New York lawmakers have scheduled a hearing to discuss the medical potential of psilocybin as the state considers pursuing a pathway for regulated access to the main psychedelic component of “magic mushrooms.”

In a notice published by the Assembly Health Committee on Wednesday, Chairwoman Amy Paulin (D) noted that, while psilocybin is currently listed as a Schedule I drug, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated it as a “breakthrough therapy” for major depression—indicating that “the therapy may offer improved results for such conditions over currently approved treatments.”

A meeting to go over the science and potential regulations of the novel therapy is scheduled for September 30. Oral testimony is by invite only from the committee, and witnesses have not yet been announced.

“Various localities have enacted measures regarding psilocybin, including the states of Colorado, Oregon, and New Mexico which allow for its supervised use, citing its potential as a treatment for some mental health conditions,” the notice says. “However, more information is needed to better understand the medicinal value that psilocybin may have as a therapy in New York State.”

“To this end, the Committee seeks to hear from researchers, medical experts, and other stakeholders on the potential medicinal value and risks of psilocybin,” Paulin said.

The chairwoman introduced a bill to legalize psilocybin for adults last year, provided they obtain a permit after undergoing a health screening and educational course.

New York legislators have taken special interest in psychedelics reform in recent sessions.

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For example, in January, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) filed legislation calling for the legalization of certain entheogenic substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine for adults 21 and older.

The bill would amend state statute to make legal the “possession, use, cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing by or between natural persons of twenty-one years of age or older of a natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogen.”

DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin and psilocyn would fall under the definition of “natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens” that would be legalized by the bill.

Rosenthal’s measure was introduced just days after another New York lawmaker, Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (D), prefiled a measure that would legalize psilocybin therapy for patients with qualifying conditions.

Under that proposal, people could receive psilocybin treatment from a certified facilitator in a clinical setting, or at their home if they’re unable to travel. Patients and facilitators would receive protections against state-level prosecution.

Fernandez also filed an earlier version of the bill last session, but it did not move out of committee either. Only minor technical changes have been made in the latest iteration.

Bicameral New York lawmakers said at a briefing last year that there was a “real chance” that legislation to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy would advance through committee, emphasizing that delaying action would “neglect” many “people who need help” with certain mental health conditions. That did not ultimately materialize, however.

“We’re in a mental health crisis, and so we need every tool that’s available to us,” Assemblymember Pat Burke (D), who sponsored another bill to create a psilocybin therapy pilot program for 10,000 people, said. He added that “we’re here to turn the page” on the broader drug war.

Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert.

[PRESS RELEASE] – STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 15, 2025 – Curaleaf Holdings Inc., a leading international provider of consumer cannabis products, announced the opening of two new dispensaries: Curaleaf Apopka, located at 1809 E. Semoran Blvd., Apopka, Fla., 32703, and Curaleaf Girard, located at 801 N State St., Girard, Ohio, 44420. With these dual openings, Curaleaf expands to 69 retail locations in Florida, five in Ohio and 157 nationwide.

Curaleaf Apopka strengthens the company’s presence in Central Florida, providing convenient access for registered medical cannabis patients across the Greater Orlando region. Curaleaf Apopka offers a wide portfolio of medical cannabis products, including Curaleaf’s Select brand vapes and edibles, Florida-exclusive Reef flower, Grassroots Dark Heart Collection flower, Anthem pre-rolls, Miss Grass pre-rolls and more. To ensure patient satisfaction, Curaleaf Florida is offering a 72-hour Flower Satisfaction Guarantee on select premium eighths from Grassroots and Reef. The store will operate from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Meanwhile, Curaleaf Girard marks the company’s first dispensary within the city of Girard, and enhances access for both medical patients and adult-use consumers across Ohio’s Northeast region. The store features a selection including Select BRIQ all-in-one vapes, Grassroots Dark Heart Collection flower, Grassroots pre-rolls, JAMS and Select XBites edibles and Find flower. Curaleaf will be introducing Grassroots and Find pre-rolls in Singles and 5-pack Shorties, as state regulations now allow for the sale of pre-rolls. Curaleaf Girard will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

“Each new store opening reflects our mission to expand safe, convenient access to high-quality cannabis across the country,” Curaleaf Chairman and CEO Boris Jordan said. “With Apopka, we are deepening our roots in Florida by serving an important new region for medical patients, and with Girard, we are proudly delivering the first licensed dispensary to the city. Together, these milestones show our commitment to patients and consumers who rely on cannabis for their well-being, while reinforcing Curaleaf’s leadership in both established and emerging markets.”

Local celebrations will mark the openings:

• Curaleaf Apopka will host a grand opening on Sept. 19, 2025, from noon to 5 p.m., featuring special promotions, giveaways and an interactive “Live Lounge” livestream with Curaleaf cultivation leaders.
• Curaleaf Girard will celebrate its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside the Girard Chamber of Commerce at a later date, featuring exclusive promotions and complimentary refreshments.

For more information on Curaleaf’s dispensaries, products and patient resources, visit www.curaleaf.com.

Mason Walker is stressed out. With the already intense pressures of running his cannabis farm in Oregon, he’s facing another challenge this season: more aphids threatening to chew up his plants at East Fork Cultivars.

