The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)—the organization that administers intercollegiate athletics in the U.S.—is making drastic changes to its drug policy for cannabis.

Changes were announced at the 2024 NCAA Convention that took place on Jan. 10-13, in Phoenix, Arizona. NCAA Division I proposed ending the practice of drug testing athletes for cannabinoids. The NCAA released a news release on Jan. 10, announcing that Division I is proposing removing cannabis from its drug-testing policy and will be voting on implementing the change shortly.

The White Mountain Independent reports that during the NCAA Convention on Jan. 11, a group of panelists discussed the recent cannabinoid drug testing policy updates and what needs to be done in order to incorporate those changes. NCAA Division I leaders decided cannabis is not in fact a performance-enhancing drug and that the organization’s drug testing policy should focus on other drugs instead.

“Cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug, and we determined that the drug testing conducted at NCAA championships should focus on substances that impact competitive outcomes,” said Pat Chun, athletics director at Washington State and chair of the Strategic Vision and Planning Committee. “To be clear, this does not mean that NCAA members condone or promote use of cannabinoids. However, rather than focus on testing and subsequently penalizing student-athletes who use cannabis, NCAA efforts should focus on a harm reduction strategy, similar to substances like alcohol.”

The three panelists are members of the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS), which recommended in September 2023 that each NCAA division introduce and adopt legislation to remove cannabinoids from the association’s banned list.

In order for cannabis to be removed from the NCAA substance list, Divisions I, II, and III must introduce and adopt legislation.The CSMAS committee suggested that NCAA Divisions I, II, and III remove cannabinoids from the NCAA’s banned drug list. Beyond the obvious tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), this would also remove less common cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabinol (CBN).

Division I programs offer the highest level of competition between the NCAA’s three divisions and is the hardest division to get into and compete in.

The recommendation dates back to a December 2022 Summit on Cannabinoids in College Athletics, which concluded that “the consensus opinion that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level,” the NCAA wrote in a June 16, 2023 news release.

In February 2022, CSMAS slowly recognized the need for change, raising the THC testing threshold from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter and proposing a new penalty structure that incorporated treatment and education plans.

“One of the things we know about college students specifically is that treatment and education strategies work better than penalties,” CSMAS member Nadine Mastroleo, an associate professor in the department of psychology and faculty athletics representative at New York’s Binghamton University. “The last piece of this is really testing within a campus or at the local level. That is the best approach to using and finding individuals who actually might have a problem and could really use some support to reduce their use and to recover from whatever problems they may be having from that.”

According to a 2023 NCAA Student-Athlete Health and Wellness Study, 43% of college athletes are using marijuana in states where it is legal for recreational and medical use.

“Harm-reduction interventions, meaning meeting individuals where they are, are likely to be more effective in reducing cannabis-related health consequences than abstinence-only approaches,” said CSMAS member Deena Casiero, the senior associate athletics director for sports medicine and the head team physician at the University of Connecticut. “We know that randomly testing small groups of individuals at championships is not likely going to be as effective a deterrent as educating athletes about what this substance is actually doing to their bodies.

She continued, “How is this affecting your injury risk? How is this affecting your recovery? How is this affecting your performance? How is it affecting your sleep, your mental health? Pushing those agendas are going to be way more effective than randomly testing a group of individuals and then punishing them when they test positive.”

“So for those of you that will be getting emails from your student-athletes’ parents, we will hopefully be offering the information to you to help with that conversation,” Mastroleo said. “What we’re going to create ideally will be a really good toolkit of opportunities to really help with dispelling myths and also letting them know that we are out there for the athletes. Will we help everybody walk away from it? No, but I mean, how many of us can actually make everybody happy?”

A vote is scheduled to formally implement the drug testing policy change for Division I colleges is expected in June.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced the details of its new Anti-Doping Policy, which took effect for all UFC athletes beginning Dec. 31, 2023, and with it comes a progressive stance on cannabis, reflecting a larger trend of reviewing cannabis policy and bans in sports.

The UFC announced that it will remove cannabis from its banned substances list, mirroring a larger shift in the world of sports and cannabis use.

