Author: Thomas Howard

a seasoned cannabis business attorney, entrepreneur, and advocate with over a decade of hands-on experience navigating complex cannabis regulations across the United States. As the founder of Cannabis Industry Lawyer and co-host of Cannabis Legalization News, Tom has helped clients win cannabis licenses in multiple states, advised startups from seed to sale, and litigated key industry cases involving constitutional challenges and regulatory disputes. He’s personally built and launched cannabis businesses, giving him a rare combination of legal expertise and real-world operational insight. Tom has studied thousands of pages of cannabis laws and rules, testified on legalization issues, and regularly appears in media to break down developments in plain English. His mission: to fight outdated prohibition, empower entrepreneurs, and provide trustworthy, actionable information to anyone building a future in the legal cannabis industry.

House Blocks Workers’ Comp From Covering Medical Cannabis

The federal workers comp medical cannabis question just got answered — with a hard no. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education voted 11-7 to advance an FY27 spending bill that bars the Labor Department from using any funds to “authorize, provide, reimburse, or otherwise recognize marijuana or any cannabis-derived substance as a compensable medical treatment […]

Illinois Cannabis Omnibus SB 3222: Pritzker’s 700-Page Gift

The Illinois cannabis omnibus is real, it’s 700 pages, and it’s sitting on Governor JB Pritzker’s desk. Lawmakers sent SB 3222 to the governor on May 31 after a 58-0 Senate vote, a 77-31 amended House vote, and a 47-10 Senate concurrence. If you buy, sell, grow, or regulate cannabis in Illinois, nearly every part […]

Trump Begs Congress to Save CBD From His Own Hemp Ban

The Trump hemp CBD ban story took its strangest turn yet on June 5: the White House Office of Management and Budget filed a Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 8646 — the House FY27 Agriculture spending bill — officially asking Congress to roll back part of the federal hemp ban President Trump himself signed […]

Cannabis Schedule III Is Here: This Week’s Cannabis News in 10 Stories

It actually happened. On April 22, 2026, the Department of Justice and the DEA moved cannabis off Schedule I for the first time in over fifty years. The lock came off — partially. State-licensed medical cannabis is now Schedule III. 280E goes away for that slice of the industry overnight. The DEA set June 29, […]

Ohio Hemp Product Ban Injunction: 3 Essential Takeaways After Judge Calls Ban Discriminatory

An Ohio judge just handed the hemp industry a major legal win with the Ohio hemp product ban injunction. In a ruling issued the first week of April 2026, a Franklin County judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking Ohio’s ban on intoxicating hemp-derived products — and the reasoning should worry every state regulator trying […]

Texas Hemp Ban Injunction: 5 Critical Facts After Judge Blocks DSHS Smokable Ban

The Texas hemp ban injunction just saved 4/20 for thousands of hemp businesses across the Lone Star State. On April 8, 2026, Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the Texas Department of State Health Services’ new hemp rules that had effectively banned all smokable hemp products statewide […]