From Our Writers

The USDA has released draft rules for the federal hemp industry and should soon be able to launch its review process for individual states’ hemp programs.

Canada’s Freedom Cannabis is moving to emphasize environmental responsibility with the launch of its latest product line, which uses a recyclable steel container that bucks the national trend of plastic containers.

Tech firm Flowhub has landed $23 million as part of its Series A funding round. The round was led by Evolv Ventures, a venture fund backed by Kraft Heinz, which is partly owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Massachusetts’ New England Treatment Access has settled a federal lawsuit filed by lumber firm Boise Cascade Company, who claimed NETA’s logo was “confusingly similar” to their own.

Michigan regulators will begin accepting business license applications starting this Friday, November 1st.

In an effort to boost regional cannabis policy collaboration among New England states, Maine has adopted the same cannabis product warning labels as Massachusetts.

UN officials have sent a letter warning Australia’s federal government that the cannabis legalization language recently adopted in the Australian Capital Territory breaches at least three international drug conventions signed by the nation.

Multiple U.S. students studying to become nurses or other medical professionals have filed lawsuits against schools that enacted punishments against them for their use of medical cannabis.

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has outlined his plan for federally legalizing adult-use cannabis within 100 days of next year’s election if he wins the presidency.

Heco Corp., a licensed cannabis producer in Canada, just laid off about 200 workers — including some executive positions — in order to adjust “to a changing market and regulatory environment.”

Gallup polling data suggests that 66 percent of American voters continue to support the nationwide legalization of cannabis; when Gallup first asked the question in 1969, just 12 percent of voters supported such reforms.

Cannabis regulators in Maryland plan to hire private firms to investigate the state’s licensing review process and to verify information contained in the applications submitted by high-ranking businesses.

In a recent survey conducted by YouGov for Colorado’s Joy Organics, more than half of those polled admitted to concerns about the safety of CBD products — specifically, due to the potential for the products to contain pesticides or heavy metals.

A hemp delivery driver from Colorado was indicted in South Dakota on charges of cannabis possession and intent to distribute; the driver faces a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted.

Gibraltar is the latest European jurisdiction to legalize medical cannabis for a variety of conditions, including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, “life-altering” pain, and side effects from cancer treatment.

Snoop Dogg is partnering with Seedo, a manufacturer of artificial intelligence-powered grow boxes to help encourage home growing in urban areas.

Mexican lawmakers are poised to pass adult-use legalization legislation as early as this week; an early look at the bill’s language shows that adults 18 and older would be able to access the legal market.

A judge in Hanover County, Virginia has tossed a cannabis possession charge after a laboratory supervisor claimed in court that their lab could not differentiate between illegal cannabis and legal hemp CBD flower.

New Mexico’s adult-use legalization task force has handed in its final report to the governor; the report suggests low-level expungement policies and predicts up to $620 million in annual cannabis sales after five years.

Georgia’s medical cannabis program appears to be stalling as the governor and legislative leaders have not yet appointed a commission overseeing the program’s expansion.

Oklahoma regulators have yet to license any laboratories to test products for the medical cannabis marketplace despite having already licensed more than 4,000 growers — the testing lab application process opens November 1.

Blockchain technology is gaining attention as a safer seed-to-sale solution for the monitoring of legal cannabis transactions.

Recent cannabis reforms legalizing possession and home cultivation in the Australia Capital Territory will have “no effect” because it does not address differences in federal law, says Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter.

Four medical cannabis patients in Massachusetts have asked to join a lawsuit challenging the state’s four-month vaporizer ban approved last month by Gov. Charlie Baker.