Marijuana Moment: Congress wants federal study of state cannabis laws (Newsletter: April 21, 2026)

[Tokeativity]

Politicians & brands mark 4/20; MA gov signs marijuana bill; PA legalization; DE medical cannabis bill; Woody Harrelson & Bill Maher talk marijuana

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The House Appropriations Committee is expected to approve a report on Tuesday calling on federal agencies to study the “adequacy” of state marijuana laws and assess methods for “preventing diversion of state legal cannabis product into jurisdictions that do not permit the use of cannabis.”

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) signed a bill doubling the legal marijuana possession limit, overhauling the Cannabis Control Commission and changing business licensing and ownership rules.

Delaware lawmakers sent Gov. Matt Meyer (D) a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals, with the legislation passing both chambers unanimously.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) marked the 4/20 cannabis holiday by asking lawmakers to send him a bill to legalize marijuana—and the House Majority Policy Committee held a hearing on the collateral consequences of cannabis convictions.

• “It’s time for us to finally catch up—and for the legislature to send a bill to my desk and get this done.”

More politicians and companies are embracing cannabis culture and using 4/20 as a way to get their message out as legalization gains support and marijuana becomes more mainstream.

A new report from the Marijuana Policy Project shows that cannabis arrests are, not surprisingly, dropping significantly as more states enact legalization laws—but also that tens of thousands of people are still being put in handcuffs over marijuana every year in the U.S.

Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher complained about marijuana taxes being too high while smoking joints together at the cannabis business they co-own.

• They also addressed the industry’s banking access issues during the 4/20 episode of the Club Random podcast.

The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation filed proposed rules to create a new class of marijuana research licenses and will be accepting public feedback throughout May.

/ FEDERAL

National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow met with the co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus.

Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted, “While the substance of POTUS’s EO (“Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness”) is a reasonable, research-focused step for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD, depression & TBI – as I detailed in the thread below -the rollout was problematic.”

A former Drug Enforcement Administration informant was sentenced to time served after admitting he failed to pay taxes on nearly $4 million he received for undercover work.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “So just to be clear, should the ban pass, my bill (should it be signed into law) would allow to states to essentially OPT OUT of the ban so states can continue regulating hemp themselves, as long as they maintain a minimum age for purchase and keep the ban on dangerous synthetic cannabinoids that don’t naturally occur in the hemp plant.”

/ STATES

California’s Assembly speaker pro tem discussed the advancement of his psychedelics reform legislation as President Donald Trump announced federal moves on the issue.

An Illinois representative authored an op-ed arguing that the state still has work to do to achieve an equitable cannabis industry.

An Indiana judge is facing disciplinary charges over alleged illegal drug use and possession of marijuana.

Missouri regulators adopted changes to marijuana business rules.

Ohio regulators posted guidance about marijuana product IDs.

Nevada regulators launched an online catalog of marijuana products.

The Guam Cannabis Control Board will meet on Wednesday.

New York will host an event about marijuana home cultivation of marijuana on Wednesday.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

/ LOCAL

New York City officials are accepting applications for another wave of cannabis business loans.

Jackson, Michigan officials launched a “Pot for Potholes” initiative to use marijuana revenue to support road repair.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Ecuadorian lawmakers advanced a citizen-led marijuana legalization initiative.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that cannabis-based medicinal products “were associated with improvements in [health-related quality of life] measures up to 2 years, being relatively well tolerated” and that “higher THC doses were associated with a greater likelihood of improvement on migraine-specific measures.”

Researchers “reconstructed in one plant assay the full biosynthetic pathways of five renowned natural psychedelics; psilocin and psilocybin found in mushrooms, DMT from plants, and bufotenin and 5-methoxy-DMT secreted by the Sonoran Desert toad.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

NORML posted the results of a cannabis consumer freedom survey it conducted.

The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp published a report on hemp products.

/ BUSINESS

Center Origin is suing former employees over an alleged “civil conspiracy” to funnel business into their competing project.

Illinois dispensaries sold $13.4 million worth of medical cannabis products in March.

/ CULTURE

Conan O’Brien talked about potentially trying cannabis edibles on the recommendation of his staff.

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