The New Arab • 26th August 2026

What is the future of US military bases in the Gulf?

For over four decades, US bases in the Gulf have aimed to deter threats, provide security guarantees to regional allies, and project power across the Middle East. But the war with Iran is now casting doubt on their future. The US and Israel’s war with Iran, which began on 28 February, has led to Iranian retaliatory attacks against US bases and assets in the Gulf, exposing their vulnerability and transforming them from strategic assets for Gulf states into targets. As US-Iran tensions grow, wi...

Forbes • 15th August 2026

Canada Invests $24 Million To Study Impact Of Cannabis On Brain Health

Canada's health ministry this week announced a $24 million investment in research examining how cannabis use affects users' brain health.The investment, made through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), will establish the Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium, described as "Canada's first national cannabis and brain health research consortium.”The initiative comes as researchers confront a situation in which many Canadian adults report using cannabis without serious adverse...

Forbes • 14th August 2026

CDC’s New Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome Code Drives Reported Case Surge

A new diagnostic code, not a sudden outbreak, is behind a nearly fourfold spike in emergency-room visits for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighting that the condition has long been underestimated.Emergency departments (EDs) had no dedicated code for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), a condition marked by cycles of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain tied to long-term cannabis use. They used to rely instead on a combination of broader d...

Forbes • 8th August 2026

FDA-Approved Synthetic THC Reduces Nightmares In PTSD Patients, Study Finds

Dronabinol, a synthetic THC medication, has shown promising results in reducing the intensity of nightmares among people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study—potentially alleviating one of the condition's most intrusive hallmarks.Findings published this week in the journal Nature Medicine by a group of German researchers show that dronabinol, the synthetic THC-based drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has a positive effect on sleep in PTSD pati...

Forbes • 31st July 2026

Cannabis Use Climbs As Alcohol And Cigarette Use Decline, Survey Shows

Despite being still illegal at the federal level, cannabis use is growing among Americans while alcohol and cigarette use are declining, according to a new federal survey. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and published this week, shows past-month cannabis use rose from 13.2% in 2021 to 15.1% in 2025, while both alcohol and cigarette use declined over the same period, from 47.4% to 44.4% and from 16.0% to...

Forbes • 28th July 2026

Senate Introduces Bill To Shield Insurers Covering Cannabis Businesses

Two Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would provide a safe harbor for insurance companies that cover legal cannabis businesses, as insurers fear federal prosecution due to the federal illegality of the substance.Kevin Cramer, Republican Senator for North Dakota, and Rubén Marinelarena Gallego, Democratic Senator for Arizona, introduced last week the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act, a bill to protect insurance companies from covering cannabis-related busines...

The New Arab • 27th July 2026

The Middle East’s race to bypass the Strait of Hormuz

Countries across the Middle East are rushing to develop alternative pipelines and trade routes to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, as uncertainty over the waterway's future exposes the risks of relying on a single energy chokepoint. Over the past two weeks, the US has been conducting fresh attacks against Iran, despite the two countries signing a memorandum of understanding in June to reopen the strait and negotiate for a final peace deal. Iran has retaliated against the US by targeting its milita...

Forbes • 19th July 2026

Curaleaf Becomes First To Supply Medical Cannabis Under Spain's New Law

Curaleaf has become the first cannabis company to provide cannabis preparation under Spain’s new medical cannabis law, giving the U.S. company a first-mover advantage in the country and positioning it more strongly in the European pharma medical cannabis market. The company announced this week that the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices approved the registration of two standardized THC-dominant and CBD-dominant cannabis preparations developed by Medalchemy, Curaleaf's Spanish manufa...

Forbes • 11th July 2026

Wyoming Opts Out Of Federal Medical Cannabis Rescheduling

Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz has determined that the medical cannabis rescheduling advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and implemented by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April won't apply to his state.In a press release published on July 7, Kautz said that “all marijuana products, including marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license, shall remain on Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act.”Wyoming is the latest state not to accept the...

Forbes • 9th July 2026

Cheap, High-THC Products Are Driving Germany's Medical Cannabis Market

Germany’s medical cannabis users are increasingly opting for the cheapest and most potent products available, according to a new study, raising questions about whether the system is meeting medical needs or enabling recreational-style use.In 2024, Germany legalized limited recreational cannabis for personal use and home cultivation, as well as cultivation through cannabis associations, but it still prohibits commercial sales. The reform also significantly expanded access to medical cannabis by r...

