The governor of Maryland has issued another mass pardon for people with past marijuana possession convictions, granting clemency to about 7,000 more people on the holiday Juneteenth that commemorates the end of slavery.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) has been one of the most proactive governors when it comes to cannabis pardons since his state enacted legalization, stressing the need to right the wrongs of prohibition through executive action.

This latest round follows a historic mass clemency action Moore took last year, when he pardoned more than 175,000 convictions for low-level cannabis and paraphernalia offenses.

The governor’s new executive order, which he signed at the Bethel AME Church on Thursday, covers 6,938 people who the state judiciary didn’t identify in the initial round due to technical complications.

“These cases were not included in the initial pardon because they were coded incorrectly, and thus, were not found in the Judiciary’s initial searches of their data,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said. “The Judiciary recently located these cases when researching their data to determine how best to implement the Expungement Reform Act.”

In a video posted on Facebook on Thursday, the governor said “Juneteenth reminds us of the shoulders we stand on—and our responsibility to hand off this country better than we found it.”

He didn’t describe the latest executive order, but he added that he was “proud to issue the largest state pardon in our nation’s history—pardoning 175,000 Maryland convictions for cannabis possession” last year.

In a separate interview with TheGrio, Moore said the “deeply complicated” history of his state and of the country is a motivator to act on reform.

“The history and inequity of this country—it runs deep,” he said. “That should also serve as fuel and motivation—as an understanding of why we can’t wait. Why we need action.”

“Even after Maryland legalized and made a recreational cannabis market, I had people in my state who could not get a barber’s license or could not get a student loan, or couldn’t get a home loan because of a misdemeanor cannabis conviction that took place in the 1980s,” Moore said.

“As chief executive, as a governor, I have the authority to be able to right so many of these historical wrongs, knowing that these pardons are going to have a disproportionate impact on African Americans, because the impact that we’ve seen on this war has been a war oftentimes on Black communities.”

Adrian Rocha, policy director for the Last Prisoner Project, praised Moore’s latest action, saying it affirms a “commitment to his promise to build a state and society that is more equitable, more just and leaves no one behind.”

“States across the country should be emboldened to follow Moore’s lead,” he said.

In February, the governor also touted in his State of the State address legislation that would expand opportunities for people to have their criminal records for marijuana expunged, allowing people who violated terms of their parole or probation to petition courts to erase those records.

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Meanwhile, in April, Moore signed a series of cannabis bills, including one that will require state officials to automatically shield records for low-level marijuana convictions that have been pardoned from public access, and to more broadly expand expungement eligibility for certain other offenses.

He further signed off on legislation that will allow adults to manufacture marijuana edibles and concentrates for personal use, as well as a measure dealing with rules around cannabis consumption lounges.

Separately, the Maryland Senate also passed a measure this session to protect for fire and rescue workers from being penalized for off-duty use of medical marijuana, though it did not advance through the House.

Employers could not “discipline, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against the fire and rescue public safety employee with respect to the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” based solely on a positive screening for THC metabolites under the legislation.

In January, officials in Maryland’s most populous county separately said they were moving to loosen marijuana policies for would-be police officers in an effort to boost recruitment amid a staffing shortage.

Ohio GOP Lawmakers Can’t Agree On How To Amend Marijuana Law, Causing Planned Vote To Be Canceled

“This move by Texas officials to expand psychedelics research while maintaining broad cannabis prohibition and considering banning hemp products as well isn’t just hypocritical. It’s illogical.”

By Adam Stettner, FundCanna

Texas just announced it will invest $50 million into studying ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic drug that remains illegal at the federal level. The goal? To develop it into a potential Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for conditions like opioid use disorder, PTSD and depression; especially among veterans.

On the surface, this might sound like a bold and progressive move. But here’s the irony: at the very same time, Texas continues to criminalize cannabis and might soon even outlaw hemp-derived THC products.

Let’s break this down. Cannabis, a plant with centuries of use, decades of medical data and broad public support remains illegal for adult use in Texas. Despite overwhelming national support for legalization—a staggering 88 percent of Americans now back medical or recreational cannabis use)—the state has chosen to double down on prohibition, with lawmakers sending Gov. Greg Abbott (R) a bill that would outlaw consumable hemp products with any traces of THC. He has until Sunday to decide whether to allow that ban to take effect.

Even worse, prohibition isn’t stopping anything. The black market is thriving in Texas. Cartels and illicit operators flood the state with unregulated, untested cannabis. No taxes are collected, no consumer protections exist and legal hemp retailers are now being threatened. It is a misguided public safety argument deluded by a lack of facts and science, political conservatism, contradictory business objectives and outdated stigmas.

