2018 was the year of dope
IT TOOK less than a week for the Trump administration to kill the considerable buzz created on January 1 this year when California’s broad marijuana legalisation law took effect.
Then-US attorney general Jeff Sessions rescinded a policy shielding state-licensed medical marijuana operators from federal drug prosecutions.
The move ultimately had little impact because federal prosecutors around the country showed little interest in going after legal operators.
Sessions, a marijuana opponent, lost his job and the cannabis industry thrived in a significant year for the legal pot movement, globally.
Here are some highlights:
Jan 1: California’s law takes effect, allowing people 21 years old and older to use marijuana.
Jan 4:
Sessions rescinds policy.
Jan 22: Vermont’s legislature legalises recreational marijuana. It’s the first time a state legislature has approved such a law.
June 25: US health regulators approve the first prescription drug made from marijuana. The medication, Epidiolex, is used to treat two rare forms of epilepsy in young children.
June 28: Oklahoma becomes the 30th state to legalise medical marijuana use.
July 19: A Canadian company, Tilray Inc, is the first marijuana business to complete an initial public offering on a major US stock exchange, raising $153 million on the Nasdaq exchange.
Aug 15: Constellation Brands Inc, the parent company of Corona beer and other alcoholic drinks, makes a $4 billion investment in Canopy Growth Corp, a major Canadian pot producer.
Sept 18: The Constitutional Court of South Africa rules that the personal use of dagga is not a criminal offence. The judgment did not specify how many grams of cannabis a person can use or have in private, instead leaving Parliament to amend the necessary legislation.
Oct 17: Canada legalises marijuana use for people 19 years old or older in most provinces. It’s the second country after Uruguay to legalise marijuana, and its First World nation status adds greater credibility to the global marijuana marketplace.
Oct 31: Mexico’s Supreme Court rules individuals can use marijuana under their right to decide their own recreational activities. The decision puts the country a major step closer to broad legalisation.
Nov 7: Voters make Michigan the first Midwestern state and 10th overall to legalise recreational marijuana use. Missouri and Utah approve medicinal marijuana.
Dec 7: US cigarette maker Altria invests $2.4bn in Canada marijuana company Cronos Group.
Dec 10: New Zealand passes a law making medical marijuana widely available. A nationwide referendum on recreational pot is planned within two years.
Dec 20: President Donald Trump signs into law a farm bill that removes hemp, the cannabis plant cousin to marijuana, from the list of federally controlled substances.