CannabisLink.ca - Current Affairs 2026

(2026) - Chronological (1804 items)

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Nov 1, 2026	Medical Cannabis Production Measure Advances In South Korea A measure that would allow the domestic production of cannabis plants containing high amounts of cannabidiol (CBD) appears to be advancing in South Korea. The measure seeks to stabilize the supply of medical cannabis products and reduce the nation’s reliance on imports.
Nov 1, 2026	Ontario's Crackdown on Illegal Cannabis Stores Explained On October 19, 2026, the Ontario government announced measures to tackle illegal cannabis storefronts, a decision welcomed by the approximately 1,800 legal cannabis retailers across the province, including areas like Bathurst and Dupont streets in Toronto. The proposed changes will empower the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to inspect suspected illegal storefronts, seize contraband products, and impose fines. This initiative comes in response to data showing that around 30% of Ontario's cannabis retail market is still dominated by illegal operators, nearly a decade after legalization. Paul Macchiusi, owner of Minerva Cannabis near Bathurst Street, expressed relief that efforts are becoming proactive instead of reactive.
Oct 31, 2026	More Alabama Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Are Set To Open This Week, Officials Announce Two medical cannabis dispensaries are expected to open next week, bringing the total to five statewide, Alabama officials announced Thursday.
Oct 30, 2026	US Supreme Court Rules Against Gun Ban Applied to Marijuana User For over a decade, Rob Greene was the senior law enforcement official in his Pennsylvania county, prosecuting drug offenses while privately using marijuana himself. Greene is among roughly 440,000 people in Pennsylvania who have received authorization to use medical cannabis. Greene left the district attorney’s office this year. He says using cannabis every now and then has greatly improved his well-being. But the former prosecutor says federal firearms restrictions have forced him to give up his guns. Greene argues that the federal prohibition is unconstitutional as it treats medical cannabis users as prohibited firearm owners even when they are not impaired.
Oct 30, 2026	DEA Refuses To Approve Marijuana Businesses In States That Allow Dual Medical And Recreational Licensing While the Department of Justice announced on Friday that it has given federal registration and protections to more than 900 medical cannabis businesses across the U.S., it is also refusing to extend such approvals to cannabis operators in certain states.
Oct 30, 2026	Marijuana rescheduling: DEA recognizes first federally legal medical cannabis dispensaries The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued federal registration to “more than 900” medical cannabis dispensaries in seven states, federal officials said Friday. It’s “the first phase” of major changes for medical marijuana operators in the legal U.S. industry following the Trump administration’s April reclassification of medical cannabis as a Schedule 3 drug, the Justice Department said.
Oct 30, 2026	US Issues First Medical Cannabis Registrations Following Rescheduling The US has issued the first registrations for medical cannabis dispensaries following rescheduling earlier this year and reviewing applications from manufacturers and distributors. The announcement means the US government is beginning to roll out regulated medical cannabis supply chains, while warning operators that they must soon source products through official channels.
Oct 30, 2026	Science backs up what many stoners knew all along When shopping at a dispensary, many consumers gravitate toward indicas, sativas, or hybrids. It’s become the de facto way to classify cannabis products, with most menus matching this breakdown. However, connoisseurs argue that this breakdown is an inaccurate way to describe a weed strain’s effects—and it turns out, science may agree.
Oct 30, 2026	TobaGrown Acquires Great Gardener Farms Manitoba-based TobaRolling Inc. has acquired BC micro cannabis producer Great Gardener Farms. TobaRolling, which operates under the TobaGrown brand, says the acquisition will bring celebrated British Columbia genetics to Manitoba, while preserving Great Gardener Farms’ experienced cultivation team and supporting its expanded direct delivery and craft cannabis production in BC. Great Gardener Farms (GGF) is an established British Columbia craft cannabis cultivator and processor founded by cannabis advocates Kirk Tousaw and Mat Beren. Founded in 2018 and first licensed in 2021, the legendary Vancouver Island company operates with a micro cultivation and processing licence and received a second micro cultivation licence in 2026.
Oct 30, 2026	How far can Türkiye’s cannabis exception go? In Türkiye, possessing cannabis can still mean up to five years in prison. Yet products from the same plant sit on pharmacy shelves under strict state control. The penalties remain, but a legal wall once seen as unbreakable has started to crack. Is this just a narrow exception, or the first sign of a bigger change that could reach beyond the pharmacy?
Oct 30, 2026	Nearly Half of US Hikers Use Cannabis, And Other Strange Findings From the ‘Hiking While High’ Survey It’s also not news to anyone that some hikers use drugs in nature. People smoke weed on the trail, eat edibles, drink beer, and even take psychedelics. Every year it seems like we publish at least one story with a headline like, “Hikers Rescued After Mushroom Trip Goes Bad” or “Two Hikers Reported Their Friend Dead. It Turned Out They Were Just on Mushrooms.”
