All Activity

Wow i can say that this is another great article as expected of this blog.Bookmarked this site.. situs toto slot

I once found myself grappling with overwhelming deadlines and personal obligations, feeling an immense pressure cooker building inside. My brain felt like a Buckshot Roulette of thoughts, each one threatening to splinter my focus. I reached for endless cups of coffee, only to find myself jittery and even more anxious. It was a vicious cycle until a friend introduced me to meditation and herbal teas, which slowly but surely helped me regain a sense of calm and clarity.

Hi, I find reading this article a joy. It is extremely helpful and interesting and very much looking forward to reading more of your work.. slot gacor

A very awesome blog post. We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. olxtoto

Nice to be visiting your blog again, it has been months for me. Well this article that i've been waited for so long. I need this article to complete my assignment in the college, and it has same topic with your article. Thanks, great share. 레플리카 쇼핑몰

I've been following Tokeativity for a while, and the Canna Mama Con sounds like such an important and much-needed event. It's awesome to see a space dedicated to sharing wisdom and experiences within this community. I was just using Driving Directions the other day to plan a trip, and it got me thinking about how vital good navigation is, not just for travel, but for navigating new ideas and communities like this one. For those who've participated in similar online conferences, what's been your favorite aspect of connecting virtually with other attendees?

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is opposing marijuana rescheduling opponents’ request to reopen an ongoing hearing on the Trump administration’s proposed reform for a new round of testimony and document discovery. The dispute concerns a recently released federal watchdog report that found there are “gaps” in the government’s process for evaluating controlled substances. DEA said in a brief filed earlier this month that it is fine with including the document in the hearing record, as opponents have pushed for, but it does not want any further briefings on the matter—nor, it said in a new brief filed on Tuesday, does the agency think DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius should further delay the proceedings by ordering additional testimony and discovery. The agency’s latest filing argues that opponents are seeking permission for an “obvious fishing expedition based on a Report that is clear on its face” and that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) does not provide for additional record supplementation and general discovery in the rulemaking proceeding now that testimony has closed. “To supplement the record, the Movants must show that the agency deliberately or negligently excluded documents that may have been adverse to its decision, background information is needed to determine whether the agency considered all the relevant factors, or that the agency failed to explain its administrative action so as to frustrate judicial review,” DEA said, arguing that none of that has occurred. Julius still hasn’t decided whether to admit the report in question, which was published last month by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The watchdog agency’s review found, among other things that DEA “does not have any policies or procedures regarding how its staff are to conduct evaluations or schedule substances” and the Food and Drug Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “does not have policies or procedures specifying how its staff are to conduct evaluations or develop scheduling recommendations for substances.” DEA said in its Tuesday brief that rescheduling opponents have not identified “other records with any specificity to supplement the Record.” “The Report identifies the absence of policy and procedure records, not the presence of those materials,” the agency pointed out. “While Movants reference their discovery requests as ‘limited’ and ‘narrowly tailored,’ these requests are neither limited nor narrow,” the filing said. “Instead, Movants seek broad categories of materials and testimony related to issues the parties addressed repeatedly at the hearing and an additional request for GAO’s materials for all scheduling matters in the prior six years from every entity GAO sought said information from, and the content of every GAO request for information.” DEA said the information in the requests has largely already been entered into the hearing record through previously delivered testimony. “Movants argue that their disagreement with the Government’s interpretation creates a material issue of fact that this Court must resolve by allowing Movants to engage in broad, general written discovery, witness depositions, and further briefing to the Tribunal during a stay implemented until they have concluded their discovery process. This is an obvious fishing expedition based on a Report that is clear on its face… Movants’ reliance on this Report as the basis for their general discovery requests is misplaced. The parties’ disagreement about the Report’s findings and its impact on FDA’s scheduling recommendation do not create a material issue of fact.” Also on Wednesday, the National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA), DUID Victim Voices and Kenneth Finn requested and received from Julius permission to file a response to DEA’s latest submission. “The Government admits the GAO Report documents ‘the absence of policy and procedure records,'” the rescheduling opponents said. “That absence is the finding… The Government cannot concede that no standard existed and then call the missing standard immaterial.” DEA’s previously filed brief argued that it defers to the judge on whether the GAO report should be included in the record, but it opposes opponents’ request for additional briefings to be ordered concerning what the report’s findings mean for cannabis rescheduling. Those opponents have “mischaracterized the GAO Report and its impact” on the marijuana rescheduling process, the agency said, adding that it “does not present any new evidence salient to the issue before this Tribunal.” DEA said, however, that the GAO report merely identified “gaps in the memorialization of rescheduling process, not any flaws in the rescheduling process itself.” Until recently, the only expected remaining step in the proceedings had been for Julius to issue his own recommendation on marijuana rescheduling to the DEA administrator, who would then make a final determination on the policy. NDASA, DUID and Finn filed a motion last week asking the DEA judge to order a “narrow reopening of the hearing for limited discovery and testimony tied to the Report, the agency-process gaps it identified, and why those gaps matter to marijuana rescheduling.” They are requesting authority to “serve narrowly tailored document requests and to seek testimony limited to” certain specific subjects. “The requested discovery is necessary and proportionate. It targets the process facts GAO identified, the factual disputes the Government created in its response, and the issues the Government restricted during the hearing,” the motion says. “It does not seek a broad reopening, a new merits case, or duplicative testimony already taken. Limited discovery is therefore proportional to the issues the Report and the Government’s response have placed before the tribunal.” It remains to be seen whether Julius will order additional briefings on the GAO report and whether he will take the more far-reaching step of reopening testimony and discovery. Attorney General Todd Blanche in April issued an order that immediately reclassified state-licensed medical cannabis, as well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III. Under a separate order he signed, the DEA hearing was held in June and July to consider more comprehensively moving marijuana to Schedule III. “The Government is not putting forth any evidence to suggest that marijuana is not dangerous. All controlled substances by definition are dangerous,” James Schwartz, a DEA attorney, said on the opening day of the hearing, according to the transcript. “That is why they are scheduled in the first place. However, controlled substances must be evaluated by the risks they pose balanced with the medical use they provide.” “The proposed rule, the supporting documents, and the Government witnesses will establish that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use,” he said. “With that determination, marijuana can no longer remain in Schedule I.” Meanwhile, DEA and parties that participated in the marijuana rescheduling hearing laid out their arguments in final briefs. The federal agency, which was charged with defending the proposed rescheduling move, said in its brief that “marijuana no longer fits the statutory requirements for Schedule I because it has a currently accepted medical use within the United States and it has an accepted safety for its use under medical supervision.” The agency noted that under the law it must give “significant deference” to an “extensive ten-month study on the scientific and medical properties” of cannabis conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which recommended rescheduling. “Currently there are over 30,000 practitioners treating more than six million patients in 43 U.S. jurisdictions,” DEA said. “Such practices demonstrate that there is no longer a lack of accepted safety for use of marijuana under medical supervision, and as such, marijuana does not fulfill the requirements of being a Schedule I substance.” It also said that there is “substantial evidence sufficient to show that marijuana’s abuse and dependency profiles better align with Schedule III substances than Schedule II” or Schedule I. “The vast majority of individuals who use marijuana do so in a manner that does not result in dangers to themselves or to their communities.” In conclusion, DEA asked the judge overseeing the hearing to “expeditiously recommend” that marijuana be transferred from Schedule I to Schedule III. During the hearing, DEA officials charged with defending the cannabis rescheduling proposal highlighted testimony on marijuana’s medical benefits and its relative safety compared to other substances such as alcohol and opioids. That included appearances from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist and a medical doctor from New Hampshire who detailed how medical marijuana provides relief to pain patients and can serve as an alternative to opioids. Meanwhile, lawyers and witnesses for parties who are oppose marijuana rescheduling and participated in the hearing put significant focus on the alleged harms of cannabis use as well as criticism of recently adopted changes to an analysis used to determine whether drugs have accepted medical value. DEA invited only organizations and people who oppose marijuana reform to join the hearing as designated participants—telling supporters that they do not meet the definition of an “interested person” to participate because they are not “adversely affected or aggrieved by any rule or proposed rule issuable.” Ahead of the hearing’s start, marijuana reform activists held a press conference outside DEA headquarters to highlight how they feel the have been “shut out” of the process—criticizing the fact that no supporters of reform were invited to participate and that the proceedings were not livestreamed despite officials’ vows of “transparency.” Marijuana Moment sent requests to Julius, the DEA judge, and to Cole, the DEA administrator, requesting they