In passing the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Act, Congress closed the hemp loophole effective Nov. 12, 2026, sending shock waves through the estimated $30 billion national...more
1/14/2026
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabis Products ,
Compliance Dates ,
Dispensaries ,
Distributors ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Manufacturers ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retailers ,
Supply Chain ,
USDA
Virginia will ring in the New Year with renewed momentum toward adult-use cannabis sales. After years of roadblocks following the legalization of adult-use cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia finally...more
1/2/2026
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Development ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Economic Development ,
Hemp ,
Legalization ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Virginia ,
Zoning Laws
In approximately three weeks’ time, the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission’s adult-use retail license application window will close at 4:00 p.m. EST on December 29th, 2025. Interested parties that have not already filed...more
12/8/2025
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Fees ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Permits ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Retailers ,
Rhode Island ,
Social Equity Programs ,
Zoning Laws
Summary -
With Congress slamming the door shut on intoxicating hemp products – albeit 365 days from now – there is tremendous uncertainty. While tomorrow may look no different, the exploding hemp beverage and other...more
In what has become a pivotal moment for the still nascent yet booming national market for intoxicating hemp edible products and beverages, a coalition of Attorneys General (“AG”) have called on the Congress to close the...more
10/31/2025
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Interpretation
In a little over one week, the application window for Lower-Potency Hemp Edible (“LPHE”) Licenses from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”) will close. The current application window – running from October 1,...more
With the summer special legislative session in the Lone Star State having come and gone without meaningful reforms for consumable hemp THC products, Governor Abbott has exercised his executive authority and ordered certain...more
9/30/2025
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Hemp ,
New Regulations ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
After months of anticipation, on September 12, 2025, the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission (“Commission”) opened the application window for up to 24 new adult-use cannabis retail licenses statewide, which will be...more
9/16/2025
/ Application Fees ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Fees ,
Licenses ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rhode Island ,
Social Equity Programs ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws
Could Congress stamp out the national intoxicating hemp product market through a routine spending bill? With Congress balking at direct regulation of the nearly $30 billion national hemp cannabinoid product market, certain...more
The past several weeks (May 11-27, 2025) saw a surge of activity targeting intoxicating consumable hemp products, as states move to enact new regulations. These are the latest developments in the field of consumable hemp...more
5/29/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
THC
As discussed in multiple Cannabis Control Commission (“Commission”) meetings over the past several months, the Commission has finally moved to intervene in a pending Superior Court case – Theory Wellness, Inc. et al. v. Town...more
With DEA’s marijuana rescheduling hearing now delayed indefinitely, the most promising prospect for meaningful cannabis reform may lie in the hands of Congress. Seemingly undeterred by the strong headwinds that have scuttled...more
5/22/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
DEA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
Although the prospect of an expanded recreational market has been on the horizon since 2022 when Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis, Ocean State residents continue to endure limited access to such products, which...more
5/6/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Dispensaries ,
Fees ,
Filing Requirements ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Given that Hawaii is often considered synonymous with “hang loose” counterculture, perhaps it is unsuprising that the state’s consumable hemp product market has crested in recent years as legislators continue to balk at...more
The radiant Arizona sun may soon be setting for unlicensed consumable hemp product retailers who have benefitted from sporadic and inconsistent enforcement. Indeed, a recent letter from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes...more
The US Virgin Islands (“USVI”) is finally inching closer to launching a dual medical and adult-use cannabis program. Earlier this week the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulation (“OCR”) announced that applications for cultivation...more
3/31/2025
/ Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Filing Requirements ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Virgin Islands
Perhaps recognizing an enforcement gap in the evolving struggle to protect consumers from what Governor Newsom has characterized as a grave threat to public health and safety, the California legislature is taking steps to...more
3/19/2025
/ California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Online Marketplace ,
Online Platforms ,
Senate Judiciary Committee ,
Social Media ,
State and Local Government ,
THC
Is this the year that Pennsylvania finally legalizes adult-use cannabis? While some battle-scarred skeptics remain, there is fresh optimism in the Commonwealth with both the Governor and several key legislators pushing for...more
2/18/2025
/ Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Equity Programs ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets
We are now less than one week away from the long-awaited commencement of Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis business licensing round and prospective applicants are earnestly preparing to file business license applications as...more
2/13/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Filing Requirements ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Equity Programs
At the end of last year, it seemed like Tennessee’s final hemp-derived cannabinoid (“HDC”) rules would (finally) take effect as scheduled on December 26, 2024. As we discussed in an earlier blog post, since 2023 when the...more
1/28/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Cannabis Products ,
Final Rules ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Tennessee ,
THC
As expected, before the end of session, Congress authorized another 1-year extension of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”), which had already been extended for one year beyond its initial...more
1/6/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Regulatory Agenda
In the wake of a prior statement disavowing a schedule that had been widely circulated and purported to outline the Office of Cannabis Regulation’s (“OCR”) timeline for opening cannabis license applications, on December 16,...more
12/20/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Doing Business ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government
After months of uncertainty and what Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney called “spirited motion practice by the Designated Participants,” we finally have some clarity on the path forward toward the potential...more
After an objectively troubled launch that spurred litigation, Tennessee’s permanent hemp-derived cannabinoid licensing regulations are finally set to take effect at the end of this month. This would mark the culmination of a...more
12/5/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government
The long-awaited Senate version of the Farm Bill was finally released earlier this week as the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and Committee Chair Senator Debbie Stabenow introduced the Rural...more