TG Branfalt

Cannabis tax revenues are going up in California but are still far below original expectations, likely thanks to high tax rates and an excess of local bans on the industry.

Citing racial discrimination issues, police and prosecutors in Jefferson County, Kentucky will no longer pursue low-level cannabis possession crimes if it’s the only or primary charge.

A bill to allow medical cannabis products in California schools has advanced from the Assembly and now moves to the Senate; a similar bill passed both legislative bodies last year but was ultimately vetoed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.

Washington state regulators are considering what they call “Cannabis 2.0” reforms to the state’s adult-use industry, which could include a social equity program and the abandoning of the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system.

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has announced a partnership with Abacus Health Products and said that CBD products have helped him be “pain-free” for the first time in a decade.

The DEA has announced an expansion of medical cannabis research options and a change in policy: hemp cultivators no longer need to register with the agency in light of the crop’s federal legalization.

The UK’s National Institute for Health Care and Excellence has decided against recommending CBD products with clobazam for treating treatment-resistant epilepsy conditions, citing CBD’s “unknown” long-term efficacy.

Canada’s Paracanna has announced its launch of a DIY cannabis gummies kit, which allows consumers to add drops of oil to create gummies in a variety of flavors.

Thailand has started processing seized cannabis products into bottled medical cannabis oils for the domestic market.

The eight operating medical cannabis dispensaries in Arkansas have surpassed $6 million in sales in just three months; another 24 dispensaries are expected to open soon.

A California committee has advanced legislation that would allow for social-use cannabis consumption in ‘party buses’ and limousines; the bill moves next to the full Assembly for consideration.

In the almost year since legal adult-use sales launched in Canada, cannabis industry employment has nearly quadrupled from 2,630 positions filled to 9,200.

Ashtabula County, Ohio has joined the growing ranks of local jurisdictions that have opted out of enforcing cannabis laws in light of hemp’s newly legal status.

These are the main takeaways from my first experience at a legal Canadian cannabis dispensary in Montreal, Quebec.

Harvard researchers recently identified a specific cannabis flavonoid that was able to kill tumor cells in 70 percent of mice with pancreatic cancer.

Weedmaps will no longer allow unlicensed cannabis businesses to list or advertise on their platform; additionally, the technology firm announced a new social equity program to benefit minority entrepreneurs in the cannabis space.

Utah lawmakers are backpedaling on their plan to have state health departments dispense medical cannabis; they are expected to pivot to privately-run dispensaries during a special legislative session next month.

A truck driver delivering 300 pounds of hemp from a Colorado company to Minnesota was arrested in South Dakota and charged with marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

Israeli cannabis company Tikun Olam has decided to sell its Israel-based operations; the company’s international holdings in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Greece, however, are not for sale.

Dr. Sue Sisley of the Scottsdale Research Institute is suing the DEA over hurdles to cannabis research — specifically, that government-sourced cannabis is nothing like the products being used en masse throughout legal states.

With hemp legalization having spurred many prosecutors to turn away from cannabis cases, the U.S. Attorney for Florida’s Northern District says he will take over the prosecution of cannabis-related cases.

The National Credit Union Administration says that credit unions are free to serve hemp businesses now that the crop has been federally legalized.

Aurora Cannabis has announced a new brand — Aurora Hemp — after acquiring industrial hemp company Hempco Food and Fiber Inc.

The FBI says it is seeking information about cannabis companies who may have obtained a permit through illegal means, such as by bribing a corrupt public official.