Hemp THC products will become illegal under federal law in November 2026 thanks to the spending bill President Donald Trump signed last month.

What’s still not known is which authorities will enforce the ban – or whether they’ll enforce the hemp ban at all, a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report notes.

In fact, both the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Food and Drug Administration “may lack the resources” to police banned hemp, according to the CRS.

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Congress moved to close the so-called “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill by redefining hemp under federal law.

Starting November 2026, hemp products can have no more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. And both THCA flower as well as synthetically derived delta-8 and

The post Report: Hemp THC ban may be unenforceable appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Ten marijuana brands won trophies in the inaugural MJBowl, a bi-coastal cannabis competition presented by MJBizCon and social review platform Budist.

The competition, designed to spotlight the Most Valuable Products across five major product categories in two major markets, brought together licensed producers from California and New York for a cross-market showcase of craft innovation and product excellence.

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“We wanted to bring a level of rigor and shared language to how we assess and celebrate cannabis products,” said Jocelyn Sheltran, co-founder and CEO of cannabis product review platform Budist.

“This competition is about recognizing the hard work of producers and creatin ga platform that translates quality to consumers.”

First cannabis product competition at MJBizCon

For participating brands, MJBowl is more than a trophy.

The post From rosin gummies to hash holes: Meet the winners of MJBowl appeared first on GrowCola.com.

A Democratic senator is holding up nearly 90 of President Donald Trump’s administrative nominees—including the president’s pick for White House drug czar who he says is among many “unqualified” candidates who threaten to “undermine the rule of law and our national security.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee in October advanced the nomination of Sara Carter Bailey to join the administration as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). But when she was included in a en bloc confirmation package of 88 nominees for floor consideration, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) raised a procedural inquiry that led Republicans to stop the vote.

“I just blocked 88 Trump nominees from confirmation—including Sara Carter Bailey, a former Fox News contributor nominated to be our country’s drug czar,” Bennet said on the floor on Thursday. “Bailey was nominated by Trump, who just pardoned the former president of Honduras, as he served 45 years in prison for conspiring to distribute over 400 tons of cocaine.”

“I will not allow unqualified nominees, this White House, or the president to undermine the rule of law and our national security,” he said.

The procedural complaint Bennet raised has to do with the fact that ONDCP

The post Senator Blocks Confirmation Of Trump’s ‘Unqualified’ White House Drug Czar Pick Who Has Voiced Medical Marijuana Support appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Kentucky’s governor says the state is “very, very close” to launching its medical marijuana program, which he expects to happen “within the next couple of weeks”—a move he says will help thousands of patients find an alternative to opioids for pain management.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was asked by a reporter to provide a status update on the medical cannabis law. He said the first dispensary, based in Ohio County, is set have “product on its shelf” in weeks.

“But we believe it’s going to scale up very quickly from that first moment,” the governor said.

Beshear went through more granular details about the program’s progress, touting the fact that 23,757 patients have received their e-certifications to access cannabis, including 1,756 who qualified to treat symptoms of cancer and 15,412 with chronic pain who would have “otherwise been taking opioids, which is one of the reasons that we’ve pushed this program so hard.”

With respect to marijuana business licensing, the state has so far approved 16 cultivators, 48 dispensaries and six safety compliance facilities. Officials have additionally certified 506 doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations.

“Our Office of Medical Cannabis had staff in three

The post Kentucky’s First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Will Open In ‘Next Couple Of Weeks,’ Governor Says, Touting Cannabis As Opioid Alternative appeared first on GrowCola.com.

The Biden administration was evidently concerned about potential legal liability in federal cases for people convicted of violating gun laws simply by being a cannabis consumer who possessed a firearm, documents obtained by Marijuana Moment show.

The previously unpublished 2024 guidance from former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department generally cautioned U.S. attorneys to use discretion in prosecuting federal cannabis cases, particularly for offenses that qualified people for pardons during his term. But one section seems especially relevant as the U.S. Supreme Court takes on a case challenging the constitutionality of the current federal gun statute.

Justices in that case recently granted a request from the Trump administration to extend the deadline to submit initial briefs until December 12.

The newly disclosed guidance from the Biden administration that was rescinded in September under Trump states that prosecutors “may pursue charges under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) or 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(3) based on the unlawful use of, or addiction to, marijuana because the proclamation does not change the fact that marijuana use violates federal law,” referring to the statutes that make it a federal crime to possess a gun while being a cannabis consumer.

