A Florida lawmaker has introduced a new bill to legalize recreational marijuana that also aims to break up what he calls “monopolies” in the state's current medical cannabis program by revising the business licensing structure.

The legislation, filed by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D), comes as the state Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of proposed adult-use legalization initiative that an industry-funded campaign is seeking to place on the November ballot.

Under the new bill, adults over 21 years of age could legally possess up to four ounces of smokable marijuana or cannabis products containing up to 2,000 milligrams of THC. Medical cannabis patients would be allowed to grow up to six flowering plants at home for personal use.

Medical marijuana businesses that apply for adult-use licenses could begin selling cannabis for recreational purposes beginning next January.

“We can't call ourselves the 'Free State of Florida' while continuing to criminalize cannabis use by grown adults,” Smith told Marijuana Moment on Thursday, adding that a majority of voters approved a legalization initiative at the ballot in 2024 that wasn't enacted after “falling just short of the state's arbitrary 60 percent threshold.”

“The message from voters was unmistakable: they want change,” he said. “Senate Bill 1398 answers that call by legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and over in a safe, responsible, and tightly regulated way.”

“It also ends state-created medical marijuana monopolies by opening the market to small businesses and gives Floridians the freedom to cultivate their own cannabis if they choose,” the senator said. “It's time for the Legislature to stop ignoring the will of the people, end draconian criminalization laws, and finally deliver a fair, legal, and accountable cannabis system for Florida.”

Under the new bill, current medical cannabis dispensaries—known as medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs)—could apply for retail licenses to sell recreational marijuana. And only cannabis purchased from licensed businesses would be legal to possess.

People with prior convictions for activity made legal under the bill would also be given an opportunity for resentencing and expungement.

The legislation stipulates marijuana and paraphernalia would be exempt from being taxed—but only for medical cannabis patients and caregivers. Additionally, local governments would be able to levy a business tax on dispensing facilities.

There's been some criticism among advocates about the current medical marijuana system, specifically around the idea that vertical integration and licensing caps have effectively created a marijuana monopoly in the state.

In an attempt to address that issue, the bill would break out licensing categories. In contrast to the current system of seed-to-sale businesses, regulators would offer individual licenses to cultivate, manufacture, transport and sell cannabis products.

There isn't a specific mandate for an increase in the number of licensed marijuana businesses, but the measure would direct the state Department of Health to adopt rules on “procedures and requirements for…the registration and registration renewal of MMTCs.” Depending on the outcome of that rulemaking process, new businesses could enter the market.

Also, registered cultivator and processors would be able to do wholesale transactions with other MMTCs, which is not currently permitted under Florida's medical cannabis program.

The legislation would also task the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt rules adopt “regulating the cultivation of marijuana by members of the public for their private use, including rules regulating the use of a cooperative model for cultivation.”

Here's an overview of additional Florida marijuana developments:

• A state lawmaker recently introduced a bill that would protect the parental rights of medical cannabis patients, preventing them from losing custody of their children for using their medicine in accordance with state law.
• A pro-legalization GOP lawmaker filed legislation to amend state law to codify that the public use of marijuana is prohibited. Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the sponsor, said last year that embracing cannabis reform is a way for the Republican party to secure more votes from young people.
• Last month, a Florida Republican senator filed a bill to expand the state's medical marijuana program, in part by increasing supply limits for patients and waiving registration fees for honorably discharged military veterans. A similar version of legislation was introduced in the House.
• Other recently filed bills in the legislature for 2026 would more incrementally reduce medical cannabis patient registration fees for military veterans and clarify that smoking or vaping marijuana in public places is prohibited.
• A Florida Democratic senator introduced legislation for the 2026 session that would legalize home cultivation of marijuana for registered medical cannabis patients in the state.

In the background, a campaign is working against the clock to collect enough signatures to again put the question of adult-use marijuana legalization to voters at the ballot. But there have been complications.

Most recently, the Republican attorney general of Florida and several business and anti-marijuana groups urged the state Supreme Court to block the legalization initiative, calling it “fatally flawed” and unconstitutional.

The attorney general's office last month asked the state Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the legalization initiative. The court accepted the request and set a schedule for state officials and the cannabis campaign to file briefs this month. Proponents of the measure have until January 12 to submit response briefs, then the opposition has until January 20 to reply.

The briefs were filed days after Smart and Safe Florida filed a new lawsuit against state officials, alleging that they improperly directed the invalidation of about 71,000 signatures as a turn-in deadline approaches.

In March, meanwhile, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate what they described as “potentially unlawful diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds via a group with ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The money was used to fight against the 2024 citizen ballot initiative, vehemently opposed by the governor, that would have legalized marijuana for adults.

The lawmakers' letter followed allegations that a $10 million donation from a state legal settlement was improperly made to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, which in turn sent $8.5 million to a campaign opposing Amendment 3.

The governor said last February that the newest marijuana legalization measure is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it would be blocked from going before voters this year.

“There's a lot of different perspectives on on marijuana,” DeSantis said. “It should not be in our Constitution. If you feel strongly about it, you have elections for the legislature. Go back candidates that you believe will be able to deliver what your vision is on that.”

“But when you put these things in the Constitution—and I think, I mean, the way they wrote, there's all kinds of things going on in here. I think it's going to have big time trouble getting through the Florida Supreme Court,” he said.

In 2023, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney general. It's not entirely clear why he feels this version would face a different outcome.

While there's uncertainty around how the state's highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released last February showed overwhelming bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.

Separately, Florida medical marijuana officials are actively revoking the registrations of patients and caregivers with drug-related criminal records. The policy is part of broad budget legislation signed into law last year by DeSantis. The provisions in question direct the state Department of Health (DOH) to cancel registrations of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if they're convicted of—or plead guilty or no contest to—criminal drug charges.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post New Florida Bill Would Legalize Recreational Marijuana And End 'Monopolies' In Medical Cannabis With Expanded Business Licensing appeared first on Weedmaps News.

At the start of another new year, advocates and lawmakers are again eyeing recreational and medical marijuana legalization opportunities in states across the country. This time, however, the momentum for cannabis reform at the local level comes amid a pending federal rescheduling process.

Nearly half of the states in the U.S. have enacted adult-use legalization, and the vast majority of states allow some form of medical cannabis access for qualified patients. But the push for further reform isn't letting up in 2026, with advocates targeting states across the country — from New Hampshire to Hawaii and several in between.

President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing the attorney general to complete the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) may also bolster state-level reform efforts. That policy change wouldn't federally legalize marijuana, but some advocates feel it could embolden more state lawmakers to support ending prohibition locally.

“President Trump's executive order directing his attorney general to swiftly reschedule cannabis to Schedule III, coupled with the [Food and Drug Administration's] prior analysis recommending rescheduling, should be a game changer in the states that have failed to adopt medical cannabis laws,” Karen O'Keefe, state policy director at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment. “Federal law is on the brink of finally acknowledging cannabis has accepted medical use and that it is less risky than opioids.”

“Only 10 states lack a medical cannabis law and they all have Republican-led legislatures,” she said. “Now, their party's standard bearer has forcefully made the case that medical cannabis can help older Americans, veterans, and be a substitute for 'potentially lethal opioid painkillers.'”

“While I don't expect all 10 remaining states to pass medical cannabis bills this year as a result, this could make the difference in some. In South Carolina, North Carolina and Kansas, at least one legislative chamber previously passed medical cannabis, only for it to not receive a floor vote in the other chamber,” O'Keefe said. “Federal rescheduling at the behest of President Trump could make the difference.”

At the same time, however, anti-marijuana activists are stepping up their own campaigns seeking to roll back legalization in several states, despite the fact that polling shows consistent majority, bipartisan support for replacing criminalization with regulation.

Here's an overview of the states most likely to legalize marijuana in 2026:

Recreational marijuana

Florida

While it seems doubtful that Florida lawmakers will move to legalize adult-use cannabis legislatively, there's another push this year to enact the reform at the ballot — spearheaded by the campaign Smart & Safe Florida.

The proposed marijuana legalization initiative is currently under review by the Florida Supreme Court after the campaign collected enough signatures to initiate that process. But the state attorney general and other opponents recently filed briefs challenging its constitutionality, arguing that it misleads voters, violates a single-subject rule for ballot measures and conflicts with federal law.

An earlier version of the initiative made the ballot in 2024, but while a majority of voters supported it, the measure failed to reach the requisite 60 percent threshold for passage of a constitutional amendment. Smart & Safe Florida made certain revisions to the new proposal, but the campaign is running against the clock to secure ballot placement amid litigation that's already led to the invalidation of about 200,000 signatures it collected.

If advocates do make the ballot, polling continues to signal that a majority of voters would embrace it. Whether it could get to the 60 percent mark is uncertain, however. And Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who actively campaigned against the earlier version, has said he doesn't think the state Supreme Court will allow it to proceed in any case.

The campaign has relied heavily on funding from a major marijuana company, Trulieve, whose CEO Kim Rivers is credited with lobbying the president directly to both endorse the prior Florida legalization initiative as well as federal cannabis rescheduling.

Meanwhile, a Florida senator recently filed a bill to legalize cannabis statutorily through the legislature.

Hawaii

Past attempts to legislatively enact legalization in Hawaii have fallen short, but momentum has continue to build over recent sessions, and Gov. Josh Green (D) is supportive of the reform.

House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chairman David Tarnas (D) also recently said that he will work to advance a bill in the 2026 session that would put the question of marijuana legalization to Hawaii voters to decide on the ballot.

Gov. Josh Green (D) backs legalizing marijuana, and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura (D) has acknowledged broad public support for the reform, but she said that some of her chamber's members from the island of Oahu are not on board.

Hawaii's Senate last February narrowly defeated a proposal that would have increased fivefold the amount of cannabis that a person could possess without risk of criminal charges.

A Senate bill that would have legalized marijuana for adults, meanwhile, ultimately stalled for the session. That measure, SB 1613, failed to make it out of committee by a legislative deadline.

While advocates felt there was sufficient support for the legalization proposal in the Senate, it's widely believed that House lawmakers would have ultimately scuttled the measure, as they did last February with a legalization companion bill, HB 1246.

In 2024, a Senate-passed legalization bill also fizzled out in the House.

Last year's House vote to stall the bill came just days after approval from a pair of committees at a joint hearing. Ahead of that hearing, the panels received nearly 300 pages of testimony, including from state agencies, advocacy organizations and members of the public.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire lawmakers have introduced a slew of marijuana-related bills for the 2026 session, including proposals to legislatively enact adult-use legalization — or alternatively leave it up to voters to decide at the ballot.

A proposal from Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D) stands out because it seeks to put a constitutional amendment on the state ballot that would let voters decide if they want to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older, allowing them to “possess a modest amount of cannabis for their personal use.”

The measure comes as lawmakers have had difficulty advancing legalization bills through both chambers in recent sessions, and as Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) has threatened to veto any such bill that reaches her desk.

Other bills filed for 2026 include measures to legalize marijuana possession statutorily, protect the gun rights of medical cannabis patients and make it so medical marijuana dispensaries could operate on a for-profit basis, as is the case in the majority of states that have legalized the plant.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives gave approval to a marijuana legalization bill on the first day of the 2026 session this month, but its prospects in the Senate are questionable. Even if approved there, the governor remains opposed.

“We know where it's going to go. Let's send a virtue signal,” the sponsor of the legalization proposal, Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), said during a House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee hearing. “Let them be the ones that are pissing off voters who care about this.”

The House has repeatedly passed similar legalization legislation in past sessions.

Pennsylvania

Bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers who've been working to enact adult-use legalization over recent sessions without success so far say Trump's federal marijuana rescheduling order could grease the wheels in the new year.

The House passed a marijuana legalization bill last year, with a novel proposal to have sales take place at state-run stores, but it was promptly rejected by the GOP-controlled Senate.

A top House lawmaker said recently that legalizing cannabis is one way to create a “very important” revenue source for the state, and it's an achievable reform if only legislators could find “the will to do it.”

Separately, a top GOP senator — Sen. Scott Martin (R), chair of the chamber's Appropriations Committee — said last month that he was skeptical about the prospects of enacting legalization in the 2026 session, in part because of the federal classification of cannabis that's now expected to change. Of course, marijuana would still be federally illegal under Schedule III, so it's unclear if a simple loosening of the law would move the needle enough from his perspective.

A top aide to Pennsylvania's governor said in September that lawmakers should stop introducing new competing legalization bills and instead focus on building consensus on the issue — while emphasizing that any measure that advances needs to contain equity provisions if the governor is going to sign it into law.

Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), for his part, said in August that the House “needs to pass the language in my bill and send it to my committee” after which point he “can negotiate with the Senate and the governor.”

The senator separately said recently that supporters are “picking up votes” to enact the reform this session.

Polls have shown bipartisan support for legalization among voters, but the reform has consistently stalled in the legislature, due largely to GOP opposition. But not all Republican members are against the policy change — and one recently said she felt her party should seize the “opportunity to snatch” the issue from Democrats.

Virginia

With an incoming new governor, Virginia is also in play with the potential legalization of recreational marijuana sales in 2026.

Cannabis has been legal to possess and cultivate for adult use since 2021, but there's currently no retail access for non-medical marijuana. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who leaves office later this month, has vetoed bills passed by the legislature to establish a commercial recreational cannabis market — but advocates have been encouraged by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) position in favor of the policy change.

Spanberger recently laid out what “needs to be” included in a marijuana sales legalization bill in order for her to sign it into law — such as “strong labeling” requirements and allocating tax revenue toward education.

Last month, the legislature's Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market unveiled a much-anticipated proposal to legalize recreational marijuana sales that it is recommending lawmakers pass during the 2026 session.

Sen. Louise Lucas (D), the Senate president pro tempore, also said the state should move forward with legalizing recreational marijuana sales — in part to offset the Trump administration's cuts to federal spending in support of states.

Medical cannabis

Idaho

A campaign is seeking to put medical marijuana legalization on Idaho's 2026 ballot, and it recently stepped up its efforts by recruiting paid petitioners to gather voter signatures to qualify the measure.

The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI) unveiled its certified initiative to put medical marijuana legalization on the ballot last October. The measure would provide patients with qualifying conditions access to marijuana from a limited number of dispensaries and provide a regulatory framework for the market.

To make the ballot, the campaign will need to collect 70,725 valid signatures, including from at least 6 percent of registered voters in 18 of Idaho's 35 legislative districts.

Meanwhile, voters next year will see a different kind of proposal on the ballot: A constitutional amendment that the legislature approved to make it so only lawmakers could legalize marijuana or other controlled substances.

Legislators separately held a hearing in March to discuss a bill to enact medical cannabis legalization legislatively, but there hasn't been meaningful action on the issue in the months since.

Kansas

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said last year that it's time for lawmakers in the state to finally legalize medical marijuana. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but advocates see opportunities for advancing the reform.

Polling from late 2024 found that nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Kansans support legalizing medical marijuana. About six in 10 (61 percent) respondents also said they supported legalizing cannabis for broader adult use.

Legislators have, nevertheless, repeatedly shot down reform efforts.

The House of Representatives passed a medical cannabis bill in 2021, for example, but it stalled out in the Senate. And after numerous hearings on the issue, the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee voted in 2024 to table a limited medical marijuana pilot program bill.

A later effort to revive the medical cannabis bill on the Senate floor ultimately fell short. That measure was filed about a month after the House rejected a Democratic lawmaker's amendment to a broader drug scheduling bill that would have removed marijuana entirely from the state's controlled substances law, effectively legalizing it.

After the Senate committee shelved the limited medical marijuana bill, Kelly issued a statement urging the public to contact their representatives to demand that they take the legislation back up for action, but that did not happen before the end of the legislative session.