reverse a decision to prohibit the public from tuning into the cannabis hearing via livestream. A congressman and other journalists later joined in that request. — Marijuana Moment’s journalism is made possible by readers like you who value this work enough to support us with monthly pledges on Patreon. If you rely on our reporting to stay informed about key cannabis developments, please help us keep doing this by becoming a sustaining subscriber today. Backing us at the $25/month level also gets you access to our Bill Tracker so you won’t miss any important marijuana legislation in your state. — A prior hearing process on the marijuana rescheduling process that was initiated by the Biden administration stalled last year amid litigation over alleged improper communications and witness selection. The current marijuana rescheduling process is being challenged with several lawsuits that have been consolidated by a federal appeals court. Those pieces of litigation against the cannabis reform have been filed by state attorneys general, marijuana legalization opponents and a cannabis-focused biopharmaceutical corporation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently rejected a drug testing industry association and a pharmaceutical company’s request to block the Trump administration from moving forward with cannabis rescheduling while the litigation is considered. The parties have jointly filed a proposed briefing schedule for the legal dispute. A congressional committee recently voted to block federal officials from taking further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling, though bipartisan lawmakers told Marijuana Moment they don’t believe that provision will be enacted into law. Read the latest filings and order in marijuana rescheduling hearing below: Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post DEA Opposes Marijuana Rescheduling Opponents’ Request For New Testimony And Document Discovery In Ongoing Hearing appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Kentucky’s governor is continuing to tout the buildout of the state’s medical marijuana program following the opening of the 26th operational dispensary last week. “My administration worked hard to bring medical cannabis to Kentucky, and our hard work paid off,” Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said on Wednesday, noting that he signed legislation to legalize medical marijuana in 2023 that took effect last year. “I’m proud to say that just a year and a half later, Team Kentucky is over halfway finished with building out this program,” the governor said. “We now have 46 of 80 approved businesses up and operating. It includes 13 cultivators, two safety compliance facilities, five processors and those 26 dispensaries.” “We moved quickly to bring relief to Kentuckians, and we’ve always put the patient first,” Beshear said, noting what he called “amazing progress” in providing legal access to medical cannabis. Last week, Beshear separately celebrated the fact that medical marijuana dispensaries are now open across all 11 licensing regions of the state following the opening of Sunnyside Dispensary in Floyd County. “Now every qualifying Kentuckian has access to safe, non-addictive relief close to home,” the governor said on Wednesday. “We’ve hit milestone after milestone, and access continues to expand,” he said. According to data Beshear cited at his latest press conference, more than 29,000 Kentuckians have now been approved for medical marijuana cards, and more than 500 medical practitioners are registered to recommend cannabis. “Folks suffering from serious conditions like PTSD, cancer, multiple sclerosis and more now have a safe alternative that can deliver relief,” he said. Beshear said in August that the state’s efforts to get medical cannabis dispensaries open was approaching the “halfway mark” to becoming “fully operational.” He also recently said that hemp is “important” to Kentucky, urging voters not to reelect any members of Congress who are seeking to ban it. Beshear signed an executive order in June to broaden the list of health conditions that make patients eligible to legally obtain medical cannabis. But days later, House Majority Whip Jason Nemes (R) asked Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) to ensure that state agencies “not cooperate” with the governor’s marijuana directive, which he called “unlawful.” “Any organization, any licensee, that participates in this unlawful expansion should be prosecuted,” Nemes said during a legislative committee hearing. “This is not the way forward.” The governor pushed back, however, saying that the GOP lawmaker exhibited a “complete lack of humanity.” “It’s helping a lot of people, and I was really surprised to see an attack from one lawmaker who called on the attorney general to prosecute people dying of a terminal illness for securing medical cannabis,” Beshear said. “I mean, that’s a complete lack of humanity. It is really low. I mean, an individual with ALS, you want to prosecute? That is certainly not leadership, and even for that individual, is a new record low.” After the legislature declined to take him up on a suggestion to expand the qualifying condition list this session, the governor used his authority to make it so patients with 15 additional health disorders—including Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell anemia, fibromyalgia, arthritis and glaucoma—can also be certified for medical marijuana access. Beshear also rescinded an earlier executive order he issued in 2022 through which he offered to provide pardons for any patients who got into trouble for possessing medical cannabis that they purchased at a legal dispensary in a neighboring state. The more recent executive order on qualifying conditions is a follow up to a medical marijuana legalization law Beshear signed in 2023. The state’s first medical cannabis dispensary opened in December of last year. The governor in February announced that cannabis gummies are available for purchase in the state’s licensed dispensaries. Beshear in January said he’s “not satisfied” with the time it’s taken to launch the state’s medical marijuana program—but that he anticipates the pace of patient access would “pick up significantly” in 2026. In recognition of the delayed implementation, he signed an executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards so that they don’t get charged again before retailers open. Beshear separately announced last year that the state had launched a new online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries will be opening near them. He emphasized that the state has been working to deliver access to patients “at the earliest possible date,” and that involved expediting the licensing process. Last year, the governor also ceremonially awarded the commonwealth’s first medical marijuana cards. During the November 2024 election, Kentucky also saw more than 100 cities and counties approve local ordinances to allow medical cannabis businesses in their jurisdictions. The governor said the election results demonstrate that “the jury is no longer out” on the issue that is clearly supported by voters across partisan and geographical lines. Meanwhile, legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Health Services held a hearing in July on a proposal to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals. Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Kentucky’s Medical Marijuana Program Is ‘Over Halfway’ Toward Being Fully Rolled Out, Governor Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Discover Bet25 CA and explore another option in the online gaming world. Whether you're researching different platforms or simply curious about new entertainment websites, there's always something new to discover. Browse the site, explore its features, and get familiar with its offerings. Take a closer look at Bet25 CA by visiting https://bet25ca.online/ and see what the platform has available.

Massachusetts lawmakers have given initial approval to legislation containing provisions aimed at increasing military veterans’ access to medical marijuana and adding new qualifying conditions to the state’s medical cannabis program. The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a supplemental budget bill that touches on a number of issues, including one section that would potentially allow veterans to receive a state medical cannabis card without having to get a recommendation from a doctor. The initial version of the legislation was filed by Gov. Maura Healey (D), though some provisions of her initial proposal were amended or removed by the Way and Means Committee on Tuesday. Third reading of the legislation in the House remains pending, after which point it would advance to consideration in the Senate. Because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to prohibit its providers from filling out medical marijuana recommendation forms, many of their veteran patients are forced to either seek outside, often expensive physician consultations or go without legal access to medical cannabis. But under the legislation that is now advancing, veterans in Massachusetts would be able to become registered medical marijuana patients by providing state officials with “official documentation from the federal Veterans Administration indicating a diagnosis of a debilitating medical condition; provided, that the [Cannabis Control Commission (CCC)] shall not require a written or electronic certification from a healthcare professional.” In other words, VA doctors wouldn’t have to specifically recommend medical cannabis in order to help their patients get legal access and could instead just diagnose them with a qualifying condition under the state’s law. That latter clause of the provision in its current form is a change from Healey’s initial proposal, which had more simply read that veterans under statute could use VA diagnosis documentation to get medical marijuana “without the need for a written or electronic certification from a healthcare professional”—without any reference to CCC. The bill as initially approved by the House also adds post-traumatic stress disorder, opioid use disorder and “a medical condition that produces chronic pain” to the definition of a “debilitating medical condition” that could qualify patents for medical cannabis. The version that was filed by the governor did not include opioid use disorder. While veterans and other adults over the age of 21 are already able to buy recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, medical cannabis purchases are exempt from sales, excise and municipal taxes that apply in the adult-use market. Medical patients also have higher purchase limits than adult-use consumers, and have access to higher potency products than are allowed in the recreational market. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — The governor’s measure, if enacted into law, will also help to ensure veterans’ continued access to cannabis if voters approve an initiative on the November ballot to roll back recreational marijuana legalization. The measure would repeal laws allowing the regulated commercial sales of recreational cannabis and home cultivation while maintaining legal possession and continuing the medical marijuana system. Despite the anti-marijuana measure qualifying for next month’s ballot, recent polls show that a majority of Massachusetts voters oppose Question 8. In April, Healey signed legislation to double the legal marijuana possession limit for adults and revise the regulatory framework for the state’s adult-use cannabis market. In 2024, the governor approved a military veterans-focused bill that includes provisions to create a psychedelics working group to study and make recommendations about the potential therapeutic benefits of substances like psilocybin and MDMA. Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Massachusetts Bill To Let Military Veterans Get Medical Marijuana Without A Doctor’s Recommendation Advances appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Most people who consume marijuana say that they will be taking candidates’ stances on cannabis policy into account when deciding who to vote for in the November elections. The new survey, conducted by the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD on behalf of NORML, found that nearly eight in 10 marijuana consumers say their decision at the ballot box will be “significantly” or “somewhat” influenced by candidates’ views on cannabis policy. “Reforming America’s failed marijuana prohibition laws enjoys bipartisan support among voters,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “Candidates and elected officials who ignore this reality do so at their own political peril.” The advocacy group reported that 83 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Republicans said candidates’ marijuana policy stances will influence while they vote. Meanwhile, 81 percent of women and 76 percent of men said the same. The poll involved interviews with 654 cannabis consumers who live in states with legal markets and has a margin of error of +/-3.83 percentage points. A separate NuggMD poll that was released this week and conducted in partnership with Marijuana Moment found that cannabis consumers’ support for the Trump administration’s actions on marijuana continues to decline as completion of a federal rescheduling proposal remains stalled amid procedural delays in an ongoing hearing on the reform. The latest quarterly presidential approval tracking poll shows that 29 percent of marijuana consumers now either “approve” or “strongly approve” of President Donald Trump’s cannabis actions. Cannabis consumers’ approval of the administration’s work on marijuana is down from 48 percent last quarter and 73 percent in the quarter before that. The most recent survey shows that 20 percent of respondents either “disapprove” or “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s cannabis accomplishments, while a majority—51 percent—now say they are neutral or have no opinion. The post Most Marijuana Consumers Will Decide Who To Vote For In Next Month’s Elections Based On Candidates’ Cannabis Stances, Poll Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“We ask the Commission to consider the time current operators will need to reach revenue, accounting for any necessary laboratory licensing or authorization and the issuance of manufacturer and dispensary licenses.” By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner Nebraska’s four licensed medical cannabis cultivators are pushing for changes to testing, fees and legal protections for healthcare providers as questions loom over when the fledgling program will provide for legal sales. Representatives for the four licensed cultivators sent a joint letter to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission on October 15 urging the commission to consider the licensing and availability of cannabis testing laboratories and the assessment of fees before the cultivators even have a “viable path to revenue.” Dustin Krajewski of Meadowlark Medicinals LLC, former state Sen. Kent Rogert of KRL Med LLC, Pat Thomas of MahāMotā Cultivation Co. and Robert Wagner of Midwest Cultivators Group signed the letter. Under the commission’s regulations, only four cultivators can be licensed. An uncertain supply chain MahāMotā, near Raymond, moved ahead with planting despite delays from the commission. The Legislature did not authorize the commission to assess fees until April, and the commission had already been working to finalize a prior set of regulations. The commission is refusing to grant more licenses until it can assess fees for future licenses. A MahāMotā representative said Monday that the company is still on track to harvest this year but sees no path to how testing facilities could legally receive, possess or test their plant. “We request an update to the current proposed regulations that provide clarification of the licensing or authorization process, who may transport samples to a laboratory, how transportation and manifest requirements apply to those transfers and whether out-of-state laboratories may be used,” the cultivators said in their letter. Commissioner Lorelle Mueting, interim commission chair, said the regulatory process has been the commission’s “primary concern,” so she couldn’t speak to the testing concerns. She instead flipped the onus on MahāMotā and said they were warned the supply chain wouldn’t be fully up and running by the time the first harvest came. “Every cultivator assured us that they could store product and that wasn’t a problem, and there was no reason to delay planting because storage was a viable option,” Mueting said. The MahāMotā representative said the company assumed a smaller time frame, maybe three to six months. Mueting said the commission never gave that estimate and had questioned whether the product could be stored for up to two years before issuing licenses. “I understand that it may degrade and all those things,” Mueting continued, “but I feel like those were things that possibly you knew or the owner of the company knew going in.” Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing and regulating medical cannabis almost two years ago, in November 2024. ‘Safe, accountable and sustainable program’ In their letter, the cultivators also expressed concern that the proposed fee structure calls for $36,500 in annual costs, before required bond premiums and other compliance costs—$23,500 to renew the license each year and $13,000 to use the commission-authorized seed-to-sale inventory tracking system. The companies said the fees should reflect the program’s “operational readiness” and licensees’ ability to “lawfully bring products to market.” “We ask the Commission to consider the time current operators will need to reach revenue, accounting for any necessary laboratory licensing or authorization and the issuance of manufacturer and dispensary licenses,” the letter states. The cultivators are also making a call to the Nebraska Legislature to provide clear legal protections for physicians who recommend the medicine, calling the law “essential to encouraging practitioner participation, supporting patient access and sustaining Nebraska’s medical cannabis industry.” Bills to do so failed to pass in 2025 and 2026. The cultivators urged commissioners to defer substantial recurring charges until such “essential components” are in place. If not, the companies suggested reduced fees or a payment schedule, such as for the $13,000 annual fee to integrate with the state’s seed-to-sale tracking. If not, the cultivators warned, the delays could risk the viability of licensed establishments, potentially requiring repeat licensing or facility development and delays for patients. Said the cultivators: “We share an opportunity, and a responsibility, to support one another’s success and build a safe, accountable and sustainable program that carries out the will of Nebraska voters.” The commission is set to consider comments on its regulations on November 16. If approved, the proposal would head to the Attorney General’s Office for review and then to the governor. This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner. Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post Nebraska Medical Marijuana Cultivators Ask State Officials To Change Rules On Testing, Fees And Doctor Protections appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Local officials in the second-most populous city have adopted a resolution opposing an initiative on the November ballot to roll back the state’s marijuana legalization law. The Worcester City Council passed the measure on Tuesday in a 6-0 vote, with 5 abstentions. “The regulated cannabis industry has become an established part of the Commonwealth’s economy, generating more than $1.6 billion in annual sales and supporting thousands of jobs in retail, cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, security, construction, professional services, and other related industries,” the resolution says. “Passage of Question 8 would place these jobs at immediate risk, force the closure of lawful businesses, disrupt contracts with local vendors, and eliminate investments made in good faith under state and municipal licensing systems.” The measure, sponsored by Mayor Joseph Petty (D), notes that the ballot initiative “would eliminate this economic activity and public revenue without eliminating the demand for marijuana, likely shifting sales away from licensed and inspected businesses and back toward an illegal market that does not test its products, verify customer age, pay taxes, create protected jobs, or answer to municipal oversight.” “Opposition to Question 8 is not an endorsement of marijuana use, but rather a recognition that a legal, carefully regulated, and accountable marketplace is preferable to an illegal and unregulated one… Massachusetts should continue improving its cannabis laws, strengthening public-health safeguards, supporting prevention and education, enforcing responsible business practices, and addressing legitimate community concerns without eliminating an entire legal industry and the jobs it provides.” Petty said ahead of Tuesday’s vote that “it’s only been a decade ago where the voters made a deliberate choice to take cannabis out of the shadows and replace an unregulated, illicit market with a strict, accountable and aggregated system,” Petty said ahead of Tuesday’s vote. “From a public safety and public health perspective, going backwards makes absolutely no sense.” Opposing Question 8 is “not about promoting cannabis,” the mayor said. “It’s about demanding accountability, keeping products tested, protecting people, preserving vital public safety, funding our neighborhoods.” Some members of the body abstained on the resolution, saying that they personally oppose the anti-cannabis ballot measure but felt it was inappropriate for the City Council to tell people how to vote. Several recent polls show that a majority of Massachusetts voters already oppose Question 8—which would repeal laws allowing the regulated commercial sales of recreational cannabis and home cultivation while maintaining legal possession and continuing the medical marijuana system. A survey from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and WCVB-TV that was released on Monday found that the anti-cannabis proposal has support from just 31 percent of voters, including 16 percent who say they will definitely vote yes and 15 percent who say they will probably vote yes. That’s compared to 47 percent who say they will definitely vote no and 14 percent who say they will probably vote no. A separate survey released on Tuesday by Suffolk University and The Boston Globe shows that 71 percent of voters Just 21 percent of voters in the poll say they plan to support the anti-cannabis ballot initiative. A previous poll released last month from CommonWealth Beacon and MassINC Polling Group found that 61 percent of likely voters oppose the anti-initiative and just 27 percent support it. A separate survey released last month by The University of New Hampshire, showed that nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of respondents planned to vote against the anti-cannabis measure, while just 24 percent planned to support it. Another poll released in August found that Massachusetts voters opposed the marijuana legalization repeal measure, 55 percent to 33 percent. The latest polling results come as the No On 8 campaign continues to rack up high-profile endorsements from elected officials. Last week, more than 50 state lawmakers said they will be voting against the anti-marijuana ballot measure. That includes the House speaker and Senate president. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) both recently told Marijuana Moment that they will be voting against the anti-cannabis measure. “We could make improvements in the operations but legalizing cannabis is better than continuing an unregulated, underground market,” Warren said. “So I’m opposed to the repeal. I’m voting no on the ballot to repeal.” Markey, for his part, said the state’s marijuana legalization law that voters approved in 2016 continues to enjoy “overwhelming support.” “We’ve had debate,” he said. “The voters are satisfied at this moment with the experience that the state has had with it… I support keeping it on the books and overwhelmingly so do the people of Massachusetts.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) also recently urged voters to reject the measure, saying that “keeping marijuana legal in Massachusetts is both economic justice and racial justice policy.” Gov. Maura Healey (D) similarly said recently that she opposes the anti-cannabis initiative, saying that “we’ve got to keep recreational marijuana here in Massachusetts.” “It’s an important industry, the cannabis industry,” the governor said. “And I hope the voters keep cannabis.” Boston’s mayor also said she is voting against the initiative to roll back marijuana legalization. Competing campaigns working to pass and defeat the legalization rollback have launched a series of ads trying to convince voters of their respective positions. The prohibitionist campaign’s ads focus on the dangers of marijuana-impaired driving, while the campaign seeking to keep cannabis sales legal is highlighting the public health and safety harms of sending consumers back to the unregulated market. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), which regulates the legal industry, announced last month that the state has surpassed $10 billion in adult-use cannabis purchases since the market launched in 2018. CCC Chair Chris Harding told Marijuana Moment that he can’t comment directly on the initiative and that the commission does not take positions on pending ballot questions or legislation, but he said that, in general, “repeal of the adult-use industry could eliminate thousands of jobs, hundreds of businesses and billions in tax revenue.” Meanwhile, a top labor union—the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Massachusetts State Council—is urging voters to reject the cannabis legalization rollback initiative. While the latest survey results provide some comfort to cannabis reform supporters, advocates are not resting. A coalition of Massachusetts marijuana business leaders, healthcare professionals and other advocates have launched a campaign to defeat the measure. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) recently issued a warning that passage of the legalization rollback measure would have “disastrous political and economic consequences for legal cannabis markets everywhere.” “Even a too-close victory would spook markets and incentivize a rash of similar initiatives in states around the country, each costing millions to try and defeat,” the group said. After the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office determined that organizers for the anti-cannabis proposal had turned in enough valid signatures to put the measure before voters, a marijuana reform advocate filed an objection with the State Ballot Law Commission claiming that various signatures were not genuine, obtained through fraudulent means or were not “signed substantially as registered.” The body rejected the challenge to the legal marijuana rollback measure, however, clearing it to go before voters to decide. In June, the campaign behind the anti-legalization ballot measure fired a signature gatherer it says was shown appearing to engage in “wholly unacceptable” conduct in a recent video. As Marijuana Moment reported, a man petitioning for the Massachusetts initiative as well as a similar anti-cannabis proposal in Maine was depicted in recent social media posts seeming to argue that voters who support legal marijuana access should sign the petitions in order to advance or protect reform. The campaign later said it has “zero tolerance for any circulation tactics that would mislead petition signers.” “The identified canvasser was immediately terminated, in coordination with our vendor, upon being made aware of the alleged conduct,” the group said. “The conduct apparent in the video would be wholly unacceptable and does not reflect how this campaign operates. We demand honesty, transparency and professionalism from everyone associated with our effort.” A video posted to Reddit of the signature gatherer shows the man collecting signatures outside a retail store in Massachusetts next to a sign that says “keep cannabis legal.” When confronted by a marijuana reform supporter who recorded the petitioner’s interactions with voters, he appeared to be trying to convince them that it is important to qualify the anti-cannabis measure for the ballot in order to then defeat it. “This is what we’re fighting against right here. That’s why we vote no,” he said. “If we can get this to the ballot right here, we vote no.” The person who captured the video pointed out that Massachusetts voters already approved marijuana legalization years ago, and that the only way it could be imminently repealed is if the new ballot measure qualified for the November election. If the initiative did not get enough signatures to go before voters, the state’s laws would remain the same. The same man also appeared to also be gathering signatures for a separate measure in Maine that would similarly repeal laws allowing regulated adult-use marijuana sales and home cultivation rights for adults while keeping possession legal and adding new testing requirements for medical cannabis. A staffer for the prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), whose affiliated group SAM Action is largely funding the anti-cannabis ballot campaigns in both states, declined to comment about the petitioner’s conduct when reached by Marijuana Moment. The campaigns have previously been accused of misleading petitioning tactics. In Massachusetts, some voters reported that the campaign used fake cover letters for other ballot measures on unrelated issues like affordable housing and same-day voter registration during the first round of petitioning. Legal cannabis supporters filed an earlier formal complaint about the prohibitionist effort’s tactics, but the State Ballot Law Commission rejected the challenge. The measure also faced a legal challenge from cannabis industry operatives who argued it contains “impermissibly unrelated subjects,” and that the state attorney general’s official summary is “misleading and deficient.” The state Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments on the litigation challenging the anti-marijuana initiative but it ultimately ruled against the lawsuit. The governor of Massachusetts last month filed legislation proposing to increase military veterans’ access to medical marijuana by allowing them to receive patient cards without having to get a doctor’s recommendation. The post Officials In Massachusetts’s Second-Largest City Urge Voters To Keep Marijuana Sales Legal appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Samantha's story hit me hard — the "have a glass of wine" advice is such a painful reminder of how little support new mothers actually get. Her honesty about being blindsided despite her sunny nature makes this so human and so necessary. Grateful she found relief. fnf unblocked

A Republican congressman is asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to coordinate with other federal and local officials to crack down on illicit marijuana cultivation operations in his California district—claiming that the problem is tied to the state’s legalization of cannabis. “Since California legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, parts of this once-quiet region, known for its natural beauty and agricultural communities, have been overtaken by a sprawling illicit marijuana industry,” Rep. James Gallagher (R-CA) wrote in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday, saying the problem is particularly prevalent in Siskiyou and Shasta Counties. “Entire rural properties are now covered with rows of makeshift, plastic-covered greenhouses, known as ‘hoop houses,’ where marijuana is cultivated using groundwater hauled in from nearby wells,” the congressman wrote. “The consequences have been devastating, with residents facing depleted water supplies and threats to their safety, while local farmers and ranchers contend with increased competition for groundwater and the risk of contamination to their agricultural land.” Gallagher raised concerns about the cannabis grows’ potential ties to Chinese-linked organized crime networks, saying there are “serious concerns about who is actually financing and controlling these operations and whether the ownership arrangements are intended to conceal their involvement.” More than 332,000 illegal marijuana plants eradicated in Siskiyou County in 2025 alone. Our sheriffs are doing everything they can, but the criminal networks behind these operations extend far beyond county lines. That's why I'm urging @FBIDirectorKash and @FBI to launch a… pic.twitter.com/z7RTXGyDPE — Rep. James Gallagher (@RepGallagherCA1) October 19, 2026 The GOP lawmaker also said the marijuana cultivation operations use “highly toxic pesticides” that “threaten first responders and can contaminate local water supplies.” “Marijuana contaminated with these toxic chemicals may also enter the illicit drug market without the testing required of licensed producers, which could unknowingly expose consumers to serious health risks,” he said, perhaps inadvertently highlighting a major benefit of legalization. “The bottom line—our local sheriffs have worked tirelessly to combat these operations, but they need federal support to dismantle the criminal networks behind them,” Gallagher said. He is asking FBI to specifically: 1) Direct the Sacramento Field Office, including its Redding Resident Agency, to work with the Siskiyou and Shasta County Sheriff’s Offices and Homeland Security Investigations to assess opportunities for a coordinated investigation into the criminal organizations financing and operating these illegal cultivation sites, including potential ties to foreign criminal networks. Where appropriate, coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding individuals involved in these operations who may be subject to removal under federal law. 2) Coordinate with EPA Region 9 and appropriate federal law enforcement partners regarding its ongoing investigation into illegal pesticides recovered at these sites, particularly to determine how these chemicals are entering the United States and whether their distribution is linked to broader criminal networks. 3) Provide my office with a briefing on the Bureau’s ongoing efforts in Northern California, including any additional resources or congressional assistance needed to address this threat, as well as the feasibility of securing additional federal funding for local marijuana eradication teams. Gallagher entered Congress earlier this year following a special election to replace Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), who died of a heart attack. During his time in the House, LaMalfa often put a focus on issues related to illicit marijuana operations—at one point posting a video of himself bulldozing illegal cannabis grows alongside law enforcement in California. The then-congressman criticized the Biden administration’s move to federally reschedule marijuana, saying it would “prop up this immoral industry” and give a “green light to the evil that comes from drug use.” He additionally sponsored legislation to combat the use of banned pesticides at illegal marijuana grow sites in states that have enacted legalization. Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post GOP Congressman Wants FBI To Investigate Illegal Marijuana Grows He Says Have ‘Overtaken’ His District Since California Legalized appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

