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Texas voters have approved a marijuana legalization question that appeared on the state’s Democratic primary ballot. As part of the primary election on Tuesday, each major party was able to place several non-binding propositions on the ballot that allow voters show how they feel on key issues. The Texas Democratic Party used one of its propositions to find out where the electorate stands on legalizing cannabis and whether past convictions should be expunged. Preliminary results indicate that Texas voters who selected a Democratic primary ballot approved the cannabis question by a margin of 80 percent to 20 percent, with 85 percent of polling locations reporting as of Wednesday morning. The yes or no question on Democratic primary ballots read: “Texas should legalize cannabis for adults and automatically expunge criminal records for past low-level cannabis offenses.” There was no cannabis question on the Republican ballot, but Texas has an open primary system in which voters can opt to participate in either party’s primary regardless of how they are registered. The approval of Democrats’ marijuana question will not on its own change any cannabis laws, but it could send a signal to lawmakers that the reform is popular with voters. For what it’s worth, a statewide poll released last month found that Texas voters don’t like how state leaders and lawmakers have handled marijuana and THC policy issues. In the survey, a plurality of voters (40 percent) said they disapprove of how their elected officials have approached the issue, according to the survey. Just 29 percent said they approve of how cannabis issues have been handled, while 31 percent said they didn’t have an opinion one way or another. A separate poll released last year found that a plurality of Texas voters want the state’s marijuana laws to be made “less strict.” And among the legislative items lawmakers considered during recent special sessions, voters say a proposal to address hemp regulations was among the least important. In the background, officials with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) in December conditionally approved nine new medical marijuana business licenses in December as part of a law that’s being implemented to significantly expand the state’s cannabis program. The department will issue conditional licenses to three additional dispensaries by April 2026. This represents a major change to the program, as there are currently only three dispensaries licensed to operate in Texas. DPS in October adopted additional rules to increase the number of licensed dispensaries, establishing security requirements for “satellite” locations and authorizing the revocation of licenses for certain violations. The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) also recently finalized rules allowing doctors to recommend new qualifying conditions for cannabis patients and creating standards for allowable low-THC inhalation devices. Meanwhile, bipartisan Texas lawmakers say the stage is set to advance legislation next session establishing regulations for hemp THC products, with growing understanding among their colleagues that prohibition fails to effectively address concerns about the cannabis market. In the interim, Texas regulators have taken a series of steps to enact rules around consumable hemp products over recent months, which began after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed a bill last year that would’ve effectively eradicated the state’s hemp market. In late December, meanwhile, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) released a set of proposed rules to regulate the state’s hemp market—including provisions related to age-gating, licensing fees, testing requirements, packaging restrictions and more in response to an executive order the governor signed in September. Image element courtesy of AnonMoos. The post Texas Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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WI gov pushes Congress on hemp; VA marijuana sales bills advance; CT psychedelics; WA medical cannabis in hospitals 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… Free to read (but not free to produce)! We’re proud of our newsletter and the reporting we publish at Marijuana Moment, and we’re happy to provide it for free. But it takes a lot of work and resources to make this happen. If you value Marijuana Moment, invest in our success on Patreon so we can expand our coverage and more readers can benefit: https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) sent a letter urging the state’s congressional delegation to work to prevent the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products, saying the need for action is “further intensified by the fact that Wisconsin has not enacted legislation legalizing medical or recreational marijuana, despite multiple attempts by my administration to do so.” A poll of Massachusetts residents found that they overwhelmingly oppose a proposed ballot initiative to roll back the state’s marijuana legalization law, 63 percent to 20 percent. The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee approved bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales, moving the chambers closer to negotiations on a final version to send to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). The Washington State Senate Ways & Means Committee approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. The Connecticut legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health approved a bill to expand the state’s psychedelics pilot program to allow all adults who meet clinical eligibility criteria can participate, instead of just veterans, retired first responders and direct care health care workers. Gennaro Luce and Matthew Myro Rothman of CannaLnx argue in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that rescheduling won’t stabilize the industry unless it is accompanied by “clear federal guidance on reimbursement pathways, claims administration and benefit integration” for medical cannabis. / FEDERAL A former Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs and the Office of Legal Policy official authored an op-ed about a case before the Supreme Court on cannabis consumers’ gun rights. House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats criticized President Donald Trump for pardoning former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández for drug charges while at the same time conducting deadly military strikes on suspected drug boats. The Food and Drug Administration Division of Applied Regulatory Science noted some of its cannabis research projects in an annual report. / STATES The Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus included cannabis legalization in its policy agenda. Alaska lawmakers are considering legislation to revise marijuana taxes. Vermont regulators took action on hemp-derived ingredients, product formulation requirements, labeling standards and packaging waivers. Missouri regulators published guidance on infused marijuana prerolls and infused flower. Ohio regulators published guidance on cannabis weekly inventory report requirements. Washington State published guidance on cannabis transport manifests. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office published an update on cannabis tax revenue. Michigan regulators filed a complaint against a marijuana business over alleged violations. — 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 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country is not waging a “war on drugs” even as it ramps up military operations against cartels. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A review concluded that “CBD engages the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and related receptors to preserve epithelial barrier integrity, regulate gut microbiota composition, and modulate intestinal oxidative stress and inflammation.” A study found that “mystical experiences – particularly experiences of unity, sacredness, and transcendence – during psilocybin sessions are associated with greater [obsessive-compulsive disorder] symptom reduction.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS Prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana launched an ad campaign urging Virginia lawmakers not to legalize recreational marijuana sales. / BUSINESS Verdant Partners is acquiring the retail operations of Native Roots. PAX released a newly redesigned cannabis dry herb vaporizer. / CULTURE Ethan Hawke spoke about how his first acting award he ever won was a bong from High Times. 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 Max Jackson. The post Anti-cannabis ballot measure lacks support in Massachusetts, poll shows (Newsletter: March 4, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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The march toward legalizing recreational marijuana sales in Virginia continues on, with the full House of Delegates and a Senate committee advancing a pair of companion bills to create a regulated adult-use cannabis market in the Commonwealth. The House on Tuesday passed a Senate-approved cannabis sales bill on second reading, teeing it up for final passage in the chamber. Earlier in the day, a House companion measure moved through the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee in a 10-5 vote, sending the measure to the floor for consideration. Both chambers’ marijuana sales proposals are aimed at giving adults a legal means of buying cannabis, the possession and home cultivation of which was legalized in the state in 2021—though there are key differences between them. The measures in both chambers—HB 642 and SB 542—were recently amended to stipulate that microbusiness licensees can cultivate, process or conduct retail sales at up to two locations instead of one, so long as they’re located within 10 miles of each other and operate under common ownership and control. Lawmakers have also revised the legislation to clarify that current medical cannabis businesses would only be able to cultivate cannabis indoors, including in secure greenhouses with a total canopy cap of 70,000 square feet. The amendments also make it so they could not have any additional marijuana licenses beyond their medical permits with “dual-use privileges.” Finally, the measures’ conversion fee structure was revised in a way that lets current medical marijuana businesses pay for the privilege to serve the adult-use market in three installments. There are certain remaining major differences between the chambers’ bills that will still need to be addressed—related to the start date for legal sales and cannabis tax rates—before a final product can be delivered to the governor’s desk. Here are the key details of the Virginia marijuana sales legalization legislation, SB 542 and HB 642: Adults would be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products as determined by regulators. The House bill sets the state date for legal sales as November 1, 2026, while the Senate measure would allow them to begin on January 1, 2027. The Senate bill would set an excise tax on cannabis products of 12.875 percent, in addition to a 1.125 percent state sales tax and a mandatory 3 percent local tax. The House measure would apply an excise tax of 6 percent as well as a 5.3 percent retail sales and use tax, while allowing municipalities to set a local tax of up to 3.5 percent. Under the House bill, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and regulation of the new industry, while the Senate legislation tasks that to a new combined Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control Authority. The House bill calls for revenue to be distributed to a new Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund (60 percent), early childhood education (10 percent), the Department of Behavioral & Developmental Health Services (25 percent) and public health initiatives (5 percent). The Senate proposal, meanwhile, would put 30 percent toward the equity reinvestment fund, 40 percent for early childhood eduction, 25 percent to the behavioral and developmental health services department and 5 percent to public health initiatives. Local governments could not opt out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their area. Delivery services would be allowed. Serving sizes would be capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than 100 mg THC per package. Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market if they pay a licensing conversion fee that is set at $15 million in the Senate bill and $10 million in the House measure. Cannabis businesses would have to establish labor peace agreements with workers. A legislative commission would be directed to study adding on-site consumption licenses and microbusiness cannabis event permits that would allow licensees to conduct sales at venues like farmers markets or pop-up locations. It would also investigate the possibility of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority becoming involved in marijuana regulations and enforcement. The Virginia House and Senate both took action on multiple marijuana bills on a key deadline last month—passing proposals to legalize cannabis sales, provide a pathway to resentencing for prior marijuana convictions and allow medical cannabis access in hospitals for seriously ill patients. With respect to the Senate marijuana sales bill, members recently clashed in committee about amendments to the body’s version that would have added new penalties for illegal cannabis activity. The amendments at issue from the Courts of Justice Committee included penalties for consumers who buy from unlicensed sources, the recriminalization of cannabis possession by people under 21 and making sales a class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense and a crime punishable by mandatory jail time for a second offense. As revised, the bill would have also raised the penalty for unlicensed cultivation to a felony punishable by up to five years in jail and made it a felony to transport with intent to distribute cannabis across state lines. But the Finance and Appropriations Committee reversed the amendments last month amid pressure from a coalition of advocacy groups that sent a letter to senators saying they undermined the “intent” of the legislation and the “will of the people” by adding criminal penalties for certain cannabis-related activity. Overall, both chambers’ commercial sales bills have largely aligned with recommendations released in December by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market. Meanwhile, certain GOP members have found themselves ideologically aligned with their Democratic colleagues throughout this legislative process, breaking with the majority of their caucus in support of creating a regulated marketplace for adults to purchase cannabis. Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by the legislature. Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), for her part, supports legalizing adult-use marijuana sales. Meanwhile, Virginia House and Senate lawmakers on Monday advanced a pair of companion bills, with amendments, that would provide a pathway to resentencing for people with prior marijuana convictions. Members of the Senate and House Courts of Justice Committees on Monday approved substitute versions of the opposite chamber’s reform legislation, making certain revisions that set the stage for bicameral negotiations as the measures move forward in the legislative process. The legislation as introduced in both chambers would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences. Separately last month, the Virginia House passed a bill to allow patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals. It would require healthcare facilities to establish policies “to address circumstances under which an eligible patient would be permitted to use medical cannabis.” The Senate passed differing legislation concerning the use of medical cannabis in health care facilities last month. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, the Virginia House this month approved a bill to protect the rights of parents who use marijuana in compliance with state law. Under the proposal from Del. Nadarius Clark (D), possession of use of cannabis by a parent or guardian on its own “shall not serve as a basis to deem a child abused or neglected unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption causes or creates a risk of physical or mental injury to the child.” “A person’s legal possession or consumption of substances authorized under [the state’s marijuana law] alone shall not serve as a basis to restrict custody or visitation unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption is not in the best interest of the child,” the text of the bill, HB 942, states. Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers. Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post Virginia House And Senate Lawmakers Advance Marijuana Sales Legalization Bills Toward Governor’s Desk appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“A stable cannabis industry requires more than tax normalization. It requires integration into healthcare infrastructure that governs how therapeutic products are accessed, financed and sustained.” By Gennaro Luce and Matthew Myro Rothman, CannaLnx Momentum around federal cannabis reform has shifted. Following President Donald Trump’s executive order directing the rescheduling of cannabis, investors have interpreted the move as a meaningful step toward normalization. Multistate operators are accelerating acquisitions. Capital markets are cautiously reengaging. Optimism is back in the headlines. Rescheduling would be significant. But it will not, by itself, stabilize the cannabis industry. Moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would ease one of the most punishing structural burdens operators face: Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code. Relief from 280E would improve margins, unlock cash flow and potentially make the sector more attractive to institutional investors. That is not trivial. But 280E reform addresses taxation. It does not address integration or infrastructure. The cannabis industry’s deeper instability is not simply a tax problem. It is a structural demand problem rooted in the fact that cannabis remains overwhelmingly an out-of-pocket purchase—even when used for medical purposes. Rescheduling does not automatically create reimbursement pathways. It does not authorize or compel Medicare, Medicaid or commercial insurers to recognize cannabis as a covered therapeutic. It does not establish billing codes, claims infrastructure, validation mechanisms or federal guidance for employer-sponsored health plans. And it does not change the reality that most medical cannabis patients today must pay entirely out of pocket. As long as cannabis remains a cash-based retail product, its market dynamics will resemble consumer discretionary goods—not health care. That distinction matters. Out-of-pocket markets are inherently price-sensitive. They are vulnerable to discounting cycles, promotional churn, pricing inconsistency, lack of standards and illicit market competition. Patient retention is fragile when therapy depends on weekly or monthly cash flow rather than structured and reliable benefit coverage. In that environment, consolidation may create larger operators. But it does not foster durable demand. Recent M&A activity reflects renewed confidence following rescheduling signals. But consolidation in a cash-based system often magnifies structural weaknesses. Larger footprints still compete for the same out-of-pocket consumer. Expanded delivery networks still rely on the same price-driven acquisition tactics. Without structural changes to how medical cannabis is accessed and financed, scale alone does not change the underlying economics. Health care markets behave differently. When therapies are integrated into benefit systems, demand stabilizes. Patient access is mediated through structured pipelines rather than retail foot traffic. Benefits and reimbursement frameworks encourage continuity of care. Claims systems normalize repeat engagement. Price sensitivity shifts when costs are partially offset through employer-sponsored or insurer-backed benefit programs. That infrastructure—not simply federal rescheduling—is what distinguishes a retail market from a health care-adjacent one. To be clear, rescheduling could create downstream opportunities for research expansion, physician comfort and broader regulatory clarity. Those developments may gradually influence payer behavior. But none of them automatically generate reimbursement and benefit mechanisms. Without deliberate policy movement toward benefit integration, cannabis will remain caught between two identities: treated as medicine by patients, but treated as a consumer good by federal health systems. This liminal status creates volatility. Operators continue to navigate compressed margins, price competition and retention challenges not solely because of tax burdens, but because medical cannabis lacks the institutional support systems that anchor other therapeutic categories. In most states, medical programs operate independently from federal health care frameworks. Employers that choose to support medical cannabis reimbursement do so through patchwork arrangements rather than standardized guidance. Payers face ambiguity about compliance, coding and risk exposure—and delay their entry. Rescheduling does not resolve that ambiguity. If policymakers intend for cannabis to evolve into a health care-adjacent market, reform cannot stop at tax relief. Clear federal guidance on reimbursement pathways, claims administration and benefit integration would do more to stabilize long-term demand than scale-driven consolidation alone. Otherwise, the industry risks a familiar cycle: regulatory optimism, acquisition waves, margin pressure and retrenchment. Rescheduling may reduce friction. But without reimbursement reform, it does not redesign the system to meet the needs of patients dependent on these valuable therapeutics. A stable cannabis industry requires more than tax normalization. It requires integration into healthcare infrastructure that governs how therapeutic products are accessed, financed and sustained. Until the stage is set for such integration, consolidation will expand footprints—but won’t strengthen foundations. Gennaro Luce is the CEO of CannaLnx by EM2P2, the first HIPAA-compliant digital platform that connects patients, doctors, dispensaries and healthcare payers. Matthew Myro Rothman is the company’s Chief Science Officer. The post Trump’s Cannabis Rescheduling Move Alone Won’t Stabilize The Industry Without Insurance Reimbursement Reform (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

122. Microdosing for Midlife: Stability & Nervous System Change (Week 5) Week 5 explores masking, authenticity, the Default Mode Network, and how microdosing may soften rigid self-narratives in midlife. Episode Summary This episode is part Week 5 of Microdosing for Midlife—a 12-part audio companion to the original Substack series. In this conversation, April explores authenticity not as a dramatic revelation, but as a gradual unmasking. Rather than chasing peak experiences or forced breakthroughs, she reflects on how microdosing intersects with identity, ego softening, and the quiet recognition of truths long postponed. The episode examines the difference between escape and exposure—and why midlife often demands something more sustainable than either. Drawing from neuroscience, lived experience, and even a bridge to quantum physics, April considers how the Default Mode Network (DMN) reinforces self-stories—and how gentle disruptions may create space for new ones. This is not about dramatic ego dissolution. It’s about noticing the yes that’s actually a no, the roles we’ve outgrown, and the parts of ourselves we’ve hidden to stay acceptable. If you’ve read the original essay, this episode deepens it. If you haven’t, it stands on its own—and may send you back to read more closely. Key Takeaways How “masking” functions psychologically and neurologically The role of the Default Mode Network in identity and self-story Why escape and authenticity are often confused How microdosing may soften rigid self-narratives The difference between forced revelation and sustained alignment What flow actually represents in midlife transition One reflection to carry into the week ahead Timestamps [00:00] Episode opening[02:00] Masking, escape, and authenticity[05:00] A personal mask-off moment[07:00] Default Mode Network and ego narratives[10:00] Observation and identity[13:00] Flow and sustained alignment[15:00] What to carry forward Resources Micro-Psyched 12-Week Microdosing Program Upcoming Psychedelic Salon tickets Follow April on Substack Original Microdosing for Midlife Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/microdosing-for-authenticity Hosted by April Pride @aprilpride_ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@getsetset⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@getsetset⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@getsetset Get full access to SetSet with April Pride at aprilpride.substack.com/subscribeCatch the full episode here

