Thailand is well known as a destination for medical tourism and wellness travel. So, these sectors will surely benefit from legal weed. By Nina Zdinjak Thailand, the first Asian country to decriminalize recreational cannabis may soon experience a boom in its tourism industry. Many experts from the travel industry believe the market will blossom like the marijuana plant itself. After Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize medical cannabis in 2018, this January, it became the first in Asia to legally allow marijuana. Under the new regulation, its residents are allowed to cultivate cannabis for personal use. Many argue that the low THC content applies only to extracts while smoking high THC pot should be legally allowed. While the gray area around these rules needs official clarification, many hope that relaxing cannabis regulation will spur medical and wellness tourism, reported TTG Asia.

Benzinga Staff Writer, The Fresh Toast, 02/27/2022 07:00:00

Open article: https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabusiness/will-thailand-become-the-next-cannabis-tourism-hotspot/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=will-thailand-become-the-next-cannabis-tourism-hotspot

Nearly three in four New Hampshire voters support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll. And bipartisan majorities also say they’re in favor of conducting cannabis sales through a state-run model as would be the case under a bill that recently passed the House of Representatives. The Granite State Poll, published by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) on Friday, found that 74 percent of residents in the state feel that prohibition should end. In a separate question, sixty-eight percent said they support a bill that passed the House this month to have the state Liquor Commission exclusively conduct sales—a proposal that has raised some concerns among advocates and stakeholders. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents, and 56 percent of Republicans said they back the unique reform approach. Meanwhile, support for legalization overall has grown demonstrably in the state over the past decade, increasing by 25 percentage points since UNH started polling residents on the issue in 2013. Just 15 percent of Granite Staters now oppose legalizing cannabis. But while bipartisan majorities said they favor the state-run legalization proposal, it should be noted that respondents were not given an alternative regulatory model in the new poll. And when asked about legalization through a traditional, private retail model last year, 78 percent said they favor that approach.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/28/2022 08:46:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/three-in-four-new-hampshire-residents-support-legalizing-marijuana-with-bipartisan-majorities-backing-state-run-model/

A House of Delegates subcommittee Monday voted down legislation that would have allowed recreational marijuana sales to begin this September. The legislation, which had passed the Democratic-controlled Senate last week, died on a party-line vote, with Republicans opposing. “I think this is a bigger issue than we can correct in two weeks’ time,” said Del. Jeff Campbell, R-Smyth. Democrats on the panel urged their GOP colleagues to reconsider. “The longer we wait to have a regulated market, the harder it will be to compete with that illicit market,” said Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond. The General Assembly voted last year to allow people to possess and grow marijuana, but lawmakers have so far been unable to agree on legalized recreational sales. Democrats had set an initial goal of opening sales in 2024 but decided over the summer that was too long to wait, citing concerns that people were openly flouting the state’s ban on sales. Currently, the only legal way to obtain marijuana in Virginia is to grow it, get it as a gift or buy it from a medical dispensary with a prescription. The politics became more complex after Democrats lost their majority in the House of Delegates in the November elections, leaving Republicans who opposed legalization to broker a final deal. Coming into the legislative session, Republicans said they would address the issue, framing it as a mess Democrats had left them to clean up. But as the session progressed, it became clear the House GOP caucus was unable to reach an internal consensus on the issue. The chamber never docketed GOP bills that would have advanced legalization alongside Republican priorities like dedicating new tax revenue to school construction. With Monday’s vote, Republicans promised to revisit the issue next year, making some time in mid to late 2023 the earliest retail sales could begin.

Marijuana Moment, Marijuana Moment, 02/28/2022 09:23:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-house-committee-kills-bill-to-begin-marijuana-sales-this-year/

Mexico has sure been on a bumpy road in its effort to legalize cannabis. Led mainly by Supreme Court rulings, Mexico has inched forward, though not always in the expected ways. For this episode of Mexico’s cannabis update, let’s take a look at another missed deadline and ex-president Fox’s foray into the cannabis market. Mexico’s Congress sure it’s making it easy, and the market that should already be flourishing hasn’t even started. Hopefully, my next Mexico cannabis update will include legislation to officially legalize the industry. To call it a ‘bumpy road’ is a bit of an understatement at this point, and Mexico’s government should be embarrassed of itself for how it’s handling legalizing marijuana. This episode of Mexico’s cannabis update features a new low for the governance of the country. But first, let’s go over how we got to where we are now. In 2018, the last of five consecutive cases passed through the Supreme Court, all related to the personal use of cannabis, and all ruled on in the same way: that not allowing personal use and cultivation, is unconstitutional. So though Mexico’s written laws state that cannabis is illegal for recreational purposes, the five consecutive rulings set off ‘jurisprudencia’, whereby the Supreme Court verdicts override written law, to become the new law. This has to be the case because jurisprudence prevents a lower court from ruling against an individual in a personal use case, as that would mean ruling against the Supreme Court.

Sarah Friedman, CBD Testers, 02/26/2022 19:00:00

Open article: https://cbdtesters.co/2022/02/27/mexico-cannabis-update-another-missed-deadline-and-political-nepotism/