next one to knock the pile over lol
The U.S. is cracking down on cannabis at home while pushing close allies like Israel to curb their cannabis industry. Is Canada next?
03/06/2018 11:42 EST | Updated 1 minute ago
Last month, (allegedly) following a call from U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a long-held plan to export Israeli medicinal cannabis.
It was a troubling moment for Canada's cannabis sector, as it signals the possibility that he may try a similar direct or indirect tactic to hamper Canada's own legal cannabis and export industry.
NIR ELIAS / REUTERS
An employee sorts freshly harvested cannabis buds at a medical marijuana plantation in northern Israel March 21, 2017.
Israel is a world leader in the cannabis space and was uniquely positioned to enter the export. "The seriousness with which the Israeli scientific community approaches this is incomparable," Charles Pollack, a medicinal cannabis expert at Thomas Jefferson University, told Rolling Stone recently. Israel's leadership prompted Bill Nye the Science Guy to produce a show looking at "How is Israel healing the world with marijuana."
Now Israel's preeminent position in the sector is in question. Just last week, the Israeli cannabis sector took the Israeli government to court to break the logjam.
Meanwhile, Canada is preparing to legalize recreational cannabis and further expand its lead in the worldwide cannabis sector. Health Canada has granted several Canadian companies licenses to export, and it is expected that by the end of this month, a total of 528 kilograms of dried cannabis flower and 911 litres of cannabis oil will have been exported this year. Destinations for Canadian-grown cannabis included Australia, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands and (interestingly) Israel.
If Canada's budding cannabis industry wants to step onto the world stage, it should learn from Israel's experience in dealing with the U.S. pressure on this important file.
To put it bluntly, the "war on drugs" is still going strong for the Trump Administration.
Despite the shift the legalization, the war on drugs is not over.
Nine states plus Washington, D.C. have adult-use recreational cannabis regulations. Twenty-nine states have some form of medical cannabis. But neither recreational cannabis nor medicinal cannabis are legal federally in the U.S. — making banking, accessing capital markets and inter-state and international trade illegal.
Canadians should not be overly optimistic on how the industry is viewed by the U.S. because, to put it bluntly, the "war on drugs" is still going strong for the Trump Administration.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded guidances from former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration that allowed states to legalize marijuana with minimal federal interference. What this means is that federal prosecutors can use their own discretion to crack down on cannabis businesses legal in that specific state.
For Canadians, it shows just how volatile an issue cannabis remains.
The U.S. is cracking down on cannabis at home while pushing close allies like Israel to curb their cannabis industry. Is Canada next?
03/06/2018 11:42 EST | Updated 1 minute ago
Last month, (allegedly) following a call from U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a long-held plan to export Israeli medicinal cannabis.
It was a troubling moment for Canada's cannabis sector, as it signals the possibility that he may try a similar direct or indirect tactic to hamper Canada's own legal cannabis and export industry.
An employee sorts freshly harvested cannabis buds at a medical marijuana plantation in northern Israel March 21, 2017.
Israel is a world leader in the cannabis space and was uniquely positioned to enter the export. "The seriousness with which the Israeli scientific community approaches this is incomparable," Charles Pollack, a medicinal cannabis expert at Thomas Jefferson University, told Rolling Stone recently. Israel's leadership prompted Bill Nye the Science Guy to produce a show looking at "How is Israel healing the world with marijuana."
Now Israel's preeminent position in the sector is in question. Just last week, the Israeli cannabis sector took the Israeli government to court to break the logjam.
Meanwhile, Canada is preparing to legalize recreational cannabis and further expand its lead in the worldwide cannabis sector. Health Canada has granted several Canadian companies licenses to export, and it is expected that by the end of this month, a total of 528 kilograms of dried cannabis flower and 911 litres of cannabis oil will have been exported this year. Destinations for Canadian-grown cannabis included Australia, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands and (interestingly) Israel.
If Canada's budding cannabis industry wants to step onto the world stage, it should learn from Israel's experience in dealing with the U.S. pressure on this important file.
To put it bluntly, the "war on drugs" is still going strong for the Trump Administration.
Despite the shift the legalization, the war on drugs is not over.
Nine states plus Washington, D.C. have adult-use recreational cannabis regulations. Twenty-nine states have some form of medical cannabis. But neither recreational cannabis nor medicinal cannabis are legal federally in the U.S. — making banking, accessing capital markets and inter-state and international trade illegal.
Canadians should not be overly optimistic on how the industry is viewed by the U.S. because, to put it bluntly, the "war on drugs" is still going strong for the Trump Administration.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded guidances from former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration that allowed states to legalize marijuana with minimal federal interference. What this means is that federal prosecutors can use their own discretion to crack down on cannabis businesses legal in that specific state.
For Canadians, it shows just how volatile an issue cannabis remains.
