The Indian Landrace Exchange connects rural farmers in India, Pakistan, and Kashmir with European and North American seed distributors, protecting the landrace strains and giving local farmers an equitable return on their ancient cannabis genetics. (Photo courtesy of Indian Landrace Exchange)
With so much attention paid to America’s push toward legalization, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that cannabis cultivation and cannabis culture date back thousands of years.
Throughout India and Southeast Asia, indigenous farmers continue to grow cannabis and make hashish using methods passed down for untold generations. Despite a boom in demand and a global push to end prohibition, these traditional cannabis production communities continue to struggle economically, as changes in climate and encroaching tourism and development threaten their existence.
President Biden thinks mandatory rehab is a fine alternative to prison for people who possess drugs. It s not. (AdobeStock)
Federal cannabis legalization has never felt closer, even though the newly elected President of the United States has repeatedly voiced opposition.
Joe Biden first made his mark as a committed Drug Warrior in the 1980s, but lately there have been encouraging signs that his administration will pursue a far more public-health-based approach to drug policy.
Forcing someone convicted of cannabis possession to choose between rehab and prison makes no sense.
Biden himself seemed to accept the inevitability of cannabis legalization while on the campaign trail when, speaking off the cuff, he went so far as to say, “I think it is at the point where it has to be, basically, legalized.”