Category: Marijuana News

A bill to create a legal framework for adult-use retail cannabis sales in Virginia passed through the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services committee last week, Cardinal News reports. The proposal was referred to the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. 

The measure would allow the state Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) to begin issuing adult-use cannabis licenses on September 1, but would not permit legal sales to commence until May 1, 2026.  

Sen. Aaron Rouse (D) Virginia Beach, during a presentation of the bill, told the Senate panel that the legislation “prioritizes public safety in creating a well-regulated marketplace that keeps adult products out of the hands of kids.”  

“The safety and security of all Virginians is a top priority of this legislative body and in recent years we have seen an unchecked proliferation of illegal and unregulated marijuana stores. This has put Virginians at risk.” — Rouse via Cardinal News 

Virginia lawmakers passed adult-use reforms in 2021, during the administration of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam; however Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected in 2022 and has vowed to not allow legal sales to progress during his time in

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Officials in Toronto, Ontario, Canada will stop cracking down on illegal cannabis shops in the city due to budgetary and safety concerns, CBC reports. During a council budget committee last week, Carleton Grant, the city’s executive director of municipal licensing and standards, said shutting down the shops should be the responsibility of law enforcement. 

“We’ve made efforts over the last five to six years to close them down, to put up concrete blocks that are only to be removed within 24 hours. We have boarded up buildings. We have been countersued for locking a tenant into a business. We have used every tool available to us.” — Grant via CBC  

The city received C$8.97 million in 2018 from the Ontario Cannabis Legalization Implementation Fund to help municipalities with local costs associated with adult-use cannabis legalization, including enforcement, but the funding ran out by the end of 2024, Grant said.  

Grant added that the municipal bylaw enforcement officers who investigated and shut down the shops “do not have arrest powers and are not permitted or trained to use force while carrying out enforcement activities,” which “makes the enforcement of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries challenging

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The two largest cannabis industry groups in the U.S. – the National Cannabis Roundtable (NCR) and US Cannabis Council (USCC) – last week announced they are combining the organizations to form the United States Cannabis Roundtable (USCR). The group said the combination will establish “a singular voice” representing in the industry to the 119th Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump (R). 

In a statement, Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs and chairperson of both NCR and USCC, called the newly elected Congress and the new presidential administration “a pivotal time for the regulated cannabis industry” noting that Trump “has publicly supported and pledged to advance commonsense cannabis reform.”    

“As the chairman of both groups, I have seen first-hand the incredible talent of each organization and know that the combined group will be the unified authority advocating on behalf of the legal cannabis industry and a resource on all things cannabis for members of the Trump Administration and Congress.” — Bachtell in a press release 

During the campaign Trump endorsed a states’ rights legislative approach to cannabis, reclassifying cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and the

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It has become an annual MLK Day tradition here at Canna Law Blog to remind our readers that, first and foremost, cannabis is a civil rights issue. We’ve explained why here, here, here and here.

The past year ushered in some promising developments, from progress with the MORE Act, to state and local developments on social equity licensing measures, to increased expungement of criminal records related to cannabis convictions. Things are looking up for 2021 as well, federally and in many states.

But it’s not enough. Regulation of cannabis–and the composition, orientation and momentum of the industry at large–is nowhere where it needs to be on civil rights issues. Not even close.

Here at Harris Bricken, we are committed to honoring MLK’s legacy this year through our continued work with the Last Prisoner Project, through reduced fees for minority-owned cannabis businesses, and through review and promotion of robust state-level social equity legislation.

Although Dr. King died 53 years ago, his legacy continues to resonate and expand. On this day honoring one of our greatest leaders, it is important to remember all of the reasons we strive to end prohibition– including the most important ones.

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It’s MLK Day once again.

I’ve been writing an MLK Day post on this blog for eight consecutive years. The theme of my posts is that cannabis is a civil rights issue, and that Dr. King would have advocated for ending prohibition based on that fact.

Each year, I have demonstrated with facts (upon facts upon facts) that the War on Drugs continues in insidious ways. In, 2023, which is the most recent year that FBI data is available, law enforcement officials made over 200,000 arrests for marijuana-related convictions. Those 200,000 arrests constitute roughly 25% of all drug-related arrests.

Sadly, arrests of black people constituted 29% of all drug arrests in 2023, although only 13.6% of Americans are black.

Heading into MLK Day weekend, President Biden announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses. The focus was predominantly on individuals “who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine…”, as opposed to cannabis-related crimes. According to the Last Prisoner Project, “the total number of those incarcerated for cannabis who received commutations is not knows, but nine LPP constituents will be free.”

For all that Biden promised as to

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Table of Contents

It’s been a wild week in the rulemaking around marijuana rescheduling, to say the least. I’ve started writing about it a couple of times, only to be whipsawed by filings, rulings, prominent hot takes, prominent rebuttals, and more. All while trying to do my real job here at the firm.

