Government to campaign for drug legalisation throughout Cordilia
Valkyrian cannabis and coca have proven to be lucrative industries since their legalisation
Anders Magnusson (he/him), Business writer
Monday, 22 May 2023
Austral | Valkyrisk | Austurmál | Fjellspråk | Läntinen
Cannabis allowed to grow freely in Valkyria
Ravneby — Foreign Minister Avianna Aldridge announced on Monday that the Valkyrian government will discuss drug legalisation with the nation’s neighbours. The announcement came after a yearslong campaign for legalisation within Valkyria that saw recreational cannabis legalised in 2017 and coca in 2018 and the decriminalisation of all drugs in 2021. Since then, cannabis and coca consumption has risen, with 57 per cent of Valkyrians telling the VKS in a March 2023 poll that they have tried cannabis at least once and 43 per cent saying they tried coca.
The trend toward legalisation has been so strong in Valkyria that the previous conservative government virtually abandoned its attempts to recriminalise coca and other drugs in 2021 after the Valkyrian people voted in a referendum to decriminalise all drugs. With the socialists winning the 2022 general election, the new Valkyrian government has proven to be an ally once again to the growing cannabis and coca industries.
Since the legalisation of cannabis in 2017, one company has become a national leader in the industry. Grønn, a worker cooperative headquartered in Gullkysten, operates more cannabis farms and dispensaries in Valkyria than any other company, and the company hopes to expand its operations internationally, according to Grønn president Karianna Westergaard.
Grønn is no stranger to the current Valkyrian government. Prime Minister Steve Bennett has been seen in public inhaling cannabis from a Grønn vaporiser. Agriculture Minister Halla Eiríksdotter met with Westergaard three times in 2022 to discuss national policy. With the national government moving forward with an international campaign to legalise drugs, Grønn may have an opportunity to follow through on its expansion into other countries.
Grønn’s flagship dispensary in Gullkysten
Founded in 2015 as a hemp company, Grønn’s exponential rise and growing influence have been tied to its business practices. As a company seeking legalisation, it saw early supporters from Labour and Green politicians. As a worker cooperative, it gained the support of socialists such as Bennett and Jarlskona Kate Murphy. During the Harrison premiership, Grønn received favourable subsidies from the Valkyrian government to expand its operations, quickly overtaking other cannabis companies that were privately owned or publicly traded.
Even in the present day, Grønn continues to receive government subsidies dedicated to Valkyrian cooperatives, allowing the company to thrive even further. In recent announcements concerning the Valkyrian government’s budget for the upcoming financial year, these subsidies are slated for a five per cent increase, giving the company extra incentives along the way.
Despite the extensive support Grønn has received and the continued trend toward legalisation, liberal and conservative opponents have cried foul, calling the subsidies “economic distortion”. When Stella Kaufman led the Valkyrian government, she threatened multiple times to end the cooperative subsidies, but the Centrist Democrats in her coalition never supported their termination, keeping them in place during the conservative government.
Wild coca growing in a Valkyrian forest
In 2020, Grønn became cross-industrial after an association of coca growers moved to join the cooperative, giving the company broad access to both the cannabis and coca industries. Moreover, the company plans to move into an industry awaiting full legalisation: psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Valkyria has yet to legalise the mushrooms, but they have been de facto legal because most Valkyrians use them for religious purposes.
In October 2022, Bennett said that the Storting will take up psilocybin legalisation, and legislation doing just that is making its way through the legislative body. In March, a group of Green legislators heavily involved in the bill said that legalisation could come as early as June. Compared to most other countries, the pace at which drug liberalisation has been moving in Valkyria has been among the fastest. Some members of parliament, primarily among the Greens and Pirates, have also been pushing for LSD and MDMA legalisation.
Now, with the Valkyrian government mobilising the Foreign Service for an international campaign to end the prohibition on drugs, it has been described as a sea change from the vast restrictions that once existed on these drugs a couple of decades ago. However, not everyone in Valkyria has been supportive of the change. Nicole Chancellor, the Leader of The New Right, said in August 2022 that Valkyria was becoming a “narco-state”.
When Valkyria legalised coca in 2018, the Ryccian government quickly responded by banning coca imports and imposing stricter inspections of Valkyrian exports. The Sedunnic interior minister stated that their government would also increase the inspection of Valkyrian goods. Several members of the conservative opposition, such as Chancellor, warn that further legalisation will harm Valkyrian exports.
Despite the concerns raised by the opposition, Bennett and his government are determined to press on with legalisation. So far, the Valkyrian people have not pushed back against this trend, especially after being given opportunity after opportunity to reverse it.
Furthermore, the Valkyrian medical community has embraced the legalisation trend, prescribing cannabis at record levels for various people, including cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to counteract the treatment’s side effects, and increasing endorsement of prescribing LSD or psilocybin to treat alcohol addiction and MDMA in psychotherapy for patients with post-traumatic stress.
At the time of writing, the legislation legalising psilocybin awaits its third and final reading while other legislation legalising LSD and MDMA are in their first reading.
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