The ruling comes after the UFC’s 2021 decision that cannabis would no longer be penalized for testing positive for THC. The policy deemed that positive tests for carboxy-THC, a THC metabolite, would no longer be considered a violation “unless additional evidence exists that an athlete used it intentionally for performance-enhancing purposes.”

According to a statement from UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, the newest iteration of the program raises “the bar for health and safety in combat sports.” 

Campbell highlighted the UFC’s goal for its Anti-Doping Policy to be “the best, most effective, and most progressive anti-doping program in all of professional sports,” adding that the UFC is proud of the advancements it’s made in the policy throughout the past eight years. Campbell affirmed that the UFC will continue to maintain an “independently administered drug-testing program” to ensure that all UFC athletes will compete under fair and equal circumstances.

UFC Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky similarly nodded to the new policy as a means to protect competitors, citing that the new program came about after “years of input and trial and error taken by UFC, our athletes, and third parties who have assisted UFC in operating the program.” 

Similarly, Novitzky noted that the policy is a “living and breathing document” that will continue to evolve and adapt in the future. 

One of Many Recent Shifts in Cannabis Policy and Sports

The move continues the pattern of changing policy regarding cannabis, THC and CBD in the sports world.

The National Football League (NFL) has drastically altered its cannabis testing procedures over the years. The NFL reworked its policy in 2021 so players would no longer be drug tested for THC during the offseason from April to August. The testing period was also reduced, so players would only be tested for THC between the start of training camp and the first preseason game.

The NFL also changed the threshold for a failed THC test, from 35 ng/ml to 150 ng/ml. If a player does exceed the threshold for a test, they will also no longer be suspended. Rather, the NFL now looks toward treatment rather than punishment; the intervention program’s first stage involves a review of the case by a panel of medical experts to determine if the player needs treatment for addiction and suggest appropriate care. 

Only players who don’t follow the proposed medical treatment are fined and moved to stage two. Further failure to comply could lead to suspension.

Most recently, the National Basketball Association (NBA) also removed cannabis from its list of banned substances. The new collective bargaining agreement went into effect on July 1, 2023 also allows the league’s players to use cannabis and invest in cannabis companies under specific circumstances. 

The new contract notes that players cannot be high at games, practices or other team functions, and any cannabis use that becomes problematic will still be subject to action from the NBA.

Despite these changes, the World Anti-Doping Agency has maintained its ban on cannabis, in that it “has the potential to enhance sport performance; it represents a health risk to the athlete; and it violates the spirit of sport.” This rule drew particularly strong backlash recently when U.S. runner Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for a positive cannabis test.

Cannabis as a Progressive Recovery and Harm Reduction Tool for Athletes

Given the physical nature of these sports, reform on cannabis policy is often seen as a progressive approach in allowing athletes to seek out specific care to best treat injuries and prevent further harm to their bodies. 

A growing number of retired athletes have shared that they used cannabis during their active years to treat aches and pains, and growing research has confirmed the efficacy of cannabis in treating athletic injuries and maintaining a sense of health for sports professionals.

In a recent survey, 93% of athletic participants said they felt CBD helped them with recovery from exercise while 87% said the same about THC. Researchers noted that “Individuals who habitually use cannabis, CBD or THC, and regularly engage in exercise do feel that cannabis assists them with exercise recovery.”

Another survey examining the opinions of sports medicine doctors showed that most have favorable attitudes about cannabis use — 72% of respondents supported the 2018 removal of CBD from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substances list, while 59% supported removing cannabis as a whole. A majority of respondents also said that they believe CBD and THC are not performance enhancing (approximately 76% and 66%, respectively).

A 2023 study even found that regular cannabis use has the potential to offset repeated blows to the head, showing potential promise for professional athletes like boxers, football and soccer players seeking to reduce the risk of long-term brain damage.

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In his 15 seasons in the NBA, Kevin Durant has collected two championships and a most valuable player award, all while establishing himself as one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game. 

But it turns out one of his most significant contributions to the league came off the court. And when he was under the influence. 

