From Our Writers

A cannabis-friendly payment processor that used PIN debit transactions recently announced that it is shutting down. The company is also suing a financial services vendor for $500M in damages, alleging that they misrepresented their ability to deliver access to a payment gateway.

Is the DEA planning to change the scheduling status of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act? In a leaked letter to Congress, the agency has asserted their control over any decision about rescheduling or descheduling the plant.

Starting this year, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority will be utilizing “secret shoppers” in its effort to regulate the industry. Under the new law, regulators will anonymously purchase products and have them tested by a lab.

New Mexico cannabis regulators this week revoked the licenses of two adult-use cannabis cultivators for allegedly exceeding the legal plant count limits and failing to properly utilize the state’s mandatory track-and-trace system.

An Oakland police officer was recently killed while responding to a burglary at a cannabis business, highlighting how federal inaction on cannabis policy has put workers, the general public, and law enforcement in greater danger.

The adult-use cannabis industry in New York generated more than $150 million in revenue during its first year of licensed operations despite a lawsuit that sparked a months-long injunction against licensees opening their businesses.

Researchers with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with the support of a $10 million federal grant, are set to track 10,000 U.S. cannabis patients from the start of their medical cannabis journey through at least a year to better understand the efficacy and effects of cannabis medicine.

Earlier this month, Alabama announced the winners of the state’s integrated medical cannabis licenses, making national headlines via their decision to award Trulieve — a publicly-traded company founded in Florida — the sole license reserved for “minority-owned” businesses. Other applicants are now suing the state, citing irregularities with the application scoring process.

While cannabis regulators in Vermont have advocated for the removal of a potency cap on concentrates, a recent report from the Vermont Department of Health has recommended keeping the cap in place.

President Joe Biden has issued additional pardons for simple cannabis possession and use but once again stopped short of granting clemency to any prisoners currently serving time for cannabis-related convictions.

Ukrainian lawmakers have passed a groundbreaking bill to legalize medical cannabis, a significant step towards providing relief for patients with cancer and PTSD, awaiting President Volodymyr Zelensky’s anticipated signature.

Rhode Island cannabis dispensaries earned more than $100 million in combined medical and adult-use sales during the state’s first year of adult-use operations.

The embattled multi-state cannabis operator MedMen announced this week it is selling off its Arizona- and Nevada-based assets as part of its strategic restructuring toward an “asset-light growth strategy” in the company’s core markets.

California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta recently expressed concerns over the federal risks associated with opening interstate cannabis commerce for the state’s industry.

In Colorado, a new voter initiative aims to empower cannabis consumers with the right to acquire concealed carry firearm permits, challenging the current restrictions imposed by federal law.

Next year, California-based employees who consume cannabis will have new protections against getting fired or penalized by their employers over their cannabis use.

For years, hemp activists have highlighted animal feed as one of the many potential truly industrial use cases for the plant. This plan just faced a setback in New York, however, after the governor vetoed a bill that would have made hemp-based feed legal in the state.