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South Carolina patients could get legal access to medical marijuana under a little-known state law that could be triggered by the Trump administration’s federal cannabis rescheduling move. State Sen. Tom Davis (R), who has sponsored bills to legalize medical cannabis over a number of sessions, told The Post and Courier that the federal action kicks off “a chain of legal consequences in South Carolina that the General Assembly can no longer ignore.” Specifically, an existing South Carolina law says that “if a substance is added, deleted, or rescheduled as a controlled substance pursuant to federal law or regulation,” officials then have 30 days to reschedule the drug in the “appropriate schedule” under state law. A separate law, the South Carolina Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act, passed in 1980, sets up a program through with cancer and glaucoma patients could obtain medical cannabis “through whatever means” the state health commissioner “deems most appropriate consistent with federal law.” Under the legislation, a Review Advisory Board could “include other disease groups for participation in the controlled substances therapeutic research program after pertinent medical data have been presented by a practitioner to both the Commissioner and the board and after necessary approval is received by the appropriate federal agencies.” Gov. Henry McMaster’s (R) office confirmed to The Post and Courier that South Carolina law will “require the State to mirror the new federal order” on marijuana rescheduling. Separately, the South Carolina Department of Public Health told the newspaper that officials are “aware of the proposed rescheduling of medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act” and are “assessing the impacts to DPH and the state of South Carolina.” Davis, the senator who has sponsored medical cannabis legalization legislation, said his bill “provides exactly the model we need: physician authorization on the front end, licensed cultivation and processing in the middle, and pharmacist dispensing on the back end—a patient-centered framework that protects patients, ensures product safety, and provides the regulatory clarity that both the public and the healthcare community deserve.” .@postandcourier: “The South Carolina Compassionate Care Act provides the medical-cannabis model we need: physician authorization on the front end and pharmacist dispensing on the back end to protect patients and ensure product safety,” said Sen. Tom Davis.https://t.co/NcIkekO7rk — Tom Davis (@SenTomDavisSC) April 25, 2026 Last year, South Carolina’s governor said there’s a “compelling” case to be made for legalizing medical marijuana in the state, despite reservations from law enforcement. McMaster said at the time that he thinks supporters of the reform have a “very compelling situation,” despite the fact that “law enforcement, almost end-to-end, still have grave concerns.” “I think what we need to do is study it very carefully, get as much information as we can and try to do the right thing,” he said. The office of House Speaker Murrell Smith (R) tempered expectations, however, referencing what he viewed as insufficient support within the GOP caucus to advance the reform through his chamber. An earlier version of Davis’s cannabis measure passed the Senate in the 2024 session but was never taken up in the House. He filed a new version for the 2025 session, but it did not advance. “It requires doctors in patient authorization, doctor supervision,” Davis said at the time. “It requires pharmacists to dispense it. It is a very conservative bill, because that’s what South Carolinians want.” As introduced, the legislation would allow patients to access medical marijuana from “therapeutic cannabis pharmacies,” which would be licensed by the state Board of Pharmacy. Individuals would need to receive a doctor’s recommendation for the treatment of certain qualifying conditions, which include several specific ailments as well as terminal illnesses and chronic diseases where opioids are the standard of care. Among the public, medical marijuana legalization enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in the state, with a 2024 poll finding that 93 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of independents back the reform. The state Senate passed an earlier version of the legislation in 2022, but it stalled in the opposite body over a procedural hiccup. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — When senators began debating the medical marijuana legislation in 2024, the body adopted an amendment that clarifies the bill does not require landlords or people who control property to allow vaporization of cannabis products. As debate on the legislation continued, members clashed over whether the current version of the legislation contains major differences from an earlier iteration that the body passed in 2022. Certain lawmakers have also raised concerns that medical cannabis legalization would lead to broader reform to allow adult-use marijuana, that it could put pharmacists with roles in dispensing cannabis in jeopardy and that federal law could preempt the state’s program, among other worries. After Davis’s Senate-passed medical cannabis bill was blocked in the House in 2022, he tried another avenue for the reform proposal, but that similarly failed on procedural grounds. The lawmaker has called the stance of his own party, particularly as it concerns medical marijuana, “an intellectually lazy position that doesn’t even try to present medical facts as they currently exist.” The post South Carolina Patients Could Get Medical Marijuana Access Under State Laws Triggered By Federal Rescheduling appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Louisiana lawmakers have approved a bill that threatens to send people to jail for up to one year if they smoke marijuana within 2,000 feet of a school property—including a college campus. The legislation from Rep. Gabe Firment (R) was passed by the House of Representatives in a 59-34 vote last week. HB 568, which now heads to the Senate for consideration, applies to people who violate drug laws “while smoking, vaping, or otherwise abusing such controlled dangerous substance while on any property used for school purposes by any school, within two thousand feet of any such property, or while on a school bus.” The pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) said the “incredibly draconian penalties” in the legislation threaten to reverse cannabis reform progress made in the state in recent years. In 2021, then-Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed a bill decriminalizing marijuana by removing the threat of jail time for possessing up to 14 grams. “HB 568 would make cannabis use a felony in huge swaths of urban and suburban areas. Two thousand feet is a little over ⅓ of a mile,” Kevin Caldwell, MPP”s Southeast legislative manager, said in an action alert to supporters. “In addition to mandatory incarceration of up to a year, the bill includes a fine of up to $1,000.” “This is an attempt to bring back the draconian penalties that Louisiana was infamous for in decades past. This bill seeks to undo years of hard work by advocates for ending jail time for minor cannabis offenses,” he said. “Under this legislation, a student could be incarcerated for a year for consuming in a college dorm room.” — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, the Louisiana Senate also recently passed a bill to let patients with terminal and irreversible conditions use medical marijuana in hospitals. The Senate separately approved legislation to create a psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program, using opioid settlement dollars to fund clinical trials aimed at developing alternative treatments such as psilocybin and ibogaine. Another lawmaker also recently introduced a bill to create an adult-use marijuana legalization pilot program in the state to determine whether the reform should eventually be expanded and permanently codified. Rep. Candace Newell (D)—who has long championed legislation to end cannabis criminalization and filed a similar legal marijuana pilot program measure last session—is sponsoring what’s titled the “Adult-Use Cannabis Pilot Program Regulation and Enforcement Act.” Getting the bill across the finish line could prove complicated in the conservative legislature, however. Newell’s earlier version of the pilot program legislation didn’t advance to enactment last year, and lawmakers that session also rejected other marijuana reform proposals such as one that would have established a tax system to prepare the eventual legalization of adult-use cannabis. The post Louisiana Lawmakers Pass Bill To Send People To Jail For Smoking Marijuana Near College Campuses appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“You’ve got to take what’s evolved over time. [If you] stick your head in the sand, you’re generally going to make the wrong decision.” By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) has signaled a growing willingness to legalize marijuana, noting the Hoosier State is “surrounded” by states that have legalized the drug to some degree. Illinois, Michigan and Ohio allow recreational use, while Kentucky has authorized medicinal. “I’m going to do what makes sense,” Braun told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve said law enforcement will be important. I’ve been talking to them, and now, the amount of traffic that crosses the border, you know, it’s noticeable. So, all of that will be taken into consideration.” President Donald Trump’s administration this week rescheduled medical marijuana—subject to a state license—to a less restrictive category, but kept recreational use in the list of drugs with the highest potential for abuse. But the administration has also kicked off an expedited administrative hearing process to consider reconsider that classification. “I think the fact that the feds made that move, that makes it more likely,” Braun said. “You’re going to need to ask the legislators and the leaders in those two chambers to see what they’re thinking, because I’m clear in terms of where I’m at,” he continued. “You’ve got to take what’s evolved over time. [If you] stick your head in the sand, you’re generally going to make the wrong decision.” As a gubernatorial candidate in 2024, Braun said he was possibly willing to consider allowing medical-use sales, but not recreational, Fox59 reported. The governor’s comments on Tuesday came shortly before the release of a study on the current status of marijuana and other intoxicating cannabinoids in Indiana, and another study on considerations for marijuana regulations if the state did decide to ease up on the drug. The pair of reports were conducted by RAND on behalf of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, which seeks to advance health, education and more in the city of Indianapolis. Emi Whitesell, the vice president of impact and evaluation, said Fairbanks commissioned the research in 2024 to fill a gap in reliable data centered on Indiana. “We don’t have a position,” Whitesell said of marijuana legalization. “This is purely informative. We know there have been so many conversations…about potentially changing our marijuana policies… It’s so complex and it’s sometimes hard to get really good data and really good information about it.” Much of the research on legalization focuses on states that already have already authorized the drug for medicinal use, unlike Indiana, the foundation found. The Hoosier State is one of 10 states that hasn’t legalized medical marijuana, let alone recreational. Despite that, residents can access intoxicating cannabinoids and marijuana itself relatively easily, according to Fairbanks. That’s because Indiana hasn’t banned or regulated the sale of products with delta-8 THC, THCA or other intoxicating cannabinoids. State legislative efforts have failed repeatedly. Now, such products are “ubiquitous,” researchers wrote. A federal ban will go into effect in November, although several bills have been filed to delay that. Additionally, researchers found that 44 percent of Hoosiers, or nearly 3 million people, live within a 50-mile drive of at least one licensed dispensary in another state. A whopping 96 percent, or 5.6 million people, live within a 100-mile drive. “In practical terms, almost all Hoosiers who wish to purchase cannabis from a retail store can do so with a roundtrip drive of fewer than four hours,” they wrote. Researchers estimated that residents spend about $1.8 million on marijuana annually, and that Indiana’s criminal justice system spends $10 million-$20 million on enforcement annually. They also explored a range of policy routes Indiana could pursue. The first, in which the state maintains its prohibition, involves no change. The state could also reduce criminal penalties for marijuana possession by directing law enforcement to treat it as low priority, reduce fines or jail time, or eliminate criminal penalties for small amounts in favor of civil citations. The state could make it easier to expunge or seal past convictions for possession, or even automatically perform those actions for convictions after a set period. Indiana could also join the 24 states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Researchers laid out 14 major policy decisions leaders would have to make, including: who could grow, refine and sell marijuana; at what level to tax marijuana and more. All of those policy levels would figure into a medical marijuana system, according to Fairbanks, along with four more considerations: what conditions qualify for use, what medical professionals could recommend someone obtain a license, the cost of a license and who could procure the marijuana for patients who can’t travel to buy it or grow it at home themselves. The state and local governments would still spend money on enforcement even if marijuana is legalized in some form, researchers noted. Driving under the influence and possessing the drug underage would likely remain banned, for instance. New costs could include licensing, inspections, testing and more. But legalization could bring in $180 million in tax revenue annually by the fifth year, researchers estimated — or 1 percent of the state’s $18 billion General Fund. Revenue depends on a variety of factors, however, and could range from $100 million at the low end to $270 million at the high end. Reporter Mackenzi Klemann contributed. This story was first published by Indiana Capital Chronicle. The post Indiana Is ‘More Likely’ To Legalize Marijuana Now That It’s Been Federally Rescheduled, Governor Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

