DC marijuana sales ban advances in Congress; Fed event speaker: Legalization doesn’t boost youth use; TX hemp bills; MA sales

Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day.

Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible…

Hold on, just one second before you read today’s news. Have you thought about giving some financial support to Marijuana Moment? If so, today would be a great day to contribute. We’re planning our reporting for the coming months and it would really help to know what kind of support we can count on.

Check us out on Patreon and sign up to give $25/month today:
https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment

/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The U.S. Senate confirmed Terrance Cole as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National Cannabis Industry Association sent a letter urging him to complete the federal rescheduling process in a “timely and transparent manner.”

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government approved a bill containing a rider to keep blocking Washington, D.C. from legalizing recreational marijuana sales, and leaving out cannabis banking language that was included in past sessions.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) filed a bill to let small marijuana growers and manufacturers ship products directly to consumers across state lines via the U.S. Postal Service once federal cannabis prohibition ends.

A top marijuana researcher at a federal event hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration said legalization doesn’t increase youth cannabis use and there’s even been a “decrease in rates of consumption” in recent years.

• He also discussed issues like terpenes, impairment testing, CBD products and the need for more nuanced regulation around cannabinoids themselves.

The Texas Senate State Affairs Committee approved a bill to ban consumable hemp products with any amount of THC as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appeared to shift his position on the issue after previously vetoing similar legislation.

Pennsylvania senators filed a bill to clarify that a person’s status as a medical cannabis patient cannot be used against them in parental custody rulings in family court.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission announced that retailers in the state have now sold more than $8 billion worth of recreational marijuana products since legalization—in addition to nearly $1.5 billion in medical cannabis sales.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that cities and counties cannot stack local marijuana taxes.

A Missouri Cannabis Regulation Division official said its new process of conducting unannounced visits to marijuana facilities to collect product samples for testing shouldn’t disrupt business operations.

South Dakota farmers see hemp as a way to bring jobs to small towns and to pull heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

/ FEDERAL

President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Sara Carter, tweeted that a bill he signed to classify fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I is a “formidable weapon against the cartels and their dealers.”

The Library of Congress published an article about a new Italian hemp restriction law.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) tweeted that he’s “glad to see the EPA launching a formal investigation into the toxic pesticides being used at illegal grow sites in Siskiyou County. This isn’t just about illegal marijuana—it’s about banned chemicals contaminating soil and water and organized crime networks operating unchecked in rural California.”

/ STATES

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said psychedelic therapy “isn’t a red or a blue issue. This is an American issue. This is a human being issue.”

The chair of the Pennsylvania House Health Committee said his panel will not take up a version of bipartisan marijuana legalization legislation and that the Senate should approve it first to “show us that there is a real serious interest” in the issue.

Alabama regulators are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging their medical cannabis business licensing process.

Minnesota regulators held a lottery to award cannabis retailer business licenses.

Kentucky regulators conducted their first inspection of a medical cannabis dispensary.

California regulators held a workshop about the cannabis appellations program.

Washington State regulators sent a newsletter with updates on various cannabis issues.

Vermont regulators will host an event about cannabis rule amendments on Thursday.

—
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

The Colorado Springs, Colorado City Council overrode the mayor’s veto of marijuana revenue legislation.

/ INTERNATIONAL

The UK National Health Service will publish medical cannabis patient data by the end of the year.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study “supports Bedrocan® medical cannabis as an alternative treatment for [fibromyalgia] with a potential effect on [functional dyspepsia] and [irritable bowel syndrome] symptoms.”

A study found that “cannabis industry workers are at risk for [work-related asthma], emphasizing the need for interventions to address workplace respiratory hazards.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Ohio Cannabis Coalition is launching a campaign to encourage safe marijuana use.

/ BUSINESS

Acreage and Verano are urging a federal judge to dismiss class action lawsuits accusing them of selling products with unlawfully high levels of THC.

Miss Grass launched a cinematic ad campaign for its hemp-derived gummies.

/ CULTURE

Former football player Ricky Williams discussed his cannabis meeting at the White House.

Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

Minnesota’s relationship with weed is getting more creative by the minute.

As the state rolls out its recreational cannabis sales in 2025, one city is already making headlines with a bold, very berry-flavored move: launching its own line of government-branded THC gummies. But that’s not all. They’re asking residents to help name them.

Welcome to Eden Prairie, a Minneapolis suburb that just became the first municipality in Minnesota to put out a city-sponsored weed edible. Crafted “specifically for sleep,” each mixed-berry gummy contains 5mg of THC and 30mg of CBN, a cannabinoid known for its calming properties. The 10-packs will be sold at local Eden Prairie Liquor stores for $19.99, starting this fall.

“This isn’t just any gummy. It’s our gummy,” the city declared in its call for submissions. “It deserves a name as bold, vibrant, and unforgettable as the Eden Prairie community itself.” What are they looking for? Basically: the best, brightest or weirdest name idea.