Connecticut lawmakers have approved a bill to expand a pilot program in the state that’s meant to explore the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA. Members of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health on Tuesday favorably reported the psychedelics measure, which would build upon an existing psychedelic-assisted therapy program involving military veterans and first responders who elect to participate in clinical trials. The new legislation would repeal and replace the current statute to make it so any adults 18 or older who meet clinical eligibility criteria established by the institutional review board of the medical school selected to administer the pilot program could be eligible to receive psychedelics treatment in a clinical setting, with researchers tasked with studying the efficacy of the novel therapeutics. It would also remove existing language stipulating that the pilot program must end upon federal approval of psilocybin or MDMA by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) or a successor agency. Additionally, the bill—which has been transmitted to the non-partisan Legislative Commissioners’ Office for analysis—would strike dated language requiring the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to create and facilitate the program by January 2023. Under the proposal, SB 191, the department is mandated to “establish, within available appropriations, a psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program, to be administered by a medical school in the state.” That program “shall provide qualified patients with MDMA-assisted or psilocybin-assisted therapy as part of a research program approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration,” or FDA. “There’s a chance that psychedelic medications for this purpose will be approved by the FDA, which makes the research study stop if you don’t make a change in the language,” Sen. Saud Anwar (D), chair of the Public Health Committee, said. “So that’s the main purpose of this.” The rationale behind the initial bill that created the pilot program “was that veterans were committing suicide on a very frequent basis, even in our state,” he said, “and initial data had shown that we could save their lives. That was the reason that we were able to put some resources to save as many lives as we could, because the FDA process is slow.” “This has the FDA-based criteria for the study, but it’s not an FDA study, and we do not suggest—as a body, as a public health committee—that we wanted to go outside of the FDA guidelines,” Anwar aid. “It’s not FDA-approved at this time. But should that happen, we do not want to have anybody have a negative outcome.” The senator added that the legislation’s criteria for inclusion in the psychedelics pilot program was expanded beyond veterans and first responders in response to a “request made by the clinicians and the researchers.” — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, last year, the full House of Representatives approved a bill to decriminalize psilocybin for adults—despite questions about whether the state’s Democratic governor would support it after he rejected an earlier version of the reform measure. That marked the third session in a row that Connecticut lawmakers worked to advance psilocybin decriminalization. In 2023, the reform measure cleared the House but did not move through the Senate. The Judiciary Committee also approved a version in 2024. Gov. Ned Lamont (D) also signed a large-scale budget bill in 2022 that included provisions to set the state up to provide certain patients with access to psychedelic-assisted treatment using substances like MDMA and psilocybin. Separately, Connecticut lawmakers are also among the latest in the U.S. to take up legislation this session to allow medical marijuana use by certain qualifying patients at health facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. Image courtesy of CostaPPR. The post Connecticut Lawmakers Approve Bill To Expand Psychedelics Pilot Program In Anticipation Of FDA Approval appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The governor of Wisconsin is calling on congressional lawmakers to urgently take action to block a federal hemp THC ban that threatens to wipe out much of the state’s cannabis market—an issue he says is “intensified” by the fact that the state has yet to legalize marijuana for medical or adult use. In a letter sent to Wisconsin’s congressional delegation on Tuesday, Gov. Tony Evers (D) warned about the ramifications of the pending federal hemp policy change that’s set to take effect in November under a large-scale bill President Donald Trump signed into law last year. He said without “legislative modification,” the new law “will have significant implications for Wisconsin hemp farmers, processors, retailers, and our broader economy.” “Hemp-derived products currently support a growing sector of legitimate businesses across Wisconsin, employing nearly 3,500 employees and contributing meaningfully to local economies with over $700 million in economic production,” the governor wrote, adding that the hemp policy change means “many of these existing lawful products would be reclassified in a manner that effectively eliminates existing business models, forcing closures, layoffs, and lost investment.” Evers is far from alone in his call for action. Industry stakeholders and legislators across the aisle have insisted that the federal reclassification of hemp would effectively eliminate the market that’s evolved since the crop and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. At minimum, they’ve called for an extended implementation delay so there’s more time to consider alternatives to outright recriminalization. “The growing of hemp has become a strong diversification option for Wisconsin farmers, and as of November 2025, Wisconsin had 470 federally licensed hemp producers. Regulatory uncertainty surrounding the definition of hemp undermines their ability to plan responsibly and threatens to disrupt crop selection, with the potential to leave fields sitting idle for the 2026 season and beyond,” the letter says. “Without timely federal legislative action, Wisconsin producers may be forced to abandon hemp cultivation altogether, resulting in lost income and diminished economic opportunities, especially in our rural communities.” “Our farmers already deal with enough, and the constant chaos and confusion out of D.C. caused by reckless trade wars and erratic tariff taxes continues to make an already strenuous job even harder,” it continues. “State and federal leadership must not turn its back on the farming communities and families who have long been, and always will be, the bedrock of our nation’s continued success.” Notably, Evers said that the impacts of the forthcoming hemp policy change are “further intensified by the fact that Wisconsin has not enacted legislation legalizing medical or recreational marijuana, despite multiple attempts by my administration to do so.” The governor has repeatedly pushed for the reform— including legalization in multiple budget requests, for example—but efforts to enact the reform have consistently stalled out even as adult-use markets have come online in neighboring states such as Illinois and Michigan. “While consumer demand for hemp-derived products remains strong, the absence of a legalized marijuana market in Wisconsin means that many of these products serve as lawful alternatives for Wisconsinites and an important source of revenue for instate businesses,” Evers said. “Restrictive changes to the hemp definition will only drive commerce for hemp-derived products across state lines, shifting jobs and tax revenue away from Wisconsin.” A Wisconsin Senate committee last month approved a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state as other legislators push for broader adult-use legalization. The state’s Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly last year rejected an attempt to legalize cannabis, defeating amendments to budget legislation that would have ended prohibition and established new medical and recreational cannabis programs. Evers is not seeking re-election. But he said last year that if his party can take control of the legislature, the state can “finally” legalize marijuana so that residents don’t have to go to neighboring Illinois to visit its adult-use market. “Due to the unique situation Wisconsin is left in, outlined above, I strongly believe federal legislation is needed to prevent the negative impacts of the new federal hemp definition,” he said, while urging lawmakers to support a bipartisan bill to delay the implementation of the policy change for two years to give the industry time to consider regulatory alternatives. “This is about preserving lawful agricultural production that supports our local farmers and producers, protecting small businesses, and ensuring regulatory clarity for an industry that Congress itself created through prior legislation,” he said. “Time is of the essence. Farmers, producers, and retailers need certainty now in order to make informed decisions for the 2026 growing season and beyond. I urge you to act promptly to protect Wisconsin’s agricultural producers, small businesses, and workforce.” On the other side of the debate, a coalition of law enforcement and anti-drug groups recently called on congressional leaders to oppose efforts to delay the implementation of the hemp THC ban. As certain lawmakers seek to push back the implementation timeline—with delays included in proposed amendments for the latest Farm Bill that’s being marked up in a key House committee on Tuesday, for example—the prohibitionists groups led by Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) are sounding the alarm. One 2026 Farm Bill amendment to delay the hemp ban would only extend the timeline by another year, and another would delay it for two years, though those proposals are expected to be killed given that the House committee chairman has claimed they are not germane to the underlying bill. A separate standalone bill from the amendment sponsor, Rep. Jim Baird (R-ID), would give the industry two additional years to consider regulatory alternatives to an outright ban. Hemp and alcohol industry stakeholders are on full alert amid a pending ban on hemp THC products—including increasingly popular cannabinoid beverages—and a former Democratic congressman who owns a major alcohol company recently spoke at Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s (WSWA) Access LIVE 2026 event in Las Vegas where he and others discussed the policy landscape around hemp and how to avert an industry-wide upheaval. WSWA, which hosted the event, has been closely monitoring federal hemp policy developments, and the association was among the first in the sector to call on Congress to dial back language in the now-enacted law set to ban most consumable hemp products, while proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items. Other major alcohol retailers came together in January to encourage Congress to delay the enactment of the law Trump signed that will federally recriminalize hemp-derived THC beverages and other products. — 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. — Since 2018, cannabis products have been considered legal hemp if they contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. The provisions set to take effect later this year specify that, within one year of enactment, the weight will apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It will also include “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services).” The new definition of legal hemp will additionally ban “any intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use” as well as products containing cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside of the cannabis plant or not capable of being naturally produced by it. Legal hemp products will be limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC or any other cannabinoids with similar effects. Within 90 days of the bill’s enactment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies were supposed to publish list of “all cannabinoids known to FDA to be capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, as reflected in peer reviewed literature,” “all tetrahydrocannabinol class cannabinoids known to the agency to be naturally occurring in the plant” and “all other known cannabinoids with similar effects to, or marketed to have similar effects to, tetrahyrocannabinol class cannabinoids.” However, FDA appears to have missed that deadline. A spokesperson told Marijuana Moment last month that the lists would be posted in the Federal Register when they’re available. Lawmakers from across the aisle have been raising concerns about the potential consequences of the hemp redefinition, which would eradicate most consumable cannabinoid products that have become commonplace in states across the U.S., including those where marijuana hasn’t been legalized. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell are among the critics of the ban, and they sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) last month imploring him to use his influence to avert the recriminalization, at least on a temporary basis, by supporting the proposed implementation delay. While McConnell championed hemp legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill, however, the former Senate majority leader has supported unraveling the hemp THC market that he’s described as an unintended consequences of the broader agriculture legislation. The post Wisconsin Governor Pushes To Stop Federal Hemp THC Ban, Saying Lack Of Legal Marijuana In State Makes The Impacts ‘Intensified’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A Washington State Senate committee has approved a House-passed bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Kloba (D), cleared the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Monday after having previously been passed by the full House of Representatives in a vote of 89-6 last month and later advanced by the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee. If enacted in to law, it would mandate that hospitals and other specified healthcare facilities allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana on the premises beginning on January 1, 2027, subject to certain rules and restrictions. “The medical use of cannabis may support improved quality of life for a qualifying patient…with a terminal condition,” the bill’s text says. “It is the intent of the legislature to promote dignity and comfort for terminally ill patients while maintaining the integrity and safety of health care environments.” Under HB 2152, patients and their caregivers would be responsible for acquiring and administering medical marijuana, and it would need to be stored securely at all times in a locked container. Smoking or vaping of cannabis would be prohibited, so patients would need to consume it via other methods. Marijuana could not be shared between patients and visitors, and the right to use medical cannabis under the bill would not apply to patients who are in the emergency department. Healthcare facility officials would need to see a copy of patients’ authorization to use medical cannabis, and they would be required to note their use of the drug in medical records. They would also need to establish a formal policy “allowing for the medical use of cannabis” on the premises. Facilities would also be able to suspend permission to use cannabis under the bill if a federal agency such as the U.S. Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes an enforcement action against such use or “issues a rule or other notification that expressly prohibits the medical use of cannabis in health care facilities.” The House Health Care & Wellness Committee adopted an amendment to exempt nursing homes operated by a residential habilitation center from the requirement to allow the medical use of cannabis, to clarify that the bill doesn’t apply to patients who haven’t been formally admitted to a hospital and to specify that patients and their caregivers are responsible for retrieving the medical cannabis (in addition to their responsibilities related to acquiring, administering, and removing the medical cannabis). The bill next heads to the Senate Rules Committee and then the floor before potentially being sent to the desk of Gov. Bob Ferguson (D). — 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 in several other states are also considering and advancing bills to expand medical marijuana access in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. California and a handful of other states already have laws allowing terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in healthcare facilities. Known as “Ryan’s Law,” the legislation is partly inspired by the experience of Jim Bartell, whose son died from cancer and was initially denied access to cannabis at a California hospital. The Bartells did eventually find a facility that agreed to allow the treatment, and Jim said Ryan’s quality of life improved dramatically in his final days. “In the invaluable last days as Ryan fought stage 4 pancreatic cancer, I first-handedly experienced the positive impact medical cannabis had on my son’s well-being, as opposed to the harsh effects of opiates,” Bartell said in 2021 when California’s governor signed Ryan’s Law. “Medical cannabis is an excellent option for relieving pain and suffering in those who are terminally-ill, but most importantly it serves to provide compassion, support, and dignity to patients and their families, during their loved-ones’ final days.” “Looking at each other, holding Ryan’s hand and telling him how much I loved him during his final moments would not have been possible without the medical cannabis,” he said. Meanwhile, Washington State lawmakers this session also filed a bill to legalize the home cultivation of marijuana for personal use by adults. Separate legislation was also introduced to allow short-term rentals like Airbnbs in Washington State would be able to offer guests complimentary marijuana prerolls. Yet another measure that was filed would legalize and regulate therapeutic use of the psychedelic psilocybin. The post Washington Senators Approve Bill To Let Terminally Ill Patients Use Medical Cannabis In Hospitals appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Massachusetts voters will have a chance to vote on a ballot initiative in November that would roll back the state’s adult-use marijuana law—and a new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of residents do not want to see that happen. The Bay State Poll from the University of Hampshire’s States of Opinion Project asked Massachusetts adults about six separate ballot proposals that could go before voters at the upcoming election, including one that would repeal state law permitting recreational cannabis sales and the cultivation of marijuana for personal use. Nearly 2 in 3 Bay Staters (63 percent) said they’re opposed to the marijuana measure, including 48 percent who said they’re “strongly” opposed. Just 20 percent of respondents said they’re in favor of the proposed initiative, with 11 percent “strongly” supportive of the repeal. Opposition was strongest among Democrats, at 73 percent, followed by independents (69 percent) and a plurality of Republicans (42 percent) Support for the cannabis repeal initiative was the lowest of any of the six ballot questions that responders were asked about, which also included proposals to allow same-day voter registration, lowering the state income tax, establishing rent control laws and more. The survey—which involved interviews with 670 Massachusetts residents from February 12-16, with a +/-3.8 percentage point margin of error—comes months after cannabis activists filed a complaint with the State Ballot Law Commission under the Secretary of State’s office, alleging that petitioners with the anti-cannabis campaign used misleading tactics to convince voters to support its ballot placement. The commission rejected the complaint in January, however, and said advocates who challenged the ballot measure raised “unsupported allegations” about the propriety of the signature gathering process that they said warranted official scrutiny. That decision represented a setback for advocates and industry stakeholders who have flagged numerous accounts of alleged misconduct by petitioners working on behalf of the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts. It also came as separate polling found that nearly half of those who signed the marijuana sales repeal petition felt misled, with many claiming that the measure was pitched to them as a proposal to address unrelated issues such as public education and expanded housing. The anti-marijuana coalition has denied any wrongdoing in the signature collection process and waved off the survey results. The initiative would still let adults 21 and older possess and gift up to an ounce of cannabis, but it would repeal provisions of the voter-approved legalization law allowing for commercial sales and home cultivation by adults. The medical cannabis program would remain intact under the measure. An association of state marijuana businesses had separately urged voters to report to local officials if they observe any instances of “fraudulent message” or other deceitful petitioning tactics. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s (D) office—which cleared the campaign for signature gathering in September—has stressed to voters the importance of reading the summary, which is required to go at the top of the signature form, before signing any petitions. The Massachusetts legislature received the initiative for consideration earlier this month when the 2026 session kicked off. Now that the state election commission has issued its ruling on the complaint, lawmakers have until May 5 to act on the proposal. If they choose not to enact it legislatively, the campaign would need to go through another round of petitioning and get at least 12,429 certified signatures by July 1 to make the November ballot. Meanwhile, the head of Massachusetts’s marijuana regulatory agency recently suggested that the measure to effectively recriminalize recreational cannabis sales could imperil tax revenue that’s being used to support substance misuse treatment efforts and other public programs. To that point, Massachusetts recently reached another marijuana milestone, with officials announcing last month that the state has surpassed $9 billion in adult-use cannabis purchases since the market launched in 2018. Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers recently assembled a bicameral conference committee to reach a deal on a bill that would double the legal marijuana possession limit for adults and revise the regulatory framework for the state’s adult-use cannabis market. In December, state regulators also finalized rules for marijuana social consumption loungues. — 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. — CCC recently launched an online platform aimed at helping people find jobs, workplace training and networking opportunities in the state’s legal cannabis industry. State lawmakers have also been considering setting tighter restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products and a plan to allow individual entities to control a larger number of cannabis establishments. Also in Massachusetts, legislators who were working on a state budget butted heads with CCC officials, who’ve said they can’t make critical technology improvements without more money from the legislature. Massachusetts lawmakers additionally approved a bill to establish a pilot program for the regulated therapeutic use of psychedelics. And two committees have separately held hearings to discuss additional psilocybin-related measures. The post Massachusetts Ballot Measure To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization Is Opposed By Most State Residents, Poll Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Hemp THC ban pro & con arguments to Congress; MD medical marijuana employment protections; VA cannabis resentencing votes Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… BREAKING: Journalism is often consumed for free, but costs money to produce! While this newsletter is proudly sent without cost to you, our ability to send it each day depends on the financial support of readers who can afford to give it. So if you’ve got a few dollars to spare each month and believe in the work we do, please consider joining us on Patreon today. https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case on marijuana consumers’ Second Amendment gun rights, with most justices appearing skeptical of the Trump administration’s defense of the ban—and some suggesting a pending rescheduling action undermines the idea that cannabis consumption makes a person uniquely dangerous and subject to disarmament. The lawyer representing the Trump Department of Justice told justices, however, that “the government has not made final decisions with respect to what to do with marijuana” rescheduling yet. Former Rep. David Trone (D-MD), who owns Total Wine & More, expressed concerns about the looming federal recriminalization of hemp THC products in an appearance at a Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America event. “This is now an adult beverage category, whether it’s a beer tonight or a glass of wine or an adult hemp beverage.” The Virginia House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees amended and approved bills to provide resentencing relief for people with prior marijuana convictions, setting the stage for bicameral negotiations as separate legislation to legalize recreational cannabis sales also advances. The Maryland Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to protect firefighters and rescue workers from being penalized for off-duty use of medical cannabis, with the sponsor saying marijuana provides a “safer, viable alternative” to opioids. Law enforcement and anti-drug groups sent a letter urging congressional leaders not to delay the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products from taking effect with a new Farm Bill being marked up this week. The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation filed proposed rule changes to target bad actors in the industry, streamline ownership changes, allow publicly traded companies to own cannabis licenses and establish product recall procedures. / FEDERAL The Department of Defense inspector general reportedly stalled a review into the Trump administration’s deadly military strikes on suspected drug boats. The Drug Enforcement Administration promoted an article about a study that found teens who use marijuana are “twice as likely to develop psychotic or bipolar disorders.” Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) discussed his support for cannabis law reform. / STATES Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) deflected a question about marijuana reform to lawmakers. The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska’s attorney general discussed plans to move forward with a medical cannabis program despite pushback from state officials. The Iowa House Economic Growth and Technology Committee approved a bill to classify hemp as an agricultural commodity. The Oregon House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business, and Trade rejected a bill to enact new restrictions on cannabis edibles. Illinois marijuana and hemp bills advanced to the Senate Cannabis Committee. Here’s a look at where North Carolina legislature candidates stand on legalizing medical cannabis. California regulators are moving to change rules on multipack cannabis goods. Washington State regulators published an updated list of pesticides allowed in the production of marijuana. Michigan regulators filed a complaint against a marijuana business over alleged violations. Kentucky regulators are hosting a series of medical cannabis informational webinars. The New York Cannabis Control Board will meet on Thursday. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / LOCAL A San Francisco, California supervisor is proposing legislation to ban retail sales of nitrous oxide. / INTERNATIONAL Ghana’s interior minister said the country’s launch of a medical cannabis program is “about job creation, medicine and revenue, not about recreational use of drugs.” / SCIENCE & HEALTH A review concluded that “CBD could be an effective pharmacological intervention to prevent the enlargement of the secondary wave of” traumatic brain injury. A review concluded that “cannabinoid-based therapies may reduce pain in some patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS The Wall Street Journal editorial board weighed in on the case on marijuana consumers’ gun rights that’s before the U.S. Supreme Court, saying, “to regain the Second Amendment’s protection, all they have to do is quit.” New York Times reporter Robert Draper wrote about his experiences using ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT at a clinic in Mexico. / BUSINESS Tilray Brands, Inc. acquired BrewDog. The Cannabist Company Holdings Inc. announced that an ad hoc group of noteholders of its senior secured notes and senior secured convertible note agreed to a further extension and to forbear from exercising any of their rights and remedies under the amended and restated indenture. / CULTURE Paul McCartney discussed his 1980 arrest for marijuana in Japan in a new documentary. 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 Supreme Court talks cannabis rescheduling in gun rights hearing (Newsletter: March 3, 2026) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Virginia House and Senate lawmakers have advanced a pair of companion bills, with amendments, that would provide a pathway to resentencing for people with prior marijuana convictions. Members of the Senate and House Courts of Justice Committees on Monday approved substitute versions of the opposite chambers’ reform legislation, making certain revisions that set the stage for bicameral negotiations as the measures move forward in the legislative process. Overall, the legislation as introduced in both chambers would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences. The Senate panel approved HB 26 from Del. Rozia Henson (D) in a 9-6 vote, with revisions largely conforming it to the chamber’s own bill, SB 62, that’s being sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D) that passed on the floor last month before moving to the House. Senators have now referred the House measure to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee for further consideration. There are some differences between the chambers’ measures. The House-passed legislation includes juveniles among those who would be eligible for relief for marijuana-related convictions, clarifies that judges would only be considering resentencing for cannabis offenses and specifies that people with probation violations for marijuana would be included in the reform. Both bills as introduced apply to people whose convictions or adjudications are for conduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2021, when a state law legalizing personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect. With respect to the Senate bill, which cleared the House committee in substitute form in a 15-7 vote on Monday, it would exclude more categories of people who could qualify for resentencing, while adding a longer list of violent crimes that would render people with cannabis convictions ineligible for relief. In the background of these latest developments, separate Virginia bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales have continued to advance toward enactment into law. Lawmakers in both the House of Delegates and Senate last week amended and advanced the opposite chambers’ proposals on the issue. Virginia lawmakers took action on multiple marijuana bills on a key deadline last month—advancing the proposals to legalize cannabis sales, provide a pathway to resentencing for prior marijuana convictions, as well as other legislation to allow medical cannabis access in hospitals for seriously ill patients. Despite the outstanding differences, both chambers’ commercial sales bills have largely aligned with recommendations released in December by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market. Meanwhile, certain GOP members have found themselves ideologically aligned with their Democratic colleagues throughout this legislative process, breaking with the majority of their caucus in support of creating a regulated marketplace for adults to purchase cannabis. Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by the legislature. Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), by contrast, supports legalizing adult-use marijuana sales. Separately last month, the Virginia House passed a bill to allow patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals. It would require healthcare facilities to establish policies “to address circumstances under which an eligible patient would be permitted to use medical cannabis.” The Senate passed differing legislation concerning the use of medical cannabis in health care facilities last month. — Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Meanwhile, the Virginia House this month approved a bill to protect the rights of parents who use marijuana in compliance with state law. Under the proposal from Del. Nadarius Clark (D), possession of use of cannabis by a parent or guardian on its own “shall not serve as a basis to deem a child abused or neglected unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption causes or creates a risk of physical or mental injury to the child.” “A person’s legal possession or consumption of substances authorized under [the state’s marijuana law] alone shall not serve as a basis to restrict custody or visitation unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption is not in the best interest of the child,” the text of the bill, HB 942, states. Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers. The post Virginia Lawmakers Advance Marijuana Resentencing Bills As Push To Legalize Commercial Sales Also Nears Finish Line appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“What we are saying in the rule is if a year from now we look at your ownership and we see you have someone exercising a controlling influence that you know has done these things, then that is a violation.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent Missouri cannabis regulators want more power to penalize bad actors in the marijuana industry, according to drafts of proposed rules released last week. The sweeping revisions to Division of Cannabis Regulation rules also aim to streamline the process for ownership changes, allow publicly traded companies to own cannabis licenses and establish recall procedures of marijuana products containing unregulated THC. The proposed guidelines would particularly clarify what happens when there are rule-breakers “exercising a controlling influence” over a facility, said Amy Moore, director of the division that oversees the marijuana program. “What we are saying in the rule is if a year from now [if the rules are approved] we look at your ownership,” Moore said, “and we see you have someone exercising a controlling influence that you know has done these things, then that is a violation.” Moore was speaking of the rules’ detailed list of offenses that include selling or distributing unregulated THC, committing theft or other criminal offenses on the job, fraudulently using an agent identification card, tampering with or falsifying video recordings and refusing to cooperate with a department investigation. Having a rule-breaker in a position of power would lead to a fine of up to $100,000 or suspension or revocation of a license, according to the rules. The changes address some of the challenges regulators have encountered with facilities, such as the cases of the Delta Extraction manufacturing and Red Tractor cultivation facilities. Nearly a year after the state stripped Robertsville-based Delta Extraction of its license for adding unregulated THC to its products, regulators approved one of the company’s co-owners—AJO LLC—to take over a cultivation and manufacturing facility in Waynesville in May 2024. Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the division, told The Independent last year that the rules currently do not prohibit individuals who have had a license revoked from acquiring another license. The Kansas City owner of Red Tractor pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges for submitting fraudulent documents to cannabis regulators in 2021 to obtain a marijuana cultivation license. Without a felony conviction to make him ineligible, Waggoner retained the two cannabis manufacturing licenses held by his company. The public can comment on the division’s website until March 10, and regulators will review them and decide whether to formally submit the rules to the Secretary of State’s Office. This is the second time the division has asked for public input on most of these rules, with the first being in August. The most-interested parties, the cannabis business owners, are working on submitting feedback to the latest draft, said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association. Streamlining the process When a cannabis facility wants to make a change in ownership that’s more than 50%, they have to fill out a business-change application and get pre-approval to do so. That process can drag on anywhere from six months to a year, Moore said. “It has proven, over time, to be so rare that we find a constitutional violation in these things,” Moore said. “It feels like we can do away with a business having to wait any amount of time for our pre-approval.” Instead, every licensee will submit a report annually that outlines ownership percentage for each entity or individual. Licensees must still seek pre-approval if they’re adding a new owner or an individual who has 10% or more interest, or they’re fully transferring their licenses to another entity. “I think it is going to be more efficient for us, and definitely more efficient for the businesses,” she said. A state audit released last week found that the division took an average of 165 days to approve or deny business ownership change requests from submission to final action, based on data the auditor reviewed from 2020 through 2023. The auditor urged the division to decrease the turnaround time, and Moore feels this will help do that. “It also allows us to be reviewing more frequently for some and as frequently as you need to for the others,” she said. “I think it’ll be just more efficient government.” The annual review requirement will also offer an opportunity for regulators to catch rule-breakers in ownership or management positions. Another place of enforcement is with agent IDs. The rules would require these managers or decision makers to apply for an agent ID, when they previously didn’t need one if they weren’t working inside a facility. People who’ve committed certain offenses wouldn’t be eligible for an agent ID. The change-business application is another place where regulators will be looking to enforce rules against bad actors. The list of 10 offenses gives applicants a clear idea of what might get an application denied, Moore said. “It gives everybody fair warning,” Moore said, “that before they get into business relationships and before they get into the application process, what may cause us to say, ‘No’.” This story was first published by Missouri Independent. The post Missouri Marijuana Officials File New Rules Targeting Bad Actors In Legal Industry appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A coalition of law enforcement and anti-drug groups is calling on congressional leaders to oppose efforts to delay the implementation of a law that’s set to recriminalize most hemp THC products within months—a policy change that industry stakeholders say would fundamentally upend the market that’s emerged since the crop and its derivatives were federally legalized. As certain lawmakers seek to push back the implementation timeline—with a delay included in proposed amendments for the latest Farm Bill that’s being marked up in a key House committee on Tuesday, for example—the prohibitionists groups led by Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) are sounding the alarm. In a letter sent to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders last month, the organizations said the law that President Donald Trump signed last year that included the hemp THC ban, which takes effect in November, is “a major public health, safety and consumer protection success.” “For years, manufacturers and retailers exploited ambiguities in the 2018 Farm Bill’s hemp definition to market highly intoxicating products as ‘legal hemp,’ with many chemically converted versions marketed as far more potent than regular marijuana,” it says. “This created a fragmented and costly enforcement problem: whether a product was unlawful often required time-consuming testing, legal interpretation, and agency-by-agency disentanglement.” In addition to CADCA, the letter was signed by groups such as D.A.R.E. America, Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents, Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, National Association for Addiction Professionals, National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association, National HIDTA Director’s Association (NHDA), National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, Partnership to End Addiction and Smart Approaches to Marijuana, among dozens of others. Despite the fact that a significant portion of the hemp sector that’s evolved over recent years derives revenue through the same of intoxicating cannabinoid products, the groups downplayed the impact of the forthcoming ban, making the case that the policy “does not harm legitimate hemp.” “Public Law 119-37 draws a practical, enforceable line between legitimate hemp commerce and intoxicating products deceptively marketed as ‘hemp,'” they said. “Critically, this is not a ban on hemp farming. Fiber, grain, seed, and other traditional hemp cultivation remain lawful.” “Non-intoxicating hemp products can continue to be made and sold, and the law provides a clear compliance pathway that preserves legitimate agriculture while ending the national sale of intoxicating products falsely presented as hemp,” the letter says, adding that an implementation delay “would only benefit those who manufacture and sell hemp-derived THC and other hemp derived intoxicating products.” “Claims that additional time is needed to ‘develop regulations’ for intoxicating hemp-derived THC products are misplaced. Research and enforcement experience show that attempting to regulate these products has resulted in widespread noncompliance, continued youth access, misleading marketing, and persistent public health harms, even in states that have enacted substantial regulations. These products are continually reformulated to evade thresholds, testing requirements, and enforcement, rendering regulatory frameworks ineffective and resource-intensive to administer. Public Law 119-37 appropriately resolves this problem not by attempting to regulate an inherently evasive market, but by restoring a clear legal boundary on intoxicating hemp products.” Contrary to arguments from stakeholders, the anti-drug groups said the one-year implementation timeline that started last November is “reasonable,” providing enough time “for manufacturers to cease production or reformulate to non-intoxicating CBD products, for retailers to clear inventory, and for regulators to prepare for consistent enforcement—while preventing further entrenchment of a national marketplace in highly intoxicating hemp-derived products.” “A three-year delay would do the opposite,” they said. “It would normalize and entrench the current marketplace by sustaining nationwide retail access to high-potency intoxicants, increasing youth exposure, poisonings, and preventable injuries, and prolonging the costly, fragmented enforcement environment that prompted Congress to act.” One 2026 Farm Bill amendment to delay the hemp ban would only extend the timeline by another year, and another would delay it for two years, though those proposals are expected to be killed given that the House committee chairman has claimed they are not germane to the underlying bill. A separate standalone bill from the amendment sponsor, Rep. Jim Baird (R-ID), would give the industry two additional years to consider regulatory alternatives to an outright ban. Hemp and alcohol industry stakeholders are on full alert amid a pending ban on hemp THC products—including increasingly popular cannabinoid beverages—and a former Democratic congressman who owns a major alcohol company recently spoke at Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s (WSWA) Access LIVE 2026 event in Las Vegas where he and others discussed the policy landscape around hemp and how to avert an industry-wide upheaval. WSWA, which hosted the event, has been closely monitoring federal hemp policy developments, and the association was among the first in the sector to call on Congress to dial back language in the now-enacted law set to ban most consumable hemp products, while proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items. Other major alcohol retailers came together in January to encourage Congress to delay the enactment of the law Trump signed that will federally recriminalize hemp-derived THC beverages and other products. — 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. — Since 2018, cannabis products have been considered legal hemp if they contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. The provisions set to take effect later this year specify that, within one year of enactment, the weight will apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It will also include “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services).” The new definition of legal hemp will additionally ban “any intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use” as well as products containing cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside of the cannabis plant or not capable of being naturally produced by it. Legal hemp products will be limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC or any other cannabinoids with similar effects. Within 90 days of the bill’s enactment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies were supposed to publish list of “all cannabinoids known to FDA to be capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, as reflected in peer reviewed literature,” “all tetrahydrocannabinol class cannabinoids known to the agency to be naturally occurring in the plant” and “all other known cannabinoids with similar effects to, or marketed to have similar effects to, tetrahyrocannabinol class cannabinoids.” However, FDA appears to have missed that deadline. A spokesperson told Marijuana Moment last month that the lists would be posted in the Federal Register when they’re available. Lawmakers from across the aisle have been raising concerns about the potential consequences of the hemp redefinition, which would eradicate most consumable cannabinoid products that have become commonplace in states across the U.S., including those where marijuana hasn’t been legalized. