Green is the colour of envy, and coincidentally, it’s also the colour of weed. Why I’m bringing that duality up is because we in India are constantly barraged by news about how the rest of the world is legalising, commercialising, and most importantly – inhaling everything THC. Meanwhile, the most that Indian stoners can do is sing Babaji ki Booti at karaoke, ‘cos we’re never coming close to what’s happening below.

1. Berlin has a shop that sells LSD legally.

Thanks to a loophole in the law, one store in Berlin is now selling an LSD analogue called 1CP-LSD. It’s practically impossible to tell the difference in effect, and it’s perfectly legal because of a very slight chemical variation. Also, the guy running the store is a distant relative of Donald Trump (What?!).

2. A political party in Germany has made cannabis legalisation a major election campaign issue.

The opposition Free Democrats (FDP), a liberal party in Germany, have called for the limited and legal sale to adults of ‘cannabis for leisure consumption’. Currently, it is only legal for medical purposes.

3. A Canadian cannabis company is giving away a year’s worth of free weed in a vaccine lottery.

You might have heard about all the strange incentives places like the US are offering in exchange for getting the vaccine. Well the dispensary Delta 9, which operates in Manitoba, is offering one lucky individual a ‘One Year Supply of Cannabis’. Nice.

4. Washington is offering free joints to people who have been vaccinated.

Under the ‘Joints for Jabs’ initiative, the US state of Washington was offering one free, pre-rolled joint to anyone aged 21 or above who gets vaccinated. Recreational marijuana was legalised there in 2012.

5. New York became the first state in the US to allow smoking weed outside in public.

From April of this year, New Yorkers were allowed possess and use up to 3 ounces of cannabis in public. They can spark up on sidewalks, in parks… pretty much everywhere. They can literally smoke out of the Big Apple.

6. California launched a THC soda that’s replacing beer as a social beverage.

Cann makes a range of THC and CBD infused sodas with flavours like grapefruit and blood orange. The cool thing about them is the effects don’t last too long, so it’s perfect for newcomers. The bad part is that most of us in India will probably never get a taste.

7. Mexico just decriminalised cannabis for recreational use.

People there can now carry 28 grams and grow a large number of plants for personal use.

BBC

8. Weedmaps is an app that’s like Google Maps for weed. Only for places where it’s legal, of course.

Headquartered in California, the app is also active in places like Denver, Tucson, New York, Barcelona and Toronto. 

9. The Cannabis Cup is an annual festival held in Amsterdam where the best strain of weed wins. 

If you thought Amsterdam couldn’t get any stonier, they actually have a whole festival dedicated to trying out the best of the best kinds of cannabis from around the world. What a party that must be…

10. A weed delivery company in California is going to pay one lucky summer intern $1000 a month to test over 600 cannabis products.

The products include flower, oil, pens, edibles, topicals, and more. The job will entail testing products and writing ‘descriptive, unique, and creative copy and reviews about a wide array of cannabis products’.

Stay off the ghaas.