Cannabis this week: What you need to know about weed

With all eyes focused on a presidential election that seems not to want to end, and a possible coup d’etat — however comical it might be — happening right before our eyes, it can be easy to ignore what’s going on in the world of cannabis. But it’s been a banner week, if not a banner year for the marijuana community. 

This week alone, Mexico is poised to legalize weed, making the United States the only NAFTA country (are we still calling it NAFTA?) to support prohibition. Meanwhile, in a new memoir, former President Barack Obama explained why working with Republicans gave him cover for not legalizing cannabis in the first place. And Tommy Chong talks about going back to the future.

This year — 2020 — has been a while ride, and there’s still over a month left for something else to happen. Earthquake? Volcano? Alien attack? In the meantime, sit back, and let The PotNetwork take you through some of the top cannabis stories of the week. We’ll catch you up with the news so that you can worry about everything else.

Mexico may become the third country to legalize cannabis

As the Economist notes, Mexico is set to put the US to shame by becoming the third country to legalize weed. “On November 19th the Senate began debating a bill that would make Mexico the third country in the world, after Uruguay and Canada, to legalise cannabis for recreational use nationwide.” 

The story continued: “For Mexico, the change seems riskier. It was once the world’s largest producer of cannabis. Campaigners for legalisation are watching how it will go in a country where organised crime is strong, the rule of law is weak and much of the economy is undocumented.”

Working with GOP gave Obama a ‘handy excuse’ not to legalize marijuana

As Marijuana Moment tells us, “In a new memoir looking back at his time in office, former President Barack Obama writes that a decision early in his first term to cut deals with congressional Republicans allowed him to ignore some Democrats’ calls for “less orthodox ideas” such as marijuana legalization.”

The piece quotes the former president a few times. “Truthfully,” Obama writes in the new book, “just the act of negotiating with Republicans served as a handy excuse to deflect some of the less orthodox ideas that occasionally surfaced from our side of the aisle (‘I’m sorry, Congressman, but legalizing marijuana isn’t the kind of stimulus we’re talking about here…’).”

Industry reacts to California cannabis delivery lawsuit outcome: ‘It’s not a win’

As Marijuana Business Daily tells us, “As news spread of an important ruling in a lawsuit over California’s statewide cannabis delivery policy, industry executives’ initial impression of a victory gave way to the reality that more legal battles are likely.”

Furthermore, the piece noted that, “Fresno County Superior Court Judge Rosemary McGuire’s order late Wednesday was twofold:

• It upheld the state regulation that allows licensed marijuana delivery companies to offer services anywhere in the state.
• It affirmed that cities and counties can forbid those operations, though enforcement of the bans is also up to the local governments.”

Tommy Chong: “We’re going back to the future with cannabis.”

From the Medical Cannabis Network: “Cannabis activist, musician, and comedy actor Tommy Chong gives his thoughts on the emergence of America’s legal cannabis industry. Chong is an icon of cannabis – one half of the Cheech & Chong comedy duo from the cult classic ‘Up in Smoke’, synonymous with the cannabis movement. The pair sold out shows in the 70s, the decade following the culturally revolutionary “summer of love”, and when drug use was declared “public enemy number one” by Nixon, sparking the worldwide War on Drugs.”

The piece continued with Chong stating: “I love what’s going on, you know – I fought the battle.” 

Chong continued: “It’s been illegal all of my life – and cannabis changed my life. I got turned on to it at a jazz club. I’m a musician and I used to go down to this club because I could get in for free if I carried my guitar, and even though I couldn’t play jazz, I loved it. I was in a band and the bass player showed up with a marijuana cigarette and a Lenny Bruce record and handed me them both.”