The Caribbean Collective for Justice (CCJ) said it has been informed by the head of the Caricom Marijuana Commission Professor Rose Marie Belle Antoine, that Trinidad and Tobago was to be the first country where the Commission would host its first national consultation, but Government said it was “not ready.” 

In response to an email query by the CCJ’s head, Nazma Muller about the date of the T&T consultation, Antoine replied: “I wanted to start here but apparently TnT government was not ‘ready’ so don’t know.” 

MEXICO CITY  - Mexico's Senate approved the report of a bill proposed by President Enrique Peña, but refused to raise the amount consumers are allowed to carry from 5 to 28 grams.

The proposed law has the objective to leave behind the war on drugs and punitive prohibitionism, and was approved at a special session of the joined committees: Health, Human Rights, Interior and Legislative Studies of the Senate.

The legislative opinion "decriminalized planting, growing and harvesting marijuana in national territory, when used for medicinal and scientific purposes, to which Mexico has its own controlled industry for this substance."

A cannabis producing and processing company based in California has been selling and shipping a range of their products to UK customers. They also ship to other countries where the import and export of the cannabis flower is illegal, such as Brazil, Spain and Germany. This is the first time a cannabis-derived product has been shipped on an international scale, and the products have been reaching UK customers with no problem – but before you start to fret, everything is completely legal.

Global medical cannabis leader proud to help Croatian patients in need.

Tilray, a global leader in medical cannabis research and production, today announced that the company has shipped precisely crafted medical cannabis products to Croatia to be dispensed to patients with prescriptions via pharmacies. This marks the first time medical cannabis products containing the active compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are being legally imported into the European Union from North America for commercial medical use. It marks another strategic milestone for Tilray as the company aims to build the world's most trusted and admired medical cannabis brand by offering patients, physicians, researchers and pharmacies pure, precise and predictable products.

PharmaCielo will open curative cannabis production in Colombia with crops in Antioquia. Its president, Jon Ruiz, received the first government license.

In the coming days, Jon Ruiz, president and CEO of PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings will receive the first license to be issued in Colombia to grow, process, and sell marijuana for medicinal purposes. A business without precedent in legal history. The company, Colombo-Canadian, plans to plant 600 hectares of cannabis in Rionegro, Antioquia, to produce natural oils that keep more than 98% of the active elements of the plant.

Legalized weed looks like a cash cow, and just like any other billion-dollar industry, it will be heavily regulated

In one episode of HBO's hit show The Wire, Stringer Bell, the brutal head of a Baltimore heroin cartel, demands that his meetings about the day-to-day operations of the "game" be run in strict compliance with Robert's Rules of Order: the street-corner pushers have to be recognized by the chair before speaking. Though the scene seemed outlandish, perhaps it was ahead of its time.

A decision by the Sun Life insurance company to treat medical marijuana users the same as non-smokers when applying for life insurance is a sign the industry is listening to patients, a marijuana advocate advocate says.

Jonathan Zaid is a University of Waterloo student who uses medical marijuana for persistent headaches, which he started getting when he was 14.

He has been pushing for insurance companies to recognize using cannabis for medical reasons is not the same as smoking cigarettes, and medical marijuana users should not be penalized for being smokers.

Other than being at an increased risk of gum disease, people who smoked marijuana for up to 20 years during adulthood were generally as healthy as people who didn't light up, according to a new study.

The same researchers had previously found that marijuana users were at higher risk of cognitive decline and descent into lower social and economic strata, but the new study suggests the same isn't true for physical health.

"The only measures that seemed to indicate any really serious health problem was periodontal disease," said senior author Terrie Moffitt, of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

The Director of Public Prosecution’s call for public input on a caution policy covering simple possession of cannabis has elicited a “pleasing” range of responses thus far.

However, Larry Mussenden told The Royal Gazette he did not see the move as “crowdsourcing — or a vote, either”, on a legal shift with profound implication for police as well as the public.

“We have to strike a balance. A caution policy has to be understood by the public, young and old,” he said. “The Commissioner of Police and his officers must be able to administer it efficiently and effectively.”

The DPP’s decision to solicit views for a fresh look at police cautions, as a possible alternative to convictions, was announced on May 19, and it continues until June 10.

On social media, an image on the alleged enactment of Law 14 of May 19, 2016 is circulating, which regulates the activities and use of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes and in which allegedly the use of medicinal marijuana is approved in Panama.