Over the past nearly two years, I have been talking to friends, clients, and basically anyone at parties about the slow progress (if I might be permitted to use that word in this context) of the Alabama medical cannabis...more
9/10/2024
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The Alabama medical cannabis program has been FUBAR for a while now, but there was at least some good news for two applicants last week....more
8/13/2024
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As we at Budding Trends reported last week, the DEA is set to finally accept the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the...more
5/7/2024
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Having spent nearly every day of the last three years thinking about Alabama’s medical cannabis licensing, and the past year closely following the seemingly endless litigation that continues to this day, I took special note...more
During a hearing today on SB276, a proposal released only yesterday that would fundamentally change the landscape of Alabama’s nascent medical cannabis program, would have probably been less one-sided if the proposal called...more
Well, it’s here. Late yesterday afternoon Sens. Tim Melson and David Sessions introduced the long-awaited “legislative fix” to help get Alabama’s long-stalled Alabama medical cannabis licensing program off the ground. The...more
Novel psychiatric cannabinoids legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill remain under attack by state regulators. Most recently, the Arizona attorney general opined that “Arizona law does not permit the sale of delta-8 and other...more
In case you missed it, Fat Joe visited the White House late last week to discuss federal marijuana policy. 2024, man.
During a roundtable discussion with Mr. Joe (?), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and several individuals who...more
Hold the phones, Alabama medical cannabis integrated applicants (and probably dispensary licensees). Last night the Montgomery County Circuit Court issued three orders that will at least temporarily pause the issuance of the...more
We told you it may be coming, though we were admittedly cynical about the ability to pass a bill funding psychedelic research given the current political landscape — a narrowly controlled Democratic Senate that is generally...more
Yesterday the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission(AMCC) awarded the five coveted licenses in the Integrated Facility category. The five licenses were awarded to:
1. Trulieve AL
2. Sustainable Alabama
3. Wagon Trail...more
12/13/2023
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I feel like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day. I keep writing the same blog post in some way heralding the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s awarding of licenses to would-be operators. Well, on Friday it happened...more
12/4/2023
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A few weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Aggarwal v. U.S. DEA directed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to reconsider its decision not to transfer psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule II....more
Once hailed by observers as the southern state most likely to legalize marijuana first, North Carolina has not kept pace with its northern neighbors in adopting laws to promote the growth of a vibrant medicinal and...more
11/9/2023
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In the coming, frenzied 90 days, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission likely will save or ruin the future of medical cannabis in Alabama...
Last Thursday, the AMCC voted to adopt an emergency rule that, by its terms,...more
10/31/2023
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In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down every time...more
Now that the dust is starting to settle on the recent news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana be moved from Schedule I to...more
9/20/2023
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Maybe it was inevitable. Anyone who has seen another state award competitive licenses for a limited number of cannabis operators knew well that Alabama’s process would result in litigation. That was not an indictment of...more
9/13/2023
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Jimmy Buffett was a spirit animal of the Budding Trends blog. We don’t quote from him as often as we do the Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, or popular movies, but maybe because in many ways his lyrics are too good for...more
9/11/2023
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Just as we did, the Food and Drug Administration has recognized the growing enthusiasm for exploring opportunities to use psychedelic medications to treat mental health disorders. In June, FDA issued for the first time draft...more
I have literally (yes, literally) lost track of the number of times that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission or a court has ordered a halt to the AMCC’s efforts to issue licenses to medical cannabis operators. If you...more
9/1/2023
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There is a scene in the fantastic film Wayne’s World (cult classic or blockbuster, I don’t know; I just write blogs about cannabis) where Wayne and Garth are playing street hockey and whenever a car drives down the street...more
Last Thursday was License Award Day 2.0 for the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nineteen of the applicants awarded licenses in June, before the process was halted due...more
8/15/2023
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In a court hearing yesterday in the Montgomery County Circuit Court, it appeared that the staff of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission was prepared to move forward announcing licensees at its meeting on Thursday and that...more
8/8/2023
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We’ve been tossing this idea around in our heads ever since research about microdosing psychedelics entered the mainstream media a few years ago. And the more we think about it, the more we think Congress may allow patient...more