Hope for Czech Cannabis Journalist
Robert Veverka is a Czech activist and journalist whose decade of work in reforming drugs has taken him into a contentious court battle.
The one-time founder and current editor of magazine Legalizace, a publication about cannabis, started in 2010, with a purpose of fighting anti-cannabis propaganda with balanced information about cannabis, its medical use, legislative discussion, and its accompanying dangers.
The magazine, with its widespread readership and use in academic and legislative forums, helped educate and inform citizens about drugs and cannabis.
In 2020, when Veverka announced that he would contest a seat in the Senate, Veverka became a target for prosecution when state powers suspected him of “spreading toxicomania,” a section of Czech legislation that is translated to mean the encouragement of addiction to drugs.
The police analyzed 60 volumes of Legalizace published over ten years, with over 300 accusations leveled at him. In 2021, a court fined him and handed out a 12-month prison term, but with a 30-month period for its suspension.
But in 2023, following an appeal, the period for its suspension in prison was withdrawn, and a stricter penalty of 250,000 Czech crowns in a fine handed out.
The case took a new direction in December 2024, when a court ruled that sections of his work could possibly have constitutional protection, and sent it for re-evaluation.
Source: Filtermag
Unlocking the Healing Power of Cannabinoid Receptors
Recent developments in cannabinoid receptor pharmacology have generated new interest in the medical and scientific communities.
The cutting-edge studies investigate complex cannabinoid receptors, including CB1 and CB2, and reveal their key roles in regulating many physiological processes.
By illuminating the molecular processes of cannabinoid receptors, researchers are opening doors to developing breakthrough therapies for such ailments as anxiety, inflammation, and long-term pain.
Perhaps most exciting is the investigation of cannabidiol (CBD), a naturally derived compound with a unique and therapeutic pharmacological profile.
CBD is famous for its ability to coexist with the body’s cannabinoid system, with hope and a brighter life for persons afflicted with a variety of ailments.
The studies reveal that, with new experimental approaches and cutting-edge methodologies, researchers have developed new understandings of receptor signals and complex networks.
Not only does such an awareness enrich our understanding of human biology, but it also inspires development of effective, specific therapies with reduced off-target side effects.
Also, the studies paint a rosy picture for this medicine. It inspires the search for new synthetics and therapeutic approaches with a potential to revolutionize patient care.
Source: Nature
Inside the UK’s Bulletproof Cannabis Farm
In the British Midlands, deep in its heart, stands a state‐of‐the‐art, clandestine medical cannabis growing complex which is redefining medical cannabis production.
The first and only UK corporation to be granted a full Home Office permit for growing, packaging, and supplying medicinal cannabis, Dalgety works out of a 13‐acre complex which could be considered a fortress.
Once through bulletproof doors and a bank of 150 eyes peering down over every square inch of property via CCTV, one enters an atmosphere that is not remotely farm-like. In a room under constant, high-tech, surgical‐grade lights, over 100 soaring cannabis plants stretch for the ceiling.
Not only is this a successful model of cannabis growing in terms of agricultural technology, but a defiant rejection of centuries of medical cannabis shame, too, such a modern model is proving successful, according to Leavesley.
Approximately 1.8 million of 5 million UK medical cannabis users rely on the herb for therapy, from pain to anxiety. With almost 400 kilograms of dried cannabis flowers produced monthly, several thousand prescriptions will go out, providing a safe, regulated alternative to black‐market weed.
And, in a nod to security and integrity, overall complex design—with state‐of‐the‐art airflow and purification technology similar to an operating room and a trimming room in which expert horticulturists individually tailor each shipment—drives a message about patient and product integrity.
Source: The Times Archive.is
Cannabis Stocks Soar Amid Senate Reforms
In a bullish move for the cannabis industry, stock markets positively reacted to new hope for cannabis reform in Washington, D.C. On February 5, 2025, investors experienced a second successive gain in pot stocks.
Negotiations in a U.S. Senate committee to ease banking restrictions for cannabis companies have been a strong source of bullish momentum.
Pace-setting leaders included larger Canadian operators such as Aurora Cannabis, whose value rose 18% following earnings for its third quarter that beat estimates.
Other larger operators such as Canopy Growth, Tilray, and Cronos Group experienced similar, but smaller, gains. Where U.S.-based operators reacted with mixed behavior—with a few such as Cresco Labs creeping marginally upward—market observers agree such gain constitutes a sea change.
The catalyst for the move is an optimistic forecast that easement of federal banking restrictions could simplify operations and permit financial transactions for cannabis companies. Analyst Aaron Klein at the Brookings Institution testified to a Senate Banking Committee that under current restrictions, excessive paperwork and high reporting requirements drive both consumer and company expense.
Legislative momentum accompanies hope for confirmation of pro-cannabis leaders in key federal posts, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a loud and vocal supporter considered to press cannabis’s moving out of Schedule I and into a less restricted schedule.
Source: Marketwatch
Victorian MPs Spark Change with Pro-Cannabis Stance
In a move towards progressive reform, two Australian politicans have made a strong statement with a proposed change that could transform state laws on cannabis.
Legislative councilmen David Ettershank and Legislative councilwoman Rachel Payne, both party members who favor legalising cannabis, have signaled that they will smoke weed at Parliament House, at least, when and if Parliament takes them up on an amendment that proposes adults can have 50 grams of cannabis and six home-growing licenses.
The two outspoken Parliamentarians have made a step towards ending long-standing bans on cannabis use in Victoria, arguing that current laws both prohibit its possession and its cultivation, and therefore, that its current prohibition is not only out of date, but actually counterproductive.
They point out that controlled legalising it will not only enable responsible use among adults, but will even disempower illegal operators in the illegal market.
The plan is being considered in a current review by a Parliament committee, a sign of a general shift in public attitudes, with polls conducted recently showing Victorians increasingly wanting reform, with many wanting to be able to have state policies match adjacent, and increasingly successful, reform zones.
The legislators contend that adults will have leave under their plan to control consumption responsibly for themselves, lighten its burden for law-enforcerment, and even provide a source of state taxes that can then be channeled into local community programs.
Source: The Herald Sun