Oct 29, 2026	The Argentine province of Chubut is creating its own framework for medical cannabis More than two years after it was unanimously adopted, the Argentine province of Chubut has finally adopted the regulations necessary to implement the Salomé Act, a landmark piece of legislation governing the medical marijuana, domestic culture, and the industrial hemp in the province. This decision opens up new avenues for patients to access cannabis-based treatments, while laying the groundwork for a regulated provincial industry, in conjunction with national regulations.
Oct 29, 2026	State Police union sues over firing of trooper for off-duty cannabis use The labor union representing New York state troopers has filed a lawsuit over the firing of an officer for his off-duty use of cannabis, noting that adult use of the substance has been legal for more than five years in the state.
Oct 29, 2026	New Bill In Congress Would Dramatically Overhaul How The Federal Government Classifies Drugs While Legalizing Marijuana A Democratic lawmaker has filed a lengthy new bill in Congress that would completely overhaul the federal system for classifying drugs. The Public Health and Research Reforms In Controlled Substances Act, introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) on Thursday, amounts to a wholesale rewrite of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), legislation enacted in the Nixon era that has governed federal scheduling of marijuana, psychedelics and other drugs for more than half a century.
Oct 29, 2026	Charlottetown interim police chief fined by RCMP for purchasing cannabis from unregulated store Charlottetown's interim police chief has been fined under P.E.I.'s Cannabis Control Act for purchasing cannabis product from an unregulated store. In July 2025, Darren MacDougall purchased cannabis product from an unregulated store on Abegweit First Nation, which was under investigation by RCMP.
Oct 29, 2026	Whole Hemp Plant Could Soon Be Recognised as Agricultural Crop in the EU, but States Will Keep Power to Criminalise The Council of the European Union has adopted proposals that would see the whole hemp plant, including inflorescences and leaves, recognised as an ordinary agricultural product. On October 19, the Council approved document ST 14647/26 as its ‘negotiating mandate’ for post-2027 agricultural market reform in what has been described as a turning point for industrial hemp across the EU. While this would mark the most significant change in regulation for the industrial hemp industry the EU has ever seen, it is still some way from the finish line.
Oct 29, 2026	New York Governor Guts Marijuana Worker Minimum Wage Bill At Industry’s Request The governor of New York has rejected key provisions of a bill that sought to create a new Cannabis Wage Board charged with recommending minimum hourly wages for industry workers. “New York’s cannabis industry is in its infancy, and licensees and employees are adapting to evolving market and legal developments,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a memo about her decision to pursue the chapter amendment process on the legislation, which involves her signing it but only after reaching an agreement with lawmakers to enact changes at the start of the next session.
Oct 29, 2026	We’re retired law enforcement officers. Don’t turn back the clock on cannabis reform. TEN YEARS AGO, Massachusetts voters made a clear choice about how the state should approach marijuana. After decades of policy defined by prohibition, their 2016 vote on a ballot question created a legal, regulated retail market for cannabis. For those of us in law enforcement, the vote prompted serious reflection. Many of us had spent our careers enforcing cannabis laws. But to what end? The question was not simply whether marijuana carried risks, but whether prohibition was an effective or appropriate response to those risks. We also had to consider the consequences of criminalizing conduct involving consenting adults.
Oct 29, 2026	Cannabis shops in malls in South Africa and the legality issues We have long wondered about the legality issues of the cannabis shops we see in many malls across South Africa. People are currently allowed to grow for private consumption, not to deal in these shops. Indeed, the government has expressed a desire to grow the cannabis industry, and there are lots of people who want to be involved in the industry.
Oct 28, 2026	Ghana's cannabis licensing stalled by high fees Ghana's two licensed cannabis growers have not yet started operating, according to Dr Mark Darko, head of the Ghana Chamber of Cannabis Industry. He cites a licence fee of about US$45,000 (roughly GH¢525,000 at the 20 October 2026 interbank rate), difficulty finding buyers, cultivation-area limits and a crowded CBD market as the obstacles. The licensing regime launched on 26 February 2026, and the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) issued its first two licences on 31 July 2026, so the holders have had about 12 weeks. The licences run for three years and permit only cannabis with no more than 0.3 per cent THC, for medicinal and industrial use. Recreational cannabis remains illegal.

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