Graham Abbott

New legislation introduced in Hawaii seeks to legalize adult-use cannabis and establish the Hawaii Cannabis and Hemp Office, which would oversee the state’s medical cannabis and hemp businesses alongside its future adult-use industry.

Officials with the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division are pushing elected officials to pass legislation creating a task force under the agency dedicated to stamping out illicit cannabis activity.

Massachusetts cannabis retailers set a new annual sales record in 2024 with $1.64 billion in combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales.

Lawmakers in a Virginia Senate committee have advanced a bill funding clinical trials to investigate federally recognized “breakthrough therapies” for veterans’ mental health issues, including psychedelic substances like MDMA and psilocybin.

Canada-based Aurora Cannabis has announced the launch of IndiMed, its first line of medical cannabis products grown and manufactured in Germany, which is the latest EU member state to adopt cannabis legalization policies.

Nebraska state lawmakers are beginning to plan for the medical cannabis program approved by voters last November.

Some Kentucky Democrats have introduced bills to put an adult-use cannabis legalization question to voters during the next general election in 2026. The constitutional amendment would legalize cannabis home grows and establish a taxed-and-regulated marketplace.

Missouri cannabis officials have proposed an industry rules update to combat “middleman” business practices by requiring the designated contact for the state’s cannabis microbusinesses to be either the owner or partial owner of the company.

A group of GOP lawmakers in Indiana have proposed a bill to legalize cannabis and regulate its production and sale throughout the state. If approved, Indiana would be the first state to jump from prohibition straight to an adult-use program.

Despite falling short of the 60% voter support required to adopt a Constitutional Amendment in Florida, advocates are gearing up for a new cannabis legalization campaign in the Sunshine State, aiming to appear on voter ballots in 2026.

The judge who was set to oversee the long-anticipated hearing for testimony for/against the rescheduling of cannabis has postponed the hearing for at least three months amidst new legal challenges brought against the DEA.

A man who is an admitted cannabis novice is suing the Arcanna dispensary in Portland, Oregon after he purchased a THC-infused syrup from the shop that landed him in the emergency room after experiencing excessive vomiting and loss of motor control.

A South Dakota lawmaker is proposing legislation seeking to repeal the state’s medical cannabis program, which was first approved by voters in 2020.

Illinois health officials have announced four new additions to the list of qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program, including endometriosis, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and female orgasmic disorder.

The food and grocery delivery technology firm DoorDash has announced that its services now cover the on-demand delivery of hemp-derived THC and CBD products in certain markets.

A Florida court of appeals has ruled that due to the growing popularity of legal cannabis and hemp products, the alert of a police K9 that has been trained to detect cannabis is no longer sufficient on its own to justify a vehicle search.

Cannabis reform proponents have again requested the removal of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from the rescheduling hearing coming later this month, citing new evidence the agency might seek to “subvert the process” and “thwart” the rescheduling process.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) wants to change state law to allow citizen-led ballot initiatives, arguing that if the GOP-controlled Legislature won’t pass legislation or ask voters to weigh in on popular issues like reforming cannabis laws, then citizens should be allowed to take action in their place.

Texas’s Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller published an op-ed last week calling on lawmakers to expand the state’s medical cannabis program and support the lieutenant governor’s bid to ban intoxicating hemp products.

Delaware’s top cannabis regulator is stepping down this month just weeks after officials awarded the state’s first retail adult-use cannabis licenses.

The New York adult-use cannabis industry recently exceeded $1 billion in total sales according to the annual Office of Cannabis Management industry report.

The county executive in Montgomery County, Maryland says that overly strict hiring rules regarding past cannabis use have made the recruitment process for local law enforcement too difficult.

French health officials recently extended the country’s experimental medical cannabis provisions with the stated goal of giving patients participating in the program extra time to taper their cannabis consumption or find alternatives.

The Kentucky medical cannabis program officially launched on January 1, 2025, after months of licensing lotteries and cannabis patient registrations. Patients must be approved for the program by their physician.