Appearing at a sports business summit that aired Tuesday on CNBC, the Phoenix Suns star said he personally lobbied NBA commissioner Adam Silver to drop the league’s marijuana ban.

“I actually called him and advocated for him to take marijuana off the banned substance list,” Durant told CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin at the event. “I just felt like it was becoming a thing around the country, around the world … the stigma behind it wasn’t as negative as it was before. It doesn’t affect you in any negative way.”

Under a new collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the players’ union, the league will no longer conduct drug screenings of players for marijuana. The agreement, which took effect earlier this month, also allows players to invest in cannabis companies –– something Durant and his business partners have done. 

“Marijuana will be removed from the Prohibited Substances List (‘PSL’),” the CBA reads. “A team that has reason to believe one of its players is under the influence of marijuana or alcohol while engaged in NBA or team-related activities, or has a dependency issue involving marijuana or alcohol, may refer the player to a required evaluation treatment program.”

The agreement also permits players to “invest in a company that makes products containing only CBD, and to “hold a passive, non-controlling interest in a company that makes products containing marijuana.” Players “will continue to be prohibited from promoting marijuana companies, but a player may promote a company that makes products containing only CBD,” the agreement says.

Durant recounted his meeting with Silver, saying the commissioner could readily pick up on his passion for the issue.

“Well, he smelled it when I walked in, so I ain’t really have to say much,” Durant said at the summit, drawing laughs from the crowd. “He kind of understood where this was going. And I mean, it’s the NBA, man. Everybody does it, to be honest. It’s like wine at this point.”

Durant, who was traded to the Suns from the Brooklyn Nets last season, has been open about his pot use in the past. 

In an interview last year on David Letterman’s Netflix series, Durant told the former late night legend that he was “high right now.”

“To me, it clears the distractions out of your brain a little bit. Settles you down. It’s like having a glass of wine,” Durant told Letterman, adding that he wanted to “change the narrative around athletes and marijuana.”

“It’s crazy that you got people in jail for 20 years for maybe selling a pound,” Durant said. 

The NBA first began phasing out marijuana testing for players in 2020, when it announced that it was suspending testing as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We decided that, given all the things that were happening in society, given all the pressures and stress that players were under, that we didn’t need to act as Big Brother right now,” Silver said at the time. “I think society’s views around marijuana have changed to a certain extent.”

Other sporting leagues have also relaxed their policies governing marijuana use. In 2019, Major League Baseball removed cannabis from its banned substances list. 

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A 32-year-old woman was recently put in prison for possession of CBD in Hong Kong. According to a report from Agence France-Presse (AFP), she has become the first person to receive a criminal conviction for CBD since Hong Kong officially banned it earlier this year. Now it’s illegal to possess, consume, or sell CBD products, and is categorized the same as substances like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

The woman carried two CBD products when going through customs on March 29 when she was traveling from the U.S. to Hong Kong. According to the report, she also carried 2.2 grams of ketamine and 10 “syringes,” although it was not specified if they were empty or contained a specific substance.

On July 7, the woman was sentenced to two months in prison for two counts of drug possession and one count for the syringes. A Hong Kong customs official stated that her conviction “reflects the seriousness of the offence and serves as a clear warning to the general public.”

Hong Kong’s current law states that offenders caught with CBD can receive up to seven years in prison, with fines up to HK$1 million (approximately US$128,000). Those who are caught importing, exporting, or manufacturing CBD receive harsher punishments. One of the main reasons that authorities say led to the ban was because CBD can potentially be converted to THC.

China banned CBD in topical or cosmetic products back in 2021, and Hong Kong followed suit earlier this year in February. “Starting from February 1, cannabidiol, aka CBD, will be regarded as a dangerous drug and will be supervised and managed by the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance,” a customs intelligence officer stated. “As of then, transporting CBD for sale, including import and export, as well as producing, possessing and consuming CBD, will be illegal.”

Chan Kai-ho, a divisional commander with the department’s Airport Command, added in a statement that they plan to do whatever it takes to enforce the law. “We will tackle all kinds of dangerous drugs from all angles and all ends, and the intelligence-led enforcement action is our major goal,” Chan said.

