TG Branfalt

Maryland dispensaries sold nearly $85 million worth of cannabis products in July, which was the state’s first month of legal adult-use sales.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice John Kane heard arguments on Tuesday in a case challenging a recently passed law that hikes medical cannabis licensing fees in the state.

Wayne State University in Michigan is launching a new cannabis chemistry undergrad certificate that will focus on the instrumentation, standard operating procedures, business and law practices, and science behind the testing and regulation of cannabis.

Illinois’ adult-use cannabis sales topped $136 million in June — the state’s highest monthly sales total of the year and its third-highest total ever.

Cannabis research company MMJ International Holdings is preparing a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for allegedly failing to follow federal law as it concerns the cultivation of pharmaceutical cannabis.

The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department filed a petition seeking a preliminary injunction against Sawmill Sweet Leaf, LLC, alleging the company has been diverting cannabis out of state and manufacturing concentrate without a permit.

Despite growing momentum for cannabis reforms in Congress, the cannabis industry’s federal lobbying expenditures are down from their peak in previous years.

Multi-state cannabis operators Cresco Labs and Columbia Care announced the cancellation of their planned merger, saying the companies could not complete “the divestitures necessary to secure all necessary regulatory approvals.”

One of Connecticut’s four licensed cannabis producers, Theraplant, was sold last week to NewCo, a subsidiary of New York-based DXR Holdco.

Oklahoma regulators have uncovered about 4,000 untagged cannabis plants and more than 630 pounds of untagged cannabis at a licensed medical cannabis grow facility; the licensee was arrested following the discovery.

Hemp Black, a subsidiary of Australia-based Ecofibre, today signed a $9 million annual supply deal with Under Armour Inc. Under the deal, Hemp Black will provide specialty yarn made from its trademarked eco⁶ hemp biochar.

The St. Louis Community College is now offering three in-person, for-credit cannabis education courses, while Missouri’s Metropolitan Communication College has launched three not-for-credit online classes in partnership with cannabis education company Green Flower.

The U.S. House voted this week to add an amendment to the must-pass federal National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would end the prohibition on VA providers helping veterans to access state-legal medical cannabis programs.

Mastercard has told financial institutions in the U.S. to stop allowing legal cannabis transactions on its debit cards due to the plant’s ongoing prohibition under federal law.

A bipartisan U.S. House proposal seeks to end the consideration of prior or current cannabis use when assigning security clearance for federal employment.

Florida officials announced this week the completion of “Operation Kandy Krush,” which uncovered nearly 70,000 packages of edible hemp products that were deemed to be illegally “attractive to children.”

Nevada regulators this week awarded the state’s first conditional license for a stand-alone cannabis consumption lounge to La Lounge, LLC.

Medical cannabis business applicant Alabama Always LLC is accusing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission of improperly erasing recordings of its meetings in violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.

Bipartisan federal lawmakers last week introduced legislation aimed at updating the federal hemp rules to ensure that hemp-derived CBD is regulated by the FDA like other legal products found in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages.

The Florida Supreme Court has given state Attorney General Ashley Moody extra time — until August 2 — to challenge a proposed ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Sunshine State.

Ohio cannabis advocates who are seeking to put a legalization question to voters in 2024 came up 679 valid signatures short of their goal. The campaign was given until August 4 to gather the rest of the signatures.

The Maryland Hemp Coalition and others filed a lawsuit this week claiming that the state’s adult-use cannabis regulations are discriminatory and being monopolized against hemp companies.

Albania’s Parliament voted 69-23 last week to legalize medical cannabis and industrial hemp but the law focuses primarily on product exports, rather than establishing a domestic market.

A recent poll found that just 50% of Pennsylvanians support legalizing adult-use cannabis, down from 56% in a survey from last year.