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As cannabis industry stakeholders await action on a marijuana rescheduling proposal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized a rule to provide federal health insurance coverage for CBD, according to an executive with a hemp company that’s been collaborating with the agency on the initiative. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December that directed the attorney general to quickly complete the process of moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. While that component of the order made national headlines, another part of the administration’s cannabis plan announced on the same day concerned cannabidiol coverage through Medicare. Mehmet Oz, administrator of CMS, spoke about the initiative at the signing ceremony for the order, crediting Trump and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “pushing for change” and “relentlessly” pursuing an agenda rooted in a “deep passion for research.” The plan has been to create a pilot program enabling eligible patients to access hemp-derived cannabidiol that’d be covered under federal health insurance plans, projected to launch by April, according to Oz. Jared Stanley, co-founder of the cannabis company Charlotte’s Web, said on a webinar with other group of cannabis industry stakeholders this week that the rulemaking for CBD coverage that’s being spearheaded by the CMS Innovation Center was internally finalized about two weeks ago. “This pilot will help the [Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] move from uncertainty into a practical framework with clear dosing, risk mitigation and clear manufacturing label expectations that end up rewarding the responsible companies and, in the end, protect and serve the consumer,” he said. Stanley specifically said regulations for the CBD pilot program “were finalized two weeks ago, and we’re hoping and expecting an announcement from the regulatory authorities at some time coming if it’s launching in April.” “As far as the population, it was important to note that it was stated in the briefing that this is starting in a pilot, but expecting to expand beyond just the pilot,” he said. “So that’s multiple indications that we expect to see. And we’re very excited. It has amazing potential.” Asked about the status of the rulemaking, a CMS spokesperson directed Marijuana Moment to a webpage with an FAQ that describes the integration of hemp into a Beneficiary Engagement Incentive (BEI) program under the agency’s Long-term Enhanced ACO Design (LEAD) Model. “The Substance Access BEI gives model participants the option of consulting with their patients about the possible use of eligible hemp products,” the CMS page says. “The implementation of this BEI and any related dispensing would be funded entirely at the participant’s expense; CMS would not cover the cost of such products. Further, CMS will have strict program integrity safeguards to ensure that these incentives do not result in program or patient abuse.” “The Substance Access BEI is only available to participants in states where the eligible hemp products are considered legal,” it says. While the broader rules on the CBD Medicare pilot program haven’t been publicized yet, CMS’s website briefly details how it’s navigating hemp-related issues as part of regulatory models under LEAD, the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM). Marijuana Moment reached out to Charolette’s Web for more details about the apparent finalization of CMS’s CBD rules, but representatives were not immediately available. Oz, the CMS administrator, explained in December that the policy change will “allow millions of Americans on Medicare to become eligible to receive CBD as early as April of next year—and at no charge if their doctors recommend them.” He added that Medicare Advantage insurers CMS has contacted are “also agreeing to consider CBD to be used for the 34 million Americans that they cover.” One outstanding question concerns coverage eligibility. As described by the administrator in December, it would affect those 65 and older who qualify for Medicare, but the specific qualifying conditions weren’t detailed. There were repeated mentions of chronic pain, specifically related to cancer, but it’s possible the CBD eligibility criteria includes additional conditions. At the signing ceremony, Oz also gave kudos to Howard Kessler, founder of The Commonwealth Project, which produced a video about the benefits of cannabidiol for seniors that Trump shared on Truth Social last year and who apparently has pressed the president to enact reform to expand cannabis access. While CMS implemented an earlier final rule last April specifically stipulating that marijuana, as well as CBD that can be derived from federally legal hemp, are ineligible for coverage under its Medicare Advantage program and other services, the agency is now revising that policy. CMS had already announced certain changes as part of a rulemaking process that was unveiled late last year, affecting “marketing and communications, drug coverage, enrollment processes, special needs plans, and other programmatic areas” for insurance programs it oversees. One of those changes dealt with cannabidiol coverage. The rule as proposed would amend regulations, which currently state that any “cannabis products” cannot be covered. The policy would prevent coverage for only “cannabis products that are illegal under applicable state or federal law, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.” Since hemp and its derivatives like CBD are federally legal, the change suggests patients in states where such products are legal could make valid insurance claims to pay for the alternative treatment option, as long as the product is also federally legal. Meanwhile, following the White House announcement in December, Oz spoke with NewsNation about the policy change, responding to a question about how the broader marijuana rescheduling decision squares with the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to stymie the flow of other illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl. “We think they fit hand in hand,” he said. “This is really about researching—specifically CBD, which is hemp-derived endocannabinoids [sic]—are actually worthy of Americans using them,” he said. “It’s hard to do some of this work, especially with medical marijuana. And this is not about legalization of marijuana.” “There is no legalization language at all,” he added. “It’s about rescheduling this class of product so that it can be researched more readily.” The idea that marijuana has no medical value, as its currently defined as a Schedule I drug, is “just patently wrong for marijuana,” he said, noting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved certain cannabis-based drugs for conditions such as epilepsy “that work quite nicely.” “That belief that it should be Schedule I is just an incorrect place to put it,” he said. “Schedule III seemed to make sense to the president. He argued that it allows us to do the research more readily.” “We’re finding a way to allow Medicare beneficiaries to get access to some of these products. And so, within Medicare, we have the ability, for the first time ever—and we delivered on this promise to the president today—to allow doctors to recommend hemp-derived CBD for patients who have cancer, for example, and have a lot of pain from that.” The administrator said surveys show a majority of seniors who take CBD for pain management find it beneficial, and the White House wants to “make it easier for patients to access this” and allow them to access the cannabinoid at “no charge” through the federal health insurance program. In recent years, Oz has encouraged audiences to be open to therapeutic cannabis and advocated for sweeping policy changes around the drug. “We ought to completely change our policy on marijuana. It absolutely works,” he said in a 2020 interview, calling cannabis “one of the most underused tools in America.” In 2024, he wrote in a syndicated health column that there’s evidence cannabinoids can curb seizures, alleviate nausea associated with cancer treatment and potentially help manage pain—especially in older people. Oz also said in 2020 that he believes that, particularly for seniors, marijuana for pain represents a “safer solution than, for example, narcotics in many cases.” Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney. The post Federal Agency Finalized Rule For CBD Medicare Coverage Pilot Program Weeks Ago, Key Hemp Stakeholder Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

El tema de los pagos siempre es delicado, pero con pin-up https://pin-up-ec.org/ he tenido muy buenas experiencias. He solicitado varios retiros de mis ganancias y el proceso ha sido transparente y seguro. Usan métodos que son familiares para nosotros en Ecuador, facilitando mucho las transacciones en dólares. Es importante completar la verificación de identidad lo antes posible para no tener retrasos en el primer retiro. Una vez hecho eso, los siguientes pagos suelen ser mucho más rápidos. Se nota que es una empresa seria que respeta el dinero de sus usuarios. Nunca he tenido problemas de saldo retenido injustificadamente ni comisiones ocultas extrañas. La claridad en las finanzas es un punto fuerte que me hace seguir eligiendo esta plataforma sobre otras.