Senate President Ty Masterson (R) said in 2023 that was open to a discussion about a limited medical marijuana program. But in 2024, he appeared less welcoming to the idea, calling medical legalization a “nonstarter,” suggesting the policy change would lead to a surge in “gang activity” and put kids at risk.

In October 2024, meanwhile, a state legislative panel voted against a recommendation that lawmakers legalize medical cannabis in 2025.

The legislature's Special Committee on Medical Marijuana, charged with consideration of possible pathways for medical cannabis reform, said legalizing medical marijuana was premature and that lawmakers should first wait to see how federal rescheduling and other reform efforts unfold.

North Carolina

The governor of North Carolina, in June, reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana, stressing the need to create a regulated cannabis program to mitigate the risks associated with products in the intoxicating hemp market.

“Our state's unregulated cannabis market is the Wild West, and it is crying out for order,” Gov. Josh Stein (D) said, adding that's the reason he signed an executive order creating a bipartisan commission to study cannabis legalization in hopes of moving the GOP-controlled legislature to act on reform.

During his time as the state's attorney general, Stein led a separate task force under then-Gov. Roy Cooper (D) that examined racial injustice issues and ultimately recommended decriminalizing marijuana and studying broader legalization in response to racially disparate enforcement trends.

In recent sessions, multiple limited medical marijuana legalization bills advanced through the Senate, only to stall out in the House.

Meanwhile, in the House, Rep. Aisha Dew (D) filed a bill last April that would have legalized medical marijuana for patients with a variety of specified conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, PTSD, end-of-life care and other serious ailments.

The North Carolina Compassionate Care Act is considerably more detailed than a separate Democrat-led medical cannabis bill that would allow access only for patients enrolled in a “registered research study.”

Advocates had been awaiting House introduction of a comprehensive bill, especially since Senate President Phil Berger (R) said his chamber was deferring to the House to move first on medical marijuana reform this session.

South Carolina

The governor of South Carolina said in June that there's a “compelling” case to be made for legalizing medical marijuana in the state, despite reservations from law enforcement. And a key GOP lawmaker who's championed the reform over multiple sessions said he's eyeing 2026 as the year to finally get the job done.

Gov. Henry McMaster (R) said he thinks supporters of the reform have a “very compelling situation,” despite the fact that “law enforcement, almost end-to-end, still have grave concerns.”

Sen. Tom Davis (R), who has sponsored several bills to legalize medical cannabis, has described his legislation as “conservative.”

An earlier version of Davis's cannabis measure passed the Senate in 2024 but was never taken up in the House. He then filed a revised version in 2025 that also did not advance.

The office of House Speaker Murrell Smith (R) has tempered expectations about reform, saying “previous statement on the medical marijuana bill holds true,” referencing his comments on insufficient support within the GOP caucus to advance the reform.

Among the public, medical marijuana legalization enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in the state, with a poll last year finding that 93 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of independents back the reform.

The state Senate passed an earlier version of the legislation in 2022, but it stalled in the opposite body over a procedural hiccup.

Wisconsin

With less than a year to go until Wisconsin voters are set to elect their next governor, the majority of the current candidates are making clear that they will support efforts to legalize marijuana — in part to fund public programs such as increased access to broadband.

Last year, Wisconsin senators took up a filed Republican-led bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state, but it has yet to advance.

Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R) filed the legislation, and the Senate Health Committee held a hearing to debate the proposal, taking testimony from patients and other advocates. Members didn't vote on the bill, but the chair said the panel would be advancing it “fairly quickly.”

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said last year that he hopes lawmakers in the state can “find a consensus” on legislation to legalize medical marijuana. But he added that the cannabis bill filed by his Republican leadership counterpart in the Senate was “unlikely” to pass his chamber because it is “way too broad and way too wide-ranging.

More recently, Vos said he thinks “we are not there” in terms of having enough votes to advance even a medical cannabis bill through his chamber at this point, despite characterizing himself as a supporter of patients' access to marijuana “for almost a decade now.”

As the 2025 session was set to get underway, Felzkowski said she was “hoping to have a conversation” in the legislature about legalizing medical marijuana — though she viewed the Republican Assembly speaker as “an obstacle.”

Gov. Tony Evers (D), who supports legalizing cannabis, isn't seeking re-election — but he said last June that if his party can take control of the legislature, the state can “finally” legalize marijuana so that residents don't have to go to neighboring Illinois to visit its adult-use market.

The chances of advancing reform may also be bolstered by the redistricting map the governor signed in 2024.

Separately that month, a poll from Marquette Law School found that two in three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana.

The state's Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly last summer rejected another attempt to legalize marijuana, defeating amendments to budget legislation that would have ended prohibition in the state and established new medical and recreational cannabis programs.

Evers has routinely attempted to change that policy as part of his budget requests — and Democratic leaders have similarly pushed for reform.

Republicans in the legislature also cut the marijuana provisions from a state budget proposal in May, as they've done in past sessions.

Despite Republicans' move to cut legalization from the budget legislation, party leaders recently acknowledged that the debate over medical marijuana legalization is “not going to go away,” and there's hope it can be resolved this session.

Marijuana legalization rollback initiatives and other key measures

Arizona

A recently filed ballot initiative in Arizona would repeal of key provisions of the state's voter-approved marijuana legalization law by eliminating commercial sales, while still permitting possession and personal cultivation.

The “Sensible Marijuana Policy Act for Arizona” is being spearheaded by Sean Noble, president of the political strategy firm American Encore.

Possession and home cultivation would remain lawful if voters chose to enact the initiative — and Arizona's medical marijuana program would remain intact — but the commercial market for recreational cannabis that's evolved since voters approved an adult-use legalization measure in 2020 would be quashed.

In order to make the ballot, the campaign will need to collect 255,949 valid signatures by July 2. If the proposal goes to voters and is approved, it would take effect in January 2028.

It remains to be seen if there will be an appetite for repeal among voters, as 60 percent of the electorate approved legalization at the ballot in 2020.

What's more, a poll from last year found majority support for medical cannabis legalization (86 percent), adult-use legalization (69 percent), and banking reform (78 percent).

Maine

Maine officials last month cleared prohibitionist activists to begin collecting signatures for a proposed ballot initiative that would roll back the state's voter-approved marijuana legalization law. The measure, if approved, would also revise the regulatory structure of the medical cannabis program by imposing product testing requirements.

The proposal — titled “An Act to Amend the Cannabis Legalization Act and the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Act” — is a revised version of a marijuana initiative filed in September that was backed by a Republican state senator and a former top staffer to then-Gov. Paul LePage (R), a staunch prohibitionist.

The latest proposal, petitions for which were approved by the secretary of state's office, would remove and amend multiple sections of current state statute — aimed at effectively repealing the legalization of recreational marijuana sales that voters approved in 2016.

Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis by adults 21 and older would remain legal under the proposal, but a section of the law permitting home cultivation would be repealed. Medical marijuana sales and home cultivation would remain legal.

Activists must submit at least 67,682 valid voter signatures by February 2, 2026 in order to qualify for next year's ballot. If approved by voters, the initiative would take effect beginning on January 1, 2028.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts officials last month announced that a campaign behind an initiative to roll back the state's marijuana legalization law collected enough valid signatures to send the measure to lawmakers for consideration before it potentially goes before voters at the ballot.

The campaign had already expressed confidence that it secured enough signatures to advance. Lawmakers will receive the proposal at the start of the 2026 session on January 7, and they have until May 5 to act on it. If they choose not to enact it legislatively, the campaign would need to go through another round of petitioning and get at least 12,429 certified signatures by July 1 to make the November ballot.

There's been controversy surrounding the prohibitionist coalition's signature collection tactics, with allegations that petitioners working on behalf of the campaign shared misleading information about what the measure would accomplish — with claims that paid petitioners have used fake cover letters for other ballot measures on issues like affordable housing and same-day voter registration.

The state attorney general's office has confirmed it's received complaints to that end. And an association of state marijuana businesses last month urged voters to report to local officials if they observe any instances of “fraudulent message” or other deceitful petitioning tactics. The campaign has denied the allegations.

The State Ballot Law Commission has scheduled a hearing to consider the complaints of alleged fraud for this month.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell's (D) office — which  cleared the campaign for signature gathering in September — has stressed to voters the importance of reading their summary, which is required to go at the top of the signature form, before signing any petitions.

Meanwhile, the head of Massachusetts's marijuana regulatory agency recently suggested that the measure to effectively recriminalize recreational cannabis sales could imperil tax revenue that's being used to support substance misuse treatment efforts and other public programs.

Whether the cannabis measures make the cut is yet to be seen. Voters approved legalization at the ballot in 2016, with sales launching two years later. And the past decade has seen the market evolve and expand. As of August, Massachusetts officials reported more than $8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales.

Massachusetts lawmakers recently assembled a bicameral conference committee to reach a deal on a bill that would double the legal marijuana possession limit for adults and revise the regulatory framework for the state's adult-use cannabis market.

Ohio

On the other side of the debate, Ohio activists recently said that they've met an initial signature requirement to launch a campaign aimed at repealing key components of a bill the governor signed to scale back the state's voter-approved marijuana law and ban the sale of consumable hemp products outside of licensed cannabis dispensaries.

2026 Could Be A Big Year For Marijuana

“2026 marks a potential inflection point for the cannabis reform movement,” Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “We faced significant headwinds in 2025, with lawmakers in several states rolling back voter-initiated cannabis reforms, and we face additional repeal efforts in 2026.”

“How successfully we respond to these challenges will determine the degree to which our movement continues to move forward,” he said. “The public remains committed to adult-use legalization and medical cannabis access, and it is our responsibility to galvanize this public opinion and ensure that it prevails in state houses and at the ballot box.”

O'Keefe of MPP said “2026 holds both great potential and great peril for cannabis policy reform.”

“For the first time, ballot initiatives may quality to reinstate cannabis prohibition. Meanwhile, two of the most populous states in the country — one purple and one red — could legalize cannabis for adults,” she said. “And we are on the cusp of federal rescheduling at the direction of a Republican president, which could provide a boost in the states that continue to prohibit medical cannabis.”

“We are also seeing continued attempts to whittle away at cannabis freedoms, along with proposals to reduce the numbers of lives ruined over cannabis that already have legalization,” O'Keefe said.

What 2026 ultimately brings in the way of marijuana reform is yet to be seen. But if 2025 is any indicator — with a sometimes dizzying series of policy developments that advocates have worked to navigate — it seems likely that the cannabis community is looking at another rollercoaster.

The post Which States Are Most Likely To Legalize Marijuana In 2026? appeared first on Weedmaps News.

It's the season of New Year's resolutions again, and Americans are apparently more inclined to quit or reduce their use of alcohol and tobacco than to abstain from marijuana, according to a new poll.

The survey from Censuswide, which was commissioned by Northerner.com, asked 1,003 U.S. adults about their resolutions for 2026. Among the 15 options, respondents were least inclined to curb their cannabis use.

Just 8 percent of Americans said they wanted to reduce or cease their marijuana consumption. By contrast, 10 percent said they wanted to limit alcohol use, 12 percent said the same about tobacco, and 16 percent wanted to limit their social media use.

The most common New Year's resolution commitment was to improve physical health, at 35 percent.

Young people aged 21-24 were most likely (13 percent) to say they wanted to lower or quit their marijuana use, followed by those 25-34 (12 percent), 45-54 (5 percent), and 55+ (4 percent).

Men were twice as likely (12 percent) to say they wanted to cut out cannabis compared to women (6 percent). And among those who said they wanted to reduce marijuana use in 2026, 40 percent said they've tried and failed in the past.

Asked about the reasons they resolved to limit marijuana consumption, more than 50 percent said they feel it would “improve their independence and flexibility.” Forty-seven percent said they felt it would “make them feel more accomplished.” And 40 percent said they believe it “will help them lead a more active lifestyle and improve their mental and emotional well-being.”

The fact that fewer people intend to quit cannabis over alcohol and tobacco in the new year isn't especially surprising. While half of Americans report that they've tried marijuana, it's still not as commonly used as alcohol or tobacco. Public education campaigns have also proven effective at deterring some, particularly young people, from drinking or using tobacco products that are legal and regulated for adults at the federal level, unlike cannabis.

Recent polling shows that younger Americans are increasingly using cannabis-infused beverages as a substitute for alcohol — with one in three millennials and Gen Z workers choosing THC drinks over booze for after-work activities like happy hours.

Another survey released in October found that a majority of Americans believe marijuana represents a “healthier option” than alcohol — and most also expect cannabis to be legal in all 50 states within the next five years.

Smoking marijuana is also associated with “significantly” reduced rates of alcohol consumption, according to a recent federally funded study that involved adults smoking joints in a makeshift bar.

A study published last year found that adults who drink cannabis-infused beverages has found more evidence of a “substitution effect,” with a significant majority of participants reporting reduced alcohol use after incorporating cannabinoid drinks into their routines.

Another survey released last year also showed that four in five adults who drink cannabis-infused beverages say they've reduced their alcohol intake — and more than a fifth have quit drinking alcohol altogether.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post More Americans Want To Quit Using Alcohol And Tobacco Than Marijuana In 2026, New Year's Resolution Poll Finds appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Here are 10 Black-owned cannabis brands and dispensaries, along with their flagship products and strains that you should try. These operators are holding it down from New York to California, Oregon to Maryland. They're not just growing premium flower and crafting top-shelf products—they're building legacies, changing laws, and proving that real ones deserve their seat at the table.

Silly Nice

State: New York

Silly Nice is Black-owned, veteran-owned, and built different. Launched in March 2024, this New York craft cannabis brand broke into the Top 150 in a state with 500+ licensed operators—and they did it in less than a year. Their flagship product, Diamond Powder, is one of the best-selling concentrates in New York, according to Headset data. Beyond that, they're known for their Frosted Hash Ball, Bubble Hash, and Diamond-Frosted & Live Resin Infused Flower featuring Papaya Wine.

Every product is lab-tested, small-batch, and packaged sustainably using hemp boxes, recycled glass jars, and reclaimed ocean plastic. From Manhattan to Upstate, Silly Nice is redefining what premium New York weed looks like.

Ball Family Farms

State: California

Ball Family Farms is one of LA's first Black-owned, vertically integrated Social Equity cannabis companies, founded by Chris Ball. They control every step from seed to shelf—no investors, no shortcuts, no Plan B. Their flagship strain Daniel LaRusso is a balanced hybrid with spicy, minty aromas, named after the Karate Kid himself. BFF also offers strains like Nino Brown, all bred and pheno-hunted in-house using the finest raw and organic nutrients.

Through their Rare Breeds program, Ball Family Farms mentors underground growers and helps them bring their genetics to market on a major scale. This is premium California flower with roots, intention, and something to say.

B NOBLE

State: New York

In 2010, Bernard Noble was sentenced to 13 years of hard labor for carrying enough cannabis for two joints. B NOBLE was created to honor his story and the 600,000+ people arrested each year for non-violent cannabis offenses.

Founded by visual artist and filmmaker Fab 5 Freddy in partnership with multi-state operator Curaleaf, B NOBLE launched in 2021 as part of Curaleaf's Rooted in Good social equity program. Every B NOBLE pre-roll features high-quality strains like Kush Mints, GMO Kush Mints, Expresso, and Modified Grapes.  And 10% of proceeds fund organizations working to end cannabis criminalization and support formerly incarcerated individuals.

B NOBLE recently acquired CanPharma, a German pharmaceutical cannabis distribution company, and brought cannabis geneticist Mario "Sherbinskis" Guzman onto the team. From Brooklyn to Barcelona, B NOBLE is building a global movement rooted in justice and quality.