MD gov signs marijuana workplace rights bill; NC medical cannabis momentum; Study: Cannabis as ancient “core crop” Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Hold on, just one second before you read today’s news. Have you thought about giving some financial support to Marijuana Moment? If so, today would be a great day to contribute. We’re planning our reporting for the coming months and it would really help to know what kind of support we can count on. Check us out on Patreon and sign up to give $25/month today: https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Competing congressional amendments to either delay or speed up the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products won’t get House floor votes this week after one was withdrawn and the other was blocked by the House Rules Committee. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed a bill to let firefighters and rescue workers use medical cannabis off duty without being punished for it. North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said members of his caucus will discuss whether to advance legislation to legalize medical cannabis in light of federal marijuana rescheduling moving forward. A new archaeological study found evidence that “by the Late Neolithic, cannabis became a core crop in northern China”—with processing and consumption “deeply integrated into daily life.” “Cannabis processing and consumption were deeply integrated into the daily lives of the inhabitants, making it an indispensable component of their agricultural subsistence.” Leah Kollross of 23rd State argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that most cannabis beverage companies “cannot prove their products do what they claim” because they do not “invest in any form of independent product validation.” “The industry cannot ask for nuanced, evidence-informed regulation while simultaneously declining to produce the evidence that would make that possible.” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) largely dodged questions about how federal marijuana rescheduling impacts their state, while Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said “I support this move by the administration.” The Virginia delegate who sponsored a recreational marijuana sales legalization bill said he hopes the governor doesn’t veto the proposal after the legislature rejected her proposed amendments, and said lawmakers will work with her next year to address her concerns. / FEDERAL Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said during oral arguments in a case on law enforcement use of geofence warrants that phone data can “follow you to a cannabis shop.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “Recently I stopped in Bedford, KY to visit Pharm CBD to talk about the future of the hemp industry in Kentucky. Joined by @RepThomasMassie, hemp industry leaders, and community members, we discussed next steps, like my bipartisan Hemp Safety Enforcement Act.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) tweeted, “I ended yesterday afternoon with @SenRandPaul at @PHARMCBD in Bedford. We toured the facility, held a roundtable discussion with local officials & hemp producers, and heard first-hand testimony from families & veterans who have benefitted medically from hemp-derived products.” Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) tweeted that marijuana rescheduling is a “win for veterans: Coming home from combat means facing the unseen challenges. For veterans with PTSD, every tool, resource, and treatment should be an option. This includes medical cannabis.” The House bill to allow marijuana businesses to list on stock exchanges got one new cosponsor for a total of two. / STATES Minnesota representatives posted a video about their psilocybin bill. An Oklahoma judge lifted a suspension on a medical cannabis business’s operations. Colorado regulators published guidance on cryptocurrency ATM scams targeting marijuana businesses. A Delaware marijuana appeals official resigned. New York regulators are taking action against unlicensed marijuana businesses. New Jersey regulators published a post about identifying legal marijuana businesses. Arkansas regulators posted a directory of consumable hemp products. Vermont regulators published a brochure about the medical cannabis program. — 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. — / INTERNATIONAL A UK lawmaker spoke about the benefits of legalizing marijuana. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A case report “illustrates the potential of cannabis oil as a promising therapeutic option for drug-resistant migraine.” A review concluded that “available studies demonstrate DMT’s potentially substantial post-treatment efficacy for substance misuse, particularly with psychotherapy.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS The Cannabis Regulators Association published an overview of federal marijuana rescheduling. Republican political operative Roger Stone authored a post about the implications of federal marijuana rescheduling. / BUSINESS Rubicon Organics Inc. entered into an agreement to temporarily increase its line of credit. Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post Hemp amendments stall in Congress, for now (Newsletter: April 29, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Congressional amendments to either delay the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products for another year or to speed up its implementation will not be considered on the House floor this week. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) filed the delay proposal as an amendment to the Farm Bill, while Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced the accelerated approach. Neither will advance, however, after Comer withdrew his measure and the House Rules Committee did not make Miller’s in order for a floor vote. Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12. Comer’s amendment, which is cosponsored by Reps. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), sought to delay the ban until November 2027. Under Miller’s proposal, in contrast, the ban would kick in on the date the new Farm Bill is enacted. It’s not clear based on current progress in Congress when the large-scale agriculture legislation will actually become law, however, and the legislation could potentially not end up passing until after the current recriminalization date. Comer told the panel during a meeting on Monday that his amendment would “protect American farmers” and “support the thousands of jobs in the hemp industry and people who use and rely on these products.” “It is clear Congress needs more time to pass legislation that protects jobs, eliminates bad actors, standardizes labeling and requires third-party testing,” he said. “My amendment would provide Congress another year, until November 2027, to develop this solution.” It’s not clear why he decided to withdraw the proposal from consideration for attachment to the Farm Bill, formally known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or H.R. 7567. Griffith, a member of the Rules Committee who cosponsored Comer’s amendment, noted that there are a lot of hemp products “from overseas that has no third-party testing” on the market, saying that “there’s all kinds of, frankly, garbage.” He said that the real solution is to have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate the products, citing a standalone bill he has introduced on the issue, but argued that “we’ve got to we have to have time to adjust,” which he said the delay amendment would provide. Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) also filed an amendment to the bill that, according to the sponsor’s summary, “amends the definition of ‘Hemp’ to preserve the lawful hemp market while creating a regulatory framework that protects children, bans synthetics, and ensures that any products on the market place are of American origin.” The congressman later withdrew the proposal from consideration for reasons that he did not announce. He did, however, recently receive a letter from White House officials who provided feedback on pending legislation to create a regulatory framework for hemp. Last week, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr, who has been helping to lead efforts to enact regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition. “We appreciate your work to advance the policy of” an executive order Trump signed in December that included provisions seeking to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staffers wrote in a letter to the congressman. “We are transmitting for your consideration draft legislative text and comments to address the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products in order to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” the White House officials said, according to a social media post containing a screenshot of the letter. “We are available for discussion and further technical assistance.” The attachment with the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been publicly released, and the White House and Barr’s office did not immediately respond to Marijuana Moment’s request for further details. It’s not clear from the letter’s text whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or if they were replying to something his office submitted—though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marijuana Moment that Barr first sent language to the administration, which then provided technical feedback. Trump this week pushed congressional lawmakers to take action to amend the currently scheduled hemp ban, which he suggested threatens to federally recriminalize full-spectrum CBD products. “I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social post on Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to reschedule marijuana. “We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.” Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) had filed a hemp ban delay amendment before the House Agriculture Committee when it took up the Farm Bill last month, but that panel’s chairman determined that the proposal was not germane to the legislation. The Farm Bill as approved by the prior committee does contain some provisions aimed at aiding the hemp industry and farmers who grow cannabis for industrial purposes such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend existing statute related to the development of industrial hemp production regulatory plans by states and tribes—including surrounding polices for testing, sampling, background checks and record-keeping. A number of other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress. This month, for example, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) filed the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, which would effectively let states opt out of the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that is set to be enacted later this year. Ernst later withdrew her name as a cosponsor of the legislation, however. Her office did not reply to Marijuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — A U.S. Department of Agriculture report published this month shows that farmers in the U.S. grew three-quarters of a billion dollars worth of hemp crops in 2025—a 64 percent increase from the prior year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration this month launched a new initiative to cover up to $500 worth of hemp-derived products each year for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD but also allows a certain amount of THC in products. Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit suit against the Medicare hemp coverage policy, and lawyers for Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently filed a brief asking that the case be dismissed. Meanwhile, the White House Office of Management and Budget has been holding a series of meetings about a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD products enforcement policy. FDA also issued guidance making clear that it does not intend to interfere with implementation of the Medicare hemp-derived products coverage plan. CMS separately finalized a rule that will allow coverage of some hemp products as specialized, non-primarily health-related benefits through Medicare Advantage plans. As hemp products have become more popular with consumers, some large brands are attempting to get in on action. Major retailer Target, for example, is expanding its participation in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program involving sales of cannabis drinks at 10 select stores in Minnesota. That apparently went well, and now the company has obtained licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency hemp edible products—including THC drinks—at all 72 of its stores in the state. The post Congressional Amendments To Delay Or Speed Up Federal Hemp THC Product Ban Won’t Get Votes appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“My stance on this issue has been clear. I remain committed to combatting the growing public health and safety threat marijuana poses.” By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner After the Trump administration federally downgraded medical marijuana to a less dangerous classification of drug on Thursday, Nebraska federal and state representatives remained largely noncommittal. Advocates, meanwhile, said the move means the “last prohibitionist talking point has collapsed.” “Nebraska officials can still oppose medical cannabis out of stubbornness, but they can no longer hide behind the claim that the federal government says cannabis has no accepted medical use. That excuse is gone,” said John Cartier, attorney general for the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, which is moving forward with its own medical cannabis program, separate from the State of Nebraska. On Thursday, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche immediately downgraded state-licensed and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved marijuana products to Schedule III. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote, are drugs the federal government has classified with a high likelihood of abuse and no currently accepted medical value. Schedule III drugs are defined as those with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, such as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and testosterone. “This rescheduling action allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information,” Blanche said in a Thursday statement. The DOJ said Thursday’s move recognized the “longstanding regulation of medical marijuana by state governments and the need for a commonsense approach to this reality.” Ricketts, Pillen, Bacon respond U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who decided not to seek reelection this year, told the Nebraska Examiner he supports the reclassification, “as it is necessary to allow for further research.” “Schedule I classification restricts the ability of scientists and doctors to conduct proper research into marijuana in a way that is counterproductive,” Bacon said. “As long as individual state laws regarding legality are not preempted, I support this move by the administration.” Some Nebraska leaders have long opposed marijuana and steps under former President Joe Biden or President Donald Trump to move the drug from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. For instance, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., made national headlines in 2021 when the former Nebraska governor said: “If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids.” The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration states that no deaths from overdoses of marijuana have ever been reported. In response to Thursday’s changes, Ricketts told the Examiner: “From the time I was governor, my stance on this issue has been clear. I remain committed to combatting the growing public health and safety threat marijuana poses.” He did not specify how he might respond. Ricketts and U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., in separate congressional letters in mid-December, urged Trump not to move forward with the change. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) have also spoken against rescheduling marijuana on the state side. Pillen said the federal change “does not alter the ongoing regulatory process to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska” and that the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission would continue its work. “My goal is to honor Nebraska’s vote, while putting safeguards into place to prevent unregulated or unintended marijuana production,” Pillen said in a statement. “We will continue to engage with our federal partners as the process evolves.” Trump has endorsed Pillen, Ricketts, Hilgers and Flood, as well as U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., for reelection this fall. Nebraska AG’s Office ‘currently reviewing’ Hilgers led 10 other states in 2024 in a letter opposing similar marijuana rescheduling that had started under Biden but hadn’t finished before Trump returned in 2025. Other state attorneys general joining Hilgers were from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina and South Dakota. Trump has made clear he hopes to finish the rescheduling process this time, with the DEA moving forward with a new public comment period to move marijuana generally from Schedule I to Schedule III, beginning June 29. “DEA is expeditiously moving forward with the administrative hearing process—bringing consistency and oversight to an area that has lacked both,” DEA Administrator Terry Cole said Thursday. “Our men and women in law enforcement remain committed to fighting drug cartels, the fentanyl epidemic and protecting American lives.” In response to Thursday’s changes, Suzanne Gage, a spokesperson for Hilgers, told the Nebraska Examiner: “Our office is currently reviewing.” In a December 19 interview with the Examiner, one day after Trump signed an executive order to expedite and move forward with rescheduling, Pillen said he disagreed with Trump’s decision. Pillen said keeping marijuana Schedule I “is really important in my view of the world.” “That stuff is a Schedule I drug, and it’s a Schedule I drug in my mind until the whole legislative process changes,” Pillen said at the time. Pillen has couched his position on marijuana as a former veterinarian, a profession he says has more pharmacological studies than any other health care provider. He said marijuana is a Schedule I drug “for a reason” and would always oppose recreational marijuana. “We’re following the law, but it’s not going to come in a way that there can be any abuse and have any opening of a black market for recreational marijuana,” Pillen said in December. “Long as I’m your governor, that’s where it’s going to be.” Congressional reaction Besides Ricketts and Bacon, spokespersons for Flood, Smith and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., did not immediately respond Thursday when asked for their reaction to the latest Trump administrative move on rescheduling. Fischer has still not answered why, as a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Nebraska was not added to a congressional list prohibiting the federal government, such as the DOJ or DEA, from interfering with state medical cannabis laws. Since 2014, states have been added to the list each year largely without issue. Today, 47 states are protected. No member of Nebraska’s federal delegation has explained why Nebraska’s voter-approved law was not included. Ricketts and Bacon said they didn’t find out Nebraska was left off in the January update until reporters reached out. “I am for states having the lead when it comes to cannabis policies and prefer the federal government stay away,” Bacon said in February. Ricketts has said he wasn’t a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a nod to Fischer. When asked whether he would support adding Nebraska, Ricketts sidestepped a reporter’s question. “Whatever we’re doing needs to be following within the law,” said Ricketts, who, as a U.S. senator, can seek to change federal laws, in a March 4 press call. “I’ll note at the federal level that marijuana is still a controlled substance.” State regulations moving forward In November 2024, an overwhelming majority of Nebraska voters legalized the possession of up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis with a health care practitioner’s recommendation. Voters also created the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, a governor-appointed regulatory board, to oversee the state supply chain. The four state medical cannabis commissioners did not respond when asked for comment Thursday on the rescheduling changes. To date, there are no licensed state dispensaries to sell products that would be downgraded under the Trump-Blanche decision, but the commission has crafted regulations toward that goal. Some Nebraskans have gone to surrounding states in the meantime. State regulations for the drug are now sitting in Hilgers’s office. Gage said last week that the “standard process” for reviewing and signing off on regulations would be followed. She did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Hilgers’s continued opposition to the drug and questions around the 2024 petition drive might impact his review. Hilgers’s office has suggested it could challenge Nebraska’s laws on preemption grounds, basically arguing that Nebraska can’t legalize marijuana because of federal law on the drug. Those actions have not yet materialized. A former state senator tried to make similar arguments in district court, but the trial judge dismissed the case last year. Hilgers’s office defended state officials while the Medical Cannabis Commission obtained outside legal counsel, with those attorneys asking for the case to be dropped. The former senator’s case has been appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court and heads to oral arguments Monday. It’s unclear what Thursday’s changes might mean for Hilgers’s opposition. Multiple national groups supportive of marijuana said they expect the DOJ changes might be challenged. Marijuana is also shaping up as an election issue in Nebraska, with cross-partisan opponents to Ricketts, Flood, Hilgers, Pillen and others leaning into medical cannabis as an election issue. Former State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, the Democratic frontrunner challenging Pillen’s reelection, praised the Trump administration’s announcement Thursday: “I’ve heard it in every community I’ve visited across the state. The will of the voters should be upheld and listened to. This is a step in the right direction, especially for patients that are waiting for access.” ‘A personal and political choice’ Cartier said state leaders shouldn’t treat the Omaha Tribe’s lawful program as a threat or question tribal sovereignty. The Omaha Tribe is now reviewing prospective proposals received under a national request and seeking to vet the “right partner.” The Omaha Tribe, Cartier said, aims to be a “regional leader in providing safe, lawful access and meaningful relief to thousands of patients.” Hilgers previously called medical cannabis “poison” and told Nebraskans that if they went to the Omaha Tribe to buy marijuana, as many have said they would, they do so “at their own peril.” Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the organization that led the successful 2024 campaign, said opponents had long “hidden” behind the federal classification as “political cover” to justify delay, obstruction and inaction as patients suffered and families waited.” Most Nebraska legislative efforts around medical cannabis have stalled, including one Eggers and other supporters said was critical this month to protecting health care providers who recommend the drug to patients. “From this point forward, any continued delay, obstruction, or attack on medical cannabis is exactly what it is: a personal and a political choice. A deliberate decision to stand in the way of patients and the will of the voters,” Eggers said Thursday. She continued: “If Nebraska officials continue standing in the way, they should at least be honest enough to admit they are doing it because they want to, not because they have to.” This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner. The post Nebraska Officials React To Federal Marijuana Rescheduling As State Slowly Implements Voter-Approved Legalization appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“I am a little bit frustrated, but she is the governor, I’m not the governor. It’s a long process, but good legislation sometimes takes time.” By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury Five years after Virginia legalized simple adult possession of marijuana, lawmakers are at an impasse over how to finally stand up a legal retail market, after the General Assembly last week rejected more than 40 changes proposed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) and sent the legislation back to her desk. The move leaves Spanberger with a binary choice: sign a long-debated proposal to launch retail sales or veto it and prolong a yearslong stalemate that has left Virginia in a legal gray area, where cannabis is allowed to be possessed, but not legally purchased. The governor’s substitute, which frustrated many lawmakers and stakeholders, would delay the start of retail sales to July 1, 2027, while restructuring much of the framework lawmakers had negotiated during the session. “Five years ago, the commonwealth took the first steps to legalize marijuana—and for five years, the work sat unfinished,” Spanberger said in a statement. “We are working to set up a marketplace that is controlled, regulated, and responsible—because legal markets only succeed when there are clear guardrails and enforcement to back it up.” Under her proposal, regulators would begin accepting license applications by September 1, 2026, with various licenses issued in early 2027 ahead of the planned launch. Lawmakers reject extensive rewrite At the heart of the dispute is the governor’s attempt to rewrite large portions of House Bill 642 and Senate Bill 542, the companion measures aimed at establishing an adult-use cannabis market in Virginia. Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the House bill, said the modifications went too far. “Some of the changes in there were fine, but most of them were contrary to where we had arrived through the legislative process,” Krizek said. Legislators and the governor “want a well-regulated, adult-use cannabis retail market in Virginia, and we’re going to get there. It’s just a process right now.” Krizek said he hopes Spanberger ultimately signs the bill but acknowledged the uncertainty ahead. “Whether it takes another session, or if she doesn’t veto it, then we’ll work with her on some of the changes that maybe she needs to see,” he said. Pressed on whether the process has been challenging, Krizek did not hesitate. “I can’t lie and say I’m not frustrated. I am a little bit frustrated, but she is the governor, I’m not the governor,” he said. “It’s a long process, but good legislation sometimes takes time.” Spanberger, in a separate statement, said she intends to keep negotiating with lawmakers. “I will continue to work with the patrons of the bills that are coming back to my desk to make sure that when these bills become law, we get it right,” she said. Shift to regulatory framework, tighter controls The governor’s proposed changes would fundamentally shift how the legislation that lawmakers sent to her desk structures Virginia’s cannabis market. Rather than embedding detailed licensing rules in state law, Spanberger’s substitute would remove large portions of the statutory framework and instead direct the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to establish those rules through regulations. The proposal also reduces the number of retail licenses from 350 to 200 and extends that cap through January 1, 2029, after which regulators would determine future limits. It further restructures oversight of the Cannabis Control Authority by eliminating legislative appointments to its board and making all members gubernatorial appointees, while reducing required agricultural representation. Other provisions of the enrolled bill would be stripped entirely. Those include the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, authority for the governor to negotiate cannabis-related agreements with tribal governments—federally recognized Native American tribes that can operate with a degree of sovereign authority—and a requirement for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to operate a tip line for reporting illegal activity. The substitute would also change how cannabis tax revenue is distributed, eliminating fixed percentage allocations and instead directing lawmakers to allocate funds through the state budget for priorities such as public health, education and workforce development. The state tax rate would be set at 6 percent until July 2029, rising to 8 percent thereafter. Spanberger framed the changes as necessary to strengthen enforcement and public safety, particularly as the state grapples with an illicit market offering unregulated products. “To keep our next generation safe, we must also ensure real consequences for vape shops that have spent years targeting Virginia’s kids,” she said. “We need to rein in these shady businesses and make sure a legal marijuana market does not make the problem worse.” Penalties, timelines and market uncertainty The substitute also proposes tougher penalties in several areas. Public consumption would increase from a civil penalty to a Class 4 misdemeanor, while underage possession would be treated as a Class 1 misdemeanor, with potential fines, community service and license suspension. The personal possession limit would be reduced from 2.5 ounces to 2 ounces. Additional changes target advertising restrictions, medical cannabis delivery requirements and hemp regulations, including delaying the elimination of the state’s 25:1 hemp ratio—a standard used to distinguish legal hemp products from marijuana based on THC concentration—until November 2026. Beyond the retail legislation, lawmakers also rejected the governor’s proposed amendments to HB 26 and SB 62, which would allow reconsideration of sentences for certain marijuana-related convictions. Her changes would have clarified that individuals convicted of violent offenses or serious drug crimes would not be eligible for reconsideration. At the same time, Spanberger signed separate legislation targeting vape retailers, including HB 308 and SB 620, which establish enforcement mechanisms to shut down shops that repeatedly sell to minors. The measures require the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to conduct periodic compliance checks. Stakeholders warn of continued delays Advocates and industry stakeholders offered different reactions to the legislature’s rejection of the governor’s substitute. Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of Marijuana Justice, called the move a victory for equity-focused organizers. “Virginia’s General Assembly rejecting the governor’s substitute is a testament to the work of equity, racial and criminal justice organizers,” she said. “Not only would the governor’s substitute be worse for Black, brown and low income communities than the status quo, her language ignored the reform, repair and redress required to acknowledge the decades of racist enforcement.” She urged Spanberger to allow the legislation to become law without further changes. “The leader Virginia needs right now would listen to her constituents and allow the marijuana bills to become law this year,” Wise said. Industry leaders, however, warned that continued delays risk prolonging an unregulated market. “While we are disappointed by delays in establishing an adult-use cannabis market, we remain hopeful that the governor and lawmakers can come together to chart a clear, workable path forward for Virginia,” said Rodney Holcombe, vice president of public policy at LeafLink. “Unfortunately, every day without a regulated market is a day the illicit market continues to operate unchecked, undermining public safety, consumer protections, and, ultimately, legitimate businesses,” he added. “Virginia has done the hard work to get to this point, now it’s time to finish the job.” Spanberger must take action on the cannabis retail bill—approve it without her tweaks or reject it completely—within 30 days. This story was first published by Virginia Mercury. The post Virginia Marijuana Bill Sponsor Hopes Governor Doesn’t Veto After Lawmakers Rejected Her Changes appeared first on Marijuana Moment. 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Maryland’s governor has signed a bill to protect firefighters and rescue workers from being penalized over their lawful use of medical marijuana off the job. Gov. Wes Moore (D) gave final approval to the measure on Tuesday, weeks after it cleared the Senate and House of Delegates. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Carl Jackson (D), amends the state’s medical marijuana law by stipulating that firefighters, emergency medical technicians, cardiac rescue technicians and paramedics employed by the state or local governments will not face employment discrimination or retaliation for testing positive for cannabis metabolites if they’re a registered patient. As of October 1, employers cannot “discipline, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against the fire and rescue public safety employee with respect to the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” if they test positive while holding a medical cannabis registration. Further, employers cannot “limit, segregate, or classify its employees in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive the fire and rescue public safety employee of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect the fire and rescue public safety employee’s status as an employee.” Nothing in the legislation prohibits employers from taking action against an employee for showing up to work while under the influence of cannabis, and any instances where a public safety worker is found to be impaired while on duty will be reported to the State Emergency Medical Services Board. The enactment of SB 439 comes after years of attempts over recent sessions to enact the reform aimed at giving emergency service professionals the option to use cannabis as an alternative treatment for health conditions that commonly afflict the first responder community. Del. Adrian Boafo (D) sponsored an identical bill, HB 797, that passed the House this session. The change is “so critically important to our firefighters” and other rescue professionals who “work long shifts in tense emergencies and high-stress situations every day,” Boafo said at a committee hearing. “Many experience chronic pain, injuries and anxiety as a direct result of serving our communities,” the lawmaker said. “Medical cannabis, when prescribed and used off duty, can help manage those conditions. But under current policies, firefighters who use medically prescribed cannabis can face retaliation or discipline from their employers, even when they’re following the law.” “That leaves many of these public servants with a difficult choice: Either continue doing their jobs in pain, or turn to stronger prescription drug drugs, often opiates, just to get through the day,” Boafo said, while emphasizing that “nothing in this bill allows for impairment on the job” and that those who come to work impaired “will still face serious consequences and will be reported” to state emergency medical services regulators. “Public safety remains a top priority here in Maryland, but our state must modernize its laws to protect employees who use medically certified cannabis responsibly and outside of the workplace,” he said. “Our firefighters and rescue professionals dedicate their lives to protecting us. They should not be punished for seeking legal, medically prescribed relief for the physical toll of that work.” The enactment of the House and Senate cannabis bills comes a year after officials in Maryland’s most populous county said they were moving to loosen marijuana policies for would-be police officers in an effort to boost recruitment amid a staffing shortage. — 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. — Earlier this month, the governor signed separate legislation to provide legal protections for veterinarians who recommend medical cannabis for animals. Another proposal that passed extends a psychedelics task force through the end of 2027 to develop updated recommendations on expanding therapeutic access to the novel drugs and potentially creating a regulatory framework for broader legalization. Legislators also took up a bill this session to protect the gun rights of medical marijuana patients in the state, but it did not pass. Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post Maryland Governor Signs Bill To Let Firefighters And Rescue Workers Use Medical Marijuana Off Duty Without Being Punished For It appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“The industry cannot ask for nuanced, evidence-informed regulation while simultaneously declining to produce the evidence that would make that possible.” By Leah Kollross, 23rd State Cannabis beverages are one of the fastest-growing segments in the hemp and cannabis marketplace, and one of the most structurally vulnerable to regulatory backlash. The reason has less to do with the products themselves, and has everything to do with the fact that most operators in this space cannot prove their products do what they claim. That’s not an indictment of any single brand. It’s a category-wide failure of accountability, and with federal hemp policy still unsettled and state-level frameworks actively being written, it’s a failure the industry can no longer afford to ignore. The Problem Isn’t That The Products Don’t Work. It’s That We Can’t Prove They Do. Look at any cannabis or hemp beverage brand’s marketing and you’ll find the same vocabulary: fast onset, consistent effects, a cleaner alternative to alcohol, harm reduction benefits, mood support. These are real attributes for well-formulated products. They are also almost universally unsubstantiated. Industry estimates suggest fewer than 5 percent of cannabis beverage manufacturers invest in any form of independent product validation. The rest are operating on anecdotes, internal testing and consumer feedback loops that tell you what people want to hear, not necessarily what’s true. This matters more than most operators realize. Retailers making shelf allocation decisions don’t have evidence to distinguish between products. Legislators drafting hemp THC regulations don’t have data to calibrate between well-formulated and poorly-made products. And consumers, particularly those who are new to the category, those reducing alcohol consumption or those managing chronic conditions, are making real decisions based on claims that no one has independently verified. The regulatory risk here is direct: an industry that cannot produce evidence of its own performance invites blunt regulation built on the absence of data rather than the presence of it. Real-World Research Is Starting To Close That Gap Marijuana Moment covered the MoreBetter Real-World Infused Beverage Study when results from the first cohort became available, and the headline findings were significant: measurable reductions in daily alcohol use among participants, a strong majority reporting infused beverages felt safer for their health than alcohol and nearly half of participants trying an infused beverage for the first time. These are not trivial numbers for a category trying to make the case that it belongs in serious regulatory conversation. But what the coverage of that study may have underemphasized is what the data looked like at the product level. Across more than 5,000 participants, 20 brands and multiple cohorts, the MoreBetter dataset has begun to reveal something that operators should find both clarifying and uncomfortable: not all THC beverages perform the same. Onset time, taste, duration and consistency vary measurably between products and, for the first time, there is a dataset large enough to document those differences rather than simply assert them. For operators who have invested in formulation quality and bioavailability, this is good news. For operators who have relied on marketing claims without the science to back them up, it is a problem that is about to become much harder to ignore. The Policy Argument For Participation I serve on the National Cannabis Industry Association’s (NCIA) Human Resources Committee. I watch policy conversations develop in real time at both the state and federal level. And the consistent challenge facing hemp-derived beverage operators is that regulators are being asked to make decisions about a category for which meaningful independent evidence is scarce. That is not a neutral condition. In the absence of industry-generated data, regulators default to precautionary frameworks, and precautionary frameworks applied to hemp THC products tend to look like the kind of blunt restrictions that treat a well-dosed, research-validated beverage the same as an unlabeled, unverified product manufactured with no quality controls. The industry cannot ask for nuanced, evidence-informed regulation while simultaneously declining to produce the evidence that would make that possible. This is the argument I’ve been making to operators who are weighing whether to participate in research studies like MoreBetter’s: this is not primarily a marketing expense. It is an investment in the regulatory environment your business will operate in over the next five to ten years. Every brand that participates in legitimate independent research contributes to a shared evidentiary base. Every brand that doesn’t is free-riding on the credibility built by the ones that do, all the while leaving the category’s overall data picture thinner than it needs to be. What This Looks Like In Practice At 23rd State, we enrolled our products in the MoreBetter study not just because we were certain the data would be flattering, but because we believed the category needed operators willing to subject their formulations to independent scrutiny. That’s what responsible product development looks like. It’s also what the cannabis beverage category will need to demonstrate systematically if it wants a durable seat at the regulatory table. The brands that will define this category long-term are not necessarily the ones with the best branding or the largest distribution footprints. They are the ones that can demonstrate their products perform consistently, and in ways that are measurable and independently verified. That standard is achievable. It requires investment, transparency and a willingness to let the data tell the story rather than the marketing copy. The window to build that foundation before regulatory frameworks harden is open. It will not stay open indefinitely. Leah Kollross is the founder of 23rd State, a Minnesota-based cannabis beverage brand, and a member of the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Human Resources Committee. The post The Cannabis Beverage Industry Has An Evidence Problem, With Too Few Companies Submitting Products For Independent Scrutiny (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