“This year, I’d say we’re facing a problem with 50 percent more aphids than last year,” he says, “and the conditions this summer in Southern Oregon have let them thrive even more.”

Shawn Honaker can relate, but his anxiety stems from the bustling activity of a different kind of pest: grasshoppers. The manager of Yeti Farms in Pueblo, Colo., says his 55-acre outdoor farm is often a buffet for grasshoppers, and he says this year is the worst he has seen them propagate.

“Before our mitigation efforts, if you walked into any area of my farm, within 10 feet you would scare up to 500 grasshoppers,” Honaker says, adding that his farm’s arid region leaves little greenery for grasshoppers to enjoy, making his cannabis plants a prime target for a feast. Grasshoppers also hop his fence with their impressive flying ability. To make matters more challenging, a single insect can lay hundreds of eggs, depending on the species.

As cannabis and hemp farmers across the U.S. confront surging pest management challenges, experts in the sector shared with Cannabis Business Times several approaches to stem the tide of those pesky bugs and the serious damage they can do to cannabis and hemp crops.

From aphids to spider mites to grasshoppers to whiteflies, these pests aren’t going anywhere any time soon, but cannabis companies can be proactive to ensure their plants stay healthy.Mason Walker of East Fork CultivarsPhoto courtesy East Fork Cultivars

The Benefits of Going Biological
Walker isn’t sitting on his hands this fall, and he’ll follow through on what he experimented with during the chaotic aphid season last year. His farm worked with Oregon State University to raise its own parasitic wasps and released them into the fields to push away the aphid storm. “This was seemingly effective at limiting aphid activity and damage, and we’ll do the same this year,” Walker says.

Honaker is battling his pest trouble with a similar approach. For the past few years, he’s introduced guinea fowl onto his field to help them drive out not just insects but also rodents and snakes.  

Raymond Cloyd, a professor of entomology at Kansas State University, applauds what Walker and Honaker are doing to combat their pest problems. “When you’ve got a crop that’s going to be inhaled or used commercially, … biocontrol is a great option,” he says.

When Cloyd consults with cannabis companies to help them with their insect infiltrations, he suggests battling mites with other mites. “With one company, we introduced predatory mites to fight off mites, and that proactive solution proved to be very successful,” he recalls.

There are also types of predatory mites that can stave off thrips, whiteflies and aphids, he adds.A view of Yeti Farms in Pueblo, Colo., where grasshoppers are an increasing threat to plants.Photo courtesy Yeti Farms

Monitoring and Sanitation Are Crucial
Taking an anticipatory approach to pest management also requires careful monitoring of your plants, whether hemp or cannabis, Cloyd says.

Growers can use visual monitoring methods such as placing sticky yellow cards above the crop canopy, which can commonly catch whiteflies and similar bugs.

But don’t forget the beat method, he advises. Growers should place a white piece of paper attached to a clipboard under their plants and then shake the stem and let the bugs fall on the paper. Mites, thrips and aphids are commonly found with this method, he says.

“This approach has to be done at least once or twice a week because you need to detect those populations early in order to spread out your biological control agents,” Cloyd says.

What About Hemp?
Cultivators of all species of Cannabis sativa L. face pressures to keep their plants insect-free, including hemp growers, says Marguerite Bolt, the hemp extension specialist at Purdue University.

The challenges, however, can vary by region, Bolt says. In western states, for example, the beet leaf hopper is an increasingly problematic pest due to how it’s the vector of the beet curly top virus. Industrial hemp growers in some dry, western states are experiencing grasshoppers chewing up plants at a high rate. In the Great Lakes region, growers see caterpillar pests, including corn earworm and yellow-striped armyworm, which feed on the female flowers and in the grain heads.

Monitoring hemp plants is also integral for hemp growers, Bolt explains. “I recommend growers spend time with their plants throughout the season and make notes on what damage is occurring and when,” she says. “Certain pests are going to be difficult to manage, so strategies like altering planting or harvest dates, selecting tolerant and resistant cultivars, sanitation practices, and the use of registered pesticides may be necessary.”

Learning as much as you can about the pests that are increasingly invading your crops can also help, Bolt says. She adds, “Some pests, especially foliar feeding beetles, cause some ugly damage, but if plants are larger, they can withstand a lot.”Yeti Farms’ Shawn Honaker uses a propane-fired weed burner, resembling a Bush Hog mower, attached to the back of a pickup truck, he says, “but instead of blades, we use propane flames that penetrate the soil and destroy as many grasshopper eggs as we can.”Photo courtesy Yeti Farms

Cloyd highlights an issue for hybrid growers who manage both hemp and other commercial crops. “For outdoor hemp growers that have hemp close to corn or soybean fields, during harvest the hemp will be more susceptible to insects moving in, such as the corn earworm.” (The corn earworm is a common pest of corn, as well as tomatoes and several other crops, according to Purdue University’s Entomology Extension.) “That’s why you have to get proactive,” says Cloyd.

For a more extreme solution to stave off invasive pests, growers can fight fire with … well, fire. Honaker uses a propane-fired weed burner, resembling a Bush Hog mower, attached to the back of a pickup truck, “but instead of blades,” he says, “we use propane flames that penetrate the soil and destroy as many grasshopper eggs as we can. That’s what we call our organic weed killer.”