Seniors Are the Fastest-Growing Medical Marijuana Patients
Seniors Medical Marijuana: The Fastest-Growing Group Forget the stoner stereotype: the fastest-growing seniors medical marijuana patient is probably your grandmother, and she’s using it to get off the pills. A physician’s first-person piece in STAT News (July 9) makes the case that older adults are now the fastest-growing group of medical-cannabis users in the country. […]
The Feds Published a Manual on How to Weigh Your Weed
NIST Cannabis Scales Report: What It Means It’s the wonkiest cannabis story of the week, and it matters precisely because it’s boring: the federal government just published a handbook on cannabis scales. On June 29, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released NIST SP 2200-08, “Suitability of Cannabis Scales” (2026 edition) — technical guidance […]
Marijuana Tax Revenue Is Falling in Mature States — Here’s Why
Marijuana Tax Revenue Is Falling in Older States Here is the number every statehouse quietly fears: marijuana tax revenue is now declining in six of the earliest-legalizing states. A widely syndicated analysis (via Arizona Capitol Times; also Dakota Free Press) found collections falling in Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The quick why: supply […]
Virginia Finally Legalizes Marijuana Sales — Stores Open 2027
Virginia Recreational Marijuana: Sales Start 2027 After five years of legal possession and zero legal stores, Virginia recreational marijuana is finally getting a retail market. Budget legislation enacted this month directs the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to license up to 350 retail cannabis shops, with the state accepting applications on February 1, 2027 and legal […]
Hawaii’s Hemp Crackdown Hits July 1 — and the Lawsuits Are Already Flying
While Congress dithers over the federal hemp ban, the states aren’t waiting. Hawaii begins enforcing strict hemp retailer and distributor rules on July 1 — banning hemp flower, pre-rolls, and vapes, requiring registration for every seller, and threatening $10,000 fines. A lawsuit challenging the rules has already landed. Hawaii’s grace period for hemp retailer and […]
Guam Just Issued Its First Cannabis Permit — Seven Years After Legalizing
Here’s a master class in why the rulebook, not the plant, runs the cannabis industry. Guam just issued its first Guam cannabis permit — nearly seven years after the territory legalized adult-use marijuana. The Cannabis Control Board unanimously approved a single cultivation facility, and there’s still nowhere legal to buy the product it grows. On […]
A New Bill Would Create Federal Weed Scholarships at HBCUs
Congress wants to put cannabis education money where the first wave of legalization didn’t. A new bill called the EDUCATE Act would create a federal cannabis scholarship program at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions — up to $10,000 a year for students studying the agricultural science behind the plant. Filed June 23 […]
California Is Spending $227 Million to Hunt Illegal Weed
California just put serious money behind a problem every legal market shares. On June 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $227 million in Proposition 64 grants to fight illicit cannabis in California — funding local enforcement, youth prevention, public-health programs, and environmental cleanup of illegal grow sites. The grants flow from Prop 64, the 2016 measure […]
States Have Banked Nearly $15 Billion in Marijuana Taxes, New Federal Report Shows
If you want the single most persuasive argument for legalization, it’s a dollar figure from the federal government’s own bean counters. A new marijuana tax revenue report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows states have collected nearly $15 billion in cannabis taxes since late 2021 — including $825.1 million in just the first quarter of […]
The SAFE Banking Act Is Back — Senate and House, Same Week
It’s reunion season for the cannabis industry’s most-introduced bill. The SAFE Banking Act was reintroduced in both chambers of Congress within 24 hours: the Senate version on June 24 and the House companion on June 25. The core fix is the same one operators have begged for since 2019 — stop federal regulators from punishing […]