Cannabis Regulation and Development: Fair(er) Trade Options for Emerging Legal Markets

Significant policy shifts have led to an unprecedented boom in medical cannabis markets, while a growing number of countries are moving towards the legal regulation of adult nonmedical use. This trend is likely to bring a range of benefits. Yet there are growing concerns over the many forprofit cannabis companies from the global North that are aggressively competing to capture the licit spaces now opening in the multibilliondollar global cannabis market. This threatens to push smallscale traditional farmers from the global South out of the emerging legal markets. Those trying to transition out of illegality face huge difficulties due to a combination of the legacy of criminalisation and administrative barriers to entry. Conquering and protecting spaces for smallscale farmers within the current overheated and corporatedriven market will require affirmative action, regulation of foreign investment, and welldesigned legislative and market strategies. This policy comment explores the unfolding market dynamics from a development perspective and offers a set of guiding principles and policy proposals upon which a more equitable, fair(er) trade cannabis regulation model can be built.