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124. Psychedelic Integration and Intuition: What Actually Changes After Ayahuasca Explore psychedelic integration and intuition through ayahuasca, grief, and leadership. What really changes after plant medicine? Episode Summary What actually happens after the ceremony ends? In this episode, April sits down with Lizzi Cutler to explore psychedelic integration and intuition beyond the peak experience. From ayahuasca integration to 5-MeO-DMT, Lizzi shares how plant medicine didn’t “fix” her—but instead revealed who she already was. The conversation moves through grief and identity, including the emotional reality of not becoming a mother, and expands into how intuition can be applied in unexpected places like business and leadership. This episode will help you understand how to integrate psychedelic experiences into daily life, trust your intuition, and rethink personal growth as an ongoing, nonlinear process. Key Takeaways Psychedelics don’t fix you—they reveal patterns you’re already living inside True ayahuasca integration happens over years, not days or weeks Intuition isn’t mystical—it’s a skill that can be applied to leadership and hiring Grief and identity are deeply intertwined, especially around missed life paths Intuitive leadership may be the missing link in building aligned teams and cultures Timestamps [00:00] Intro, disclaimer, and April’s context on consciousness + intuition[01:00] Introducing Lizzi Cutler and the theme of integration[02:00] Psychedelics and grief + upcoming salon context[03:00] Lizzi’s early work: yoga, meditation, and intuitive sensing[04:00] Naming subconscious patterns and how change begins[05:00] April’s narration: awareness, observation, and the double slit experiment[06:00] Applying intuition to business, hiring, and leadership[08:00] First ayahuasca invitation and entering ceremony work[09:00] Ayahuasca + San Pedro explained (context + risks)[10:00] First ceremonies: “feeling nothing” and frustration[10:30] Dieta explained: preparation, digestion, and intuition[12:00] First breakthrough experience and community bonding[13:00] Divorce, feeling “broken,” and seeking transformation[14:00] 30–40 ceremonies later: what ayahuasca actually revealed[15:00] “Own your power” and letting go of imitation[16:00] The apprenticeship dynamic + April’s ethical commentary[18:00] Surrendering to intuition and first real validation[19:00] Bringing intuitive work into real-world practice[20:00] Shifting from personal coaching to stress + behavior change[21:00] Breakthrough moment: intuition applied to business[22:00] Alignment, investing, and intuitive due diligence[23:00] Oneness, source, and early 5-MeO insights[24:00] Psychedelics don’t give gifts—they reveal them[25:00] Intuition as a natural ability vs learned skill[26:00] 5-MeO-DMT explained + non-dual awareness[26:30] “I am enough”: the end of the “I’m broken” narrative[27:00] Embodiment, love, and kintsugi (wholeness through integration)[28:00] Integration over time + relationships and emotional growth[29:00] Building an intuitive business model (CEO-focused work)[30:00] “Intuitive analysis” and reading organizational culture[31:00] AI vs intuition: human pattern recognition[32:00] Leadership decisions, restructuring, and team alignment[33:00] Working with investors, philanthropy, and impact[34:00] Money as energy + alignment in giving[35:00] Closing reflections + where this work is going[36:00] Outro + resources + psychedelic grief salon Resources Micro-Psyched 12-Week Microdosing Program Women in the Wild gatherings - Reserve your spot in Seattle Upcoming Psychedelic Salon tickets Follow April on Substack Original Microdosing for Midlife Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/psychedelic-integration-and-intuition-ayahuasca-leadership Hosted by April Pride @aprilpride_ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@getsetset⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@getsetset⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@getsetset Get full access to SetSet with April Pride at aprilpride.substack.com/subscribeCatch the full episode here

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Opponents of marijuana reform have filed a lawsuit challenging the federal cannabis rescheduling action announced by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice last month—using a law firm at which a former Trump administration attorney general is a partner. Prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review and set aside the cannabis rescheduling action, alleging that they have been “aggrieved” by the reform. Under an action announced by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last month, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license immediately moved from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, as did any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An administrative hearing scheduled for this summer will consider broader cannabis rescheduling, including for recreational products. “The AG Rescheduling Order violates the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 to 559, and section 201 of the CSA, 21 U.S.C. § 811, exceeds the statutory authority of the Attorney General under the CSA, and is otherwise arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law,” the brief two-page petition challenging the rescheduling action claims. It is signed by attorneys at Torridon Law PLCC, where former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, led DOJ during Trump’s first term in office, is a partner. SAM had announced in January that it was hiring Barr’s firm to legally combat cannabis rescheduling after Tump signed an executive order directing officials to complete the process expeditiously. “SAM and NDASA respectfully request that the Court review and set aside the Order in whole, and that SAM and NDASA receive any further relief to which they may be entitled,” the new petition says. Named defendants in the suit are the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Blanche and DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. SAM CEO Kevin Sabet said in a press release that the cannabis rescheduling order “contravenes both law and science.” “This order gave federal approval to a new Big Tobacco industry selling cookies, gummies, and sodas laced with highly potent marijuana,” he said. “The public-health carnage wrought by these products is not ‘medical’ and that word should never be associated with them. This is a fight for the next generation. We are continuing our fight to take a step back toward sanity and justice in federal marijuana policy.” Meanwhile, a House appropriations subcommittee last week voted to block federal officials from taking further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling. Last month, SAM and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit seeking to block a Trump administration program to cover certain hemp-derived products through Medicare. Read the full marijuana rescheduling lawsuit below: Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Marijuana Opponents File Lawsuit To Block Trump Administration’s Federal Rescheduling Move appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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The Republican senator who heads up the Banking Committee says the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level while more states legalize it has created a “quandary” for cannabis businesses and banks that wish to serve them. “Congress is going to have to make it legal, because today even though the president has declassified it or reduced its impact, the truth is it is still illegal,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said on Tuesday, referring to the Trump administration’s recent move to federally reschedule marijuana. “Therefore the banking system cannot allow access to our federal banking system. You can on the state level—but on the federal level, until it becomes a legal conversation, until that’s solved,” you can’t, the senator said. Scott said he does think the issue will get solved, pointing to legislation called the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that would provide federal protections to banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses. Versions of that legislation have been passed by the House of Representatives several times but have never received a vote on the Senate floor. The bill would “allow for the banking question to be solved by making it legal to bank it,” Scott said. “What you don’t want is to have a situation where you have these cash rooms where you have hundreds of thousands of dollars cash sitting in a location. Everyone knows you can’t bank it and therefore the criminal activity is much higher in these places.” Despite articulating the main argument for the reform in his new comments at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference, Scott has opposed cannabis banking legislation in the past—including when it advanced through the panel he now chairs under prior Democratic control in 2023. The SAFER Banking Act has not yet been refiled in either chamber during the current 119th Congress, which began in January 2025. Scott also spoke on Tuesday about how he’s “not agnostic” on the broader cannabis issue, saying he’s “got a strong opinion” and raising concerns about what he called the “synthetic nature of marijuana and how it’s 300 percent stronger than it was naturally.” “That’s a different conversation,” he said. “The real conservations we’re having though is about about access to the banking system.” “There is a quandary that we have to solve,” the senator said. “I think we’ll get to a solution.” — 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. — Scott, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, previously served in the House, where he voted against an amendment to protect state medical cannabis programs from federal interference. At an American Bankers Association (ABA) Washington Summit in 2023, Scott said that the federal-state marijuana banking conflict will “come to a conclusion likely in this Congress.” He stressed the importance of addressing the SAFE Banking Act during regular order, calling it “an important decision, as opposed to rushing it to the floor.” “There are Republicans who’ve come out very positively on behalf of the SAFE Act. I’m not one of those Republicans, but there is a bipartisan coalition who wants to have a serious conversation about the challenges that it would solve,” he said at the time. “And the question is: does that legislation actually solve more challenges than it creates harm?” Scott also said that lawmakers need to take on the broader debate about federal marijuana legalization, which is “something that we’re going to have to wrestle with as a nation and as a Congress and get to an answer there.” “But there is a bipartisan coalition who wants to have that conversation, so I think that’s good news,” he said. “Both sides want to go through regular order—that’s better news. I think we’ll come to a conclusion likely in this Congress.” The post Marijuana Industry Banking Access Is A ‘Quandary’ That Needs To Be Solved With Legalization, Key GOP Senator Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A Pennsylvania Senate committee has approved a bill to create a new Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to oversee the state’s medical marijuana program and intoxicating hemp products—for the third time, with new amendments. The body could also one day oversee recreational cannabis if it is legalized in the state. The Senate Law & Justice Committee voted 7-4 on Monday to advance the legislation back to the floor for consideration. The panel had previously done so in March and, before that, in October—but its