NE gov candidate pledges medical marijuana order; Polls: MA anti-cannabis initiative trails; Study: Dispensaries benefit nearby businesses 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… BREAKING: Journalism is often consumed for free, but costs money to produce! While this newsletter is proudly sent without cost to you, our ability to send it each day depends on the financial support of readers who can afford to give it. So if you’ve got a few dollars to spare each month and believe in the work we do, please consider joining us on Patreon today. https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW The latest Marijuana Moment/NuggMD quarterly tracking poll shows that just 29 percent cannabis consumers now approve of the Trump administration’s action on the issue as the rescheduling process continues to experience delays—down from 48 percent last quarter and 73 percent in the quarter before that. Nebraska Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lynne Walz said she would sign an executive order to expedite access to medical marijuana on “day one” of her administration—suggesting she would fire Medical Cannabis Commission members who are “slow-walking” implementing voter-approved ballot initiatives. Two new polls of Massachusetts voters show that a strong majority oppose an initiative to roll back marijuana legalization on the November ballot—while The Boston Globe editorial board is also coming out against the measure, saying that “prohibition doesn’t work.” A new study found that after recreational marijuana dispensaries open, “nearby establishments exhibit increases in customers, transactions, and revenue.” “Recreational dispensaries can function similarly to localized demand-generating anchors by attracting customer activity that creates opportunities for surrounding establishments.” Roll With Paid’s Leah Kollross authored a new Marijuana Moment op-ed laying out what hemp businesses need to do to protect their ability to run payroll for their employees ahead of the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products. “When a payment processor leaves, a business loses convenience. When a payroll provider leaves, people miss paychecks, and employer liability goes through the roof.” The Colorado Office of the State Auditor published a report concluding that regulators’ framework for testing marijuana products for contamination and warning consumers about risks has significant gaps. / FEDERAL The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tweeted, “Marijuana use during pregnancy can be harmful to a baby’s health and cause many serious problems.” Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) posted photos of herself visiting a hemp business, saying, “As federal policy evolves, it’s crucial that we listen to local small businesses to understand how proposed bans impact good-paying jobs and manufacturing across Colorado.” / STATES Here’s a look at where Oklahoma gubernatorial candidates stand on cannabis. Nebraska Democratic attorney general candidate Jocelyn Brasher blamed incumbent Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) for delays in launching medical cannabis access. Florida regulators made a technical correction to a rule on practice standards for smoking as a route of administration for medical cannabis. Iowa regulators held a hearing on a proposal to move medical cannabis to Schedule III. Alabama’s top medical cannabis regulator announced plans to retire. Colorado regulators published an updated marijuana business fee schedule. Washington, D.C. regulators are taking action against unlicensed cannabis sales. Utah regulators sent updates about the state’s medical cannabis program. California regulators sent updates on various cannabis issues. Vermont regulators will hold a hearing on cannabis event pilot program procedures on Wednesday. Ohio regulators will host a cannabis conference on Thursday. Oregon regulators will host psilocybin services Rules Advisory Committee meetings next month. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / LOCAL The Kansas City, Missouri City Council is considering a proposal to use marijuana tax revenue to fund homeless services. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found “no significant associations between crime levels and legal cannabis store openings.” A review concluded that “current evidence for [psilocybin-assisted therapy] in [alcohol use disorder] is mixed but suggests preliminary signals of efficacy for reducing alcohol consumption and increasing the odds of maintaining long-term abstinence.” / BUSINESS Cannabix Technologies Inc. made the first commercial delivery of its new breath-based multi-drug test panel. 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 Trump’s support from cannabis consumers dips as rescheduling stalls (Newsletter: October 21, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with extra information? It is extremely helpful for me. result macau

“There’s an increased risk that marijuana products sold in Colorado may have contaminants or may inaccurately list potency.” By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline Colorado’s regulatory framework to test marijuana for contamination and warn consumers about risks has significant gaps, a state audit found. The recently-released audit focused on problems with product testing and inconsistent monitoring from the Marijuana Enforcement Division. Auditors did not find evidence of widespread health and safety risks, but the framework is not airtight. Colorado voters approved recreational marijuana in 2012. MED, within the state’s Department of Revenue, licenses businesses and oversees compliance with marijuana rules and laws. “It’s really a combination of factors that impacts MED’s ability to identify public safety risks and to ensure that businesses comply with safety requirements,” audit supervisor Catherine Friday told members of the Legislative Audit Committee on Monday. “As a result, there’s an increased risk that marijuana products sold in Colorado may have contaminants or may inaccurately list potency.” Businesses select their own samples, for example, and send them to private labs for potency and contaminant testing. Twenty-four other states with legalized marijuana do not allow self-selected samples and instead rely on a third party. “Is that something that’s going to be addressed?” Sen. Rod Pelton, a Cheyenne Wells Republican, asked. “Because if I’m a shady character, I know which products I’m going to sample and which ones I’m not. That’s a pretty gray area to me.” Kyle Lambert, deputy director of the marijuana division, said it’s a topic the division has researched extensively but ultimately decided against changing this year. One of the reasons is the logistics and cost challenge of getting to rural businesses around the state, he said. Third-party collections also do not guarantee samples are representative of a business’s entire batch. The division also does not have the resources to conduct on-site inspections for every business every year, though it has improved the percentage of inspected businesses in the past three years. The division’s own goal is to inspect every two years. The audit also found that the division sometimes does not issue timely safety advisories for products that could cause health concerns, and affected products could remain on shelves for months. Auditors found that between 2023 and 2025, potentially harmful marijuana products were on the market for over seven months on average before the division issued an advisory. The average timeline improved in 2025 when regulators revised advisory guidelines. Auditors recommended that the division work to make sure consumers and businesses know how to report safety concerns and continue streamlining the advisory process. The division agreed with all of the audit’s recommendations. “We recognize there are clear opportunities to improve through the audit’s recommendations, and we also appreciate the state auditor’s acknowledgment that it found no evidence to support claims of widespread health and safety issues with regulated marijuana products,” Dominique Mendiola, the division’s senior director, said. “The state auditor’s office recommendations will inform a constructive roadmap to further enhance how we build on these initiatives that we’ve taken and continue to carry out our mission.” The audit included one legislative recommendation to strengthen the state’s reference lab’s role to support marijuana enforcement operations. The lab, operated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, cannot test for pesticides, residual solvents and mycotoxins, and lab officials estimate they’d need about $13 million to increase its capacity. Lawmakers on the audit committee could vote on whether to introduce a bill related to the issue next legislative session. This story was first published by Colorado Newsline. The post Colorado’s Marijuana Product Testing Rules Have Safety Gaps, State Audit Finds appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“When a payment processor leaves, a business loses convenience. When a payroll provider leaves, people miss paychecks, and employer liability goes through the roof.” By Leah Kollross, Roll With Paid Last Thursday was the final deadline that Square gave its merchants to pull every single CBD and hemp-derived product out of their catalogs, online and in-store inventories, period. As Marijuana Moment previously reported, the company pointed to the upcoming federal redefinition of hemp as the main reason, and quietly took down a page that had once marketed its services to hemp beverage and edible sellers. Most of the coverage has focused on the products themselves. The bigger story is what Square’s notice tells us about the financial plumbing underneath them, and what comes next for the industry. Point-of-sale was the first vital piece of infrastructure to go. Payroll is where it is going to really hurt. We’ve Seen This All Before As anyone who has worked in the state-legal marijuana industry knows, the pattern is a common one. In 2023, the largest payroll provider still willing to serve cannabis companies at the time suspended key services for the sector. By one industry estimate, more than 1,000 plant-touching businesses were left scrambling for a replacement. Paychex was not an outlier. Operators have described being dropped by mainstream payroll and HR providers with as little as two to four weeks’ notice—often even with no warning beforehand. The financial mechanism is not a complicated one. Payroll runs mostly on bank transfers. Payroll companies depend on their banking partners, and when a bank’s compliance review turns up exposure to a federally controlled substance, the provider is