From Our Writers

Wiz Khalifa was arrested in Romania for drug possession after videos showed him smoking weed while performing at this weekend’s Beach Please! Festival. The rapper was released promptly and posted on social media afterward that he meant no disrespect to Romania “by lighting up on stage.”

Hemp executives with Save Florida Hemp say they have pledged to donate $5 million to the Republican Party of Florida to help defeat the upcoming cannabis legalization vote after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a proposal that would have wiped out the hemp industry almost entirely.

House Republicans voted this week to block the Biden Administration’s effort to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

Massachusetts officials have confirmed that voters will decide this November whether to legalize psychedelics including DMT, mescaline, ibogaine, psilocybin, and psilocin for adults aged 21+.

Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro has called on state officials to appoint a receiver to oversee the Cannabis Control Commission, which is under scrutiny for regulatory delays and allegations of a toxic work environment.

Cannabis advocates in North Dakota submitted more than 22,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office in support of putting an adult-use cannabis legalization question on November ballots. The initiative needs 15,582 valid signatures to qualify.

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology is selling reference materials to help testing labs and law enforcement agencies accurately measure key components in cannabis products and better distinguish between hemp and THC-rich cannabis products.

Maryland’s combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales exceeded $1.1 billion during the adult-use market’s first year of operation, according to state officials.

A new poll found that Florida’s constitutional amendment for the legalization of adult-use cannabis has support among 64% of voters; Florida constitutional amendments require 60% of voters to pass.

Federal lawmakers recently introduced the Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act, a bipartisan House proposal seeking to create an expungement mechanism for low-level, non-felony violations of federal cannabis laws.

Nebraska cannabis advocates have submitted more than 114,000 signatures for their petition to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

Arkansas advocates submitted more than 111,000 signatures in support of a ballot initiative that would dramatically expand the state’s medical cannabis program, including provisions to remove application fees for patients and enable home grows.

Minneapolis-based Headflyer Brewing this month started offering hemp-derived, THC-infused beverages on tap under a new state regulation that took effect July 1.

Delaware cannabis officials have warned that out-of-state entities are looking to scam potential social equity applicants by contacting them and trying to deceive them into helping pay for an adult-use cannabis license.

Minnesota officials reported earning more than $10 million in taxes on hemp-derived THC products since the state’s low-potency hemp market launched nearly a year ago.

A bi-partisan proposal in Michigan is seeking to ease the burdens of cannabis companies and “modernize” the state’s cannabis laws by merging its adult-use and medical cannabis regulations.

A lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming is challenging the recently passed state law banning hemp-derived cannabinoids including delta-8 THC, claiming the law violates the federal Farm Bill.

California this week ordered product recalls for five licensed cannabis products including four vape pens and a vape cartridge due to contamination with chlorfenapyr, which is a banned pesticide.

The political action committee formed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to oppose the state’s cannabis legalization vote in November fundraised just $10,000 during its first five weeks.

Delaware lawmakers recently passed legislation establishing protections for banks and other financial institutions to work with state-legal cannabis companies as the state prepares to launch its adult-use market.

Maryland collected about $14.7 million in cannabis taxes during the first quarter of 2024, according to recent data from the state Office of the Comptroller.

The largest school district in Kentucky last week approved a policy allowing students to use prescribed medical cannabis treatments while at school.

British researchers investigating the efficacy of medical cannabis for older patients said that people aged 65+ who are prescribed medical cannabis report experiencing “significant improvements across all measures of well-being.”

A group of Iowa hemp companies is suing to block the implementation of a new state law restricting THC content in consumable hemp products.