Oregon officials have notified a federal appeals court that they are challenging a lower judge’s ruling striking down a voter-approved law that required licensed marijuana businesses to enter into labor peace agreements with workers and mandated that employers remain neutral in discussions around unionization.

In a notice of appeal submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit late last week, attorneys for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) and Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s (OLCC) Dennis Doherty and Craig Prins said they will be contesting the decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon last month.

After two marijuana businesses—Bubble’s Hash and Ascend Dispensary—filed a lawsuit in the district court challenging the implementation of Measure 119, a federal judge sided with the plaintiffs, finding that the law unconstitutionally restricts free speech and violates the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Now the state is pushing back, advising the Ninth Circuit that it will be appealing, as Law360 first reported. Details about the merits of the appeal are currently unknown. But the court gave the state a deadline of September 3 to provide an opening brief, and the plaintiffs must file a reply brief by October 3.

Under the currently paused law, a marijuana businesses that was unable to provide proof of a labor peace agreement could have been subject a denial or revocation of their license.

In an order last month, the district court judge walked through various components of the legal arguments from both sides and ultimately agreed that the Oregon law is preempted by the NLRA, which is meant to provide protections for workers who want to unionize—but specifically preserves the right for “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open debate in labor disputes.”

By mandating neutrality from employers in labor discussions, that constitutes a violation of the NLRA, the judge ruled.

“Measure 119 does not distinguish between permissible employer speech and threatening or coercive speech,” Judge Michael Simon said. “Measure 119 is not limited to restricting only threatening, coercive, false, or misleading speech, but instead prohibits all speech by employers that is not ‘neutral’ toward unionization.”

On the question of whether the law violates First Amendment protections under the U.S. Constitution, the cannabis companies argued that “Measure 119 is a content-based restriction on speech that is subject to strict scrutiny, and that Defendants fail to provide a compelling government interest requiring this restriction.”

Measure 119 passed with about 57 percent of the vote last November. A regional chapter of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)—UFCW Local 555—had submitted more than 160,000 signatures to qualify the measure for ballot placement last year.

During the Oregon legislature’s 2023 session, lawmakers declined to enact a bill containing similar provisions. UFCW lobbied for that legislation, and it decided to mount a campaign to let voters decide on the issue this year after that effort failed.

UFCW pressed legislators to enact a bill to codify the labor protections in 2023. And after it was effectively killed by a top House Democrat, it announced that it would be leading a recall effort to oust him.

Read the text of the Oregon officials’ notices of appeal below: 

Missouri Cannabis Stakeholders Prepare 2026 Ballot Initiative To Create ‘Unified’ Marijuana And Hemp Regulations

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

[PRESS RELEASE] – MUNDELEIN, Ill., June 17, 2025 – Terrabis, a leading multistate cannabis operator, announced its newest milestone with the approval to open its fifth Illinois dispensary. The new location in Mundelein will open its doors later this year, marking another significant step in the company’s strategic growth within the state’s thriving cannabis market.

The new store will be at 3210 W. Route 60 on Mundelein’s northwest side. Conveniently located within the bustling Mundelein Crossings shopping center, the site offers easy access for residents and visitors.

The upcoming dispensary in Mundelein will join Terrabis’ existing four dispensaries in Illinois, further solidifying the company’s presence in the Midwest. This milestone follows a period of remarkable growth for Terrabis, including the successful launch of its own Terrabis flower line earlier this year.

Over the past eight months, Terrabis has opened three new locations in Illinois, underlining its commitment to delivering a consistent and high-quality cannabis experience to customers. The Mundelein location will bring the Terrabis network to nine dispensaries across Illinois and Missouri.

“This achievement reflects our dedication to responsible expansion and delivering on our mission to create truly unique cannabis experiences,” Terrabis CEO Dan Ambrosino said. “Mundelein is an exciting addition to our portfolio of Illinois dispensaries, and we look forward to continuing our growth while maintaining our core values of community impact, exploration and wellness.”