However, in order to “mitigate potential litigation risk,”

The post DOJ Knew Gun Ban For Marijuana Users Is Vulnerable To ‘Litigation Risk,’ Newly Revealed Memo Shows As Supreme Court Takes Up Issue appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Congressional researchers say it “remains unclear” how the federal government might enforce a newly enacted law that takes effect next year banning hemp THC products—flagging concerns about a potential lack of resources on the part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

After President Donald Trump signed appropriations legislation late last month that included language that effectively “reimposes” hemp criminalization, the Congress Research Service (CRS) published an analysis about the policy change on Wednesday.

“While the change to the hemp definition will seemingly alter the legal status of many hemp products currently available on the market, it remains unclear if and how federal law enforcement will enforce the new prohibitions when the new definition goes into effect,” the researchers said.

Part of the uncertainty around hemp is related to the federal approach to marijuana, which has been legalized in some form in the vast majority of states but remains federally illegal as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

“In marijuana’s case, the federal response has largely been to allow states to implement their own marijuana laws despite the fact that state-regulated activities may violate the [Controlled Substances Act],” CRS said. “If

The post It’s ‘Unclear’ How Feds Will Enforce Hemp THC Product Ban, Congressional Researchers Say, Citing Limited FDA And DEA Resources appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Cannabis consumption lounges are redefining hospitality with a buzz-worthy twist.

From yoga sessions with edibles to paint-and-puff nights, dedicated consumption spaces are the next chapter for the cannabis industry, according to Dale Sky Jones, chancellor of Oakland, California-based cannabis education institution Oaksterdam University.

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Lounges are “the most exciting frontier for the cannabis industry,” said Jones, who’s leading a roundtable on consumption lounges at MJBizCon in Las Vegas today,

But creating these spaces isn’t just about good vibes.

A successful lounge act will master compliance, safety and customer education to craft an experience as elevated as the patrons themselves.

That can in turn build brand loyalty and unlock new revenue streams.

Crafting the experience – where cannabis meets hospitality

The foundation of a successful

The post Are consumption lounges the ‘next frontier’ for legal cannabis? appeared first on GrowCola.com.

New marijuana & psychedelics bills in Congress; MO cannabis & psilocybin legislation; GOP lawmaker on banking access; 4,000+ marijuana studies in 2025

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Congressional Cannabis Caucus Co-chair Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) told Marijuana Moment that her questions to the Trump administration about its move to rescind Biden-era enforcement guidance “remain unanswered”—saying it’s “a step backward for commonsense cannabis policy reform.”

Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA) and other Democratic lawmakers filed a new congressional resolution calling for equity-focused marijuana policies and urging President Donald Trump to advocate for global cannabis reform at the United Nations.

Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY), along with Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC), filed legislation to allow doctors to

The post Congresswoman demands cannabis answers from Trump admin (Newsletter: December 5, 2025) appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Alleged massive fraud committed by signature-gatherers last year should mean the undoing of Nebraska medical marijuana legalization, the state’s high court heard this week.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is weighing a lawsuit filed by a former state lawmaker that seeks to force medical cannabis advocates to “prove” last year’s ballot question, overwhelmingly approved by voters, was actually valid.

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John Kuehn, a former Republican state lawmaker and co-founder of anti-legalization advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, launched a quest to undo medical marijuana legalization in Nebraska months before last November’s vote.

Will the Nebraska Supreme Court cancel medical cannabis?

A lower-court state judge last fall dismissed Kuehn’s lawsuit alleging that Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana relied on fraud to collect enough signatures to qualify

The post Nebraska Supreme Court hears argument to cancel medical marijuana legalization appeared first on GrowCola.com.

After starting with a cultivation crunch, the newly launched Minnesota adult-use cannabis market is now suffering through a logistical crisis.

A severe shortage of licensed transporters is leaving retailers with empty shelves and cannabis cultivators unable to move inventory, according to MinnPost.

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As independent retailers try to establish a foothold in the state, the inability to legally transport product from cultivation sites to retail storefronts is creating supply chain friction, MinnPost reported.

Why is Minnesota slow to license cannabis transporters?

Operators report that stringent insurance requirements and a slow licensing rollout are favoring larger entities while threatening the viability of small, independent businesses.

Minnesota adult-use cannabis market is stuck in transit

The primary pain point is the disconnect between licensed cannabis cultivators and

The post The logistics crisis plaguing the Minnesota marijuana market launch appeared first on GrowCola.com.

A GOP congressman is pressing federal financial regulators about the ongoing issues that state-legal marijuana businesses face when trying to access basic banking services under federal prohibition.

At a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) asked Comptroller Jonathan Gould whether banks are “still blocking customers who are engaged in lawful marijuana activities.”

“Because nearly every state, whether you like it or not, has made some form of marijuana lawful in those states, and we haven’t synced up at the federal level,” he said. “So I’d love to catch up on how we’re doing that.”