usually told to cut it loose or the bank could lose its charter. The client didn’t do anything wrong. Unfortunately, its industry simply showed up on someone else’s risk report. Hemp Is About To Look Much Different To Every Compliance Department Congress bought the hemp industry some time this fall. The continuing resolution that passed in September pushes a scheduled federal ban on naturally derived hemp THC products from November 12 to December 11, though synthetic cannabinoids remain on the original November schedule. Whatever lawmakers do before that new deadline, risk and compliance teams at many banks and processors are not waiting to find out. Square has already decided. And it will likely not be the last. That matters enormously in a state like Minnesota, where hemp-derived THC beverages are made by craft breweries, sold in liquor stores and poured in bars and restaurants, alongside alcohol. Many of these employers have never thought of themselves as “cannabis-related businesses.” Their payroll providers may not have either, or even be aware—until now, that is. A brewery whose THC seltzer is one product line among many could find its entire payroll account under review, covering every restaurant staff worker, bartender and server, not just the people who touch the hemp products. Co-packers who don’t actually produce any hemp products that they sell themselves, are now suddenly in the legal weed business, unbeknownst to them or their investors. How Workers Will Absorb The Shock When a payment processor leaves, a business loses convenience. When a payroll provider leaves, people miss paychecks, and employer liability goes through the roof. Tax deposits go out late. Withholding errors pile up during a rushed transition and invite exactly the kind of federal scrutiny no operator in this space wants. For licensed businesses, timely tax payments are often a condition of keeping the license itself, putting them at immediate risk of being shut down completely. The people least able to absorb that disruption are the hourly workers who make up most of this industry’s workforce: budtenders, production staff, beverage line workers, bartenders. They didn’t choose their employer’s banking relationships, and they shouldn’t be the ones who pay for them. But inevitably, they will. I serve on the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Human Resources Committee, and I’ve watched operators spend enormous energy on licensing, product compliance and tax strategy while treating payroll as an afterthought, something that just works until the day it doesn’t. Hemp businesses are about to inherit that blind spot at the worst possible moment. Payroll Is Infrastructure. Let’s Treat It That Way. There are three things every cannabis and hemp employer should do before December 11. First of all, ask your payroll provider directly whether it knows what you sell, and whether its banking partners do. A provider that has never asked is not a safe provider. It’s an uninformed one, and you are one audit away from finding out. Second, and probably most importantly, understand where employer liability actually sits. Payroll software calculates checks, but you remain the employer of record and carry every statutory obligation that comes with it. An employer-of-record arrangement moves that legal employer role, and the compliance obligations attached to it, to a provider built to carry them. These are different products solving different problems, and operators should know which one they have. Third, have a contingency plan before you need one. Two weeks is not enough time to onboard a new provider cleanly, migrate employee records and get tax filings right. Policymakers have a role here, too. Congress has spent most of this year debating whether hemp-derived THC should be legal. Far less attention has gone to whether the businesses selling it can access basic financial services. Proposals like the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act from Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), which would empower states and tribal governments to regulate hemp products rather than impose a blanket federal ban, point in the right direction. But any durable framework has to account for the banking and payroll access these businesses need to operate. A product that is legal on paper but unbankable in practice is not a regulatory framework. It’s just a slower ban. The Window Is Very Short The hemp and cannabis industries have spent years fighting for the right to exist, and that fight matters. But legal status is only half of what a business needs to operate. The other half is the ordinary infrastructure every other employer takes for granted: a bank account, a payment processor, a payroll run that clears on Friday. Cannabis operators learned that lesson the hard way, one terminated contract at a time. Hemp businesses have the advantage of watching it happen to someone else first. The ones that use the next few weeks to ask hard questions of their providers, understand their obligations as employers and line up a backup plan will be in a far better position than the ones that wait for the notice to arrive. December 11 is two months away. Your payroll provider’s compliance team may not wait that long. Leah Kollross is the founder of Roll With Paid., a Minnesota-based payroll, HR and employer-of-record company serving the cannabis and hemp industries, and of 23rd State, a Minnesota-based cannabis beverage brand. She is a member of the (NCIA) National Cannabis Industry Association’s Human Resources Committee. The post Hemp Businesses Are About To Learn What Marijuana Operators Already Know: Payroll Can Disappear Overnight (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Democratic candidate running to be Nebraska’s next governor is promising to issue an executive order to expedite access to medical marijuana on “day one” of her administration if she is elected. Lynne Walz said it’s “a really sad situation” that the administration of her opponent, incumbent Gov. Jim Pillen (R), has failed to stand up a medical cannabis program nearly two years after voters’ approval of legalization ballot measures. “Day one, I will sign an executive order…to make sure that people can get medical marijuana with prescriptions from their doctors,” Walz said in an interview with WOWT-TV. The Democratic candidate also suggested that she would replace Pillen-appointed members of the Medical Cannabis Commission for not getting the program off the ground quickly enough. “The other thing that we’ll look at is making sure that the people who are on this commission that are slow-walking access to medical marijuana—if they’re not going to do the job that we need them to do, the job that Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted for—if they can’t get that done, then we’ll find other people who will take that job seriously,” she said. Walz also spoke about a Vietnam veteran neighbor of hers with Parkinson’s disease who “shook uncontrollably” and “had really bad PTSD.” “He would have really benefited from medical marijuana,” she said. “So, for the governor to hold back on allowing people to get prescriptions from their doctors and be able to access medical marijuana is, you know—especially that, given that 71 percent of Nebraskans voted for it, to not uphold the will of the people and hold that access back from people and patients who really need it—is sad.” “I’ve traveled across the state, and that is one of the number one issues that people are upset about,” Walz said, “is the fact that they have voted for ballot initiatives and the governor’s not upholding the will of the people.” Medical cannabis advocates have criticized the governor-appointed medical cannabis regulatory body for advancing rules that would scale back the scope of the voter-approved legalization ballot measures by, for example, restricting the list of qualifying conditions and limiting the forms of products that could be legally consumed by patients. Other state officials, including Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) have pursued litigation seeking to invalidate the medical cannabis legalization measures. The post Nebraska Democratic Governor Candidate Pledges Medical Marijuana Executive Order On ‘Day One’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The opening of recreational marijuana dispensaries can help boost nearby businesses by increasing foot traffic, purchases and revenue, according to a new study. Researchers from the City University of New York, Northern Illinois University and University of Miami examined cannabis market growth, credit and debit card purchases and socioeconomic and demographic data in Illinois from 2021 through 2024, finding that “recreational dispensary openings increase the number of customers at nearby establishments by approximately 6.82%, transactions by 8.01%, and revenue by 7.47%.” The economic gains are largely seen through what researchers call the extensive margin (customer traffic) as opposed to the intensive margin (purchasing frequency). That is, while revenue per customer and per transaction was largely unaffected, the overall number of customers coming through the door and the overall amount of transactions did increase. “Following a dispensary opening, nearby establishments exhibit increases in customers, transactions, and revenue.” The study, published as a preprint by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) ahead of potential publication in the journal Production and Operations Management, also found that not all businesses near a new marijuana dispensary see the same benefits—with food and beverage establishments as well as essential retailers seeing “significant gains” while non-essential retailers saw no major changes. “Food, beverages, and routinely purchased goods can be incorporated into a destination-oriented trip with relatively little additional planning or search,” the paper said. “Many non-essential purchases require a more specific need or greater expenditure commitment. Proximity therefore creates access to additional customer flows, but it does not guarantee that an establishment can convert those flows into demand.” The “positive spillovers” where also “concentrated among chain establishments, with no statistically significant effects for independent establishments,” the researchers wrote. “Chains may benefit from brand familiarity, standardized offerings, and established operating systems that facilitate the capture of additional customer activity.” The positive economic effect of cannabis dispensaries leads to “larger increases in customer volume, transactions, and revenue in more walkable neighborhoods,” the study found, whereas the boost is “weaker for establishments with a larger local customer base, suggesting that establishments with more geographically dispersed customer bases may have greater capacity to capture incremental demand generated by dispensary-related activity.” “Dispensary openings increase nearby business activity.” Positive revenue boosts are also more pronounced on weekends, “when consumers may have greater flexibility to engage in destination-oriented and multipurpose trips,” the analysis showed. “Overall, our findings suggest that recreational dispensaries can function similarly to localized demand-generating anchors by attracting customer activity that creates opportunities for surrounding establishments,” the study said. The researchers cautioned that the study has some limitations, including that it only looked at trends in a single state and that it focused on observational data rather than direct sales records from individual establishments. “This study shows