Meanwhile, ibogaine, a hallucinogenic alkaloid that can induce intense psychedelic experiences, is now the subject of a $50 million state-funded research push. The same lawmakers who claim cannabis is too dangerous and not well studied are throwing their support behind a compound with far less research and much more uncertainty with the intent of studying it.

This isn’t a critique of psychedelic medicine. Ibogaine may very well hold incredible therapeutic value. But if Texas is willing to support cutting-edge, controversial treatments for serious mental health and addiction issues, why not start with widely available data and access to cannabis? Cannabis has already been shown to help with chronic pain, anxiety, sleep, seizures and opioid dependency.

As for our brave veterans, 41 percent of our military veterans that use cannabis say their use is medicinal and nearly all Veterans that use cannabis say the plant has helped them. According to the VA, about 1.1 million vets live with PTSD and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine reports cannabis has been shown to assist Canadian veterans. Cannabis is federally legal in Canada, where the federal government has chosen to reimburse veterans for cannabis use for over 18,000 veterans, all of whom claim it has helped with pain, sleep, PTSD and emotional distress. NIH and Veterans of Foreign Wars have both quoted studies that show cannabis benefits veterans. THC has been shown to assist veterans with PTSD, anxiety, depression and nightmares.

This move by Texas officials to expand psychedelics research while maintaining broad cannabis prohibition and considering banning hemp products as well isn’t just hypocritical. It’s illogical. If Texas genuinely wants to support veterans, reduce opioid deaths and improve mental health outcomes for their citizens, it would be significantly more logical to first legalize and regulate cannabis. Doing so would generate tax revenue, reduce black market activity and provide immediate, research-backed relief to people in need.

Instead, Texas is sending mixed messages. On one hand, it claims to be forward-thinking and compassionate, funding research on experimental psychedelics. On the other, it continues to criminalize a plant that’s already helping millions of people nationwide.

You don’t need to be a doctor or a policy expert to see how backwards this is. It’s not about safety, science or public health. It’s about politics. And in the meantime, Texans are paying the price through lost tax revenue, criminal convictions and lack of access to safe, legal cannabis medicine—something nearly 85 percent of the country already has.

If Texas really wants to be a leader in the future of plant-based medicine, here’s a thought: start with cannabis.

Adam Stettner is an entrepreneur, financial executive, and founder/CEO of FundCanna, a leading provider of financial solutions for the cannabis industry. With over 30 years of experience in business and capital markets, throughout his career he has funded over $20 billion to consumers and businesses nationwide, he is a vocal advocate for balanced, logical, data-driven policy and law in emerging or underserved industries.

Federal Bill Would ‘Effectively’ Ban All Consumable Hemp Products—’Including CBD’—Congressional Researchers Say

Image element courtesy of AnonMoos.

[PRESS RELEASE] – EDMONTON, Alberta, June 19, 2025 – Aurora Cannabis Inc., a leading Canada-based global medical cannabis company, has become aware of a second instance of misinformation posted on the news website Investing.com. 

On June 18, 2025, Aurora advised the market that an article posted on Investing.com incorrectly stated that Aurora had agreed to acquire New Zealand-based MedLeaf Therapeutics. Later in the day on June 18, 2025, a second article was posted on Investing.com that incorrectly states that Aurora has entered into a strategic partnership with MediPharm GmbH for the distribution of medical cannabis in Germany and other EU markets.

The company categorically denies both Investing.com articles. Aurora has not entered into any such agreements, has had no discussions with MedLeaf Therapeutics or MediPharm GmbH with respect to any business combination transaction or strategic partnership, and has not made any statements or filed any information pertaining to any such transactions.

The erroneous articles posted on Investing.com state that they were generated “with the support of AI” and reviewed by an editor. The company is launching an investigation into the genesis of these articles.

Editor’s note: MJBizDaily also reported on June 18 that Aurora Cannabis spent $215 million to acquire MedLeaf Therapeutics but has since taken that article down and redirected the link to its homepage.

In the meantime, Aurora confirms that it is not in possession of material non-public information and advises investors that Investing.com should not be considered a credible source of information regarding the company. Any information regarding material corporate transactions will be announced directly by the company to the market as soon as it is appropriate to do so.

Before the market opened on June 18, Aurora filed the company’s financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. All information pertaining to these disclosures is available on the company’s website at www.auroramj.com and on SEDAR+ and EDGAR.