If you've been reading this section in recent weeks, you've seen it cover the ebbs and flows of domestic, specifically state-level, policy when it comes to cannabis. One week, cannabis appears to be on the upswing, making progress and breaking through in the legal realm. The next, cannabis is once again falling behind, being treated as the federally, and internationally, illegal substance that it is.
That pattern is not unique to the state of Washington.
The one-or-two steps forward, one-or-two steps back dance around cannabis policy is not just a state nor domestic issue. It's happening around the world.
There is no consensus on how to treat cannabis, even in 2024. Not in Washington, not in the United States, and as you'll see with a pair of headlines this past week, not around the world.
UKRAINE MOVES FORWARD
In late 2023, the Ukrainian Parliament took up a measure to legalize medicinal cannabis.The main thrust behind the plan was that Ukraine, at war against an invading Russian army, suddenly found itself home to more and more veterans and civilians who were dealing with post-traumatic stress.
Ukraine, recognizing that cannabis has shown promise in helping alleviate symptoms of PTSD and related issues, legalized medical marijuana last week, after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the bill into law.
Recreational cannabis will remain illegal in the war-torn country, but by legalizing medical marijuana, Ukraine will become the second post-Soviet state to legalize cannabis in any form, behind only Georgia.
THAILAND MOVES BACKWARD
In 2018, Thailand legalized medical marijuana. Four years later, the country decriminalized cannabis, though it did not outright legalize cannabis. Also in 2022, the government began a program to distribute a million cannabis plants to citizens around the nation.Thailand seemed poised to go all the way with cannabis.
Now, in early 2024, Thailand is backtracking.
The country never outright legalized recreational cannabis, but that didn't stop what has become a burgeoning gray market from developing. Now, with a new political administration, Thailand looks to undo what has become a de facto legal market.
Earlier this month, Thailand's health minister brought forth a bill that would clamp down on the recreational aspects of the country's cannabis laws. The Associated Press reported that the new legislation will succeed in further outlawing recreational use of cannabis while continuing to allow medicinal marijuana in the relatively conservative Southeast Asian kingdom. ♦
