TG Branfalt

The number of registered medical cannabis patients in New Mexico has dropped significantly from the May 2022 peak of more than 135,000 to about 85,000.

Ohio voters opted to legalize adult-use cannabis during Tuesday’s election. Under the new law, adults aged 21+ can purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow plants at home.

Wyoming lawmakers are reattempting to ban intoxicating hemp products after the Joint Judiciary Committee in September scrapped their first attempt due to pushback from the hemp industry.

A recent study published in the journal Psychedelic Medicine found that a majority of American Psychiatric Association members either moderately or strongly believed that hallucinogens show promise in treating psychiatric conditions.

The Marijuana Justice Coalition and Cannabis Freedom Alliance sent a letter to President Joe Biden (D) arguing that the administration’s plan to federally reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III “would simply maintain federal criminalization” of state-legal cannabis programs.

A recent study found that the majority of Minnesota medical cannabis patients are enrolled in the program for intractable pain, but older and younger adults received “significant differences in dosages.”

Starting next month, Connecticut will raise the purchase limit for adult-use cannabis products from seven grams to 14 grams per transaction.

A New York state proposal seeks to ban some types of cannabis advertising via roadside billboards, with fines of up to $2,500 for violations.

Florida inspectors announced last week they had uncovered more than 8,700 hemp extract-edible packages that were deemed attractive to, or marketed to,  children.

The Pennsylvania House Subcommittee on Health Care heard arguments from citizens and medical experts relating to the legalization of adult-use cannabis. The issue could see a House vote sometime next year.

Missouri cannabis regulators removed nearly 15,000 cannabis products from the state’s sweeping August recall of nearly 63,000 products manufactured by Delta Extraction, LLC, which has called the recall an “unlawful campaign to destroy Delta’s business.”

The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that hemp-derived delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC products are not considered controlled substances under state law.

Workers at the Home State Dispensary in Kansas City, Missouri voted this week to join the Teamsters Local 955, making them the first cannabis workers in the city to unionize.

Recent research suggests that legalizing adult-use cannabis in Ohio would likely generate about $260 million in “net benefits for society,” ranging from between $200 million in net costs and $1.9 billion in net benefits.

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D), a 27-year veteran of Congress and founding member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, announced this week that he will not seek reelection.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services this week transferred $13 million in revenue from the state’s medical cannabis program to the Missouri Veterans Commission.

Recent research suggests that home values in states with adult-use cannabis laws have outpaced home values in other states by nearly $49,000 from 2014 to 2023.

Following a summer of starts and stops — and many lawsuits — the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission is now aiming to get industry licenses awarded by December 12, with products available in the spring.

A federal judge in Northern Virginia has denied an attempt to block a recently enacted state law that imposed stricter limits on intoxicating hemp products, with the judge arguing the state “demonstrated that delta-8 THC is a credible threat to the Virginia population.”

The first legal — albeit experimental — cannabis dispensary in Europe received final approval last week from Swiss regulators; the dispensary was approved as part of a study on the retail of adult-use cannabis.

Arkansas medical cannabis sales have totaled $211.3 million so far this year, with the state having collected $23.5 million in cannabis tax revenue, according to state data.

Researchers at Duke University are exploring how psychedelics function in the brain by dosing larval zebrafish with a compound similar to LSD, and investigating how the substance affects movement and perception.

According to a recent survey, 88% of cannabis patients say their use of medical cannabis has reduced their use of prescription drugs, alcohol, or both.

Some Georgia pharmacies have begun selling low-THC medical cannabis oils under the state’s medical cannabis program. The pharmacies are the first in the U.S. to participate in medical cannabis sales.