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell are among the critics of the ban, and they sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) last month imploring him to use his influence to avert the recriminalization, at least on a temporary basis, by supporting the proposed implementation delay. While McConnell championed hemp legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill, however, the former Senate majority leader has supported unraveling the hemp THC market that he’s described as an unintended consequences of the broader agriculture legislation. Read the letter from anti-drug groups urging opposition to a delay of the hemp THC ban below: The post Police And Anti-Drug Groups Call On Key Congressional Leaders To Let Hemp THC Ban Take Effect Without Delay appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A Maryland Senate panel has approved a bill to protect firefighters and rescue workers from being penalized for using medical marijuana while off duty. The Senate Finance Committee advanced the measure from Sen. Carl Jackson (D) in a 6-4 vote on Thursday, about a year after the full chamber passed an earlier version that ultimately stalled out in the House. If SB 439 is enacted, state law would be amended to codify that firefighters and other rescue workers who are registered medical cannabis patients could not be penalized over their participation in the state-legal program or for testing positive for marijuana. Employers could not “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” based solely on a positive screening for THC metabolites. They also could not “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,” the bill text says. However, employers could continue to set zero-tolerance policies for on-duty impairment from cannabis. “Our brave fire and rescue personnel risk their lives daily to protect our communities,” Jackson told colleagues at a hearing last month. “It is imperative that we provide them with the access to the medical care they need, including physician-approved cannabis treatments without fear of employment repercussions.” “Firefighters endure extreme physical and psychological stress due to the nature of their work. Many suffer from chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and other debilitating conditions resulting from the hazards they face in the line of duty,” he said. “Traditional treatment options such as opioids and other prescription medications can have dangerous side effects, including dependency, cognitive impairment and a reduced ability to function effectively.” “Medical cannabis has been recognized as a safer, viable alternative that would allow firefighters to manage their symptoms while maintaining their ability to perform at the highest level.” The bill’s advancement 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. — Meanwhile in Maryland, lawmakers are also advancing legislation to extend a psychedelics task force through the end of 2027 to develop updated recommendations on expanding therapeutic access to the novel drugs and potentially creating a regulatory framework for broader legalization. Legislators also took up a bill this month to protect the gun rights of medical marijuana patients in the state. Members of the House Judiciary Committee discussed the legislation from Del. Robin Grammer (R), who has sponsored multiple versions of the cannabis and gun rights measure over recent sessions, but they have not yet advanced to enactment. Separately, a Republican congressional lawmaker representing Maryland who has built a reputation as one of the staunchest opponents of marijuana reform on Capitol Hill—and whose record includes ensuring that Washington, D.C. officials are blocked from legalizing recreational cannabis sales—may be at risk of being unseated in November due to redistricting in his state. Photo courtesy of Max Jackson. The post Maryland Senators Approve Bill To Let Firefighters And Rescue Workers Use Medical Marijuana While Off Duty appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of the federal government’s legal defense of a law banning people who use marijuana from owning or possessing guns on Monday—with some pointing to a pending rescheduling action as a factor undermining the idea that cannabis consumption makes a person uniquely dangerous to society in a way that justifies their disarmament. After years of legal challenges to the federal statute, Section 922(g)(3), in courtrooms across the country, the high court justices heard oral arguments in U.S. vs. Hemani and put questions to the Trump administration’s Justice Department and attorneys for Ali Danial Hemani, who challenged his conviction for unlawful possession of a gun as a person who regularly used cannabis. The federal government has consistently maintained its position that the law appropriately disarms marijuana users who, they claim, are uniquely dangerous. To meet a strict Supreme Court standard for firearm laws, DOJ has also drawn sometimes eyebrow-raising comparisons between cannabis consumers and the mentally ill and habitual drunkards to establish a historical analogue that aligns with the country’s founding era. On the other side of the debate, civil rights groups—including the ACLU, whose attorneys are among those representing Hemani—and gun organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) have argued that the current policy represents a misguided categorical infringement of Second Amendment rights for a population that uses a substance that’s been legalized in a majority of states and is possibly going to be reclassified under federal law as well. Precedent stipulates that “legislatures can regulate to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, but when I look at this statute—and when I look at what the qualifications are for being listed on one of these schedules—they’re all about public safety,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said. “Here with the marijuana, I just don’t see anything in the scheme that actually reflects Congress’s judgment that this makes someone more dangerous.” Another Trump appointee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, said the notion that there mere fact that a drug is illegal means its usage makes a person inherently dangerous raises complicated questions about how that standard is applied according to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). “Is it just Schedule I? Is it Schedule II? How far down does that go?” he asked. And if it’s the case that the government is narrowly interested in preventing people from owning guns if they use Schedule I and Schedule II drugs but not less restricted substances, “what do we do with this case given that, yes, [marijuana is] presently a Schedule I drug, but the government itself is considering rescheduling it to Schedule III.” “The drug that is involved in this case might wind up being a Schedule III drug tomorrow,” Gorsuch said. “It’s just an odd case to have chosen to test to test the principle when the government itself is potentially rescheduling it as a drug that it wouldn’t think would qualify” for categorical disarmament. Sarah Harris, the principal deputy solicitor general for the Trump administration’s DOJ who previously served as acting U.S. solicitor general, said responded by first pointing out that, “at the time when the offense was committed, marijuana is in—was a Schedule I drug.” And secondly, “the government has not made final decisions with respect to what to do with marijuana.” “But I think something that is clear for the from the [notice of proposed rulemaking]…is that even Schedule III drugs, which include things like ketamine, the difference is they have some medically accepted uses, not that they’re not dangerous,” she said. “I think the government has to make a decision with respect to their risk potential of marijuana and other externalities.” Listen to the Supreme Court oral arguments in U.S. vs. Hemani: Erin Murphy, partner at the firm Clement & Murphy, PLLC, represented Hemani in the hearing, pointing out to justices that “we’re not arguing that the Second Amendment doesn’t allow for categorical prohibitions—that is not our position—and we’re not even arguing that Congress couldn’t, perhaps, have categorical restrictions as to particular substances.” “Our core point is, if Congress wants to do that, then the government needs to prove with its burden of proof under [past Supreme Court precedent] not just that this was a reasonable determination supported by substantial evidence that gets past [Administrative Procedures Act] review with highly discretionary, we’ll-assume-the-government-knows-what-it’s-talking-about, that it has, in fact, identified the category in a way that maps on to the historical tradition” of U.S. gun laws, she said. “Must there be an individualized determination as to anybody who is prosecuted under any of the subsections of 922(g)?” Gorsuch asked. “No,” Murphy said. The court spent much of its time with Murphy discussing the qualitative differences between what constitutes addiction and how that relates to historical analogues in U.S. gun laws concerning “habitual drunkards.” Justice Elena Kagan, one of the liberal-leaning justices on the bench appointed by former President Barack Obama, posed a hypothetical to the respondent’s lawyer: How should the government navigate the law in a situation where a person infrequently used the psychedelic ayahuasca? “If the drug is ayahuasca, and it’s a very, very, very intense hallucinogen—and the the episode lasts a very long time, but it’s not, let’s say, an addictive drug [and] you can choose when to take it, but when you’re in its grip, reality dissolves—I’m assuming that Congress has a good reason for saying, when reality dissolves, you don’t want guns around,” Kagan said. “But that to me, when you give the description of the historical analog, to me that’s going to fail your test. Should it fail your test?” Murphy replied that “I think that it would be a little bit difficult to show that really using that drug every few weeks is going to be enough to render you akin to the concept that the historical drunkard laws were getting at, which is that your consumption rendered you [dangerous].” “We’re not saying that you had to be intoxicated all the time, but your consumption impaired your ability to function, even your moments of sobriety. That’s what the courts are talking about,” she said. “They’re asking whether it doesn’t have to be addiction. It can be addiction, certainly, but it could also be you’re consuming so frequently that that’s really all you do.” Gorsuch noted that “this statute does cross-reference the Controlled Substances Act, which then does define addict as a habitual user so as to endanger the public morals. Just leave it at that. And my question is, is that definition of addict good enough, in your view, to satisfy the tradition of prohibiting gun ownership possession by addicts, and if not, what is the delta?” Murphy replied that “these cases arise because marijuana, [and] it would be difficult for the government to make that showing when it is the considered judgment of 40 states, the District of Columbia, three territories and the president” that cannabis use doesn’t intrinsically make a person a danger to society. “Where the analogy falls apart vis a vis marijuana is the government saying it doesn’t matter if it’s somebody who’s taken the sleep gummy, smoking one joint a couple nights a week when they come home after a long day at work or if it’s the person who’s smoking all day before they drive their car and operate heavy machinery at work or whatever it may be,” she said. “They say none of that matters—and we think it does.” It’s unclear when justices will issue their ruling in the case. The lines of questioning and commentary from justices demonstrated a degree of skepticism regarding the government’s defense of current statute, and gun groups following Monday’s hearing seemed to generally interpret the case as moving in the respondent’s favor, but it’s not clear how sweeping of a ruling the court will issue, if it does in fact rule for Hemani. As the scheduling discussion suggested, however, the possibility of federal marijuana rescheduling could play into the case and how justices approach their ruling. And it remains to be seen whether that rescheduling process will be completed by the time the Supreme Court issues its opinion. Brandon Buskey, director of ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, separately previewed his organization’s case against Section 922(g)(3) as applied to their client in an interview with Marijuana Moment last week. Numerous amici briefs were filed with the court ahead of the much-anticipated hearing, with several pointing out that the validity of the current federal policy is made all the more confounding by the fact that President Donald Trump in December directed the expeditious finalization of a rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In the background, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has moved to loosen rules that bar people who consume marijuana and other illegal drugs from being able to lawfully purchase and possess guns by making it so fewer people would be affected. The