Maryland senators have taken up a bill to extend a psychedelics task force through the end of 2027 to develop updated recommendations on expanding therapeutic access to the novel drugs and potentially creating a regulatory framework for broader legalization. The Senate Finance Committee considered the legislation from Sen. Brian Feldman (D) at a hearing on Thursday. A Home companion version sponsored by Del. Pam Guzzone (D) was separately taken up by the Health Committee on Tuesday. The proposals are aimed at building upon a current law that created the Maryland Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances. That panel released an initial final report to state lawmakers last year, with recommendations for the phased implementation of a wide range of reforms to provide legal therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin. “The mission was to study the use of natural psychedelic substances and make recommendations regarding changes to state law, policy and practices to create a Maryland natural psychedelic substance access program and to make recommendations to transition from the criminalization of these substances,” Feldman said at Thursday’s hearing. “This is a really hard-working group of individuals.” Members of the task force have already advised that it was ultimately recommending a “multi-pathway framework for safe, broad, and equitable access to natural psychedelic substances, with an initial focus on psilocybin.” The psychedelics task force was formed following Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) signing of a pair of bills into law in 2024. The 17-person body, overseen by the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA), was charged with studying how to ensure “broad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances” in the state. SB 336 and HB 427 would continue that work, maintaining the panel through December 31, 2027. In the interim, the task force would be required to submit an updated report to legislators with additional findings and recommendations by October 31 of this year. Andrew Coop, chair of the task force, told the committee that psychedelic substances “affect mood and perception” and “have been used for millennia in spiritual ceremonies.” “While unique risks do exist, clinical trials show efficacy for treatment-resistant depression, cancer-related anxiety, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, headache and more,” he said. “The additional time we’re asking for the next report is to develop those ideas so we can put draft regulations in place so that this can be a benefit to all citizens.” Shanetha Marable-Lewis, an Army veteran and member of the task force, said that “Maryland has been a pioneer in psychedelic science since the 1950s, leading groundbreaking research that has shaped global understanding of these compounds.” “This history and tradition uniquely well-positions us to create responsible resident-centered, evidence-based policy that leads to national access models rather than simply reacting to or replicating them,” she said. “The task force does not support delaying state action pending future federal approval. This is due to the fact that, despite federal restrictions and the absence of [Food and Drug Administration-approved] options, clinical and public interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy is surging nationwide.” Beyond the extended timeline for the task force to study and develop the report, the current law would not change under the legislation. The multi-step regulatory framework that members recommended last year “involves phased implementation of complementary elements from medical/therapeutic use and supervised adult use, to deprioritization, and to commercial sales,” the report said. “This model broadly and inclusively serves the needs of Maryland’s diverse population while enabling unified safety standards, accountability, and viable economic pathways for small businesses.” The first phase of the plan would be to create an advisory board to establish safety parameters, data monitoring, practice guidelines, licensing protections, public education campaigns, training for facilitators, law enforcement and testing facilities, as well as “immediate restorative justice measures,” the report states. Under phase two, the state would implement “deprioritization measures” to mitigate the harms of criminalization, provide for supervised medical and adult-use consumption facilities, allow personal cultivation for “permitted individuals” and promote research processes. Finally, phase three would be contingent on the “demonstrated safety outcomes and provider confidence” based on the prior steps. Should those factors be satisfied, the last phase would lead to a commercial sales program for adults “who maintain an active license to use natural psychedelic substances,” coupled with an evaluation of the state’s “readiness for expanding to additional natural psychedelic substances.” “Safety and oversight measures ensure responsible and gradual expansion of access while maintaining capacity to identify and respond to emerging issues swiftly,” the report said. “This approach plans for long-term learning and improvement: starting small, utilizing built-in evaluation and accountability mechanisms from the outset, gathering real-world data, and committing to an iterative approach to policymaking.” Notably, the task force said it did not support “delaying state action pending future federal [Food and Drug Administration] approval.” “The Task Force recognizes that implementing such a comprehensive framework requires careful sequencing and coordination, with particular attention to scope of practice issues that may significantly affect the viability and safety of different pathways. However, the order of implementation must carefully consider professional regulatory frameworks and safety concerns raised by medical organizations and health care providers. The Task Force’s recommendation for simultaneous implementation of multiple pathways does not mean that all components must activate on the exact same day, but rather that Maryland should avoid the sequential approach seen in other jurisdictions where implementing one pathway causes others to ‘languish,’and/or bolster black and gray markets.” Rather, the task force said, the multi-phase approach to psychedelics reform “establishes foundational systems that support all pathways equally, followed by a coordinated launch of medical, supervised adult use, and deprioritization pathways, with commercial sales following once product safety systems are operational.” Members also said that the model envisioned could be used by other states to develop their own laws that “adapt to their own circumstances and values.”At this point, the task force is only looking at psilocybin, mescaline and DMT. While the legislature empowered members to investigate potential regulations for other psychedelic substances, they decided to take a more conservative approach in their initial work. As originally introduced, the House version of the task force legislation contained more prescriptive requirements to explore and issue recommendations on aspects of psychedelics policy such as “systems to support statewide online sales of natural psychedelic substances with home delivery” and “testing and packaging requirements for products containing natural psychedelic substances with clear and accurate labeling of potency.” That language was ultimately removed, however. The task force legislation advanced about two years after a different law took effect creating a state fund to provide “cost-free” access to psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, last week Maryland lawmakers took up a bill to protect the gun rights of medical marijuana patients in the state. Members of the House Judiciary Committee discussed the legislation from Del. Robin Grammer (R) last Wednesday. The delegate has sponsored multiple versions of the cannabis and gun rights measure over recent sessions, but they have not yet advanced to enactment. Meanwhile, a Republican congressional lawmaker representing Maryland who has built a reputation as one of the staunchest opponents of marijuana reform on Capitol Hill—and whose record includes ensuring that Washington, D.C. officials are blocked from legalizing recreational cannabis sales—may be at risk of being unseated in November due to redistricting in his state. Image courtesy of CostaPPR. The post Maryland Senators Weigh Bill To Extend Psychedelics Task Force Through 2027 appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“True stability requires comprehensive federal legislation that creates a national medical cannabis framework to recognize cannabis-based therapies as part of modern healthcare.” By Steph Sherer, Americans for Safe Access Last week, the House Appropriations Committee declared victory, announcing: “More than 95 percent of the federal government is funded through full-year FY2026 appropriations—delivering stability, certainty, and results for the American people.” But for millions of medical cannabis patients, that claim rings hollow. Instead of delivering stability, the Fiscal Year 2026 budget reinforces a troubling reality: Congress continues to manage medical cannabis through temporary fixes and political compromises—rather than building a healthcare system patients can rely on. Widespread misinformation about the true impact of President Donald Trump’s December 2025 executive order is compounding uncertainty for patients. While the order does emphasize research and coordination, it does not resolve core access barriers, create new patient protections or replace the need for congressional action. So, while a significant development, it is not necessarily the breakthrough it has been portrayed as. As a result, uncertainty is growing across the patient community. Those who rely on hemp-derived medicines, veterans dependent on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare and people living in newly authorized or underdeveloped state programs are particularly vulnerable. For many, the future of their care feels more precarious today than it did a year ago. A Letdown To End The Shutdown In November 2025, Congress passed a massive stopgap spending bill to end a federal shutdown. It combined several budget measures into H.R. 5371, The Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, and pushed the rest into a short-term funding extension. Congress Delivered 2 Major Blows in November with the Passage of H.R. 5371 Under the Agriculture portion of the spending bill, Congress permanently redefined hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products. These changes were long overdue and designed to close what lawmakers called the “hemp loophole,” which had allowed intoxicating products to spread nationwide with little oversight. However, these provisions, set to take effect in November, will also remove most full-spectrum products from lawful hemp commerce. From a regulatory standpoint, the new language brings clarity. From a patient standpoint, it will bring disruption. Millions of Americans rely on full-spectrum hemp products to manage seizures, cancer symptoms, chronic pain, PTSD and neurological disorders—often because their states lack functional medical cannabis programs. Unless Congress intervenes, millions of patients will lose one of their few affordable treatment options. For people already marginalized by the healthcare system, this is not a technical regulatory adjustment. It is a looming healthcare crisis. In response, Americans for Safe Access recently released a policy briefing, Protecting Patient Access: A Compassionate Response to Changing Federal Hemp Laws, calling on states to create transitional pathways for patients. But state action can only go so far in the absence of federal leadership. Veterans Left Behind—Again The second blow came in the VA portion of the legislation. For more than fifteen years, advocates have sought to allow Veterans Health Administration providers to recommend medical cannabis and assist veterans with state program enrollment. Language to do so appeared in both House and Senate bills but did not make it into the final legislation signed into law. Under current VA policy, providers remain prohibited from recommending, referring, or assisting veterans with medical cannabis—even in states where it is legal. Veterans coping with chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and PTSD are left to navigate fragmented systems without clinical support. Once again, those who served our country are denied access to care that could improve their quality of life. Another Year Of Protections For Some To be clear, the FY2026 budget was not a total loss for patients. Medical cannabis protections were preserved in the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and other related agencies appropriations. Advocates successfully removed provisions that would have blocked rescheduling and another that would have reopened the door to federal interference in state programs. These protections remain temporary and require annual renewal. Since 2014, the Medical Marijuana CJS Amendment has protected state medical cannabis