Below are my thoughts on the state of this terrible pageant, in FAQ format.

What is even going on right now?

Let’s start with the procedural posture. Marijuana rescheduling is mired in an administrative rulemaking process, whereby the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is the hapless, cynical “proponent” of a proposed Department of Justice (DOJ) rule.

Specifically, in May of 2024, DOJ appointed DEA to carry its water on moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). DOJ’s recommendation takes the form of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR). The Notice was issued because President Biden, in October of 2022, directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to revisit the Schedule I status of marijuana. HHS did so in collaboration with its downstream agency, FDA, and recommended Schedule III. DOJ then proposed the rule.

Fast forward to this

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Several Republican lawmakers in the Indiana House of Representatives have introduced a proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis, FOX 59 reports.

Authored by state Rep. Heath VanNatter (R), the proposal would legalize cannabis possession and consumption by adults aged 21+ and establish a taxed-and-regulated system for the production and retail of cannabis. The program would include a 10% excise tax on cannabis sales

”It’s time for Indiana to join our neighbors and most of the rest of the country in legalizing marijuana,” VanNatter said.

“This unique approach of moving directly to a regulated, adult-use market allows us to engage law enforcement early in the policy-making process to address issues comprehensibly, pragmatically, rather than piecemeal.” — VanNatter, in a statement

The proposal’s future is unclear as its survival in the House is far from guaranteed, and it may face an even tougher battle in the Senate where lawmakers like state Sen. Liz Brown (R) are more favorable to decriminalization language, suggesting that adult-use legalization would be a step too far, the report said.

If approved, however, Indiana would be the first state to jump from cannabis prohibition straight to an adult-use program (there are currently no exceptions for medical use under state

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Advocates with the Smart & Safe Florida campaign have launched a new cannabis legalization initiative that aims to appear before voters in 2026, CBS reports. The new campaign comes just a few months after the Amendment 3 legalization campaign failed last November with only about 57% voter support (constitutional amendments in Florida require a 60% supermajority of voter support to pass).

The new ballot initiative is a revamped version of last year’s proposal but advocates have taken steps to address some of the concerns highlighted by critics of Amendment 3, including new language that specifies “smoking and vaping of marijuana in any public place is prohibited” and new rules against cannabis advertising and packaging that could be considered “attractive to children.” Additionally, like the previous proposal, the new initiative would allow the state’s current medical cannabis operators to begin servicing Florida’s adult-use market. However, the initiative would also require lawmakers to “adopt legislation for the licensure and regulation” of other adult-use operators, the report said.

The new initiative would also exempt new operators from state rules requiring the cannabis industry to be vertically integrated, which would enable wholesale operations and other specialist roles for the industry.

Last year’s cannabis reforms

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A New York Supreme Court Judge on Monday ruled that warrantless raids on unlicensed cannabis shops by the New York City Sheriff’s Office and Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) must cease and that violation notices affixed to the shops by OCM and law enforcement must be removed.

Plaintiffs in the case include Super Smoke n Save LLC, in Saratoga Springs; Two Strains Cannabis Co. LLC, in Queensbury; Brecken Gold Athletics NYC LLC, in Manhattan; and Breckenridge Café NYC LLC, and 7 Leaf Clover, both in Brooklyn.

In the Decision and Order, Justice Thomas Marcelle said the agency and law enforcement officials carrying out the raids acted outside their authority and that inspections of businesses suspected of selling cannabis without a license can be conducted by “only OCM.” Marcelle noted that “OCM inspectors are trained on the statutory, scientific, and administrative distinction between hemp and marijuana” while “sheriff deputies are not.”

“In sum, how respondents conducted their enforcement activities against petitioners was a far cry from an administrative inspective seeking to cull evidence of regulatory violations. The court often hears cases, like those from agriculture and markets, involving state inspectors inspecting businesses – there, regulators

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During her State of the State address on Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) said she plans to use tax revenues from medical cannabis to provide free meals in schools throughout the state.   

“I’ve already announced that Arkansas will participate in summer EBT this year. And today, I’m announcing my plan to use medical marijuana money to make both this program and our free lunch and breakfast programs financially sustainable for years to come.” — Huckabee Sanders during State of the State, 1/14/25 

According to state Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) data, medical cannabis sales in Arkansas totaled $250 million through November 2024 and the two state taxes on medical cannabis sales generated $28.5 million in 2024, DFA spokesperson Scott Hardin told KATV.   

Sanders suggested also using medical cannabis tax revenues for the summer EBT program in an effort to end the state grocery tax, which she referred to as the state’s “most regressive.” 

There are over 109,000 medical cannabis patient cards issued in Arkansas. Voters approved the medical cannabis law in November 2016. Medical cannabis sales carry a 6.5% sales tax which is

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