Trump DEA pick up for vote; Czech president signs marijuana & psilocybin bill; MN city’s own THC gummy; Cannabis impairment testing criticism

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to continue protecting state medical cannabis laws from federal interference, and omitted a separate rider to block federal marijuana rescheduling that is advancing in the House version of the legislation.

The U.S. Senate will take a procedural vote on Monday on President Donald Trump’s nominee for administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terrance Cole, who has said examining marijuana rescheduling would be “one of my first priorities” but has also voiced concerns about the dangers of cannabis.

Czech Republic President Petr Pavel signed a bill to legalize possession and home cultivation of marijuana and allow medical use of psilocybin.

The city of Eden Prairie, Minnesota is launching its own government-branded cannabis gummy—and it’s conducting a contest to settle on the best name for the mixed-berry flavored THC and CBN product crafted specifically for sleep.

Ross Ulbricht, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted of running the dark web platform Silk Road, told attendees at a conservative conference that all drugs should be legalized even if it’s “not necessarily what you want to hear.”

A new commentary published by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs concludes that roadside tests for marijuana impairment that are widely used by law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are “inadequate” and “pseudoscientific ‘police science.’”

A U.S. Army veteran is suing federal agencies after he says they wrongfully detained him as part of immigration raids on a state-licensed marijuana business in California.

Malta’s Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis is sending out warning letters to marijuana consumers over odors that are “causing nuisance to neighbors.”

An Illinois representative said it’s a “priority” to regulate intoxicating hemp products, noting that hemp and marijuana are “two competing industries” that are “not interested in just losing their operations.”

The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation revoked a company’s marijuana manufacturing license over several alleged violations.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin Common Council approved a measure to make it so hemp-derived THC gummies and other THC-laced drinks, snacks or candies can only be purchased by adults over 21.

/ FEDERAL

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Robert Murphy authored an op-ed about the Trump administration’s efforts to combat drug cartels.

The Drug Enforcement Administration promoted a prohibitionist group’s “National Marijuana Facts Week.”

Customs and Border Protection sent a pun-filled press release about a seizure of psilocybin.

The House Agriculture Committee hosted a hemp roundtable meeting.

/ STATES

Colorado’s attorney general criticized the University of Colorado Board of Regents for censuring a member who owns a cannabis business and who was accused of using her influence to try to take down a public education campaign about marijuana that she said used “racist and harmful images.”

The Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee chairman said he would “never” allow marijuana legalization legislation to pass his committee.

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that warrantless vehicle searches based on the odor of cannabis were allowable during the time of marijuana decriminalization, prior to the state enacting full legalization.

California regulators announced recalls of marijuana products due to the presence of aspergillus.

Washington, D.C. regulators approved changes to medical cannabis rules.

Florida regulators are developing rules on hemp products that are attractive to children.

Michigan regulators sent a monthly report on disciplinary actions taken against marijuana businesses.

Minnesota regulators will hold a lottery for marijuana retailer licenses on Tuesday.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

/ LOCAL

A Clark County, Nevada commissioner spoke about the opportunities for casinos to embrace cannabis.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Alberta, Canada officials are allowing businesses to temporarily sell cannabis at events and festivals where minors are permitted.

German local officials have approved nearly 300 cannabis clubs under the country’s legalization law.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “CBD promoted anti-inflammatory eicosanoid production via the 15-LOX pathway, therefore supporting the potential role of CBD as a therapeutic candidate for inflammatory diseases.”

A review concluded that “psychedelics appear to ameliorate deficits in brain areas involved in reward and emotional processing, which may reduce the risk of relapse” in substance use disorder and that “psychologically, the insights gained during a psychedelic experience may reinforce personal motivations for sobriety and support subsequent behavior change.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The chair of the Florida Democratic Party said that a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to strip medical cannabis cards from people charged with drug offenses is “unconstitutional.”

/ BUSINESS

Honeydew Farms LLC is being sued by workers over alleged wage theft.

Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. launched a new ecommerce platform.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

In today’s cannabis scene, “premium” and “high-grade” get thrown around so casually that they’ve lost all meaning. Anything with a little frost and a decent nose is getting labeled top-shelf, no matter how it actually smokes.

