Puerto Rico Representative Héctor Ferrer Santiago plans to introduce a bill this month to decriminalize adult-use cannabis. In addition, he raised the prospect of a separate bill that would “regulate where [cannabis] can be consumed and under which circumstances, as with [tobacco].” Medical cannabis is already legal on the island. This would not be the
Costa Rican legislators are set to reinitiate debate over a bill (Expediente N.° 21.388) to legalize hemp and medical cannabis. The bill was cleared by the Legislative Assembly’s Environment Commission last November, but its presentation to the assembly’s plenum has been delayed. The bill’s author is independent legislator Zoila Rosa Volio, an agronomist and lawyer,
Germany will hold parliamentary elections on September 26 of this year. While the ruling Union is expected to win the largest number of seats in the Bundestag, the majority of polls show the Greens (officially Alliance 90/The Greens) taking the second-highest number of seats. In fact, as recently as May, some polls had die Grünen
On June 28, US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended for one month by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for using cannabis, effectively disqualifying her from competing in the Olympics. The suspension of a gold medal contending athlete caught many by surprise and sparked a worldwide debate about marijuana use by athletes should be addressed. Many
In what has undoubtedly been the biggest cannabis news to come out of Latin America in a while, Mexico’s Supreme Court declared the prohibition on adult-use cannabis to be unconstitutional. This means you can now drive the 7,498 miles between Sydney, Nova Scotia and Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas passing solely through jurisdictions where cannabis is legal
Legalization is now inevitable in Mexico.
In my last post I reported the Mexican Senate’s refusal in its just-ended legislative session to address the Supreme Court’s 2018 directive to pass reforms legalizing recreational use of cannabis. Unless you are a Mexican Senator or Supreme Court Justice, you probably don’t have too many levers you can pull to speed the implementation of
This past May 15 and 16, Chile elected a constitutional convention, tasked with drafting a new basic law for the South American country. Cannabis observers should take note, as the resulting document could have positive implications for cannabis. Chileans voted in favor of a constitutional overhaul following the protests that roiled the country in 2019
On Tuesday, June 8, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies’ Special Commission very narrowly approved a bill authorizing cannabis cultivation for medicinal, veterinary, scientific, and industrial use. Government supporters tried their best to prevent the legislation from heading to the upper house for final approval, but Deputy Luciano Ducci’s crucial vote ensured the bill survived. While
On May 13, the health committee of Spain’s Congress of Deputies approved a proposal to create a subcommittee that will consider other countries’ experiences with medical cannabis. The subcommittee’s findings could pave the way for medical cannabis legalization in Spain. According to a recent poll, approximately 90% of Spaniards would favor such a move. Spain
