Mexico Supreme Court finds absolute ban on recreational marijuana unconstitutional
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled against an absolute ban on the recreational use of marijuana Wednesday, finding it unconstitutional. This ruling allows lawmakers to regulate the marijuana industry. In Mexico, the Supreme Court is required to rule five times on the same issue before the ruling becomes a binding precedent—this most recent case was the fifth [...]
South Korea: nationals in Canada can be prosecuted for smoking marijuana
The South Korean Embassy in Canada tweeted Thursday to warn its nationals currently studying or visiting Canada that if they are caught smoking marijuana on Canadian soil, they can still be held criminally liable under South Korean law. Recently, Canada became the second nation in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, following [...]
A Canadian law took effect on Wednesday legalizing the sale of marijuana for recreational consumption. The Cannabis Act will “provide legal access to cannabis” and “control and regulate its production, distribution and sale.” Anyone over the 18 is legally permitted to possess at most 30 grams of cannabis. People in Canada are also permitted to [...]
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday that would allow past marijuana convictions to be recalled or dismissed if the conviction would no longer violate the law due to the passage of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use Marijuana Act (AUMA). AUMA legalized, among other things, possession of up to 28.5 grams of [...]
Governor Ralph Torres of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on Friday signed HB 20-178 to legalize marijuana. In particular, the bill allows a person who is 21 or older to “possess and transport up to one ounce of marijuana, 16 ounces of marijuana products in solid form, 72 ounces of cannabis in liquid [...]
South Africa’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday decriminalized personal consumption of marijuana. The judgement, written by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, says that because “the population have been accustomed for hundreds of years to the use of dagga , both as an intoxicant and in the belief that it has medicinal properties,” it can be considered [...]
Manhattan district attorney drops more than 3,000 marijuana charges
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. dropped 3,042 marijuana charges on Tuesday, saying it is “one small step toward addressing the decades of racial disparities behind the enforcement of marijuana in New York City.” The charges dropped were misdemeanor possession and smoking charges dating back to as early as 1978. Charges that showed chances of “sale [...]
California lawmakers approve medical marijuana on school campuses
The California Legislature on Monday approved a bill BSB-1127] that would allow California students to use medical marijuana on school campuses. California state law has allowed minors access to medical marijuana since the 1990s but so far has prevented school campuses from permitting usage. Parents would have to take their children off school grounds in [...]
California lawmakers approve bill to erase or reduce tens of thousands of marijuana convictions
The California State Legislature approved a bill Wednesday requiring California prosecutors to erase or reduce tens of thousands of marijuana criminal convictions. The legislation is expected to be signed by Governor Jerry Brown. The California Department of Justice “estimates that almost 220,000 cases are eligible for erasure or reduction. The Department of Justice has until [...]
US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday, effective July 31. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Kennedy wrote: For a member of the legal profession it is the highest of honors to serve on this Court. Please permit me by this letter to express my profound gratitude for having had the [...]