Since then, officials have stated that within the first three months of its CBD ban they had already arrested six people, although up until now no one has gone to prison for a CBD conviction. Officials also stated that they had seized 852 CBD products within that time frame, which were described with a value of around $16,600 and were all taken from people entering Hong Kong.

Back in September 2020, Hong Kong first CBD café, called Found, opened and offered a wide variety of CBD-based products, such as CBD oil, powders to be used in food, butters, pet products, infused beer, and coffee. However, it announced in August 2022 that it would be closing down due to the incoming ban. “Sadly, in spite of the demonstrable positive impact, it has now become apparent that the Hong Kong government intends to adopt new legislation to prohibit the sale and possession of CBD,” Found wrote on its Instagram page. “While we do not know exactly when it will take effect, it is expected to happen sometime around the end of 2022 or early 2023. With this, we have had to make the difficult decision to close the Found café at the end of September.”

In May, a large amount of cocaine and cannabis, valued at HK$650 million (US$83 million), was seized by Hong Kong police. Labeled as the biggest seizure of the year, “The cannabis flower buds seized this time were stored among frozen fish,” explained Chief Inspector Charm Yiu-kwong. “We believe the drug cartel used this method … in an attempt to cover up the odor of marijuana with the frozen fish’s pungent smell.” According to Hong Kong law, a maximum sentence for drug trafficking can lead to life in prison.

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The National Basketball Association has removed cannabis from its list of banned substances under a new contract that allows the league’s players to smoke weed and invest in cannabis companies. The new collective bargaining, which was ratified by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) in April, went into effect on Saturday, July 1, and will be in place through the 2029-2030 season.

On Friday, the league and the players union announced that the final long-form version of the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has been completed and signed. The terms of the new CBA had previously been reflected in a shorter-form memorandum of agreement.

Cannabis Removed From NBA’s Banned Substances List

Under the new contract, cannabis will be removed from the NBA’s list of banned substances. The agreement also ends marijuana screenings for players, giving them the opportunity to smoke marijuana and use other cannabis products without fear of reprisal. 

Although players will be permitted to use cannabis and will no longer be tested for weed, the new contract does have some limitations. Athletes will not be permitted to be high at games, practices or other team functions, and cannabis use that becomes problematic will still be subject to action from the league.

“A team that has reason to believe one of its players is under the influence of marijuana or alcohol while engaged in NBA or team-related activities, or has a dependency issue involving marijuana or alcohol, may refer the player to a required evaluation treatment program,” according to a summary of the contract.

The agreement also notes that the “NBA and teams may impose reasonable discipline on players who are under the influence while engaged in any team activity or in violation of the law.”

The CBA also allows players to invest in the cannabis industry. Players will be permitted to invest in CBD companies, and may “hold a passive, non-controlling interest in a company that makes products containing marijuana.” Additionally, the summary of the labor agreement states that although players “may promote a company that makes products containing CBD,” they will “continue to be prohibited from promoting marijuana companies.” 

Jesse Burns, the chief marketing officer of the public relations firm Grasslands, told SFGATE that the new rules could make NBA athletes the face of the CBD movement, adding that players have an opportunity to “really leverage this moment of health and wellness” by launching their own CBD brands. 

“There’s this general knowledge that CBD is medicine and pain relief and inflammation relief,” Burns said. “The mainstream public is starting to get that.”

Previous Policy Disciplined Players For Using Pot 

The NBA’s previous policy on cannabis included a ban on the use of the drug by all players. Violations of the policy were addressed by entering players into the league’s counseling and treatment program on the first violation. Subsequent violations resulted in a fine of $25,000 for the second violation and a five-game suspension without pay for the third.

The NBA suspended testing players for cannabis as part of its response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In late 2020, league commissioner Adam Silver said that the moratorium would likely become permanent. He added that instead of a mandatory testing program for all players, the league would approach players who appear to be using cannabis problematically or because of dependency and decline to punish players who are “using marijuana casually.”

“We decided that, given all the things that were happening in society, given all the pressures and stress that players were under, that we didn’t need to act as Big Brother right now,” Silver told NBC. “I think society’s views around marijuana have changed to a certain extent.”

