Graham Abbott

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that cannabis use among U.S. high schoolers has declined significantly over the last 10 years. The period encompasses the launch of each of the country’s state-based cannabis legalization experiments.

Former President Donald Trump suggested during a press conference at his Florida home that he has grown more supportive of the idea of cannabis reforms as the policies gain traction across the country.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials this week is considering allowing chicken feed producers to include hemp seed as an ingredient, so long as the hemp seed only constitutes a maximum of 20% of the product.

Oregon voters will decide this November whether cannabis industry workers should be allowed to unionize after lawmakers failed to adopt the reforms during the legislative session.

State and city cannabis enforcement task forces in New York say they have shuttered more than 1,000 unlicensed cannabis operations since April under legislation signed into law this year by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).

Ohio regulators said they will issue dual-use licenses to many medical cannabis dispensaries on Tuesday this week, setting up the state’s first legal adult-use cannabis sales since voters approved the legalization reforms last year.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) has signed an executive order to ban the sale of intoxicating, hemp-derived products in the state starting September 1.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians adult-use cannabis store, the Great Smoky Cannabis Company in the Qualla Boundary, North Carolina, is opening its doors on September 7 to all adults aged 21+.

Lawmakers in the Philippines House of Representatives this week voted 177-9 to legalize medical cannabis. The proposal, however, faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Virginia last year fined hemp product retailers collectively nearly $10.8 million for the sale of restricted products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded nearly $6.2 million in grants to help the Hemp Building Institute research, support, and build credibility for hempcrete and other biogenic materials as valid construction materials.

Recent polling suggests there are more daily cannabis consumers than daily alcohol drinkers in the U.S., although alcohol use is still far more prevalent in terms of monthly use.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul this week signaled the government could drop its plans to re-list cannabis as a narcotic and opt instead for stronger cannabis regulations.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week that the cannabis legalization ballot amendment appearing before voters this November should not have been approved for the state ballot.

A report issued this week by the Minority Cannabis Business Association claims the industry could generate more than 50,000 new jobs by 2030 if the federal government were to follow through on its cannabis rescheduling plan.

Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey this fall will begin to offer undergraduate bachelor degrees through its School of Business covering Hemp and Cannabis Business Management.

Tilray Brands, Inc. said its Germany-based cannabis cultivation facility, Aphria RX GmbH, has received a cultivation license under Germany’s new adult-use cannabis legalization law.

Police officers in Fairfield, California last month raided three indoor illegal cannabis grows and officials issued fines totaling $1,313,000 related to the enforcement actions. Meanwhile, state officials also recently took down multiple illegal outdoor grow sites located near two state parks.

The head of UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior is aiming to convert the institute’s top floor into a rooftop garden, or “living laboratory,” designed to study and facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Oklahoma’s cannabis regulatory agency is laying off 10% of its workforce in response to the state’s shrinking medical cannabis industry. About 25-30 employees will be affected.

Snoop Dogg has launched his first licensed cannabis dispensary and exclusive product line under the Death Row Cannabis brand. The shop, S.W.E.D., is located near LAX airport in Los Angeles and the company said its first product line honors the late rapper 2Pac.

The California State Fair opened up last week at the Cal Expo site in Sacramento. Attendees aged 21+ can purchase and consume cannabis products from the California industry’s top growers and manufacturers.

Wiz Khalifa was arrested in Romania for drug possession after videos showed him smoking weed while performing at this weekend’s Beach Please! Festival. The rapper was released promptly and posted on social media afterward that he meant no disrespect to Romania “by lighting up on stage.”

Hemp executives with Save Florida Hemp say they have pledged to donate $5 million to the Republican Party of Florida to help defeat the upcoming cannabis legalization vote after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a proposal that would have wiped out the hemp industry almost entirely.