BudDigest

A new survey suggests that 8% of Americans resolved in the New Year to quit or reduce their cannabis consumption. The survey, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of nicotine pouch retailer Northerner found more than half of respondents who said they wanted to change their cannabis habits believe it will improve their independence and flexibility. 

Another 47% believed changing their cannabis habits would make them feel more accomplished, with 40% thinking it would help them lead a more active lifestyle and improve their mental and emotional well-being.     

Just 5% of 45- 54-year-olds polled wanted to quit or reduce their cannabis consumption compared to 13% of 21- 24-year-olds, and 12% of 25- 34-year-olds. Double the number of men (12%) wanted to quit or reduce their cannabis consumption compared to women (6%). 

About 10% of respondents said they wanted to quit or reduce their alcohol consumption, and about 12% said they wanted to quit or reduce their tobacco use.  

The survey included 1,000 U.S. adults who were asked about their New Year’s resolutions. 

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Thai government officials are considering new rules to curtail the country’s cannabis industry by limiting cannabis sales to mostly licensed medical facilities, the Business Times reports. The proposal would also allow sales at herbal product shops, pharmacies, and through traditional medicine practitioners, but would require at least one practitioner with appropriate training from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicines to be on-site at any cannabis retail location during its hours of operation.

The change marks the latest step in Thailand’s reversal since adopting a blanket cannabis decriminalization policy in 2022, which sparked the country’s current fledgling market.

But the recreational use of cannabis is again prohibited after government officials, after several years of decriminalization, last June decided to re-classify cannabis as a narcotic at the national level.

Thailand’s cannabis industry had grown to over 18,000 retailers by the end of 2025. However, more than 7,000 licensees opted not to seek a license renewal, which signals that a significant number of dispensaries are planning to close in the coming year, the report said.

In September, lawmakers appointed Anutin Charnvirakul, a former health minister who championed the nation’s cannabis decriminalization reforms in 2022, to be the country’s next prime minister.

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A ballot initiative in Arizona seeks to end retail cannabis sales in the state, Capitol Media Services reports. The effort, led by Sean Noble, president of the political strategy firm American Encore, would still allow personal possession and cultivation of cannabis and maintain the parts of the law that allow expunging of cannabis related criminal records. 

Noble told Capitol Media Services that the 2020 voter-approved adult-use referendum has not lived up to its promise.   

“They said, ‘We’re not going to be marketing to children, we’re not going to be making this easy, we’re not going to be making THC levels super extreme.’” — Noble to Capitol News Service 

The petition, which was filed this month, will require 255,949 valid signatures by July 2. Noble said the campaign is being funded in part by Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national group opposed to loosened cannabis laws. 

Morgan Fox, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told Capitol News Service that anti-cannabis groups “failed to make the case for continuing to criminalize cannabis consumers in Arizona and other states where voters had a choice in the matter.”  

“Now they are trying to mislead voters into thinking that recriminalizing responsible behaviors and pushing consumers back to the underground market

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced Monday that the state has signed a new cannabis compact with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

The agreement is the latest partnership allowing state-licensed cannabis companies to do business with tribal cannabis operations.

“This partnership opens a new outlet for state-licensed cannabis businesses to access and sell legal cannabis and honors the independence of the members of the Red Lake Band. We look forward to their cooperation in bringing more cannabis supply to the state and seeing their cannabis operations develop and thrive while respecting the Red Lake Band’s autonomy.” — OCM Executive Director Eric Taubel, in a press release

Darrell G. Seki, Sr., Chairman of the Red Lake Nation, noted in the release that the Red Lake Nation’s NativeCare dispensary was the site of the first legal sales under Minnesota’s adult-use reforms, and that its operators have since been perfecting their trade.

“The Red Lake Nation is eager to share our top-tier cannabis and cannabis products with the Minnesota market,” Seki said.

The state of Minnesota has now signed cannabis agreements with the following tribes:

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians White

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Kentucky’s first licensed dispensary is officially open to medical cannabis patients who are registered under the state program, WBKO reports.

The Post Dispensary in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, opened for business on Saturday. Patients traveled from around the state to see the opening and be among the shop’s first customers.

Products available to patients were produced by Farmtucky, which has become the state’s first licensed cultivator to bring product to market.

“It’s a milestone for the citizens of the Commonwealth and it’s really a healthy milestone. For the first time ever, the citizens have access to the medicine that they so could use.” — Post Dispensary owner Trip Hoffman, via WBKO

There are currently over 40 licensed medical cannabis retailers in the state.

“Our priority is ensuring Kentuckians suffering with serious medical conditions can have safe access to medical cannabis, as soon as possible, to get the relief they need,” Gov. Beshear said in a press release last week.

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President Donald Trump (R) is expected to issue an executive order to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, the Washington Post reports.

Citing six sources familiar with the issue, the Post said the president recently spoke in the Oval Office with a group of cannabis executives alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, who both support federal cannabis reforms, and that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) expressed during a mid-meeting phone call with the president his opposition to the policy change.

A White House official said Thursday after the report’s release that the president has not yet reached a final decision on the issue.

If enacted, it would be the most significant drug policy change for the U.S. since the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The rescheduling plan was first set in motion by the Biden Administration, although the effort stalled due to DEA foot-dragging and procedural delays.

Notably, Schedule III would not make every state cannabis market federally legal — although it would alleviate a significant tax burden for cannabis companies, which are denied basic deductions due to handling a Schedule

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A California judge has ruled that the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is failing to prevent the diversion of state-licensed cannabis into the unregulated market, according to an SF Gate report.

The ruling comes from a 2021 lawsuit filed by Catalyst Cannabis Co., a licensed California cannabis retail chain, alleging that regulatory flaws have allowed bad actors in the state to divert “untold millions of pounds” of cannabis to the illicit market — and that officials with the DCC are aware of the issue but have refused to take steps to address it.

California cannabis companies face some of the highest tax rates in the country, while the unlicensed market continues to thrive, placing pressure directly on state-licensed operators.

Judge Lee Gabriel of the Orange County Superior Court wrote in his Tuesday decision that the DCC’s digital database for tracking cannabis products “fails to comply” with state law, which charges regulators with preventing product diversion. The ruling is also a rebuke of the Newsom Administration’s efforts to curb the illegal cannabis market. The court scheduled a follow-up hearing on February 6 to discuss bringing the DCC database into compliance.

A DCC spokesperson told SF Gate that the agency is reviewing

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The Ohio Senate on Tuesday voted along party lines 22-7 to approve a ban on intoxicating hemp products and criminalize the possession of all adult-use cannabis products obtained out of state, Dayton Daily News reports. The new law does allow intoxicating hemp-derived beverages to be sold at licensed liquor establishments until the federal ban on the products takes effect next November. 

Following the vote, Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D) told reporters that the criminalization of cannabis products obtained outside of Ohio is “unnecessary.”  

“This original packaging (provision) … what’s the original packaging for the marijuana you grew at home? Anyone? Do you carry the plant?” — Antonio via the Daily News 

Senate President Rob McColley (R) countered that the provisions criminalizing out-of-state products are “not something that’s going to be heavily penalized.” 

“But it’s something that we need to make sure that they have the tools necessary in the event that they need to be able to enforce that,” he told reporters. 

The bill also creates an expungement system for individuals convicted of low-level possession prior to the state’s adult-use reforms; however, the plan requires those affected to pay a fee to have their records cleared.  

The law also allows the state to immediately begin disbursing monies collected from cannabis taxes to local governments

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