sponsor Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who is also the committee’s chair, has repeatedly brought the measure back to be altered. This time, senators adopted two amendments to the bill. One amendment, from Laughlin, specifies that the three members of the CCB who would be appointed by the governor would need to have certain backgrounds—one with law enforcement experience, another with expertise in dealing with addiction and a third with experience in “cannabis matters.” Laughlin’s amendment also specifies that nothing in the bill “shall be construed to allow the board to authorize the sale of recreational marijuana absent approval by the General Assembly,” and additionally makes technical changes to the legislation. For too long, intoxicating hemp products, or ‘gas station weed,’ have been sold with virtually no oversight and far too few safeguards. Moving this bill out of committee puts us on the path to finally bringing order and accountability to this space. pic.twitter.com/DlaHjXxPK3 — Senator Dan Laughlin (@senatorlaughlin) May 4, 2026 A separate amendment from Sen. Devlin Robinson (R) was also adopted by the committee. It specifies that regulators could award additional dispensary permits to companies that were medical cannabis grower/processors prior to April 12, 2024 and that meet other conditions. Previously, in March, the panel amended the cannabis regulation bill to add new provisions banning the sale of most hemp THC products to align state law with a pending federal policy change that’s set to take effect in November. “For too long, intoxicating hemp products, or ‘gas station weed,’ have been sold with virtually no oversight and far too few safeguards,” Laughlin said in a social media post on Monday. “Moving this bill out of committee puts us on the path to finally bringing order and accountability to this space.” In a separate post, the senator criticized Democrats on the panel who are cosponsoring the bill but voted against it. Kinda weird that we moved my Cannabis Control Board bill out of committee today, and all 4 democratic cosponsors of the bill voted no. — Dan Laughlin (@VoteLaughlin) May 5, 2026 Its not clear why those lawmakers voted the way they did, but the action on the cannabis regulatory bill, SB 49, comes amid a partisan dispute in the state over broader marijuana legalization. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has repeatedly called on lawmakers to send him a marijuana legalization bill and for the last several years has included the reform in his budget requests to the legislature. Stacy Garrity, a Republican who is running for governor and who currently serves as the state treasurer, recently said she would veto a cannabis legalization bill if lawmakers approved one—though she also shared her view that the legislature is “never going to pass it…not as long as Senate Republicans are in control of the Senate.” Last month, the Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed budget legislation proposed by Shapiro that relies on revenue that would be generated from recreational marijuana sales, which has yet to be legalized in the state. The House of Representatives last year passed a bill to legalize marijuana and put sales in state-owned dispensaries, but the Republican Senate majority has criticized that plan while also not advancing a cannabis legalization model of its own. — 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. — A spokesperson in the governor’s office separately said last month that the Trump administration’s federal marijuana rescheduling move is an “important step” that “adds support” to his push to legalize cannabis in the state. The governor also used last month’s unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20 as an opportunity to press lawmakers once again to send him a bill to legalize marijuana. Meanwhile, the CCB established by the bill that is now advancing in the Senate would regulate medical cannabis and hemp, while preparing to eventually handle the adult-use marijuana market as well if that reform is ultimately enacted. Laughlin, who is also sponsoring bipartisan legislation to legalize adult-use marijuana previewed the regulatory measure last May, writing that Pennsylvania should take initial steps to make sure the state is “ready to act when legalization becomes law” by establishing a CCB now. In a cosponsorship memo circulated last year, Laughlin said his bill would “transfer regulatory control of the Medical Marijuana Program to the CCB, ensuring continuity, efficiency, and improved oversight of medical cannabis businesses and patient access.” It would further “establish uniform safety standards to protect consumers from untested and potentially harmful products.” The original bill text itself also doesn’t contain an explicit references to adult-use, or recreational, marijuana, and it would not enact legalization on its own. But the description indicates that the sponsors feel the current regulatory regime under the Pennsylvania Department of Health should be replaced with a more targeted agency that would ostensibly be suited to oversee an adult-use market if lawmakers move to end prohibition. “By consolidating oversight under a single regulatory board, we can eliminate inconsistencies, enhance transparency, and provide the structure needed to responsibly manage this industry,” the memo says. Separately last month, the House Health Committee approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals and other healthcare facilities The legislative developments come as a recent poll shows that seven out of ten Pennsylvania likely voters support legalizing adult-use marijuana—including majority backing for the reform across party lines. When asked whether they “support or oppose the regulation and taxation of legal cannabis for use by adults 21 and older in Pennsylvania,” 69 percent of respondents said yes. Support was strongest from Democrats, at 72 percent, but also includes 67 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of independents. Meanwhile, Shapiro is continuing to pressure on lawmakers to send him a bill to legalize marijuana in the state, saying that doing so would generate new revenue that could be invested in key programs. “While some in Harrisburg claim we can’t afford to make bigger investments in our kids, public safety, and our economy, know this: If we legalized and regulated adult-use cannabis, we’d bring in $1.3 BILLION in revenue for our Commonwealth over the first five years,” the governor said in another recent social media post. “Those are dollars that can be invested back into our people and our communities,” he said. “Stop with the excuses. Let’s get this done.” The state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) reported in February that legalizing cannabis in Pennsylvania would generate nearly half a billion dollars in annual revenue by 2028, an estimate that is a significantly larger cash windfall compared to projections from Shapiro’s own office. With a proposed 20 percent wholesale cannabis excise tax, 6 percent state sales tax for retail and licensing fees, IFO said the governor’s legalization plan would generate $140 million in tax revenue in the first year of implementation from 2027-2028 and increase to $432 million by 2030-2031. That’s a much higher revenue estimate than what the governor’s office put forward in the latest executive budget. According to his office’s analysis, legalization would generate about $36.9 million in tax dollars in its first year from a 20 percent wholesale tax on marijuana—rising gradually to $223.8 million by 2030-2031. In February, a coalition of drug policy and civil liberties organizations urged Shapiro to play a leadership role in convening legislative leaders to get the job done on cannabis legalization this session. The post Pennsylvania Senate Panel Approves Bill To Regulate Marijuana And Hemp, With New Amendments appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

North Carolina senators have filed a new bill that, if enacted, would allow voters to decide whether to legalize marijuana for personal or medical use at the ballot box this November. The legislation, filed by Sens. Kandie Smith (D), Caleb Theodros (D), Paul Lowe Jr. (D) and Joyce Waddell (D), seeks to place two separate cannabis questions before voters. The first, if approved, would add this new section to the state Constitution: “Section 39. Right to possession of limited amounts of cannabis for personal use. The possession of limited amounts of cannabis for personal use shall not be a criminal offense in this State. The General Assembly shall enact general laws governing the possession of limited amounts of cannabis for personal use consistent with this section.” The second would read: “Section 39. Right to medical use of cannabis. The possession of limited amounts of cannabis for medical use by patients with qualifying conditions shall not be a criminal offense in this State. The General Assembly shall enact general laws governing the possession of cannabis for medical use consistent with this section.” “We wanted to put it up to the voters,” Theodros told WNCN-TV. “I think for over a decade now, the General Assembly has failed to act on this question. The only folks who are willing to act are voters.” “When we talk about even the potential to legalize medical marijuana or even recreational marijuana use, we also need to go back and start to take a look at what has marijuana or the disproportionate application of the law, if you will, of marijuana laws have done to people,” Theodros separately told The Charlotte Post. “What has it done to their ability to get jobs after they’re removed from jail or whatever the case may be. It’s not my personal belief when it comes to the legalization of marijuana. It’s not simply needing to just legalize it,” he said. “It’s to rectify some of those negative policies that we pushed in North Carolina and the United States in general.” Lowe said legal medical cannabis could provide South Carolinians with a safer alternative to prescription drugs. “When it comes to medicine, we use opiates a lot. Opiates are extremely dangerous on so many different levels,” he said. “To get people off of opiates, cannabis has proven to be a pathway to help moving people away.” If SB 1027 is approved, voters would see the marijuana questions on the November 3 ballot. — 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, North Carolina’s Senate president pro tempore recently said that lawmakers will take a more serious look at legalizing medical marijuana following the Trump administration’s move to reschedule cannabis at the federal level. The North Carolina Senate has passed medical cannabis bills in a number of past sessions that have later stalled out in the House of Representatives. “We’ll have a conversation within our caucus as to whether or not we do something, if they’re interested in continuing to pursue that,” Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said. If the Senate does pass a medical cannabis bill again, it’s not yet clear how House leadership would react this time. The Senate leader’s comments and the bill constitutional amendment bill come weeks after a governor-appointed cannabis commission in North Carolina issued a report recommending that the state move away from a criminalization-based approach to the plant and toward a system of “robust” regulations that provide for adults’ legal access to THC products. The North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis, which Gov. Josh Stein (D) convened last year, says in the new document approved in April that the current “absence of regulation for North Carolina’s intoxicating cannabis market raises numerous concerns,” noting that hemp products are readily available yet largely unregulated and that marijuana remains prohibited altogether