that recreational dispensary openings can reshape demand beyond the cannabis industry by generating economic activity for nearby businesses,” the paper concluded. “The benefits, however, are not evenly distributed, indicating that proximity alone does not determine whether surrounding establishments gain from a new entrant. Instead, the value of dispensary-generated customer flows depends on the characteristics of nearby businesses and the local commercial environment.” Previous research has also examined the economic impacts of legal marijuana access. A study published last year found that “hotel revenue increases by 25.2% (or $63,671 monthly) due to dispensary legalization, with the effect continuing to grow even six years after legalization.” Another study from last year should that home values in states with cannabis legalization increased by $60,327 more, on average, than home values in jurisdictions that still criminalize the drug. A study from 2021 found that legalization of adult-use marijuana in Colorado increased jobs and did not negatively impact worker productivity. The post Opening Legal Marijuana Dispensaries Provides An Economic Boost For Nearby Businesses, Study Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Most Massachusetts voters are not planning to support an initiative on the November ballot to roll back the state’s marijuana legalization law, according to two new polls—results that come as the editorial board of the state’s largest newspaper is also opposing the measure. A survey from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and WCVB-TV that was released on Monday found that the anti-cannabis proposal has support from just 31 percent of voters, including 16 percent who say they will definitely vote yes and 15 percent who say they will probably vote yes. That’s compared to 47 percent who say they will definitely vote no and 14 percent who say they will probably vote no. The marijuana legalization rollback initiative has less support in the poll than any of the eight other measures that will appear on next month’s ballot. “Supporters of repealing legal marijuana sales face a steep uphill climb,” Raymond La Raja, professor of political science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll, said. “A decade after legalization, Massachusetts voters show little appetite for going back, as 61% say they would vote no on repealing recreational marijuana sales, and 47% say they would definitely vote no.” “Only 31% of voters support repeal,” he said. “Support for repeal is strongest among Republicans (44%) and conservatives (46%), but it falls well short of a majority in every major group we surveyed, including voters who don’t use marijuana (41%).” A separate survey released on Tuesday by Suffolk University and The Boston Globe shows that 71 percent of voters oppose Question 8—which would repeal laws allowing the regulated commercial sales of recreational cannabis and home cultivation while maintaining legal possession and continuing the medical marijuana system. Just 21 percent of voters in the poll say they plan to support the anti-cannabis ballot initiative. As is the case in the UMass/WCVB survey, no demographic group in the Suffolk/Globe poll shows majority support for Question 8. The Suffolk/Globe poll is based on interviews of 500 general election voters from October 14-17 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points, while the UMass Amherst/WCVB survey involved interviews with 852 registered voters from October 5 –12 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points. Meanwhile, The Boston Globe editorial board on Tuesday published a piece urging voters to reject the anti-cannabis ballot measure. “To be clear, voting to maintain legal marijuana sales is not the same as encouraging marijuana use or denying its harms,” the board said. “But the question before voters is not whether marijuana can harm one’s health—it can, just as tobacco and alcohol can. The question is whether allowing sales in a store, with requirements around testing and labeling, is better than returning to the prior system, where people bought marijuana on the black market.” The board said that “prohibition doesn’t work” and that it is safer for people to buy cannabis “from a store, where the drug is tested for pesticides and contaminants and labeled with information about potency and plant strain, rather than buy from a dealer with no guarantee of quality.” The editorial also detailed the economic benefits that legal and regulated marijuana sales generate, including tax revenue and job creation. A previous poll released last month from CommonWealth Beacon and MassINC Polling Group found that 61 percent of likely voters oppose the anti-initiative and just 27 percent support it. A separate survey released last month by The University of New Hampshire, showed that nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of respondents planned to vote against the anti-cannabis measure, while just 24 percent planned to support it. Another poll released in August found that Massachusetts voters opposed the marijuana legalization repeal measure, 55 percent to 33 percent. The latest polling results come as the No On 8 campaign continues to rack up high-profile endorsements from elected officials. Last week, more than 50 state lawmakers said they will be voting against the anti-marijuana ballot measure. That includes the House speaker and Senate president. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) both recently told Marijuana Moment that they will be voting against the anti-cannabis measure. “We could make improvements in the operations but legalizing cannabis is better than continuing an unregulated, underground market,” Warren said. “So I’m opposed to the repeal. I’m voting no on the ballot to repeal.” Markey, for his part, said the state’s marijuana legalization law that voters approved in 2016 continues to enjoy “overwhelming support.” “We’ve had debate,” he said. “The voters are satisfied at this moment with the experience that the state has had with it… I support keeping it on the books and overwhelmingly so do the people of Massachusetts.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) also recently urged voters to reject the measure, saying that “keeping marijuana legal in Massachusetts is both economic justice and racial justice policy.” Gov. Maura Healey (D) similarly said recently that she opposes the anti-cannabis initiative, saying that “we’ve got to keep recreational marijuana here in Massachusetts.” “It’s an important industry, the cannabis industry,” the governor said. “And I hope the voters keep cannabis.” Boston’s mayor also said she is voting against the initiative to roll back marijuana legalization. Competing campaigns working to pass and defeat the legalization rollback have launched a series of ads trying to convince voters of their respective positions. The prohibitionist campaign’s ads focus on the dangers of marijuana-impaired driving, while the campaign seeking to keep cannabis sales legal is highlighting the public health and safety harms of sending consumers back to the unregulated market. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), which regulates the legal industry, announced last month that the state has surpassed $10 billion in adult-use cannabis purchases since the market launched in 2018. CCC Chair Chris Harding told Marijuana Moment that he can’t comment directly on the initiative and that the commission does not take positions on pending ballot questions or legislation, but he said that, in general, “repeal of the adult-use industry could eliminate thousands of jobs, hundreds of businesses and billions in tax revenue.” Meanwhile, a top labor union—the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Massachusetts State Council—is urging voters to reject the cannabis legalization rollback initiative. While the latest survey results provide some comfort to cannabis reform supporters, advocates are not resting. A coalition of Massachusetts marijuana business leaders, healthcare professionals and other advocates have launched a campaign to defeat the measure. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) recently issued a warning that passage of the legalization rollback measure would have “disastrous political and economic consequences for legal cannabis markets everywhere.” “Even a too-close victory would spook markets and incentivize a rash of similar initiatives in states around the country, each costing millions to try and defeat,” the group said. After the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office determined that organizers for the anti-cannabis proposal had turned in enough valid signatures to put the measure before voters, a marijuana reform advocate filed an objection with the State Ballot Law Commission claiming that various signatures were not genuine, obtained through fraudulent means or were not “signed substantially as registered.” The body rejected the challenge to the legal marijuana rollback measure, however, clearing it to go before voters to decide. In June, the campaign behind the anti-legalization ballot measure fired a signature gatherer it says was shown appearing to engage in “wholly unacceptable” conduct in a recent video. As Marijuana Moment reported, a man petitioning for the Massachusetts initiative as well as a similar anti-cannabis proposal in Maine was depicted in recent social media posts seeming to argue that voters who support legal marijuana access should sign the petitions in order to advance or protect reform. The campaign later said it has “zero tolerance for any circulation tactics that would mislead petition signers.” “The identified canvasser was immediately terminated, in coordination with our vendor, upon being made aware of the alleged conduct,” the group said. “The conduct apparent in the video would be wholly unacceptable and does not reflect how this campaign operates. We demand honesty, transparency and professionalism from everyone associated with our effort.” A video posted to Reddit of the signature gatherer shows the man collecting signatures outside a retail store in Massachusetts next to a sign that says “keep cannabis legal.” When confronted by a marijuana reform supporter who recorded the petitioner’s interactions with voters, he appeared to be trying to convince them that it is important to qualify the anti-cannabis measure for the ballot in order to then defeat it. “This is what we’re fighting against right here. That’s why we vote no,” he said. “If we can get this to the ballot right here, we vote no.” The person who captured the video pointed out that Massachusetts voters already approved marijuana legalization years ago, and that the only way it could be imminently repealed is if the new ballot measure qualified for the November election. If the initiative did not get enough signatures to go before voters, the state’s laws would remain the same. The same man also appeared to also be gathering signatures for a separate measure in Maine that would similarly repeal laws allowing regulated adult-use marijuana sales and home cultivation rights for adults while keeping possession legal and adding new testing requirements for medical cannabis. A staffer for the prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), whose affiliated group SAM Action is largely funding the anti-cannabis ballot campaigns in both states, declined to comment about the petitioner’s conduct when reached by Marijuana Moment. The campaigns have previously been accused of misleading petitioning tactics. In Massachusetts, some voters reported that the campaign used fake cover letters for other