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“What I experienced with ayahuasca was not an escape from grief, but a direct engagement with it… It was a fundamentally different process than the one I had relied on throughout my career—not control or suppression, but forgiveness, surrender and understanding.” By: Kemmi Sadler, Law Enforcement Action Partnership Life has an interesting way of opening your eyes—and your mind. Over the course of my law enforcement career, I built my identity around evidence, discipline and control. And to my surprise, it was that mindset that ultimately led me to reconsider everything I thought I knew about psychedelics. My story begins with Amel. She was in her sixties and working for the U.S. Embassy in Iraq on her second career when I arrived in 2006 as a bright-eyed young agent with the Diplomatic Security Service. In early 2007, her husband was kidnapped. Determined to save him, she went to deliver the ransom, and was taken herself. Neither of them survived. For the next 18 years, I lived with the belief that I should have been able to protect her—or at least stop her from going. That guilt had a way of surfacing at unexpected moments. I could feel how deeply grief had shaped me, even as I kept it buried. But in a profession built around helping others, it’s hard to admit when you need help yourself. So, I went back to work. My career spanned investigations into fraud and human trafficking, followed by two years in internal affairs handling sexual assault and crimes against children. I took pride in approaching each case without bias, following the evidence, testing assumptions and letting the facts lead. That commitment to evidence had taken root early, leading me to question some basic assumptions about law enforcement work. As a young police officer with the St. Augustine Police Department in Florida, I began to notice gaps between what the system was supposed to do and what it actually did. Not everyone feared arrest the way I had expected. Drug users, dealers, sex workers—they often treated it as part of the equation. I got caught this time. Next time, I’ll be more careful. Those early experiences unearthed a question I couldn’t shake: if consequences were supposed to change behavior, why didn’t they? I saw the same people cycle through the system again and again. One man, well known to our department, would get drunk, call 911 from a payphone and shout “CHICKEN GEORGE COMING AT YA!” until officers arrived. Looking back, I’ve wondered whether the arrest itself offered something he wasn’t getting elsewhere—human interaction, or simply a night off the street. The same instinct that drove me to reconsider aspects of my work also shaped how I began to confront my own unresolved grief. For years, I had relied on the same framework to get by—control, compartmentalization, pushing forward. But eventually, I began to wonder whether the assumptions I carried about trauma, like the ones I had questioned on the job, were incomplete. About two years before I retired, I heard about ayahuasca on a podcast. It is a psychedelic brew made from an Amazonian vine and companion plant, used in ceremonial traditions for generations. What struck me was not just what it was, but how it was being discussed: with respect, even reverence. That challenged a core principle of my law enforcement programming. As a product of the War on Drugs, I believed all illegal drugs were dangerous and destructive. But after decades of watching cycles of addiction repeat, and after losing my younger brother to heroin, I was forced to ask whether that understanding was too simple. So I did what I had been trained to do. I investigated. For more than a year, I immersed myself in research on trauma and psychedelic therapy. I read clinical studies and listened to veterans and others describe profound, and often lasting, healing and relief. At first, I was driven by intellectual curiosity and a commitment to following the evidence, even if the conclusion directly conflicted with what I had been taught. But underneath that curiosity was something more personal: a growing recognition that the tools I had relied on to manage my grief for decades were no longer working for me. For years, I had treated grief like so many in our field do—mainly by repressing it and soldiering on. Those skills were enough to keep me afloat on the job. But in retirement, they left me stuck, circling the same unresolved loss without a way through. After careful consideration, I chose to attend an ayahuasca ceremony. At the time, I had never used illicit drugs. My substances were restricted to alcohol and tobacco—both legal, socially acceptable and, in my case, convenient ways to avoid confronting the grief that bubbled below the surface. What I experienced with ayahuasca was not an escape from grief, but a direct engagement with it. Progress was not immediate, but with intentional work and preparation, I was finally able to sit with the loss of Amel, and with the deaths of my father and brother, without turning away. It was a fundamentally different process than the one I had relied on throughout my career—not control or suppression, but forgiveness, surrender and understanding. This experience ultimately led me to write From the Badge to the Vine, a memoir about what it took to confront the trauma I had carried for years, and the limits of the tools I once relied on to manage it. After a career spent investigating other people’s problems, I came to see how rarely first responders are equipped, or willing, to examine their own wounds. The skills that define the profession—control, composure, endurance—can also make it harder to recognize when something deeper needs attention. Trauma does not disappear simply because it is repressed or managed. For some of us, this reality may not come into focus until after the job ends and the radio goes quiet. For others, the impact shows up much sooner, in strained relationships, harmful behavior or a growing sense that something isn’t right but can’t be easily named. What I learned through this process is that ignoring these signals comes at a cost. So does assuming that the tools we were given early in our careers are the only ones available to us. My hope is that others in this profession will give themselves permission to turn their investigative eye inward in an effort to serve themselves. Ask hard questions. Do the research. Follow the evidence wherever it leads. Not all things we were taught to fear are the same—and not all wounds are visible. Supervisory Special Agent Kemmi Sadler (Ret.) is the founder of Legalize the Divine, which advocates for safe, legal access to ancient traditions of healing. A former St.Augustine, Florida Police Department officer, she is also a speaker for the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, and the author of From the Badge to the Vine: A Federal Agent’s Awakening Through Ayahuasca. The post How Psychedelics Helped Me Manage Grief From A Career In Law Enforcement (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A bill that would allow California marijuana stores to offer drive-thru windows to serve customers is advancing in the state legislature. The measure, which cleared the Assembly Business and Professions Committee in a 17-2 vote on Tuesday, says that licensed cannabis retailers and microbusinesses with storefronts can sell marijuana products “to a customer in a motor vehicle in a drive-through located on the premises.” Under AB 2697 from Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D), cannabis businesses would need approval from the local jurisdictions in which they operate in order to add the drive-thru option. “Under current regulations, licensed cannabis retailers can offer curbside pickup as a remnant of the COVID pandemic adaptations. Despite this, licensed retailers generally cannot fulfill orders for customers sitting in their car in a drive through,” Pellerin told colleagues ahead of the committee vote. “AB 2697 seeks to address this regulatory inconsistency by allowing drive through cannabis sales subject to the local jurisdictions’ approval.” “Restrictions of the bill provide that these sales be done through a fixed pane, security window and security drawer and available for walk-in storefronts only,” she said. “Along with addressing regulatory inconsistency, this bill will make legal cannabis more accessible and helps the legal market compete with the illicit market.” Annie Aubrey of Chuck’s Wellness Center, a retailer in Placerville, told lawmakers that “at its core, this bill is about improving access.” “A significant portion of our customers rely on cannabis as medicine, including seniors, veterans and individuals living with chronic conditions that affect mobility—exactly the population this regulated system is meant to serve,” she said. “For many, even simple tasks like exiting a vehicle and navigating a retail space can be physically difficult or prohibitive.” “A drive-thru option removes that barrier allowing patients and consumers to access what they need in a way that is dignified and consistent with their health needs,” she said. Amy O’Gorman Jenkins of the California Cannabis Operators Association said that the panel should reject concerns that allowing drive-thru windows will somehow lead to impaired driving issues. “Every cannabis transaction already begins and ends with a person arriving and departing, mostly in a vehicle,” she said. “There is no data indicating that the manner of purchase, whether inside, curbside or drive through changes consumer behavior behind the wheel.” The bill is now before the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration before potentially heading to a floor vote. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), meanwhile, recently took credit for helping to lead the push for the state to legalize marijuana and discussed his own limited experience with using cannabis. In October, however, Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed certain marijuana microbusinesses to ship medical cannabis products directly to patients via common carriers like FedEx and UPS, stating that the proposal “would be burdensome and overly complex to administer.” Newsom did sign a bill earlier that month aimed at streamlining research on marijuana and psychedelics. In September, the governor also signed a measure into law to put a pause on a recently enacted tax hike on marijuana products. California officials recently awarded nearly $30 million in grants for marijuana-focused academic research projects. The post California Lawmakers Vote To Allow Drive-Thrus At Marijuana Dispensaries appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday voted to reject the governor’s amendments to legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales, risking a potential veto as the original proposal heads back to her desk for reconsideration. In a voice vote, the House of Delegates declined to consider Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) suggested changes to the cannabis measure as part of a block with other legislation that the governor also proposed amendments to, effectively rejecting the suggestions. The Senate took similar action in a 21-18 vote. Lawmakers, meanwhile, also rejected Spanberger’s amendments to separate legislation to provide resentencing relief for people with past marijuana convictions while approving her changes to a bill clarifying cannabis delivery and labeling rules. Spanberger’s 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—drew strong pushback from reform supporters, including the lawmakers who sponsored the legislation. Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) and Del. Paul Krizek (D), who respectively sponsored the Senate and House versions of the cannabis sales legalization bills, both told Marijuana Moment ahead of Wednesday’s reconvened session that they wanted their colleagues to vote against the amendments—even if that meant risking a veto from Spanberger when the measure returns to her desk. “While the governor and I share the goal of establishing a safe, regulated cannabis market, we differ on how best to achieve it,” Aird said “The substitute moves Virginia in the wrong direction and disregards years of data-driven, bipartisan work and established best practices.” “As our conversations continue, I urge the governor to reconsider provisions that reintroduce punitive measures undermining the intent of legalization, shift critical elements of the framework into an uncertain regulatory process, and remove essential supports for impact licensees.” Krizek noted that “a few years ago the legislature took bipartisan steps to end racially discriminatory marijuana policing here in Virginia.” “But, unfortunately, and probably not intentionally as she has not been involved in this years-long process,” he said, “the governor’s proposed amendments would repeal a number of those decriminalization laws and undermine what has been a thorough, thoughtful, balanced process of drafting this legislation with community and stakeholder engagement that moved us toward this more fair and responsive cannabis regulatory framework.” “When we legalized cannabis it was with a recognition of the disproportionate harm caused by the war on cannabis, particularly among Black families,” the House lawmaker said. “This bill was intentional in recognizing that, but much of that intentionality is lost with these many amendments.” If governor vetoes the original proposal as sent back to her desk, lawmakers would have to start with new bills in the 2027 session. Krizek said he is “hopeful that with more discussion and negotiation we can find a compromise that will maintain” a balance between justice and public safety. 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. She will now have 30 days to either sign or veto the original legislation as sent back to her, or allow it to become law without her signature. 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. 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. “Governor Spanberger’s substitute bill would have reversed years of progress in Virginia,” JM Pedini, development director for the advocacy group NORML and executive director for Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “Passage of these amendments would have resulted in a return to racially discriminatory marijuana policing across the commonwealth, while also compromising public safety by continuing to drive Virginians to the unregulated market for at least another year. 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 on Wednesday. As approved by the legislature, HB 26 from Rozia Henson, Jr. (D), along with companion bill SB 62 from Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D), would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences. Under the amendments proposed to the cannabis legislation by Spanberger, however, affected persons would have to proactively file petitions to get the relief instead of having the courts proceed automatically. Henson had said that while he opposed the changes, he was willing to accept them to make progress on the issue. When the amendments came up for consideration on Wednesday, however, lawmakers declined to take them up, sending the original legislation back to the governor. Separately, lawmakers did approve Spanberger’s proposed minor changes to HB 391, which clarifies regulations for marijuana delivery services and cannabis product labeling, and her amendments to SB 543, concerning enforcement against sales of cannabis products in violation of state rules. 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. The post Virginia Lawmakers Reject Governor’s Amendments To Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Trump administration is reportedly ready to move ahead with marijuana rescheduling. More than four months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to expeditiously finish the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the administration may be finally prepared to move forward. Citing an administration official familiar with the matter, Axios reported that action could come as soon as Wednesday. The Washington Post added that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is planning to announce a new administrative hearing on cannabis rescheduling, citing two sources. Early last year, a DEA administrative law judge canceled a prior hearing process on marijuana rescheduling amid litigation from pro-reform parties that alleged improper agency communications and witness selection decisions. The Post’s sources cautioned that the administration’s current rescheduling plans could change ahead of an official announcement. A White House official told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that “the administration continues to expeditiously implement President Trump’s December executive order to increase medical marijuana research to close the gap between current medical marijuana use and medical knowledge.” The official referred questions about “specifics related to possible reclassification” to the Department of Justice, but a spokesperson there was not immediately available. Rescheduling wouldn’t federally legalize cannabis, but it would remove certain Schedule I research barriers, while benefitting state-licensed marijuana businesses by allowing them to take federal tax deductions they’re currently barred from under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. There has been some uncertainty about how the Department of Justice (DOJ) will navigate the issue. While the department faced a mandate from the president, top officials have been notably silent on the issue in the months since receiving that directive—even as the White House touted Trump’s order as an example of a policy achievement during the first year of his second term. Trump himself complained last weekend that federal officials were “slow-walking” following through on his cannabis order. “You’re going to get the rescheduling done, right, please? Will you get the rescheduling done, please?” Trump said during a signing ceremony for a separate order on psychedelics, seeming to speak to a Department of Justice or White House official during an event in the Oval Office on Saturday. “You know, they’re slow-walking me on rescheduling. You’re going to get it done, right?” A Justice Department spokesperson told Marijuana Moment in January that they had no “comment or updates” to share on the topic. However, an agency official more recently said that DOJ was “working to identify the most expeditious means of executing the EO.” That phrasing was notable, signaling that the department was uncertain about the administrative pathway to finalize rescheduling. The hope among advocates and industry stakeholders was that the process would be more simple, with a final signature on the existing reform proposal that was released following a scientific review initiated under the prior Biden administration. When Trump issued the rescheduling order late last year, Pam Bondi was attorney general. She opposed cannabis reform as Florida’s attorney general and she didn’t attend the president’s signing ceremony for the rescheduling executive order. Now, the process is being overseen by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said in response to a written question about marijuana rescheduling during his confirmation process to become deputy attorney general that he would “give the matter careful consideration after conferring with all relevant stakeholders, including DEA personnel.” DEA and reform proponents earlier this month submitted a joint status report on an interlocutory appeal that concerns allegations of agency bias and improper communications with anti-rescheduling parties during the review process on the proposal. “To date, Movants’ interlocutory appeal to the Administrator regarding their Motion to Reconsider remains pending with the Administrator,” the filing from attorneys representing DEA and cannabis reform proponents challenging the process says. “No briefing schedule has been set.” The president’s rescheduling directive was overwhelmingly popular among cannabis consumers, according to a recent poll from the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD. About 83 percent of respondents said they support the executive order, compared to 7 percent who expressed opposition and 10 percent who said they didn’t have an opinion about the proposed reform. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Trump’s first pick for attorney general this term who ultimately withdrew his nomination, recently raised eyebrows after posting on X that he’s been told that DEA is actively drafting a rescheduling rule and intended to issue it “ASAP.” There was some confusion around that point, however, as a rule was already pending before the Justice Department—and a new rule would have presumably been subject to additional administrative review and public comment. A Democratic senator told Marijuana Moment in January that it’s “too early to tell” what the implications of Trump’s cannabis order would be—saying that while there are “things that look promising” about it, he is “very concerned about where the DOJ will land.” “The ability of the Trump administration to speak out of both sides of their mouth is staggering,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said. “So I’m just going to wait and see right now. Obviously, there’s things that look promising—to end generations of injustice. I really want to wait and see.” — 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. — Also in January, two GOP senators filed an amendment to block the Trump administration from rescheduling cannabis, but it was not considered on the floor. A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report discussed how DOJ could, in theory, reject the president’s directive or delay the process by restarting the scientific review into marijuana. The Department of Justice separately missed a congressionally mandated deadline in January to issue guidelines for easing barriers to research on Schedule I substances such as marijuana and psychedelics. The post Trump Administration Ready To Move Ahead On Marijuana Rescheduling, Four Months After President’s Executive Order, Report Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Americans broadly favor legalizing marijuana for recreational or medical purposes, with support across party lines, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey from published on Monday found that 59 percent of U.S. adults want to legalize cannabis—including 75 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of independents. When asked specifically about whether marijuana should be made legal for certain purposes, 55 percent said they back recreational use and 84 percent said they want to legalize medical cannabis. Democrats showed the strongest support for legalization across the board, with 70 percent in favor of allowing recreational use and 91 percent wanting to allow medical applications. While 81 percent of Republicans are on board with medical marijuana legalization, support for recreational use drops to 46 percent. % who support the U.S. legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational | medical purposes U.S. adult citizens: 55% | 84% Democrats: 70% | 91% Independents: 52% | 81% Republicans: 46% | 81% 18-29: 57% | 80% 30-44: 52% | 77% 45-64: 58% | 87% 65+: 54% | 89%https://t.co/6H8ijEWR6b pic.twitter.com/qWnVBJK1EW — YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) April 20, 2026 The survey also asked about respondents’ own consumption of cannabis, finding that 13 percent currently use marijuana recreationally and another 28 percent say they’ve done so in the past. Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to say they currently consume recreational marijuana, but admission of past use is roughly equal across party lines. Separately, 65 percent of Americans say they know someone who uses or has used cannabis recreationally % who know someone | don't know anyone who has used marijuana recreationally U.S. adult citizens 65% | 21% Democrats: 69% | 21% Independents: 62% | 19% Republicans: 65% | 22% 18-29: 42% | 36% 30-44: 61% | 26% 45-64: 76% | 12% 65+: 76% | 13%https://t.co/6H8ijEWR6b pic.twitter.com/fJ2k9xFofZ — YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) April 20, 2026 Twenty percent of respondents said they currently or have in the past used marijuana for medical purposes, and 45 percent know someone who has. The poll also found that “experience with marijuana—either in the form of personal use or knowing someone who has used marijuana—is associated with increased support for marijuana legalization,” YouGov wrote in an analysis of the results. “Why is experience with marijuana associated with support for legalization? One possible explanation is that Americans who have personal experience with marijuana are more likely to say that it makes life better for people who use it,” the firm said. “About one-quarter (27%) of Americans say that recreational marijuana generally makes life somewhat or much better for people who use it, while 31% say it makes users’ lives worse. But half (49%) of Americans who say they have used recreational marijuana say it makes people’s lives better, compared to only 13% who say it makes life worse. And while most Americans (69%) say medical marijuana makes users’ lives better, almost all Americans who have used it (94%) say this.” “That suggests that most people who say they have used marijuana have had positive experiences, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that if everyone tried marijuana, they would view it more favorably,” YouGov said. “It’s possible that beliefs about marijuana determine who uses it, rather than experiences with marijuana shaping beliefs. In other words, people who believe marijuana has positive effects may be more willing to try it than those who have concerns about negative effects.” The poll is based on interviews of 1,105 U.S. adult citizens from April 14-16 and has 4 percentage point margin of error. Separately, a Gallup poll published late last year found that 64 percent of Americans now support legalizing marijuana. Another recent survey showed that three out of five Americans say it should be legal for people to grow their own marijuana plants at home. The post Six Out Of Ten Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana, New Poll Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“What this means for Alabama is patients will be getting the much-needed medicine they need. We’ve had the program now for five years, [and] there’s been a crazy delay.” By Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector Nearly five years after the Alabama Legislature approved a medical cannabis program in the state, the weeks-long process of producing and testing products for patients has begun, setting up an early May availability for patients. Antoine Mordican, CEO of Native Black Cultivation, said in a phone interview Tuesday that he sent the first biomass, or cannabis flour, to Homestead Health, a processor, on April 10. Mordican grows and harvests medical marijuana on his farm in Bessemer. “Alabama doesn’t allow anything smokable, so no flour, no vape. If you have to add heat to it, the state of Alabama don’t allow it,” Mordican said. Once the state’s medical cannabis program is fully operational with all its dispensaries open, Mordican said he will distribute biomass to all processors who are granted licenses by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC). The processors take the biomass and extract the THC oil, then produce the approved products with the oil. Products are restricted to tablets, tinctures, patches, oils and gummies (only peach flavor), with raw plant material and smokable forms remaining prohibited. Tyler Robinson, owner and CEO of Homestead Health, previously Jasper Development Group, Inc., said in a phone interview Tuesday that the product production and testing process takes about two to three weeks before products are delivered to dispensaries. “Once it comes back as a pass, we will start making it into a final product formulation,” Robinson said. “Once it’s in the final product formulation, we’ll send it back to testing.” It takes that long, he said, because the product is tested several times during the process. “It might take a little longer than what people might expect, but you want to make sure that you’re going to market with a quality product that passes all the necessary requirements,” he said. Robinson said he is aiming to have products delivered to dispensaries by May 4, but a more likely goal is May 11. “From the conversations we’ve had, we still believe early May. But we don’t know the timelines for how long once it goes from a cultivator to a processor, how much time that’s gonna take,” said John McMillan, executive director of the AMCC, in a phone interview Tuesday. “We don’t control that.” Vince Schilleci, owner of dispensary Callie’s Apothecary, which plans to open a location in Montgomery, said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon that Callie’s will open in mid-May. “We’re happy that we can put the patients first at this point. We’re almost there,” he said. Justin Aday, general counsel for the AMCC, said in a March interview that biomass is tested before it is delivered to the processor, multiple times at the processor, and one final time before it is delivered to a dispensary. “From the seed to the sale is tracked in our seed-to-sell tracking system,” Aday said in March. “If you have a product that you purchased off of the shelf at a dispensary, we can tell you where that product came from and all the stops related to it along the way.” Litigation has held up access to medical cannabis. Some firms sued the commission for not being awarded a license, citing a discriminatory process. Another case involved five parents that sued the commission over delays in access to cannabis. The lawsuit was dismissed in August. Robinson said that the litigation has hurt patients more than anybody, even though cultivators and processors like him have been working since they were awarded licenses. “When litigation arises, the payroll and the bills don’t stop coming,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s the patients that have hurt the worst in all of this. It’s just unfortunate because we’re doing all we can on our end.” Robinson encouraged patients to educate themselves on what conditions qualify for cannabis treatment and how to get it. Physicians will not prescribe medical cannabis. Instead, they will recommend a product they believe will work for a patient with a qualifying condition, including cancer, depression, Parkinson’s Disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sickle-cell anemia, chronic pain and terminal diseases. Each qualifying patient will have to register with the commission in order to get a recommendation from a physician and to receive a cannabis product from a dispensary. As of Tuesday, there were 43 physicians certified to recommend medical cannabis to patients in Alabama, according to the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. “What this means for Alabama is patients will be getting the much needed medicine they need. We’ve had the program now for five years, there’s been a crazy delay and we’re just now getting to this point. We’ve been caught up in litigation, lawsuits, things like that,” Mordican said. “But now that we have everything we need, we can start to service the people of Alabama.” Dispensary Locations: CCS of Alabama, LLC Montgomery, Bessemer and Talladega GP6 Wellness, LLC Birmingham, Athens and Attalla RJK Holdings, LLC Oxford, Daphne