“The thing that bothers me the most is they applied it retroactively, not prospectively. They upended 115 years of work by the people of the state of Arkansas on these initiatives.” By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate Emily Williams struggled to find medication that alleviated chemotherapy side effects like nausea and loss of appetite following her 2010 cancer diagnosis. Eventually, she tried marijuana and it provided relief. “I was just grateful,” she said. “I just felt grateful.” The experience prompted the Fayetteville retiree to advocate for a citizen-led constitutional amendment voters approved in 2016 to create Arkansas’ medical marijuana program.

"We are trying to make sure that we establish—like we did with alcohol—a taboo. It’s wrong. It has to stop." By Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix Citing statistics showing that impaired drivers contribute to more than 30 percent of fatalities on Florida roads, Jacksonville Republican Rep. Dean Black introduced legislation Thursday that would ban medical marijuana patients from possessing open containers of cannabis. The prohibition would apply if they were driving or a passenger in a vehicle, with the penalty being the loss of their medical marijuana card after committing a third such violation.

Pennsylvania House Democratic lawmakers are calling on the GOP-controlled Senate to come to the table and pass a bill to legalize marijuana, as proposed by the governor once again as part of his budget latest request. At a press conference on Wednesday, three Democratic members of the House who have championed adult-use legalization stressed the need to move on reform, laying blame for inaction on the Senate where even supporters of the policy change have so far been unable to deliver on the issue. Reps. Rick Krajewski (D) and Dan Frankel (D), who sponsored a bill to…

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to appear before a key House committee next week—and advocates are holding out hope that lawmakers will press her to provide an update on the Justice Department's progress in fulfilling President Donald Trump's executive order to finalize the pending federal marijuana rescheduling process. It's been nearly two months since the president instructed Bondi to complete the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Ac (CSA). The attorney general hasn't publicly commented on the directive, however, and DOJ officials have offered little insight into the status of the rescheduling proposal.

The first government-run marijuana retailer in Minnesota has officially opened its doors, marking another milestone in the state's adult-use cannabis program. The city of Anoka announced last week that it had completed constructions of the facility. Now the shop is operational, with a "historic" soft launch on Thursday, Mayor Erik Skogquist said. "Our residents want safe, vibrant and well maintained communities, while keeping taxes as low as practicable," he said. "The Anoka Cannabis Company allows the city of Anoka to do just that." While lawmakers outside of Minnesota have previously floated proposals to have state-run dispensaries, that’s been met with resistance in states like Pennsylvania.

Virginia lawmakers have approved a bill to allow qualifying patients to access medical marijuana in hospitals—but only after the federal government finalizes a pending proposal to reschedule cannabis. The Senate Education and Health Committee voted 14-0 on Thursday to advance the legislation from Sen. Barbara Favola (D), days after it advanced through a subcommittee. The legislation would build upon existing state law protecting health professionals at hospices and nursing facilities that assist terminally ill patients in utilizing medical cannabis treatment. Those protections would be expanded to hospital workers under the substitute version of the bill that was approved by the subcommittee.

In about nine months, federal hemp laws are scheduled to significantly change in a way that industry stakeholders say would effectively upend the market by re-criminalizing most consumable cannabinoid products. But in the interim, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is facing a deadline next week to help inform future hemp policy. As part of appropriations legislation that President Donald Trump signed last year, many hemp products that were legalized during his first term in office under the 2018 Farm Bill will be prohibited once again starting in November. The spending measure included separate provisions, however, to have FDA and other relevant agencies study the cannabinoid marketplace and develop lists of cannabis components.

President Donald Trump's executive order directing the attorney general to finalize the marijuana rescheduling process is overwhelmingly popular among cannabis consumers, according to a new poll. The survey from the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD asked people who use marijuana to share their perspective on the order, which was signed in December but has yet to be followed through on by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The pending plan would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). About 83 percent of respondents said they support the order, compared to 7 percent who expressed opposition and 10 percent who said they didn't have an opinion about the proposed reform.

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Kentucky's governor is calling on lawmakers to let more patients legally access medical marijuana, and he's announcing that cannabis gummies are now available for purchase in the state's licensed dispensaries. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said at a briefing on Thursday that his administration sent a letter urging legislative leadership to pass a bill adding ALS, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's disease, sickle cell anemia, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, terminal illnesses and other maladies as medical cannabis qualifying conditions. "In most other states that have a medical marijuana program, these are conditions that are covered, and they are conditions that our board of physicians and advisors have recommended as as proper," he said.

The governor of Colorado says his state should not have joined a lawsuit supporting the federal ban on gun ownership by people who use marijuana that's now before the U.S. Supreme Court—and he personally opposes the state attorney general's "legal position on this." It took some by surprise when Colorado's top prosecutor, as well as the attorneys general of other states that have legalized cannabis, signed on to a December filing with the court backing the Trump administration Justice Department's argument that current federal statute barring cannabis consumers from buying or possessing firearms is constitutional and warranted.

The Mississippi House of Representatives has approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to access medical marijuana in hospitals, nursing facilities and hospice centers. About a week after advancing out of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, the full chamber passed the legislation from Rep. Kevin Felsher (R) in a 117-1 vote on Wednesday. Known as “Ryan’s Law,” an acknowledgement of a young cannabis patient who passed and whose father has since become an advocate for access in hospital settings, the bill is meant to “support the ability of terminally ill qualifying patients to safely use medical cannabis within specified health care facilities.”