The congressman had limited time to speak and advised that he’d be submitting a formal question for the record to witnesses addressing the cannabis banking issue in hopes of getting a substantive response after the hearing.

Gould also made a brief reference to marijuana banking earlier in the meeting.

In response to another lawmaker’s unrelated question about fraud issues in the banking industry, he said that “in the four months I’ve been on the job that is certainly an issue, fraud, that has risen to the top of my kind of to-do list.”

“It was not something

The post GOP Congressman Presses Federal Financial Officials On Marijuana Industry’s Banking Access Problems appeared first on GrowCola.com.

For the fifth year in a row, researchers worldwide published more than 4,000 scientific papers related to marijuana in 2025, according to a new analysis by the advocacy group NORML.

All told, since the beginning of 2015, there have been more than 37,000 published papers about cannabis, the group said, largely reflecting “researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well as investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.”

“Despite the perception that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in the past decade, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a press release.

“It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know,” he said.

To tally the papers, NORML conducted a keyword search of the National Library of Medicine’s resource PubMed.gov. In total, the advocacy group said on Wednesday, PubMed now

The post Researchers Published More Than 4,000 Studies On Marijuana This Year As Trump Continues To Weigh Rescheduling appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Missouri lawmakers are preparing to once again tackle marijuana and psychedelics policy issues in the 2026 session.

Bipartisan members in the Senate and House of Representatives have pre-filed a series of bills in recent days that range from providing early release for people incarcerated for certain cannabis-related convictions to promoting access to alternative therapies such as psilocybin.

Missouri voters approved adult-use marijuana legalization at the ballot in 2022. But there’s been some tension among stakeholders about the state’s approach to cannabis regulations, which has been especially pronounced amid the debate over how the laws treat marijuana versus hemp.

With respect to psychedelics policy, a Republican-led bill to legalize the medical use of psilocybin by military veterans who are enrolled in clinical trials on the psychedelic passed in two House committees this year, but was later removed from the floor calendar.

Here are the summaries of the newly pre-filed cannabis and psychedelics measures:

Rep. Adrian Plank (D)—HB 1896: Allows for early release for persons serving sentences for marijuana-related offenses. Rep. Adrian Plank (D)—HB 1897: Creates provisions relating to licenses for marijuana facilities. Rep. Adrian Plank (D)—HB 1898: Requires publicly funded state colleges and universities to allow medical marijuana use on campus.

The post Missouri Lawmakers Pre-File Multiple Marijuana And Psychedelics Bills For 2026 Session appeared first on GrowCola.com.

A Democratic congresswoman is demanding more information from the Trump administration about its current cannabis enforcement policy on federal lands after Marijuana Moment reported obtained documents showing that Biden-era guidance urging prosecutorial discretion was rescinded earlier this year.

The guidance from former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice coincided with mass pardons for people who committed federal cannabis possession on or before December 22, 2023. It’s not clear why the document wasn’t publicized at the time, but its rescission under the Trump administration has created controversy.

Overall, the Biden administration memo, obtained by Marijuana Moment under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, ordered U.S. prosecutors to be “extremely cautious” about how to handle future cannabis cases following the former president’s clemency action.

But now, a key member of Congress—Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV)—says the disclosure of the guidance and notice of rescission isn’t enough and she wants further clarification from President Donald Trump’s DOJ.

“The Trump Administration wrongfully rescinded Biden-era guidance that discouraged the prosecution of simple cannabis possession on federal property,” Titus told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday. “Still, my questions to Attorney General Pam Bondi from two weeks ago about how the Trump Administration plans to handle

The post Congresswoman Demands Details On Trump DOJ Marijuana Policy After Biden Guidance It Rescinded Is Revealed appeared first on GrowCola.com.

As an attorney, Riana Durrett could never ask a cannabis operator to break the law.

But there isn’t a better way to test the reading of the U.S. constitution that Durrett, the director of the University Nevada Las Vegas Cannabis Policy Institute, and other legal scholars suggest could be another way forward for the cannabis industry that doesn’t hinge on President Donald Trump rescheduling marijuana.

Or on federal prohibition argued before the Supreme Court for the first time in more than 20 years.

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“I’m a believer in the dormant commerce clause arguments and that interstate commerce is no more illegal than intrastate commerce,” she added, referring to the language in the Constitution governing trade between the states – and the federal government’s ability

The post Can risky operators push marijuana interstate commerce forward? appeared first on GrowCola.com.

TX medical marijuana expansion; Cannabis biz owner runs for Congress; Marijuana prisoner letter campaign; Study: Cannabis regs vs alcohol agencies

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Marijuana Moment obtained previously unpublished Biden-era cannabis enforcement guidance that was recently rescinded by the Trump administration—showing that the former president’s pardons had more far-reaching criminal justice impacts than was known, including a directive for prosecutors to be “extremely cautious” about pursuing further marijuana cases. 