China’s agricultural history with cannabis is deeper than previously believed, with a new study placing the staple crop among “the five grains” (alongside rice and barely, for example) that were foundational to the ancient Eurasian economy and “deeply integrated into the daily lives of the inhabitants.” For the study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, researchers at Shandong University conducted phytolith extraction and analysis of 132 samples found in Beitaishang and Qianzhongzitou settlements dating back to the Late Neolithic era. The results showed that, by that point, cannabis had become a “core crop in northern China, primarily used for food or fiber.” The study authors—who also listed affiliations with the Chinese Ministry of Education, the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Shandong Province and other institutions in China—said the samples they analyzed “suggest that cannabis had been systematically integrated into the local agricultural economy, becoming a key component of the core crop assemblage in northern China by at least the Late Neolithic.” “By the Late Neolithic, cannabis became a core crop in northern China, primarily used for food or fiber.” Part of the reason the discovery seems to reflect a broader agricultural integration of the crop is because samples were collected from archaeological features such as ash pits, floors and foundations in small- to medium-sized settlements in the Shandong region, which provides “valuable insights into the role of cannabis in the local agricultural economy.” Finding cannabis in these specific types of ancient features reflects “daily seed processing and consumption activities at the household level,” the study says. “At the Beitaishang site, cannabis phytoliths were found in 22 out of 32 samples (68.8 percent) in the Longshan period. At the Qianzhongzitou site, cannabis phytoliths were identified in 47 out of 65 samples (72.3 percent) from the Longshan period, and in 16 out of 31 samples (51.6 percent) from the Yueshi period,” it says. “Our study demonstrates that cannabis had already become one of the ‘five grains’ (rice, millet, barley, soybean, and cannabis) since the Longshan period in Shandong, as evidenced by systematic phytolith analysis. The analysis of the archaeological context further reveals that cannabis processing and consumption were deeply integrated into the daily lives of the inhabitants, making it an indispensable component of their agricultural subsistence. This finding fundamentally challenges the previous underestimation of cannabis’s status based on limited organic remains and reaffirms its significant role in the agricultural economy of prehistoric northern China.” The study—funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China, which is part of the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology—suggests that “cannabis processing and consumption were deeply integrated into daily life,” the researchers said. Unlike in other archaeological records indicating that psychoactive cannabis was “typically associated with burial and ritual contexts across Eurasia,” including “psychoactive shoots, infructescences and Teaves of cannabis found in Bronze Age Xinjiang tombs,” these latest findings “reflect clear differences in both unearthed contexts and plant parts, emphasizing the more daily and subsistence-oriented use of cannabis in Shandong.” “This study focuses on the fibre-type cannabis for experimentation and analysis, as the drug-type cannabis is strictly regulated in most countries due to its psychoactive compounds,” the study concludes. And to that point, one of the study authors, Yong Ge, told Marijuana Moment in an email that the researchers “stand against the abusive use of cannabis as a drug.” “In this regard, we are fully aligned with China’s stance on drug control,” she said. China’s strict anti-drug policies have also extended to low-THC hemp and its derivatives like CBD. In 2024, for example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advised stakeholders about a policy change in China that imposed tighter regulations on cannabidiol, though it said at the time that the rules were expected to benefit the industry. Meanwhile, with respect to the evolution of human relationships with the cannabis plant, a 2023 paper in the European Journal for Chemistry traced the history of the crop through “thousands of years of contact with mankind,” noting the plant’s legacy as a source of fiber, nutrition, medicine, spirituality and pleasure. An ancient biblical tribe in Israel also likely used marijuana to produce hallucinogenic effects as part of cultic rituals, according to a 2020 study that identified cannabis resin on an alter in a shrine built around 750 BCE. Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Chinese Researchers Reveal Ancient Use Of Cannabis As ‘Indispensable’ Crop That Was ‘Deeply Integrated’ Into Daily Life appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

North Carolina lawmakers will take a more serious look at legalizing medical marijuana in the state following the Trump administration’s move to reschedule cannabis at the federal level, the state’s top senator says. The North Carolina Senate has passed medical cannabis bills in a number of past sessions that have later stalled out in the House of Representatives. But now that federal marijuana rescheduling is moving forward under a process announced by the U.S. Department of Justice last week, North Carolina’s Senate leader says his members will discuss plans to potentially try to advance the issue again. “We’ll have a conversation within our caucus as to whether or not we do something, if they’re interested in continuing to pursue that,” Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said, WRAL-TV reported. If the Senate does pass a medical cannabis bill again, it’s not yet clear how House leadership would react this time. The federal marijuana reform action and comments by the state Senate leader come weeks after a governor-appointed cannabis commission in North Carolina issued a report recommending that the state move away from a criminalization-based approach to the plant and toward a system of “robust” regulations that provide for adults’ legal access to THC products. The North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis, which Gov. Josh Stein (D) convened last year, says in the new document approved earlier this month that the current “absence of regulation for North Carolina’s intoxicating cannabis market raises numerous concerns,” noting that hemp products are readily available yet largely unregulated and that marijuana remains prohibited altogether in the state, even for medical use. “Compared to regulated marijuana frameworks in other states, this environment presents identifiable risks,” the interim report says. “While some operators voluntarily implement consumer protection protocols, these safeguards are not required under state law.” Stein, for his part, thanked the group for its “expertise, hard work, and thoughtful deliberation” in a press release and reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana. “Last year, I charged this group with developing a comprehensive solution to the unregulated sale of cannabis that is grounded in public health and public safety, with a special focus on keeping young people safe,” the governor said. “This report provides the General Assembly with guidance and makes clear that a well-regulated market, including both oversight and enforcement authority, is a safer market for our state.” “Our state’s unregulated cannabis market today is the Wild West and is crying for order,” he said. “Let’s get this right. Let’s protect our kids and create a safe, legal, and well-regulated market for adults.” The interim report recommends that rather than construct separate frameworks for hemp and marijuana, the state should enact molecule-based regulation focused on THC itself, saying that “the plant source is irrelevant and should not drive different treatment when the intoxicating compound is the same.” It also suggests that when choosing how to regulate THC and cannabis, North Carolina should enact “an adult access market with protections for medical consumers.” The panel, however, “does not view a medical-only program as an effective interim step or compromise solution,” and the state should proceed to adult-use access immediately while considering the “availability of medical-consumer protections” as “an important component of a broader regulatory structure.” The group’s report notes that “ultimately, the authority to bring order to the unregulated, unsafe cannabis market rests with the General Assembly.” The advisory council was formed after Stein issued an executive order last year, and is comprised of legislators, law enforcement officials, agriculture industry stakeholders, health experts, tribal representatives, advocates and others charged with exploring possible regulatory models for adult-use marijuana and hemp. The governor’s order said there’s a need for reform because the “current lack of regulation, including age, potency, and purity limitations, poses a threat to all North Carolinians, particularly our youth.” And “rather than allowing this unsafe and unregulated market to continue, smart and balanced regulation presents an opportunity not only to protect the health and well-being of our people, but also to generate revenue that can benefit our state.” Members are tasked with developing and submitting initial recommendations on a “comprehensive cannabis policy, including any proposed legislation,” with a final report due by December 31 of this year. During his time as the state’s attorney general, Stein led a separate task force under then-Gov. Roy Cooper (D) that examined racial injustice issues and ultimately recommended decriminalizing marijuana and studying broader legalization in response to racially disparate enforcement trends. Meanwhile, a tribe in North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, launched the state’s first marijuana dispensary in 2024—despite the protests of certain Republican congressional lawmakers. The post North Carolina Could Legalize Medical Marijuana Now That It’s Been Federally Rescheduled, Senate Leader Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

What an inspiring transformation, Andrea! Your journey from Wine Mom to Canna Mom highlights the power of making intentional choices for our health and well-being. It reminds me of the dummies world cup, where individuals come together to celebrate their passions and support each other in their journeys.

WH press secretary: Marijuana reform “overwhelmingly popular”; TN gov signs bill blocking medical cannabis review; IN gov directs marijuana meetings Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Your good deed for the day: donate to an independent publisher like Marijuana Moment and ensure that as many voters as possible have access to the most in-depth cannabis reporting out there. Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration is moving forward with marijuana rescheduling because it is “overwhelmingly popular with the vast majority of Americans” and will help people “who need it for medical treatment.” “The president was willing to take this step to do that at the behest of the American public, who largely support it, and many of his health advisors on his team who he spoke with about it.” The Drug Enforcement Administration announced it will begin accepting applications this week for medical marijuana businesses to apply for federal protections being granted under the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling process. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill to block an automatic review that could have legalized medical cannabis under state law following federal marijuana rescheduling. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) has directed state agencies to meet with medical cannabis advocates as federal marijuana rescheduling takes effect. Steph Sherer of Americans for Safe Access argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that federal cannabis rescheduling will upend policies discriminating against patients in housing, employment and healthcare. “The recognition of cannabis as a legitimate medicine means that patients and their caregivers are no longer considered criminals under federal law. They have federal rights. Those rights now protect patients in housing, employment, healthcare and in their military careers.” The Nebraska Supreme Court held a hearing in a lawsuit that seeks to overturn voter-approved medical cannabis legalization because, as the former state senator who filed it argues, the policy is preempted by federal law. / FEDERAL The Food and Drug Administration’s annual congressional budget justification touts the agency’s work on “exploring efforts to accelerate treatment development for post-traumatic stress disorder, including psychedelic drug development.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about psychedelics during a hearing. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “Good work by @POTUS protecting continued research and access to alternative treatments with hemp-derived CBD. My bipartisan solution, the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, would keep hemp products accessible to Americans who rely on their medical benefits while keeping consumer safety in mind.” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) tweeted, “Deregulate Hemp completely.” Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) hosted Trulieve’s CEO on his show for a segment about marijuana rescheduling. Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) appeared on the podcast of prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana. / STATES Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is proposing changes to cannabis tax laws. Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (R), who is running for governor, tweeted, “I’ve been clear from day one. I am completely against legalizing marijuana. We’ve seen the impact in other states, and that’s not where Florida is headed. I stand with Governor DeSantis on this. No compromises, and no money from the marijuana industry. That can’t be said for all of my opponents.” New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland, a former U.S. interior secretary, tweeted, “The cannabis industry is an essential part of New Mexico’s economy. As your next governor, I will bring stability to the cannabis industry and improve quality testing so that this industry can thrive.” Washington State regulators are moving to amend rules on cannabis business licensing fees. Michigan regulators are refusing to release an unredacted version of a memo about the implications of a new wholesale marijuana tax. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics director is celebrating federal marijuana rescheduling. The Vermont Cannabis Control Board’s general counsel said federal marijuana rescheduling could “turbocharge” the state’s medical marijuana industry. The Maryland Task Force on the Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances is accepting applications for special advisors. Oregon regulators sent a newsletter about the psilocybin services program. — 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. — / INTERNATIONAL Canadian officials released data about medical cannabis registrations. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “patients with chronic health conditions prescribed [medicinal cannabis] had significant and clinically meaningful improvements in [health-related quality of life] and reduced their dependence on conventional medicines.” A study found that “CBD inhibits infection of all HIV-1 cellular targets, and commercial CBD products might be repositioned as novel HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis, namely ‘CBD PrEP’.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS A poll of Pennsylvania adults found that they support legalizing marijuana, 47 percent to 25 percent. The Wall Street Journal editorial board said “too many Americans still think pot is harmless, and the Trump Administration is contributing to that delusion.” / BUSINESS TerrAscend Corp. announced preliminary expected quarterly net revenue of $65.5 million, Canadian retailers sold C$440.5 million worth of legal cannabis products in February. Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Cannabis businesses can apply for federal protections with DEA this week (Newsletter: April 28, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Chiara's dedication to cannabis law and now her focus on psychedelic justice is truly inspiring! It's great to see experienced legal professionals like her advocating for these communities. Her work with The Psychedelic Justice League sounds incredibly important. It reminds me of the precision and control needed in something like Drift Hunters, where every small adjustment makes a huge difference in the final outcome. Kudos to Chiara for her commitment!

