From Our Writers

The new insurance option will only apply to federally-eligible hemp producers in select counties and states, however.

License applicants who were rejected due to a glitch in the Department of Health website are hoping to have the chance to resubmit and be reconsidered via a merit-based system.

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved 10 different pesticides for use on industrial hemp crops — the new approvals include nine biopesticides and one conventional pesticide product.

Oregon cannabis regulators have issued a statewide ban on including CBD and THC in alcoholic beverages; the ban takes effect starting January 1.

Lawmakers in Massachusetts have proposed the banning of cannabis advertisements from billboards; proponents of the ban say that billboards flout state laws that prohibit the advertising of cannabis to minors.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, says he does not support the SAFE Banking Act because it fails to address issues such as high cannabis potencies and marketing strategies that target children.

Activists in South Dakota have successfully gathered enough signatures to put a medical cannabis legalization initiative on the 2020 ballot.

Police in Wellford, South Carolina seized a hemp shipment destined for Texas after the 183-pound shipment was discovered during a traffic stop.

Canada’s Tilray was targeted by a $300 million lawsuit from Florida soap company Trimax, who accused the cannabis company of trying to bankrupt one of their subsidiaries in hopes of getting a cheaper acquisition.

A Chicago City Council committee has approved a measure to delay cannabis sales in the city until July 1 due to a lack of minority-owned dispensaries; the measure, however, must be approved by the full council and could still face a veto from the mayor.

Sensible Florida, one of Florida’s two campaigns pushing to put the cannabis legalization question on the 2020 ballot, has announced the suspension of their campaign.

A group of Colorado medical professionals has launched a free medical cannabis helpline called Leaf 411, which aims to help consumers who have questions about using medical cannabis.

Non-partisan budget officials in California have suggested moving the state to a potency-based cannabis tax strategy, which would include getting rid of the weight-based cultivator tax.

Lab tests revealed high levels of vitamin e acetate in several Michigan market vape products, prompting a recall; the compound was linked by the CDC to a pulmonary injury illness that has sickened more than 2,400 and led to 52 deaths.

An upcoming San Francisco dispensary has received the city’s first social equity cannabis business license; the shop is expected to open in the city’s Castro District before the end of the year.

New York Gov. Cuomo has hired Norman Birenbaum — who previously served as the top cannabis regulator in Rhode Island — to help oversee New York’s transition to legal cannabis, which lawmakers say is a priority for next year.

Illinois lawmakers promised that patients will be given priority access to state-legal cannabis products once the legal market comes online; the notice was made in anticipation of product shortages immediately following legalization.

New Jersey lawmakers have officially approved legislation that will allow voters to decide whether or not to legalize cannabis for adult use during the 2020 General Election.

Cannabis-infused edible products go on sale tomorrow throughout Canada, except for in three provinces — Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta — where the edibles rollout has been delayed.

Yet another hemp shipment coming out of Vermont has been seized by authorities despite federal rules specifically allowing for the interstate transfer of industrial hemp.

The application process for West Virginia medical cannabis cultivator, processor, and dispensary business licenses is launching this Thursday, nearly three years after state lawmakers first approved the reforms.

A bill signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will establish rules and regulations for the New York’s hemp and CBD industry; the bill establishes a licensing process for hemp growers, processors, and manufacturers, and includes lab testing and product labeling requirements.

Pasadena, California has won a lawsuit against its own city clerk after they approved a successful but unconstitutional ballot initiative that would have grandfathered in dispensaries who were operating before the city’s strict licensing rules took effect.

Ontario will do away with the current cap on cannabis retail stores in January and is expected to open an application period for new private cannabis retailers starting January 6, 2020.