TG Branfalt

Unregulated companies in California continue to dominate the majority of cannabis sales in the state, where illegal operators outnumber licensed companies 3-to-1.

A new Nielsen report suggests legal U.S. cannabis sales could surpass $40 billion by 2025; the sector was worth just $8 billion in 2018.

A cadre of cannabis legalization advocates has called on House Democrats to delay a vote on the SAFE Banking Act in favor of pursuing more broad and “holistic” cannabis reforms, first.

Nevada’s Department of Taxation has launched an investigation into cannabis testing laboratories due to multiple failed yeast and mold checks and accusations of inflated cannabinoid content.

Despite an official court order, the New Mexico Department of Health is still refusing to issue medical cannabis patients cards to out-of-state residents.

After the unveiling of multiple compliance failures, Canadian cannabis producer CannTrust Holdings Inc. has had its license suspended by Health Canada; the company is allowed to complete its existing crops and perform other tasks like trimming and curing, but cannot sell or propagate new batches of cannabis.

Local officials in Pittsburg, California have approved a new plan to turn part of the former U.S. Army’s Camp Stoneman into a cannabis product manufacturing facility.

Utah lawmakers have scrapped plans to have county health departments dispense medical cannabis products and have opted for privately-run dispensaries; this brings the Utah cannabis law more in line with the voter-approved initiative that was replaced by lawmakers.

Draft rules for the federal hemp industry have been submitted by the USDA to the White House Office of Management and Budget; the rules should be released publicly within “a matter of weeks.”

Amazon has removed from its offerings products that could be used to create counterfeit cannabis vape pens; the products included specific vape cartridges and even fake “California Compliant” stickers.

The city council in Springfield, Massachusetts has launched an investigation into a $200,000 donation made by a cannabis company to determine if the payment could be a bribe.

Democratic leaders in the House intend for a full floor vote on the SAFE Banking Act by the end of September; lawmakers in the Senate, meanwhile, could likewise consider the bill — or their own version of the bill — by the year’s end.

Some three million additional Canadians are expected to participate in the country’s cannabis industry as consumers once infused edibles are made available later this year.

The UK’s Imperial College London is partnering with European medical cannabis company EMMAC for a study evaluating cannabis’ entourage effect as a pain relief option.

The planned cannabis cruise departing from Windsor, Ontario has been canceled after officials said it would have violated the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.

Big Sky Scientific, whose 6,700-pound shipment of industrial hemp was confiscated in January by Idaho State Police, says it will drop its lawsuit if the impounded hemp shipment is returned. It’s not known whether the hemp would still be usable.

Cannabis regulators in Massachusetts will soon require extra ingredient details on cannabis vape cartridges, extracts, and concentrates amid the breakout of a deadly, vape-linked pulmonary illness.

The world’s first billionaire from the legal cannabis industry is reportedly Boris Jordan, chairman for Curaleaf.

Illinois regulators have named the 26 companies selected to provide health and safety training for the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis dispensaries.

The executive director of Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Commission has resigned as regulators are in the process of awarding 14 new cultivation and processing licenses with the goal of increasing the industry’s diversity.

Cannabis industry veteran Steve DeAngelo is a world-renowned cannabis activist, author, and cofounder of Harborside, Steep Hill Labs, the Arcview Group, and the NCIA.

Hemp cultivation rates in the U.S. have quadrupled since 2018, with an estimated 115,000 to 138,000 acres of hemp expected to be harvested by the year’s end.

Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois has launched a cannabis certificate course focusing on the plant’s molecular biology, drug laws, the treatment of terminal illnesses, and other knowledge helpful for finding cannabis industry employment.

The CDC is not ready to definitively link illicit market cannabis cartridges to the vape-linked lung diseases that have hospitalized hundreds of Americans.