That’s the problem.

When every bag is called fire, even when it burns like mids, the entire culture suffers. Consumers get duped into paying premium prices for a mediocre product. New growers lose motivation to push the limits. Standards get stuck. The real heat gets buried under hype.

Somewhere along the way, the cannabis market started prioritizing how weed looks on Instagram over how it smokes. Bag appeal, frosty pics, loud branding — all of it’s been elevated to a point where looks have overtaken experience. But looks don’t have anything to do with smokeability. Photos don’t tell you how clean the smoke is.

Here’s the reality: True quality is how it smokes. How it hits the lungs, how it burns, how it lingers. That’s the only metric that matters.

Right now? There are crews out there putting out “clean mids” that smoke better than half the overpriced, so-called premium in Mylar bags.

If this culture wants to evolve, the standard can’t be set by the lens. It’s got to be set by the lungs. Every time.

— Submitted by Walter Bridger, Mount Maunganui, NZ.

About High Thoughts: Short Hits From the Community

Welcome to High Thoughts, a new series from High Times featuring quick takes, stray thoughts, and stoned wisdom from our global cannabis community. These aren’t polished essays or sponsored posts — just real voices from real people who live this culture every day.

In this edition, Walter Bridger, a third-generation cannabis advocate from New Zealand and founder of Trap Talk, reminds us why smokeability still matters more than bag appeal. Looks don’t get you high. Lungs do.

This article is from an external, unpaid contributor. It does not represent High Times’ reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy. 

Photo by Chiara David on Unsplash

“The department enforces its regulations to uphold the Missouri Constitution and ensure safe access to marijuana product at our licensed facilities.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

A Springfield marijuana manufacturer central to Missouri’s largest cannabis product recall last year had its license revoked Thursday.

State regulators found the company, C&C Manufacturing LLC, created a distillate—or THC concentrate that produces a high in edibles and vape pens—using unregulated THC.

Other manufacturers statewide bought the distillate and used it to make numerous brands of vapes, edibles or pre-rolled joints, including Rove, Zen and Packarillos. A total of 135,000 products were recalled last year.

After the state issued the company a notice of pending revocation in January, regulators discovered C&C had “removed or destroyed all of the marijuana product in its facility as well as its video records,” according to the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation’s Thursday press release announcing the revocation.

“C&C’s use of unregulated THC to create marijuana products, numerous violations of rule, and destruction of product and records in direct violation of DCR orders demonstrates clear disregard for law at the expense of health and safety and has no place in Missouri’s regulated market,” said Amy Moore, the division’s director.

Matt Cummins, CEO of GOAT Extracts, is listed as the designated contact for the facility and a number of GOAT products are on the list. The Independent reached out to the designated contact number listed on the state’s facility database for comment and did not receive a response.

Some of the unregulated THC involved using “chemical modification,” the release states. That could mean C&C bought a THC concentrate that had been made by converting hemp-derived CBD into THC using a chemical conversion process. Then the company used that to make its distillate, a process that had been used in another major recall case involving the company Delta Extraction.

The recall time frame is quite wide. It goes back to last year when companies were trying to ramp up for recreational marijuana sales.

Nick Rinella, CEO of Hippos Cannabis, told The Independent last year that his company unknowingly bought some of C&C’s distillate in 2023 when Hippos’ own supply was low at its grow and manufacturing facilities.

But he emphasized that this recall is not because of lack of testing. Once Rinella and other manufacturers got the distillate and made products with it, those were “properly tested” before they went on the shelves, he said.

“We can feel confident that those products were safe,” he said last August. “They passed all the tests, and we have some of the most stringent tests in the country.”

During the recall announcement last year, the division said no adverse reactions involving recalled products have been reported.

The division’s Thursday release states that the violations leading to C&C’s license revocation are “numerous.”

It states the company violated state and federal law by transporting Missouri marijuana outside of the state. C&C also sold marijuana products in Missouri that did not originate from Missouri marijuana and “failed to preserve records and marijuana products as directed by DCR’s prior directives.”

“The department enforces its regulations to uphold the Missouri Constitution,” Moore said, “and ensure safe access to marijuana product at our licensed facilities.”

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.