen das Betäubungsmittelgesetz. Zudem sei der Modellversuch "weder medizinisch noch ethisch vertretbar". Im Zuge des Modellprojekts wollte der Berliner Senat Cannabis kontrolliert und wissenschaftlich begleitet an eine begrenzte Zahl erwachsener Studienteilnehmer abgeben. Ziel sei, Drogenkonsumenten zu einem risikoärmeren oder reduzierten Konsum zu bewegen.

Premier David Burt has expressed doubt over whether a new law to license cannabis production in Bermuda will get the royal assent from Governor Rena Lalgie, and says the island’s relationship with the United Kingdom would suffer serious damage. Burt told the House of Assembly there were indications that Lalgie would be unable to give assent to legislation that contravened Britain’s international obligations. But he added: “This legislation will pass . . . . If Her Majesty’s representative in Bermuda does not give assent to something that has been passed lawfully and legally under this local government, this will destroy the relationship that we have with the United Kingdom. (See also: Bermuda plans adult-use, medical cannabis industry)

California’s legal cannabis industry, not yet 4 years old, yearns for the same system of tying plants to the soil perfected by the French over centuries and a key to the marketing success of the state’s premium wine grape growers. The cornerstone of France’s appellation system is terroir — a word with no English equivalent but loosely translated as “sense of place” — based on the premise that soil, climate and topography endow grapes with unique characteristics.To qualify for an appellation of origin, basically a geographic identity, cannabis products would have to be made exclusively from plants grown in the ground, in open air and under nothing but sunshine until harvest. (See also: New California law gives regional title for marijuana branding)

California’s marijuana market is borrowing a page from the state’s world-famous wine industry thanks to a new law intended to help outdoor cannabis growers brand and market their products by highlighting where and how they’re produced. When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 67 on Sept. 30, the law established that any cannabis product claiming an “appellation of origin” from a California region must have been grown in the soil and with the sun from that region – in other words, without artificial light or shelter, such as a greenhouse or hoop house. California is leading the way with this legislation, and other West Coast states, including Oregon and Washington state, might take notice. Such designations can help smaller growers distinguish their cannabis.

California's legal pot market opens for business on Jan. 1. The day will be a milestone, but what exactly will happen then and, especially, in the weeks and months to come is unclear. Lori Ajax, the state's top pot regulator, has been at the center of the effort to establish rules for a legal pot economy valued at $7 billion. Businesses are required to have a local permit and a state license to open their doors for recreational sales, and that process has moved slowly. State law has specific guidelines for where not to light up, and they include being within 1,000 feet of a school or a daycare center when kids are around, or smoking while driving. (See also: Lawmakers, pot growers say California's marijuana cultivation rules favor big corporate farms)

In 2016, Californians voted to legalize recreational adult-use marijuana. Proponents of Proposition 64, including then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, argued that it would generate massive revenue, while decreasing illicit cannabis and drug cartel activity in California. Now, nearly six years later, it’s clear that promise has not been kept. While the state has collected billions in tax revenue from cannabis sales since legalization went into effect in 2018, billions more continue to pour into a thriving illicit market. A new report from cannabis website Leafly found that more than half of all cannabis sales in the state (55%) are in the illegal market. It means the product being sold hasn’t been subjected to the state’s rigorous testing and tracking regimen, and can contain harmful pesticides or other powerful narcotics.

The fight to legalize marijuana has never been easy, as evidenced by the recent collapse of months-long efforts in New Jersey and New York. A key issue in both is how to ensure that legalized cannabis doesn’t just create another privatized, corporate monopoly, but instead repairs the harm that has been done by the war on drugs. Legalizing cannabis, repairing the economy. Our guests say, reparations and restorative justice for workers in the budding cannabis industry need to be a part of the conversation. Featuring: Drug Policy Alliance‘s NY State Director Kassandra Frederique, Greenworker Cooperatives‘ Communications Director Raybblin Vargas, and Cannaclusive‘s Founder and CEO Mary Pryor.