Happy Cannabis Day! Top 10 Weed Roundup of Budding Trends’ Trendiest Blog Posts of the Year
It’s been, like, a whole year since our last 420 blog post, man. And the past year made way for even more of the choicest blog posts about cannabis industry topics ranging from the business of THC, CBD, the Deltas, Medical Marijuana, hemp, and more. Our second annual “Weed Roundup” — featuring our top 10 most read blog posts of the past 12 months — is packed with a hybrid of state and federal law updates, regulatory and compliance legislation, and predictions for what is to come in the cannabis industry. As the industry continues to blaze its own trail state by state, our team of authors has been buzzing to keep the freshest content delivered to you on the stickiest developments. Catch up on what you may have missed with the Budding Trends’ Top 10 Weed Roundup, and for everyone going to the Sphere this weekend, take care of your shoes!
This Will Be Our Year, Took a Long Time to Come: Will 2024 Be the Year for Marijuana Legalization in North Carolina?
By Nathan P. Viebrock & Whitt Steineker
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 personal-use marijuana industry. While 2023 saw a number of bills introduced in the House and Senate that touched on the legalization and regulation of hemp, medicinal and adult personal usage, last month the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned for the year with no bills having passed, leaving open a number of questions regarding the future of cannabis in the Tar Heel State. Let’s use this as a moment to reflect on where things stand in North Carolina and what’s on the horizon for 2024. Continue reading…
Big Tobacco Bets Big On Cannabis
By Slates C. Veazey
Word began circulating a few days ago that tobacco giant Philip Morris has agreed to purchase Israeli cannabis company Syqe Medical for a whopping $650 million if certain future events come to fruition. While the two companies evidently have some history together, this new deal is reportedly tied to Philip Morris’ interest in acquiring Syqe’s metered-dose, pharmaceutical-grade inhaler that dispenses precise doses of medical cannabis to patients. Continue reading…
Will the Tennessee Legislature Continue to Leave Cannabis to Outlaw Country Music in 2023?
By J. Hunter Robinson & Savannah Kolodziej
Cannabis has long been a source of inspiration for musicians like Willie Nelson and Hank Williams Jr. Outlaws like Willie and Hank paved the way for the next generation of country artists to sing their cannabis praises. Margo Price has openly discussed the benefits of cannabis and released her own line of products containing the hemp-based, non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBG. Continue reading…
Mississippi Department of Health Revises Medical Cannabis Regulations: Feels Like I’ve Been Here Before
By Slates C. Veazey
I sound like a broken record, but I will say it again: To remain compliant in the cannabis industry requires an almost constant state of diligence. This point was reinforced earlier this month when the Mississippi Department of Health (MDOH) released a set of revised medical cannabis regulations. While many of the changes follow what the MDOH proposed last December, several are new. One such new rule involves the standard symbol that must be placed on edible cannabis product labeling and packaging, effective July 1, 2023. And, as proposed last December, the maximum quantity of usable medical cannabis that medical cannabis establishments can amass for testing as a “batch” has increased from 10 pounds to 25 pounds. Further, the testing regulations received perhaps the most significant set of amendments. Continue reading…
Good News, Bad News: Congress Wants to Help the Hemp Industry
By Whitt Steineker
Last week in a small hearing room in a House office building, the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing titled “Hemp in the Modern World: The Years long Wait for FDA Action.” The hearing, billed as a “first-of-its-kind,” allowed lawmakers and hemp industry experts to discuss issues facing the industry today and in the future, and it was an important step in framing the debate about the next Farm Bill (the current Farm Bill expires September 30). In that sense, the hearing was a success. But a close examination of the testimony, the opening statements of the legislators, and the staggering distance between the parties on the appropriate policy solutions was sobering to this author. The main takeaway: The next Farm Bill will determine the future of the hemp industry in America. Continue reading…
Fifth Circuit Upholds Marijuana User’s Second Amendment Rights – Will the Eleventh Circuit Do the Same?
By Slates C. Veazey & Connor M. Blair
A question frequently encountered in the cannabis industry involves a cannabis user’s gun rights. This stems from the ever-present federal and state law tension overlaying marijuana in the United States — thanks to the Schedule 1 status of “marihuana” under the Controlled Substances Act. A Westlaw search quickly reveals that over the past year federal courts across the country have reached varying decisions on this or similar issues. For instance, courts in Texas and Oklahoma have held that, under certain circumstances, the Second Amendment protects marijuana users’ right to own and purchase firearms, while courts in Alabama and Mississippi have held the opposite. Continue reading…
To Reschedule or To Deschedule: That Is the (Marijuana) Question
By Whitt Steineker & Slates C. Veazey
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 Schedule III under federal law, it is important to understand the implications of rescheduling marijuana and whether descheduling marijuana would be a preferred course. Continue reading…
Veep Urges DEA to Reschedule Marijuana “As Quickly as Possible”
By Whitt Steineker
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 have received pardons from President Joe Biden for prior federal marijuana convictions, Vice President Kamala Harris “urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to work as quickly as possible on its review of whether to reschedule marijuana as a less-dangerous drug.” Continue reading…
Will Mississippi’s List of Qualifying Conditions for Medical Cannabis Soon Be Expanded?
By Slates C. Veazey
Pursuant to the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, Mississippi residents can petition the state’s Department of Health to add new serious medical conditions or their treatments to the existing list of conditions that qualify a prospective patient for a medical marijuana card (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-137-17). Exercising this authority, the DOH recently made it easier for Mississippi residents to petition the agency to add conditions to that list, which currently includes the following conditions and treatments. Continue reading…
The Great Divide: The Feds’ Differing Approach to Psychedelics and Cannabis
By Hillary Campbell & Whitt Steineker
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 guidance providing considerations for those developing psychedelic drugs for the treatment of medical conditions. The guidance explicitly focuses on “classic psychedelics,” which are “typically understood” as “5-HT2 agonists” like psilocybin and LSD, as well as entactogens or empathogens like MDMA. Has this put a wedge between psychedelics and cannabis? Continue reading…