Tedz Budz

State: California

Tedz Budz is a Black family-owned distribution company based in Los Angeles, specializing in small-batch, top-shelf exotic flower from grassroots cultivators. They supply 300+ shops from Eureka to San Diego, only distributing flower they'd personally smoke themselves. One of their standout strains is Plum Mochi, alongside legacy cuts like Duck Sauce, Garlic Shrimp Girl, Hawaiian Jelly Roll, SpideyTed, and Lamar Odom.

Tedz Budz also distributes brands like Gooniez, SuperDope, Flower District, and Third Eye. Everything they do is for the love of the people and the community.

LOWD

State: Oregon

LOWD is owned and operated by Jesce Horton—who you might recognize from Netflix's Grass is Greener documentary—and Dave Murray. Their flagship strain Cake Mints crosses Kush Mints with Wedding Cake F3, delivering sweet, creamy, gassy flavors with kushy, earthy, stoney effects. LOWD also offers 503 WiFi and Platinum Garlic Cookies (PGC), each representing some of Oregon's most sought-after genetics.

Beyond cannabis, Jesce and his wife Jeannette founded the NuLeaf Project, a nonprofit delivering grants, educational resources, and entrepreneurial services to cannabis business owners and career hopefuls. LOWD isn't just premium flower—it's a mission.

Simply Pure

States: Colorado, New Jersey

Simply Pure is the first Black and veteran-owned dispensary in the nation, founded in Colorado by military veterans Wanda James and Scott Durrah. Since 2010, they've been advocating for Black ownership, challenging cannabis stigma, and reshaping the industry to be inclusive and equitable. They offer a curated selection of products from other Black-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned brands. In 2024, Simply Pure opened its Trenton, New Jersey, dispensary — the first Black-owned cannabis store in the state.

Simply Pure isn't just a dispensary—it's a community hub where customers can shop, learn, and become advocates for cannabis reform. They've dedicated 14+ years to fostering a positive, inclusive atmosphere and supporting underrepresented groups in the industry.

Khalifa Kush

States: Arizona, California, DC, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania

The KK strain was created for global superstar Wiz Khalifa back in 2012, tailored specifically for his personal tastes and kept closely guarded in his private LA stashes. In 2016, Khalifa Kush finally dropped to the public with an OG-dominant profile featuring earthy, piney terpenes and an uplifting, creative high. Khalifa Kush offers a full line of flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, and concentrates across 10+ states.

In 2022, they dropped their first line of KK crosses, expanding the genetics and giving consumers even more ways to tap into that signature Khalifa experience. The mission has always been simple: get the whole world smoking like Wiz.

Brooklyn Bourne Dispensary

State: New York

Brooklyn Bourne Dispensary is a fully Black-owned cannabis store located in the heart of Flatbush, Brooklyn. Since opening in 2024, founders Ty Bourne and Kim Green have created more than a dispensary—they've built a community hub. Ty, born and raised in East Flatbush, brings expertise in tech, law, and business, and has spent years advocating for cannabis legalization and social justice. Kim, a Bed-Stuy native, is a skilled grant writer and former banker who's dedicated her life to community service, from organizing food drives to securing funding for underserved programs.

Brooklyn Bourne offers a full range of premium products, including hand-trimmed flower, pre-rolls, edibles, vapes, concentrates, and CBD wellness products. They've quickly become a trusted destination for cannabis consumers seeking quality products, knowledgeable service, and a welcoming atmosphere.

BL^CK MRKT

State: Maryland

BL^CK MRKT (Black Market) is one of Maryland's only Black-owned, vertically integrated cannabis companies, founded by CEO Seth Murphy and rooted in Baltimore. They operate a 22-acre cultivation campus in Federalsburg, Maryland, producing small-batch, hand-crafted flower with 8,000 square feet of active canopy. Every harvest reflects their belief that quality should never be compromised—this is haute couture cannabis, cultivated with precision and brought to market for consumers seeking the finest remedies.

BL^CK MRKT is about amplifying representation, honoring heritage, and giving back to the communities that built cannabis culture long before legalization. They're also building space for other like-minded brands to co-locate and collaborate—turning their campus into a creative ecosystem rooted in quality, culture, and care for the plant.

Kingston Royal

State: California 

Kingston Royal is where cannabis and art collide. Founded by Ron Brandon—a former NFL/CFL footballer, musician, and visionary cultivator with 15+ years in the craft—Kingston Royal specializes in innovative, artisanal cannabis products. Their signature offering, VS1 Diamond Encrusted Cannabis, is the #1 infused cannabis brand in the world: flower literally encrusted with THCA diamonds for maximum potency and a smoking experience unlike anything else on the market.

Kingston Royal's motto, "Inhale Originality, Exhale Your Reality," embodies their approach: unbridled creativity, fearless innovation, and unwavering dedication to excellence. Beyond cannabis products, they've expanded into fashion-forward merchandise, packaging design (Streetcred Packaging), and collaborative event series (Creative Consumption). This isn't just a brand—it's a 360-degree cultural experience.

Support Black-owned cannabis brands year-round. These operators aren't just selling and growing weed—they're building generational wealth, mentoring the next wave of cultivators, funding criminal justice reform, and proving that legacy operators deserve equity and opportunity in this industry.

From New York to California, Oregon to Maryland, these brands are holding it down. Buy Black. Support the culture. Smoke the good good.

The post 10 Black-owned cannabis businesses to support in 2026 appeared first on Weedmaps News.

About one in three Americans says their holiday “pre-game” routine involves using marijuana, according to a new survey.

The poll from the Freeman Recovery Center looked at a variety of ways the use of alcohol and other drugs intersects with the holiday season, when family get-togethers and financial stress from gift giving tend to come to a head. As it turns out, a sizable portion of Americans are using cannabis to decompress.

“Because holiday celebrations are so ingrained in American culture, it can be challenging to pinpoint what exactly exacerbates substance use behaviors around this time of year. However, we wanted to figure out why,” the center said.

The survey of over 1,000 respondents “revealed that for many, substances like alcohol weren't just part of holiday parties, but a way to endure the season,” it said.

About half of Americans said they “pre-game” before holiday family gatherings. Alcohol is the most common choice at 51 percent, but cannabis now comes in second at 31 percent—including 43 percent of Gen Z and millennials. Another 12 percent said they used psychedelics before family events.

For people with a substance use history, that increased: 68 percent used alcohol, 50 percent consumed cannabis, and 26 percent opted for psychedelics.

“Despite financial stress being a common experience during the holidays, not every generation turned to substances. For example, 42 percent of Gen X and 68 percent of baby boomers said they had not used substances to cope with holiday financial pressure,” the center said. “On the other hand, millennials reported the most self-medication when faced with financial stress, with 54 percent  using alcohol and 45 percent using cannabis.”

The data on cannabis usage during the holidays isn't especially surprising, as more than half of American adults report having use cannabis, according to a 2023 Pew poll from this summer, and 23 percent said they consumed marijuana in the prior year.

When it comes to holidays specifically, mainstream media outlets this past November picked up on a trend that's long been practiced within the cannabis community: the “cousin walk,” a Thanksgiving pre-game (and usually pre-dinner) tradition for some, where the typically younger adults at a gathering will sneak away for a cannabis break before the feast begins.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post One In Three Americans 'Pre-Game' With Marijuana Before Family Holiday Gatherings, Survey Finds appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Marijuana will be federally rescheduled under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday.

The directive also aims to address federal hemp laws to promote access to full-spectrum CBD that could be covered under federal health insurance plans.

Months after Trump said a decision on the cannabis reform proposal was imminent, the president issued the directive for agencies to begin moving forward with the plan to transfer cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

“We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain for decades,” Trump said. “This action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems, and more—including numerous veterans with service-related injuries and older Americans who live with chronic medical problems that severely degrade their quality of life.”

This marks one of the most significant developments in federal marijuana policy since its prohibition a half a century ago, with a Schedule III reclassification recognizing that marijuana has medical value and a lower abuse potential compared to other Schedule I drugs like heroin.

Rescheduling will not federally legalize cannabis. However, the policy change will enable state-licensed marijuana businesses to claim federal tax deductions that they've been previously denied under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as Section 280E. It will also remove certain research barriers applied to Schedule I drugs.

The change may also spur additional states to modernize their own policies on cannabis, as some lawmakers have cited the federal government's restrictive classification of marijuana as a reason they have been uncomfortable with enacting legalization or at least allowing medical use.

In addition to directing the attorney general to expedite the completion of the process of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the CSA, the executive order also includes a novel proposal to allow Medicare recipients to access non-intoxicating CBD that'd be covered under the federal health care plan.

That is a policy Trump seemed to endorse over the summer when he shared a video calling for that specific reform while promoting the health benefits of cannabidiol, particularly for seniors.

Marijuana Moment first reported on leaked details from a White House briefing about the plan on Thursday ahead of the signing event. That includes a directive for top White House staff to work with Congress to give patients access to full-spectrum CBD products, “while still restricting the sale and access to products that cause serious and potentially life-threatening health risks.”

The order also urges Congress to examine updating the definition of hemp to ensure that full-spectrum CBD is accessible to patients—a policy change that could mitigate some concerns in the sector about a recent spending bill Trump signed with provisions that would broadly ban consumable hemp products.

Separate from Trump's order, Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will also be announcing “a model that will allow a number of CMS beneficiaries to benefit from receiving CBD under doctor recommendation at no cost,” a White House official said during the briefing.

Trump endorsed rescheduling—as well as industry banking access and a Florida adult-use legalization initiative—on the campaign trail last year. The president had been largely silent on the issue since taking office during his second term, until an August briefing, where, in response to a reporter's question, he announced that the administration would decide on rescheduling within weeks.

By moving forward with the plan, Trump is completing a process initiated under the Biden administration. That involved a scientific review by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—which concluded that Schedule III is a more appropriate category for marijuana—as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Recent news reports revealed that Trump was planning to issue the executive order directing federal agencies to move ahead with cannabis rescheduling following a meeting with marijuana industry executives, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz. During that meeting, Trump reportedly phoned House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who expressed his opposition to rescheduling cannabis.

The rescheduling announcement comes weeks after the president signed a key spending bill that would effectively ban most consumable hemp products, drawing criticism from stakeholders in the hemp industry who argue the policy change would eradicate the market.

Meanwhile, amid the heightened rumors that the Trump administration would be moving forward on marijuana rescheduling, multiple top congressional Democrats made the case that the reform would not go far enough—including one senator who said the move is only an attempt by the president to “gaslight” voters into thinking he legalized cannabis to boost his “pathetic” approval ratings.

Dozens of Republican members of Congress have urged Trump not to reschedule marijuana, arguing that it would harm public health and safety.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Trump Signs Executive Order To Reclassify Marijuana By Removing It From Schedule I appeared first on Weedmaps News.

The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year. Across cultures, this moment has always symbolized rest, reflection, and a gradual return of light. It's a natural pause in the calendar that invites people to reset before heading into a new season.

For many cannabis consumers, this night has also become an ideal moment to create intentional rituals, whether that is journaling, connecting with friends, or simply getting comfortable at home. 

Kush strains fit that mood well. Known for their body-centered and calming qualities, they often support the quiet atmosphere that many people seek during the solstice.

We highlighted the best kush cultivars that pair naturally with how you might want to spend the longest night of the year — whether you are seeking introspection, cozy creativity, warm connection, or full winter hibernation.

Why kush strains work for the winter solstice

Kush genetics trace back to the Hindu Kush mountain region, renowned for its hardy landrace strains that have adapted to cold nights and rugged conditions. These plants typically express dense buds, earthy or pine-leaning aromas, and effects that users often describe as grounding and relaxing.

Those qualities match the themes of the solstice. When the intention is to slow down or reflect, many users report that kush strains create a calm physical baseline and a steady mental space.

Kush strains for your winter solstice ritual

Here are eight kush strains that align with different solstice intentions. Each includes a quick look at genetics, sensory notes, and user-reported effects so you can choose the right flower for your festive night.

OG Kush

Hindu Kush

Purple Kush

Triangle Kush

Kosher Kush

SFV OG

Bubba Kush

Platinum Kush

Bottom line

The winter solstice is a natural moment to unwind and prepare for the return of light. Kush strains can support that atmosphere with grounding and calming effects that many users find helpful for reflection or rest. 

Whether your ritual is introspective, social, or simply relaxing, choosing a kush cultivar that aligns with your intention can make the longest night of the year feel a little more meaningful.

If you want to explore more strains or learn how different cultivars shape your experience, you can find additional guides in our Learn section.

Order kush strains and other cannabis products for pickup or delivery from a dispensary near you.

The post The best kush strains to prep for the longest night appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Massachusetts marijuana regulators have unanimously approved rules to license and regulate cannabis social consumption lounges in the state.

Members of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) voted 4-0 on Thursday to approve the rule, which was unveiled over the summer.

The rules create three new license types related to social consumption: One would let existing dispensaries build upon their business by allowing marijuana use at their facilities, another would permit “hospitality” services by non-cannabis businesses such as cafes and theaters, and another would create an “event organizer” category for entities wishing to allow marijuana consumption at events such as music festivals.

“The Commonwealth has been eagerly waiting social consumption, so we're proud to move this effort across the finish line,” Shannon O'Brien, chair of the commission, said in a press release. “We look forward to the economic opportunities these new license types will offer to small businesses and entrepreneurs who have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs.”

Bruce Stebbins, co-chair of the CCC social consumption working group, said the finalized regulatory package “reflects years of stakeholder engagement, research, and policy discussion and deliberation.”

“Next steps will include ongoing engagement with municipalities that must opt-in to hosting social consumption and educating residents to ensure the Commonwealth is prepared for this expansion of our $8 billion regulated cannabis industry,” he said.

The enactment of the policy makes Massachusetts the first state in New England to allow cannabis social consumption facilities to open.

Today Commissioners voted unanimously to approve three new license types that will allow the on-site consumption of cannabis in Massachusetts for the first time. Learn about the final policies and next steps here: https://t.co/tsE2Wlggtb

— Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (@MA_Cannabis) December 11, 2025

Kimberly Roy, another member of the commission, said the vote to advance the package “marks a long-awaited and carefully considered milestone for Massachusetts' regulated cannabis industry.”

“By finalizing the Social Consumption license-type, the Commission is honoring the will of the voters who envisioned safe, legal spaces for adult-use cannabis, while maintaining strong safeguards to protect public health and public safety,” she said. “This achievement represents years of collaboration among stakeholders, policymakers, and communities across the Commonwealth.”

However, she added, the vote on Thursday “does not conclude the Commission's work; it begins a new chapter of consumer and public education to ensure this emerging sector operates safely and responsibly.”

Commissioner Carrie Benedon said the “finalization of these social consumption reforms represents a significant milestone for legal cannabis in the Commonwealth.”

“Commissioners and staff have put significant thought and care into crafting a program that will provide economic opportunities for equity participants and small businesses while emphasizing public health and safety,” she said.

Travis Ahern, executive director of CCC, said the social consumption license option “offers the Commonwealth significant regional tourism opportunities, safe spaces for those who cannot consume cannabis at home, the ongoing transition of legacy operators to the legal market,” he said. “Commission staff have worked hard to support the creation of each license type, and we're excited to get to work setting up the internal infrastructure that will enable these new businesses to serve Massachusetts residents.”

The policy change around social consumption lounges comes amid a push by anti-legalization activists to put an initiative on the ballot next year that would roll back the state's adult-use legalization law.

An association of Massachusetts marijuana businesses recently urged voters to tell local officials about any cases of misleading signature gathering tactics and “fraudulent messaging” by the campaign behind that effort.