and Mobile Yellowhammer Medical Dispensary, LLC *pending license approval Birmingham, Owens Cross Roads and Demopolis This story was first published by Alabama Reflector. The post Alabama Medical Marijuana Sales Set To Finally Begin Next Month, Five Years After Lawmakers Approved Legalization appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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“What this does is, it modernizes our cannabis and hemp laws to reflect today’s market realities.” By Emilia Otte, CT Mirror A bill revamping regulations around the cannabis market passed the House of Representatives Monday night after a debate over what some lawmakers saw as a loosening of important restrictions on cannabis sales, and what others saw as logical modifications to a system that was placing barriers in front of a growing market. “What this does is, it modernizes our cannabis and hemp laws to reflect today’s market realities,” said Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, during the debate. Regulating cannabis in Connecticut has provoked contentious debates since lawmakers narrowly voted to legalize the substance for recreational use in 2021. Since then, the legislature has made several adjustments to the law, regulating the sale of THC-infused beverages and banning promotional sales or discounts, for example, or placing new parameters around the sale of hemp products. The current bill would raise or eliminate THC limits on certain products, including cannabis flower and infused beverages, and open up the market to new products and to people who live out-of-state. Lemar said that the bill brings Connecticut in line with regulations in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. “ This is a burgeoning marketplace here in Connecticut, creating a lot of jobs and a lot of investment. And the federal regulations that were put into place last year restricted the ability for that business to function, to move forward. We’re creating a strong pathway here for an infused beverage marketplace,” said Lemar. He said the bill cleaned up some of the regulations that made it hard for businesses to function and “restricted business potential.” According to Lemar, the legal cannabis market has created hundreds of jobs and brought tens of millions of dollars in revenue to the state. “Make no mistake about it. A Connecticut business in this space is at a severe disadvantage to those that exist in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” said Lemar. “They cannot compete on an even playing field because we have stacked the deck against them.” But Rep. David Rutigliano, R-Trumbull, said during a press conference that marijuana had now joined a “capitalist market” being driven by large corporations. One of the changes that received pushback is the elimination of caps on THC content in cannabis flower, plant material or concentrates. Rutigliano said higher concentrations of THC would make it easier for people to become addicted. He noted that public health professionals who appeared at a public hearing on the bill also brought concerns about THC levels. “What these medical people were saying, and they said it over and over and over again—‘Whatever you do, don’t raise the limits on THC. That’s what’s getting the kids sick, that’s causing psychosis… That’s causing all the problems that we have right now, is that the stuff is just too strong,’” said Rutigliano. Lemar said that cannabis plants have their own natural limits on THC concentration, and that “watering down” the cannabis could actually be more dangerous because it involves substances that have not been tested or regulated. The bill also increases the amount of THC allowed in infused drinks from 3 mg to 5 mg. Drinks sold in dispensaries or retailers can have up to 10 mg of THC. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said during a press conference that he was against raising the THC levels in these products. “We are concerned about the mental health impacts on our children. When we talk about the science, we continue to hear [about] the psychosis and the health conditions that are caused from overuse of marijuana, and our hospitals and really our infrastructure does not have the beds for treatment, and that should be the conversation that we’re having today,” said Candelora. Rutigliano at one point raised an amendment that would have kept the caps on THC content in cannabis products. Rep. Chris Aniskovich, R-Clinton, told the story of his stepson, who died of a drug overdose at 26. He said his stepson began smoking cannabis at age 14 and later started using more serious drugs. He said his whole family went through therapy. “When you sit there and you listen to the therapists that tell you, ‘Marijuana’s not a gateway,’” said Aniskovich. “Nobody knows how a child, when they start smoking marijuana, that is going to affect their brain.” Rather than focusing on losing money to other states, Aniskovich said, the state should be focusing on keeping cannabis out of the hands of young people and addressing mental health issues. “This is bad legislation. It’s bad legislation for our state. To put money ahead of our state is a problem,” said Aniskovich. The amendment failed by six votes. House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, said the concerns he’d heard from Rutigliano about mental health and psychosis were “legitimate” but that other states were selling infused drinks at higher potency levels. He said that, even at 5 milligrams, the potency limit was still conservative compared to other states. Lemar added that the dangers and concerns about addiction and overdose were being driven not by the legal cannabis market but by the products being sold illegally in bodegas and gas stations. The House is considering a second bill targeting smoke shops and vape shops that sell illegal products. He said that eliminating caps on products like cannabis flower would move people out of the illegal marketplace and into the legal marketplace. “Allowing our regulated marketplace to sell products that are in demand, that are safe, that are sold in surrounding states, moves people to a much safer product,” said Lemar. During the debate Monday evening, Rep. Tom O’Dea, R-New Canaan, read from a study done at Massachusetts General Hospital and published in November that found that the number of teenagers presenting at the ER with psychiatric symptoms quadrupled after the state legalized recreational marijuana. “That is shocking, disturbing, and should cause us all to pause,” said O’Dea. Lemar noted that many of the incidents of children and teens getting sick involved illegal cannabis products that had skirted the state regulations. The bill also  expands the cannabis marketplace to include topicals, tablets and capsules and allows patients who come from out of state to purchase cannabis for medical reasons. Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, said she was concerned that this bill would spark a new crisis of addiction by making these “palliative use” products “available to the general public on a whim.” Lemar countered that these products were some of the most commonly used substances for treating pain and that being able to sell them in Connecticut would stop people from illegally transporting them across state lines. Rep. Tracy Marra, R-Darien, questioned changes in the bill reducing the number of hours a licensed pharmacist has to be on site. The bill stipulates that retailers must have a pharmacist on site 8 hours per week and available for video consultation for 35 hours weekly. The bill also broadens who can dispense cannabis to include not just pharmacists but technicians and other employees that work at dispensaries. “We have some of the sickest of the sick patients that go into these facilities and require help,” she said. “The role of a pharmacist goes beyond handing over the cannabis—they are looking at drug interactions that might occur.” Marra objected to the idea that the Department of Consumer Protection would be responsible for approving products like topicals, tablets and sublingual capsules. “For the state of Connecticut to take on this role, it’s above and beyond what I think we should be doing here,” she said. This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The post Connecticut Lawmakers Pass Bill To Remove Marijuana Product THC Limits appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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A new congressional bill would provide $150 million in marijuana research funding for universities over five years, while allowing those institutions to obtain cannabis for studies through partnerships with state regulatory agencies and law enforcement. The legislation, introduced on Monday by Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who co-chair the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, is titled the Higher Education Marijuana Research Act. It would add universities and public entities to the list of marijuana manufacturer applicants that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would need to prioritize for research purposes, while also requiring yearly reports to Congress on that status of those applications and any reasons for denials. “The legal, responsible use of cannabis has been a major economic driver in Nevada and across the country and deserves further research,” Titus said. “The Higher Education Marijuana Research Act would eliminate outdated federal restrictions that prevent universities and researchers from studying the full range of cannabis products that Americans are actually using today.” Happy 4/20! As Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, I am proud to introduce my Higher Education Marijuana Research Act to eliminate barriers to academic research on cannabis. It makes no sense for the federal government to impede this research when millions of… https://t.co/RWb7R336ml — Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) April 20, 2026 “It makes no sense for the federal government to impede this research when millions of Americans are already using marijuana, whether for medical purposes or recreationally,” she said. Omar said that the bill “removes outdated federal barriers that have long prevented universities from conducting critical cannabis research.” Millions of Americans use marijuana, both medically and recreationally—yet, federal restrictions limit universities from conducting critical cannabis research. I introduced a bill with @repdinatitus to remove these barriers and help us make better public health