in the state, even for medical use. “Compared to regulated marijuana frameworks in other states, this environment presents identifiable risks,” the interim report says. “While some operators voluntarily implement consumer protection protocols, these safeguards are not required under state law.” Stein, for his part, thanked the group for its “expertise, hard work, and thoughtful deliberation” in a press release and reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana. “Last year, I charged this group with developing a comprehensive solution to the unregulated sale of cannabis that is grounded in public health and public safety, with a special focus on keeping young people safe,” the governor said. “This report provides the General Assembly with guidance and makes clear that a well-regulated market, including both oversight and enforcement authority, is a safer market for our state.” “Our state’s unregulated cannabis market today is the Wild West and is crying for order,” he said. “Let’s get this right. Let’s protect our kids and create a safe, legal, and well-regulated market for adults.” The interim report recommends that rather than construct separate frameworks for hemp and marijuana, the state should enact molecule-based regulation focused on THC itself, saying that “the plant source is irrelevant and should not drive different treatment when the intoxicating compound is the same.” It also suggests that when choosing how to regulate THC and cannabis, North Carolina should enact “an adult access market with protections for medical consumers.” The panel, however, “does not view a medical-only program as an effective interim step or compromise solution,” and the state should proceed to adult-use access immediately while considering the “availability of medical-consumer protections” as “an important component of a broader regulatory structure.” The group’s report notes that “ultimately, the authority to bring order to the unregulated, unsafe cannabis market rests with the General Assembly.” The advisory council was formed after Stein issued an executive order last year, and is comprised of legislators, law enforcement officials, agriculture industry stakeholders, health experts, tribal representatives, advocates and others charged with exploring possible regulatory models for adult-use marijuana and hemp. The governor’s order said there’s a need for reform because the “current lack of regulation, including age, potency, and purity limitations, poses a threat to all North Carolinians, particularly our youth.” And “rather than allowing this unsafe and unregulated market to continue, smart and balanced regulation presents an opportunity not only to protect the health and well-being of our people, but also to generate revenue that can benefit our state.” Members are tasked with developing and submitting initial recommendations on a “comprehensive cannabis policy, including any proposed legislation,” with a final report due by December 31 of this year. During his time as the state’s attorney general, Stein led a separate task force under then-Gov. Roy Cooper (D) that examined racial injustice issues and ultimately recommended decriminalizing marijuana and studying broader legalization in response to racially disparate enforcement trends. Meanwhile, a tribe in North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, launched the state’s first marijuana dispensary in 2024—despite the protests of certain Republican congressional lawmakers. The post North Carolina Voters Could Decide To Legalize Marijuana At The Ballot In November Under New Senate Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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A Republican South Carolina state senator says that “medical marijuana is now legal” in the state following the Trump administration’s move to enact federal rescheduling—but a GOP congressman who is running to be the next governor says he has a “problem with marijuana,” calling it a “gateway drug.” State Sen. Tom Davis (R), who has sponsored bills to legalize medical cannabis over a number of sessions, said that under a little-known state law he believes was triggered by federal rescheduling, “we have just become the 41st state that has a legally authorized medical marijuana program.” “Medical marijuana is now legal in South Carolina,” he told Charleston City Paper. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), who is running in next month’s primary for his party’s gubernatorial nomination, has concerns about cannabis. “From day one, medicinal cannabis never ends up like that, [and] always ends up opening it up to everybody,” he told Marijuana Moment in an interview last week. “I’ve got a problem with that. It’s a gateway drug, and there other options other than marijuana for veterans or anybody who needs it for that matter.” But regardless of Norman’s opposition, some patients in South Carolina may soon be able to get legal medical marijuana access under state law, thanks to the Trump administration’s action to remove medical cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III. An existing state law says that “if a substance is added, deleted, or rescheduled as a controlled substance pursuant to federal law or regulation,” officials then have 30 days to reschedule the drug in the “appropriate schedule” under state law. A separate law, the South Carolina Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act, passed in 1980, sets up a program through which certain patients could obtain medical cannabis “through whatever means” the state health commissioner “deems most appropriate consistent with federal law.” Current Gov. Henry McMaster’s (R) office confirmed to local media that South Carolina law will “require the State to mirror the new federal order” on marijuana rescheduling. And the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) said that officials are “aware of the proposed rescheduling of medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act” and are “assessing the impacts to DPH and the state of South Carolina.” Davis, the GOP state senator who has sponsored reform bills, told the City Paper that “Dr. [Edward] Simmer, as the DPH director, is in charge — he ‘shall’ provide that marijuana to those patients” under the law. He added that “the legislature, quite frankly, has been derelict in its duty” in failing to enact his comprehensive medical cannabis legalization proposal, which has twice passed the Senate but continually stalled in the House of Representatives. The senator said the measure would “put some safeguards in place to allow doctors to provide their patients with this product” beyond the scope of the limited access that is contemplated by the current state law triggered by federal rescheduling. “My position has always been that this is a potentially dangerous substance,” Davis said. “We need to regulate it. We need to have physicians authorizing it. We need to have pharmacists dispensing it with proper labeling. And all that’s missing now.” He also suggested that state officials could face litigation over any failure to take steps to provide legal medical marijuana access in line with current law. “I’m not encouraging this, but I expect there will be some legal actions filed by individuals who want to access marijuana for medicinal purposes,” the senator said. “And they’re going to compel, or attempt to compel, DPH to discharge the duty it has been statutorily directed to do.” “Doing nothing is a choice,” he said. “And doing nothing has consequences.” Norman, the congressman who is running for governor, separately praised President Donald Trump’s recent executive order focused on accelerating therapeutic access to psychedelics. “For the veteran who’s having problems and the veterans dealing with PTSD, that’s a good thing,” he told Marijuana Moment. Last year, South Carolina’s current governor said there’s a “compelling” case to be made for legalizing medical marijuana in the state, despite reservations from law enforcement. McMaster said at the time that he thinks supporters of the reform have a “very compelling situation,” despite the fact that “law enforcement, almost end-to-end, still have grave concerns.” “I think what we need to do is study it very carefully, get as much information as we can and try to do the right thing,” he said. The office of House Speaker Murrell Smith (R) tempered expectations, however, referencing what he viewed as insufficient support within the GOP caucus to advance the reform through his chamber. An earlier version of Davis’s cannabis measure passed the Senate in the 2024 session but was never taken up in the House. He filed a new version for the 2025 session, but it did not advance. “It requires doctors in patient authorization, doctor supervision,” Davis said at the time. “It requires pharmacists to dispense it. It is a very conservative bill, because that’s what South Carolinians want.” As introduced, the legislation would allow patients to access medical marijuana from “therapeutic cannabis pharmacies,” which would be licensed by the state Board of Pharmacy. Individuals would need to receive a doctor’s recommendation for the treatment of certain qualifying conditions, which include several specific ailments as well as terminal illnesses and chronic diseases where opioids are the standard of care. Among the public, medical marijuana legalization enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in the state, with a 2024 poll finding that 93 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of independents back the reform. The state Senate passed an earlier version of the legislation in 2022, but it stalled in the opposite body over a procedural hiccup. — 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. — When senators began debating the medical marijuana legislation in 2024, the body adopted an amendment that clarifies the bill does not require landlords or people who control property to allow vaporization of cannabis products. As debate on the legislation continued, members clashed over whether the current version of the legislation contains major differences from an earlier iteration that the body passed in 2022. Certain lawmakers have also raised concerns that medical cannabis legalization would lead to broader reform to allow adult-use marijuana, that it could put pharmacists with roles in dispensing cannabis in jeopardy and that federal law could preempt the state’s program, among other worries. After Davis’s Senate-passed medical cannabis bill was blocked in the House in 2022, he tried another avenue for the reform proposal, but that similarly failed on procedural grounds. The lawmaker has called the stance of his own party, particularly as it concerns medical marijuana, “an intellectually lazy position that doesn’t even try to present medical facts as they currently exist.” The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. The post ‘Medical Marijuana Is Now Legal In South Carolina,’ GOP Senator Declares As Republican Governor Candidate Calls It A ‘Gateway Drug’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A coalition of marijuana reform advocacy organizations and businesses are calling on Virginia’s governor not to veto legislation to legalize recreational cannabis sales even after lawmakers rejected her proposed changes to the measure. “Together, these bills address the real issues surrounding cannabis in the Commonwealth today: an already-existing, unregulated marijuana market operating openly across the state while consumers, communities, and law enforcement are left without the protections of a legal framework,” the groups wrote in a letter to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) on Monday. “Let’s be clear: these bills do not create a marijuana market in Virginia. That market already exists,” the letter says. “What these bills