Cannabis Legislation

Bills, amendments, and the legislative fights that decide what a market looks like before a regulator ever sees it.

Aug 27, 2026

🌉 California killed the two cannabis bills aimed at its own regulator

Sacramento has until Monday, and DCC already got what it wanted. Plus Georgia arrests a licensed hemp dealer before the lab report, North Carolina counts its 175 drug recognition experts, and Oregon marks down nine years of cannabis revenue.

Jul 27, 2026

🔎 Indiana's cannabis money, under oath

Marion County heard testimony on unlawful cannabis lobbying at the Statehouse. Plus Massachusetts clears $1B as a repeal vote looms, and Iowa makes its case at a recovery center.

Jul 14, 2026

⚖️ Ohio's hemp ban falls in federal court; one operator pitches a fix

Judge Helmick's injunction reaches past the ten plaintiffs to anyone selling their products. Plus Morgan Tweet's federal framework, Pennsylvania's budget shuts the door again, and Curaleaf takes Spain's first two numbers.

Jul 2, 2026

🧪 The government defends its record, twice

The DEA hands opponents the floor as DOJ's stay answer comes due, then breaks for the holiday. Plus Pillen signs Nebraska's rules, Delaware overrides its own governor on zoning, and the alcohol lobby moves on hemp drinks.

Jun 30, 2026

📝 Rescheduling: DEA defends what it fought

Day one put cannabis's safety on the record the D.C. Circuit will weigh. Plus two House Republicans bet against their own rescheduling block, Virginia's market becomes law, and Massachusetts braces for a repeat repeal cycle.

Jun 24, 2026

⚖️ Opponents only, by the rules

DEA seated only reform's critics for the June 29th hearing, and a standing rule is why. Plus Durrett reads the two-tier order for Nevada, Perris tests cannabis billboard bans at the Ninth Circuit, and Virginia prices public use at $250.

Jun 23, 2026

⚖️ Curaleaf wins the argument and loses the motion

Plus Virginia's market finally clears the legislature, out-of-state money drives Maine's repeal push, Missouri rebuilds its equity licenses, and the legal cannabis workforce shrinks for the first time.

Jun 16, 2026

🥤 A Republican lifeline for hemp drinks

Van Duyne drafts a federal carve-out for hemp drinks as the November cliff nears. Plus a Harvard witness enters the rescheduling fight, Hanna takes CANNRA, and High Tide trades up to a Big 5 bank.

Jun 15, 2026

🗳️ The repeal question survives its court challenge

The SJC cleared the adult-use repeal question for November in Massachusetts. Plus a bill to let states force rescheduling, Illinois closing the hemp gap, Virginia's deal revived, and the CCC's cultivation pause.

Jun 12, 2026

🧃 North Carolina falls back to age gates

North Carolina falls back to a hemp and kratom age limit after broader regulation stalled. Plus New York restores OCM's search power, Rhode Island staffs its commission, and SAM's repeal gets caught.

Jun 11, 2026

🏛️ The Cannabis Control Board, revived and wounded

Laughlin's Cannabis Control Board died 27-23 when co-sponsors crossed, then revived on a reconsider. Plus a rescheduling freeze bid, three New York wins, and a study on personalized cannabis dosing.

Jun 10, 2026

🧨 Beshear's order, now a prosecution threat

Kentucky's House whip wants cannabis licensees prosecuted for following Beshear's medical-marijuana order. Plus Texas hemp back by court order, Ohio's veto fight, and psychedelics at the Pentagon.

Jun 2, 2026

⚖️ Louisiana's quiet exit

Murrill withdraws days after Trump ends a Louisiana Senate career, a third challenge hits the D.C. Circuit, Illinois operators move SB 3222, Sherrill signs the hemp-drink law, and Japan bans CBN.

May 29, 2026

🏛️ Virginia's end-run around Spanberger

Surovell and Lucas float folding cannabis sales into the July 1 budget to box the governor in. Plus: Congress leans on the IRS over 280E, ATACH lawyers up for the DEA hearing, and Tennessee's THCA ban hits July 1.

May 27, 2026

🪙 Curaleaf moves first

Curaleaf moves toward a U.S. uplisting with a 1-for-3 reverse split. Rhode Island writes its cannabis fix and picks a chair to run it. Delaware lawmakers can't agree which channel sells the same molecule. VA puts MDMA back in a randomized trial. Illinois routes hemp through the cannabis system.

May 21, 2026

⚖️ The Towns owed a paper trail

A Worcester Superior Court judge says Massachusetts municipalities had to document Community Impact Fees costs under the prior statute too. Curaleaf can sue to find out if they did.

May 20, 2026

🏛️ Healey owns it now.

DeLobato, Wilson, and Harding take the rebuilt Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, and the executive director now reports to the chair. DOJ moves to claw back TerrAscend's $8 million refund. California writes a Schedule III workaround. Vermont keeps the 30% cap. Spanberger vetoes Virginia retail.

May 7, 2026

🏛️ Laughlin lost his Democrats

Senate Democrats walked off SB 49 earlier this week after the bill's amended language locked in the regulatory agency without committing to legalization. The 6-5 vote was 10-1 in October. Plus: the CRS sentence the industry isn't quoting, Connecticut's twenty-day potency round trip, and SAM's pivot from Arizona to federal court.

Apr 23, 2026

🏛️ The White House Takes Control Of Rescheduling As Virginia Forces Spanberger's Hand

West Wing orders agencies to prepare imminent action and a new DEA hearing | Virginia sends Spanberger a clean choice on adult-use sales | South Carolina's hemp compromise collapses into conference

Apr 22, 2026

🚨 Virginia's sponsors ready to walk, Delaware catches an Arizona scheme, Pritzker and Beshear campaign on 4/20

Virginia's sponsors may kill the bill rather than accept Spanberger's rewrite | Delaware catches an Arizona licensing scheme | Pritzker and Beshear spend 4/20 building their cannabis records

Apr 20, 2026

🟢 Healey Resets The Cannabis Commission On 4/20 Eve As Hemp And Rescheduling Fights Widen

Massachusetts dissolves its five-member CCC hours before 4/20 | Colorado, Ohio, Texas, and the Senate all move on hemp the same week | Whitney puts 2025's 280E drain at $2.24 billion

Apr 15, 2026

🌿 Spanberger's Cannabis Amendments Pull Virginia's Framework Backward

Virginia's governor signs hospital access and parental rights into law, then sends lawmakers amendments that reinstate criminal penalties and gut resentencing | Idaho voters clear the signature threshold while the legislature races them to the same November ballot | Pure Oasis goes dark in Grove Hall and leaves vendors and employees holding the bag

Apr 13, 2026

🏛️ Healey's Signature Starts A 30-Day Clock On New CCC Leadership

A Travis County judge temporarily blocks Texas from enforcing its THCA hemp ban | NJEDA opens a $15 million loan pipeline that makes the state a cannabis creditor | Oregon writes medical cannabis into hospice and residential care with HB 4142

Apr 10, 2026

🏛️ Beacon Hill Sends Cannabis Commission Overhaul to Healey in Three Days Flat

Federal judge halts Rhode Island's cannabis lottery on Dormant Commerce Clause grounds | Roger Stone asks who inside the White House is stalling rescheduling | Whitney puts 280E damage at $2.24 billion

Apr 9, 2026

⚖️ Rhode Island Freezes Cannabis Licensure as Courts Settle What Washington Won't

Rhode Island freezes licensure on a constitutional claim | Massachusetts finally chooses governability | Cannabist and Silverpeak land in court on the same day