There have been allegations piling up that petitioners working on behalf of Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts have shared false information about what the measure would accomplish, with claims that paid petitioners have used fake cover letters for other ballot measures on issues like affordable housing and same-day voter registration. The state attorney general's office has confirmed that it has received complaints to that effect, but the campaign has denied sanctioning such activities.

Under the proposed initiative, adults 21 and older could still possess up to an ounce of cannabis, only five grams of which could be a marijuana concentrate product. Possession of more than one ounce but less than two ounces would be effectively decriminalized, with violators subject to a $100 fine. Adults could also continue to gift cannabis to each other without remuneration.

But provisions in the state's voter-approved marijuana law that allow for commercial cannabis retailers and access to regulated products by adults would be repealed under the proposal. Adults' right to cultivate cannabis at home would also be repealed. The medical cannabis program would remain intact, however.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell's (D) office—which cleared the campaign for signature gathering in September—has stressed to voters the importance of reading their summary, which is required to go at the top of the signature form, before signing any petitions.

Meanwhile, the head of Massachusetts's marijuana regulatory agency recently suggested that the measure to effectively recriminalize recreational cannabis sales could imperil tax revenue that's being used to support substance misuse treatment efforts and other public programs.

Whether the cannabis measures will be approved is yet to be seen. Voters approved legalization at the ballot in 2016, with sales launching two years later. Over the past decade, the market has evolved and expanded. As of August, Massachusetts officials reported more than $8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales.

In November, the Massachusetts Senate approved a bill that would double the legal marijuana possession limit for adults and revise the regulatory framework for the state's adult-use cannabis market. Similar legislation also advanced through the House earlier this year.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Massachusetts Officials Approve Rules Allowing Marijuana Social Consumption Lounges To Open appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Find the perfect present for every cannabis enthusiast in your life

The holidays are here, and if you're shopping for the cannabis lovers on your list, we've got you covered. 

From new vape tech to museum-worthy art, premium concentrates to automated grow boxes, this year's gift guide celebrates the best in cannabis culture. 

Whether you're shopping for the dabbing devotee who has every rig attachment or the curious newcomer ready to explore, these picks deliver quality, personality, and that special something that says "I get you."

For the Dabbing Enthusiast

HEMPER Puffco Peak Attachments

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Your dabbing buddy probably has the Peak or Peak Pro. Now give them something that makes it uniquely theirs. HEMPER's themed glass attachments transform functional gear into personality pieces, featuring a floating rubber duck, a psychedelic mushroom design, a Chinese takeout box, an astronaut helmet with a gold visor, or a classic popcorn bucket. All attachments feature functional percolation for smoother hits and come in themed gift boxes ready to wrap.

Pro tip: Universally compatible with both Peak and Peak Pro models.

For: The dabber who wants personality with their performance

Price: $75-$80

Puffco Proxy

Courtesy of Puffco

This palm-sized concentrate device doesn't compromise on flavor. The upgraded 3D Chamber heats from the sides for a better taste experience, while Bluetooth connectivity allows users to customize everything through the Puffco Connect App. 

The best part? The modular design allows for the removable base to work with multiple glass attachments — from the included Sherlock-style pipe to water bubblers and third-party glassware. It arrives fully assembled in a premium carrying case with everything needed, ready to use out of the box.

Currently includes a free "Where's the hash?" hat ($40 value).

Pro tip: This is the gateway to Puffco's ecosystem — recipients can build their collection with additional glass pieces.

For: Tech-savvy dabbers, travelers, and anyone who wants retro-modern aesthetics and cutting-edge performance

Price: $250

Stündenglass Gravity Infuser

Courtesy of Stündenglass

If you're looking for the ultimate showstopper, nothing compares to Stündenglass. This isn't just a smoking device — it's functional art that mesmerizes everyone in the room. The patented 360° rotating gravity-powered design uses no batteries or electronics. Rotate 180° while lighting, and gravity creates the vacuum. Rotate back, and gravity forces smoke through for contactless delivery. The water cascading display alone is worth the price of admission.

The cherry on top? It's multi-functional: works for dry herbs, concentrates, hookah, AND culinary smoke infusion. Comes complete in a premium, reusable craft box with a handle, plus a 10-year extended warranty, signifying serious investment-grade quality.

Pro tip: Special editions (Khalifa, Cookies, Grateful Dead, Tyson 2.0) available at the same $599.95 price.

For: Cannabis connoisseurs who have "everything," entertainers, design-focused individuals, and serious collectors

Price: $599.95 (reduced to $420 for Black Friday)

For the Design-Conscious Stoner

GRAV Small Deco Beaker Bong

Courtesy of GRAV

This 8-inch beaker delivers the essentials without the extras. The fixed fission downstem filters smoke through water for smoother pulls, while the classic beaker base keeps things stable on any surface. Hand-blown from durable borosilicate glass, it's built to withstand daily use and is easy to clean. The wide base accommodates ice for extra cooling, and the fixed downstem means no small parts to lose or replace.

Pro tip: Add ice — the wide beaker base accommodates ice for extra cooling. Additionally, the compact 8-inch height makes it ideal for smaller spaces without compromising performance.

For: Straightforward smokers who want reliable function, anyone seeking a no-fuss daily piece, simple aesthetic lovers

Price: $79.99

Revelry Supply Backpacks

Courtesy of Revelry Supply

Stash bags don't need to scream, "I smoke weed." Revelry Supply's professional-looking backpacks feature triple-layer carbon filter systems for odor absorption, water-resistant exteriors, and lockable waterproof zippers — all with genuine leather accents that look sharp anywhere. The Explorer ($90-$110, 18L) is the most popular everyday model. The Drifter ($110-$125, 23L) offers an expandable design for longer adventures. All include laptop compartments and secret stash pockets, plus they're refreshable — just toss them in the dryer briefly to release absorbed odors.

Pro tip: Made by surfers/skaters/artists from Santa Cruz, California. These bags earn 4-5 star reviews while remaining discreet for daily commutes.

For: Commuters, festival-goers, travelers, and anyone who wants peace of mind carrying their stash

Price: $65-$125

Edie Parker Marker Doob Tubes

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Sometimes the best gifts are the clever ones. These doob tubes replicate classic Sharpie marker aesthetics for "hide in plain sight" storage. Each features a built-in tamping stick, is fully smell-proof, and fits up to king-size joints. Available in classic marker colors like lavender, green, black, yellow, and red.

Pro tip: Perfect stocking stuffers that provide genuine daily utility.

For: Anyone who enjoys clever design and needs portable pre-roll storage

Price: $27 for a 3-pack

For the Luxury Cannabis Consumer

Heady Hawaii Glass

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For serious collectors seeking investment-grade functional art, Heady Hawaii curates one-of-a-kind handmade borosilicate pieces from American and Japanese glass artists. This isn't head shop shopping — it's art gallery browsing. The OTW QDR (Quick Draw Rig) collection ($1,196-$1,495) features UV-reactive glass, intricate millefiori, and fume technology. Creep Peak Tops ($200-$500) offer more accessible entry points for collectors.

Pro tip: These pieces appreciate — you're buying functional art that serves as an investment.

For: Serious collectors seeking unique pieces, anyone who appreciates fine craftsmanship

Price: $200-$1,495

Mothership Glass 

Courtesy of Mothership Glass

When it comes to luxury glass, Mothership takes it to a whole other level. The Frosted Mini Exosphere 2 showcases the brand's legendary ball rig design in a compact form — featuring a sandblasted frosted finish and high functionality. Mothership's reputation for flawless welds, optimal airflow, and museum-quality craftsmanship makes every release highly coveted. The Mini Exosphere features their signature percolation system scaled down without compromise, delivering smooth, flavorful hits in a travel-friendly size.

Pro tip: Mothership pieces hold their value

For: Connoisseurs who demand the best, collectors building premium arsenals, and anyone ready to elevate their experience

Price: $4,550

For the Accident-Prone Friend

Whomp It Glass Beakers

We all have that one friend who drops everything. Whomp It Glass engineered the solution: beakers with 9 millimeter wall thickness (versus typical 5 millimeter) and 18 millimeter thick bases — that's three to four times more durable than standard glass. The brand embraces the inevitable drop but makes glass that survives it.

The Medium 12-inch Beaker ($195-$200) hits the sweet spot with ice catcher and bombproof construction. The Large 18-inch Beaker ($240) adds extra capacity for group sessions. For ultimate durability, the DuraBundle 12-inch ($250-$300) features an aircraft-grade aluminum downstem and bowl that remain cool to the touch.

Pro tip: An investment piece that pays for itself by not needing replacement every few months. Free shipping on US orders over $100. The Original Spoon Pipe ($30-$50) makes a great stocking stuffer, offering the same durability and quality.

For: The klutzy stoner, college students, daily users, party hosts

Price: $195-$350

For the Aspiring Home Grower

Hey abby Automated Grow Box

Legal-state residents ready to try home cultivation face a learning curve. Hey abby removes that intimidation with plug-and-play automated grow boxes requiring zero assembly. The best-selling 420 SE Edition ($599, regularly $699) achieves 4 times higher success rates than growing alone (80% vs. 20%) with just 10-15 minutes of work per week.

This compact unit features an auto-adjusting full-spectrum LED, automated ventilation, a hydroponic system, environmental sensors, and app control. It yields up to 6oz per 3-4 month cycle — approximately $1,200 worth of premium flower from $90 in supplies (10x ROI) and comes pre-assembled with everything needed, plus a 3-month supply subscription. Community support includes 1-on-1 expert help and Discord community. Uses 70% less electricity than traditional setups (~$5/month).

Pro tip: Turns complete novices into successful growers in one cycle.

For: Legal-state residents interested in home cultivation but intimidated by traditional growing

Price: $599-$869

For the Cannabis Art Lover

Canna Queens Project by Kristy Lingebach

South Florida fine artist Kristy Lingebach creates highly detailed acrylic paintings of mature female cannabis flowers set against bold backgrounds that reflect each strain's unique personality. Museum-quality prints start at just $18 for an 8 x 10-inch piece, up to $160 for a framed 36 x 24-inch piece.

The STRainbow Collection ($98 for six 8-inch x 10-inch prints) features Gorilla Zkittlez, Wedding Glue, Super Lemon Haze, Girl Scout Cookie, Berry Diesel, and Purple Haze — perfect for creating a gallery wall. Individual strain portraits include Sour Diesel, Blue Dream, Wedding Cake, White Widow, and many more. Also available: T-shirts ($32), hoodies ($60), throw blankets, and pillows.

Pro tip: Sophisticated enough for any home — breaks down stigma by presenting cannabis as fine art. Commission custom paintings of favorite strains.

For: Cannabis enthusiasts, art lovers, and anyone wanting conversation-starting wall art

Price: $18-$160

Califari Strain Artwork

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Califari curates over 25 professional artists from around the world, pairing each strain with an artist whose style matches the strain's unique personality. Styles range from psychedelic and vintage to modern and graphic, inspired by 1960s Fillmore concert posters and vintage fruit crate art. The 13-inch x 19-inch Lithograph Posters ($15-$20) fit standard frames for instant room decor. Over 50 strain designs available, including Sour Diesel, Blue Dream, OG Kush, and Pineapple Express.

Family-owned company (founder's parents founded East Totem West, a 1960s psychedelic poster company now housed at the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA). The 2025 Art Benefit Calendar benefits the Last Prisoner Project.

Pro tip: The standard 13-inch x 19-inch size fits common frames, making room-decor-ready gifts available starting at just $15.

For: Collectors, anyone who appreciates professional art, fans of 1960s counterculture aesthetics

Price: $15-$20

For the Tech-Forward Vaper

Rove Holiday Edition Collection

Courtesy of Rove

California's trusted multi-state manufacturer brings innovation and festive flavors for 2025. The EMBAR Battery ($35, launching November 20) features Melt Mode technology engineered specifically for cold-weather performance — it quickly warms the entire pod to ensure smooth flow, big clouds, and full flavor even in freezing temps. Includes Rove Rewards Rip & Redeem program: scan LucidID QR codes with every puff to earn points for discounts, accessories, and apparel.

Limited-edition holiday strains include Choco Mints (hybrid, launching November 17), which blends rich chocolate and cool peppermint for a cozy, uplifting effect — available in all markets except Rhode Island through December. Sour Lime Haze (sativa, launched November 12) offers a zesty citrus and herbal spice profile, providing an energizing lift and smooth relaxation, and is available in the following states: Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington.

Pro tip: Pair the EMBAR Battery ($35) with a Diamond Series Cartridge ($49) for an $85 premium gift set. Standard Rove Holiday Edition Slim Battery ($22) in Black and Gold offers an accessible entry point for a ~$60-$65 starter gift set. All available through licensed dispensaries in 15 states.

For: Vape enthusiasts who value reliability, outdoor adventurers, and anyone building a Rove collection

Price: $35-$85

For the Weedmaps Superfan

Weedmaps Merch Collection

Need something to wear for your next holiday party? Weedmaps' latest Northern Lights Collection features nostalgic holiday knits with stoney details that only real ones will appreciate. Whether you're gifting to your bud or yourself, it's the perfect addition to any (not so) ugly sweater collection. New sweaters are going for $76-$80 and you can't forget the matching beanies ($22) and scarves ($32). 

If you're looking for something less seasonal, check out the rest of the site for contemporary streetwear and collectable pieces. Limited Edition 420 1s Sneakers ($125) feature an exclusive CEEZE collaboration — limited to 420 numbered pairs in a custom retro USPS package design.

Hoodies ($64-$86) include Box Premium Full Zip, Geo Hooded Pullover, and Ticker Crew Fleece. Hats range from Snapbacks ($32-34) to the statement Leaf Cowboy Hat ($98). Robin Eisenberg Designer Collaboration T-shirts ($36) feature Dreamstate and Cowgirl designs with glow-in-the-dark socks ($14).

Accessories include Eye Heart Denim Jacket ($118), Geo Printed Socks ($12), Cowgirl Lighter ($35), Joint Pillow ($28), Inflatable Joint ($15+), Camo Fanny Pack ($28), and I Heart Catchall Tray ($80).

Pro tip: Several items are currently sold out — shop early for the best selection. The store offers 79+ total products at store.weedmaps.com.

For: Brand loyalists, streetwear enthusiasts, collectors of limited editions. (You, right?)

Blaze it forward

This holiday season, skip the generic gift cards and give something that shows you actually know the cannabis lovers on your list. Whether it's a $27 three-pack of clever doob tubes or a $600 gravity-powered conversation piece, the best gifts celebrate their passion while adding genuine value to their experience.

Happy holidays, and happy gifting!

The post 2025 Cannabis Gear Gift Guide: Dab Rigs, Vapes, Glass, and Accessories appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Smoking marijuana is associated with “significantly” reduced rates of alcohol consumption, according to a new federally funded study that involved adults smoking joints in a makeshift bar.

Researchers at Brown University investigated the science behind the trend that's come to be known as “California sober,” referring to people who abstain from or limit the use of alcohol and most other drugs while still consuming cannabis.

According to the study, published on Wednesday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, smoking marijuana could actually be helping people moderate their drinking. That's based on the findings of the researchers' experiment, which involved 157 adults who reported heavy alcohol and cannabis use at least twice weekly and who were tasked with smoking joints in a fabricated bar setting.

“What we found was consistent with this idea of the substitution effect popularized by the California sober trend,” Jane Metrik, a human behavior and psychiatry professor at Brown University, said in a press release. “Instead of seeing cannabis increase craving and drinking, we saw the opposite. Cannabis reduced the urge for alcohol in the moment, lowered how much alcohol people consumed over a two-hour period, and even delayed when they started drinking once the alcohol was available.”