Wisconsin senators have approved a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state as other legislators push for broader adult-use legalization. The Senate Health Committee on Thursday advanced the medical cannabis legislation from Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R) in a 4-1 vote. This comes months after the panel held an initial hearing on the GOP-led proposal, which was introduced last October. Wisconsin’s GOP Assembly speaker said last year that he hoped lawmakers in the state could “find a consensus” on legislation to legalize medical marijuana…

The prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is facing criticism over its decision to deny multiple drug policy reform experts entry to a summit it is hosting in Washington, D.C. this week where the organization will lay out its 2026 priorities and agenda. Despite billing the 2026 SAM Good Drug Policy Summit as an opportunity for researchers and non-profits to learn how to "educate their communities and employees on all issues surrounding drugs and drug policy," the pro-reform group Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) says SAM rejected their attendance and refunded paid tickets for the event.

Maryland lawmakers are taking up a bill 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) on Wednesday. The delegate has sponsored multiple versions of the cannabis and gun rights measure over recent sessions, but they have not yet advanced to enactment. "House Bill 365 protects the firearm ownership rights of those who qualify to use medical cannabis by reconciling the articles concerning health and public safety," Grammer said at the hearing. "A loophole continues to exist between the laws governing our medical cannabis industry and the laws governing our state police.

Another Florida committee has approved a bill to significantly reduce the fee for military veterans to obtain medical marijuana registry identification cards, slashing the cost to one-fifth of the current amount. About a week after moving through the House Health Professions & Programs Subcommittee, members of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee followed suit and advanced the legislation from Reps. Susan Valdés (R) and Michelle Salzman (R) in a unanimous on Thursday. Valdés called the proposal "a simple bill with a big impact" ahead of the vote. "Medical cannabis has shown promise in alleviating symptoms commonly experienced by military veterans, like managing chronic pain, alleviating the effects of PTSD, improving sleep and reducing the dependency on opioids, which is really the most important part of this," she said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is teaming up with an anti-marijuana group to promote a public service announcement contest pegged to 4/20, inviting high school students to submit videos about why the use of cannabis "is harmful for the developing brain, mental health, and your life!" "The contest is an opportunity for high schools to demonstrate how students are working to prevent cannabis misuse at their school and to encourage their peers to abstain," a notice about the contest organized by Johnny's Ambassadors says. As with past PSA initiatives from the group, it made clear that videos submitted for consideration should "NOT IMITATE THE USE OF THC/MARIJUANA OR PARAPHERNALIA OF ANY KIND, EVEN AS A JOKE."

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Virginia senators have approved a pair of bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales and provide sentencing relief for people with prior cannabis convictions. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the marijuana sales legislation from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) in a 9-6 vote. Members also voted 12-TK3to approve the cannabis resentencing measure from Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D). Both measures next head to the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee before potentially reaching the floor. Aird told colleagues at Wednesday's hearing that her bill "establishes a market that, once and for all, will protect consumers and prioritize health and safety, while ensuring balance to our regulatory structure that ensures legalization is aligned with public health and safety goals and avoids past mistakes embedded in alcohol laws that allow the legal substance to remain a pipeline to criminalization."

Washington State lawmakers have approved a bill to legalize and regulate therapeutic use of the psychedelic psilocybin. During a hearing on Tuesday, members of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee advanced SB 5921 from Sen. Jesse Salomon (D) in a voice vote. It next heads to the Ways & Means Committee. The legislation would provide for regulated access to psilocybin in a medically supervised environment for patients with qualifying conditions. The state Department of Health (DOH) would be responsible for developing the psychedelics therapy program and establishing rules for the production and administration of psilocybin.

The Florida Supreme Court has cancelled oral arguments and closed a case concerning a marijuana legalization ballot initiative that was under review at the request of the state attorney general. Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) notified the court on Monday that he was withdrawing his request for a legal review into the cannabis measure because election officials determined the campaign behind it had fallen short of the signature requirements for ballot placement. But while the campaign urged the court to reject the notice of dismissal, contesting the signature count, justices on Wednesday accepted the attorney general's motion.

"Putting hemp THC-derived beverages on premise at a restaurant or bar is actually the safest way to consume these products." By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current Rhode Island hospitality and liquor industry representatives voiced their opposition to a proposed ban on restaurants and bars serving intoxicating THC beverages during a virtual public hearing with state cannabis regulators Monday afternoon. Approximately 120 licensed retailers, including restaurants and liquor stores, have been serving hemp-derived THC beverages since August 2024, when the state’s Office of Cannabis Regulation began allowing the sale of products containing low levels of delta-9 THC.

A Maine campaign seeking to significantly roll back the state's marijuana law failed to submit signatures by a deadline this week to make the November 2026 ballot, meaning the anti-cannabis activists will need to shift their focus to 2027 if they hope to put the issue before voters. Amid criticism from reform advocates, industry stakeholders and certain lawmakers over allegedly misleading signature gathering tactics, Mainers for a Safe and Healthy Future was evidently unable to make the cut by the February 2 turn-in deadline. “The cannabis petitions were not returned yesterday,” Deputy Secretary of State for Communications Jana Spaulding…

Virginia lawmakers have approved a bill to allow qualifying patients to access medical marijuana in hospitals—but only if the federal government moves forward with a pending plan to reschedule cannabis. The Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Health voted 4-0 on Tuesday to advance the legislation from Sen. Barbara Favola (D). The proposal would build upon existing state statute protecting health professionals at hospices and nursing facilities that assist terminally ill patients in utilizing medical cannabis treatment. Those protections would be expanded to hospital workers under the substitute version of the bill that was approved by the subcommittee.

The attorney general of Oklahoma says he would "love" to see the state's medical marijuana program wiped out, as the governor recently suggested. But he cautioned that doing so would mean reimbursing the hundreds of licensees participating in the market because the state would be "taking" a revenue source away from them. During a press briefing on Tuesday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) was asked about Gov. Kevin Stitt's (R) call to have voters revisit the state's medical marijuana program and ultimately "shut it down." Drummond said it's a "complicated issue."