The rules are simple:

• You must be 21 or older and live in Eden Prairie.
• No profanity, politics, or self-referential names.
• One entry per person.
• Submissions open through July 29.
• The top 3 names will be posted on Facebook for public voting August 4–8.
• The winner gets their chosen name on the product—and a free gummy pack!

That’s right. Legal weed, straight from the city… and your idea could be all over it.

Local control + legal creativity

While Minnesota legalized adult-use cannabis in 2023, dispensaries won’t open statewide until next year. In the meantime, hemp-derived THC products like these gummies are completely legal under a 2022 law that quietly kickstarted a green rush in gas stations, liquor stores, and even state fairs.

Now, cities like Eden Prairie are taking things into their own hands.

“Beer and wine sales are down. The category of growth is THC,” said Paul Kaspszak, Executive Director of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association. “The future is now, so you might as well find any advantage you can.”

Municipal cannabis isn’t new to Minnesota, either; at least 13 cities and counties have applied to operate their own dispensaries. Cities like Anoka and Osseo are already building facilities in anticipation of OCM (Office of Cannabis Management) approvals.

Tribes like the White Earth Nation are already running cannabis shops outside their reservations, thanks to a deal signed by Governor Tim Walz allowing up to eight tribal stores statewide. Meanwhile, OCM just issued Minnesota’s first official cultivation license last month, marking the first steps in a broader, regulated adult-use rollout.

But, why a sleep gummy?

Turns out, sleep support is one of the largest in-demand use cases for THC in the state’s emerging edible market.

“The No. 1 thing we’ve seen people coming in and wanting is a beverage or gummy that will help at night,” said Eden Prairie Liquor’s Jaime Urbina. “This is a community option.”

With that in mind, the city clearly pays attention and brings solutions to its citizens by crafting a gentle but effective edible-focused efforts. The high dose of CBN paired with low-dose THC is ideal for people looking to wind down.

Thus, this gummy is more than a mere THC product: it’s a local legacy, a vibe, and a chance to make weed history as a community.

So if you’re from Eden Prairie, it’s time to get creative.

Send this to your Minnesotan friends and tell them: NAME! THAT! GUMMY!

Cover photo: James Montgomery Flagg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (edited)

“The supply chain will remain intact. You’ll be able to move that material in and out freely, and you should do so.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

The head of Missouri’s cannabis testing unit said the new unannounced visits to collect product samples shouldn’t impact business, in a podcast by the Missouri Cannabis Regulation Division.

“This is going to be just another arm of compliance, guys,” said Ryan Bernard, the division’s testing and research unit manager. “So keep this business as usual 100 percent of the time.”

On July 1, cannabis regulators began arriving unannounced at licensed cultivation and manufacturing facilities to collect products off the shelves. They’ll take them to the Missouri State Public Health Reference Laboratory to be tested for things like mold, pesticides and a whole range of other things.

Bernard said the process will not disrupt production, and it will be paid for by  “either by DCR’s budget or state public health lab’s budget.”

“The supply chain will remain intact,” he said, “You’ll be able to move that material in and out freely, and you should do so.”

His team is looking to sample four to seven grams of final finished marijuana goods. If a package has more than four to seven grams, he said then they’ll take the whole package.

“I just want to reiterate that it’s going to start as one tag per facility, meaning that we’re not looking to take 10 tags from a single facility,” Bernard said. “Then as the infrastructure is developed at the state public health lab, we’ll slowly start increasing that out.”

Bernard said he’ll be randomly selecting based on the inventory listed in the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system called Metrc.

“If it’s today, I would go into our seed-to-sale system, pull your inventory down and then just randomly select a sample to come to your facility to take,” he said.

If a product fails at the reference lab, he said his team will return to the facility to collect a “full representative sample.”

“If that product fails at that point, we’re going to initiate an investigation,” he said. “If the material is no longer available at the originating facility, at that point, we may sample from dispensaries.”

Like most states, all testing of Missouri cannabis products occurs at private labs that have been licensed by the state. This is the division’s first attempt to double check the work of licensed testing labs tasked with ensuring the safety of Missouri marijuana products.

Lawmakers began allocating money for this kind of sampling to be tested at the state laboratory in the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2024 with $3.8 million. Most of it went unspent because the cannabis testing methods were “still in the process of being implemented,” according to state budget documents. Another $2.4 million was allocated for the current fiscal year, and it’s unclear how much of it has been spent.

States across the nation are taking similar proactive steps to establish reference laboratories to verify private laboratory cannabis testing, according to the division’s July press release announcing the testing.

“This reference lab will be a pivotal step forward in the evolution of reliable, science-based cannabis testing protocols,” said Amy Moore, the division’s director. “We are grateful for all the expertise and collaboration from many state and national partners, especially from the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, that helped launch this initiative for Missouri.”

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.