The participants were given marijuana joints containing either 7.2 percent THC, 3.1 percent THC, or 0.03 percent THC (the placebo). After smoking the cannabis, they were then exposed to “neutral and personalized alcohol cues and an alcohol choice task for alcohol self-administration.”

An alcohol cue assessment that the participants completed showed that those who smoked the two higher THC concentration joints “consumed significantly less alcohol,” with an average 27 percent reduction in drinking for those who received the 7.2 percent THC joint and 19 percent for the 3.1 percent THC cohort.

Researchers said that, for participants who smoked joints with 7.2 percent THC, that also “reduced alcohol urge immediately.”

“Following overnight cannabis abstinence, smoking cannabis acutely decreased alcohol consumption compared to placebo,” it found. “Further controlled research on a variety of cannabinoids is needed to inform clinical alcohol treatment guidelines.”

"California sober"—ditching alcohol in favor of #cannabis—is gaining popularity.

Follow the link for the findings of the first ever, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test whether smoking cannabis directly changes alcohol consumption https://t.co/NnIB5Qwvxq pic.twitter.com/8FEvN8Nxcn

— Brown University School of Public Health (@Brown_SPH) November 19, 2025

The study authors said this represents the first placebo-controlled randomized trial that specifically looks at the acute effects of marijuana use on alcohol cravings and consumption for heavy users.

“Extending the latest scientific evidence, we found that smoked cannabis with 3.1 percent and 7.2 percent THC doses acutely decreased alcohol consumption and increased latency to drink under controlled laboratory conditions, relative to placebo,” the study authors said, adding that the effects of the non-placebo joints “were not statistically different from each other.”

“The findings suggest that smoked cannabis reduces alcohol consumption and, conversely, acute cannabis deprivation (i.e., in the placebo condition) may lead to compensatory increases in alcohol intake,” the study says.

In concert with experimental investigations and studies demonstrating substitution effects, our findings support the substitution model of cannabis and alcohol co-use. In the absence of consistent effects of cannabis on alcohol craving, a possible mechanism whereby cannabis reduces alcohol consumption may be through satiation, such that participants may have reached their preferred experiential intoxication on one drug, which may have lowered desire for the other substance. The findings also suggest that individuals titrate their alcohol consumption based on their current state of intoxication to reach a desired level of overall intoxication.

One theory the researchers put forward as to why cannabis use seems to inhibit alcohol consumption and cravings is that most participants were daily marijuana users. Because cannabinoids downregulate certain receptors in the endocannabinoid system, they may “functionally impair alcohol reward processing and alcohol motivation.”

The researchers also noted that, while their study involved cannabis flower with relatively lower concentrations of THC compared to what's available in state medical and adult-use markets, the findings are still relevant, indicating that alcohol consumption and cravings could also be reduced for someone taking relatively fewer hits of high-THC varieties.

Further, the study notes that the cannabinoid concentration of marijuana flower and its formulation “could influence the direction of effect on alcohol-related outcomes.”

While this experiment focused on THC, prior research on animal models has indicated that non-intoxicating CBD is also associated with reduced alcohol use, and observational studies suggest that the use of CBD is associated with lower alcohol consumption compared to THC. Therefore, “smoking cannabis flower containing CBD could lead to even greater reductions in alcohol use.”

“The study findings demonstrate that smoked cannabis induced acute increases in subjective intoxication, affect, arousal, cardiovascular effects, blood THC concentrations, and acutely reduced alcohol consumption without a consistent effect on alcohol craving,” it says. “Notably, participants still consumed alcohol after smoking cannabis with THC, although they drank less than when they were not acutely intoxicated with THC. These data provide preliminary evidence that cannabis may reduce alcohol consumption under some conditions, but whether this would result in reductions in harms associated with simultaneous use is unknown.”

“Controlled human studies like this one can help address the dearth of empirical data on alcohol consumption in relation to cannabinoid use and shed light on the inconsistent findings from epidemiological studies. Clinical research is needed on the effects of a variety of cannabinoids and endocannabinoid targets used simultaneously with alcohol versus sequentially to evaluate clinically relevant alcohol outcomes. While there is growing recognition of the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids, it would be premature and potentially risky at this time to recommend cannabis as a therapeutic substitute for alcohol or as a harm-reduction strategy for AUD. For patients who are already substituting cannabis for alcohol, clinicians should provide guidance on the risks of cannabis use disorder, help monitor cannabis use, and continue recommending evidence-based alcohol treatments.”

Metrik said that what the research team found is that “cannabis reduces the urge in the moment,” but the long-term effect warrants further investigation.

“Our job as researchers is to continue to answer these questions,” she said. “We can't tell anyone yet, 'you should use cannabis as a substitute for problematic or heavy drinking.'”

The study received funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Cannabis plant material used in the study was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) through its drug supply program.

While the researchers say they're not willing to say the study definitively proves marijuana should be considered as an alcohol alternative or treatment for alcoholism, the findings are consistent with a growing body of research indicating that cannabis does have that potential — and more people are opting for the plant over alcohol.

A study published earlier this month, for example, found more evidence of a "substitution effect" in adults who drink cannabis-infused beverages, with a significant majority of participants reporting reduced alcohol use after incorporating cannabinoid drinks into their routines.

A survey released last month also showed that four in five adults who drink cannabis-infused beverages say they've reduced their alcohol intake — and more than a fifth have quit drinking alcohol altogether.

Recent polling additionally shows that younger Americans are increasingly using cannabis-infused beverages as a substitute for alcohol, with one in three millennials and Gen Z workers choosing THC drinks over booze for after-work activities like happy hours.

Another poll released last month found that a majority of Americans believe marijuana represents a “healthier option” than alcohol, and most also expect cannabis to be legal in all 50 states within the next five years.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post People Drink 'Significantly Less Alcohol' After Smoking Marijuana, Federally Funded Study Shows appeared first on Weedmaps News.

• About 22% of young adults use cannabis, alcohol, or both to help them fall asleep, according to a University of Michigan study
• Experts warn that relying on substances to sleep can worsen sleep quality and increase the risk of dependency
• Cannabis advocates say, when used properly, the drug may help promote better rest  

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Struggling to fall asleep, many young adults are reaching for marijuana or alcohol at bedtime, a University of Michigan study found.

U-M's annual Monitoring the Future Panel study found that 22% of adults between the ages of 19 and 30 used either cannabis, alcohol or both to sleep. 

Of the two, marijuana was more common, with 18% using the drug to fall asleep, compared to 7% of participants who used alcohol. 

While advocates say cannabis can be a low-risk alternative to sleep medications, using drugs or alcohol for sleep could “backfire because they can interfere with the ability to stay asleep and with the quality of sleep," said Megan Patrick, research professor at the Institute for Social Research at U-M. 

"They appear to actually disrupt sleep in the long term. The fact that so many young adults reported that they use cannabis to sleep is alarming."

Sleep deprivation, or the lack of sleep, is a common condition that many Americans experience, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine. It is generally recommended that adults get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If not, it can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness. 

Factors like excessive screen time before bed can prevent the brain from releasing melatonin, the “sleep hormone.” 

People who work early morning or late night shifts tend to have a harder time falling asleep and generally get fewer hours of sleep, according to the study. 

"Unfortunately, there is a misconception that substance use can be helpful for sleep problems, but it can make things worse," Patrick said. "High-quality sleep is critical for mental health and regulating mood. Young adults told us that they are using cannabis to try to get to sleep, but doing so may make their sleep problems even worse. They need to know the potential risks."

Cannabis as sleep aid 

While medical experts warn that relying on substances to sleep can increase the risk of dependency or substance abuse, cannabis advocates argue that, when used responsibly and in the right doses, the drug can offer real benefits for those struggling to fall asleep naturally. 

Cannabis has become more widely accepted in recent years, particularly for its medicinal benefits. Michigan voters approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana use in 2008 and later approved recreational use in 2018. 

A 2023 study published by the National Library of Medicine found that participants who used cannabis were able to reduce or completely stop prescription medication to help aid them with sleep.  

“We sell thousands of packs of sleep gummies every week. I didn't realize how many people had sleep problems,” said Jerry Millen, owner of Greenhouse dispensary in Walled Lake. “A lot of seniors can't sleep, and a lot of young people now are stressed out and they can't sleep either.” 

The study found that cannabis that contains low levels of THC, a psychoactive cannabinoid that can produce relieving, sedative or euphoric effects, can help ease falling asleep and increase lower sleep time. 

Cannabis that contains a high concentration of CBD, a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, can have a sedating effect, while a lower dosage can actually have a stimulating effect. 

“People are getting off opioids with cannabis. People are replacing alcohol with cannabis,” Millen said. “If you have a vice and you want to 'abuse' something, I suggest you use cannabis.” 

Practicing good sleep hygiene 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least seven hours of sleep each night. 

Getting good quality sleep can decrease the number of times you get sick, maintain a healthy weight, reduce stress and improve your heart health and metabolism. 

The CDC offers several recommendations for getting better, more restful sleep: 

• Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day
• Keeping your bedroom quiet, relaxing, and at a cool temperature
• Turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime
• Avoiding large meals and alcohol before bedtime
• Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening

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Article originally written by Janelle D. James with Bridge Michigan

This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post U-M Study: 1 in 5 Young Adults Using Marijuana, Alcohol to Fall Asleep appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Spooky season has arrived, and not just on the drugstore shelves, but also in our stoner hearts. Our favorite Halloween weed strains may have seriously ooky-spooky vibes, but don't judge a nug by its label. Each of these cultivars is exceptionally suited to all manners of wholesome — or terrifying — Halloweed foolishness.

Keep in mind, your endocannabinoid system is like your fingerprint: totally unique to you. The effects described below may not line up neatly across the board for all users, and your experience is yours alone.

Zombie Kush

Zombie Kush, also known as Zombie OG, is an award-winning hybrid created by unknown breeders who combined Blackberry with the famous California strain OG Kush.

Expect to indulge in that signature Kush stink of its heritage and inhale layers of pine, earth, and peppered florals. Its smoke has a similar peppery acridity with notes of citrus and earthiness — perfect for a witch's brew (or bong, more likely). Pair this award-winning strain with an award-worthy night of horror movie binge-watching.

Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper is a hybrid with a pronounced sativa bend, but the onset eases into a slow wave. Most users find the high both powerfully euphoric and gently buoyant, without the telltale manic edge many sativas tend towards. If your low-key solution to a canceled Halloween bash is an intimate dance party, this is the strain for you.

Jack the Ripper was bred from a clone of Jack's Cleaner and a male variation of Space Queen known as Space Dude. The resulting flowers are dense and resinous with a terpene profile rich in terpinolene and pinene. Anticipate measured notes of fruity funk and crisp pine on a velvety exhale.

Candy Kush

Candy Kush is, biologically, a balanced hybrid, but this strain can produce results on either side of the fulcrum depending on the how, where, and why of its consumption. One purported effect, however, seems ubiquitous despite the user's disposition: legendary munchies. So whether you're waking and baking or resting and ingesting, stock up your Halloween candy bucket before indulging in this strain.

Candy Kush is a mashup of OG Kush and Trainwreck. Some phenotypes display a spicier sativa dominance, while others gently slant into a complacent indica. And the “Candy” designation refers to more than just expectable munchies — this strain's terpene profile is loud with limonene and myrcene, a nuanced combination that's lemon tart in the nose and candy-sweet on exhale.

Monster Cookies

For those introverted folks who've already made a Halloween date with their couch, fave blanket, and a curated scary movie playlist, Monster Cookies is the strain to keep you locked in and chilled out all night long — or at least until you snack yourself to sleep. 

Often referred to as a nighttime strain, the high is deeply relaxing in both mind and body. The head tends to be cottony and insulative, while the body feels softer than a cartoon ottoman. The result is a deeply stoney indica effect that dances on the edge of elation and tranquilization.

Born from a marriage of GSC (formerly known as Girl Scout Cookies) and Granddaddy Purple, this cultivar's terpene expression is peppery on top with tart underpinnings of citrus and pine on the tail end of the exhale. The aroma is reminiscent of Grandaddy Purple with notes of grape and berry pulling the most attention, but overall, the mouthfeel is earthy and mild.

Frankenstein

If you're looking to feel some measure of full Halloween fantasy this year, scope out our pal Frankenstein. No one knows who the parents are, but legend has it, it emerged, arms outstretched, from the wild depths of the Pacific Northwest. The strain's designation is firmly an “indica forward hybrid,” but reported effects vary from deep relaxation and muffled cognition to a springy euphoria that's gently energetic. This mystery strain is truly living up to its name.

The terpene profile is brightly herbal, with nuanced inflections of myrcene, pinene, and minty ocimene presenting as either richly herbaceous or funk on funk on funk, depending on your sniffer's interpretation of the terps. The exhale is mild and silken, with some reporting a deeply floral aftertaste and others admonishing an astringent, perfume-like flavor.

How will Frankenstein affect you? Will y'all be BFFs, or will this strain terrorize your whole town? Guess you'll have to try it and see.

Hell Fire OG

Hell Fire OG delivers both a euphoric sativa onset and a pacifying indica plateau. The name seems to indicate a fiery ambush of irreverence, which everyone just loves on Halloween, but that's only at face value. This strain's straightforward heritage (OGs up and down the family tree) has resulted in a high that's equal parts swinging from chandeliers and resting in meditative stillness.

Hell Fire OG is a hybrid of OG Kush and SFV OG Kush, and as such, it carries on the signature, mild lemony diesel aroma of its parent strains. The terpenes are led by myrcene, with caryophyllene and pinene playing supportive roles. This results in an exhale that is sweetly herbal and effortlessly sheer.

Ghost Train Haze

Spooky Season just wouldn't be the same without strains like Ghost Train Haze, a boisterous sativa that hits hard and lasts long. This strain's reputation for high-key manic energy makes it terrifically fun for physical adventuring, but larger doses can be overwhelming for lower tolerance users or those prone to stoner paranoia — puff cautiously. The head high is typically creative and euphoric, with an effervescent body high that operates at a lifted vibration.

Ghost Train Haze is parented by Ghost OG and Neville's Wreck — indica and sativa hybrids, respectively. Though Ghost Train Haze claims one relatively mollifying strain as a parent, its phenotype is a powerful expression of stereotypical sativa dominance with complex notes of terpinolene and myrcene, underpinned by a delicate suggestion of limonene. The resulting mouthfeel is mildly herbal and reminiscent of tropical fruit.

Death Star

Death Star is a potent indica hybrid with an aroma that is pure skunky earth. Though the strain leans indica, the high is more complex than that designation can describe. The onset is typically a slow one, tentatively wading into the deeper waters of the user's psyche before blossoming into a powerfully relaxing body/mind euphoria. If your Halloween plans involve dressing up your dog as an Ewok or doing some form of Star Wars cosplay for the love of George Lucas, include this strain to keep the vibes from turning to the dark side.

Though Death Star delivers an undeniably deep indica high, its parentage is an even sativa/indica split. Death Star is a hybrid of Sensi Star and Sour Diesel, with a terpene profile that boasts caryophyllene in front and myrcene and limonene in the back. The resulting exhale is earthy and peppery with a muted, fruity undertone.

Phantom OG

This hybrid strain leans ever so slightly towards its indica lineage — its high is overwhelmingly relaxing yet sparkling with creative euphoria. Halloween revelry this year is going to require a bit of ingenuity on our end, and Phantom OG is a great strain to lose yourself while building cardboard robot costumes for your hedges or papier-mache skulls for your porch.