do is replace today’s predatory and unaccountable illicit operators with a regulated marketplace, enforceable rules, oversight, product safeguards, age verification, and the strict consumer safety standards already in use for Virginia medical cannabis.” The letter is signed by Virginia NORML, Marijuana Justice, Virginia Cannabis Association, Marijuana Policy Project and other groups. It goes on to detail how the legislation lawmakers passed this year, and which the governor requested amendments to, was informed by extensive study by state bodies, including the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the Marijuana Legalization Work Group, the Cannabis Oversight Commission, the Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Retail Cannabis Market and the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. “That matters because the bills before you reflect the lessons of that process,” the letter, which was also signed by Jushi, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Nolef Turns, Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition and others, says. “They are not theoretical. They are solutions tailored to Virginia’s actual conditions. They respond to the widespread sale of unregulated intoxicating products, the lack of consumer protections, the absence of retail oversight, and the need for effective enforcement tools aimed at bad actors rather than responsible adults.” “Virginia did its homework. Experts were consulted. Stakeholders were heard. Real problems were identified,” the groups wrote. “These bills deliver the real solutions Virginia demands. We respectfully urge you to allow the Commonwealth to move forward with a safer, smarter, and more accountable cannabis policy.” Personal marijuana possession and home cultivation of marijuana has been legal in Virginia since 2021, but former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) twice vetoed bills to provide consumers with a way to legally purchase regulated adult-use cannabis. The House of Delegates and Senate approved legislation this year from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) and Del. Paul Krizek (D) that would establish a legal and regulated marijuana for recreational marijuana sales. Spanberger then suggested changes to the cannabis commerce legalization measure—including delaying the start date for sales by six months, increasing taxes and instituting new criminal penalties for cannabis consumers. That drew strong pushback from reform supporters, including the lawmakers who sponsored the legislation, and both chambers ultimately declined last month to adopt the governor’s amendments. The bills are now back with Spanberger in their original form, and she has until May 23 to either sign or veto legislation, or allow it to become law without her signature. Spanberger, for her part, responded to criticism of her cannabis amendments from the bill sponsors and advocates by saying the suggested changes came after she spoke to the leaders of other states that have already implemented adult-use marijuana markets. Here are the other key details of the cannabis bills—SB 542 and HB 642—as approved by lawmakers and with the governor’s suggested amendments: Lawmakers voted to allow adults to 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. That represents an increase from the limit in current law of 1 ounce. The governor, however, wants the amount increased to only 2 ounces. Under the legislature’s plan, legal sales could begin on January 1, 2027, but the governor is proposing to push that back to July 1, 2027. Lawmakers voted to impose an excise tax of 6 percent on cannabis sales as well as a 5.3 percent retail sales and use tax, while allowing municipalities to set an additional local tax of up to 3.5 percent. The governor’s plan is largely the same, though it would increase the excise tax to 8 percent starting on July 1, 2029. Under the legislation as approved by lawmakers, revenue would be distributed to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund (30 percent), early childhood education (40 percent), the Department of Behavioral & Developmental Health Services (25 percent) and public health initiatives (5 percent). The governor, however, wants to put all revenue into the general fund while earmarking it “for purposes such as early childhood education, behavioral health, public health awareness, prevention, treatment, and recovery services, workforce development, reentry, indigent criminal defense, and targeted reinvestment in historically disadvantaged communities.” The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and regulation of the new industry, and would also take on oversight of hemp, which is currently under the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 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. The governor is proposing to make public marijuana use a class 4 criminal misdemeanor instead of civil violation punishable by a $25 fine as under current law. She also wants to make possessing cannabis by people under the age of 21 a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable with a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or 50 hours of community service, as well as the suspension of drivers licenses for at least six months. Illegally selling or distributing 50 pounds or more of marijuana would be a class 2 felony punishable by life in prison. The governor is seeking to eliminate support for the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund. Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market if they pay a licensing conversion fee that is set at $10 million. Cannabis businesses would have to establish labor peace agreements with workers. As passed by lawmakers, the bill would have directed a legislative commission 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, but the governor is proposing to remove that language. Meanwhile, Spanberger also suggested significant amendments to separate legislation that would provide resentencing relief to people with prior marijuana convictions, but lawmakers rejected those changes. Meanwhile, the governor signed several other reform bills this month—including measures to protect the parental rights of marijuana consumers and allow patients to access medical cannabis in hospitals. Read the full marijuana letter to the governor below: The post Marijuana Groups Urge Virginia Governor Not To Veto Sales Legalization Bill, Even After Lawmakers Rejected Her Amendments appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Senators talk rescheduling with Marijuana Moment; PA GOP gov candidate would veto legalization; NY cannabis farmers’ markets 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 The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is raising the alarm about marijuana’s alleged link to health problems such as psychosis and is claiming that the cannabis industry has “adopted strategies similar to Big Tobacco’s historical targeting of young audiences.” The new National Drug Control Strategy also discusses the pending federal recriminalization of hemp THC products. Bipartisan U.S. senators spoke to Marijuana Moment about the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling move—with some saying it doesn’t go far enough, others expressing concerns and one saying her stance has softened as she hears from friends who use it for medical purposes. Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity, currently the state’s treasurer, said she would veto a marijuana legalization bill if lawmakers approved one—though she thinks the legislature is “never going to pass it…not as long as Senate Republicans are in control.” The New York Office of Cannabis Management is now accepting applications for approved marijuana farmers’ markets, pop-ups and other “Cannabis Showcase Events” under recently adopted rules. Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America called it a “missed opportunity” that the House of Representatives passed a Farm Bill without including provisions to delay or alter the ban on hemp THC products that’s set to take effect later this year. Peter Grinspoon of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School notes in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that “seniors are increasingly turning to cannabis to find relief from the medical indignities of aging.” “The ultimate goal of medicine isn’t just to add years to a person’s life, but to add quality and vitality to those final years. Medical cannabis can be a profoundly helpful tool in this journey.” / FEDERAL A White House spokesperson said that “a growing body of recent evidence suggests that psychedelics could have great potential to help veterans and patients” and that President Donald Trump’s executive order on the issue “did not endorse psychedelics, but recognized this evidence to open the door to more research.” The Department of Defense published a post warning service members about use of delta-8 THC products. The U.S Embassy and Consulates in Mexico sent a warning to Americans visiting the country for the world cup that “drug possession or importation of drugs, including medical marijuana, is illegal in Mexico.” The Drug Enforcement Administration is promoting the winning submissions of a contest for videos about the harms of marijuana for young people. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) said the Farm Bill passed by the House of Representatives handles hemp “haphazardly” and that “this fall, the Republicans will essentially end the legalization of many of these new hemp products, threatening thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of jobs.” / STATES California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) took credit for the state legalizing marijuana. Connecticut Gov. New Lamont (D) touted the inclusion of provisions to convert the state’s THC-based cannabis tax to a 10.75 percent excise tax in budget legislation. New York’s acting top cannabis regulator discussed the implications of federal marijuana rescheduling. Illinois regulators published guidance on changes to marijuana and hemp rules. Colorado regulators published guidance about a prohibition on sales of psychedelics. Massachusetts regulators posted a new form that people can use to request changes to cannabis rules. New Hampshire’s registered medical cannabis patient count grew 14.5 percent last year. Minnesota regulators sent a newsletter with updates on various cannabis issues. Washington State regulators will consider changes to cannabis rules on Wednesday. — 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 Harris County, Texas district attorney’s official said won’t accept charges for possessing vape pens suspected of containing THC because crime laboratories can’t determine “if the THC in vape pen oil is derived from marijuana, hemp, or produced synthetically, making these products materially different from smokeable hemp flower and pre-rolled joints.” The Boston, Massachusetts Cannabis Board will meet on Wednesday. / INTERNATIONAL Israel’s health ministry published recommendations to scale back medical cannabis access, including by phasing out smoking as an acceptable delivery method. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A case series concluded that “an oral THC:CBD formulation may be associated with improvements in pain intensity and selected [health-related quality of life] measures in patients with chronic neuropathic pain.” A study suggested that “shared psilocybin experiences can amplify accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement (ARE interactions) between romantic partners.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said, “I think one of the reasons that Trump is apparently going to make weed legal is just so we can lower testosterone levels even more, and just make people more passive.” California NORML published a voter guide for the state’s upcoming primary elections. / BUSINESS New Cannabis Ventures and 420 Investor are shutting down. Legacy Therapeutics, LLC is acquiring Cansortium Texas, LLC. Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. has a new board of directors member. 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: Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post White House voices concerns about cannabis’s health impact & marketing (Newsletter: May 5, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The White House released a new National Drug Control Strategy on Monday that raises alarm about “high-potency” marijuana and expresses concerns that international cartels and crime groups “exploit” state cannabis legalization laws. It also discusses the forthcoming federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that is scheduled for later this year under a law signed by President Donald Trump. While the publication of the new 195-page document from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) comes just weeks after the Trump administration announced it is moving forward with a plan to reschedule marijuana under federal law, it makes no mention of that reform. Instead, its sections on cannabis focus largely on concerns about its health effects and marketing as more states enact legalization. “The commercial marketing of addictive substances poses a major threat to youth health. Legal does not mean safe, and industries selling nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and psychedelics have adopted strategies similar to Big Tobacco’s historical targeting of young audiences,” the ONDCP strategy says. “The commercialization of marijuana plays a role in the normalization of use, increases access to it, and decreases perception of risk of harm among youth,” it says. “Marijuana products are today of unprecedented high potency, are often highly processed, aggressively advertised, and often packaged to appeal to minors.” The White House document also says that “convergent evidence from multiple sources suggests that cannabis exposure increases the risk of psychosis, and the prevention of marijuana use could serve to reduce the prevalence of psychosis, in addition to reducing cannabis use disorder and other consequences.” It additionally talks about “young adults, bright with potential, whose futures were stolen by drug-induced psychosis and suicide linked to high-potency marijuana.” “The varying legal status of marijuana across the United States notwithstanding, it remains a fact that there are Americans who are suffering from addiction and side effects of marijuana and its associated products such as psychoactive derivatives of hemp or other high-THC products, and they deserve help. People with marijuana addiction may not recognize that withdrawal may cause insomnia and anxiety, rather than the drug being an effective means to treat such symptoms. Cannabis-induced psychosis, if diagnosed and addressed early, may mitigate the potential impact on progression towards schizophrenia or other severe mental illness. Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, also known as scromiting, due to the associated screaming and vomiting, is a common condition association with long-term marijuana use and addiction and warrants an evidence-based approach. Much like stimulants and other drugs, there are currently no FDA-approved medications for marijuana addiction or withdrawal. However, help is available for those who want it, and treatment and cessation tools for marijuana addiction must be made more widely available.” “While all drugs carry some level of risk, marijuana has the highest conversion rate from psychosis to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,” Trump’s ONDCP claims. “Drug use is also associated with suicide, and the number one drug found in toxicology reports of people who died from suicide under the age of 25 in Colorado and San Diego was marijuana, more than alcohol or any other drug.” “It is important to make consumers aware of the health risks associated with marijuana use, which include harms to heart health, cognition, and cancer. In one California study, from 2005 to 2019, cannabis-associated diagnosis in emergency department visits went up 1,800% for seniors over age 65. Marijuana use can be associated with exposure to heavy metals and pesticides that can accumulate in the plant through a process known as bioaccumulation. Further, research indicates that marijuana can contain fungal pathogens that cause serious and often fatal infections in persons with immunocompromising conditions, such as cancer, transplant, or infection with HIV.” The document notes that “the rate of marijuana smoking in the United States has surpassed tobacco use” and that “marijuana addiction, or cannabis use disorder, affected 20.6 million, or 7.1 percent, of Americans over the age of 12 in 2024, and is the number one stated reason for addiction treatment for those under the age of 20.” “According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2024, for the first time ever, the number of Americans experiencing a drug use disorder surpassed the number experiencing an alcohol use disorder. This shift has been driven principally by increasing rates of marijuana use and addiction. We must ensure that we have the tools for Americans who want help with marijuana addiction and withdrawals.” Even though Trump endorsed a marijuana legalization initiative that appeared on Florida’s ballot in 2024, the administration document raises alarm about transnational criminal organizations and domestic gangs that “transport, store, and sell illicit drugs in American communities, including the interstate distribution of illicit marijuana from states with legal markets.” Of particular concern are Chinese-linked groups that “exploit state-level marijuana laws to establish large-scale illicit cultivation and interstate distribution networks,” ONDCP said. “The marijuana trade in the United States is no longer a scattered, low-level problem; it has been coopted and industrialized by sophisticated, transnational criminal organizations, particularly those with ties to China. These groups systematically exploit states where marijuana has been legalized under state law, leveraging these markets and lax regulations to establish massive, unlicensed cultivation operations. A stark illustration of this is Oklahoma, where law enforcement estimates that Chinese criminal groups run more than 80% of the state’s thousands of marijuana and hemp farms. The scale is staggering: in 2023, the state’s marijuana production exceeded its entire licensed medical demand by at least 32 times, with an estimated 85.5 million plants unaccounted for. This massive overproduction is not for local consumption; it is clear evidence of a coordinated criminal enterprise dedicated to trafficking marijuana across state lines to supply the nation’s black market. These operations are not just agricultural; they are hubs of poly-crime involving human trafficking of exploited laborers, sophisticated money laundering, and the use of dangerous, unregistered pesticides that threaten public health and the environment.” President Trump continues to DELIVER for the American people. @ONDCP and @DrugCzar47 just released the National Drug Control Strategy. This is not just a document, it follows through on the President’s promise to America. PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT by @POTUS.… — ONDCP (@ONDCP) May 4, 2026 The White House drug strategy also discusses hemp products at length. Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, the president signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12. “The Administration has been granted new legal authority to address certain psychoactive hemp-derived cannabidiol substances thanks to the ‘hemp loophole closure’ passed as part of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act funding bill for fiscal year (FY) 2026,” the ONDCP document says, “Shutting down these domestic sources of harmful substances is crucial to degrading the overall availability of illicit drugs within our communities.” “Psychoactive derivatives of hemp are a growing concern. Although the hemp plant naturally contains small amounts of cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O-acetate, THCP, and other THC analogues, they are often produced in laboratories; and since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, products containing them have proliferated. Any final hemp-derived cannabinoid product containing these chemicals will be considered a Schedule I controlled substance under the Hemp Restriction regulations that are scheduled to take effect in November 2026. These products are often sold in smoke shops and gas stations, are not regulated, and can contain dangerous chemicals or psychoactive substances. When found in marketed products, these compounds are synthetic, not naturally occurring, have not been evaluated for safety in animals or humans, and have been linked to cases of psychosis and suicide attempts. In many cases, cannabinoids are considered to be Schedule I drugs under the international conventions, and some states have already banned these potentially dangerous products.” It says that law enforcement will “intensify efforts to prosecute the illicit production and distribution of dangerous substances originating within the United States”—including “targeting retail operations, such as vape and smoke shops, that unlawfully market harmful products, particularly to minors.” While Trump recently called on Congress to take action to alter the hemp cannabinoid ban language he signed into law in order to allow continued sales of full-spectrum CBD products, it’s not clear how far he wants to scale back the scope of the scheduled federal restrictions and what kinds of revised THC rules and limitations he would prefer to sign into law. Meanwhile, ONDCP says the administration will “work to improve drug testing in clinical settings,” noting that “currently utilized hospital tests do not detect nitazenes, psilocybin, or psychoactive hemp products such as delta-8 THC, and may not detect all fentanyl analogs.” ONDCP Director Sara Carter Bailey has previously voiced support for medical cannabis, while stating that she doesn’t have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy. “I don’t have any problem if it’s legalized and it’s monitored,” she said in 2024. “I mean, I may have my own issues of how I feel about that, but I do believe that cannabis for medicinal purposes and medical reasons is a fantastic way of handling—especially for people with cancer and other illnesses, you know—of handling the illness and the side effects of the medication and those illnesses. So I’m not saying we’ve gotta make it illegal.” The post White House Raises Alarm About ‘High-Potency’ Marijuana And Its Marketing In New National Drug Strategy appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A major alcohol industry trade association says the U.S. House of Representatives’s passage last week of a Farm Bill without including provisions to call off the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products represents a “missed opportunity.” “A ban will not remove these products from the market—it will push consumers toward unregulated, online channels with no age verification, no product standards and no accountability,” Dawson Hobbs, executive vice president of government affairs for Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), said in a press release on Monday. The House last week voted 224-200 to pass the Farm Bill, formally known as H.R.7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. While the legislation does contain some provisions aimed at reducing regulatory burdens for producers of industrial hemp, it does not include any language to alter or delay the impending ban on hemp THC products. “WSWA has long believed that intoxicating beverages should be subject to baseline federal regulations that allow for additional state-specific regulatory solutions,” Hobbs said. “The alcohol industry has 90 years of experience proving that responsible regulation works.” Today, we released the following statement on the House passing its draft of the Farm Bill #FarmBill #Hemp #HempBevs #ThreeTierSystem #BeverageAlcohol pic.twitter.com/9jC7vmtp48 — WSWA (@WSWAMedia) May 4, 2026 “The 2026 Farm Bill’s failure to address the November ban on intoxicating hemp products is a missed opportunity,” he said. “We urge the Senate to act before November 2026 to replace this ban with a durable federal framework that actually protects consumers.” Bipartisan lawmakers had filed amendments to the bill to regulate hemp THC products and delay the ban, but the sponsors withdrew the proposals for unknown reasons. A separate amendment to speed up recriminalization of the products was also filed, but the House Rules Committee did not allow it to advance to floor consideration. Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12. While the hemp THC regulation and ban delay amendments didn’t make it into the current Farm Bill, it does include several sections that concern cannabis grown by farmers for industrial purposes such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend existing statute related to the development of industrial hemp production regulatory plans by states and tribes—including surrounding polices for testing, sampling, background checks and record-keeping. The Senate is expected to consider its own version of the Farm Bill in the coming weeks and months, and hemp industry advocates hope lawmakers in that chamber will take action to avert the scheduled ban on THC products. In March, WSWA launched a campaign pushing Congress to call off a scheduled ban on hemp THC beverages and instead regulate the products for consumer access. The efforts includes an educational microsite on the issue that offers resources on the issue and argues that “the same regulatory system that has worked for alcohol should be applied to intoxicating hemp products.” In particular, the group is supporting an approach for hemp drinks that would include federal licensure of suppliers and distributors, a federal tax, independent testing requirements and the regulation of trade practices such as a prohibition on slotting fees, while allowing states to regulate the products in their own markets. In an op-ed for Marijuana Moment last year, WSWA’s president and CEO argued that regulation of hemp products is superior to prohibition. A separate newly launched group, the Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition (BAMCO), is also pushing for a delay in the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products. Its founding members include Total Wine & More, BevMo! by Gopuff, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Spec’s Wine and Spirits & Finer Foods, as well as a group of hemp product wholesalers. Meanwhile, White House officials recently provided feedback on pending legislation to create a regulatory framework for hemp. Last month, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), who has been helping to lead efforts to enact regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition. “We appreciate your work to advance the policy of” an executive order Trump signed in December that included provisions seeking to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staffers wrote in a letter to the congressman. “We are transmitting for your consideration draft legislative text and comments to address the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products in order to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” the White House officials said, according to a social media post containing a screenshot of the letter. “We are available for discussion and further technical assistance.” The attachment with the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been publicly released, and the White House and Barr’s office did not respond to Marijuana Moment’s request for further details. It’s not clear from the letter’s text whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or if they were replying to something his office submitted—though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marijuana Moment that Barr first sent language to the administration, which then provided technical feedback. Trump last month pushed congressional lawmakers to take action to amend the currently scheduled hemp ban, which he suggested threatens to federally recriminalize full-spectrum CBD products. “I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social post on Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to reschedule marijuana. “We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.” Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) had filed a hemp ban delay amendment before the House Agriculture Committee when it took up the Farm Bill in March, but that panel’s chairman determined that the proposal was not germane to the legislation. A number of other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress. Last month, for example, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) filed the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, which would effectively let states opt out of the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that is set to be enacted later this year. Ernst later withdrew her name as a cosponsor of the legislation, however. Her office did not reply to Marijuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move. — 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. — A U.S. Department of Agriculture report published last month shows that farmers in the U.S. grew three-quarters of a billion dollars worth of hemp crops in 2025—a 64 percent increase from the prior year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration last month launched a new initiative to cover up to $500 worth of hemp-derived products each year for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD but also allows a certain amount of THC in products. Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit suit against the Medicare hemp coverage policy, and lawyers for Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently filed a brief asking that the case be dismissed. Meanwhile, the White House Office of Management and Budget has been holding a series of meetings about a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD products enforcement policy. FDA also issued guidance making clear that it does not intend to interfere with implementation of the Medicare hemp-derived products coverage plan. CMS separately finalized a rule that will allow coverage of some hemp products as specialized, non-primarily health-related benefits through Medicare Advantage plans. As hemp products have become more popular with consumers, some large brands are attempting to get in on action. Major retailer Target, for example, is expanding its participation in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program involving sales of cannabis drinks at 10 select stores in Minnesota. That apparently went well, and now the company has obtained licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency hemp edible products—including THC drinks—at all 72 of its stores in the state. The post Alcohol Industry Group Calls Out Congress For Failing To Address Hemp THC Product Ban In Farm Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

New York marijuana officials have announced that they have begun accepting applications from licensed dispensaries that want to host temporary cannabis farmers’ markets and pop-up events. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) on Monday launched the application process for what the state is calling “Cannabis Showcase Events.” “Cannabis Showcase Events expand opportunity within New York’s regulated market in a thoughtful and deliberate way while keeping the guardrails firmly in place,” John Kagia, OCM’s acting executive director, said in a press release. “These events allow licensed retailers, cultivators, and processors to meet consumers where they are, at community markets and pop-ups—while maintaining strict safety standards, age restrictions, and local oversight. This is about creating flexibility for businesses while preserving public health safeguards and local authority.” The launch follows the enactment of legislation signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) last year that built on an existing showcase program that was first created in 2023. The state Cannabis Control Board (CCB) adopted regulations for the events program that is now rolling out last May. “The Cannabis Control Board’s responsibility is to ensure that new business opportunities are implemented with clarity and consistency,” CCB Chairperson Jessica Garcia said. “Cannabis Showcase Events allow licensees to take advantage of the summer season while maintaining strong public health standards, and the Board is grateful for stakeholder input throughout the regulatory process.” Under state rules, cannabis events are limited to people over 21 years of age and need to have written approval from local officials; advanced application submission to OCM and compliance with distance requirements from schools, places of worship and designated public youth facilities. Organizers must also submit safety, security and incident reporting plans. On-site marijuana consumption is not allowed, nor are free samples or giveaways of cannabis products. Sales at events can only be conducted by the licensed retailer that holds the event permit, while cultivators and processors that participate can showcase products without selling anything directly to attendees or providing samples. Cannabis events can last for up to 14 consecutive days under the rules, with each venue limited to hosting events no more than 45 days during a calendar year. In March, the governor marked the five-year anniversary of adult-use marijuana legalization in New York, highlighting $3.3 billion in retail sales, the opening of more than 600 licensed cannabis shops and achievements in promoting social equity in the industry while taking steps to mitigate the illicit market. In January, meanwhile, 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. 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.” — 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, New York senators recently approved a bill related to reciprocity for out-of-state medical marijuana patients and the availability of pre-rolled joints in the medical cannabis market—even though the state has already enacted those reforms separately. In February, the sponsor of the bill separately introduced legislation that would allow New York liquor and wine stores to obtain a permit to sell low-dose cannabis-infused drinks at their businesses. Also, the governor recently 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 post New York Officials Are Now Accepting Applications For Marijuana Farmers’ Markets And Pop-Up Events appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Bipartisan U.S. senators are reacting to the Trump administration’s move to federally reschedule cannabis in new interviews with Marijuana Moment—with Democrats saying the reform doesn’t go far enough, some Republicans expressing concerns and one GOP lawmaker discussing how she’s finally opening up to cannabis after speaking to friends who use it for medical purposes. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) told Marijuana Moment that he’s “no fan” of President Donald Trump’s cannabis rescheduling action, saying that “if you want to make it medical it needs to have standard research alongside of it, and it seems to have bypassed some of that.” The GOP senator did acknowledge that, “in their defense, I would say we are owning up to the fact that it is not the same as heroin and cocaine.” “Nonetheless, it has many, many problems and I want them to be fully researched,” Budd said. “I’ve just seen damage it’s done to people.” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), in contrast, reacted to the Trump administration’s action to move marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III by saying “I don’t think it goes far enough.” “I think we should be rescheduling and making it the equivalent of alcohol,” he told Marijuana Moment. “As is often the case when people are trying to please one constituency but don’t want to go too far and piss off a different constituency, they muddy the water. But we’ll figure it out.” The Department of Justice announced last week that marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license immediately moved to Schedule III, as did any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An administrative hearing scheduled for this summer will consider broader cannabis rescheduling, including of recreational products. The senator acknowledged that there are some negative consequences of cannabis use, such as “some addictions—not very many—but there are some addictions.” “It’s just like alcohol. It’s got benefits and downsides,” Hickenlooper said. “One thing that I think we are more confident of is it doesn’t imbue people, especially males, to violence. Females as well. One of the hidden benefits is it diminishes that kind of domestic violence.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) questioned the practicality of the administration’s current bifurcated scheduling approach to cannabis. “You’re telling me that you’re going to have people really be honest as to whether or not this is recreational or medical?” she told Marijuana Moment. “How’s that working out?” Another GOP senator, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said that while marijuana reform is “not my cup of tea,” it’s “not something that I am gonna have a fit and fall in it over.” Lummis told Marijuana Moment that her position on cannabis is starting to shift after seeing how people she knows are using it therapeutically. “I have friends that have multiple sclerosis and they can get some relief from medical marijuana,” she said. “They’ve explained to me that it is—you go to a really credible medical marijuana-only facility where you can get very specialized advice and treatment that really provides them some relief. Because of that, my personal feelings about it have softened a little bit.” Lummis noted that her state of Wyoming allows neither medical nor recreational cannabis use and she said she hopes that doesn’t change, but she did acknowledge that the medical marijuana industry is becoming “more sophisticated.” “Our neighbor Colorado has experience with both and I’m told by people who access dispensaries that are specific to medical use of marijuana that they are able to both dose and utilize marijuana for even very specific diseases within medical use,” the senator said. “Over the years it sounds like the use of marijuana for medical purposes has become much more sophisticated, although I just prefer not to go there. I get it. I really do.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), for his part, said politicians have long used cannabis “as a political football.” “The question is whether they’re going to come down in a way that’s really effective,” he told Marijuana Moment, adding that the selective approach that treats medical and recreational cannabis differently under current federal law is “bad for the country.” “What we want to do is ensure justice and fairness. In so many of these instances it’s like they just go by the wayside,” Wyden said Trump is definitely going to do it piecemeal.” Meanwhile, a House appropriations subcommittee last week voted to block federal officials from taking further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told Marijuana Moment this week that she supports the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling move—even if it “doesn’t quite make all the wrongs right” by leaving behind people who “had their lives destroyed by the war on drugs.” The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. The post Bipartisan Senators React To Trump’s Marijuana Move, With A GOP Lawmaker Saying Her Friends Use It Medically appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“The ultimate goal of medicine isn’t just to add years to a person’s life, but to add quality and vitality to those final years. Medical cannabis can be a profoundly helpful tool in this journey.” By Peter Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School As a primary care physician, I see it every day in my clinic: seniors are increasingly turning to cannabis to find relief from the medical indignities of aging. Whether it’s the grinding discomfort of chronic pain, the “gray” fog of late-life anxiety or the persistent, soul-crushing frustration of insomnia, older adults are discovering that the cannabis plant can often do what many of our standard prescriptions cannot—provide genuine relief without a laundry list of debilitating side effects. Our elders are finding an exit ramp from the “polypharmacy” treadmill, seeking to decrease their reliance on traditional pharmaceuticals that can often come with more baggage than benefit. The demographic shift is nothing short of a sea change. Older patients are currently the fastest-growing group of cannabis users in the country. To put some hard data behind that: roughly 25.8 percent of medical cannabis patients are 65 or older, and a staggering 34.5 percent fall into the 50–65 range. This shift is occurring despite fifty years of misinformation and one-sided science, courtesy of our “War on Drugs,” that has needlessly stigmatized this plant-based medicine. We have left much of the medical establishment unequipped to educate patients about these treatments. Because of a persistent lack of practical, clinical knowledge, many physicians find themselves unable to answer basic questions, leaving patients to navigate these waters on their own. For lack of better options, patients seek medical advice from well-intentioned “bud-tenders” who have no medical training. A Legacy Of Healing For me, this isn’t just an academic or professional interest; it is woven into the fabric of my life. When I was just eight years old, my brother Danny passed away from childhood leukemia. I watched my parents, desperate to lessen his suffering, cross legal lines in the early 1970s, to procure medical cannabis for him. It was the only thing that could alleviate the brutal nausea, vomiting and wasting associated with his chemotherapy. It was extraordinarily effective; it gave Danny the ability to eat, to maintain his weight and, most importantly, to meaningfully participate in his life during his final year. Witnessing that transformation fixed in my mind a truth that no amount of prohibitionist or DARE-era rhetoric could erase: cannabis can be a powerful medicine. That journey came full circle with my father, Dr. Lester Grinspoon, who was a legendary cannabis expert and scholar at Harvard Medical School. He spent his career fighting to educate physicians and the public alike about the medicinal benefits of cannabis. When in his eighties and nineties, he used cannabis himself to manage chronic pain and cancer-related symptoms, maintaining a quality of life that would have been impossible otherwise. For the last 25 years, I have carried that mission forward in my own practice, helping thousands of patients integrate medical cannabis into their lives safely and effectively. Navigating Risk With Clinical Pragmatism It is important to be honest about the clinical nuances of treating people with medical cannabis. Cannabis is not a panacea, and it isn’t a “miracle cure” for every ailment. It certainly doesn’t work for everyone. Like any medication in my black bag, it has its legitimate indications and its potential harms. Like other medications, it can be use in a more or less safe manner. Some patients—particularly those who are “cannabis-naive”—simply cannot tolerate the impairment or “high” that comes with higher doses of THC. Like other medications used for pain and sleep, cannabis can cause dizziness, affect a patient’s balance, and can temporarily impact short-term memory. And we cannot ignore the fact that for a modest percentage of users, cannabis can be addictive. These challenges must be viewed in their proper context. When I look at the entirety of the available scientific literature and the thousands of patients I’ve treated over the last quarter-century, a clear picture emerges. When used with skill, caution and proper guidance, cannabis often presents fewer harms than the traditional pharmaceuticals we so readily prescribe to our seniors. Unlike many of those drugs, cannabis does not destroy the liver or kidneys, it doesn’t cause gastric ulcers or chronic constipation and it does not contribute to the development of dementia. If patients are followed by a cannabis-savvy clinician and are educated to “start low and go slow” when getting started, they tend to do extremely well. We owe it to our older patients to walk with them past the shadows of the last fifty years. Our job as care providers, including family members, is to meet patients where they are, armed with evidence and empathy. With proper education and guidance, we can help our seniors use medical cannabis to reclaim their quality of life. The ultimate goal of medicine isn’t just to add years to a person’s life, but to add quality and vitality to those final years. Medical cannabis can be a profoundly helpful tool in this journey. Dr. Peter Grinspoon is an addiction specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of the book, “Aging Well with Cannabis: Feel Better, Live Better and Sleep Better with Marijuana and CBD.” The post Medical Marijuana Can Be A ‘Profoundly Helpful Tool’ For Seniors Dealing With Pain And Other Maladies (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Republican candidate running for Pennsylvania governor doesn’t think lawmakers will ever approve a bill to legalize marijuana in the state—but she says that if they did send her legislation to end cannabis prohibition, she would veto it. “I don’t support legalizing recreational marijuana,” Stacy Garrity, currently the state treasurer, said in an interview with NBC10 Philadelphia. “Recreational marijuana will not end up in the budget,” she said. “They’re never going to pass it…not as long as Senate Republicans are in control of the Senate.” When asked by the NBC10 reported if she would veto such a bill, Garrity said, “yes.” The Pennsylvania Democratic Party argued that Garrity’s cannabis comments provide another reason to defeat Republicans at the ballot box in November. “Stacy Garrity opposes legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania—and made it clear she’s counting on Republicans controlling Harrisburg to keep blocking it,” the party said in a social media post. “We need to beat her—and elect Democrats up and down the ballot to finally get this done.” Stacy Garrity opposes legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania — and made it clear she’s counting on Republicans controlling Harrisburg to keep blocking it. We need to beat her – and elect Democrats up and down the ballot to finally get this done. pic.twitter.com/YQHT7bI4sl — PA Democratic Party (@PADemParty) May 1, 2026 The GOP candidate’s opposition to legalizing cannabis is in stark contrast to the stance of incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who has repeatedly called on lawmakers to send him a marijuana legalization bill and for the last several years has included the reform in his budget requests to the legislature. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill last year to end prohibition, but the Republican-controlled Senate has not followed suit. Garrity, who is the sole Republican candidate running to challenge Shapiro this November, has until now largely dodged questions about whether she supports legalizing cannabis—saying last year, for example that she has no “policy position” on the issue while arguing that the Shapiro’s proposal for reform “way, way overstated” potential revenue. But in 2020, when Garrity was running for treasurer, she filled out a Pennsylvania Family Council survey that asked about a number of policy positions, including cannabis legalization. “Should marijuana be legalized for recreational use?” it asked. According to an archived version of her responses, Garrity’s response to the cannabis question was “N.” Campaign staff for the Republican candidate did not respond to a request for comment from Marijuana Moment about whether the Trump administration’s move to federally reschedule the drug last month makes her more likely to back reform at the state level. Shapiro’s campaign, however, told Marijuana Moment that their candidate “has been clear that as nearly every one of our neighboring states has already legalized marijuana, we cannot afford to keep losing out on this revenue—and we need comprehensive cannabis reform to make Pennsylvania more competitive and more just.” “While Stacy Garrity wants Pennsylvania to continue to lose out on critical revenue that could be invested into our schools, public safety and small businesses, Governor Shapiro is continuing to fight to get this done,” Shapiro for Pennsylvania Spokesperson Sam Reposa said. A spokesperson in the governor’s office separately said last month that the Trump administration’s federal marijuana rescheduling move is an “important step” that “adds support” to his push to legalize cannabis in the state. The governor also used last month’s unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20 as an opportunity to press lawmakers once again to send him a bill to legalize marijuana. “Pennsylvanians who want to buy recreational marijuana are already driving across the border to one of our neighboring states who’ve legalized it,” Shapiro said in a social media post that day. “That’s hundreds of millions in revenue going out of state instead of being spent here in Pennsylvania.” Last month, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed budget legislation proposed by Shapiro that relies on revenue that would be generated from recreational marijuana sales, which has yet to be legalized in the state. The governor earlier this year, as he has in past years, included cannabis legalization and the resulting expected revenue in his budget request. The $53.2 billion budget legislation, which doesn’t itself include provisions to actually legalize marijuana even as it contemplates allocating money that would result from it, now heads to the Senate for consideration. The House of Representatives last year passed a bill to legalize marijuana and put sales in state-owned dispensaries, but the Republican Senate majority has criticized that plan while also not advancing a cannabis legalization model of its own. Separately last month, the House Health Committee approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals and other healthcare facilities The legislative developments come as a recent poll shows that seven out of ten Pennsylvania likely voters support legalizing adult-use marijuana—including majority backing for the reform across party lines. When asked whether they “support or oppose the regulation and taxation of legal cannabis for use by adults 21 and older in Pennsylvania,” 69 percent of respondents said yes. Support was strongest from Democrats, at 72 percent, but also includes 67 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of independents. Meanwhile, Shapiro is continuing to pressure on lawmakers to send him a bill to legalize marijuana in the state, saying that doing so would generate new revenue that could be invested in key programs. “While some in Harrisburg claim we can’t afford to make bigger investments in our kids, public safety, and our economy, know this: If we legalized and regulated adult-use cannabis, we’d bring in $1.3 BILLION in revenue for our Commonwealth over the first five years,” the governor said in another recent social media post. “Those are dollars that can be invested back into our people and our communities,” he said. “Stop with the excuses. Let’s get this done.” The state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) reported in February that legalizing cannabis in Pennsylvania would generate nearly half a billion dollars in annual revenue by 2028, an estimate that is a significantly larger cash windfall compared to projections from Shapiro’s own office. With a proposed 20 percent wholesale cannabis excise tax, 6 percent state sales tax for retail and licensing fees, IFO said the governor’s legalization plan would generate $140 million in tax revenue in the first year of implementation from 2027-2028 and increase to $432 million by 2030-2031. That’s a much higher revenue estimate than what the governor’s office put forward in the latest executive budget. According to his office’s analysis, legalization would generate about $36.9 million in tax dollars in its first year from a 20 percent wholesale tax on marijuana—rising gradually to $223.8 million by 2030-2031. In February, a coalition of drug policy and civil liberties organizations urged Shapiro to play a leadership role in convening legislative leaders to get the job done on cannabis legalization this session. In March, the Senate Law and Justice Committee amended and approved a bill to create a Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to oversee the state’s medical marijuana program and intoxicating hemp products and that could eventually regulate adult-use cannabis if it is legalized in the state. Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post Pennsylvania GOP Governor Candidate Promises To Veto Marijuana Legalization If Lawmakers Passed It appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

PA gov slams opponent’s legalization opposition; MD gov signs psychedelics bill; TX hemp rulings; CA eases biz transition for rescheduling benefits 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 The Drug Enforcement Administration filed a Federal Register notice clarifying that it views the synthetic cannabinoid hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) as an illegal Schedule I substance—and not legal hemp—and is giving it a unique drug code for federal classification. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) campaign is calling out Republican opponent Stacy Garrity, currently the state treasurer, for opposing cannabis legalization—telling Marijuana Moment that a little-noticed questionnaire she filled out on the issue shows she “wants Pennsylvania to continue to lose out on critical revenue that could be invested into our schools, public safety and small businesses.” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed a bill to extend the Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances for a year and require a new report with recommendations to ensure “broad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances.” A Texas judge issued a temporary injunction allowing sales of smokable hemp THCA flower and other products to continue through at least July 27—but the state Supreme Court separately upheld regulators’ ability to ban delta-8 THC. The California Department of Cannabis Control has “streamlined” the process of changing marijuana license designations from recreational to medical to make it easier for businesses to take advantage of legal benefits in line with the Trump administration’s federal rescheduling move. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is considering a case on whether the smell of marijuana alone is enough for police to obtain a warrant to search a person’s home. Two Missouri marijuana businesses filed a class action lawsuit claiming that a network of companies formed a “cartel” that has “unlawfully seized control of the Missouri retail dispensary market” through “price-fixing, product- and supplier-allocation agreements, and coordinated exclusionary conduct.” / FEDERAL President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring April to be Second Chance Month, a move touted by his pardon czar. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is reportedly planning to issue a new national drug control strategy this week. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb authored an op-ed about President Donald Trump’s psychedelics executive order. The National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse will meet on Tuesday. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) discussed a forthcoming hemp regulation bill that he plans to file. / STATES Connecticut lawmakers are moving to keep current THC limits for marijuana products in place despite the advancement of legislation that would have eliminated or increased potency caps. Idaho county clerks have 60 calendar days to verify signatures on petitions for medical cannabis legalization and other ballot initiatives. A New Jersey court ruled that cities can’t fire police officers for off-duty marijuana use. A federal judge upheld Florida ballot initiative restrictions, rejecting a lawsuit from leaders of campaigns for marijuana legalization and Medicaid expansion. Missouri regulators announced a recall of marijuana products that did not pass testing for aspergillus. Maine regulators issued an advisory about marijuana products with unsafe levels of yeast and mold and unsafe levels of the pesticide piperonyl butoxide. Nevada regulators are expected to reschedule marijuana under state law following its federal reclassification. Massachusetts regulators published guidance about recently enacted changes to laws on marijuana business financial interest thresholds. The Texas Medical Board is proposing tighter regulations around ketamine, including stricter physician oversight and banning in-home use. Michigan regulators added new content to a marijuana policy video library. The New York Cannabis Control Board will meet on Thursday. — 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 Minneapolis, Minnesota’s mayor vetoed legislation to decriminalize drug paraphernalia. / INTERNATIONAL Gabon’s Council of Ministers issued a draft decree declaring iboga and ibogaine to be part of the country’s national strategic heritage. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “CBD could be an effective natural bioactive compound for breast cancer treatment, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.” A study’s results “highlight the relevance of phytocannabinoids as promising candidates for the development of non-opioid analgesics.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS An American Enterprise Institute senior fellow authored an op-ed arguing that states should require warning labels on marijuana products. / BUSINESS Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. completed the buyout of stake not previously owned in Four 20 Pharma GmbH. Verano Holdings Corp. authorized the repurchase of up to $20 million in shares. A National Labor Relations Board official revoked the Teamsters’s certification as the exclusive representative of Herbal Wellness Center employees in Athens, Ohio. 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 DEA clarifies synthetic cannabis component is illegal (Newsletter: May 4, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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