interim final rule from ATF seeks to update the definition of “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” under an existing policy that has been interpreted to deny Second Amendment rights to people who have used illegal substances a single time within the past year. Meanwhile, in December, attorneys general for 19 states and Washington, D.C. filed their own brief siding with the federal government in the Hemani case, insisting that justices should maintain the current § 922(g)(3) statute. The governor of Colorado, whose attorney general was among that group, subsequently said he didn’t think his state should have taken that position. Also in December, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and 21 other prohibitionist groups filed a brief urging justices to uphold the constitutionality of the federal gun ban for people who use cannabis—which they claim is associated with violence and psychosis. Trump administration Solicitor General D. John Sauer, for his part, told the Supreme Court that people who use illegal drugs “pose a greater danger” than those who drink alcohol. Meanwhile, the Biden administration was evidently concerned about potential legal liability in federal cases for people convicted of violating gun laws simply by being a cannabis consumer who possessed a firearm, documents recently obtained by Marijuana Moment show. The previously unpublished 2024 guidance from former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department generally cautioned U.S. attorneys to use discretion in prosecuting federal cannabis cases, particularly for offenses that qualified people for pardons during his term. But one section seems especially relevant as the Supreme Court takes on a case challenging the constitutionality of the current federal gun statute. With respect to Hemani, in a separate August filing for the case, the Justice Department also emphasized that “the question presented is the subject of a multi-sided and growing circuit conflict.” In seeking the court’s grant of cert, the solicitor general also noted that the defendant is a joint American and Pakistani citizen with alleged ties to Iranian entities hostile to the U.S., putting him the FBI’s radar. If justices declare 922(g)(3) constitutional, such a ruling could could mean government wins in the remaining cases. The high court recently denied a petition for cert in U.S. v. Cooper, while leaving pending decisions on U.S. v. Daniels and U.S. v. Sam. In interviews with Marijuana Moment, several Republican senators shared their views on the federal ban on gun possession by people who use marijuana—with one saying that if alcohol drinkers can lawfully buy and use firearms, the same standard should apply to cannabis consumers. Separately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit last year sided with a federal district court that dismissed an indictment against Jared Michael Harrison, who was charged in Oklahoma in 2022 after police discovered cannabis and a handgun in his vehicle during a traffic stop. The case has now been remanded to that lower court, which determined that the current statute banning “unlawful” users of marijuana from possessing firearms violates the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The lower court largely based his initial decision on an interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling in which the justices generally created a higher standard for policies that seek to impose restrictions on gun rights. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District, judges recently ruled in favor of medical cannabis patients who want to exercise their Second Amendment rights to possess firearms. As a recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) explained the current legal landscape, a growing number of federal courts are now “finding constitutional problems in the application of at least some parts” of the firearms prohibition. In another ruling, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated a defendant’s conviction and remanded the case back to a district court, noting that a retrial before a jury may be necessary to determine whether cannabis in fact caused the defendant to be dangerous or pose a credible threat to others. The Third Circuit separately said in a published opinion that district courts must make “individualized judgments” to determine whether 922(g)(3) is constitutional as applied to particular defendants. A federal court in October agreed to delay proceedings in a years-long Florida-based case challenging the constitutionality of the ban on gun ownership by people who use medical marijuana, with the Justice Department arguing that the Supreme Court’s recent decision to take up Hemani warrants a stay in the lower court. — 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. — Last year, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the ban was unconstitutional as applied to two defendants, writing that the government failed to establish that the “sweeping” prohibition against gun ownership by marijuana users was grounded in historical precedent. A federal judge in El Paso separately ruled in 2024 that the government’s ongoing ban on gun ownership by habitual marijuana users is unconstitutional in the case of a defendant who earlier pleaded guilty to the criminal charge. The court allowed the man to withdraw the plea and ordered that the indictment against him be dismissed. DOJ has claimed in multiple federal cases over the past several years that the statute banning cannabis consumers from owning or possessing guns is constitutional because it’s consistent with the nation’s history of disarming “dangerous” individuals. In 2023, for example, the Justice Department told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that historical precedent “comfortably” supports the restriction. Cannabis consumers with guns pose a unique danger to society, the Biden administration claimed, in part because they’re “unlikely” to store their weapon properly. The post Supreme Court Justices Suggest Trump’s Marijuana Rescheduling Move Undermines Gun Ban For Users That His DOJ Is Defending appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Hemp and alcohol industry stakeholders are on full alert amid a pending ban on hemp THC products—including increasingly popular cannabinoid beverages—and a former Democratic congressman who owns a major alcohol company is looking for solutions. At Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s (WSWA) recent Access LIVE 2026 event in Las Vegas, which brought together top players in the cannabis and alcohol markets, former Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and stakeholders discussed the policy landscape around hemp and how to avert an industry-wide upheaval under spending legislation President Donald Trump signed into law last year. While the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump enacted during his first term federally legalized hemp and its derivatives, allowing states to set “their own myriad of laws” that lawmakers sifted through “to make sure we got it right,” that policy is set to be unravelled come November, when separate legislation will enter into force prohibiting most hemp THC products. “This is now an adult beverage category, whether it’s a beer tonight or a glass of wine or an adult hemp beverage,” Trone, who owns Total Wine & More, said. The former congressman said that if federal law moves away from regulation to recriminalization, “there’ll be an underground economy” for hemp. Rather than take that risk, he said there should be Food and Drug Administration- (FDA) approved “three-tier” solutions. “Putting hemp beverages in the three-tier system [is] the common sense—the right way,” Trone said, stressing that FDA should be involved “to make sure what’s in that can or bottle is exactly what it says on the outside.” Charlie Merinoff, founder of Breakthru Beverage Group, said at the event that “the clock is ticking.” “We’ve got to get it done by the summer recess or it’s not getting done,” he said. “You cannot put the genie back into the bottle. This is out there. The consumer wants it. What we need is regulation, not prohibition.” WSWA, which hosted the event, has been closely monitoring federal hemp policy developments, and the association was among the first in the sector to call on Congress to dial back language in the now-enacted law set to ban most consumable hemp products, while proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items. Other major alcohol retailers came together in January to encourage Congress to delay the enactment of the law Trump signed that will federally recriminalize hemp-derived THC beverages and other products. The coalition says it wants to apply the same regulatory structure that governs beverage alcohol producers, distributors and merchants to hemp drinks “to ensure safe, transparent access.” A GOP lawmaker, Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN), attempted to put a one-year delay on the implementation of the hemp recriminalization policy through an amendment to the 2026 Farm Bill that’s scheduled for a committee markup on Tuesday. But the chairman of that panel said he believes the amendment is not germane to the underlying legislation, so a vote is unlikely. — 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. — Delaying the THC ban by a year would serve as a temporary bridge for the industry as it works to convince Congress to regulate—rather than recriminalize—hemp products, and it’s a shorter delay than Baird is working to secure through separate standalone legislation he filed this session that would put a pause on the policy change for two years to give stakeholders more time to navigate the issue. Since 2018, cannabis products have been considered legal hemp if they contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. The provisions set to take effect later this year specify that, within one year of enactment, the weight will apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It will also include “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services).” The new definition of legal hemp will additionally ban “any intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use” as well as products containing cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside of the cannabis plant or not capable of being naturally produced by it. Legal hemp products will be limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC or any other cannabinoids with similar effects. Within 90 days of the bill’s enactment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies were supposed to publish list of “all cannabinoids known to FDA to be capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, as reflected in peer reviewed literature,” “all tetrahydrocannabinol class cannabinoids known to the agency to be naturally occurring in the plant” and “all other known cannabinoids with similar effects to, or marketed to have similar effects to, tetrahyrocannabinol class cannabinoids.” However, FDA appears to have missed that deadline. A spokesperson told Marijuana Moment last month that the lists would be posted in the Federal Register when they’re available. Lawmakers from across the aisle have been raising concerns about the potential consequences of the hemp redefinition, which would eradicate most consumable cannabinoid products that have become commonplace in states across the U.S., including those where marijuana hasn’t been legalized. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell are among the critics of the ban, and they sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) last month imploring him to use his influence to avert the recriminalization, at least on a temporary basis, by supporting the proposed implementation delay. While McConnell championed hemp legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill, however, the former Senate majority leader has supported unraveling the hemp THC market that he’s described as an unintended consequences of the broader agriculture legislation. The post Former Congressman And Alcohol Stakeholders Push For Hemp THC Regulations Over Prohibition As Federal Ban Looms appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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