Phantom OG is another OG Kush baby, but this strain is decidedly mellow, with its most prominent effect reported as sleepy. If you're planning on getting stoned enough to ignore whatever brave trick or treater darkens your doorstep, Phantom OG will set you on your way. The terpene profile is a balanced rapport of caryophyllene and limonene, and a whisper of hoppy humulene bringing up the rear. The aroma is pine-sol bracing with the slightest suggestion of herbaceous mint, while the mouthfeel is lemony and crisp, with a smooth, sheer exhale.

Alien OG

Alien OG is an astral cross of Tahoe OG and Alien Kush that delivers a heady, cerebral high followed by a slow, magnetic descent. Tranquil and weightless, its effects start spacey and euphoric, at first. Then, bending perception just enough to make you question reality, the high transitions into a full-melt body calm that feels like being abducted by friendly aliens. 

For a holiday that celebrates all things otherworldly and unexplained, Alien OG offers a real boo-st for anyone looking to have a hauntingly good time without leaving the mother ship.

The terpene profile is loud with limonene and caryophyllene, producing a pungent lemon-pine aroma. The smoke hits earthy and citrus-forward with a smooth, creamy exhale. Perfect for the evening of October 31st, when you want to feel cosmically detached from reality — or just really enjoy handing out treats to the kiddos.

White Widow

Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, Night of the Dead — whatever you call it, White Widow belongs to the season. This hybrid crosses Brazilian and South Indian landrace strains, bred by Green House Seed Company in the early '90s. The strain earned its ghostly name from the dense white trichomes coating its buds.

White Widow bites the nose and head with a strong pepper and cedar profile and a high that lands like a relaxed haze before building into an energetic vibe — call it the jump scare effect, minus the actual terror. This widow's terpene profile is high in caryophyllene and pinene, creating an aroma that's spicy and woodsy with earthy undertones. On the exhale, the palate is hit with a sharp and herbal zest with a lingering cedar finish. 

Perfect for bingeing on horror movies where you want to feel the suspense... without hiding under the blanket, this balanced hybrid keeps you engaged and pleasantly spooked all night long.

Durban Poison

Durban Poison is a pure sativa landrace from South Africa's port city of Durban. Despite its ominous name, the high is anything but dangerous — it's clean, energizing, and social without a jittery edge. 

The effects are powerfully uplifting, delivering creative euphoria paired with physical stamina that doesn't crash. If your Halloween requires navigating a corn maze, winning a costume contest, or simply outlasting a full night of sugar-fueled trick-or-treaters without fading, this strain keeps pace.

The terpene profile is dominated by terpinolene, delivering sweet, earthy flavors with hints of anise and pine. The buds are dense and compact, and the smoke hits bright and herbal in a way that sharpens rather than clouds. The exhale is smooth with a lingering sweetness that tastes like October air smells — crisp, alive, and oddly nostalgic. Perfect for the one night a year when staying awake past midnight is mandatory, not optional.

The post 12 spooky weed strains for Halloween appeared first on Weedmaps News.

The number of Americans who have ever smoked a marijuana blunt has risen by more than a fifth over a recent eight-year period, a new study shows.

Examining data from the federally funded National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), researchers found that “blunt smoking increased substantially from 2015 to 2022,” with the largest growth in use coming from women, older people, and those who do not drink alcohol.

“Much of the increase in blunt smoking was observed among groups with historically lower use rates,” the paper, which was published by the journal Addictive Behaviors, says.

Overall, the number of people who have ever smoked a cannabis blunt rose 21.7 percent in the U.S. from 2015 to 2022, according to the research. Use within the past 30 days increased 34.4 percent, and the prevalence of daily blunt smoking among current marijuana consumers increased by 24.5 percent.

The researchers—from the University of Texas, Brown University, University of California Los Angeles and University of Cincinnati—said the rise in blunt smoking is “consistent with prior research showing an increase in cannabis use (of any modality) in national samples.”

They cautioned, however, that “the inclusion of the tobacco cigar wrapper poses unique and elevated risks relative to other modalities of cannabis use.”

The NSDUH data involved survey responses from 326,087 adults as well as a subsample of 22,294 current blunt smokers to examine daily blunt smoking.

“Lifetime blunt smoking increased significantly more among non-Hispanic White (23.7 %) and Hispanic (30.2 %) relative to non-Hispanic Black (8.6 %) adults; similar increases were observed among those older than 18–25 years,” the researchers wrote.

“Current blunt smoking increased significantly greater among females (63.6 %) relative to males (19.0 %) and among those who did not use alcohol (92.3 %) relative to those who did use alcohol (23.4 %). Daily blunt smoking increased significantly greater among non-Hispanic White (80.4 %) relative to non-Hispanic Black (3.7 %) adults.”

Meanwhile, a recent survey found that a majority of Americans believe marijuana represents a “healthier option” than alcohol, and most also expect cannabis to be legal in all 50 states within the next five years.

Last month, another poll showed that a majority of Americans don't consider marijuana dangerous, though most do think consuming cannabis increases the likelihood that people will transition to using more dangerous drugs.

A survey from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), which was conducted by the firm Forbes Tate Partners, showed that seven in 10 American voters want to see the end of federal marijuana prohibition—and nearly half say they'd view the Trump administration more favorably if it took action on the issue.

Earlier this year, meanwhile, a firm associated with President Donald Trump—Fabrizio, Lee & Associates—also polled Americans on a series of broader marijuana policy issues. Notably, it found that a majority of Republicans back cannabis rescheduling—and, notably, they're even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

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Written by Tom Angell for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Marijuana Blunt Smoking Has 'Increased Significantly' In The U.S. In Recent Years, Study Shows appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Medical marijuana was associated with “significant decreases in self-reported anxiety and depression” compared to before patients began treatment with cannabis, according to a new study funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

The observational study, published this month in the Journal of Affective Disorders, looked at 33 adults in Maryland with “clinically significant” anxiety and/or depression over a six-month period, evaluating them at baseline, and then again after one, three, and six months from when patients began using medical cannabis.

“Significant decreases from baseline in anxiety and depression were observed, with mean scores dropping below clinically significant levels within three months of initiation,” the study says. Participants also reported sustained reductions in anxiety and/or depression symptoms over the six-month study period.

Most patients chose THC-dominant cannabis products. In addition to self-reported benefits to mental health, they also reported a decline in their perceived driving ability and an increase in feeling high.

“Acute effects were dose-dependent,” authors wrote: “10–15 mg of oral THC and at least 3 puffs of vaporized cannabis yielded the most robust reductions in anxiety and depression.”

Among participants, three-quarters said they had previously used marijuana. Just over a third (37 percent) said they'd used cannabis within the past year.

At the time of the study, medical marijuana was legal in Maryland, but the substance remained illegal for nonmedical use.

The six-person team behind the new study represents the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, the university's Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research in Melbourne, Australia.

A conflict of interest section of the report notes that some members have received funding or currently work for companies involved in medical marijuana.

In addition to NIDA funding, the project also received support for a pilot grant from the Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp at Thomas Jefferson University.

Authors said that while the findings of the new study were promising, “controlled clinical trials are needed to further investigate the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis for acute anxiety and depression symptom management.”

While psychedelics have in recent years shown increasing promise to treat mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, some cannabis users have long reported that the substance helps manage anxiety and depression. A number of other recent studies also support the idea.

One recent study, for example, found that legalizing marijuana at the state level led to fewer filled prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications, including benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and antidepressants.

Other research late last year found “accumulating” evidence that the marijuana component CBD “has antidepressant properties in humans and animals with few side effects” and may also aid in the reduction of inflammation and formation of new brain cells.

“In summary,” that study said, “there is growing evidence that CBD may be a promising candidate for the treatment of depression.”

Separate, industry-backed research into the potential anti-anxiety effects of CBD last year found that an oral CBD solution effectively treated mild to moderate anxiety, as well as associated depression and poor sleep quality, with no serious adverse events observed.

As for cannabis more broadly, another study last year into medical marijuana for chronic pain and mental health found that participants overwhelmingly reported that cannabis reduced the severity of their depression, anxiety, and sleep issues to at least some degree.

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Written by Ben Adlin for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Medical Marijuana Reduces Anxiety And Depression, New Federally Funded Study Shows appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Cannabinoids in medical marijuana can both increase the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs and also minimize the often uncomfortable side effects of conventional cancer treatment, according to a new scientific review of available evidence.

The 23-page paper, published online this month in the journal Pharmacology & Therapeutics, assesses a range of clinical and preclinical findings that “mainly relate to combination treatments for glioblastoma, hematological malignancies and breast cancer, but also for other cancer types.”

“To summarize,” says the report, “the data available to date raise the prospect that cannabinoids may increase the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents while reducing their side effects.”

It notes that preclinical studies on specific anticancer effects of cannabinoids are limited, looking mostly at whether those compounds are toxic to cancer cells. Other research, authors point out—including into the immune system and cannabinoids' effects on angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels), invasion, and cancer metastasis—” is still pending.”

Overall, while the interactions between cannabinoids and chemotherapeutics “constitute a complex subject with many yet unknown variables,” the study says, there are “two important therapy-relevant aspects of the interaction between cannabinoids and chemotherapeutic agents that could potentially benefit cancer patients: firstly, the systemic potentiation of chemotherapeutics by cannabinoids, primarily leading to an extension of life by overcoming therapy resistance and secondly, the reduction of chemotherapy-induced side effects.”

The new paper was authored by a pair of researchers at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Rostock University Medical Center, in Germany.

The first portion of the review, focusing on efficacy of chemotherapeutics in combination with cannabinoids, looks in large part at a 2021 Phase 1b clinical study involving a combined THC–CBD oral spray, which showed that patients had a longer survival time when the spray was combined with the drug temozolomide.

It also discusses a variety cannabis of other cancers, including blood and bone marrow cancers, leukemia, breast cancer, skin cancers, bladder and pancreatic cancers, gynecological cancers, colorectal cancers, and numerous others.

The second portion examines cannabinoid therapy as a treatment for chemotherapy side effects, primarily nausea.

“In addition to this well-known antiemetic effect of cannabinoids,” the report adds, “an increasing number of preclinical studies discussed in this review have shown in recent years that cannabinoids can also have a positive effect on other side effects of chemotherapy, such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), nephrotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, cystitis, and mucositis.”

While the report deals in less depth with other cancer-related symptoms, it notes that cannabinoids are also administered to relieve cancer-related chronic pain.

“Taken together, the interaction of cannabinoids with currently used chemotherapeutic agents in the context of tumor therapies is of considerable clinical importance, as there are several reasons for the use of cannabinoids in tumor therapies,” it says.

One matter that authors said needs further investigation is the potential for negative interactions between cannabinoids and chemotherapy drugs, noting that there are “several interactions…that are theoretically possible but have not yet been sufficiently investigated” as well as “further findings that give rise to speculation about possible interactions between cannabinoids and chemotherapeutic agents.”

“However,” they added, “it is also possible that cannabinoids trigger yet unknown interactions that benefit the patient.”

Questions also remain around “the extent to which the route of administration influences the interaction with chemotherapeutic agents, particularly in the case of cannabinoids, where the widespread practice of smoking is a major influencing factor.”

“Overall, well-controlled clinical trials are urgently needed for various types of tumors in order to establish cannabinoids as an additional medication against cancer in existing chemotherapies,” the report concludes. “Likewise, the extensive preclinical data available on the interaction of cannabinoids and chemotherapeutic agents at the level of tumor cell death should be extended to include studies on the effects of these combinations at levels of tumor progression, such as angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis.”

The paper closes with a reminder that while humans have used cannabis for millennia, our ability to scientifically study the plant's effects on the body is only decades old.

“Although cannabinoids have been used in various forms for thousands of years,” it says, “it has only been possible to systematically study their pharmacological mechanisms of action since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system in the early 1990s. Accordingly, they may still hold some as yet undiscovered therapeutically relevant effects on tumor development and progression.”

Separately, U.S.-based researchers last month published what they described as the “largest meta-analysis ever conducted on medical cannabis and its effects on cancer-related symptoms,” finding “overwhelming scientific consensus” on marijuana's therapeutic effects.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Oncology, analyzed data from 10,641 peer-reviewed studies—what authors say is more than ten times the number in the next-largest review on the topic. Results “indicate a strong and growing consensus within the scientific community regarding the therapeutic benefits of cannabis,” it says, “particularly in the context of cancer.”

Given what the report calls a “scattered and heterogenous” state of research into the therapeutic potential of marijuana, the authors aimed to “systematically assess the existing literature on medical cannabis, focusing on its therapeutic potential, safety profiles, and role in cancer treatment.”

“We expected controversy. What we found was overwhelming scientific consensus,” lead author Ryan Castle, head of research at Whole Health Oncology Institute, said in a statement. “This is one of the clearest, most dramatic validations of medical cannabis in cancer care that the scientific community has ever seen.”

The meta-analysis “showed that for every one study that showed cannabis was ineffective, there were three that showed it worked,” the Whole Health Oncology Institute said in a press release. “That 3:1 ratio—especially in a field as rigorous as biomedical research—isn't just unusual, it's extraordinary.”

The institute added that the “level of consensus found here rivals or exceeds that for many [Food and Drug Administration]-approved medications.”

Also, last month, government and university researchers from South Korea reported that they had successfully identified a new cannabinoid—cannabielsoxa—produced by the cannabis plant, as well as a number of other compounds “reported for the first time from the flowers of C. sativa.” The team then evaluated 11 isolated compounds in cannabis for antitumor effects in neuroblastoma cells, finding that seven of them “revealed strong inhibitory activity.”

A separate study of medical marijuana patients in Minnesota, published in February, found that people with cancer who used cannabis reported “significant improvements in cancer-related symptoms.” But it also noted that the high cost of marijuana can be burdensome to less financially stable patients and raise “questions about affordability of and access to this therapy.”

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) late last year estimated that between about 20 percent and 40 percent of people being treated for cancer are using cannabis products to manage side effects from the condition and associated treatment.

“The growing popularity of cannabis products among people with cancer has tracked with the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis for medical use,” the agency said. “But research has lagged on whether and which cannabis products are a safe or effective way to help with cancer-related symptoms and treatment-related side effects.”

The research cited in the NCI post included a series of scientific reports published in the journal JNCI Monographs. That package of 14 articles detailed the results of broad, federally funded cannabis surveys of cancer patients from a dozen agency-designated cancer centers across the country—including in areas where marijuana is legal, permitted only for medical purposes, or still outlawed.

In all, just under a third (32.9 percent) of patients reported using cannabis, with respondents reporting that they used marijuana primarily to treat cancer- and treatment-related symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, pain, and mood changes. The most common perceived benefits were for pain, sleep, stress, and anxiety, and treatment side effects,” the report says.

Separately, another recent study, in the journal Discover Oncology, concluded that a variety of cannabinoids—including delta-9 THC, CBD, and cannabigerol (CBG)—“show promising potential as anticancer agents through various mechanisms,” for example, by limiting the growth and spread of tumors. Authors acknowledged that obstacles to incorporating cannabis into cancer treatment remain, however, such as regulatory barriers and the need to determine optimal dosing.

Other recent research on the possible therapeutic value of lesser-known compounds in cannabis found that a number of minor cannabinoids may have anticancer effects on blood cancer that warrant further study.

While cannabis is widely used to treat certain symptoms of cancer and some side-effects of cancer treatment, there has long been interest in the possible effects of cannabinoids on cancer itself.

A 2019 literature review found that the majority of studies have been based on in vitro experiments, meaning they did not involve human subjects but rather isolated cancer cells from humans, while some of the research used mice. Consistent with the latest findings, that study found cannabis showed potential in slowing the growth of cancer cells and even killing cancer cells in certain cases.