Mundelein has long been recognized as playing a pivotal role in shaping Illinois’ cannabis culture. As Terrabis prepares to open its fifth Illinois dispensary in this influential town, the company is excited to contribute to the area’s growing reputation as a hub for cannabis innovation.

Terrabis’ continued Illinois expansion signals the company’s ongoing success and dedication to bolstering local communities by fostering economic development and job creation. The company is committed to driving ingenuity within the cannabis industry and setting a benchmark for operational excellence in dispensary management. By prioritizing community impact and industry leadership, Terrabis is creating lasting value for both its customers and the regions it serves.

Terrabis is a privately held, leading, multistate cannabis operator with a corporate office in Chicago. The company has dispensaries in Illinois and Missouri, with a product manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Mo.

The governor of Texas still hasn’t made a decision on a bill lawmakers recently sent to his desk that would ban consumable hemp products with any traces of THC—but he says there are “meaningful positions and concerns on both sides of the issue.”

As advocates and stakeholders continue to push for a veto of SB 3, which they say would effectively eradicate the hemp market in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said on Monday that he has hundreds of bills to review and he “hasn’t gotten to” the cannabis legislation yet.

“I’ll tell you this: Listen, there are meaningful positions and concerns on both sides of the issue, and I’ll look into all of those and evaluate all of those,” he told reporters during a Q & A session following a bill signing ceremony for an unrelated measure.

That largely echoes comments Abbott made earlier this month, when he said SB 3 “is one of literally more than a thousand bills on my desk—all of which need my careful consideration and evaluation.”

“I will give all of those pieces of legislation the consideration and time that they deserve,” the governor said at the time, while sitting beside one of the measure’s most vocal supporters, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R).

But it’s notable that, in his latest comments, he seemed to acknowledge that supporters and opponents of the measure have “meaningful” arguments that he’s taking into account.

Also this month, hemp advocates and stakeholders delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures asking Abbott to veto the measure. Critics of the bill have said the industry—which employs an estimated 53,000 people—would be decimated if the measure becomes law.

The governor has three options for the proposal: sign it, veto it or allow it to take effect without his signature. The deadline for his decision is this Sunday, June 22.

Last month, a spokesperson for the governor separately declined to disclose Abbott’s plan for the bill, saying only that he “will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.”

Texas lawmakers legalized the sale of consumable hemp in 2019, following enactment of the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which legalized the plant nationwide. That’s led to an explosion of products—including edibles, drinks, vape products and cured flower—sold by an estimated 8,000 retailers.

Military veterans advocates, including Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars, have also called on the governor to veto the hemp ban, saying it “would cause irreversible harm to communities across the state.”

Farmers have also said the prohibition would devastate a key sector of the state’s agriculture industry.

Meanwhile, a recent poll commissioned the Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC) found that Texas Republican primary voters oppose the proposal to ban hemp products containing THC.

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Abbott separately signed a bill into law last week to create a state-backed research consortium to conduct clinical trials on ibogaine as a possible treatment for substance use disorders and other mental health conditions. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop the psychedelic into a prescription drug with federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, with the state retaining a portion of the profit.

Lawmakers also recently passed a bill to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program, sending it to the governor.

The measure would expand the state’s list of medical cannabis qualifying conditions to include chronic pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases, while also allowing end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care to use marijuana.

Separately in Texas, a House committee approved a Senate-passed bill last month that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.

Under the proposal, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully enforce” state drug laws.

While several courts have previously upheld local cannabis decriminalization laws, an appellate court comprised of three conservative justices appointed by the governor has recently pushed back against two of those rulings, siding with the state in its legal challenge to the marijuana policy in Austin and San Marcos.

Despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November.

A recent poll found that four in five Texas voters want to see marijuana legalized in some form, and most also want to see regulations around cannabis relaxed.

Missouri Cannabis Stakeholders Prepare 2026 Ballot Initiative To Create ‘Unified’ Marijuana And Hemp Regulations

Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.