From Our Writers

The two operating dispensaries in Arkansas have distributed more than 100 pounds of cannabis since legal sales launched on May 10.

Sir Sam’s Inn and Spa in Ontario is the province’s first resort to receive a “cannabis-friendly” designation by Cannabis Hotels. A business representative said the inn doesn’t want to become known specifically as a cannabis destination but just wants to acknowledge the legality of cannabis.

Illinois lawmakers have approved a legalization bill that, if signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker — a cannabis legalization supporter — would make Illinois the 11th state to legalize cannabis.

A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit challenging the prohibition of cannabis can remain open — despite being dismissed last year — so that actions can be taken against the Drug Enforcement Agency if it fails to address the issue of cannabis’ Schedule 1 status.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has signed two new cannabis bills into law: one allows cannabis delivery as an option in the state, the other gives Coloradans the right to establish and visit social-use cannabis lounges.

The DEA is carefully monitoring and sometimes modifying interviews by its personnel — and other representations of the agency — as part of a larger media effort to control how it appears in documentaries, reality shows, and dramas.

Zimbabwe’s first medical cannabis farm will be a 10-hectare plot at a prison. The license was granted nearly one year after the government legalized cannabis cultivation for medical and scientific purposes.

Google has officially banned apps that assist with cannabis transactions, including delivery apps and any app that includes a “shopping cart” feature for cannabis products.

A tax-and-regulate legalization plan has advanced from the Illinois Senate to the House of Representatives. The bill has the support of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and, if fully approved, would make Illinois the 11th state to legalize cannabis for adult use.

Applications are flooding in for Maryland’s 14 new medical cannabis operator licenses; the additional licenses are aimed at increasing the number of minority- and women-owned businesses in the industry.

At 100 acres, 48North’s new 250,000-plant outdoor cannabis cultivation facility in Brant County, Ontario is set to be the country’s largest cannabis cultivation site.

The bill — which expands medical cannabis in the state by adding seven new conditions to the program’s qualifying conditions list and removing a requirement for patients to have two doctors’ recommendations before accessing the program — now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.

A unanimous ruling for the Arizona Supreme Court clarifies that medical cannabis extractions are indeed legal, shielding (and exonerating) patients and dispensaries from hardliner lawmakers and regulators.

Expecting another 2020 ballot initiative legalization bid, lawmakers in North Dakota plan to study the implications of adult-use cannabis regulations in the event voters there decide to embrace reform.

The Transportation Security Administration recently clarified that air travelers can bring certain cannabis-derived products aboard their flights; the change, however, only allows for hemp-derived CBD products and Epidiolex — an FDA-approved, cannabis-based epilepsy medication.

Hoping for the governor’s support, New York lawmakers have raised the proposed tax rate, lowered possession limits, and added expungement for low-level cannabis convictions to the state’s pending adult-use legislation.

Alabama lawmakers appear unlikely to advance a bill expanding the state’s limited medical cannabis options; instead, they may establish a commission for studying the effects and efficacy of cannabis medicine.

Under a bill signed into law last week in Colorado, doctors can now recommend medical cannabis to treat any condition for which they might have otherwise prescribed opioids.

The bill, which passed 96-3 in the House and 40-7 in the Senate, would have expanded multiple aspects of Iowa’s limited medical cannabis program.

The earmarked funds will cover research into cannabis as a migraine treatment, harm reduction for youth, education, and an investigation into the rare condition cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, which can lead to severe nausea and vomiting after cannabis use.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) accused the federal government this week of “lack of action and attention” on medical cannabis policies. The governor, however, originally opposed the creation of Utah’s medical cannabis industry.

Massachusetts regulators have approved the first sale of a licensed cannabis operator in the state. Under the deal, Sira Naturals will be purchased by Canadian firm Cannabis Strategies Acquisition Corp.

The Texas Senate has advanced a bill containing several expansions to the state’s medical cannabis program; the measure still needs reconciliation by the House, however, who could seek further amendments to the legislation.

Hemp farms in Washington are expected to expand from last year’s 140 acres to more than 6,000 acres of hemp this year now that the crop has been federally legalized via the 2018 farm bill.