Regulations

The vaping-related pulmonary illness crisis sweeping the nation is a perfect example of how cannabis prohibition directly hurts Americans, and why legalization and regulation is the safest way forward.

A top CDC official suggested that cannabis vaporizer regulations could go a long way to protect consumers from the ongoing, vape-linked lung disease crisis.

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.

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

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.

California cannabis and hemp operator Kushy Punch was raided by state officials last week, who said the company was distributing cannabis on the unregulated marketplace. Kushy Punch’s CEO said the allegations are “completely false.”

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board granted a two-month extension to the state’s long-troubled seed-to-sale traceability system Leaf Data Systems, provided by MJ Freeway.

Connecticut health officials have recommended adding chronic pain and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program.

Meg Sanders is co-founder of the Canna Provisions Group — a boutique dispensary in Lee, Massachusetts — and co-owner of the successful MiNDFUL dispensary brand in Colorado.

The latest round of medical cannabis reforms in Massachusetts has done away with the $50 annual patient registration fee.

New Hampshire lawmakers have blocked a governor veto against medical cannabis expansions in the state; the veto would have cemented the state’s three-month waiting period before approved cannabis patients could access their medicine.

The SAFE Banking Act, which would normalize banking for the cannabis industry, is expected to receive a House vote next week.

Draft rules for the federal hemp industry have been submitted by the USDA to the White House Office of Management and Budget; the rules should be released publicly within “a matter of weeks.”

Cannabis regulators in Massachusetts will soon require extra ingredient details on cannabis vape cartridges, extracts, and concentrates amid the breakout of a deadly, vape-linked pulmonary illness.

Illinois regulators have named the 26 companies selected to provide health and safety training for the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis dispensaries.

The executive director of Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Commission has resigned as regulators are in the process of awarding 14 new cultivation and processing licenses with the goal of increasing the industry’s diversity.

Oklahoma’s new medical cannabis regulations include seed-to-sale tracking requirements and clarifications for gun-owning patients.

Washington state Ag Department officials recently clarified that hemp-derived CBD is not allowed as a food additive.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois has signed legislation expanding the state’s medical cannabis program, including one bill that makes the program — which was set to expire next year — permanent.

Officials in Portland, Maine, have released a proposal for city-wide cannabis industry regulations. According to the working group responsible for the rules, the city aims to generally treat adult-use and medical cannabis similarly.

Utah lawmakers are planning to change the state’s medical cannabis program, which was created in the first place as a legislative replacement for the voter-approved program that lawmakers said would be untenable, as the current program conflicts too directly with federal rules.

Three months before edibles regulations take effect nationwide, officials in Quebec, Canada have announced a ban on sweetened cannabis edibles containing THC, including (temporarily) topicals.

An audit by the California Finance Department reveals that two-thirds of staff positions at the Bureau of Cannabis Control are unfilled and the agency is operating with just a tiny fraction of its expected funding.

Emergency rules laying out adult-use cannabis regulations in Michigan have been released; under the new rules, delivery is allowed and adult-use business licenses will be cheaper and easier to acquire than medical cannabis licenses.