programs, patients and healthcare providers from federal prosecution, arrest, asset forfeiture and harassment. The provision has received bipartisan support for more than a decade and was meant to serve as a critical safeguard while Congress works toward comprehensive medical cannabis legislation. Unfortunately, Nebraska was excluded from the longstanding medical cannabis amendment that bars federal agencies from interfering with state programs—despite voters decisively approving medical cannabis in 2024. Advocates had hoped that Nebraska’s exclusion was a technical oversight, as this marks the first time since the amendment’s initial passage in 2014 that a newly authorized medical cannabis state was not added. More concerning is that Sen Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, did not offer an amendment to correct this omission. Nebraska’s struggle for safe access has been particularly contentious. In March 2025, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), the former governor of Nebraska, weighed in on the state legislature’s implementation efforts in an op-ed in the Omaha World-Herald, co-authored with the state’s attorney general, warning lawmakers not to allow the program to move forward—an intervention widely viewed as an overreach of his federal position. Meanwhile, Congress declined to fund meaningful medical cannabis oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Despite Trump’s executive order emphasizing research and coordination, no dedicated resources were provided. Implementation is left to existing agency budgets and shifting priorities. The order directs HHS to explore real-world evidence and standards of care. But without funding or statutory authority, these efforts will remain limited. Regulatory Changes Can’t Fix A Broken System Uncertainty Extends Beyond Appropriations In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services closed public comments on proposed rules that would allow non-cannabinoid hemp products and certain cannabis products legal under state or federal law to be reimbursed under the Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) program. While a modest step forward, it offers little practical relief for many patients. Individuals in hospice, assisted living and long-term care facilities are still often prohibited from accessing these therapies until federal law changes—leaving some of the nation’s most vulnerable patients caught between policy reform and legal reality. This week, the Food and Drug Administration faced a deadline (February 10) under the new hemp law to publish a list of all cannabinoids produced by the plant, clarify THC-related compounds, and define container limits. But this technical exercise will not prevent the loss of access. The agency is implementing a statute. It cannot rewrite it Meanwhile, Trump’s executive order also directed the Department of Justice to revive the stalled cannabis rescheduling process. But rescheduling alone will not create a medical program, protect patients or integrate cannabis into healthcare. Without comprehensive legislation, these regulatory efforts—however well-intentioned—amount to administrative adjustments layered onto a fundamentally broken system. Stability Requires Legislation For more than a decade, Congress has relied on short-term protections, budget riders and partial reforms to manage medical cannabis. That approach has reached its limits. Patients cannot build treatment plans around temporary funding provisions. Healthcare systems cannot integrate therapies governed by annual political negotiations. Veterans cannot depend on executive discretion. Families cannot plan their care in the face of regulatory uncertainty. True stability requires comprehensive federal legislation that creates a national medical cannabis framework to recognize cannabis-based therapies as part of modern healthcare, empowering HHS to oversee safety, standards,and integration. Bottom line, patients need protection regardless of where they live, what system they rely on or which political party controls Congress. Patients need a system that treats their medicine as a lifeline, not an afterthought. Steph Sherer is the founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Access. The organization has published a congressional briefing on medical cannabis issues. The post Federal Budget Leaves Medical Cannabis Patients More Uncertain Than Ever (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

NY gov signs marijuana biz zoning fix; VA cannabis consumers’ parental rights; FL medical marijuana expansion; CO cannabis revenue outpaces alcohol Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Before you dig into today’s cannabis news, I wanted you to know you can keep this resource free and published daily by subscribing to Marijuana Moment on Patreon. We’re a small independent publication diving deep into the cannabis world and rely on readers like you to keep going. Join us at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said the Trump administration is “very serious” about advancing medical cannabis access through rescheduling—but that it is also concerned about “side effects” like psychosis and “problems with learning and judgment.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed legislation to allow more than 150 marijuana businesses to remain open after regulators’ error in interpreting zoning rules threatened to force them to close. The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill to protect the parental rights of marijuana consumers by making it so a child would not be considered abused or neglected because of a parent or guardian’s cannabis use alone. The Florida Senate Health Policy Committee approved a bill to expand medical cannabis access by making patient registrations last longer, increasing smokable marijuana supply limits and slashing registration fees for military veterans. A new report from Colorado Legislative Council staff shows that marijuana revenue is declining as other states legalize and due to the availability of intoxicating hemp products—but that it still outpaces the state’s alcohol and cigarette tax haul. / FEDERAL The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the conviction of a man for possessing a firearm as a felon due to his record for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The Senate bill to create a pathway for patients to access Schedule I drugs got one new cosponsor for a total of two. The House bill to federally regulate hemp products got two new cosponsors for a total of five. The House bill to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct clinical trials on psychedelics got one new cosponsor for a total of two. / STATES Florida’s agriculture commissioner cheered a court ruling upholding total THC limits for hemp products. Separately, the health care administration secretary acknowledged that state officials used opioid settlement funds to campaign against a marijuana legalization ballot initiative in 2024. The Oklahoma House Committee on Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances approved bills to extend a medical cannabis business license moratorium and limit the number of cultivation licenses. An Illinois senator filed legislation to amend various cannabis rules. A Washington State representative discussed her legislation to legalize marijuana home cultivation. A Minnesota judge overturned regulators’ restrictions on shipping hemp products directly to consumers. California regulators are moving to update cannabis pesticide testing rules. Maryland’s top marijuana regulator said she hopes that as many as 60 new dispensaries will open by the fall. Massachusetts cannabis regulators clashed over punishments for a testing lab. New Jersey marijuana regulators spoke about efforts to crack down on unlicensed marijuana sales. Missouri generated $255 million in marijuana tax revenue in 2025. Virginia regulators posted a reminder about rules for sharing and gifting marijuana ahead of Valentine’s Day. The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission will meet on Friday. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / LOCAL Colorado Springs, Colorado is using marijuana revenue to fund a firefighter training academy. / INTERNATIONAL Germany’s Federal Court of Justice is considering restrictions on medical cannabis advertising. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A case study “highlights the potential benefits of combining cannabis oil with physiotherapy for managing post-stroke dystonic tremor and” post-stroke thalamic pain. A study found “evidence for antinociceptive effects of CBD in a model of incisional wound-related pain.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS The UK Green Party is set to vote on a motion supporting drug legalization next month. / BUSINESS Aurora Cannabis Inc. officials will ring the Nasdaq closing bell on Wednesday. / CULTURE Whoopi Goldberg promoted her cannabis-infused sex lube brand at a conference. Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: The post FDA head discusses cannabis benefits & concerns (Newsletter: February 13, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Tax revenue from marijuana sales has gradually decreased in Colorado over the past five years as more states have enacted legalization and as intoxicating hemp products have grown in popularity, state officials say in a new report. Nonetheless, cannabis is still bringing in more tax dollars compared to alcohol or cigarettes. In a memorandum from the Colorado legislature’s nonpartisan Legislative Council, staff sought to answer “common questions about how revenue from the marijuana industry fits into Colorado’s state budget.” That includes the $231.1 million in cannabis revenue the state collected in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Adult-use marijuana is taxed at three levels in Colorado: A 15 percent excise tax, 15 percent special sales tax and 2.9 percent state general sales tax. As one of the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use, Colorado saw revenue from those sales grow “consistently for the first eight years of legalization, peaking at $424.4 million FY 2020-21.” Following that, however, “revenue fell for the first time in FY 2021-22, and has declined each year since,” the Legislative Council said. “Marijuana tax revenue fell to $231.1 million in FY 2024-25, 45.5 percent below its FY 2020-21 peak.” Notably, the memo says that the declining tax revenue from marijuana in more recent years is “has largely been due to low prices and falling demand as other states across the country legalize marijuana, and alternatives like intoxicating hemp become more widely available.” Early on Gov. Jared Polis (D), a longtime champion of cannabis reform, was perceptive to the potential economic impact of the spread of legalization, poking fun about how he hoped states like Texas would continue to stall on the issue so Colorado could continue to reap the marijuana tourism dollars. Texas might still remain a prohibitionist state, but with cannabis now legal for adult use in nearly half of the states in the U.S., that broader shift has evidently contributed to the revenue decline. But the new report also says the rise of intoxicating hemp products is diverting tax dollars. Whether that changes when a federal ban on such products takes effect in November is yet to be seen. Even with the spread of state-level legalization and increased consumer demand in the intoxicating hemp market, however, Legislative Council released data showing that marijuana remains a more potent revenue generator compared to other vices, including alcohol and cigarettes. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, marijuana sales generated more tax revenue than alcohol ($54.3 million), tobacco products ($68.2 million), nicotine products ($91.6 million) and cigarettes ($213.9 million). Via LCS. To that point, surveys have consistently found that Americans are increasingly choosing marijuana and cannabis-infused beverages over alcohol and cigarettes. Meanwhile, in 2025 alone, Colorado saw over $1 billion in marijuana sales—a milestone the governor touted in December. And while Legislative Council attributed part of the decline in cannabis sales to intoxicating hemp product sales, Polis also recently said the pending federal ban will “stifle growth and innovation” in the market. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, the governor said last week that his state should not have joined a lawsuit supporting the federal ban on gun ownership by people who use marijuana that’s now before the U.S. Supreme Court—and he personally opposes the state attorney general’s “legal position on this.” The post Colorado Marijuana Revenue Is Declining As Other States Legalize, But It Still Outpaces Alcohol Taxes, Report Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The governor of New York has signed legislation into law that revises zoning requirements for licensed marijuana businesses, granting more flexibility to retailers located within certain distances of schools and places of worship. The bills, passed by the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday, also grandfather in more than 150 existing retailers whose locations were retroactively found to be out of compliance with zoning requirements that created a buffer between cannabis dispensaries and schools and churches. Last year, New York regulators notified the licensed retailers that they were mistakenly granted approval for their locations because the way distance was measured placed them closer to schools or places of worship than was permitted under the law. While the marijuana law as enacted restricted zoning based on distance between a retailer and a school or church property line, in multiple cases the distance was being improperly assessed based on distance from main entryway to main entryway rather than by the edge of property lines. Once the mistake was identified, the state notified affected businesses that they would either have to close or relocate. But amid litigation and industry pressure, the governor pledged to work with lawmakers to address the issue legislatively. Now a door-to-door distance measuring policy has been codified under the measures from Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman (D) and Sen. Liz Krueger (D). The new law specifies that cannabis retailers cannot be located on the same street and within 500 feet of a school, nor can they be located on the same street and within 200 feet of a house of worship. Measurements to establish that distance, the newly enacted law states, must be “taken in straight lines from the center of the nearest entrance of the premises sought to be licensed to the center of the nearest entrance of such school or house of worship.” A justification memo attached to the legislation says it will “codify the ‘door-to-door’ policy that had been in place at [the Office of Cannabis Management, or OCM] prior to July 28, 2025, and would grandfather in licenses granted as well as certain applications previously submitted under that standard.” “If the school, house of worship or premises sought to be licensed is set back from a public thoroughfare, the walkway or stairs leading to any such door shall be deemed an entrance; and the measurement shall be taken to the center of the walkway or stairs at the point where it meets the building line or public thoroughfare,” the bills, A10140 and S9155, state. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, last month New York officials released a set of reports providing a 2025 end-of-year status update on the evolution of the state’s medical and adult-use marijuana markets—touting record sales, revenue hauls for state coffers, licensing approvals, equity initiatives and more. All told, retail cannabis sales in New York have exceeded $2.5 billion since the passage of recreational legalization, including $1.6 billion that was generated last year alone as of November. Also, licensed storefronts nearly doubled from 261 in 2024 to 556 in 2025. The OCM annual report also notes that Hochul signed legislation into law that expands the state’s medical cannabis program by improving patient access and “updating the program framework to better meet patient needs statewide.” The legislation the governor signed also grants reciprocity to out-of-state residents, streamlines the patient certification process and allows adults 18 and older to grow their own cannabis plants for therapeutic use. Separately, given confusion within the marketplace about timelines for provisional licenses, regulators said they will be extending the renewal deadline for conditional adult-use until December 31, 2026. “This extension provides licensees additional time to secure viable locations and move toward full licensure,” OCM said. “It will also apply to any provisional licenses issued between September 9, 2025, and December 30, 2025, ensuring clarity and consistency for all provisional license holders.” Last July, meanwhile, New York officials announced the first round of grants under a $5 million program to help retail marijuana businesses owned by justice-involved people cover startup costs. The post New York Governor Signs Bills To Fix Marijuana Business Zoning Issue That Threatened Closure Of Over 150 Dispensaries appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that while the Trump administration is taking the potential harms of marijuana use among youth “very seriously,” it’s also important to preserve access to cannabis for medical purposes—and that’s part of the thinking behind the push to federally reschedule it. In an interview on Fox Business on Wednesday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary was asked about a recent New York Times editorial published that called for safeguards around marijuana, citing contested data on the relationship between cannabis use and health issues such as psychosis. “First of all, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in teens vaping with THC…in the four years prior to us coming into office. So we’re taking this very seriously, and we’re trying to understand this field of science with better research,” he said. “The marijuana today is not the marijuana of hippies. It’s 10 to 20 times stronger, and new research is showing that its effect on the developing adolescent mind is different than in an adult.” “It can result in psychosis diagnoses later in life. So we are taking this very seriously, and it is a controlled substance in the Trump administration, and so that’s the state of affairs,” Makary said, adding that there are other “side effects” associated with marijuana such as cannabis hyperemesis syndrome. “I think if you simply talk about the dangers of marijuana in kids in terms of risk, remember, risk appeals to many kids, so we have to talk about what it does to their ability to compete in a track-and-field match, and what it does to their day-to-day sort of vitality,” the FDA commissioner said. “It creates fatigue, and it creates problems with learning and judgment, so we have to talk about that.” While the interview made rounds on social media, drawing criticism from industry stakeholders, there was less focus on other comments Makary made concerning the Trump administration’s efforts to ensure that patients are able to access marijuana for medical uses. “We are also in the Trump administration very serious about making sure that the medicinal purposes—that is, the indications where people find benefit in medical conditions, for example, with chronic terminal cancer—is advanced,” he said. “And so we’ve taken action to change the scheduling from Schedule I to Schedule III” under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December order Attorney General Pam Bondi to expeditiously complete the rescheduling process, which was initiated under the Biden administration, but there haven’t been any recent updates on the Justice Department’s progress in seeing through that directive. Meanwhile, last month, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said the cannabis rescheduling appeal process “remains pending” despite Trump’s executive order. A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report discussed how DOJ could, in theory, reject the president’s directive or delay the process by restarting the scientific review into marijuana. Bondi separately missed a congressionally mandated deadline last month to issue guidelines for easing barriers to research on Schedule I substances such as marijuana and psychedelics. Last year, the FDA commissioner said exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ibogaine is a “top priority” for the Trump administration, especially when it comes to helping military veterans grapple with trauma from being sent to fight “unnecessary wars.” Meanwhile, asked about the widespread availability of intoxicating cannabinoid products, such as delta-8 THC, Makary warned last year that the use of cannabinoids can lead to cardiac problems and psychosis. The post FDA Head Says Marijuana Has ‘Benefit In Medical Conditions,’ But Trump Administration Also Concerned About ‘Side Effects’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Virginia House of Delegates has approved a bill to protect the rights of parents who use marijuana in compliance with state law. The legislation from Del. Nadarius Clark (D) is consistent with a measure he sponsored last session that advanced through the legislature, only to be vetoed by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). The latest version passed the House in a 62-37 vote on Tuesday. Under the proposal, possession of use of cannabis by a parent or guardian on its own “shall not serve as a basis to deem a child abused or neglected unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption causes or creates a risk of physical or mental injury to the child.” “A person’s legal possession or consumption of substances authorized under [the state’s marijuana law] alone shall not serve as a basis to restrict custody or visitation unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption is not in the best interest of the child,” the text of the bill, HB 942, states. When the bill was on the floor for second reading on Monday, Clark said that the measure “fully preserves judicial discretion requiring a court to act when a child is in danger, but grounding those decisions in individualized evidence-based findings instead of presumptions tied to lawful conduct.” Youngkin claimed in his veto message last year that the prior measure introduced “unnecessary complications and risks exposing children to harm.” “The bill disregards clear evidence linking substance use to child endangerment, particularly in the wake of increased incidents of children ingesting cannabis-infused substances following the legalization of marijuana,” he argued. “By broadly prohibiting courts from considering parental marijuana use in custody and visitation determinations, [the bill] risks prioritizing drug use over the health and well being of children.” The then-governor also vetoed an even earlier version of the bill in 2024. While current Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) hasn’t specifically weighed in on the parental rights legislation, she is generally more supportive of marijuana reform than her predecessor and backs legalizing recreational cannabis sales, which Youngkin also vetoed. Meanwhile, the Virginia Senate this week approved a bill to provide legal protections for hospital workers to facilitate the use of medical marijuana for patients with terminal illnesses in their facilities, so long as cannabis is federally rescheduled. lawmakers are also considering more robust reforms to the state’s marijuana laws, including proposals to legalize recreational cannabis sales. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee passed an amended version of that bill last week, drawing criticism from advocates over changes that would impose new penalties on certain cannabis-related activities such as underage possession and unlicensed cultivation of marijuana that could carry the threat of jail time. A coalition of reform groups has since sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, where the measure was transmitted, imploring members to roll back those amendments. As approved in committee, the legislation largely aligns with recommendations released in December by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market. Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by the legislature. The Senate version calls for sales to start on January 1, 2027, while the House bill stipulates that adult-use cannabis sales could begin on November 1 of this year. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Another cannabis bill approved by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee last week would mandate that individuals with certain offenses automatically receive resentencing hearings and have their punishments adjusted. A House companion version from Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. (D) also advanced recently. The legislation would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences. The bill applies to people whose convictions or adjudications are for conduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2021, when a state law legalizing personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect. Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers. The post Virginia House Passes Bill To Protect Rights Of Parents Who Use Marijuana appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Florida senators have approved an amended bill to increase the amount of medical marijuana a registered patient can buy and slash the fee for medical cannabis identification cards for military veterans. At a hearing before the Senate Health Policy Committee on Wednesday, members advanced the legislation from Sen. Alexis Calatayud (R) in a vote of 10-1 after adopting a substitute version. Under the proposal as amended, a doctor would be able to recommend up to five 70-day supply limits of cannabis or up to 10 35-day supply limits of smokable marijuana products. Under current law, they can only provide recommendations for a maximum of three 70-day supply limits for non-smokable cannabis and six 35-day supply limits for smokable marijuana. The bill, SB 1032, would further make it so doctors would need to evaluate patients for medical marijuana qualification every 52 weeks, rather than the current statutory requirement of evaluations every 30 weeks. A similar version of medical cannabis legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Bill Partington (R) in late December. Calatayud’s proposal as amended in committee would additionally reduce the fee for medical cannabis identification cards for honorably discharged veterans to $15—down from the current $75 fee for most qualifying patients. Two House panels have advanced separate standalone legislation from Reps. Susan Valdés (R) and Michelle Salzman (R) that would similarly reduce veterans’ medical marijuana card fee to $15. If enacted into law, the broader Senate bill would take effect on July 1, 2026. Wednesday’s committee vote comes after the Senate Regulated Industries Committee passed separate legislation to ban smoking or vaping marijuana in public places. Rep. Alex Andrade (R) is sponsoring a similar bill to ban public cannabis smoking in the House. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Here’s an overview of other pending Florida marijuana bills: A House lawmaker is sponsoring a bill to legalize recreational marijuana that also aims to break up what he calls “monopolies” in the state’s current medical cannabis program by revising the business licensing structure. Another representative’s bill would protect the parental rights of medical cannabis patients, preventing them from losing custody of their children for using their medicine in accordance with state law. A senator is sponsoring a bill to legalize home cultivation of marijuana for registered medical cannabis patients in the state. Meanwhile, the Florida Supreme Court last week cancelled oral arguments and closed a case concerning a marijuana legalization ballot initiative that was under review at the request of the state attorney general. Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) notified the court on Monday that he was withdrawing his request for a legal review into the cannabis measure because election officials determined the campaign behind it had fallen short of the signature requirements for ballot placement. But while the campaign urged the court to reject the notice of dismissal, contesting the signature count, justices on Wednesday accepted the attorney general’s motion. Smart & Safe Florida has disputed the secretary of state’s signature count, claiming the campaign submitted over 1.4 million petitions—hundreds of thousands more than the 880,062 valid signatures required to go before voters. In a filing with the Supreme Court, Uthmeier said his office was withdrawing its earlier request for a legal review in the constitutionality of the proposed cannabis initiative because the state claims the campaign submitted an insufficient number of signed petitions. The last count, according to the secretary of state’s office, was 783,592 validated signatures. Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen. The post Florida Senators Approve Bill To Increase Medical Marijuana Supply Limits And Slash Patient Fees For Veterans appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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VA legal marijuana sales & resentencing; VA & WA cannabis in hospitals; SD anti-marijuana bills defeated; HI legalization stalls; WI decrim Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Your good deed for the day: donate to an independent publisher like Marijuana Moment and ensure that as many voters as possible have access to the most in-depth cannabis reporting out there. Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW A federal judge dismissed marijuana businesses’ lawsuit challenging Customs and Border Protection’s seizures of state-legal cannabis products in New Mexico. The Virginia House Appropriations Committee approved bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales and provide resentencing relief for people with prior cannabis convictions—while the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee also advanced resentencing legislation. The Virginia Senate passed a bill to allow patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals, and the House Health and Human Services Health Subcommittee advanced similar legislation on medical marijuana access in healthcare facilities. The Washington State House of Representatives passed a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. The South Dakota Senate Health and Human Services Committee rejected bills that would have repealed the state’s medical cannabis program following federal rescheduling and instituted THC potency limits on medical marijuana products. Hawaii’s House speaker and the chair of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee say marijuana legalization bills are effectively dead for the 2026 session, upending advocates’ hopes that lawmakers would at least refer the issue to the ballot for voters to decide. Bipartisan Wisconsin lawmakers are circulating a bill to decriminalize marijuana by replacing the threat of jail time for first-time possession of up to 28 grams of cannabis with a $100 fine. Ohioans for Cannabis Choice launched a signature drive to collect more than 248,000 signatures ahead of a March 19 deadline for a referendum to block new marijuana and hemp restrictions from taking effect. The Oregon Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee is expected to vote on a bill to ban marijuana edibles containing more than 10 milligrams of THC on Thursday. / FEDERAL National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow coauthored a blog post on how scientists are using a large health dataset to support research, including a study that found that “people who used multiple substances or stimulants tended to report poorer overall health, had more disrupted sleep, and were less physically active, while people who only used cannabis looked similar to non-users on many of these measures.” Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) tweeted, “The growing use of bioengineered marijuana products is harming millions of Americans. Some scoffed at the idea that marijuana use was linked to deteriorating mental health. But new data is confirming the link between psychotic disorders and marijuana use.” The Senate bill to continue applying the 280E tax penalty on marijuana businesses after rescheduling got one new cosponsor for a total of two. / STATES Missouri’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against a business for allegedly selling unregulated THC products without a license. Nebraska Democratic attorney general candidate Jocelyn Brasher discussed her support for medical cannabis. Florida elections officials posted lower signature counts for a proposed marijuana legalization ballot initiative than were reported by county officials. Arizona regulators announced a recall of marijuana products due to possible contamination with aspergillus. Oklahoma regulators suspended the operations of several medical cannabis businesses over alleged violations. Michigan regulators filed a complaint against a marijuana business over alleged violations. Alabama officials have so far approved five physicians to recommend medical cannabis. California regulators sent updates on various cannabis issues. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / LOCAL The Los Angeles, California City Council voted to place a measure on the ballot to enact a tax on unlicensed cannabis businesses. / INTERNATIONAL The European Food Safety Authority set a provisional safe intake level for CBD. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “THC inhibits S mutans growth and biofilm formation while also reducing bacterial viability, [extracellular polysaccharides] production, and acid production,” suggesting that “THC may reduce the cariogenic capacity of S mutans.” A study found that “licensed mental health clinicians feel comfortable and knowledgeable in working with a client disclosing cannabis use and were neutral when asked about clinical judgments” and that there were “neutral to positive attitudes towards recreational and medical cannabis use in general.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS The County Road Association of Michigan filed an amicus brief opposing a lawsuit challenging a new marijuana tax. / BUSINESS UPMC Pinnacle Hospitals reached a settlement with a former employee who sued over allegedly being unlawfully fired after he tested positive for cannabis while using CBD gummies to manage chronic spinal pain. Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: The post Cannabis businesses’ lawsuit against feds is dismissed (Newsletter: February 12, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Virginia lawmakers have approved a bill to legalize marijuana sales, as well as separate legislation to provide a pathway for resentencing of past cannabis convictions. On Wednesday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed the marijuana sales legislation from Del. Paul Krizek (D) in a 16-6 vote. This comes about a week after a similar measure advanced through a Senate panel. The Transportation and Public Safety Subcommittee had advanced the legislation with an amendment earlier in the day by a 5-2 vote. Krizek’s bill, HB 642, largely aligns with recommendations released last month by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market. Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by the legislature. Under the measure as approved, adult-use cannabis sales could begin on November 1. That’s shorter timeline compared to the Senate companion, which calls for sales to start on January 1, 2027. The subcommittee on Wednesday adopted a substitute version of the bill that changes several key details, including by adjusting tax rates and reducing the conversion fee that current medical cannabis businesses would need to pay in order to serve the recreational market. Here are the key details of the Virginia House marijuana sales legalization legislation as amended: Adults would be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products as determined by regulators. The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and regulation of the new industry. Its board of directors would have the authority to control possession, sale, transportation, distribution, delivery and testing of marijuana. There would be a six percent excise tax on the sale of marijuana products, and they would also be subject to the state’s 5.3 percent retail sales and use tax. Local governments could levy an additional 3.5 percent tax. Tax revenue would be split between the costs of administering and enforcing the state’s marijuana system, a new Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, pre-kindergarten programs, substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs and public health programs such as awareness campaigns designed to prevent drug-impaired driving and discourage underage consumption. Local governments could not opt out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their area. Delivery services would be allowed. Serving sizes would be capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than 100 mg THC per package. Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market if they pay a $5 million licensing conversion fee. Cannabis businesses would have to establish labor peace agreements with workers. A legislative commission would be directed to study adding on-site consumption licenses and microbusiness cannabis event permits that would allow licensees to conduct sales at venues like farmers markets or pop-up locations. It would also investigate the possibility of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority becoming involved in marijuana regulations and enforcement. Over in the Senate, a measure to legalize marijuana sales that’s being sponsored by Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D), SB 542, moved through the Senate Courts of Justice Committee last week. However, it was amended in a way that drew criticism from advocates over changes that would impose new penalties on certain cannabis-related activities such as underage possession and unlicensed cultivation of marijuana that could carry the threat of jail time. A coalition of reform groups has since sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, where the measure was transmitted, imploring members to roll back those amendments. Newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) supports legalizing adult-use marijuana sales. Meanwhile, the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee on Wednesday also passed a bill, SB 62, from Sen. Louise Lucas (D) that would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences. The panel passed the measure in a 10-4 vote. On the Assembly side, a companion version of the resentencing legislation, HB 26 from Del. Rozia Henson (D), advanced through the Appropriations Committee in a 16-6 vote on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the General Government and Capital Outlay Subcommittee approved the measure in a 3-1 vote. The bill applies to people whose convictions or adjudications are for conduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2021, when a state law legalizing personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Separately, the Virginia Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to provide legal protections for hospital workers to facilitate the use of medical marijuana for patients with terminal illnesses in their facilities, so long as cannabis is federally rescheduled. SB 332 would build upon existing state law protecting health professionals at hospices and nursing facilities that assist terminally ill patients in utilizing medical cannabis treatment. Those protections would be expanded to hospital workers. Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers. Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Virginia Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Sales Legalization And Resentencing Bills appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“I’m asking that this bill be tabled so that we can actually come back for a solution towards education that prioritizes what cannabis products are, how to responsibly consume them and how to responsibly store them.” By Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill to prohibit the sale of individual edibles that have more than 10 milligrams of THC. The proposal, Senate Bill 1548, comes as lawmakers grapple with responding to increasing reports of children seeking medical attention after consuming edibles resembling cookies, brownies and gummies. In 2023, children aged 0 to five made up one-third of all cannabis-related cases reported to the Oregon Poison Center. And in May, experts recommended lawmakers implement a THC cap to cannabis products, similar to alcohol and tobacco, as data shows most Oregon youth believe there’s little to no risk in smoking marijuana once a month. “We need to reckon with this a little bit,” said Sen. Lisa Reynolds, a Portland Democrat and pediatrician who chairs the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee. The committee met Tuesday morning for a public hearing on the bill. Reynolds said the topic is of particular interest to her because she believes her brother’s habitual marijuana use in the ’70s contributed to his admission into psychiatric hospitals nearly 50 times throughout his life. He now lives in a nursing home with severe schizophrenia, she said. Four doctors testified in favor of the bill, including Dr. Rob Hendrickson, the medical director of the Oregon Poison Center. Hendrickson shared an example of a toddler he cared for recently who consumed two muffins that contained 50 milligrams of THC each. Within an hour, the child turned blue and unconscious. She had a seizure and was put on life support for 36 hours. There’s strong evidence that the policy would reduce child poisonings, according to Dr. Julia Dilley, a Multnomah County epidemiologist who has been leading research on the public health effects of cannabis legalization in Oregon and Washington. Oregon’s bill is similar to a 2017 Washington law requiring that single servings of edibles don’t exceed 10 milligrams. That law was associated with 75 percent fewer hospitalizations and half as many poisonings reported to poison centers, Dilley told the committee. Four people in the cannabis industry testified in opposition to the bill, including business owners and cannabis manufacturers who said many products already have child-resistant packaging, as well as meet marketing and advertising standards to make sure products aren’t attractive to children. Gabe Parton Lee, general counsel for Clackamas County-based edibles manufacturer Wyld, said Oregon and the cannabis industry should work on an education campaign, framing cannabis products the same way as teaching a child about alcohol or guns. “I’m asking that this bill be tabled so that we can actually come back for a solution towards education that prioritizes what cannabis products are, how to responsibly consume them and how to responsibly store them,” he said. The committee is scheduled to decide Thursday whether to advance the bill to the Senate floor. Oregon Capital Chronicle intern Robin Linares contributed to this story. This story was first published by Oregon Capital Chronicle. The post Oregon Lawmakers Consider Banning Marijuana Edibles With More Than 10 Milligrams Of THC appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A bill to allow terminally ill patients in Washington State to use medical cannabis in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices was approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Kloba (D), cleared the chamber in a vote of 89-6 and now heads to the Senate for consideration. “This allows for uniformity across hospitals,” Kloba said on the floor ahead of the vote. “It balances the needs of hospitals for safe storage for any of the needs that they have, and it balances that with the patient’s ability to try something maybe outside of standard pharmacological treatment in order to have the kind of comfort and dignity at the end of their life that they deserve.” At a committee hearing on the measure last month, the sponsor said the legislation “builds on what we have as a decades-long experience with medical cannabis, in very controlled kind of environment.” If enacted into law, HB 2152 would mandate that hospitals and other specified healthcare facilities allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana on the premises beginning on January 1, 2027, subject to certain rules and restrictions. “The medical use of cannabis may support improved quality of life for a qualifying patient…with a terminal condition,” the bill’s text says. “It is the intent of the legislature to promote dignity and comfort for terminally ill patients while maintaining the integrity and safety of health care environments.” Patients and their caregivers would be responsible for acquiring and administering medical marijuana, and it would need to be stored securely at all times in a locked container. Smoking or vaping of cannabis would be prohibited, so patients would need to consume it via other methods. Marijuana could not be shared between patients and visitors, and the right to use medical cannabis under the bill would not apply to patients who are in the emergency department. Healthcare facility officials would need to see a copy of patients’ authorization to use medical cannabis, and they would be required to note their use of the drug in medical records. They would also need to establish a formal policy “allowing for the medical use of cannabis” on the premises. Facilities would also be able to suspend permission to use cannabis under the bill if a federal agency such as the U.S. Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes an enforcement action against such use or “issues a rule or other notification that expressly prohibits the medical use of cannabis in health care facilities.” The House Health Care & Wellness Committee adopted an amendment last month to exempt nursing homes operated by a residential habilitation center from the requirement to allow the medical use of cannabis, to clarify that the bill doesn’t apply to patients who haven’t been formally admitted to a hospital and to specify that patients and their caregivers are responsible for retrieving the medical cannabis (in addition to their responsibilities related to acquiring, administering, and removing the medical cannabis). — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — California and a handful of other states already have laws allowing terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in healthcare facilities. Known as “Ryan’s Law,” the legislation is partly inspired by the experience of Jim Bartell, whose son died from cancer and was initially denied access to cannabis at a California hospital. The Bartells did eventually find a facility that agreed to allow the treatment, and Jim said Ryan’s quality of life improved dramatically in his final days. “In the invaluable last days as Ryan fought stage 4 pancreatic cancer, I first-handedly experienced the positive impact medical cannabis had on my son’s well-being, as opposed to the harsh effects of opiates,” Bartell said in 2021 when California’s governor signed Ryan’s Law. “Medical cannabis is an excellent option for relieving pain and suffering in those who are terminally-ill, but most importantly it serves to provide compassion, support, and dignity to patients and their families, during their loved-ones’ final days.” “Looking at each other, holding Ryan’s hand and telling him how much I loved him during his final moments would not have been possible without the medical cannabis,” he said. Meanwhile, Washington State lawmakers are also considering legislation this session to legalize the home cultivation of marijuana for personal use by adults. Separate legislation would allow short-term rentals like Airbnbs in Washington State would be able to offer guests complimentary marijuana prerolls. Yet another measure would legalize and regulate therapeutic use of the psychedelic psilocybin. The post Washington House Passes Bill To Let Terminally Ill Patients Use Medical Cannabis In Hospitals appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

South Dakota lawmakers have rejected a pair of bills that would have ended the state’s medical marijuana program if the plant is federally rescheduled and to set strict THC potency caps on cannabis products for patients. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday took up both measures from Sen. John Carley (R), rejecting the medical marijuana repeal bill in a 7-0 vote and the potency proposal in a 6-1 vote. Under the first bill, South Dakota’s voter-approved medical cannabis program would have been eliminated 90 days after the federal government finalized the rescheduling of marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA)—a policy change that’s actively in the works, as President Donald Trump in December ordered that process to be expeditiously completed. “Rescheduling cannabis from Schedule l to Schedule lll does not make medical cannabis accessible nationwide,” the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) said in an action alert ahead of the vote. “It is cruel and cynical to marry the two issues and eliminate a program 70 percent of voters enacted, just as federal law recognizes the efficacy of medical cannabis.” “If SB 181 passed, South Dakota’s medical cannabis program would strip legal protections and safe access from 18,000 patients,” it said. “Forty states have medical programs. None have repealed their state’s medical cannabis programs.” In testimony to the committee, the state Department of Health voiced opposition to the legislation. Carley’s other bill would have made it so medical cannabis products available to patients couldn’t exceed 5 percent THC for oils or 60 percent for liquid concentrates. The Senate panel also soundly defeated that proposal. “The THC potency cap is not based on scientific research for what is best for medical patients,” MPP said. “This would deprive patients of the products that work best for them.” — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — These votes come weeks after senators separately voted not to take up a measure to ban intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products. Also last month, the House Health and Human Services Committee rejected a bill that would have allowed terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals and hospices. Around this time last year, Rep. Travis Ismay (R) attempted to repeal the state’s medical marijuana program, but his proposal was also defeated in committee. Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post South Dakota Senators Reject Bills To Repeal Medical Marijuana Program After Federal Rescheduling And Limit THC Potency appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A pair of Hawaii House bills aimed at legalizing marijuana in the state are effectively dead for the 2026 session, key lawmakers say. Despite renewed hopes that the proposals—including one from House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chairman David Tarnas (D) that would have put the issue of legalization before voters at the ballot—would advance this year, the sponsor and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura (D) say there isn’t enough support within the legislature to pass them this year. “We’re the same members from last year,” Nakamura told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Friday, “and when we checked around, it didn’t sound like it would change anyone’s mind.” “It’s just not a clear-cut ‘let’s do it,’” she said, adding that legislators “represent 1.4 million people” across the state, and “the constituencies are so different and they have to represent their constituencies.” The speaker said an informal head count of House lawmakers that leadership conducted last month revealed no clear signs that the general sentiment toward legalization had meaningfully changed. “The feedback we were getting from members is that this doesn’t rise to the level of a constitutional amendment where we’re changing the way government operates,” Nakamura said. “This is more of an issue that should be addressed within the body.” If the legislature agreed to advance the latest legalization plan, voters would see this on their November ballots: “Shall the Constitution of the State of Hawaii be amended to: (1) Authorize individuals aged twenty-one and older to use and possess personal-use amounts of cannabis; and (2) Require the legislature to enact laws governing the use, manufacture, distribution, sale, possession, regulation, and taxation of cannabis within the State?” If a majority of voters approved the ballot measure, cannabis legalization would take effect on July 1, 2027. Tarnas, for his part, said he believes “the bill we put out this year addressed the concerns better than the bill last year.” “So I think we got more votes from our internal polling but it’s not enough. So I still need to keep working on it,” he said. “I’m being courteously persistent. I think it’s incumbent upon me to continue the conversation in a productive way and a collaborative way to address the concerns of House members and the concerns of the chairs of those committees that have referred the bill.” A Senate version of the legislation is still technically in play, but the same political dynamics on the House side would still complicate its path to passage if it were to cross over to that chamber. Karen O’Keefe, state policies director at the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment on Monday that the Hawaii House “is not only blocking legalization against the wishes of those it represents, but it is also depriving voters of the transparency needed to hold their lawmakers accountable.” “Last year, instead of allowing a floor vote on legalization, the House sent legalization back to committees it had already passed due to a lack of ‘consensus,'” she said. “This deprived voters of the knowledge of where their representatives stood. Now, it appears poised to kill a voter-referral and a legalization trigger bill, with no committee hearings or votes.” “Hawai’i voters deserve a chance to legalize cannabis if their lawmakers are unwilling to do so. And they deserve to know which lawmakers are responsible for their continued criminalization,” O’Keefe said. “We hope the Senate has more respect for liberty, democracy, and transparency.” State officials last month released a report on the potential economic impact of recreational marijuana legalization in the state, including revenue implications related to domestic and international tourism. All told, researchers said survey data and comparative analyses indicate that Hawaii could see anywhere from $46-$90 million in monthly marijuana sales by year five of implementation, after accounting for a maximum 15 percent tax rate on cannabis products. Hawaii’s Senate last year narrowly defeated a proposal that would have increased fivefold the amount of cannabis that a person could possess without risk of criminal charges. Had the measure become law, it would have increased the amount of cannabis decriminalized in Hawaii from the current 3 grams up to 15 grams. Possession of any amount of marijuana up to that 15-gram limit would have been classified as a civil violation, punishable by a fine of $130. A Senate bill that would have legalized marijuana for adults, meanwhile, ultimately stalled for the session. That measure, SB 1613, failed to make it out of committee by a legislative deadline. While advocates felt there was sufficient support for the legalization proposal in the Senate, it’s widely believed that House lawmakers would have ultimately scuttled the measure, as they did last February with a legalization companion bill, HB 1246. In 2024, a Senate-passed legalization bill also fizzled out in the House. Last year’s House vote to stall the bill came just days after approval from a pair of committees at a joint hearing. Ahead of that hearing, the panels received nearly 300 pages of testimony, including from state agencies, advocacy organizations and members of the public. Green signed separate legislation last year to allow medical marijuana caregivers to grow marijuana on behalf of up to five patients rather than the current one. And in July, the governor signed another bill that establishes a number of new rules around hemp products in Hawaii, including a requirement that distributors and retailers obtain a registration from the Department of Health. Lawmakers also sent a bill to the governor that would help speed the expungement process for people hoping to clear their records of past marijuana-related offenses—a proposal Green signed into law last April. That measure, HB 132, from Tarnas, is intended to expedite expungements happening through a pilot program signed into law in 2024 by Green. Specifically, it will remove a distinction between marijuana and other Schedule V drugs for the purposes of the expungement program. The bill’s proponents said the current wording of the law forces state officials to comb through thousands of criminal records manually in order to identify which are eligible for expungement under the pilot program. Meanwhile, in November, Hawaii officials finalized rules that will allow medical marijuana dispensaries to sell an expanded assortment of products for patients—including dry herb vaporizers, rolling papers and grinders—while revising the state code to clarify that cannabis oils and concentrates can be marketed for inhalation. The department also affirmed its support for federal marijuana rescheduling—a policy change that President Donald Trump ordered to be completed expeditiously but has yet to come to fruition. Meanwhile, Hawaii lawmakers recently advanced a bill to allow qualifying patients to access medical marijuana at health facilities. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Regulators are also launching a series of courses designed to educate physicians and other healthcare professionals about medical marijuana as the state’s cannabis program expands. The underlying medical marijuana expansion bill signed by the governor in late June, in addition to allowing more patients to more easily access cannabis, also contains a provision that advocates find problematic. Before lawmakers sent the legislation to Green, a conference committee revised the plan, inserting a provision to allow DOH to access medical marijuana patient records held by doctors for any reason whatsoever. Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post Hawaii Marijuana Legalization Bills Are Likely Dead For 2026 Session, Key Lawmakers Say appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“We have a ground swell and folks are angry. [Politicians] hate the fact that people spoke and now they’re trying to re-criminalize cannabis and ban products.” By Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal Ohioans for Cannabis Choice are starting to collect signatures to get a referendum on the ballot to block a new law that will change the state’s voter-passed recreational marijuana law and ban intoxicating hemp products. But they are up against a March 19 deadline. They need more than 248,000 signatures to get on the November 3 ballot. The group will also need 3 percent of an individual county’s gubernatorial turnout in 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Despite the looming deadline, Joey Ellwood, a hemp farmer in Tuscarawas County, is confident they will get the needed signatures to get the referendum on the ballot. “We have a ground swell and folks are angry,” he said. “[Politicians] hate the fact that people spoke and now they’re trying to re-criminalize cannabis and ban products, and we’re not going to stand for that.” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost initially rejected the referendum’s summary language, but approved it last week after Ohioans for Cannabis Choice made changes to the langauge. “We are on a limited timeline,” Ellwood said. “The attorney general took a significant amount of time to go through that, which put us up against it.” Ohio Senate Bill 56—set to take effect March 20—will reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90 percent down to a maximum of 70 percent, cap THC levels in adult-use flower to 35 percent, and prohibit smoking in most public places. It prohibits possessing marijuana in anything outside of its original packaging and criminalizes bringing legal marijuana from another state back to Ohio. The legislation also requires drivers to store marijuana in the trunk of their car while driving. Ohioans voted to legalize marijuana in 2023, recreational sales started in August 2024, and sales totaled more than $836 million in 2025. The legislation would also ban intoxicating hemp products. “I have many patients that have maintained their sobriety from drugs and alcohol due to CBD and CBD-combined products,” said Dr. Bridget Williams, a board-certified family physician. “I also have a lot of patients that have been able to maintain sobriety by using cannabis related products, CBD, and THC for social interaction.” She founded Green Harvest Health, an Ohio medical cannabis clinic. “You have to consider that if we do not allow these opportunities to continue, we will have patients that will no longer have an option for their stress or the sleep issues they might experience,” Williams said. Wesley Bryant, owner of 420 Craft Beverage in Cleveland, said he supports regulation, testing, age-gating products, and having a proper licensing framework. His business employs 20 people. “That’s 20 families that I employ,” he said. “What am I supposed to do on March 19, when I have to look at these 20 families and tell them, you can no longer work here, not because we failed as a business, but because the government failed us.” On the federal level, Congress voted in November to ban products that contain 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container when they voted to reopen the government. Previously, the 2018 Farm Bill said hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC. There is a one-year implementation delay for the federal hemp ban, but states can create their own regulatory framework before then. “I actually do not see a ban coming in November,” Bryant said. “What I see is a regulatory framework that’s been sorely missed from the jump start of the farm bill, so I think that that is coming.” Ohio Cannabis Coalition and Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol—the group behind Issue 2 on the 2023 ballot—oppose the attempted referendum. “I don’t want to bash my counterparts,” Bryant said when asked about opposition from Ohio’s marijuana industry. “That’s not what I’m here to do. What I will say is they have a limited license program. It is in their best interest to abolish competition, and with S.B. 56, that’s what you have, abolition of competition.” The last referendum that passed in Ohio was when voters overturned an anti-collective bargaining law in 2011. This story was first published by Ohio Capital Journal. The post Ohio Activists Launch Signature Drive For Referendum To Block Marijuana And Hemp Restrictions appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Virginia Senate has approved a bill to provide legal protections for hospital workers to facilitate the use of medical marijuana for patients with terminal illnesses in their facilities, so long as cannabis is federally rescheduled. At the same time, a House subcommittee advanced a pair of proposals that share the goal of permitting medical marijuana access to seriously ill patients in health facilities—though they take a different approach to the issue. The Senate passed its version of the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Favola (D), in a 39-1 vote on Tuesday—about a week after the proposal unanimously advanced through the Senate Education and Health Committee. SB 332 would build upon existing state law protecting health professionals at hospices and nursing facilities that assist terminally ill patients in utilizing medical cannabis treatment. Those protections would be expanded to hospital workers. “Cannabis oil has been effective in ameliorating some severe pain and also helping with nausea and appetite loss,” Favola said ahead of the Senate vote on Tuesday. “This bill has a couple guardrails in it, and we’re merely trying to treat patients in hospitals and give them the same options as we’ve currently giving patients in nursing homes and in hospice.” As originally introduced, the measure would have simply directed the state the Department of Health to form a working group to explore the reform, but its scope was expanded in an earlier subcommittee hearing. Unlike other states where similar laws are in place or being considered this session—a policy known as “Ryan’s law,” named after a young medical marijuana patient in California who passed away—the Virginia bill would only extend the protections to hospital settings if cannabis is federally rescheduled. Advocates are working to remove that restrictive language, however. