From Our Writers

Cannabis-related pediatric visits to the emergency room have declined in Virginia under restrictions on intoxicating hemp products adopted last year.

While Texas lawmakers consider banning certain hemp-derived cannabinoids, Hometown Hero — an Austin-based company retailing hemp THC and CBD products — has announced the launch of the Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC), a new nonprofit hemp industry trade group.

In the approximately 10 years since Colorado and Washington launched the country’s first adult-use cannabis markets, U.S. states with cannabis legalization policies have generated more than $20 billion in tax revenue on adult-use cannabis products.

After regulations to let Ohio’s medical cannabis dispensaries begin serving adult-use customers passed a key legislative committee this week, the state’s adult-use cannabis market could potentially launch ahead-of-schedule in June.

Despite state laws legalizing cannabis commerce, federal Customs and Border Patrol agents in New Mexico have for months been seizing legal cannabis shipments as they are shipped between the state’s southern and northern regions.

Four people who grow cannabis in Minnesota are suing state cannabis regulators, arguing that a section of the state constitution should allow them to sell the cannabis produced under the state’s cannabis home grow provisions.

The Connecticut Senate has passed a bill to establish stricter regulations on intoxicating hemp products sold in the state; the proposal heads next to the governor’s desk.

The executive director of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management will step down in September as the state looks to adjust its cannabis regulatory approach, the governor announced last week.

Alaska’s House of Representatives voted last week to replace the state’s $50-per-ounce tax structure on adult-use cannabis products with a 7% sales tax on retail cannabis transactions. The proposal still must pass the Senate before going to the governor.

The publicly traded and internationally licensed cannabis company Kaya Holdings Inc. announced this week that it has received a license to administer therapeutic psilocybin products in Oregon.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on social media this week that he wants to make cannabis illegal again except for medicinal purposes, aligning with the health minister’s call for re-criminalizing the plant.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that city officials will take action across the city against illegally operating cannabis shops as part of an enforcement effort called “Operation Padlock to Protect.”

Cannabis advocates in Kansas announced they have formed the Cannabis Justice Coalition, which will support candidates for local office who support cannabis legalization and the expunging of cannabis criminal records.

Vermont officials have issued a recall for all cannabis products from Holland Cannabis Co. due to potential exposure to the fungicide myclobutanil.

The Florida GOP Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution over the weekend opposing the cannabis legalization amendment set to appear before voters during this November’s election.

Cannabis retailers in New Jersey set a new quarterly sales record of $201 million during the first three months of 2024, but the quarter-over-quarter growth rate (4.4%) is the state’s lowest on record since the market launch.

Recent USDA data shows that the value of hemp produced in the U.S. in 2023 reached $291 million, up 18% from the year prior.

A St. Louis, Missouri County Circuit judge has ruled that city and county governments can each stack an additional 3% sales tax on adult-use cannabis sales.

Per a recent Connecticut Appellate Court ruling, employers in the state have the right to fire employees who come to work while impaired by medical cannabis.

According to a new study compiled by UK researchers, psilocybin — the naturally occurring psychedelic in so-called “magic mushrooms” — shows promise as an effective treatment for depression.

Voters in Lubbock, Texas rejected a local cannabis decriminalization ballot measure over the weekend with nearly 65% of voters opposing the reforms.

Senate Democrats have again filed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which seeks to legalize cannabis at the federal level and automatically expunge federal non-violent cannabis offenses.

Recent polling from the Independent Community Bankers of America found that 64% of Americans believe giving state-legal cannabis companies access to traditional banking services would benefit public safety.

The American Bankers Association said that even once cannabis is rescheduled to Schedule III under federal law, Congress will still need to pass the SAFER Banking Act to let state-legal cannabis companies access traditional financial services.