From Our Writers

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson recently specified that non-alcoholic, hemp-derived beverages containing 0.3% or less THC are legal in the state despite a lack of legal “guardrails” for the products.

One of the companies suing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission asked a judge to toss all three of the agency’s attempts to award integrated cannabis licenses and to declare the regulators’ appeal process void.

Having access to legal medical cannabis in all 50 U.S. states could save Americans up to $29 billion per year in reduced healthcare expenditures, according to a recent study.

Cannabis tax revenues have declined in California year-over-year for the last four years, with total taxable cannabis sales in Q2 2024 down by a third since the same time period in 2021.

The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging released last week found that 21% of respondents aged 50 and older used THC-rich cannabis products at least once in the past year.

A former Nebraska state senator has filed a lawsuit to invalidate two medical cannabis petitions — one to legalize medical cannabis and one to regulate the industry — that were approved for November ballots earlier this month.

A recent survey by Germany-based medical cannabis company Bloomwell GmBh found that 94% of respondents who consumed cannabis said they did so for at least one medical or health reason.

Michigan cannabis retailers set a new monthly sales record of $295.4 million in August, which marked the third consecutive month of increasing sales for the state.

Former President Richard Nixon — who is credited with launching the drug war — said in a recently uncovered 1973 White House recording that cannabis was “not particularly dangerous” but that legalizing it would be “the wrong signal at this time.”

A former California cannabis official has filed a lawsuit claiming she was fired after exposing widespread lab fraud and regulatory inaction.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a bill Thursday to temporarily end the sale of intoxicating hemp products. Next, state cannabis regulators have up to 180 days to draft rules covering the sale of hemp-derived THC products by licensed cannabis retailers.

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is launching a new Local Emphasis Program to investigate and identify potential workplace hazards in the Colorado cannabis industry.

California lawmakers have passed a bill to legalize cannabis consumption lounges in the state; the proposal goes next to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who vetoed a similar measure last year over concerns about violating the state’s smoke-free workplace protections.

Missouri officials announced a new joint task force aimed at reigning in the spread of “unlicensed psychoactive cannabis products” in the state.

A Senate committee in Pakistan unanimously advanced a proposal to regulate the cultivation and production of cannabis.

Massachusetts State Treasurer Deb Goldberg announced this week the firing of Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien, who was initially suspended from the position last September.

A recent study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports found that cannabis use in the U.S. increased from 7.59% to 11.54% from 2013 to 2020, but youth rates remained statistically constant.

Former president Donald Trump said last weekend that he supports the federal rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III and giving cannabis companies access to banking services.

Licensed cannabis dispensaries in Ohio sold more than $44 million worth of cannabis during the first month of adult-use sales, according to state data.

Past 30-day use of cannabis and hallucinogenic drugs among adults aged 19-50 have remained at “historically high levels” in the U.S. while past-month and daily alcohol use continued a decade-long decline among adults aged 19-30, with binge drinking reaching all-time lows.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week proposed emergency regulations to completely ban the sale of any hemp-derived THC products in the state. The proposed rules would also set the minimum age to purchase hemp products at 21.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Saturday opened the Great Smoky Cannabis Company to all adult-use cannabis customers. The shop, located in the Qualla Boundary, is North Carolina’s first and only retail cannabis location.

Kentucky officials have received 4,998 applications for medical cannabis business licenses, the governor announced this week. The majority of the applications (4,076) are for dispensary permits.

Cannabis advocates in Idaho are preparing for a 2026 cannabis legalization campaign after another petition to put a medical cannabis legalization question before voters failed to gather enough signatures