In a 2018 recording released by his attorney Joseph Bondy, Russian-born businessman Lev Parnas talked to then President Trump about legalizing marijuana. Parnas has since been convicted of fraud and campaign finance crimes and on June 29 was sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Global cannabis use continues to rise as legalization takes effect in the U.S. and Canada. "Cannabis cultivation is nearly universal," the U.N. notes in its 2022 World Drug Report. More than 150 countries produce pot, ganja, cannabis, marijuana, herb, bud, weed - whatever you prefer to call it.
Pot promises to be hot at the ballot box this November. Legalization initiatives have qualified in Maryland and South Dakota, Several more are pending.
Thailand's new cannabis law goes into effect June 9. It allows residents to possess and grow low-THC ganja. It's essentially legal CBD, like in 11 U.S. states.
America's two smallest states are in the middle of the fight to legalize marijuana. Rhode Island and Delaware's legislatures recently passed bills to legalize it, but only one of the two governors signed them into law. That would be Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on My 25. In Delaware, Gov. John Carney vetoed a similar bill on May 24.
