From Our Writers

Massachusetts regulators have approved the first sale of a licensed cannabis operator in the state. Under the deal, Sira Naturals will be purchased by Canadian firm Cannabis Strategies Acquisition Corp.

The Texas Senate has advanced a bill containing several expansions to the state’s medical cannabis program; the measure still needs reconciliation by the House, however, who could seek further amendments to the legislation.

Hemp farms in Washington are expected to expand from last year’s 140 acres to more than 6,000 acres of hemp this year now that the crop has been federally legalized via the 2018 farm bill.

New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney says he’s skeptical of a proposal to decriminalize cannabis possession in the state, saying he would rather pass a statewide legalization law.

The bill, which would create state-chartered banks that would work with the state’s cannabis industry, passed the Senate 35-1 and now moves to the Assembly for consideration.

A study in the American Journal of Psychiatry has shown CBD to be effective in reducing the cravings of opioid addicts, with participants citing a two- to three-fold reduction in cravings on average compared to participants who received a placebo.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has signed Claire and Lola’s Law, which legalizes low-THC cannabis oils for patients with “debilitating medical conditions.” Under the law, patients would be able to access oils containing no more than 5 percent THC.

The NFL and NFLPA are creating a joint committee to investigate pain treatment and the use of cannabis and cannabinoids in pain management.

Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart has announced the creation of cannabis pre-roll brand Mind Your Head, the rock legend’s new collaboration with Left Coast Ventures in California.

Cannabis industry investment firm Northern Swan Holdings has announced that former federal lawmakers Rep. Joseph Crowley and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle have been added to the company’s advisory board.

Lawmakers in California have rejected legislation to reduce the state’s cannabis tax but also advanced a bill that would require municipalities to allow industry operations.

The Archdiocese of Chicago — one of Illinois’ most powerful organizations — has come out against legal cannabis in the state; meanwhile, one of the group’s top officials serves on the board of Insys Therapeutics, a notoriously anti-legalization pharmaceutical group.

A recent study into the historical origins of cannabis has traced the plant back just over 28 million years ago to the Tibetan Plateau, 10,500 feet above sea level.

New York lawmakers are crafting new legislation aimed at major cannabis policy reforms now that the governor’s plan to legalize via the state budget has been rejected.

In a 3-2 vote, Massachusetts regulators narrowly approved the creation of regulations for a pilot social-use cannabis program. Currently, Alaska is the only other state with a social-use program.

Researchers at the University of Washington are undertaking a study to measure the effects of cannabis use during pregnancy.

Recently introduced legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis in Delaware contains much of the same language as the state’s failed attempt from last year — this time, however, the proposal lacks home-grow provisions, which may make it easier to accept for certain lawmakers.

With lawmakers having failed to establish adult-use cannabis legislation this session, Senate President Steve Sweeney says he’s planning to put the question to voters via a ballot initiative in the 2020 general election.

The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, now returns to the House for reconciliation by lawmakers there; senators added language implementing random CBD product testing and heavy fines against people whose hemp crops exceed 0.3 percent THC.

Nebraska state senators have tabled medical cannabis legislation, effectively killing it, after hours of debate on the Senate floor and even after the bill’s sponsor agreed to suggested amendments limiting the program’s available products and delivery methods.

Michigan companies in Detroit and Portage have received the state’s first cannabis delivery licenses. Delivery services, however, will only be available to patients who live in municipalities where cannabis sales are generally outlawed.

Lawmakers in Quebec may backpedal on some of their proposed cannabis use restrictions, specifically language that prohibits the public use of cannabis. Officials have determined the rules would be unenforceable.

The Vermont bill to create a taxed and regulated system for adult-use cannabis sales is likely dead until lawmakers — some saying they don’t want to rush the policy-making process — bring it up again next year.

Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries announced they will reintroduce the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, which would legalize cannabis nationwide and authorize spending for cannabis crime expungement.