Worldwide Executions for Drug Offenses Increased in 2022
A recent report from Harm Reduction International (HRI) sheds light on a surge in 2022 in executions for drug convictions. The nonprofit group began tracking this information in 2007. Since then, the most global drug executions occurred in 2015, with 755 people being put to death for drug-related crimes. In 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number fell to a record low, with only 30 drug offense executions that year. But, in 2021 that number rose to 131, and then more than doubled for 2022 with 285 drug offense executions. While these executions are limited to a relatively small number of countries, a lack of awareness and inaction from international groups helps keep this practice alive.
NBA Will Allow Players to Consume Cannabis
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players reached a tentative bargaining agreement that will allow players to consume cannabis. The deal would also permit players to promote and invest in marijuana businesses. It would also remove cannabis from the NBA’s drug testing program. The proposed agreement would be a first for the league, which has previously had a policy prohibiting players from using cannabis or participating in any marijuana-related endorsements or business opportunities. Before the agreement is official, it must first be ratified by the players union and team governors.
New Mexico’s Legal Cannabis Market Surpassed $300 Million in Sales for the First Year
April 1st marks one year since legal marijuana sales began in New Mexico. First year recreational cannabis sales totaled $301 million. According to information from the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Cannabis Control Division (CCD), recreational cannabis sales reached a record high of $32.4 million in March alone. The office of the governor said in a news release that New Mexico issued approximately 2,000 cannabis business licenses in the last year. Of those licenses, 633 were for retailers, 351 went to producers, 507 were for manufacturers, and 415 were for micro producers. The governor’s news release also noted that the state collected $27 million from cannabis excise taxes as of March 2023, and the money has gone to the state’s general fund and localities.