A separate study found that in some cases, different types of cancer cells affecting the same part of the body appeared to respond differently to various cannabis extracts.

A scientific review of CBD last year also touched on “the diverse anticancer properties of cannabinoids” that the authors said present “promising opportunities for future therapeutic interventions in cancer treatment.”

Research from 2023 also found that marijuana use was associated with improved cognition and reduced pain among cancer patients and people receiving chemotherapy

While cannabis produces intoxicating effects, and that initial “high” can temporarily impair cognition, patients who used marijuana products from state-licensed dispensaries over two weeks actually started reporting clearer thinking, the study from the University of Colorado found.

The National Institutes of Health in 2023 awarded researchers $3.2 million to study the effects of using cannabis while receiving immunotherapy for cancer treatment, as well as whether access to marijuana helps reduce health disparities.

On the political side, President Donald Trump's recent choice to serve as the next White House drug czar has called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn't have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.

Under the Trump administration, “marijuana” is also now one of nearly two dozen “controversial or high-profile topics” that staff and researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are required to clear with higher-ups before writing about.

A leaked agency memo put marijuana and opioids on a list along with vaccines, COVID-19, fluoride, measles, abortion, autism, diversity and gender ideology, and other issues that are believed to be personal priorities of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Trump.

NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which itself is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The new memo, first reported by ProPublica, states that NCI staff are required to send the materials to an agency clearance team before publishing on the specified topics.

“Depending on the nature of the information, additional review and clearance by the NCI director, deputy directors, NIH, and HHS may be required,” it advises staff. “In some cases, the material will not need further review, but the NCI Clearance Team will share it with NCI leadership, NIH, and/or HHS for their awareness.”

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Written by Ben Adlin for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Medical Marijuana Could Increase Efficacy Of Chemotherapy To Fight Cancer While Reducing Side Effects, Study Suggests appeared first on Weedmaps News.

A new study exploring the impacts of adult-use marijuana legalization on the hospitality industry finds that “hotel revenue increases by 25.2% (or $63,671 monthly) due to dispensary legalization, with the effect continuing to grow even six years after legalization.”

The research article, published in the journal Production Operations and Management (POMS), draws its inferences from a review of data from Colorado, which authors say saw “a 7.9% increase in room night bookings and a 16.0% rise in daily room rates,” though impacts varied based on a number of factors.

“These findings are relevant for professionals in marketing, operations management, hospitality, tourism, and public policy,” the study says, noting that the “rapid expansion of the marijuana business presents both opportunities and challenges for the hotel industry.”

“On the one hand, recreational marijuana dispensaries could become attractions that entice travelers to visit places they might not otherwise explore. For instance, around 12% of US tourists have reported positive experiences with marijuana-related travel… On the other hand, the lingering social stigma surrounding marijuana could negatively affect businesses, including hotels, located near these dispensaries. This concern is underscored by a Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT 2019) report, which found that about 10% of US leisure travelers view Colorado as a less desirable destination because of recreational marijuana.”

Despite the apparently polarized feelings around traveling to jurisdictions where marijuana is legal, the study found that hotels seemed to perform better following the policy change.

A new study exploring the impacts of adult-use marijuana legalization on the hospitality industry finds that “hotel revenue increases by 25.2% (or $63,671 monthly) due to dispensary legalization, with the effect continuing to grow even six years after legalization.”

The research article, published in the journal Production Operations and Management (POMS), draws its inferences from a review of data from Colorado, which authors say saw “a 7.9% increase in room night bookings and a 16.0% rise in daily room rates,” though impacts varied based on a number of factors.

“These findings are relevant for professionals in marketing, operations management, hospitality, tourism, and public policy,” the study says, noting that the “rapid expansion of the marijuana business presents both opportunities and challenges for the hotel industry.”

“On the one hand, recreational marijuana dispensaries could become attractions that entice travelers to visit places they might not otherwise explore. For instance, around 12% of US tourists have reported positive experiences with marijuana-related travel… On the other hand, the lingering social stigma surrounding marijuana could negatively affect businesses, including hotels, located near these dispensaries. This concern is underscored by a Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT 2019) report, which found that about 10% of US leisure travelers view Colorado as a less desirable destination because of recreational marijuana.”

Despite the apparently polarized feelings around traveling to jurisdictions where marijuana is legal, the study found that hotels seemed to perform better following the policy change.

Comparing hotels in Colorado to hotels in New Mexico, where cannabis was illegal during the study period, the team's analysis found that “on average, monthly hotel revenue increases by 25.2% upon the legalization of recreational marijuana dispensaries, which is equivalent to a substantial increase of $63,671 per hotel.”

“However, hotels do not benefit equally,” the report notes. “Hotels that are closer to retail dispensaries, have been operating for shorter periods, and belong to a higher class obtain more positive effects. The type of location also plays a crucial role, with hotels in resort areas benefiting the most from retail dispensary legalization, followed by those in urban, airport, suburban, interstate, and small-town locations.”

What's more, “chain hotels operated by corporate entities experience more positive treatment effects than franchised chain hotels and independently operated ones,” the paper adds.

A new study exploring the impacts of adult-use marijuana legalization on the hospitality industry finds that “hotel revenue increases by 25.2% (or $63,671 monthly) due to dispensary legalization, with the effect continuing to grow even six years after legalization.”

The research article, published in the journal Production Operations and Management (POMS), draws its inferences from a review of data from Colorado, which authors say saw “a 7.9% increase in room night bookings and a 16.0% rise in daily room rates,” though impacts varied based on a number of factors.

“These findings are relevant for professionals in marketing, operations management, hospitality, tourism, and public policy,” the study says, noting that the “rapid expansion of the marijuana business presents both opportunities and challenges for the hotel industry.”

“On the one hand, recreational marijuana dispensaries could become attractions that entice travelers to visit places they might not otherwise explore. For instance, around 12% of US tourists have reported positive experiences with marijuana-related travel… On the other hand, the lingering social stigma surrounding marijuana could negatively affect businesses, including hotels, located near these dispensaries. This concern is underscored by a Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT 2019) report, which found that about 10% of US leisure travelers view Colorado as a less desirable destination because of recreational marijuana.”

Despite the apparently polarized feelings around traveling to jurisdictions where marijuana is legal, the study found that hotels seemed to perform better following the policy change.

Comparing hotels in Colorado to hotels in New Mexico, where cannabis was illegal during the study period, the team's analysis found that “on average, monthly hotel revenue increases by 25.2% upon the legalization of recreational marijuana dispensaries, which is equivalent to a substantial increase of $63,671 per hotel.”

“However, hotels do not benefit equally,” the report notes. “Hotels that are closer to retail dispensaries, have been operating for shorter periods, and belong to a higher class obtain more positive effects. The type of location also plays a crucial role, with hotels in resort areas benefiting the most from retail dispensary legalization, followed by those in urban, airport, suburban, interstate, and small-town locations.”

What's more, “chain hotels operated by corporate entities experience more positive treatment effects than franchised chain hotels and independently operated ones,” the paper adds.

Researchers—from the University of Central Florida, Virginia Tech, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—also concluded that “the positive effect on hotel revenue strengthens over time, showing no signs of slowing down six years after the statewide recreational marijuana legalization.”

For hoteliers, the report says, “the positive and growing treatment effects on hotel revenue highlight the potential long-term economic advantages of recreational marijuana,” though it cautions that “legalization does not guarantee financial gains.”

For policymakers, the study continues, the findings underscore the economic benefits and “positive spillover effects on hotels when crafting regulations, ensuring that zoning laws promote synergy between dispensaries and hotels.”

“City planners could strategically place dispensaries in resort, urban, and airport areas, where their presence provides the greatest benefits to hospitality businesses,” the study suggests. “They might also consider tax incentives or support programs to help lower-class and independent hotels capitalize on marijuana tourism opportunities.”

A separate 2020 study also found that Colorado hotel room rentals increased considerably after the state began legal marijuana sales. That study also found that Washington State saw increases in tourism after legalization, though the effect there was more modest.

By comparing hotel room rentals in Colorado and Washington to states that did not change their legal status of marijuana from 2011 through 2015, researchers found that legalization coincided with a significant influx of tourists and a rise in hotel revenue. The impact was even more pronounced after the start of retail sales.

Last year, meanwhile, the governor of Illinois noted that travelers from nearby states were visiting specifically to buy legal cannabis.

“People from Indiana, people from Iowa, people from Wisconsin, Kentucky, drive across the border and buy something in a dispensary in Illinois. Now, they're not supposed to drive back over the border to their home states, so I assume they're just staying in Illinois,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said at the time.

Last September, however, a report by Colorado legislative analysts said that part of the reason the state is seeing declining cannabis tax revenue is due to “falling demand as other states across the country legalize marijuana,” making sales from cannabis tourism “less pronounced.”

“Prices for marijuana fell as pandemic-induced demand waned, marijuana tourism became less pronounced, and as the market matured,” that report said. “Tax revenue from marijuana is falling across most states where recreational marijuana is legal due to declining demand after the pandemic, but states that legalized marijuana early—like Colorado, Washington, and Oregon—are seeing the biggest declines in sales.”

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Written by Ben Adlin for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Hotels See Significant Boost In Revenue Following Marijuana Legalization, New Study Shows appeared first on Weedmaps News.

A new federally funded report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) finds that use of marijuana by U.S. adults 65 and older has increased considerably in recent years amid broader legal access for medical and recreational use.

Cannabis consumption had already been on the rise over the past couple of decades, the research letter says, with reported past-year consumption rising from 1.0 percent in 2005 to 4.2 percent in 2018. The new findings, which draw on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, show that past-month use has now climbed to 4.8 percent in 2021 and to 7.0 percent in 2023.

The growth in prevalence over the past few years was seen among nearly all demographic subsets, but it was especially strong among people who listed their race as “other,” women, white people, people with college or post-college degrees, those with higher-income, married people, and those living in states with legal medical marijuana, the report says.

Data also showed that people with multiple chronic diseases also reported a recent increase in prevalence of use.

Some trends reveal what authors called “shifts in cannabis use by older adults.”

“Adults with the highest incomes initially had the lowest prevalence of cannabis use vs. other income levels,” they said, for example, “but by 2023, they had the highest prevalence, which may indicate better access to medical cannabis given its costs.”

The rise in cannabis use among adults 65 and older in legal jurisdictions “highlights the importance of structural educational support for patients and clinicians in those states,” the report notes, pointing to potential complications in treating chronic disease.

It also flags that tobacco and excess alcohol use “continues to be high among older adults who use cannabis. However, these results do not suggest that concurrent use is changing.”

The report concludes by advising that clinicians “consider screening and educating older patients about potential risks of cannabis use.”

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and New York University medical schools published their new findings in a research letter on Monday.

Along with the report, JAMA also published an editor's note asserting that “existing therapeutic evidence for medical cannabis in older adults has been inconsistent across several conditions, with many studies suggesting possible benefits, while others finding limited benefit.”

It also highlights “apparent” potential harms that marijuana might cause older adults, including “increased risks of cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal conditions, stroke, sedation, cognitive impairment, falls, motor vehicle injuries, drug-drug interactions, and psychiatric disorders.”

“Older adults require information on methods available for taking cannabis and age-specific dosing guidance,” the editor's note says. “Health care professionals should recognize that older adults are increasingly using cannabis products and promote open and judgment-free conversations about its use.”

Overall, it says, the new research findings “underscore the need for more high-quality evidence evaluating the benefit-to-risk ratio of cannabis in older adults as well as the need for clinician support to prevent cannabis-related harm.”

A separate study recently published by the American Medical Association found that while the frequency of marijuana use among adults in Canada increased slightly in the years following nationwide legalization, problematic misuse of cannabis in fact saw modest decreases.

The report, published in JAMA Network Open and funded in part by the federal agency Canadian Institutes of Health Research, examined data from 1,428 adults aged 18 to 65 who completed assessments roughly every six months between September 2018 and October 2023.

Frequency of marijuana use overall increased slightly but significantly over the five-year period. Among all participants, the mean proportion of days using cannabis increased by 0.35 percent per year, or 1.75 percent over the five-year study period.

People who used cannabis most frequently before legalization saw the largest declines in use. People who consumed marijuana on a daily basis prior to legalization decreased their use frequency more than those who'd used marijuana on a weekly basis.

Those who used marijuana once a month or less before legalization, meanwhile, reported slight increases in use.

Governments and public health experts have been working to track consumer behavior as laws around marijuana continue to change. In the U.S., a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report recently broke down federal data on cannabis use among thousands of U.S. adults, finding that while smoking marijuana remains the most common way to consume it, methods such as eating, vaping, and dabbing are growing in popularity.

Overall, in 2022, 15.3 percent of adults reported current marijuana use, while 7.9 percent reported daily use. Among users, most (79.4 percent) reported smoking, followed by eating (41.6 percent), vaping (30.3 percent), and dabbing (14.6 percent).

About half of all adults who used marijuana (46.7 percent) reported multiple methods of use—most typically smoking and eating or smoking and vaping.

Rates of both vaping and dabbing—as well as cannabis use in general—were higher in young adults than in the general adult population.

An earlier analysis from the CDC found that rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high school students have continued to drop amid the legalization movement.

A separate poll recently found that more Americans smoke marijuana on a daily basis than drink alcohol every day—and that alcohol drinkers are more likely to say they would benefit from limiting their use than cannabis consumers are.

U.S. adults who drink alcohol are nearly three times as likely to say they'd be better off reducing their intake of the drug compared to marijuana consumers who said they'd benefit from using their preferred substance less often, the survey found. Further, it found that while lifetime and monthly alcohol drinking among adults was far more common than cannabis use, daily marijuana consumption was slightly more popular than daily drinking.

An earlier report published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that secondhand harm caused by marijuana use is far less prevalent than that of alcohol, with respondents reporting secondhand harm from drinking at nearly six times the rate they did for cannabis.

Yet another 2022 study from Michigan State University researchers, published in the journal PLOS One, found that “cannabis retail sales might be followed by the increased occurrence of cannabis onsets for older adults” in legal states, “but not for underage persons who cannot buy cannabis products in a retail outlet.”

The trends were observed despite adult use of marijuana and certain psychedelics reaching “historic highs” in 2022, according to separate data.

As for older consumers specifically, a study earlier this year on the use of medical marijuana by patients age 50 and above concluded that “cannabis seemed to be a safe and effective treatment” for pain and other conditions.

“Most patients experienced clinically significant improvements in pain, sleep, and quality of life and reductions in co-medication,” it found.

Nearly all patients used products consumed orally, such as edibles and extracts, as opposed to smoked or vaporized cannabis, and most preferred products high in CBD and relatively low in THC.

The study involved the use of medical marijuana by patients under the care of a health care provider, with the treating physician reporting data around the use of cannabis and other medications, as well as impacts on pain, sleep, quality of life, and any adverse effects.

“Over the six-month study period, significant improvements were noted in pain, sleep, and quality of life measures,” the report says, “with 45% experiencing a clinically meaningful improvement in pain interference and in sleep quality scores.”

Last year, separate studies found that both older medical marijuana patients as well as people with fibromyalgia reported that cannabis improved their sleep.

A different study last year from the retirement group AARP found that marijuana use by older people in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the last three years, with better sleep as among the most frequently cited reasons.

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Written by Ben Adlin for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post A Lot More Older Americans Are Now Using Marijuana, Federally Funded Study Shows appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Younger Americans are increasingly using cannabis-infused beverages as a substitute for alcohol — with one in three millennials and Gen Z workers choosing THC drinks over booze for after-work activities like happy hours, according to a new poll.