Forbes • 1st July 2026

German Courts Draw Line Over Cannabis Cuttings Amid Legal Uncertainty

German courts are clarifying a gray area left by the cannabis reform that entered into effect in 2024, which legalized personal use, cultivation, and associations, but left questions over the legal status of cannabis cuttings.A cannabis cutting, or clone, is a small piece cut from a mature cannabis plant. When this piece is cut off, it is rooted so it can grow into a new plant that is genetically identical to the original.Although the Cannabis Act (CanG), the cannabis law that partially legalize...

The New Arab • 29th June 2026

How Iran’s missile programme survived war and diplomacy

When US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last week that Iran’s missile programme and regional proxies “most certainly will come up in these conversations” during his three-day Gulf tour, Tehran quickly pushed back, making clear that its missile programme was off the table. At a press briefing, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the missile programme was not part of the talks with the United States, echoing earlier remarks by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pak...

Forbes • 29th June 2026

Nearly 10% Of Americans Use Cannabis To Sleep. But Does It Actually Help?

For many Americans struggling to sleep, cannabis has become a bedtime ritual. A new National Sleep Foundation-funded survey found that nearly 10% of adults use it to help them sleep. But researchers continue to debate whether it delivers on that promise.The survey, published in the foundation's journal Sleep Health in June, found that 8.6% of 1,367 adults surveyed currently use cannabis to help them sleep, while 9.9% had done so in the past. Among those who had never used cannabis for sleep, abo...

Forbes • 26th June 2026

Cannabis Jobs And Sales Decline Together For The First Time Since Legalization

A new report reveals that both cannabis jobs and revenue have dropped for the first time since legal adult-use cannabis markets started expanding, amid price compression caused by oversupply in cultivation markets.The U.S. Cannabis Jobs Report 2026, published by the recruitment platform for the legal cannabis industry Vangst, in collaboration with cannabis consulting firm Whitney Economics, recorded an employment decline of about 2.7–2.9%, leaving 412,500 workers in early 2026, down from 425,002...

Forbes • 21st June 2026

Cannabis Tax Revenue Hits $28 Billion Since First Legalization

States that have legalized recreational cannabis have collected more than $28 billion in tax revenue over the past roughly 12 years, according to a new report from the cannabis policy reform group Marijuana Policy Project.It all started when Colorado and Washington broke ground as the first states to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older. Today, 24 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized it too, adding up to $28.4 billion collected in cannabis taxes so far. In 2025 alone, the...

Forbes • 19th June 2026

Supreme Court Backs Cannabis User In Major Second Amendment Gun-Rights Case

The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can’t automatically take away someone’s right to own a gun just because they use cannabis, with advocates for cannabis reform calling this a big win.On Thursday, the justices unanimously ruled in United States v. Hemani that federal prosecutors crossed the line when they went after Ali Danial Hemani, a U.S.-Pakistan dual citizen from Dallas area, simply for having a gun while being a regular cannabis user.This decision puts real limits on a federal...

Forbes • 31st May 2026

Three States Seek To Reverse Trump Administration's Medical Cannabis Rescheduling

Three Republican attorneys general are asking a federal appeals court to block the Trump administration's push to reschedule certain medical cannabis products amid the broader effort to reschedule cannabis at the federal level.The attorneys general of Nebraska, Indiana, and Louisiana filed a petition on May 22 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging an order issued by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April. The order moved certain cannabis products fr...

Forbes • 29th May 2026

Some Cannabinoids May Ease Common Chronic Pain Conditions, Study Finds

A blend of non-intoxicating cannabinoids may offer relief for patients suffering from fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and knee or hip osteoarthritis, according to a new study, presenting a promising alternative to the undesired effects of THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis.The study, published earlier this month in the journal Clinical Therapeutics and led by researchers from the University at Buffalo, the University of Michigan Medical School and data and research technology co...

The New Arab • 25th May 2026

Strait of Hormuz toll: Iran’s power grab or a negotiating card?

Pakistan-brokered negotiations between the US and Iran took a significant step forward on Saturday, with President Donald Trump announcing that a deal to end the war - including reopening the Strait of Hormuz - had been "largely negotiated" and would be announced "shortly". The breakthrough, if it holds, would bring to a close a conflict that has roiled global energy markets since 28 February, when the US and Israeli war on Iran triggered a retaliatory closure of the strait, through which rough...

Forbes • 22nd May 2026

Why Virginia Governor Vetoed Retail Cannabis Bills

Virginia has once again failed to pass bills that would have regulated the sale of recreational cannabis.Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) on May 19 vetoed House Bill 642 and Senate Bill 542, which would have established a retail marketplace for cannabis products, citing concerns over the timeline, structure, and “resources needed for successful implementation.”Despite the vetoes, Spanberger said in a statement that she supports a safe, legal, and well-regulated cannabis retail market, and that “Virgi...