Welcome back to the Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we start in Minnesota, where the retail market opened. California lowered the tax rate on cannabis. New Hampshire’s House introduced a bill to legalize adult use. The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to prohibit federal rescheduling. And finally, a Texas District Attorney smoked pot on TikTok.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: September 19, 2025Welcome back to the Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we focus our attention on three states, each of which is having a different issue with cannabis. In Texas, it’s the decision not to ban hemp. In Nebraska, there’s a struggle with medical marijuana regulations. And in Massachusetts, there’s a ballot initiative to rescind adult-use altogether. And finally, New York and California are embroiled in a cannabis competition.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: September 12, 2025Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the MORE Act was reintroduced, and the SAFER Banking Act got some support. Roger Stone came out in favor of rescheduling cannabis. Texas banned all THC and CBD vapes. And finally, what’s that smell at the U.S. Open?
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: September 5, 2025New York City’s cannabis retailers are facing a new regulatory challenge that blends zoning complexity with legal compliance. A recent correction by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has redefined how dispensaries must measure their distance from schools under Cannabis Law § 72(6), placing dozens of city businesses at risk of noncompliance.
Continue Reading Moving the Goalposts: NYC Cannabis Retailers Get Schooled on Proximity RulesWelcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we start off with talk of federal re-scheduling. Then we note that the new DEA head is also the interim head of the DCMPD. There’s news from New Jersey concerning cannabis lounges. And finally, despite what you may have heard, THC drinks are not available for purchase on Virgin Atlantic.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: August 15, 2025Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the big news is that Delaware’s retail market has opened. There are problems with dispensary locations in New York. A federal ban on hemp was removed from the Farm Bill. And finally, a dispensary has opened with a Grand Central Station theme.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: August 8, 2025Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the Supreme Court will considering hearing a case involving guns and cannabis. The judge handling rescheduling at the Drug Enforcement Administration has retired. We get a look at the new DEA chief’s priorities. And finally, some folks in Wisconsin got a bit more than they bargained for in their pizza.
Litigation surrounding cannabis and firearms has been working its way through the court system for a while now. In a nutshell, the question is whether the federal government’s prohibition on gun ownership by marijuana users is constitutional. The Supreme Court will consider hearing one of these cases, United States v. Cooper in their conference set for September 29. Note: a Supreme Court conference is a meeting of the justices, where they decide whether to hear cases that have been appealed to them. It doesn’t mean they *will* hear a case, just that they’ll discuss whether they’ll hear it.
The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) overseeing the rescheduling of cannabis at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), John Mulrooney is retiring effective today, August 1. What does this mean for rescheduling? Let’s let Judge Mulrooney explain:
All matters filed in this case will be forwarded to the DEA Administrator, for whatever action, if any, he deems appropriate. All previously-issued procedural orders remain in full force and effect unless otherwise modified by a successor Administrative Law Judge, the DEA Administrator, or the Attorney General. – from Judge Mulrooney’s retirement announcement, July 23, 2025
So the ball is in the new DEA administrator’s court. Which brings us to our next topic, the DEA’s priorities, going forward…
Terrance Cole, the new DEA director, recently set out his top concerns for the agency – see the press release here. The priorities are in bold, so it’s easy to see them on the page. Go ahead, have a look. Notice anything missing? That’s right, cannabis rescheduling appears nowhere on this list. And you can look for cannabis (or marijuana or marihuana) in that document and you will come up empty. So where does that leave rescheduling? Good question.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is not a source we usually check for cannabis news, but rest assured dear readers, we go where the stories take us. The latest edition of that publication reveals that last October, a pizzeria in Stoughton, Wisconsin accidentally served at least 85 customers pizza and other products made with THC-infused oil. How did this happen? Famous Yeti’s Pizza ran out of cooking oil, and used some from a cooperative kitchen in the same building. One of the businesses using the kitchen makes edibles. Oops.
Be well everyone, and we’ll see you next week.
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the Senate confirmed a new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to send a bill that would protect state-legal cannabis, while forbidding federal rescheduling. The Texas Legislature begins a special session that will consider the status of hemp in the state. The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska legalized cannabis for use on tribal lands. And finally, the town of Eden Prairie, Minnesota could use your help in naming a THC edible.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: July 25, 2025Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, another cannabis legalization measure cropped up in Pennsylvania. Congress is debating federal hemp restrictions as part of the Farm Bill. In other federal news, funding for cannabis rescheduling could be on the chopping block, while state-legal medical marijuana programs could be protected. And finally, in cannabis pun news, Virginia launched a commission to study setting up a retail cannabis market.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: July 18, 2025Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we see the end of cannabis legalization in Wisconsin, at least for now. Delaware will begin retail sales the first of August. There’s still no word on federal re-scheduling. And finally, the Colorado Department of Agriculture has a recipe for hemp ice cream.
Continue Reading The Week in Weed: July 11, 2025