Month: September 2025

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management has awarded the state’s first Cannabis Event Organizer License to the Legacy Cup Festival, a celebration coming to Minneapolis’ Surly Festival Field on Saturday, September 27.

The event — featuring live performances by Killer Mike & The Midnight Revival, Warren G, Afroman, Maria Isa, and Desdamona, co-hosted by DJ D.Mil and Mr. Peter Parker — will allow adult-use cannabis sales by two approved dispensaries, Legacy Cannabis Duluth and Waaigwan Mashkiki. Attendees must be at least 21 years old, and no alcohol will be served at the event. There will be designated consumption areas for cannabis flower and concentrate products, and all products are “required to be tested by a certified lab,” according to a press release.

Throughout the event, organizers will also be highlighting “top home growers and standout adult-use and hemp cannabis products from across the state,” according to the company’s website.

“These milestones reflect the diligent work of many people committed to growing an equitable and sustainable cannabis market in Minnesota.” — OCM Executive Director Eric Taubel, in a statement

Cannabis event licenses are covered by the cannabis legalization policy signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz (D) earlier this

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Through July and August, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Marijuana Enforcement Team conducted operations at six publicly accessible sites throughout the state and uncovered illegal cannabis grows hidden within sensitive habitats and watersheds in five counties. 

The grow sites were uncovered in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Tehama Counties, including on Forest Service property, a municipal water district property, and underdeveloped private properties.  

In a statement, CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said that “Nearby communities and fish and wildlife depend on clean water from these watersheds.”  

“When criminals steal or destroy the natural resources that support California’s extraordinary biodiversity, we are committed to stopping them – and we have the teams in place to do that, no matter how far into the wilderness they try to hide their operations.” — Bonham in a press release 

Officials concluded the grows were operated by transnational criminal organizations, and eight suspects were arrested and charged with depositing hazardous substances on land belonging to another; cannabis cultivation resulting in pollution of waters of the state; cannabis cultivation causing substantial environmental harm to public lands; cultivation of cannabis with unlawful take; and resisting arrest. 

The action led to the eradication of

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said Tuesday that if lawmakers won’t pass regulations for intoxicating hemp products, he may take executive action on the issue, the Chicago Tribune reports.

If he follows through, Pritzker would be following in the footsteps of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who last week established an age requirement for hemp THC products and set other industry regulations via executive order after lawmakers failed to accommodate his requests on the issue — requests he made after vetoing an outright ban on hemp THC products earlier this year.

Currently, intoxicating hemp THC products are being sold unregulated in Illinois retailers including vape shops, gas stations, and convenience stores.

“We should have a regulated environment for hemp, and I am pushing that. If the legislature and if the advocates for the hemp industry are unwilling to do it, then we will take executive action.” — Pritzker via the Tribune

Meanwhile, the Illinois Hemp Business Association has called for lawmakers to “wisely regulate” hemp products but not ban them, the report said, pushing for an age limit of 21 and product testing and labeling requirements. The group is also calling for a hemp product tax that would

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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) last week signed the revised emergency regulations submitted by the Nebraska Cannabis Commission, KOLN reports. The regulations include a cap of 1,250 flowering plants for licensed cultivators in the state – a limit Pillen requested before agreeing to sign the regulations into law.  

In a letter to the commission, Pillen said that not having plant limits on cultivators “would increase likelihood of an overabundance of cannabis product that creates an unregulated, unintended black-market supply.”  

The commission’s now-approved rules allow for four cultivators, four processors, and 12 dispensaries. They also ban edibles, smokable, and vaporizable cannabis products and only allow cannabis to be consumed via oral tablets, capsules, tinctures, gels, oils, or creams or other topicals. Patients are also barred from growing their own cannabis. 

Following Pillen’s plant limit demands and the commission’s acquiescence, Crista Eggers, the executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which backed the campaign to enact the reforms, told Nebraska Public Radio that the number is inadequate.

“What we’ve seen in states across the nation, when you too narrowly restrict the cannabis product or the ability for people to grow it or manufacture it or to sell it on the shelves in the dispensary, we unfortunately see the black market just skyrocket,” she said.

Licensing is expected to begin on October 1.

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During an emergency meeting on Monday, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission (NMCC) placed limits on the number of plants licensed cultivators could grow, Nebraska Public Media reports. The move came in response to a request from Gov. Jim Pillen (R) who refused to sign newly approved regulations without the limit in place. 

In a letter to the commission, Pillen said he was withholding his signature on the regulations because he wanted the NMCC to “strengthen” the regulations “by implementing a limit on the number of plants a cannabis cultivator is permitted to grow.”  

“Leaving the cultivators without a limit would increase likelihood of an overabundance of cannabis product that creates an unregulated, unintended black-market supply. If an inclusion of plant population limits for permitted cultivators can be included, I will support the remainder of the proposed emergency regulations to go into effect.” — Pillen, in the letter 

The commission subsequently placed a limit of 1,250 flowering plants at any given time for each licensed cultivator, of which there are four permitted under state law.   