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December directing the attorney general to expeditiously move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but that’s yet to materialize. On the House side, the Health and Human Services Health Subcommittee also met on Tuesday and merged a pair of bills that are also aligned with the intent of Ryan’s law legislation but take a different approach to the issue. HB 75 from Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (D), into which the panel incorporated Del. Irene Shin’s (D) HB 486, would require healthcare facilities to establish policies “to address circumstances under which an eligible patient would be permitted to use medical cannabis.” Smoking and vaping would be prohibited under the measure, which like the Senate bill would also not take effect until federal marijuana rescheduling is completed. Under the amended House bill, healthcare facilities could suspend medical cannabis allowances if a federal agency such as the Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes enforcement action on the issue or issues a rule or notification expressly prohibiting use of medical cannabis in health facilities. The subcommittee approved the amended and merged legislation in a 7-0 vote. Meanwhile in Virginia, lawmakers are also considering more robust reforms to the state’s marijuana laws, including proposals to legalize recreational cannabis sales. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee passed an amended version of that bill last week, drawing criticism from advocates over changes that would impose new penalties on certain cannabis-related activities such as underage possession and unlicensed cultivation of marijuana that could carry the threat of jail time. A coalition of reform groups has since sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, where the measure was transmitted, imploring members to roll back those amendments. The advancement of the commercial sales bill as amended comes about a week after the House General Laws Committee approved a companion version of the legislation, sponsored by Del. Paul Krizek (D). As approved in committee, the legislation largely aligns with recommendations released in December by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market. Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by the legislature. The Senate version calls for sales to start on January 1, 2027, while the House bill stipulates that adult-use cannabis sales could begin on November 1 of this year. Here are the key details of the Virginia marijuana sales legalization legislation: Adults would be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products as determined by regulators. The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and regulation of the new industry. Its board of directors would have the authority to control possession, sale, transportation, distribution, delivery and testing of marijuana. A tax of up to 12.625 percent would apply to the retail sale of any cannabis product. That would include a state retail and use tax of 1.125 percent on top of a new marijuana-specific tax of 8 percent. Local governments could levy an additional 3.5 percent. Tax revenue would be split between the costs of administering and enforcing the state’s marijuana system, a new Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, pre-kindergarten programs, substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs and public health programs such as awareness campaigns designed to prevent drug-impaired driving and discourage underage consumption. Local governments could not opt out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their area. Delivery services would be allowed. Serving sizes would be capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than 100 mg THC per package. Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market if they pay a $10 million licensing conversion fee. Cannabis businesses would have to establish labor peace agreements with workers. A legislative commission would be directed to study adding on-site consumption licenses and microbusiness cannabis event permits that would allow licensees to conduct sales at venues like farmers markets or pop-up locations. It would also investigate the possibility of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority becoming involved in marijuana regulations and enforcement. Newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) supports legalizing adult-use marijuana sales. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Another cannabis bill approved by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee last week would mandate that individuals with certain offenses automatically receive resentencing hearings and have their punishments adjusted. A House companion version from Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. (D) also advanced recently. The legislation would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences. The bill applies to people whose convictions or adjudications are for conduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2021, when a state law legalizing personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect. The panel adopted a series of technical changes to the legislation prior to approving it. Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers. The post Virginia Lawmakers Approve Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Access In Hospitals appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Bipartisan Wisconsin lawmakers will soon be introducing a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession for first-time offenses. Reps. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D) and Shae Sortwell (R) are in the process of circulating the draft legislation to build support among colleagues. The text of the proposal hasn’t been formally filed yet, but the sponsors previously teamed up on similar reform cannabis decriminalization legislation that failed to advance to enactment. Under the latest proposal, people found in possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana for the first time would face a $100 fine, without a threat of jail time. Possessing more than 28 possession as a first offense would be punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail. Current law, by contrast, makes first-time possession of any amount of cannabis a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The law also currently maintains that repeat offenders can be convicted of a Class I felony, with a sentence of up to three and a half years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine. The forthcoming bill, first reported by CBS 58 News, would also revise sentencing standards to make it so simple marijuana possession of up to 58 grams would not count toward repeat offenses for other drug-related crimes. This latest cannabis reform proposal is being pitched within the legislature about a week after Wisconsin senators approved a separate GOP-led bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. The Senate Health Committee last week advanced the medical cannabis legislation from Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R) in a 4-1 vote. This comes months after the panel held an initial hearing on the GOP-led proposal, which was introduced last October. Wisconsin’s GOP Assembly speaker said last year that he hoped lawmakers in the state could “find a consensus” on legislation to legalize medical marijuana. But he added that the cannabis bill filed by his Republican leadership counterpart in the Senate was “unlikely” to pass his chamber because it is “way too broad and way too wide-ranging.” However, the speaker said he thinks “we are not there” in terms of having enough votes to advance even a medical cannabis bill through his chamber at this point, despite characterizing himself as a supporter of patients’ access to marijuana “for almost a decade now.” In the background, Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers recently unveiled a new bill to legalize marijuana in the state—though its prospects of passage remain dubious with Republicans still in control of both chambers of the legislature. “Legalization of cannabis is not radical. What’s radical is continuing a system that destroys lives, drains resources and ignores the will of the people,” Rep. Darrin Madison (D) said during a press conference on last week. “Wisconsin’s ready.” With just under a year before voters elect their next governor, the majority of the current candidates have made clear that they will support efforts to legalize marijuana—in part to fund public programs such as increased access to broadband. A poll released last June by Marquette Law School found that two in three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana. The survey found that support for cannabis reform has generally increased over time since the institution first started tracking public opinion on legalization in 2013, with 67 percent of voters now backing the policy change. That’s 17 percentage points higher than the 2013 results. Underscoring the importance of party control, the state’s Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly this summer rejected another attempt to legalize marijuana, defeating amendments to budget legislation that would have ended prohibition in the state and established new medical and recreational cannabis programs. Evers has routinely attempted to change that policy as part of his budget requests—and Democratic leaders have similarly pushed for reform. Republicans in the legislature also cut the marijuana provisions from a state budget proposal in May, as they’ve done in past sessions. Despite Republicans’ move to cut legalization from the budget legislation, party leaders recently acknowledged that the debate over medical marijuana legalization is “not going to go away,” and there’s hope it can be resolved this session. Meanwhile, a Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin said in July that he was “open to considering different opportunities” when it comes to legalizing medical or adult-use marijuana in the state, though he has provided little in the way of specifics so far. On the Democratic side, current Gov. Tony Evers (D), who supports legalizing cannabis, is not seeking re-election. But he said last June that if his party can take control of the legislature, the state can “finally” legalize marijuana so that residents don’t have to go to neighboring Illinois to visit its adult-use market. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — There have been repeated attempts to legalize medical marijuana in the legislature over recent years, including the introduction of legislation from the Assembly speaker that called for a limited program facilitated through state-run dispensaries. That proved controversial among his Republican colleagues, however, and it ultimately stalled out. Evers previewed his plan to include marijuana legalization in his budget last January, while also arguing that residents of the state should be allowed to propose new laws by putting binding questions on the ballot—citing the fact that issues such as cannabis reform enjoy sizable bipartisan support while the GOP-controlled legislature has repeatedly refused to act. Previously, in 2022, the governor signed an executive order to convene a special legislative session with the specific goal of giving people the right to put citizen initiatives on the ballot, raising hopes among advocates that cannabis legalization could eventually be decided by voters. The GOP legislature did not adopt the proposal, however. Evers said in late 2024 that marijuana reform is one of several key priorities the state should pursue in the 2025 session, as lawmakers work with a budget surplus. Days after he made the remarks, a survey found the reform would be welcomed by voters in rural parts of the state. Nearly two thirds (65 percent) said they support legalizing cannabis. Last May, the governor said he was “hopeful” that the November 2024 election would lead to Democratic control of the legislature, in part because he argued it would position the state to finally legalize cannabis. “We’ve been working hard over the last five years, several budgets, to make that happen,” he said at the time. “I know we’re surrounded by states with recreational marijuana, and we’re going to continue to do it.” A Wisconsin Democratic Assemblymember tried to force a vote on a medical cannabis compromise proposal in 2024, as an amendment to an unrelated kratom bill, but he told Marijuana Moment he suspects leadership intentionally pulled that legislation from the agenda at the last minute to avoid a showdown on the issue. Meanwhile, the state Department of Revenue released a fiscal estimate of the economic impact of a legalization bill from then-Sen. Melissa Agard (D) in 2023, projecting that the reform would generate nearly $170 million annually in tax revenue. A legislative analysis requested by lawmakers estimated that Wisconsin residents spent more than $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone in 2022, contributing $36 million in tax revenue to the neighboring state. Evers and other Democrats have since at least 2024 insisted that they would be willing to enact a modest medical marijuana program, even if they’d prefer more comprehensive reform. Read the draft Wisconsin marijuana decriminalization bill below: The post Bipartisan Wisconsin Lawmakers Circulate Bill To Decriminalize Marijuana appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net