The survey from Drug Rehab USA assessed the recreational preferences of 1,000 employed adults, finding more evidence that as the marijuana legalization movement achieves greater success and as awareness of alcohol-related harms has spread, a significant portion of those generations are opting for cannabis over booze.

All told, 66 percent of American adults say they've tried alcohol alternatives over the past six months. And 24 percent of respondents said they've “at least partially” replaced alcohol with non-alcoholic or cannabis-based drinks.

Millennials and Gen Z are leading that trend, as one in three said they used THC beverages instead of alcohol drinks.

“To unwind after work, 45 percent drink alcohol, while 24 percent use nicotine, 20 percent turn to cannabis, and 16 percent choose alcohol alternatives like mocktails, non-alcoholic beer, or CBD,” the survey found.

“When it comes to winding down after a long day, Americans are reaching for a mix of familiar comforts and emerging alternatives,” Drug Rehab USA said. “While alcohol still dominates, the competition between nicotine and cannabis shows how habits are evolving across generations.”

“After-work rituals are no longer limited to a nightly drink — or even to alcohol at all. From THC-infused beverages to nicotine pouches and non-alcoholic alternatives, today's habits reflect a broader redefinition of what it means to unwind. While motivations vary — stress, routine, social connection — the through-line is clear: Americans are turning to consumable rituals to draw a line between work and rest. For many, those rituals begin within the hour and recur multiple times a week.”

The survey findings largely track with other research assessing emerging trends in cannabis and alcohol use.

For example, a recent rodent study determined that the cannabinoid CBD reduces rates of binge drinking and alcohol blood concentrations.

Results of a separate study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry also indicated that a single, 800-milligram dose of CBD can help manage certain alcohol cravings among people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), supporting the use of the marijuana component as a potential treatment option for problem drinkers.

Federally funded research into the effects of cannabis on alcohol use that was published in May also found that people who used marijuana immediately before drinking subsequently consumed fewer alcoholic beverages and reported lower cravings for alcohol.

The study follows a separate survey analysis published in March that found that three in four young adults reported substituting cannabis for alcohol at least once per week — a “fast-emerging” trend that reflects the “rapid expansion” of the hemp product marketplace.

The report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) found that, across various demographics, cannabis is increasingly being used as an alternative to alcohol and even non-alcoholic beverages as more companies — including major multi-state marijuana operators (MSOs) — expand their offerings.

The findings were largely consistent with a growing body of studies indicating that cannabis — whether federally legal hemp or still-prohibited marijuana — is being utilized as a substitute for many Americans amid the reform movement.

An earlier survey from YouGov, for example, found that a majority of Americans believe regular alcohol consumption is more harmful than regular marijuana use. Even so, more adults said they personally prefer drinking alcohol to consuming cannabis despite the health risks.

A separate poll released in January determined that more than half of marijuana consumers say they drink less alcohol, or none at all, after using cannabis.

Yet another survey — which was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and released in December — found that young adults are nearly three times more likely to use marijuana than alcohol on a daily or near-daily basis.

That poll provided more granular, age-specific findings than a similar report published last year, finding that more Americans overall smoke marijuana on a daily basis than drink alcohol every day — and that alcohol drinkers are more likely to say they would benefit from limiting their use than cannabis consumers are.

A separate study published in the journal Addiction last year similarly found that there are more U.S. adults who use marijuana daily than who drink alcohol every day.

In December, BI also published the results of a survey indicating that substitution of cannabis for alcohol is “soaring” as the state-level legalization movement expands and relative perceptions of harm shift. A significant portion of Americans also said in that poll that they substitute marijuana for cigarettes and painkillers.

Another BI analysis from last September projected that the expansion of the marijuana legalization movement will continue to pose a “significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine.

Yet another study on the impact of marijuana consumption on people's use of other drugs that was released in December suggested that, for many, cannabis may act as a less-dangerous substitute, allowing people to reduce their intake of substances such as alcohol, methamphetamine, and opioids like morphine.

A study out of Canada, where marijuana is federally legal, found that legalization was “associated with a decline in beer sales,” suggesting a substitution effect.

The analyses are consistent with other recent survey data that more broadly looked at American views on marijuana versus alcohol. For example, a Gallup survey found that respondents view cannabis as less harmful than alcohol, tobacco, and nicotine vapes — and more adults now smoke cannabis than smoke cigarettes.

A separate survey released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last June also found that Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol, and opioids — and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology.

Meanwhile, a leading alcohol industry association is calling on Congress to dial back language in a House committee-approved spending bill that would ban most consumable hemp products, instead proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Survey: Millennials and Gen Z Trading Cocktails for Cannabis Drinks appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Counties that have marijuana dispensaries see an average of 30 percent fewer opioid-related deaths compared to counties without legal cannabis shops open, suggesting a substitution effect away from prescription pills and heroin toward the plant-based treatment, according to a new data analysis.

In a Washington Post piece on Wednesday, Harvard University economics student Julien Berman used data from the University of Michigan that identifies dispensary locations at the county level to compare opioid overdose trends over 10 years in jurisdictions where cannabis became legally available compared to those without regulated access.

“The theory is straightforward: making cannabis more available—and reducing its cost—could induce people to shift from opioids, which are super dangerous, to marijuana, a significantly safer alternative,” Berman said. “Existing opioid users seeking pain relief can choose marijuana instead of heroin, especially in counties where recreational use is legal and access is easy. And new potential users might never turn to opioids at all if they could get marijuana instead.”

Counties that have marijuana dispensaries see an average of 30 percent fewer opioid-related deaths compared to counties without legal cannabis shops open, suggesting a substitution effect away from prescription pills and heroin toward the plant-based treatment, according to a new data analysis.

In a Washington Post piece on Wednesday, Harvard University economics student Julien Berman used data from the University of Michigan that identifies dispensary locations at the county level to compare opioid overdose trends over 10 years in jurisdictions where cannabis became legally available compared to those without regulated access.

“The theory is straightforward: making cannabis more available—and reducing its cost—could induce people to shift from opioids, which are super dangerous, to marijuana, a significantly safer alternative,” Berman said. “Existing opioid users seeking pain relief can choose marijuana instead of heroin, especially in counties where recreational use is legal and access is easy. And new potential users might never turn to opioids at all if they could get marijuana instead.”

Other factors were taken into account to support the conclusion, including comparisons of opioid mortality rates in counties within a legal state where some allow retailers to operate and others have chosen to opt out.

“That kind of variation helps rule out other state-level changes such as expanded access to naloxone—a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose—as the main cause of the drop in deaths,” Berman said.

Counties that have marijuana dispensaries see an average of 30 percent fewer opioid-related deaths compared to counties without legal cannabis shops open, suggesting a substitution effect away from prescription pills and heroin toward the plant-based treatment, according to a new data analysis.

In a Washington Post piece on Wednesday, Harvard University economics student Julien Berman used data from the University of Michigan that identifies dispensary locations at the county level to compare opioid overdose trends over 10 years in jurisdictions where cannabis became legally available compared to those without regulated access.

“The theory is straightforward: making cannabis more available—and reducing its cost—could induce people to shift from opioids, which are super dangerous, to marijuana, a significantly safer alternative,” Berman said. “Existing opioid users seeking pain relief can choose marijuana instead of heroin, especially in counties where recreational use is legal and access is easy. And new potential users might never turn to opioids at all if they could get marijuana instead.”

Other factors were taken into account to support the conclusion, including comparisons of opioid mortality rates in counties within a legal state where some allow retailers to operate and others have chosen to opt out.

“That kind of variation helps rule out other state-level changes such as expanded access to naloxone—a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose—as the main cause of the drop in deaths,” Berman said.

On average, the opioid death rates following the establishment of cannabis dispensaries declined more sharply in the immediate years after the opening compared to dry counties. But from years five to 10, there's a more precipitous effect, with an average rate of 27 percent fewer opioid deaths in jurisdictions that have cannabis storefronts after a decade.

Can marijuana dispensaries help solve the opioid crisis? Using a new dataset from the University of Michigan that tracks store openings at the county level, I show that access to weed seems to causally reduce opioid mortality. pic.twitter.com/2Ac5FhgNkA

— Julien Berman (@julien_berman) August 6, 2025

Counties that have marijuana dispensaries see an average of 30 percent fewer opioid-related deaths compared to counties without legal cannabis shops open, suggesting a substitution effect away from prescription pills and heroin toward the plant-based treatment, according to a new data analysis.

In a Washington Post piece on Wednesday, Harvard University economics student Julien Berman used data from the University of Michigan that identifies dispensary locations at the county level to compare opioid overdose trends over 10 years in jurisdictions where cannabis became legally available compared to those without regulated access.

“The theory is straightforward: making cannabis more available—and reducing its cost—could induce people to shift from opioids, which are super dangerous, to marijuana, a significantly safer alternative,” Berman said. “Existing opioid users seeking pain relief can choose marijuana instead of heroin, especially in counties where recreational use is legal and access is easy. And new potential users might never turn to opioids at all if they could get marijuana instead.”

Other factors were taken into account to support the conclusion, including comparisons of opioid mortality rates in counties within a legal state where some allow retailers to operate and others have chosen to opt out.

“That kind of variation helps rule out other state-level changes such as expanded access to naloxone—a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose—as the main cause of the drop in deaths,” Berman said.

On average, the opioid death rates following the establishment of cannabis dispensaries declined more sharply in the immediate years after the opening compared to dry counties. But from years five to 10, there's a more precipitous effect, with an average rate of 27 percent fewer opioid deaths in jurisdictions that have cannabis storefronts after a decade.

There are some limitations to the analysis, including challenges with the “enormous number of messy business records” maintained in the University of Michigan dataset that could have misidentified certain businesses. And it's possible counties that were assessed could have separately implemented other programs to address opioid use during the timeline that was studied, Berman noted.

“Still, the fact that the drop in deaths shows up right after the first dispensary opens—and not before—strongly suggests that opioid users do shift to marijuana, at least enough to stop overdosing,” he wrote.

He added that while studies have shown that marijuana isn't entirely harmless, it's “much safer than heroin.”

“Heck, it's arguably safer than alcohol. If the dispensary down the street can get people off opioids, public health wins—even if overall marijuana use goes up,” he said.

Relatedly, a recently published study found that, among drug users who experience chronic pain, daily cannabis use was linked to a higher likelihood of quitting the use of opioids—especially among men.

Researchers for a separate federally funded survey recently found an association between state-level marijuana legalization and reduced prescriptions for opioid pain medications among commercially insured adults—indicating a possible substitution effect where patients are choosing to use cannabis instead of prescription drugs to treat pain.

A study published late last year found that legalizing medical cannabis appeared to significantly reduce monetary payments from opioid manufacturers to doctors who specialize in pain, with authors finding “evidence that this decrease is due to medical marijuana becoming available as a substitute” for prescription painkillers.

Other recent research also showed a decline in fatal opioid overdoses in jurisdictions where marijuana was legalized for adults. That study found a “consistent negative relationship” between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. Authors estimated that recreational marijuana legalization “is associated with a decrease of approximately 3.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals.”

Another recently published report into prescription opioid use in Utah following the state's legalization of medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis both reduced opioid use by patients with chronic pain and helped drive down prescription overdose deaths statewide. Overall, results of the study indicated that “cannabis has a substantial role to play in pain management and the reduction of opioid use,” it said.

Yet another study, published in 2023, linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription medications. And another, published by the American Medical Association (AMA) last February, found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.

About one in three chronic pain patients reported using cannabis as a treatment option, according to a 2023 AMA-published report. Most of that group said they used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids.

Other research published that year found that letting people buy CBD legally significantly reduced opioid prescription rates, leading to 6.6 percent to 8.1 percent fewer opioid prescriptions.

A 2022 research paper that analyzed Medicaid data on prescription drugs, meanwhile, found that legalizing marijuana for adult use was associated with “significant reductions” in the use of prescription drugs for the treatment of multiple conditions.

A 2023 report linked state-level medical marijuana legalization to reduced opioid payouts to doctors—another datapoint suggesting that patients use cannabis as an alternative to prescription drugs when given legal access.

Researchers in another study, published last year, looked at opioid prescription and mortality rates in Oregon, finding that nearby access to retail marijuana moderately reduced opioid prescriptions, though they observed no corresponding drop in opioid-related deaths.

Other recent research also indicates that cannabis may be an effective substitute for opioids in terms of pain management.

A report published recently in the journal BMJ Open, for instance, compared medical marijuana and opioids for chronic non-cancer pain and found that cannabis “may be similarly effective and result in fewer discontinuations than opioids,” potentially offering comparable relief with a lower likelihood of adverse effects.

Separate research published found that more than half (57 percent) of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain said cannabis was more effective than other analgesic medications, while 40 percent reported reducing their use of other painkillers since they began using marijuana.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Opening Legal Marijuana Dispensaries Is Tied To A Huge Drop In Opioid-Related Deaths, Analysis Finds appeared first on Weedmaps News.

The attorney general of Massachusetts has published dozens of proposed initiatives for the 2026 ballot—including a pair that would roll back adult-use marijuana legalization in the state.

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's (D) office released 47 initiative petitions filed by 19 groups ahead of a Wednesday deadline. It will now review each petition to determine whether it can be legally certified.

The two marijuana measures, which would eliminate the commercial adult-use market while maintaining patient access under the medical cannabis program and continuing to allow lawful possession of up to an ounce of recreational marijuana, are being spearheaded by Caroline Cunningham, who previously fought against a psychedelics legalization ballot initiative that voters ultimately rejected last year.

Under the new measures—titled “An Act to Restore A Sensible Marijuana Policy”—adults 21 and older could still possess up to an ounce of cannabis, only five grams of which could be a marijuana concentrate product.

Possession of more than one ounce but less than two ounces would be effectively decriminalized, with violators subject to a $100 fine. Adults could also continue to gift cannabis between each other without remuneration.

But provisions in the state's voter-approved marijuana law that allow for commercial cannabis retailers and access to regulated products by adults would be repealed under the proposal.

Adults' right to cultivate cannabis at home would also be repealed.

There are two versions of the initiative. They're largely identical—except that one would set THC potency limits on medical marijuana, requiring the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) to prohibit flower in excess of 30 percent THC and concentrates over 60 percent THC or that have more than 5mg THC per metered serving. There would also be a ban on cannabis concentrates that “fail to clearly provide metered, or otherwise measured, standard delivered servings” of 5 mg THC and on packages of concentrate that exceed 20 metered or measured servings.

After reviewing all of the proposed initiatives to determine if they're consistent with constitutional requirements for ballot placement, the attorney general's office will then certify them and issue finalized summaries, clearing proponents to start signature gathering.

They will need to turn in 74,574 valid signatures from registered voters to the secretary of state's office by December 3, initiating a separate verification process to certify the signatures.

Whether the cannabis measures make the cut is yet to be seen. Voters approved legalization at the ballot in 2016, with sales launching two years later. And the past decade has seen the market evolve and expand. As of last month, Massachusetts officials reported more than $8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales.

Regulators are also working to finalize rules to allow for a new cannabis consumption lounge license type, which they hope to complete by October.

Separately, in May, CCC launched an online platform aimed at helping people find jobs, workplace training, and networking opportunities in the state's legal cannabis industry.

State lawmakers have also been considering setting tighter restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products and a plan to allow individual entities to control a larger number of cannabis establishments.

Also in Massachusetts, legislators who were working on a state budget butted heads with CCC officials, who've said they can't make critical technology improvements without more money from the legislature.

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Written by Kyle Jaeger for Marijuana Moment | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Massachusetts Would Recriminalize Recreational Marijuana Sales Under 2026 Ballot Initiatives Being Reviewed By Attorney General appeared first on Weedmaps News.