Crista Eggers, the executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which backed the campaign to enact the reforms, told Nebraska Public Radio that the number is inadequate. 

“What we’ve seen in states across the nation, when you too narrowly restrict the cannabis product or

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Maryland collected about $18.4 million in cannabis industry tax revenue between April and June 2025, the Maryland Comptroller’s Office announced Thursday in a quarterly report.

According to the report, the Maryland Cannabis Administration was allocated $9,790,089 of the quarterly revenue to cover the agency’s “operations and administrative expenses.”

Of the remainder, $3,003,593 was allocated to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund (which gets 35%); $429,085 was allocated to local governments (counties and municipalities), the Cannabis Public Health Fund, and the Cannabis Business Assistance Fund (which each get 5%); and the remaining 50% was allocated to the state’s General Fund.

The third quarter total for fiscal year 2025 easily outpaced the previous quarter’s cannabis tax revenues of about $17.5 million. Starting on July 1, however, Maryland increased its cannabis industry tax rate from 9% to 12% under legislation adopted by lawmakers earlier this year. New revenue generated by the 3% increase will be allocated to the state’s General Fund, but any increase in revenues will not be reflected until the next quarterly report.

Maryland voters passed the state’s cannabis legalization ballot question in 2022.

Last year, Gov. Wes Moore (D) issued over 175,000 pardons for cannabis-related convictions, and then he

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The Mississippi medical cannabis program is adding on average 50 active patient IDs per day, according to a 2025 state of the industry report by the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), which pulls data from the program’s official, publicly available database.

Tracking data from summer 2024 to summer 2025, the report found “a clear renewal hurdle at the one-year mark” for medical cannabis patient IDs, noting a card count attrition rate of approximately 10% at 6 months and 45% at 12 months. The report noted that returning patients who let their old IDs expire before seeking a new one would not be counted as a renewal.

While the number of active patient IDs increased by about 50 per day, the total number of IDs increased by an average of 92 per day, according to the report.

MMMA Director Henry Crisler told WLOX News that the “number one driving factor for patient growth is word of mouth.

“We have seen a 41.5% increase in active patients over the last year. That’s pretty significant.” — Crisler, in the report

The MMMA report also found that 52% of purchases in the Mississippi medical cannabis program were for packaged flower products.

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According to an Emerson College poll published August 29, a majority of voters – 65% – believe legalizing cannabis nationwide is a good idea, while 45% believe it is the wrong choice.   

The total represents a 5-point increase in support from October 2024 polling by the college, which found a 60%-40% split. 

Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted that “All age groups think national marijuana legalization is a good idea except those over 70, who think it is a bad idea 52% to 48%.”  

The poll found support highest among voters under 30 (71%) and in their 40s (74%). Support among those under 30 did decline from the October poll, which found 78% among the cohort for the reforms, while support among 40-year-olds was 6 points higher. 

In a statement, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said the poll shows that “The electorate is clearly ready for cannabis to be legalized for adult use.” 

“Legalizing and regulating adult-use cannabis access is not only good policy, but it’s also good politics,” Armentano said in the statement. “State and federal politicians who continue to ignore their constituents’ sentiments on these issues do so at their own political peril.” 

The Emerson College Polling national survey was conducted August 25-26, 2025.   

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The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission on Tuesday voted to amend emergency medical cannabis regulations that are stricter than the emergency regulations they adopted in late June, the Nebraska Examiner reports. The new rules prohibit edibles of any kind, while the previous rules would have allowed the sale of non-sugarcoated gelatinous cubes. Under the new rules, tablets with a “thin layer” of flavoring to make the products swallowable would be allowed. 

The new rules also require stringent testing and security requirements and create a “Recommending Health Care Practitioner Directory” for physicians to recommend medical cannabis to patients. Practitioners recommending medical cannabis would also have to take 10 hours of continuing education and complete two hours of continuing education annually to remain compliant.  

The rules, which still require approval from Gov. Jim Pillen (R), would allow patients are caregivers to purchase up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis in a 30-day period but no more than 5 grams of delta-9 THC products from the same dispensary within a 90-day period. 

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which led the ballot campaign that legalized medical cannabis in 2024, told the Examiner that the commission “didn’t just ignore” their voter-mandated authority, “they shredded it” and “delivered defiance, obstruction, and betrayal.” 

“By approving rules that pile on

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During the first month of legal adult-use sales in Delaware, licensed dispensaries in the state sold over $7,354,000 worth of cannabis products, the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner announced last week.

The total included over $4,065,000 worth of cannabis flower products, the industry’s most popular product type to date, which represented approximately 55% of total sales. Additionally, officials tracked over 109,000 cannabis plants under cultivation, with 447 different strains in production and 171 different strains available for retail.

The announcement also noted that officials have issued 79 conditional licenses and 3 active licenses since OMC Commissioner Joshua Sanderlin was sworn in in May.

The adult-use market launched in Delaware on August 1, and shops reportedly sold over $625,000 worth of product during the first weekend.

Last week, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer (D) vetoed a proposal that would have loosened the local zoning regulations for licensed cannabis retailers.

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