TG Branfalt

Oklahoma’s licensed cannabis growers may be producing 64 times more cannabis than the medical cannabis patient population’s current demand, according to a recent study commissioned by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority.

A Florida appeals court this week ruled that the firing of a Department of Corrections officer over his prescribed medical cannabis use was justified under federal law.

A bill to regulate hemp-derived CBD and kratom products in North Carolina passed the House Judiciary Committee this week, moving next to the House Appropriations Committee.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said he plans to issue pardons for all criminal convictions in the state related to psychedelics.

Colombian lawmakers voted 47-43 in favor of federally allowing adult-use cannabis sales but, per Colombia’s constitution, the proposal requires more than a simple majority, and it ultimately failed to pass the chamber.

Workers at the California-based cannabis distribution company Amuse voted on Wednesday to join the Teamsters Local 630 union.

The California Department of Cannabis Control awarded 18 municipalities with $4.145 million in grants aimed at expanding access to licensed retail cannabis throughout the state.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled 4-3 that the odor of cannabis alone is enough to justify police searches of vehicles despite the fact that legal substances in the state — like hemp — can smell exactly the same.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that teenagers living in ZIP codes with operating medical cannabis dispensaries are less likely to consume cannabis than teenagers who live in areas without them.

A National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) committee indicated its support over the weekend for removing restrictions on the medical and/or recreational use of cannabis. Next, the committee will gather input from association members, with a final action expected in the fall.

Pennsylvania is funding three agriculture non-profits with just over $390,000 in grants to increase hemp fiber and food market awareness throughout the state.

Georgia man Rahsaan Jackson Garth last week was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution for his role in defrauding farmers in a hemp business venture.

Vermont lawmakers have expanded the state’s medical cannabis program, allowing patients to cultivate a total of 12 plants — up to six mature at once — and adding post-traumatic stress disorder to the program’s qualifying conditions list.

An Arkansas judge last week voided 27 laws passed by lawmakers to amend the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law in 2017, 2019, and 2021. The judge called the changes unconstitutional.

Alabama medical cannabis regulators on Friday voted to pause further issuing of medical cannabis licenses in the state after having discovered “potential inconsistencies in the tabulation of scoring data.”

New York regulators on Thursday shut down multiple unlicensed cannabis shops in Ithaca, Binghamton, and New York City. The companies face fines of up to $10,000 per day of operating without a license.

New York regulators on Thursday shut down multiple unlicensed cannabis shops in Ithaca, Binghamton, and New York City. The companies now face fines of up to $10,000 per day they were operating without a license.

Maryland medical cannabis regulators temporarily shut down a Cookies dispensary license, citing multiple violations including a video advertisement that “appeared to show large plumes of medical cannabis smoke being blown from a large gun apparatus into the mouths of persons outside the dispensary.”

Alabama regulators this week licensed the state’s first medical cannabis businesses, issuing four cultivation licenses, four processing licenses, four retailer licenses, five licenses for integrated facilities, three transport licenses, and one testing lab license.

New York regulators have approved emergency regulations to allow the seizing of hemp and delta-9 THC products from unlicensed cannabis retailers in the state.

Cannabis pre-rolls saw the highest year-over-year sales growth from 2021 to 2022 of any other product category in the industry.

Catalyst Cannabis has filed a lawsuit against fellow California-based cannabis firm Glass House Brands, alleging that Glass House — which produces more cannabis than any other state cultivator — is diverting huge amounts of product to the unregulated market.

A recent report by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions found that the state’s cannabis industry employed more than 4,600 workers at the close of last year.

Lawsuits filed by the Montana Association of Counties and the Montana Wildlife Federation are challenging Gov. Greg Gianforte’s (R) recent veto of a bill that sought to use cannabis taxes as a supplement to road maintenance funds.