TG Branfalt

The U.S. House voted this week to add an amendment to the must-pass federal National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would end the prohibition on VA providers helping veterans to access state-legal medical cannabis programs.

Mastercard has told financial institutions in the U.S. to stop allowing legal cannabis transactions on its debit cards due to the plant’s ongoing prohibition under federal law.

A bipartisan U.S. House proposal seeks to end the consideration of prior or current cannabis use when assigning security clearance for federal employment.

Florida officials announced this week the completion of “Operation Kandy Krush,” which uncovered nearly 70,000 packages of edible hemp products that were deemed to be illegally “attractive to children.”

Nevada regulators this week awarded the state’s first conditional license for a stand-alone cannabis consumption lounge to La Lounge, LLC.

Medical cannabis business applicant Alabama Always LLC is accusing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission of improperly erasing recordings of its meetings in violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.

Bipartisan federal lawmakers last week introduced legislation aimed at updating the federal hemp rules to ensure that hemp-derived CBD is regulated by the FDA like other legal products found in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages.

The Florida Supreme Court has given state Attorney General Ashley Moody extra time — until August 2 — to challenge a proposed ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Sunshine State.

Ohio cannabis advocates who are seeking to put a legalization question to voters in 2024 came up 679 valid signatures short of their goal. The campaign was given until August 4 to gather the rest of the signatures.

The Maryland Hemp Coalition and others filed a lawsuit this week claiming that the state’s adult-use cannabis regulations are discriminatory and being monopolized against hemp companies.

Albania’s Parliament voted 69-23 last week to legalize medical cannabis and industrial hemp but the law focuses primarily on product exports, rather than establishing a domestic market.

A recent poll found that just 50% of Pennsylvanians support legalizing adult-use cannabis, down from 56% in a survey from last year.

An Arkansas law banning hemp-derived THC products is set to take effect starting August 1. Under the law, hemp-derived delta-9, delta-8, and delta-10 THC products will be included on the state’s controlled substances list.

Two Black farmers in Florida have received licenses to grow, process, and sell medical cannabis. The licensing ends a six-year process of aligning the state with the federal Pigford v. Glickman settlement under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which prohibits government discrimination against minority farmers.

Medford, Oregon-based American Patriot Brands owes the state $27 million in back taxes, more than any other company in the state.

New York cannabis regulators voted to approve a “cannabis showcase” program to let growers sell products to the public at events including concerts and festivals.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) is set to issue an executive order today deprioritizing the enforcement of laws related to naturally-occurring psychedelics like magic mushrooms or ayahuasca.

The Teamsters Local 777 union has reached tentative agreements for cannabis consultants and agents-in-charge at Zen Leaf dispensaries in Chicago.

A New York City business owner who was illegally selling cannabis at several shops in Manhattan was ordered to forfeit more than $400,000 in illegal proceeds and unpaid taxes.

A Massachusetts cannabis testing lab is accusing regulators of opening a retaliatory investigation into the company after their CEO suggested that “enforcement staff may be misusing investigations as a pretext to silence and harass licensees.”

Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp. filed a civil lawsuit against an Ohio medical cannabis company seeking payment of loans and other fees valued at $23.8 million.

Recent polling found that a 61% majority of registered U.S. voters would support legalizing therapeutic access to psychedelics.

Officials have confirmed that Vermont cannabis businesses are ineligible for federal disaster aid for losses caused by the state’s recent floods because cannabis remains a federally prohibited, Schedule I drug.

Penn State researchers received $1 million from the National Science Foundation to help fund the development of the Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Engine, an effort to support the manufacture and deployment of bio-based products for greener construction, packaging, renewable energy, and more.