Cannabis And Professional Sports

The NBA’s end of its prohibition of cannabis for players follows similar action by top U.S. professional sports leagues. In 2019, Major League Baseball (MLB) removed marijuana from its list of banned substances, although the current policy allows players to be disciplined if they appear to be under the influence of cannabis during games, practices or team meetings.

The MLB’s cannabis policy continued to evolve last year when the league announced that teams would be permitted to enter sponsorship deals with cannabis companies. Four months later, the league announced that products from Colorado-based Charlotte’s Web Holdings had been named the “Official CBD of MLB.” 

The National Hockey League (NHL) also no longer lists cannabis as a banned substance and players who test positive for the drug don’t face disciplinary action. Players who have “abnormally” high levels of THC detected during testing are referred to a voluntary treatment program.

The National Football League’s collective bargaining agreement for the 2020-21 season relaxed the league’s policy on cannabis, allowing players to use marijuana during the off-season while maintaining prohibition throughout the season of play. The agreement also increased the level of THC that can be present in a player’s drug test before triggering sanctions from the league and ended game suspensions for all positive drug tests, with players facing fines instead.

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On June 16, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) released a statement regarding its support of removing cannabis from its list of banned substances.

The NCAA is governed by three divisions: Division I, II, and III. According to a press release, CSMAS met in Indianapolis last week by a referral of Divisions II and III, asking them “to further consider the [NCAA’s] cannabis policy and whether NCAA drug testing should be limited to performance-enhancing substances.”

In order for cannabis to be removed from the NCAA substance list, Divisions I, II, and III must introduce and adopt legislation. This most recent update was motivated by the 2022 Summit on Cannabinoids in College Athletics that was held in December 2022. Ultimately, the consensus stated that “cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level.” 

CSMAS’s Rationale leading up to this recommendation includes: a focus on testing for substances that enhance athletic abilities and provide an unfair advantage to competitors, embracing harm reduction philosophy similarly to how alcohol is approached, and educating student athletes on health impacts of cannabis, among others. It also stated that in considering changes to the association’s current cannabis policies, it also supports “a comprehensive communication and education campaign that provides guidance to the membership about cannabis.”

The committee also adopted a trace level threshold for the metabolic modulator GW1516 (also known as cardarine or endurobol) to be less than 0.1 nanograms per milliliter (npm).

The NCAA Mental Health Advisory Group met for the first time in December 2022, and is working on an update for a NCAA Mental Health Best Practices document. Brian Hainline, NCAA’s chief medical officer, explained the importance of mental health support for athletes. “Since my time at the NCAA began in 2013 and the initial NCAA Mental Health Task Force, the mental health and well-being of student-athletes has been a consistent topic and top priority,” said Hainline. “The Mental Health Advisory Group is part of a continuous effort to strengthen our programming and educational resources for members and student-athletes.”

CSMAS shared that it has reviewed an early draft of the Mental Health Advisory Group document and stated its preliminary support. According to the June 16 announcement, the Mental Health Advisory Group will continue to work on its final updates for CSMAS sometime this year, with the expectation of making the updates available between 2024-2025. 

In February 2022, CSMAS announced that it would be increasing the THC threshold for a positive cannabis drug test from 35 npm to 150 npm, which was done to match that of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “Reconsidering the NCAA approach to cannabis testing and management is consistent with feedback from membership on how to better support and educate student-athletes in a society with rapidly evolving public health and cultural views regarding cannabis use,” Hainline said last year. “Marijuana is not considered a performance-enhancing substance, but it remains important for member schools to engage student-athletes regarding substance use prevention and provide management and support when appropriate.”

Other sports agencies and associations are also moving forward with improved cannabis policies as well. In April, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced that they are considering removing cannabis from its list of banned substances for players, and plan to open up possibilities for players to invest in cannabis companies as well.

Also last month, the Chicago Cubs became the first MLB team to partner with a CBD company called MYND Drinks. “We’re proud to be the first club to partner with a CBD company, but what was more important to us was making sure that the brand was the right fit,” said Alex Seyferth, Chicago Cubs Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “MYND DRINKS is a Chicago-based company that promotes overall wellness and helps ease the stressors of everyday life, just like a Friday 1:20 game at Wrigley Field.” The partnership includes signage at Wrigley Field and other marketing.

