Arturo Garcia

Portugal’s ideal climate and favorable laws position it as a key player in Europe’s medical cannabis market, exporting 12 tons in 2023. Companies like Tilray leverage its conditions for high-quality production. However, domestic challenges persist, with limited patient access and high costs. Overcoming these hurdles could solidify Portugal’s leadership in the global cannabis industry.

From April 2025, only coffee shops in 10 Dutch cities will sell regulated cannabis. This is another step towards full legalization and regulation of the cannabis market in the Netherlands. The experiment of a closed chain of coffee shops could prove to be a key turning point in global cannabis policy.

Japan has tightened cannabis laws, criminalizing consumption alongside possession and distribution, with penalties increased to up to seven years. The move targets rising youth cannabis use, linked to lenient enforcement. Police gain authority to act on positive drug tests. Medical THC use is allowed under strict controls, with cultivation licenses planned by 2025.

LEEF Brands, a Canadian cannabis company, adopted Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, acquiring 3,937 BTC secured in cold storage.

The Monitoring the Future study shows teenage cannabis, alcohol, cigarette, and e-cigarette use at historic lows, with 90% of 8th graders abstaining. Despite legalization and pandemic recovery, trends point to less peer pressure and increased digital engagement. However, rising nicotine pouch use among 12th graders highlights new public health challenges requiring proactive education and intervention. 0 SHARES

Research suggests legal cannabis reduces opioid-related deaths by offering safer pain management alternatives. States with recreational legalization report significant decreases in overdose fatalities, with long-term benefits. Cannabis provides a low-risk substitute for opioids, potentially easing the addiction epidemic. Policymakers are urged to explore legalization as a transformative strategy to combat the opioid crisis.

Over the past decade, cannabis research has surged, with over 35,000 studies published since 2014, accounting for 70% of all cannabis studies since 1840. Key areas include therapeutic uses, societal impacts of legalization, and lesser-known cannabinoids and terpenes. These findings underscore cannabis’s medical potential and support evidence-based policy debates on legalization and healthcare integration.

New regulations in Poland require in-person doctor visits for medical cannabis prescriptions, leading to a sharp drop from 68,000 in October 2024 to 28,000 by December. While curbing recreational misuse, the rules raise accessibility issues for remote patients and socioeconomic disparities, sparking debates on balancing control with equitable access to necessary treatments. 0 SHARES

The rescheduling of cannabis in the USA will soon start moving again, but investors are hardly hoping for positive impulses for Canopy Growth

The regulations on low-THC cannabis and the recent changes to the law related to the decriminalization of possession and cultivation are an important step towards the liberalization of law in the Czech Republic. Although the introduced regulations still leave some restrictions, they are an example of a country gradually adapting its regulations to changing social and economic realities.