The document, surfaced via a Freedom of Information Act request, also has implications for medical marijuana patient protections and the federal law criminalizing gun possession by cannabis consumers.

Cannabis business owner

The post DOJ cannabis enforcement guidance revealed (Newsletter: December 4, 2025) appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Colorado-based marijuana entrepreneur Wanda James is running for Congress, pledging to push for a complete end to federal cannabis prohibition if she’s elected. Anything short of legalization—whether that’s a bill focused on industry banking access or another incremental reform such as rescheduling—won’t cut it, she says.

James, who owns the Denver dispensary Simply Pure, is challenging Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in next year’s Democratic primary to represent Colorado’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She spoke about her cannabis legalization platform at a MJBizCon event on Wednesday.

“No banking bill will save us. No half step will fix this. No incremental tweak will correct decades of damage,” she said in a press release ahead of the conference. “Only legalization gives this industry oxygen.”

“Only legalization ends 280E. Only legalization ends the raids. Only legalization ends the fear,” she said, referring to the existing policy preventing cannabis businesses from taking federal tax deductions and broadly putting companies at risk of federal enforcement action. “Only legalization stops the fragmented nonsense that destroys operators while confusing the public.”

“And let me be very clear about something else,” she said. “This is not a fight between hemp and cannabis. It is

The post Marijuana Business Owner Running For Congress Says Federal Legalization Is The ‘Only Path’ For ‘National Market Stability’ appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Ahead of a potential November 2026 launch of adult-use cannabis sales, marijuana multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings will enter the Virginia market with a purchase of competitor The Cannabist Company Holdings’ assets in the state, the companies announced Tuesday.

For $110 million, Curaleaf will acquire a vertically integrated medical marijuana license, which includes five retail dispensaries and the right to open a sixth as well as 82,000 square feet of cultivation canopy located near Richmond.

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The sale announcement is the latest move made by The Cannabist Co., formerly known as Columbia Care, after company leadership formed a “special committee” to explore mergers or other major moves.

Curaleaf to enter Virginia marijuana market ahead of adult-use sales

According to a company press release, the purchase

The post Curaleaf to enter Virginia marijuana market with purchase of competitor appeared first on GrowCola.com.

Former President Joe Biden didn’t just issue mass pardons for federal marijuana possession offenses during his term—his administration also ordered U.S. prosecutors to be “extremely cautious” about how to handle future cannabis cases, according to a previously unpublished guidance memo obtained by Marijuana Moment that has since been rescinded under the Trump administration.

The guidance, issued on February 26, 2024—which also had specific implications for medical cannabis patients in legal states and federal laws on gun possession by marijuana consumers—wasn’t publicized even as the then-president was campaigning for a second term that year. That’s despite Biden repeatedly touting the cannabis pardons and his directive for a federal review into marijuana that resulted in a recommendation to reschedule the plant.

But last month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming disclosed that the guidance was rescinded in September, and it said cases involving marijuana would consequently be “rigorously” enforced on federal land.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, DOJ provided Marijuana Moment with the initial guidance and the notice of the rescission under President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

The Biden administration memo advised prosecutors about the scope of the pardons, noting limitations of the clemency

The post Newly Revealed Biden Marijuana Guidance Rescinded By Trump DOJ Told Prosecutors To Be ‘Extremely Cautious’ About Cannabis Cases appeared first on GrowCola.com.

“Our governments, farmers and small businesses need more guidance and regulatory certainty—not blanket bans.”

By U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), via MinnPost

Since Congress legalized hemp in 2018, Minnesota’s hemp industry has blossomed.

In the roughly two and a half years since Minnesota signed its own hemp legalization bill into law, hemp has grown into a $200 million a year industry, creating thousands of local jobs in everything from farming and brewing to soapmaking and textiles. It has flourished because Minnesota stepped up to do things the right way by implementing smart and reasonable regulation at the state level.

But a few weeks ago, congressional Republicans decided to turn back the clock on the progress Minnesota’s hemp industry has made—threatening local jobs, small businesses, tax revenue and innovation along with it.

Much to my disappointment, they did so without talking to Minnesota stakeholders or engaging with the committees most involved in the hemp supply chain—from growth to final product. That includes the House Agriculture Committee, where I serve as the top Democrat. Since then, my office has been flooded with calls, emails and letters from concerned Minnesotans.

If the federal government is to get involved in hemp production and sales

The post Federal Hemp Ban Pushed By GOP Is A ‘Step Backward,’ Democratic Congresswoman Says (Op-Ed) appeared first on GrowCola.com.