At the close of 2020, 46 nations had passed some form of marijuana legalization. Up to 44 countries passed some form of medical laws. Uruguay and Canada are two countries that legalized adult use, and Mexico and Israel will likely follow in 2021.
With reform efforts underway, investors and cannabis pros have their eyes on countries across the globe, with the expectation that international sales will spike.
In a huge step forward for cannabis legalization and global drug reform, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted on Wednesday to pull cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Under the UN’s system, Schedule IV substances are considered the most dangerous and addictive drugs.Cannabis will no longer be classified as a drug as dangerous as heroin.
It's the moment for which advocates of legal marijuana here have been waiting: Mexican lawmakers, working under a court order, have until mid-December to finalize rules that will make the country the world's largest market for legal pot.
Advocates have long argued that legalization would put a dent in the black market; allow for safe, regulated consumption; create jobs; and cut down on crime.
In what it describes as “a landmark decision,” on September 1st, the government of Pakistan announced its intention to legalize hemp, effective immediately.
Mexico appears set on finally passing federal legislation after a series of delays.
Per federal law and five Supreme Court rulings in its favor, Mexican lawmakers were required to amend cannabis regulations. But it missed deadlines in October 2019 and April 2020. The Senate's failure to reach a consensus and the suspension of operations during the pandemic served as primary delays.
The cannabis industry has been hit hard by wildfires raging up and down the West Coast.
It’s wildfire season in the U.S. and cannabis companies up and down the West Coast are feeling the impact. From burned farms and property to potentially contaminated crops from prolonged exposure to smoke, heat, and fire retardant, cannabis businesses in California and Oregon are bracing for yet another difficult fall.
Pakistan has approved a government-controlled hemp production plan that will allow hemp farming for industrial and medical purposes.
Pakistan has approved the legalization of hemp for industrial and medical purposes, the Hindustan Times reports. In a tweet, Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry called the reforms a “landmark decision” which will “place Pakistan in the billions of USD CBD market.”
It’s been three years since Colombia issued Decree 613, regulating cannabis for medical and scientific use across the country. The program has been generally considered successful, and has helped establish a cannabis industry that is leading the region in terms of regulatory development, production capacity and attraction of foreign capital.
Now, a group of lawmakers is pushing for the next step: the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Colombian soil.
International stakeholder groups, led by the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), have re-affirmed that the hemp plant and its downstream products are not subject to international drug rules while also urging that the maximum THC level to distinguish hemp from marijuana be raised to a full 1.0%.
Canada and the U.S. currently generate a majority of the cannabis industry’s revenue. While both countries are significant factors as the market matures, other nations will take up a share as well.
For example, Mexico, New Zealand and several other countries are considering adult use legalization, and could assume their place in the global market.
Several cannabis industry experts told Benzinga that several regions and nations are already ones to keep an eye on when tracking the global marijuana growth.
