Graham Abbott

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.

House Republicans voted this week to block the Biden Administration’s effort to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

Massachusetts officials have confirmed that voters will decide this November whether to legalize psychedelics including DMT, mescaline, ibogaine, psilocybin, and psilocin for adults aged 21+.

Maryland’s combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales exceeded $1.1 billion during the adult-use market’s first year of operation, according to state officials.

Arkansas advocates submitted more than 111,000 signatures in support of a ballot initiative that would dramatically expand the state’s medical cannabis program, including provisions to remove application fees for patients and enable home grows.

Minneapolis-based Headflyer Brewing this month started offering hemp-derived, THC-infused beverages on tap under a new state regulation that took effect July 1.

Minnesota officials reported earning more than $10 million in taxes on hemp-derived THC products since the state’s low-potency hemp market launched nearly a year ago.

California this week ordered product recalls for five licensed cannabis products including four vape pens and a vape cartridge due to contamination with chlorfenapyr, which is a banned pesticide.

The political action committee formed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to oppose the state’s cannabis legalization vote in November fundraised just $10,000 during its first five weeks.

British researchers investigating the efficacy of medical cannabis for older patients said that people aged 65+ who are prescribed medical cannabis report experiencing “significant improvements across all measures of well-being.”

A group of Iowa hemp companies is suing to block the implementation of a new state law restricting THC content in consumable hemp products.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has signed into law bills to regulate consumer hemp products and decriminalize the possession of cannabis paraphernalia.

Kentucky officials will begin accepting applications for the state’s medical cannabis growers, manufacturers, and retailers starting on Monday, July 1.

Brazil’s Supreme Court voted on Tuesday to decriminalize cannabis possession for personal use purposes. The court, however, still needs to set possession limits for what would be considered “personal use” and establish when the reforms will take effect.

South Dakota farmers are producing more hemp fiber than farmers in any other U.S. state, according to recent data.

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently reported findings that link cannabis use to an increased risk of severe illness related to COVID-19.

Ohio officials have started awarding provisional dual-use licenses to medical cannabis operators, and the state’s full adult-use industry — approved by voters last November — is expected by September 7.

North Carolina state senators have once again approved language to legalize medical cannabis. Senators must vote on the proposal one more time on Monday before the bill moves to the House, where its future is uncertain.