From Our Writers

A combination of stricter regulations, the coronavirus pandemic, and industry consolidation has resulted in a dramatic 31% decrease in the number of hemp licenses in New Mexico this year.

The UK’s National Health Service has only issued three prescriptions for medical cannabis oil since it was legalized two years ago, according to medical cannabis advocacy group End Our Pain.

Under a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling, individuals cannot make butane cannabis extractions and the practice — when done without a license — constitutes the manufacturing of a controlled substance.

The New York Health Department has released draft rules for the state’s hemp industry that would ban CBD flower products and require licensing for all segments of the hemp and CBD supply chain.

Lawmakers in the New Jersey Assembly Appropriations Committee have advanced a bill requiring workers’ comp and personal injury protection auto insurance to cover medical cannabis under certain circumstances.

Gwyneth Paltrow of Goop has invested in the microdose-focused cannabis beverage company Cann, which currently operates in California and Nevada.

Canadian researchers found that 43.5 percent of patients who started using medical cannabis to mitigate harmful alcohol consumption were able to reduce the frequency of their alcohol use.

New Zealand voters appear to have rejected a voter referendum to legalize adult-use cannabis by a 53 to 46 percent margin.

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that the majority of workers at a cannabis cultivation/processing facility are considered “agriculture laborers” under federal law — in some states, such as Massachusetts, this opens up cannabis workers to unionizing under state law.

A recent study by Washington State University researchers found that teenage boys are easily influenced by social media and advertising into believing that cannabis will improve their sex lives.

A coordinated law enforcement raid in Washington state last week brought down a large cannabis smuggling operation based out of 27 homes in Skyway, Renton, Kent, Maple Valley, SeaTac, and other Puget Sound communities.

MedMen has filed suit against the city of Pasadena, California in an effort to block the city’s cannabis business licensing process after the company was removed from consideration following a major ownership/management shift.

A lawsuit against Missouri’s medical cannabis system claims the state-imposed license caps violate Missourians’ constitutional right to farm.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that employees who use medical cannabis to treat a work-related injury cannot rely on workers comp insurance to cover it.

The family of late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia has unveiled the new cannabis line Garcia Hand Picked.

The USDA has approved Indiana’s hemp plan, allowing the state to move forward with its transition into a full-scale commercial system.

Jay-Z’s new cannabis brand Monogram has launched a billboard advertising campaign at the borders between states with disparate cannabis laws.

Recent polling shows 65 percent of Ukraine voters support legalizing medical cannabis access for severely ill patients.

A study presented at the North American Menopause Society reported that more women have used cannabis to manage symptoms of menopause than a more traditional hormone therapy.

The EU Parliament has voted to raise THC limits for industrial hemp from 0.2 to 0.3 percent and to establish hemp industry marketing standards.

The DEA is seeking a contractor capable of incinerating up to 8,000 pounds of cannabis and other federally prohibited substances per day.

The West Virginia Democratic Women’s Caucus of the House of Delegates wrote in a letter to the state’s top cannabis regulator about concerns that cannabis processor and dispensary licenses will only be awarded to white males.

Cannabis advocates in Nebraska are regrouping for 2022 after their medical cannabis initiative was struck down in September by the state Supreme Court.

Jay-Z last week announced the launch of his new cannabis line Monogram, offered in partnership with California-based Caliva.