ballot measures on unrelated issues like affordable housing and same-day voter registration during the first round of petitioning. Legal cannabis supporters filed an earlier formal complaint about the prohibitionist effort’s tactics, but the State Ballot Law Commission rejected the challenge. The measure also faced a legal challenge from cannabis industry operatives who argued it contains “impermissibly unrelated subjects,” and that the state attorney general’s official summary is “misleading and deficient.” The state Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments on the litigation challenging the anti-marijuana initiative but it ultimately ruled against the lawsuit. The governor of Massachusetts last month filed legislation proposing to increase military veterans’ access to medical marijuana by allowing them to receive patient cards without having to get a doctor’s recommendation. The post Massachusetts Voters Want To Keep Marijuana Sales Legal, Two New Polls On Prohibitionist Ballot Measure Show appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Marijuana consumers’ support for the Trump administration’s actions on cannabis continues to decline as completion of a federal rescheduling proposal remains stalled amid procedural delays in an ongoing hearing on the reform, a new survey shows. The latest quarterly presidential approval tracking poll from NuggMD and Marijuana Moment shows that 29 percent of marijuana consumers now either “approve” or “strongly approve” of the President Donald Trump’s cannabis actions. Cannabis consumers’ approval of the administration’s work on marijuana is down from 48 percent last quarter and 73 percent in the quarter before that. The most recent survey shows that 20 percent of respondents either “disapprove” or “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s cannabis accomplishments, while a majority—51 percent—now say they are neutral or have no opinion. “Do you approve or disapprove of the presidential administration’s actions on cannabis?” n: % Strongly approve 41 6% Approve 148 23% No opinion/Neutral 331 51% Disapprove 75 11% Strongly disapprove 59 9% Republicans were more likely to approve the administration’s marijuana policy performance than Democrats were, at 46 percent compared to 18 percent, while 26 percent of respondents who aren’t affiliated with either of the two major political parties hold favorable views. Attorney General Todd Blanche in April issued an order that immediately reclassified state-licensed medical cannabis, as well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III. Under a separate order the acting attorney general signed, a hearing is considering more comprehensively moving marijuana to Schedule III, including recreational products. Testimony in the cannabis rescheduling hearing, overseen by a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) judge, concluded in July, but the proceedings have since been stayed as opponents have filed a series of motions related to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that identified “gaps” in the federal drug scheduling process. The delay in the process may be contributing to cannabis consumers’ reduced sense of satisfaction with the Trump administration’s actions on the issue—a development that comes ahead of midterm elections that will decide which party controls either chamber of Congress during the final two years of the president’s term. A separate recent NuggMD poll conducted in July found that most cannabis consumers aren’t optimistic that marijuana rescheduling will be fully implemented by the end of the year. “Cannabis consumers are an increasingly powerful voting bloc with the numbers to swing elections. Earlier this year, it looked like the Trump Administration had found a way to tap into that voting bloc when they rescheduled medical cannabis,” Tyler Elson, NuggMD’s director of content, told Marijuana Moment. “But that support has fallen off sharply since then, with approval of the administration’s cannabis actions dropping to less than half of what it was six months ago.” “It isn’t complicated. Consumers want cannabis to be accessible, accepted, and accurately labeled,” he said. “But party divides, hearing delays, and mixed messages on hemp have all reminded consumers that U.S. politicians have a long history of failing to deliver on cannabis policy change.” “That support can be recovered with clear guidance on medical cannabis or the recent rescheduling hearing,” Elson said. “But in trying to appeal to consumers and prohibitionists, the administration may be losing the support of both groups.” When asked in the latest poll how their support for the administration would change if it were to more fully legalize marijuana, 47 percent of cannabis consumers said they would either support it much more (32 percent) or a bit more (15 percent), and 52 percent said their level of support would not change. “If the Trump administration were to more fully legalize cannabis, would that change your level of support for it?” n: % I would support it much more 207 32% I would support it a bit more 98 15% No change 341 52% I would support it a bit less 6 1% I would support it much less 2 0% The new survey involved interviews with 654 cannabis consumers who live in states with legal markets from October 8-15, with a +/-3.83 percentage point margin of error. Meanwhile, DEA, which has been charged with defending the rescheduling proposal during the hearing, focused testimony on the medical benefits of cannabis and its relative safety compared to alcohol and other substances—despite excluding reform supporters from participating in the proceedings. The cannabis rescheduling move is also being challenged in court through a number of lawsuits from the drug testing industry, a pharmaceutical corporation, legalization opponents and others. The results of a prior quarterly NuggMD/Marijuana Moment tracking poll that was conducted in the first quarter of this year represented a massive swing in support for the Trump administration’s marijuana policy actions compared to the last quarter of 2025, before the president issued an executive order directing officials to finalize rescheduling—when just 6 percent of cannabis consumers held favorable views. Then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in April that the administration is moving forward with marijuana rescheduling because cannabis reform is “overwhelmingly popular” with voters and because doing so will help people who need access to the drug for medical purposes. In May, a House committee voted to block federal officials from taking further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling. The post Trump Is Losing Support From Marijuana Consumers As Rescheduling Process Sees More Delays, Poll Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

I am impressed. I don't think Ive met anyone who knows as much about this subject as you do. You are truly well informed and very intelligent. You wrote something that people could understand and made the subject intriguing for everyone. Really, great blog you have got here. FUFU4D

Hemp company sends THC drinks to congressional lawmakers; NORML brief in marijuana biz lawsuit; MPP hemp op-ed 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 A new survey conducted by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that 61 percent of military veterans support legalizing recreational marijuana, 87 percent want to allow medical use, 67 percent back federal rescheduling and 91 percent believe cannabis should be researched for its medical potential. NORML filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider a ruling that found marijuana industry contracts are unenforceable due to federal prohibition—saying it “threatens commercial accountability in lawful state-regulated cannabis markets and, ultimately, the medical patients and adult-use consumers those markets serve.” Hemp THC drink company Herb Light is allowing customers on its website to add in a six-pack of cannabis beverages to be sent to their members of Congress as the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products is set to take effect before the end of this year. Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Adam Smith argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that while hemp regulations are “inadequate” and marijuana businesses face “absurdly overbearing” rules, “the answer cannot be a return to full prohibition and skyrocketing arrests and imprisonment” in states where consumers rely on legal access to hemp THC products. “I also understand and empathize with the consternation of those on the licensed marijuana business side who are locked into an absurdly restricted system built to accommodate a dying prohibitionist regime, while hemp operators (the good ones) are selling the same molecule with the advantages of far broader retail opportunities, access to banking and card transactions, advantageous tax treatment and interstate commerce. This division, at once under- and over-regulated, is not the cannabis and cannabinoid industry that any of us need.” / FEDERAL The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tweeted, “Marijuana use comes with real risks to health.” Reps. Jack Berman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA) coauthored an op-ed about the need to craft effective regulations for psychedelic-assisted therapy. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) said hemp is a substitute crop for tobacco for Kentucky’s farmers. / STATES Tennessee gubernatorial candidates detailed their views on marijuana policy. Nebraska Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lynne Walz said she would replace the Medical Cannabis Commission if it doesn’t implement the will of voters more quickly. California regulators announced a recall of marijuana products due to packaging failure. Illinois regulators are proposing rules changes to create 45 new cannabis infuser licenses for applicants who meet social equity criteria. There are conflicting reports about whether Alabama’s top medical cannabis regulator will step down at the end of this month. The Colorado state auditor issued a critical report finding “deficiencies and gaps in the State’s marijuana product safety framework.” Oregon regulators will consider changes to hemp registry application rules on Wednesday. The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission will meet on Friday. New York regulators will begin accepting applications for cannabis nursery licenses on November 5. — 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 Saint Anthony Village, Minnesota government-run marijuana dispensary is set to open on Saturday. / INTERNATIONAL The Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism is opposing a bill to decriminalize drug possession. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “cannabis retail access was not consistently linked to youth use.” A study found that “repeated psilocybin administration is tolerable and potentially efficacious in reducing [obsessive-compulsive disorder] symptoms.” / BUSINESS Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. pushed back against Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s recommendation that its shareholders reject Curaleaf’s unsolicited acquisition offer. A Glass House Brands Inc. board of directors member resigned. The CEO of La Mota is facing federal charges of allegedly failing to pay more than $1.5 million in taxes. 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 Military veterans support legalizing cannabis, poll shows (Newsletter: October 20, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net