TG Branfalt

The Georgia Department of Public Health has reported for years that there were about 50,000 people signed up for its low-THC medical cannabis program but the figure is actually about 14,000.

The former chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is suing the state treasurer after being removed from their position “without notice, without articulated reason, and without any opportunity to be heard.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arguing the chamber should prioritize a measure to permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances under federal law over the SAFER Banking Act, which would normalize cannabis banking.

A federal judge has blocked an Arkansas state law that sought to ban hemp-derived THC products. The move prevents any enforcement actions under the ban and will keep thousands of employees, farmers, business owners, and consumers from being made into criminals “despite no change in federal law.”

The majority of government employees in Michigan are no longer subject to pre-employment drug testing for cannabis under new rules that took effect over the weekend.

South Dakota officials are considering changes to the state’s medical cannabis program that would allow 10% more THC in medical cannabis products and require rolling papers used for prerolls to be tested by state-approved laboratories.

The American Nurses Association — which represents the more than 4 million registered nurses in the U.S. — this week announced its formal recognition of cannabis nursing as a nursing specialty.

The former head of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Board was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in prison for accepting bribes while leading the cannabis regulatory body.

A group of more than 20 attorneys general sent a letter this week urging Congressional leadership to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, which passed a key Senate committee on Wednesday and moves next to the full Senate floor.

Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has received a $600,000 USDA grant to study industrial hemp and investigate the regulation of biosynthetic pathways for cannabinoid production.

The New York Attorney General’s Office has issued a stay in the cannabis tech company Leafly’s legal challenge against the state’s third-party marketing ban, effectively blocking the state from enforcing the ban against Leafly but not other third-party marketers.

Lawmakers in the North Carolina House unanimously passed a bill to regulate the sale of hemp-derived consumables and kratom.

Detroit’s first “psychedelic church” — which is operated by Soul Tribes and offers psilocybin mushrooms as a holy sacrament — was raided last week by the Detroit Police.

Congressional Democrats have reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which seeks to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level and implement criminal justice reforms.

Nearly 70 New York state lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul urging her to sign the Cannabis Crop Rescue Act, which lawmakers approved in June to allow licensed cannabis farmers to sell their products to dispensaries located on Tribal lands.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability last week advanced a bipartisan measure to let cannabis consumers qualify for security clearances and become federal employees.

Two Wisconsin Democrats last week introduced an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal, noting that “69% of Wisconsinites” support the reforms.

The Pennsylvania Senate last week passed a proposal that would allow more licensed medical cannabis companies to operate as dispensaries — currently, just five of the state’s 25 cannabis companies are allowed to retail medical cannabis products.

The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CMAS) has recommended the removal of cannabis from its list of banned substances for all three collegiate divisions.

Minnesota’s head of Office Cannabis Management stepped down on Friday, one day after she was appointed to the position, following reports that her hemp company sold products exceeding the state’s allowable THC levels and had tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens.

The McHenry County, Illinois State Attorney is requiring adult-use cannabis dispensaries in the county to display signs that warn “cannabis use may contribute to mental health problems.”

Fourteen Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, urging the agency to reject the recent Department of Health and Human Services recommendation to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law.

At least two recent studies found that a significant number of medical cannabis products available to registered patients in Maine would fail the adult-use industry’s testing protocols for containing either pesticides, yeast and mold, or harmful microbes.

Minnesota’s new head of the Office of Cannabis Management, Erin DuPree, is the founder, vice president of sales and operations, and head of research and development at Loonacy Cannabis Co.