From Our Writers

Cronos Group Inc. announced this week it will end its hemp-based CBD operations in the U.S. by the end of Q2 2023, aiming to improve company flash flow “in the near term” and position for entering the U.S. national THC market after the necessary reforms have taken place.

The Florida Supreme Court signaled it will review the legal challenge brought against the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis ballot proposal by state Attorney General Ashley Moody.

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that some cannabis distribution convictions are eligible for expungement under the state’s adult-use legalization law.

New Hampshire lawmakers have dropped their efforts to legalize cannabis via a state-control model that was backed by Gov. Chris Sununu, who generally opposes legalization.

With multiple EU members looking to legalize cannabis at the national level, the influence of Europe’s cannabis social clubs as the region’s earliest legal retailers is more important than ever.

Illinois’ latest budget proposal would eliminate the state’s conformity with IRS Code 280E, allowing state-licensed cannabis companies to take some normal business deductions.

The California Senate voted last week to decriminalize the possession of psychedelic substances including psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline by individuals aged 21 or older.

The New York Cannabis Control Board voted to settle a lawsuit brought by a Michigan company that has for seven months prevented any new licenses from being awarded in five state regions.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed the state’s adult-use legalization bill into law today, making cannabis possession and home cultivation legal starting on August 1 with retail licenses expected sometime next summer.

Hemp building materials like hempcrete, hemp blocks, and hemp-based insulation will be showcased on the National Mall in Washington D.C. as part of the annual Innovative Housing Showcase in June.

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have received a five-year, $11.6 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate the effects of cannabis on the brains of people who are living with HIV.

New York regulators announced the state will allow cannabis farmers’ markets this summer in an effort to help state cultivators offload their glut of cannabis products.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a bill last week to implement medical psilocybin legalization and decriminalize the personal use and cultivation of other natural psychedelics; the proposal marks lawmakers’ response to last year’s successful psychedelics legalization voter initiative.

A pair of Ohio state representatives have introduced a bipartisan proposal to legalize the cultivation, purchasing, and possession of cannabis by Ohioans aged 21+. The bill also contains language for the expungement of prior cultivation and possession offenses.

About 90% of cannabis plants in the California industry are reportedly infected with hop-latent viroid (HLVd), a pathogen that cripples growth and can reduce THC levels in a plant by as much as half.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed a bill this week to extend the state’s moratorium on new cannabis business licenses for another two years.

The Michigan Civil Service Commission recently proposed a rule change that would drop pre-employment cannabis drug testing for most state government positions.

A federal grand jury in California has indicted Mark Roy Anderson — a previously convicted conman who served 11 years in prison for an oil investment scam — of defrauding $9 million from investors for a nonexistent hemp farm.

Delaware lawmakers voted in committee on Tuesday to set a $4.1 million initial budget for rolling out the state’s adult-use cannabis industry.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said this week it has shut down a multi-year, $60 million cannabis industry “Ponzi-like scheme” by WeedGenics and its owners.

A recent report by New Frontier Data found that slightly more than half – 52% – of cannabis consumers in adult-use markets get their cannabis primarily from dispensaries.

California’s total cannabis tax revenues for Q1 2023 topped out at $216 million, down about $32 million from the fourth quarter of last year.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) appears to support considering synthetic cannabinoids that contain THC — including hemp-derived delta-8 THC — as controlled substances under federal law, according to a recent agency conference presentation.

For the first time since states started to pass cannabis legalization reforms, tax revenue from adult-use sales declined slightly in the U.S. from 2021 to 2022 (from $3.867 billion to $3.775 billion).