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Thailand removed cannabis from the nation’s list of banned drugs on Thursday, making the country the first Asian nation to decriminalize pot. Government officials warned, however, that the move does not legalize cannabis for recreational purposes.

Under Thailand’s new regulations, marijuana and hemp cultivation and commerce are no longer illegal. Restaurants and cafes will be permitted to sell foods and beverages infused with cannabis, but only if they contain no more than 0.2% THC. Products with higher concentrations of THC are permitted for medicinal purposes.

Boosting Economic Growth

Anutin Charnvirakul, the Thai health minister and deputy prime minister, told CNN before the policy reform was enacted that legalizing cannabis will help foster economic growth and development in Thailand. But he added that the non-medical use of high-THC cannabis is still not allowed under decriminalization.

“It’s a no,” Anutin said, referring to the legalization of recreational cannabis. “We still have regulations under the law that control the consumption, smoking or use of cannabis products in non-productive ways.”

Thailand is retaining strict penalties for the recreational use of cannabis. Under the country’s Public Health Act, smoking cannabis in public can be punished with a fine of about $800 and up to three months in jail.

“We [have always] emphasized using cannabis extractions and raw materials for medical purposes and for health,” Anutin said. “There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation — or use it in a way that it could irritate others.”

The health minister also had a warning for tourists who may believe that Thailand’s new stance on cannabis presents an opportunity to simply enjoy weed. While cannabis tourism for medicinal purposes will be permitted, recreational use is still not allowed, particularly in public places.

“Thailand will promote cannabis policies for medical purposes,” said Anutin. “If [tourists] come for medical treatment or come for health-related products then it’s not an issue but if you think that you want to come to Thailand just because you heard that cannabis or marijuana is legal … [or] come to Thailand to smoke joints freely, that’s wrong. Don’t come. We won’t welcome you if you just come to this country for that purpose.”

Leading the Way on Cannabis Reform in Asia

In 2018, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian nation to legalize cannabis for medical use. Two years later, the Thai cabinet approved amendments to the country’s drug laws to allow for the production and sale of medical marijuana, including cannabis flower. Last month, the Thai government announced that the country would remove cannabis from its list of banned substances and permit the home cultivation of an unlimited number of plants for medical purposes. At the same time, Anutin said that the health and agricultural ministries would collaborate to distribute one million free cannabis plants for residents to grow at home for medicinal purposes.

“This will enable people and the government to generate more than 10 billion baht (nearly $300 million annually) in revenue from marijuana and hemp,” Anutin said after making the announcement. “Meanwhile, people can showcase their cannabis and hemp-related products and wisdom and sell their products nationwide.”

He added that cannabis decriminalization and initiatives such as the distribution of free plants will help fuel the growth and development of agriculture and commerce in Thailand.

“We expect the value of [the cannabis] industry to easily exceed $2 billion dollars,” he told CNN, highlighting recent incentives such as collaborating with the Agriculture Ministry to distribute 1 million free cannabis plants to households across the country. “Thailand, from what I was told, is one of the best places to grow cannabis plants.”

With Thailand’s new policy going into effect, the country planned to release about 3,000 prisoners incarcerated for marijuana or hemp offenses on Thursday. However, law enforcement agencies seem eager to continue the harsh prohibition of the past. Only last week, police in the eastern province of Chonburi arrested a 56-year-old woman for growing one potted cannabis plant, which plainclothes officers had noticed growing in her home through her bedroom window. Her husband later said that the woman has high blood pressure and diabetes so the couple was growing the plant to add to their food. The health minister said that the four officers involved in the case had been reprimanded and disciplined.

“They were given warnings and suspended. They did not obey the law we have just established,” Anutin said. “However, we need to [educate] ordinary people and the law enforcers and let them know how far they can go in terms of using cannabis content … within the legal framework. This is what we have been trying to do, to give as much information as we can to educate people.”

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