decisions. — Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) April 21, 2026 “This legislation protects universities and researchers while lifting barriers so we can make better public health decisions,” she said. One of the more interesting features of the measure is that it would allow universities located in legal states to “obtain or purchase marijuana from a State or tribal government marijuana regulatory body.” Regulators aren’t typically involved in procuring cannabis from licensed retailers, but the idea behind the language is that it would give states flexibility to adopt new policies to have marijuana available through the government bodies for such purposes. However they facilitate the access, universities would then be able to use that product to “study the type of marijuana in a State’s marketplace, public health considerations of marijuana policies in the State, and any potential medical benefits of marijuana.” Cannabis that’s provided through partnerships with law enforcement, meanwhile, could not be administered to humans for clinical trials—which is likely partly due to health concerns about potentially contaminated unregulated products. The bill further stipulates that students and researchers who are qualified to conduct and participate in the cannabis research would not lose eligibility for federal funding, student financial aid or face immigration penalties. The universities themselves would similarly be protected from any loss of funding related to the authorized research. Within 90 days of enactment of the legislation, DEA would need to establish a Office of University Relations that would be required to “provide technical assistance to a researcher or institution of higher education seeking to register for the manufacture, distribution, or dispensation of a controlled substance” and “develop any technology necessary to provide the opportunity for a researcher or institution of higher education to amend an application prior to submission.” Further, the measure states that, within 180 days of enactment, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would need to create a working group to make recommendations on how to “simplify and streamline the registration process” for universities seeking to manufacture marijuana for research. That working group would need to consist of two representatives each from NIH, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), DEA and universities with experience studying cannabis. They would need to submit a report with findings and recommendations to various congressional committees within one year. NIH would also have 90 days from enactment to establish a program within the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to provide grant funding to universities to support research into the potential medical benefits of marijuana. The bill authorizes the appropriation of $15 million for such grants each fiscal year from 2026-2030. The program would need to prioritize approving grants to educational institutions that are located in legal cannabis jurisdictions, “accounting for geographic diversity and whether the institution of higher education is a minority institution.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would also need to create a separate grant program for universities “to study marijuana for agriculture purposes, including conservation and growth techniques, impacts on other crops, and the impact of different strains of marijuana on other crops.” The legislation authorizes the appropriation of $15 million annually to support grants that USDA would give out from fiscal year 2026-2030, with priority given to universities in legal states with consideration of geographic diversity and minority colleges. Finally, the measure stipulates that international treaties prohibiting cannabis “shall not be construed to prohibit, or impose additional restrictions upon, research involving marijuana, or the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of marijuana, that is conducted in accordance with the Controlled Substances Act.” Titus filed a similar version of the legislation during the 118th Congress, but it didn’t advance. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 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. — The proposal is one of the latest examples of congressional efforts to promote cannabis research as more states enact legal cannabis markets. Last year, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law focused largely on permanently banning analogues of fentanyl that also contained provisions to remove barriers to conducting research into the risks and benefits of marijuana, psychedelics and other Schedule I drugs. In January, however, the attorney general missed a deadline in the law to issue guidelines for easing barriers to such research. In 2022, then-President Joe Biden signed a marijuana-focused research measure that gives the U.S. attorney general 60 days to either approve a given application or request supplemental information from a prospective research applicant. It also creates a more efficient pathway for researchers who request larger quantities of cannabis. DEA has taken steps in recent years to approve new cultivators of marijuana to be used in studies. Read the text of the Higher Education Marijuana Research Act below: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28063141-titus-275-xml/ The post New Congressional Bill Would Let State Agencies Provide Marijuana For Research, Backed By $150 Million In New Funding appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

VA lawmakers: Reject gov’s marijuana amendments; GOP bill links cannabis & health costs; USDA hemp report; Study: Youth use down after legalization 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… Hold on, just one second before you read today’s news. Have you thought about giving some financial support to Marijuana Moment? If so, today would be a great day to contribute. We’re planning our reporting for the coming months and it would really help to know what kind of support we can count on. Check us out on Patreon and sign up to give $25/month today: https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said “the votes do exist to act legislatively” on federal marijuana reform and “we’re going to find a way to do so, hopefully in this Congress, and we certainly will be in a position to do something about it in the next Congress” if Democrats retake the majority. “This does seem to exist as a bipartisan issue, particularly amongst younger generations of Republicans and the entirety of the House Democratic Caucus.” Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) filed a bill to require the federal government to track the cost of hospitalization due to marijuana use—with the sponsor claiming cannabis causes “increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, psychotic disorders and further addictions.” The sponsors of Virginia legislation to legalize recreational cannabis sales told Marijuana Moment they want colleagues to reject Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) proposed amendments on Wednesday—even if it means risking her vetoing the original measure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture published an annual report showing that American farmers grew $739 million worth of hemp crops in 2025—a 64 percent increase from the prior year, a rise that comes amid the pending federal recriminalization of hemp THC products in November that advocates say will devastate the industry. A new Minnesota Department of Health study shows that “there continues to be a steady decline in youth cannabis use” following the legalization of marijuana for adults—despite fears of opponents who claimed it would lead to skyrocketing teen consumption. The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission discussed a federal court ruling temporarily blocking the state’s marijuana business licensing process over a legal challenge to residency requirements. / FEDERAL The White House published a compilation of supportive reactions to President Donald Trump’s psychedelics executive order. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health announced research teams for its Evidence-Based Validation & Innovation for Rapid Therapeutics in Behavioral Health initiative, including several focused on psychedelic therapy. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) tweeted that President Donald Trump’s psychedelics executive order is “a major step forward in confronting the mental health crisis devastating our nation.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sent a press release about a new hemp bill she is cosponsoring and tweeted, “I’ve heard loud and clear from brewers, farmers, & small businesses in Minnesota — a federal ban on hemp products would be devastating. Today, Senator Paul & I are announcing a new bipartisan bill that protects Minnesota’s small businesses & farmers producing safe hemp products.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “Washington is trying to ban hemp, a winning cash crop for Kentucky farmers. I’m working with Sen. Klobuchar on a bill that lets states set their own hemp rules. Call your senator and tell them to support it: (202) 224-3121.” The House bill to designate psychedelic therapy centers of excellence got one new cosponsor for a total of 27. / STATES Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) tweeted, “We made a promise to deliver safe medical cannabis to Kentuckians, and that’s a promise we’ve kept. We cut the ribbon on two new cultivators, including Best State LLC in Stanford. We’ve made a lot of progress in just a year. Congrats, everyone!” Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, currently the state auditor, discussed his support for legalizing marijuana. Florida’s lieutenant governor, who is running for governor, criticized rival Rep. Byron Donalds’s (R-FL) conviction for selling marijuana. Texas’s attorney general is suing online kratom retailers for allegedly deceptive and illegal marketing of synthetic kratom products that exceed the limit for 7-OH. Delaware’s top marijuana regulator spoke about denying marijuana social equity business conditional licenses over “predatory” consulting contracts. New York’s top marijuana regulator authored an op-ed about the state’s first five years of cannabis legalization. Illinois officials announced recipients of $31.8 million in loans through the Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program. Vermont regulators published guidance on cannabis business ownership changes and inhalable additives. Michigan regulators published a monthly report on disciplinary actions taken against marijuana businesses. California regulators are extending the public comment period on proposed changes to cannabis pesticide testing rules. — 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 A Columbus, Georgia mayoral candidate is pledging to decriminalize marijuana if elected. Oakland, California officials launched an initiative to promote city-verified cannabis equity businesses. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study highlighted the “potential of [cannabis-based medicinal products] as an alternative to opioid treatment.” A review suggested that “psilocybin-assisted therapy results in substantial decreases in depressive symptoms across studies to date.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS People For The American Way’s president authored an op-ed arguing that Democrats need to take the lead on marijuana reform again. The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes passed a resolution supporting the development of ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and trauma-related disorders. / BUSINESS SHF Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Safe Harbor launched a pooled employer 401(k) plan for cannabis businesses and companies that serve them. Colorado retailers sold $105 million worth of legal marijuana products in January. / CULTURE Joe Rogan discussed his experience working with President Donald Trump on psychedelics reform. Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel joked about 4/20. 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 Mike Latimer. The post Federal cannabis reform has “the votes,” top Dem says (Newsletter: April 22, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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The sponsors of Virginia bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales are recommending that fellow lawmakers vote to reject the governor’s proposed amendments to the legislation this week. Last week, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) 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. Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) and Del. Paul Krizek (D), who respectively sponsored the Senate and House versions of the cannabis sales legalization bills, both told Marijuana Moment that they want their colleagues to vote against the amendments when the legislature reconvenes on Wednesday—even if that means risking a veto from Spanberger when the measure returns to her desk. “While the governor and I share the goal of establishing a safe, regulated cannabis market, we differ on how best to achieve it,” Aird said “The substitute moves Virginia in the wrong direction and disregards years of data-driven, bipartisan work and established best practices. For that reason, I will be recommending its rejection.” “As our conversations continue, I urge the governor to reconsider provisions that reintroduce punitive measures undermining the intent of legalization, shift critical elements of the framework into an uncertain regulatory process, and remove essential supports for impact licensees.” Krizek noted that “a few years ago the legislature took bipartisan steps to end racially discriminatory marijuana policing here in Virginia.” “But, unfortunately, and probably not intentionally as she has not been involved in this years-long process,” he said, “the governor’s proposed amendments would repeal a number of those decriminalization laws and undermine what has been a thorough, thoughtful, balanced process of drafting this legislation with community and stakeholder engagement that moved us toward this more fair and responsive cannabis regulatory framework.” “When we legalized cannabis it was with a recognition of the disproportionate harm caused by the war on cannabis, particularly among Black families,” the House lawmaker said. “This bill was intentional in recognizing that, but much of that intentionality is lost with these many amendments.” Krizek separately told WTOP radio that he was expecting some of the governor’s amendments after meeting with her earlier this month, but was “surprised” by others that never came up during the discussion. The lawmaker said he is most concerned about “pretty draconian penalties” Spanberger suggested putting into the bill, adding that because she suggested a full substitute version of the legislation rather than severable amendments, the House and Senate can only take or leave the package as a whole rather than considering each change individually. The the legislature does reject the proposal on Wednesday, and the governor then vetoes the original proposal, lawmakers would have to start with new bills in the 2027 session. Krizek said in the radio interview that he thinks the governor is “very open to dialogue and compromise” “We can do that in next session. We can pass the bill that we know she’s going to sign, and let her administration know that I’m willing to work with her and make it happen,” he said. “We’ll keep meeting, and we will take up a lot of these suggestions that she has in her version of it, and see what we can agree to.” When it comes to Spanberger’s proposed criminal penalties, however, Krizek said “I’m not too sanguine about going backwards in that respect, but I do think that it’s just a matter of negotiating with her and explaining where we’re at and why.” He similarly told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that he is “hopeful that with more discussion and negotiation we can find a compromise that will maintain” a balance between justice and public safety. A spokesperson for the governor told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that she is “committed to working with patrons to finish the work,” sidestepping the outlet’s question about whether she would veto the original bill if lawmakers sent it back to her this week. 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. 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. 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. Separately, the governor signed several other reform bills this week—including measures to protect the parental rights of marijuana consumers and allow patients to access medical cannabis in hospitals. The post Sponsors Of Virginia Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill Ask Colleagues To Reject Governor’s Amendments, Risking A Veto appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“Now we are stopped from continuing that process. But that does not mean we are stopped from figuring out the best path forward.” By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Currant Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission on Friday held its first public meeting since a recent court ruling that temporarily paused the process of reviewing and awarding retail cannabis licenses. Commissioners and staff acknowledged applicants’ and cultivators’ frustration over the abrupt halt to the process that would award 20 new retail licenses as early as May. Commissioner Robert Jacquard said regulators had already begun coordinating with the Rhode Island Lottery on equipment and a location for the selection process. “Now we are stopped from continuing that process,” he said. “But that does not mean we are stopped from figuring out the best path forward to reach our top priority, which is issuing retail licenses.” Any details on the commission’s legal strategy will remain hush as it appeals the April 8 order by the U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose temporarily stopping the licensing process. “Anything used in this public forum can be used against us in the court case,” Mariana Ormonde, chief legal counsel, said at the start of her overview. The commission is the defendant in three federal lawsuits filed by out-of-state entrepreneurs over the state’s requirement that all cannabis license holders must be majority owned by Rhode Island residents. Plaintiffs in each case argued the residency requirement violated the Dormant Commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from engaging in protectionist practices against other states. Two of those cases date back to May 2024 and were dismissed by DuBose in February of last year, only to be revived in December after Boston’s federal appeals court demanded Rhode Island’s federal court rule based on the merits of the cases. DuBose in her April 8 ruling found there was a likelihood the three lawsuits would succeed on the merits, which is why she granted the injunction. The state appealed that order Tuesday afternoon, just hours after commissioners met behind closed doors to discuss the cases. “That is essentially what is stopping all of the commission’s processes at this point,” Ormonde said. Which has meant 97 applicants continue to sit in limbo. Even before the injunction, applicants have vented frustration over the Cannabis Control Commission’s slow rollout for new licenses in the four years since recreational pot was legalized by the state. “Time is of the essence,” Sasha Gorski, a cultivator and applicant for a retail shop in Providence, told the commission. “Cultivators and prospective applicants are being harmed every day that this continues. We would like to see things move forward as quickly as possible.” Applicants and cultivators at Friday’s meeting were overall satisfied with the update provided by the commission on where the case stands—even from some of the panel’s more vocal critics. “The explanation was perfect,” Jason Calderon, a cultivator who applied for a retail license in North Kingstown, told Rhode Island Current after the meeting. “At least it lets us know where we are.” Attorney Allan Fung, the former Republican Cranston mayor and congressional and gubernatorial candidate who represents several retail applicants, did have some suggestions on how the state could try and solve the case during public comment. One was to have the commission reopen the application process and have it be done on a strictly merit basis so that plaintiffs can’t argue anyone has an unfair advantage. The other suggestion was to provide the plaintiffs with conditional licenses. “That would moot the lawsuit,” he said. Jacquard asked Fung to send his recommendations in writing to the commission, so they could further digest the potential strategies. “They’re very interesting, but take a while to absorb,” Jacquard said. This story was first published by Rhode Island Currant. Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Rhode Island Marijuana Regulators Discuss Stalled Licensing Process Following Federal Court Ruling appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A pair of Republican senators have filed a bill that would require the federal government to track the cost of hospitalization due to marijuana use. The new Marijuana Impact on Medicaid Act of 2026 from Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) would require the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to compile data on “Federal and State expenditures under the Medicaid program…that are attributable to costs incurred for providing medical assistance for inpatient hospital services, outpatient hospital services, and for services received at a hospital emergency room…related to marijuana use.” The information would be due in the form of a report to Congress within one year of the measure being enacted, along with any recommendations for legislation and administrative action that the HHS secretary determines to be appropriate. “The health consequences tied to marijuana use are serious, leading to increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, psychotic disorders and further addictions,” Budd claimed in a press release. “When legislating on this issue, Congress needs to put the health and safety of the American people first, full stop.” “This is exactly why lawmakers need access to reliable data that details Medicaid spending associated with marijuana abuse,” he said. “Millions of Americans rely on Medicaid healthcare benefits, and my legislation will ensure Congress understands the dangers of this drug and its impact on federally funded health programs.” The health consequences tied to marijuana use are serious—increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, psychotic disorders, and further addictions. When legislating on this issue, Congress needs to put the health and safety of the American people first, full stop.… — Senator Ted Budd (@SenTedBuddNC) April 20, 2026 Ricketts added that “marijuana is a dangerous drug.” “The average THC potency in marijuana has more than tripled since 1995,” he said. “High-potency marijuana is an increasingly concerning threat to public health. It is important for Congress and HHS to understand the costs and impact to healthcare of increased marijuana usage.” The bill’s language is similar to two amendments Budd previously filed on the cannabis and hospitalization issue that didn’t end up being considered on the Senate floor. Legalization opponents have often claimed that cannabis drives an increase in hospital visits due to accidents and over-intoxication. Budd and other GOP senators sent a letter last year urging President Donald Trump not to follow through with plans to federally reschedule marijuana. In 2024, Budd pressed federal, state and local officials on what steps they were taking to enforce marijuana prohibition as an Indian tribe prepared to launch recreational cannabis sales on its lands within North Carolina. Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post New GOP Bill Would Require Feds To Study Hospital Costs Caused By Marijuana Use appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Despite concerns from marijuana legalization opponents who claimed the policy would lead to skyrocketing use by teens, cannabis consumption by middle and high school students in Minnesota is lower now than it has ever been over the past decade, according to newly published state data. “There continues to be a steady decline in youth cannabis use since 2013, with 96% of students reporting not having used cannabis in the last month,” the state Department of Health said in a press release on Monday about the latest results of the Minnesota Student Survey, which is conducted every three years among students in grades 5, 8, 9 and 11. Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed a bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota in 2023, making the latest iteration of the survey the first to come since the prohibition of cannabis for adults over the age of 21 was ended. State officials said the new data “showed healthier trends related to student use and perceptions of harms” about cannabis in recent years. There has been a 57.7 percent statewide drop in self-reported past-year cannabis use from 2013 to 2025 among 8th, 9th and 11th graders combined. There has also been a decline over time in past-month use. “Overall, self-reported cannabis use by students in Minnesota has continued to decrease each year since 2013,” a fact sheet on the results says. More students also now view using marijuana once or twice a week as moderately to greatly harmful, “reversing the trend seen from 2013 to 2022,” the Department of Health said. Interestingly, respondents in the survey greatly overestimated how many of their fellow students use marijuana. “In 2025, 8th, 9th, and 11th grade students reported thinking that over half of their peers (54%) use cannabis, but 92% of students reported never using cannabis,” the fact sheet says. Even though the survey shows overall that underage use of marijuana is declining in the legalization era, there was one concerning result that stood out in the data, state officials said. “Despite positive trends, the student survey—indicates that some of our children are encountering cannabis at young ages,” Brooke Cunningham, Minnesota’s commissioner of health, said. “We need talk to our children about cannabis before they encounter it because we know the potential harms that early use can bring to their developing brains, mental health and futures.” The Minnesota survey showing that legalization hasn’t led to a spike in teen marijuana use is largely consistent with the results of prior studies in other states and at the national level. It also reinforces reform advocates’ position that creating a regulatory framework for cannabis where licensed retailers must check IDs and implement other security mechanisms to prevent unlawful diversion is a far more effective policy than prohibition, with illicit suppliers whose products may be untested and where age-gating isn’t a strictly enforced regulation. To that point, a recent federally funded study out of Canada found that that youth marijuana use rates declined after the country legalized cannabis. German officials similarly released a separate report on their country’s experience with legalizing marijuana nationwide that showed that fears from opponents about youth use, traffic safety and more have so far proved largely unfounded. Last year, U.S. federal health data also indicated that while past-year marijuana use overall has climbed in recent years, the rise has been “driven by increases…among adults 26 years or older.” As for younger Americans, rates of both past-year use and cannabis use disorder, by contrast, “remained stable among adolescents and young adults between 2021 and 2024.” Across the U.S., research suggests that marijuana use by young people has generally fallen in states that legalize the drug for adults. A report from the advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), for example, found that youth marijuana use declined in 19 out of 21 states that legalized adult-use marijuana—with teen cannabis consumption down an average of 35 percent in the earliest states to legalize. Another survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also showed a decline in the proportion of high-school students reporting past-month marijuana use over the past decade, as dozens of states moved to legalize cannabis. Another U.S. study reported a “significant decrease” in youth marijuana use from 2011 to 2021—a period in which more than a dozen states legalized marijuana for adults—detailing lower rates of both lifetime and past-month use by high-school students nationwide. Another federal report concluded that cannabis consumption among minors—defined as people 12 to 20 years of age—fell slightly between 2022 and 2023. Separately, a research letter published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2024 said there’s no evidence that states’ adoption of laws to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults have led to an increase in youth use of cannabis. Another JAMA-published study similarly found that neither legalization nor the opening of retail stores led to increases in youth cannabis use. In 2023, meanwhile, a U.S. health official said that teen marijuana use has not increased “even as state legalization has proliferated across the country.” The post Teen Marijuana Use Is Lower Now Than Before Legalization, Government Study From Minnesota Officials Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representative says there is enough support within the body to pass comprehensive federal marijuana reform—if only Republican leaders would allow a vote. “I’ve consistently supported the rescheduling of marijuana,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Monday, which was also the unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20. “It should not be classified as a Schedule I drug.” The congressman was responding to a question at a press briefing from a reporter who asked whether there is any realistic chances of passing marijuana reform legislation amid the still-ongoing administrative process to move cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III. “I’m hopeful that we can find a legislative path forward,” Jeffries said. “This does seem to exist as a bipartisan issue, particularly amongst younger generations of Republicans and the entirety of the House Democratic Caucus, and we know that the votes do exist to act legislatively.” “We’re going to find a way to do so, hopefully in this Congress, and we certainly will be in a position to do something about it in the next Congress,” he said, an apparent reference to an expectation that his party will win back a majority in the chamber in November’s elections. During his time in Congress and before that as a New York state legislator, Jeffries has sponsored numerous cannabis and drug policy reform proposals. For example, he teamed up with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on a cannabis legalization bill called the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act. He is also cosponsoring legislation with Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) that would lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization by creating a commission to study the issue and make recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what’s currently in place for alcohol. “I’ve been part of bipartisan efforts, including the passage of the First Step Act to deal with overcriminalization in America and to ensure that taxpayer dollars aren’t being spent on a prison industrial complex that has not made the country safer,” Jeffries said on Monday. “It’s devastated individuals, families and communities and hurt our economic growth and development.” Cannabis’s current classification “has been done so in a manner that stems from the failed war on drugs, which has resulted in the over incarceration of millions of Americans since that failed war on drugs was first launched by Richard Nixon in the summer of 1971,” he said. The House under previous Democratic majorities has twice passed bills to federally legalize marijuana and on numerous occasions advanced legislation to ease the cannabis industry’s access to banking services—but those measures have never advanced with GOP control of the chamber. The Senate under Democratic or Republican control has also not passed marijuana legalization or banking legislation. Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee this week is expected to issue a directive for federal agencies to study the “adequacy” of state marijuana laws and to assess methods for “preventing diversion of state legal cannabis product into jurisdictions that do not permit the use of cannabis.” The post Congress Has The Votes To Pass Federal Marijuana Reform, Top House Democrat Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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—according to a new federal report. The new annual National Hemp Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) delineates data on how much of the $739 million worth of crops were grown out in the open in fields or cultivated under protection in greenhouses, high tunnels and hoop houses. The 49,267 acres of hemp grown outdoors in the U.S. last year represents a 9 percent increase from 2024, and its value of $646 million is 53 percent higher than the prior year. Of that, 43,707 acres of crops were actually harvested, a 34 percent annual increase. There was also 3.99 million square feet of hemp crops grown under protection, a 13 percent rise from 2024. The value of those crops jumped significantly from the prior year’s haul—a 225 percent increase, USDA said. The results showing the industry’s growth comes amid the pending federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that’s set to take effect in November under a law that President Donald Trump signed late last year, a change that advocates say stands to devastate the sector. In 2025, the value of hemp production in the open and under protection for the U.S. totaled $739 million, up 64% from 2024. https://t.co/WfOxNIxfTk — National Agricultural Statistics Service (@usda_nass) April 16, 2026 In the meantime, the federal agency’s report further breaks down last year’s data into cannabis crops grown for flower, grain, fiber and seed. Total weight and acreage increased year over year in each category for plants grown in the open. While the value of hemp produced for flower, grain and seed increased compared to 2024, fiber crops decreased in value. The report, which is based on an annual survey USDA sends out to farmers, also found that hemp clones and transplants grown under protection in 2025 1.08 million plants, up 203 percent from the prior year, and that the value of those crops was $1.96 million, a 339 percent annual rise. The federal report also disaggregates the national totals into state-based data. Meanwhile, bipartisan lawmakers in Congress are taking steps to reverse or at least delay the pending move to prohibit hemp THC products later this year. Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a drug-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. Under the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act—introduced last week by Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA)—states and Indian tribes could opt out of the broad federal ban and continue regulating and allowing hemp THC products to be produced and sold in their jurisdictions. Other lawmakers have introduced legislation to delay the scheduled recriminalization of hemp THC products, but those efforts have not gained traction with congressional leadership. Meanwhile, the Trump administration this 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 American Farmers Grew $739 Million Worth Of Legal Hemp Last Year, New USDA Report Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Politicians & brands mark 4/20; MA gov signs marijuana bill; PA legalization; DE medical cannabis bill; Woody Harrelson & Bill Maher talk marijuana 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… They say a journalist is a machine that converts coffee into copy. But where do you think the coffee comes from? Readers like you! Signing up for a $25/month subscription will help keep us digging, interviewing and reporting on all the cannabis news that’s fit to print. And in return, you’ll gain access to our Bill Tracker tool, too, so you can have the most up-to-date information on the drug policy reform efforts around the U.S. Join Marijuana Moment for $25/month to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW The House Appropriations Committee is expected to approve a report on Tuesday calling on federal agencies to study the “adequacy” of state marijuana laws and assess methods for “preventing diversion of state legal cannabis product into jurisdictions that do not permit the use of cannabis.” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) signed a bill doubling the legal marijuana possession limit, overhauling the Cannabis Control Commission and changing business licensing and ownership rules. Delaware lawmakers sent Gov. Matt Meyer (D) a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals, with the legislation passing both chambers unanimously. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) marked the 4/20 cannabis holiday by asking lawmakers to send him a bill to legalize marijuana—and the House Majority Policy Committee held a hearing on the collateral consequences of cannabis convictions. “It’s time for us to finally catch up—and for the legislature to send a bill to my desk and get this done.” More politicians and companies are embracing cannabis culture and using 4/20 as a way to get their message out as legalization gains support and marijuana becomes more mainstream. A new report from the Marijuana Policy Project shows that cannabis arrests are, not surprisingly, dropping significantly as more states enact legalization laws—but also that tens of thousands of people are still being put in handcuffs over marijuana every year in the U.S. Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher complained about marijuana taxes being too high while smoking joints together at the cannabis business they co-own. They also addressed the industry’s banking access issues during the 4/20 episode of the Club Random podcast. The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation filed proposed rules to create a new class of marijuana research licenses and will be accepting public feedback throughout May. / FEDERAL National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow met with the co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus. Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted, “While the substance of POTUS’s EO (“Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness”) is a reasonable, research-focused step for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD, depression & TBI – as I detailed in the thread below -the rollout was problematic.” A former Drug Enforcement Administration informant was sentenced to time served after admitting he failed to pay taxes on nearly $4 million he received for undercover work. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “So just to be clear, should the ban pass, my bill (should it be signed into law) would allow to states to essentially OPT OUT of the ban so states can continue regulating hemp themselves, as long as they maintain a minimum age for purchase and keep the ban on dangerous synthetic cannabinoids that don’t naturally occur in the hemp plant.” / STATES California’s Assembly speaker pro tem discussed the advancement of his psychedelics reform legislation as President Donald Trump announced federal moves on the issue. An Illinois representative authored an op-ed arguing that the state still has work to do to achieve an equitable cannabis industry. An Indiana judge is facing disciplinary charges over alleged illegal drug use and possession of marijuana. Missouri regulators adopted changes to marijuana business rules. Ohio regulators posted guidance about marijuana product IDs. Nevada regulators launched an online catalog of marijuana products. The Guam Cannabis Control Board will meet on Wednesday. New York will host an event about marijuana home cultivation of marijuana 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 New York City officials are accepting applications for another wave of cannabis business loans. Jackson, Michigan officials launched a “Pot for Potholes” initiative to use marijuana revenue to support road repair. / INTERNATIONAL Ecuadorian lawmakers advanced a citizen-led marijuana legalization initiative. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that cannabis-based medicinal products “were associated with improvements in [health-related quality of life] measures up to 2 years, being relatively well tolerated” and that “higher THC doses were associated with a greater likelihood of improvement on migraine-specific measures.” Researchers “reconstructed in one plant assay the full biosynthetic pathways of five renowned natural psychedelics; psilocin and psilocybin found in mushrooms, DMT from plants, and bufotenin and 5-methoxy-DMT secreted by the Sonoran Desert toad.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS NORML posted the results of a cannabis consumer freedom survey it conducted. The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp published a report on hemp products. / BUSINESS Center Origin is suing former employees over an alleged “civil conspiracy” to funnel business into their competing project. Illinois dispensaries sold $13.4 million worth of medical cannabis products in March. / CULTURE Conan O’Brien talked about potentially trying cannabis edibles on the recommendation of his staff. 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 Congress wants federal study of state cannabis laws (Newsletter: April 21, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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