Indiana state officials are holding a series of meetings with medical marijuana advocates at the direction of the Republican governor. One day after the Trump administration announced that federal cannabis rescheduling is moving forward, officials from the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and other state agencies sat down with Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabis and Indiana NORML to discuss potential next steps at the state level. The meetings, activists said, came at the request of Gov. Mike Braun (R). “The governor has reached out to us to meet with other heads within his department to get their intake on this move,” military veteran Jeff Staker, one of the advocates, told Fox 59. “Our next step, hopefully, will be in the governor’s office.” Lucy Luman, who is also a veteran and serves as chair of Indiana NORML, said that federal reform “does address the major challenges that our legislators have put forward previously.” The advocates previously met with Indiana Secretary of Business Affairs Mike Speedy, they told WHTR-TV. “It tells you that the governor’s really taken a close look at this, and I’m hoping that our organization and others can get in the governor’s office and have that discussion with him and brainstorm further,” Staker said. “You got to realize that a lot of our state legislators have been waiting for exactly this to happen.” “The feds have made their move, and now it’s time for Indiana to make ours,” he said. “And of course, we want to do it right.” State Rep. Jim Lucas (R) said that federal marijuana rescheduling “takes away the arguments that the opposition had in our state.” State Sen. Rodney Pol (D) agreed, saying the Trump administration’s action “has helped move the ball.” Last month, the governor said the “crescendo will rise” in the call to legalize marijuana, with regional dynamics and even law enforcement buy-in favoring reform down the line. But for now, he said GOP legislative leadership is “not interested in doing anything soon,” even if “over half of Hoosiers probably smoke it illegally.” Braun said at the time that he thinks lawmakers should take “an additional look at” medical cannabis and that, while he’s personally “agnostic” on legalization, the reality is that Indiana is “surrounded now by four states” that allow either medical or adult-use cannabis. “Over half of Hoosiers probably smoke it illegally,” he said, noting that neighboring Kentucky permits patients to access medical cannabis, while Illinois, Michigan and Ohio have recreational marijuana laws on the books. “I’m going to listen to law enforcement. Even they have changed their opinion in terms of legalizing it and regulating it,” Braun said, adding that he’d compare cannabis to gambling. The state was late in the game to adopt laws allowing adults to gamble, he said, but now it ranks in the top three states nationwide in terms of revenue per capita from the vice. “Some people aren’t going to want it, just out of principle. A lot of our state police and sheriffs are tolerating people going across the border [to buy cannabis]. It’ll be an increasing issue that, so far, our state legislature has kind of dug in against it,” he said. “I’ve been more agnostic about it. I can see points of view, and I’ve seen law enforcement move on it somewhat.” “So that would give you the best description of where the dynamic is in our state,” the governor told WOWO. “I think the leader of the Senate especially, and the Speaker of the House, are pretty—and they control the legislative agenda—not interested in doing anything soon. But I think the crescendo will rise, and that describes in a snapshot where we’re at.” Braun similarly talked about the issue in another recent interview, saying the state is “probably going to have to address” the issue and likening cannabis reform to sports betting. Lawmakers in the state had already signaled that marijuana legalization isn’t in the cards in the 2026 session, meaning another year where Indiana will be an outlier as one of the few remaining states without effective medical or adult-use cannabis laws. The governor separately said in January that he’s “amenable” to the idea of legalizing medical cannabis in the state. Instead, Indiana legislators this session have been focused on efforts to ban hemp THC products—though it seems that fight is over for 2026 after a last-minute push failed late last month. Braun has previously said that federal marijuana rescheduling could add “a little bit of fire” to the local push for cannabis legalization in his state. Among Indiana residents, a survey released in January found that nearly three in five back legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use. Specifically, the annual Hoosier Survey from the Bowen Center at Ball State University (BSU) found that 59 percent of residents are in favor of legalizing cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes. An additional 25 percent back only allowing patients to access medical marijuana, raising the total support for that reform to 84 percent. — 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. — Braun, for his part, previously said that “it’s probably time” to allow access to therapeutic cannabis among patients in the state. Those comments came alongside a separate poll indicating that nearly 9 in 10 Indiana adults (87 percent) support marijuana legalization. Top Republicans in the legislature, however, have openly opposed marijuana reform. “It’s no secret that I am not for this,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) said in late 2024. “I don’t have people coming to me with really compelling medical cases as to why it’s so beneficial. And any state that I’ve seen pass medical marijuana is essentially passing recreational marijuana.” House Speaker Todd Huston (R) doubted any medical benefits associated with marijuana, calling the substance “a deterrent to mental health.” He and others suggested that lawmakers supportive of the reform merely want to boost state revenue. The post Indiana GOP Governor Directs State Agencies To Meet With Medical Marijuana Advocates As Federal Rescheduling Takes Effect appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“Often the best remedy is not in this court. It’s to go down the hall and persuade your state legislator to…amend the statutes that you have an issue with.” By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner The Nebraska Supreme Court heard a technical appeal Monday in a second case in six months asking the high court to void Nebraska’s medical cannabis laws. Both cases have been brought by former State Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell, a longtime opponent to marijuana, who alleges Nebraska can’t move forward with medical cannabis because of federal laws classifying marijuana as a dangerous drug. Kuehn argues state laws like Nebraska’s voter-enacted legalization of medical cannabis are “preempted” by federal law under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. Monday’s oral arguments did not address shifting federal guidelines on marijuana. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche downgraded state-licensed medical cannabis to a Schedule III drug last Thursday, down from a Schedule I drug. Nebraska’s Medical Cannabis Commission is working toward implementing such a program. ‘Courts should be open’ Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong had dismissed Kuehn’s preemption lawsuit in June. She ruled Kuehn had not proven he had the legal “standing” to sue, a legal term of art requiring someone to show injury. Strong ruled against letting Kuehn use two “narrow” exceptions to the standing rule. Kuehn’s attorneys, led by Eddie Greim of Missouri, argue Kuehn should be able to sue to try to prevent an “illegal expenditure” of public funds (taxpayer standing) or because the laws constitute a “matter of great public concern (great public concern standing).” “It is not enough to wait for the United States government to one day come to Nebraska and challenge these acts,” Greim told the justices. “Instead, Nebraska’s courts should be open to Nebraskans who want to hold their Nebraska state government to its constitutional limitations.” Unlike in other taxpayer standing cases that try to block public spending, Kuehn seeks to go further and declare the Nebraska medical cannabis laws unconstitutional. At least four justices would need to side with Kuehn for the case to return to the district court and allow him to argue his case. If the case proceeds and later returns to the Supreme Court, it would take five justices to rule a law unconstitutional. ‘Incidental’ vs. ‘direct’ spending Zachary Pohlman, the state deputy solicitor general representing five state officials; Jason Grams, an attorney representing members of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission; and Daniel Gutman, representing the three ballot sponsors for the 2024 petition campaign, have all argued Kuehn’s arguments risk “swallowing” taxpayer standing and making it the norm. Pohlman argued that taxpayer standing requires a “direct” and “explicit” expenditure of public funds. And despite “verbal gymnastics” from Greim, Pohlman said, Kuehn offered no limitations. “In their theory, any time you have a state agency doing anything in the real world, as long as the officers who are carrying that out are paid a salary from the state budget, a taxpayer can challenge that action,” Pohlman said. Pohlman and the Nebraska AG’s Office are defending Gov. Jim Pillen, Secretary of State Bob Evnen, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services CEO Steve Corsi, former State Treasurer Tom Briese and Tax Commissioner Jim Kamm. Staffers for the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission have administratively and budgetarily assisted the Medical Cannabis Commission since its creation in December 2024. The Legislature has given the Liquor Control Commission more funding as a result, and lawmakers this spring approved paying medical cannabis commissioners an annual salary of $12,500. State regulations are in progress and are now sitting in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office for legal review, an office held by Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who has criticized the constitutionality of the medical cannabis laws. Pohlman said taxpayers do have an “equitable interest” in how government funds are spent, but the focus must be on spending, not regulation. He said that if a taxpayer could merely request spending be withheld and then sue when it’s not, “it’s really not clear what state action would be off limits or challenged by a taxpayer.” “The groveling here is not taking issue with how the government is spending money,” Pohlman said. “It’s taking issue with how the government is regulated.” Grams also referenced Strong’s June decision, in which she mentioned the “incidental burdens” of implementing a law, such as staff. Wrote Strong last June: “Nebraska, like other states, has no shortage of citizen-taxpayers with strong political opinions. That is not necessarily a bad thing. But it would be bad if all those citizens could sue whenever a law requires a government employee to do something.” Gutman and the ballot sponsors waived oral arguments. They’ve previously pointed to states’ rights to legalize medical cannabis under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Reschduling impacts? It’s unclear how rescheduling, including the Trump administration move to downgrade all marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, might affect Kuehn’s case. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote, are drugs the federal government has classified with a high likelihood of abuse and no currently accepted medical value. Schedule III drugs are defined as those with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, such as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and testosterone. Pillen said last week that federal rescheduling wouldn’t alter the state regulatory process. “My goal is to honor Nebraska’s vote, while putting safeguards into place to prevent unregulated or unintended marijuana production,” Pillen said in a Thursday statement. “We will continue to engage with our federal partners as the process evolves.” Nebraska is the only state with a medical marijuana program not to be congressionally protected from federal interference. Kansas and Idaho are the two other states not protected. Neither has a state medical marijuana law on the books. Another legal challenge? Strong in November 2024 separately ruled against Kuehn and the Nebraska AG’s Office as she upheld the legal validity of the overwhelmingly successful 2024 petition campaign that asked voters to legalize and regulate medical cannabis. Kuehn and the AG’s Office appealed. Justices considered that appeal in December but have yet to decide the case. On Monday, Pohlman argued at least five parties are better suited to sue than Kuehn: The federal government, to enforce the Controlled Substances Act. The state attorney general, “if he concludes that the statutes are unconstitutional” and could thereby test the legal validity. A property owner whose property values are affected by state regulations. A prospective medical cannabis user who wants to test and ensure possession is legal. A criminal defendant charged by state prosecutors with marijuana possession and who asserts the voter-approved legalization as a defense. Pohlman said at that point, the Nebraska AG’s Office could advance a similar preemption argument as Kuehn. “Those are just five. I assume there are many more, as there are with many statutes that regulate,” Pohlman said. The AG’s Office had threatened to sue the commission, including if it issued its first licenses shortly after October 1, which commissioners did. No such challenges have materialized. Pohlman continued: “Even more fundamental than that, this court has said in its taxpayer standing cases that often the best remedy is not in this court. It’s to go down the hall and persuade your state legislator to…amend the statutes that you have an issue with.” ‘Cat-and-mouse game’ Greim disagreed and told justices there must be an increase in spending to qualify and that taxpayers shouldn’t need to wait until “rumor leaks” about government spending. He said if justices deviate, it’s hard to see how taxpayer standing would exist in a “vast majority of cases.” “It’s not enough that someone breathes a breath while in a state office building and utters a word or signs a paper,” Greim said. Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke countered that there would still be a cost for employees or paper and questioned the difference between a “direct” and “indirect” expenditure. In response, Greim said the existence of taxpayer standing can’t depend on the particular way that money is being spent on an allegedly unlawful act. “Then this becomes a cat-and-mouse game,” Greim said. “Then it encourages appropriations just to go to general matters.” The Nebraska Supreme Court typically releases opinions every Friday and lists “anticipated” opinions by noon the day before release. This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner. Photo elements courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan. The post Nebraska Supreme Court Holds Hearing In Suit Seeking To Overturn Medical Marijuana Law Passed By Voters appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced that it will begin accepting applications this week for medical marijuana businesses to apply for federal protections being granted under the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling process. The agency’s “Medical Marijuana Dispensary Registration Portal” is set to go live on Wednesday at 9 AM ET. The move follows last week’s announcement by the Department of Justice that marijuana is being moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), in phases. Under an order signed by Acting Attorney General Blanche on Thursday, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license will immediately move to Schedule III, as will any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). State-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries that want to take advantage of new legal protections and tax benefits that come with Schedule III status will first have to fill out an application with DEA that asks for information about their processes for storage, ordering, dispensing, inventory, maintenance of records and other aspects of their businesses. The application specifically asks about security measures such as vaults, safes, secure storage rooms, access controls, alarm systems and on-site security personnel. Applicants can choose whether they are requesting to handle marijuana, marijuana extracts or naturally derived delta-9 THC. While only medical marijuana is currently being moved to Schedule III, the application also asks potential registrants whether their firms handle or dispense recreational marijuana. Under last week’s DOJ order there will be an expedited administrative hearing process to consider the broader rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, beginning on June 29. The DEA application, meanwhile, also asks businesses to submit information about their state cannabis licenses and to answer questions about criminal and disciplinary histories. They must additionally list suppliers from which they intend to procure marijuana, and to disclose whether they anticipate repackaging or relabeling cannabis products. Applicants also need to provide lists of individuals with the business that are anticipated to have “access to controlled substances,” including their dates of birth, social security numbers, criminal histories related to drugs. There is also an annual $794 application fee, currently only payable via PayPal, though DEA says “we anticipate having additional forms of payment in the coming weeks.” Application fees are not refundable. Blanche’s rescheduling order last week said that to align with an international drug control treaty “requirement that a government agency serve as the exclusive purchaser of cannabis production,” DOJ is rolling out a process by which the federal government will technically purchase marijuana from producers and then sell it back to them or related entities. “Registered manufacturers must store crops in a facility to which DEA maintains access until that transaction is complete, and each manufacturer registration must specify the areas in which cultivation is permitted,” it said. “All manufacturers registered under this subsection shall establish a nominal price for the purchase of their marijuana crops. The Administration shall then purchase the entity’s crops at that price and sell the crops back to the entity, or a related or subsidiary entity, at the same price with the addition of the administrative fee as calculated under Part 1318.06(a).” Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said they plan to issue new tax guidance for the marijuana industry following the rescheduling announcement. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said 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. During a press event in the Oval Office last week, President Donald Trump spoke about the medical benefits of marijuana. “A lot of people are suffering from big problems, which this seems to be the best answer,” he said. “They’re very happy about it. So the rescheduling is starting, and that’s a big thing, rescheduling.” The president noted that his administration’s actions on cannabis rescheduling came after his friend Howard Kessler told him about how he used medical marijuana. “He had some medical difficulties, and he came upon this by accident, in a way,” he said. “He had to go through a lot of different medications, and he said this was the one that was much better than anything else. And so he experienced that. He didn’t benefit by it, other than from the standpoint that he lives a much better life now.” “So hopefully you don’t need it,” Trump said. “But if you do need it, I hear it’s the best of all the alternatives.” Separately, the president called on Congress to take action to amend a law that threatens to federally recriminalize hemp-derived full-spectrum CBD products later this year. “We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said in a social media post. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.” Days earlier, Trump had complained that federal officials were “slow-walking” following through on his cannabis order. The post DEA Will Start Accepting Applications From Medical Marijuana Businesses That Want Federal Rescheduling Protections This Week appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Tennessee’s governor has signed a bill to block an automatic review that could have potentially legalized medical marijuana under state law following the federal rescheduling of the drug. Under Tennessee law, federal reclassification of a substance generally triggers an automatic review by the state’s commissioner of health and commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services. But under SB1603, which Gov. Bill Lee (R) approved on Thursday, that will not be the case when it comes to cannabis. “If marijuana is rescheduled or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law, then the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services shall not reschedule or delete marijuana under [state drug laws] unless the general assembly has established a regulatory framework for marijuana and authorized the commissioner to reschedule or delete marijuana as a controlled substance,” the bill says. The governor’s action came on the same that the the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it is formally moving forward with marijuana rescheduling. Last month, House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R) said the push to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) could remove roadblocks at the state level. “My biggest objections are being resolved by the federal government right now in rescheduling cannabis and rescheduling specifically marijuana and allowing the doctors to take over and make a determination on how and if these substances could be helpful,” Lamberth said at the time. But now, with Lee’s action, there will be no automatic state scheduling review for cannabis following the federal policy change. Lawmakers, however, could always pass legislation to enact legalization—if they choose to do so. To that end, Rep. Jason Powell (D) last week called on the governor and legislative leaders to convene a special session focused on legalizing medical marijuana access for patients. “The suffering of Tennesseans who could benefit from medical cannabis is more than enough reason to bring lawmakers back to Nashville,” he said. “If the governor chooses not to act, then members of the General Assembly should come together and call a special session ourselves. This issue deserves action this year.” — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Tennessee discussed how the federal move to reclassify marijuana could open the door to medical marijuana reform after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December directing officials to finalize the process. House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said at the time that rescheduling represents a “first step” to medical cannabis reform in Tennessee, though he noted there are still certain outstanding logistical questions to answer. “There will have to be conversations about who manufactures it, who tests it, who distributes, which medical illness could it be used for, does this require [federal Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] approval and a host of other questions,” Sexton said. The post Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Blocking State Medical Marijuana Legalization Review Following Federal Rescheduling appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“These products are now federally recognized as legitimate medicine… Patients and their caregivers are no longer considered criminals under federal law. They have federal rights.” By Steph Sherer, Americans for Safe Access The Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration’s rescheduling of cannabis is more than just validation for the millions of Americans who rely on cannabis medicines. It is a legal platform for the restoration of their federal rights and privileges. In light of the changes announced last week, federal policies limiting access to medical cannabis and federal services are not just discriminatory; many are now in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Medical cannabis advocates are elated to see federal recognition of their medicine, protected patient access and movement toward healthcare integration—concepts that we have fought for decades to realize. The DOJ order moves the country closer to those goals by recognizing “marijuana products regulated by qualifying state medical cannabis licenses” as falling within Schedule III, rather than Schedule I. These products are now federally recognized as legitimate medicine. For years, courts and federal agencies have upheld discrimination against medical cannabis patients by pointing to the Schedule I status of cannabis and specifically the federal government’s claim that cannabis has “no currently accepted medical use.” That premise is no longer true for qualifying medical cannabis products and state-regulated medical cannabis systems recognized under the order. Federal agencies, businesses, landlords and federally funded programs can no longer rely on outdated interpretations of 42 U.S.C. § 12210 of the ADA or the FHA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 13661-63, to categorically deny services, housing or accommodations, or protections to medical cannabis patients solely because their medicine is cannabis. Over the coming weeks and months, there will be a great deal to unpack. Federal agencies will need to implement licensing procedures, tax rules, reporting pathways and regulatory controls. During this time, protecting patients from discrimination must be treated with the same urgency as figuring out registration and tax schemes for cannabis businesses. The Treasury Department has already recognized the need for implementation guidance for cannabis businesses, announcing forthcoming guidance on the federal tax consequences of DOJ’s final order, including Section 280E. Patients deserve the same expedience in restoring their federal rights and protections. Stigma and discrimination have remained prevalent for patients even in states that have passed medical cannabis laws. Patients have lost housing, jobs, healthcare access and child custody at great cost to their health and dignity. The culprits have long relied on the federal scheduling of cannabis to justify their actions. As of last week, that is no longer legally permissible; it’s discrimination. The Trump administration can lead by example by directing federal agencies to immediately review and update policies that are now inconsistent with ADA and FHA, and by avoiding putting patients in a familiar and expensive position of having to ask the courts to vindicate their rights. When it comes to the Department of Justice, the federal recognition of medical cannabis requires agencies to stop treating the patients as if they were criminals, void of federal rights. That includes patients in hospitals, hospices, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, veterans’ healthcare, public housing, federal workplaces and military systems. As the agency responsible for enforcing ADA and FHA, DOJ should issue nationwide directives, putting federal agencies and the private sector on notice that denying accommodations, services, housing and participation to medical cannabis patients is now a federal crime. Here are some examples of discriminatory federal polices: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) maintains policies, such as the Quality Housing and Work and Responsibility Act of 1998, that prohibit tenants of federally subsidized housing from possessing or using cannabis, even if they comply with state and local laws. The 2014 HUD memo “Use of Marijuana in Multifamily Assisted Properties” gave landlords “the discretion to evict or not evict current tenants for their use of marijuana.” When it comes to medical cannabis, that “discretion” is now legally prohibited discrimination. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) continues to enforce Executive Order 12564, “Drug-Free Federal Workplace,” a 1986 policy requiring federal employees to refrain from illegal drug use on or off duty. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SMHSA) federal workplace drug-testing framework still includes cannabis in federal employee testing panels without exceptions for patients who are complying with state medical cannabis laws and are not impaired at work. Denying medical cannabis patients’ employment is now illegal. The Department of Defense maintains Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 912a, a policy that prohibits active-duty service members from using or possessing cannabis and cannabis-derived products, including CBD. Branch-specific rules, including Army Regulation 600-85, Air Force Manual 44-197, Navy and Marine Corps ALNAV 057/19, and Coast Guard ALCOAST 308/20, reinforce that prohibition even when products are lawful for civilians or recommended under state medical cannabis laws. When it comes to medical cannabis, a zero-exception policy that treats therapeutic use as misconduct is now discrimination. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Directive 1315, “Access to VHA Clinical Programs for Veterans Participating in State-Approved Marijuana Programs,” prohibits VA healthcare providers from recommending medical cannabis, completing state medical cannabis forms, making referrals, or helping veterans register for state medical cannabis programs. For many veterans, the burden of paying out-of-pocket costs to see a non-VA clinician under this policy is a de facto ban on cannabis medicines. Additionally, while VA clinicians are permitted to discuss medical cannabis use with their patients, VA’s electronic medical records system only allows VA clinicians to document their patients’ medical cannabis use as abuse. This impacts a veteran’s access to other healthcare options in the VA system. These policy and system deficiencies can now be classified as healthcare discrimination. The Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) policies require compliance with federal laws as a condition of funding and licensing for hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other healthcare providers. Many facilities cite this as the reason for refusing access to cannabis medicines, declining to complete state paperwork or forcing patients to stop using their medicine when entering care. Refusing to provide patient care will now be considered discrimination. The recognition of cannabis as a legitimate medicine means that patients and their caregivers are no longer considered criminals under federal law. They have federal rights. Those rights now protect patients in housing, employment, healthcare and in their military careers. But like all rights, these protections mean little unless people exercise them. We should also expect that the protections and privileges tied to these rights will not be enforced equally or automatically. Continued patient engagement and advocacy will remain essential until these rights are expressly restored and every patient, regardless of ZIP code or income, has safe and legal access to cannabis medicines Patients, caregivers, healthcare providers and advocates must stay engaged and be ready to mobilize! A New Era In Advocacy DOJ’s order is a historic victory for medical cannabis patients that should be celebrated. This is a major turning point in federal policy, but it is certainly not the end of the fight. Over the coming days and months, we can expect congressional and legal challenges, as well as a series of regulatory interpretations at the state and federal levels. The medical cannabis movement’s first act was the fight for recognition, making the federal government admit that cannabis has medical value. The second act must ensure that recognition serves patients by securing access, rights, protections and integration of cannabis medicines into U.S. healthcare systems. Patient advocates must be ready to help the administration and Congress do that work. We know where federal policies break down, and we know what happens when agencies write rules without the people most affected. The federal government acknowledging cannabis is medicine is a call to action to medical cannabis stakeholders and allies. We need Congress, the administration and policymakers across the U.S. to understand that patients need more than recognition. From May 13-14, 2026, Americans for Safe Access, Veterans Initiative-22, Unite for National Medical Cannabis and the Pain Foundation will be in Washington, D.C., to bring this message to policymakers on Capitol Hill. Join us in demanding that rescheduling cannabis creates the rights, protections, and access needed to improve health outcomes for all Americans. Steph Sherer is the founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Access. The post Federal Marijuana Rescheduling Will End Discrimination In Housing, Healthcare And Employment For Medical Cannabis Patients (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Trump administration is moving to federally reschedule marijuana because cannabis reform is “overwhelmingly popular” with voters and because doing so will help people who need access to the drug for medical purposes, the White House press secretary says. “The president hears from a number of people, both inside and outside the administration, and frankly, the American people,” Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump’s press secretary said on Friday. “If you do look at the public polling on this issue, it is overwhelmingly popular with the vast majority of Americans.” She added in response to a question about the issue from a Real America’s Voice reporter that “rescheduling will lead to more research into cannabis as a drug, especially for those who need it for medical treatment.” “And so the president was willing to take this step to do that at the behest of the American public, who largely support it, and many of his health advisors on his team who he spoke with about it,” Leavitt said, referencing comments that Trump made a day earlier after the Department of Justice announced that cannabis rescheduling was happening. TRUMP BACKS CANNABIS RECLASSIFICATION FOR MEDICAL & RESEARCH@PressSec @karolineleavitt: "The President was willing to take this step, to do that at the behest of the American public, who largely support it, and many of his health advisors on his team.” RAV’s @BeniRaeHarmony… pic.twitter.com/8Su3Nej7By — Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) April 24, 2026 During a press event in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump spoke about the medical benefits of marijuana. “A lot of people are suffering from big problems, which this seems to be the best answer,” he said. “They’re very happy about it. So the rescheduling is starting, and that’s a big thing, rescheduling.” The president noted that his administration’s actions on cannabis rescheduling came after his friend Howard Kessler told him about how he used medical marijuana. “He had some medical difficulties, and he came upon this by accident, in a way,” he said. “He had to go through a lot of different medications, and he said this was the one that was much better than anything else. And so he experienced that. He didn’t benefit by it, other than from the standpoint that he lives a much better life now.” “So hopefully you don’t need it,” Trump said. “But if you do need it, I hear it’s the best of all the alternatives.” Separately on Thursday, the president called on Congress to take action to amend a law that threatens to federally recriminalize hemp-derived full-spectrum CBD products later this year. “We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said in a social media post. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.” Days earlier, Trump had complained that federal officials were “slow-walking” following through on his cannabis order. “You’re going to get the rescheduling done, right, please? Will you get the rescheduling done, please?” Trump said during a signing ceremony for a separate order on psychedelics, seeming to speak to a Department of Justice or White House official during an event in the Oval Office. “You know, they’re slow-walking me on rescheduling. You’re going to get it done, right?” Trump in December signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to expeditiously finish the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday announced that rescheduling is finally happening through a process that will happen in phases. Under an order signed by Blanche, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license will immediately move to Schedule III, as will any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Then, beginning on June 29, there will be a new expedited administrative hearing process to consider the broader rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. The Federal Register filing on the hearing says it “will conclude not later than July 15.” DOJ is ending a prior administrative hearing process on the rescheduling proposal that stalled near the end of the Biden administration amid litigation from pro-reform parties that alleged improper agency communications and witness selection decisions. Rescheduling won’t federally legalize cannabis, but it will remove certain Schedule I research barriers, while benefitting state-licensed marijuana businesses by allowing them to take federal tax deductions they’re currently barred from under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. To that end, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said they plan to issue new tax guidance for the marijuana industry following the rescheduling announcement. Meanwhile, “any form of marijuana other than in an FDA-approved drug product or marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license remains a schedule I controlled substance, and those who handle such material remain subject to the regulatory controls, and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions, applicable to schedule I controlled substances set forth in the CSA and DEA regulations,” Blanche wrote. For now, DOJ is establishing “an expedited review process for entities holding state medical marijuana licenses who seek registration as a marijuana manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser” in order to become federally compliant under Schedule III. In order to align with an international drug control treaty “requirement that a government agency serve as the exclusive purchaser of cannabis production,” DOJ is rolling out a process by which the federal government will technically purchase marijuana from producers and then sell it back to them or related entities. “Registered manufacturers must store crops in a facility to which DEA maintains access until that transaction is complete, and each manufacturer registration must specify the areas in which cultivation is permitted,” Blanche’s filing says. The order also allows researchers to legally obtain marijuana products from state-licensed businesses to be used in studies, for the first time. There has been some uncertainty about how DOJ would navigate the issue. While the department faced a mandate from the president, top officials have been notably silent on the issue in the months since receiving that directive—even as the White House touted Trump’s order as an example of a policy achievement during the first year of his second term. When Trump issued the rescheduling order late last year, Pam Bondi was attorney general. She opposed cannabis reform as Florida’s attorney general and she didn’t attend the president’s signing ceremony for the rescheduling executive order. Now, the process is being overseen by Blanche, who said in response to a written question about marijuana rescheduling during his confirmation process to become deputy attorney general that he would “give the matter careful consideration after conferring with all relevant stakeholders, including DEA personnel.” The president’s rescheduling directive was overwhelmingly popular among cannabis consumers, according to a recent poll from the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD. About 83 percent of respondents said they support the executive order, compared to 7 percent who expressed opposition and 10 percent who said they didn’t have an opinion about the proposed reform. The cannabis rescheduling process was initiated by then-President Joe Biden, under whom the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a 252-page report finding that marijuana does not meet the criteria to remain classified as a Schedule I drug. The Department of Justice later issued a proposed rule to move cannabis to Schedule III, which then led to a stalled administrative hearing process. A Democratic senator told Marijuana Moment in January that it’s “too early to tell” what the implications of Trump’s cannabis order would be—saying that while there are “things that look promising” about it, he is “very concerned about where the DOJ will land.” “The ability of the Trump administration to speak out of both sides of their mouth is staggering,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said. “So I’m just going to wait and see right now. Obviously, there’s things that look promising—to end generations of injustice. I really want to wait and see.” — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Also in January, two GOP senators filed an amendment to block the Trump administration from rescheduling cannabis, but it was not considered on the floor. A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report discussed how DOJ could, in theory, reject the president’s directive or delay the process by restarting the scientific review into marijuana. The Department of Justice separately missed a congressionally mandated deadline in January to issue guidelines for easing barriers to research on Schedule I substances such as marijuana and psychedelics. The post Trump’s Marijuana Move Is ‘Overwhelmingly Popular’ With Voters And Helps Patients, White House Press Secretary Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Federal marijuana industry tax guidance; White House weighs in on hemp legislation; FDA psychedelics moves; Congress wants state cannabis law study 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 President Donald Trump is calling on Congress to amend a law that threatens to federally recriminalize hemp-derived full-spectrum CBD products this year while also continuing to restrict “sale of products that pose Health risks.” “We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.” The White House sent feedback about pending hemp legislation to Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), and Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) filed a new amendment to accelerate enforcement of the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that’s currently set to take effect in November. The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said they expect cannabis rescheduling “to have significant positive tax consequences for businesses in the medical marijuana industry” and will soon issue guidance on how 280E relief applies. “Guidance is also expected to include a transition rule providing that, for purposes of section 280E, rescheduling generally will be considered to first apply for a business’s full taxable year that includes the effective date of the Final Order, for the business’s activities that do not involve Schedule I or II controlled substances as a result of the Final Order.” The Food and Drug Administration announced a series of new steps for “accelerating” access to psychedelics for people with mental health conditions following a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump. The House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill report calling on federal agencies to study the “adequacy” of state marijuana laws and assess ways for “preventing diversion of state legal cannabis product into jurisdictions that do not permit the use of cannabis.” Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed a bill to ban intoxicating hemp THC products in the state, even if planned federal restrictions are delayed or reversed—along with provisions protecting marijuana consumers’ privacy and recognizing cannabis industry workers’ right to unionize. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) office said the Trump administration’s federal marijuana rescheduling move is an “important step” that “adds support” to his push to legalize cannabis in the state. Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidates are campaigning on their support for legalizing marijuana. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) certified a law updating a ban on intoxicating hemp-derived products following the conclusion of litigation challenging an earlier policy. / FEDERAL The Drug Enforcement Administration is promoting a post claiming that marijuana has become “four times more dangerous in three decades.” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary discussed his agency’s psychedelics reform actions. A federal judge nominee who currently serves as director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation cited his overseeing raids against businesses that were allegedly illegally selling cannabis products as an “act of courage” during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “I just introduced bipartisan legislation to regulate hemp products and protect consumers. Washington has let this industry operate in a gray zone for too long. Americans deserve clarity about what they’re buying. This is commonsense policy that crosses party lines.” Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-KY) tweeted, “Thank you @POTUS for your leadership on promoting access to Hemp-derived CBD. I agree Congress must deliver on important reforms, and after years of working on this issue, my HEMP Act is one potential solution to address this important policy.” Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) tweeted, “Psychedelic treatments changed my life. Thankful to have a president who gets it.” The House bill to federally legalize marijuana got three new cosponsors for a total of 64. / STATES California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) suggested that President Donald Trump should use psychedelica to treat mental illness. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) tweeted, “Three ribbon cuttings in one week as we continue to open more medical cannabis facilities for Kentuckians in need. Just a year in, we’re delivering results that help our people and boost our economy. It’s a win-win.” New Hampshire lawmakers said they don’t expect federal marijuana rescheduling to change Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s (R) opposition to cannabis legalization. The Idaho secretary of state’s office is reviewing contribution records for a campaign seeking to place a medical cannabis legalization initiative on the November ballot. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission elected a new chair and vice chair, and took disciplinary action against marijuana businesses over alleged violations. Oklahoma’s top medical cannabis regulator said there are “still unanswered questions about how the federal reclassification will directly affect Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry and patients.” Maryland’s top cannabis regulator said the full implications of federal marijuana rescheduling for the state are not yet clear. Minnesota’s top cannabis regulator expressed support for federal legislation to let states opt out of a scheduled ban on hemp THC products. Michigan regulators launched a new webpage promoting cannabis curriculum offered by colleges and universities in the state. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / LOCAL A Wake County, North Carolina candidate pledged to deemphasize marijuana prosecutions if elected. / INTERNATIONAL Singaporean officials executed a man for importing cannabis. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “public sentiment on Regulations.gov supports the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposal for cannabis rescheduling, though the majority views the proposed Schedule III classification as inadequate and supports further rescheduling or complete de-scheduling of cannabis.” A study of mice suggested that “CBD has a beneficial effect on the inflamed urinary bladder and could potentially serve as an adjunct treatment for patients with [interstitial cystitis] in the future.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS A poll of Utah voters found that they support legalizing marijuana, 52 percent to 43 percent. The Family Research Council said President Donald Trump’s psychedelics executive order “poses grave dangers to the public’s mental and spiritual health.” / BUSINESS Jushi Holdings Inc. is seeking shareholder approval for continuance of the company out from British Columbia, Canada and its concurrent domestication in Nevada. 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 pushes Congress for hemp & CBD reforms (Newsletter: April 27, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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“These drugs honestly have been always illegal, but we brought clarity to the law and we brought reinforcement to the law.” By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) on Wednesday formally cleared the way for the state to enforce a law regulating hemp-derived products following the conclusion of litigation challenging an earlier state measure banning the sale of these products. Act 934 of 2025 updated a 2023 law that prohibited the sale and distribution of certain hemp-derived products, such as Delta-8 and THC-O, according to a press release from Griffin’s office. The 2023 law was challenged and blocked by a federal judge who said it likely was preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill, which prohibits laws that interfere with the right to transport hemp in interstate commerce. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction last summer, allowing Arkansas to implement its ban on these products. Within three months, the state’s Department of Finance and Administration seized more than 6,000 products, according to the release. The 2025 law was to take effect once Griffin certified that a final judgment had been issued in the litigation. The Republican attorney general signed that certification Wednesday at a news conference in his office. “It has been a long road to get to this point, but I am proud of my team for successfully defending the 2023 law, and I am happy to finally certify this Act,” Griffin said in a statement. The hemp-derived products were often packaged as gummies and drinks that were marketed to children and sold online and in convenience stores without an age requirement to purchase, Griffin said. Sen. Tyler Dees, a Siloam Springs Republican who sponsored both laws, said Wednesday that this issue is important to him as a father of three young children. Dees said he heard from lobbyists and concerned parents when the legislation was debated, and sided with “protection of children over the profit of peddlers of these illegal drugs.” “These drugs honestly have been always illegal, but we brought clarity to the law and we brought reinforcement to the law,” he said. “And that’s why I’m so excited today that Arkansas is now safer for all of our communities because of the action we’ve been able to take.” Arkansas is among a number of states trying to regulate hemp products, including Alabama, Indiana and Missouri. Arkansas voters legalized medical marijuana in 2016, and a ballot measure that would have also allowed recreational marijuana was rejected in 2022. This story was first published by Arkansas Advocate. The post Arkansas Attorney General Certifies Law Restricting Hemp-Derived THC Products appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net