Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled Wednesday that 40 grams of marijuana or six female plants of Cannabis sativa was the limit marking the difference between personal consumption and trafficking, Agencia Brasil reported. The understanding was reached after a decision the previous day whereby using the substance for personal recreation or medicinal purposes should not be penalized. At the time, most justices concurred on this issue but disagreed on how to differentiate the two possibilities.
ICC Labs Inc., a subsidiary of Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Inc., opened Wednesday in Montevideo and became the subcontinent's first producer of cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals with a capacity “to supply almost the entire South American continent,” according to the company's CEO Alejandro Antalich.
The Jamaica government is being urged to enact legislation that would decriminalize marijuana as well as establish a medical marijuana industry. The Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Taskforce said Jamaica would significantly benefit from a regulates medical marihuana industry.
Uruguayan authorities have revealed how marijuana will be produced and sold legally in the country following the approval of the bill last December. Licensed pharmacies will sell the drug for approximately one US dollar a gram with consumers allowed 40g a month.
US state of Colorado collected 2 million dollars in taxes from newly legalized recreational marijuana businesses in January. Colorado became the first US state to legalize the commercial sale of cannabis in 2012, and stores opened for business on 1 January 2014.
Legalization will not solve the world's narcotics problem, the UN anti-drugs chief said on Monday, indicating disagreement with a decision by Uruguay to allow the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana.
The Obama administration made it easier for banks to do business with licensed marijuana companies with less fear of prosecution, further encouraging US states that are experimenting with legalization of the drug. The Justice and Treasury departments were in the process of outlining the policy in writing to federal prosecutors and financial institutions.
The world's first state-licensed marijuana retailers legally permitted to sell pot for recreational use have opened for business in Colorado with long lines of customers, marking a new chapter in America's drug culture.
President Barack Obama's administration ceded ground last week in the US war on drugs, saying it will not dispute the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington states. The decision was swiftly hailed by campaigners for the legalization of a substance that, under federal law, remains a Schedule One controlled substance on a par with heroin.
Uruguayan former president Tabare Vazquez confirmed on Wednesday he will run for the presidency next year, following a meeting with representatives from the groups which constitute the voting majority of the ruling Broad Front catch-all coalition.