HI & OR govs sign marijuana bills; TX veterans push gov to veto hemp ban; State legalization tax revenue reports; Study: Cannabis for treating pain

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…

Free to read (but not free to produce)! We’re proud of our newsletter and the reporting we publish at Marijuana Moment, and we’re happy to provide it for free. But it takes a lot of work and resources to make this happen.

If you value Marijuana Moment, invest in our success on Patreon so we can expand our coverage and more readers can benefit: https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment

/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The Drug Enforcement Administration is promoting a claim that marijuana could be more likely to cause psychosis than methamphetamine is—at a time when the agency is supposedly the proponent of a pending cannabis rescheduling proposal.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) signed a bill to expand medical cannabis caregiver rights, including by allowing them to grow marijuana for up to five patients instead of just one.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill to allow marijuana businesses to provide samples of their products at trade events and to remove restrictions on wholesale transactions between cannabis companies at those gatherings.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) announced a new online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries will be opening near them—and he signed an executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards this year.

Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to veto a bill to ban consumable hemp products with any amount of THC, saying it “would cause irreversible harm to communities across the state.”

A new Marijuana Policy Project analysis shows that states have collected $24.7 billion in tax revenue from legal adult-use cannabis sales since the first markets launched in 2014—including $4.4 billion in 2024 alone.

Pennsylvania stands to generate up to $2.1 billion in recreational cannabis tax revenue within five years if it enacts legalization, according to a new analysis from the Marijuana Policy Project.

A new study shows that long-term medical marijuana use is a “stable and well-tolerated option for managing chronic musculoskeletal pain”—with more than “93% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that [medical cannabis] improved their primary symptoms.”

/ FEDERAL

Sara Carter, President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, published an article about the Federal Bureau of Investigation revisiting a probe into cocaine discovered in the White House during the Biden administration.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the smell of marijuana alone is not enough to establish probable cause to arrest or search a person unless a police officer can link it to the suspect.

/ STATES

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, currently Jersey City’s mayor, expressed support for legalizing psilocybin therapy for military veterans and legalizing marijuana home cultivation.

Florida’s attorney general defended his role in steering Medicaid funds toward a campaign to oppose a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s 2024 ballot.

The House side of the Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy advanced legislation to downsize and restructure the Cannabis Control Commission and to address issues such as retail license limits, intoxicating hemp products and restrictions on medical marijuana businesses.

The chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Law & Justice Committee discussed his plan to “bring bipartisan support to legalizing cannabis.”

An Iowa court rejected state officials’ motion to dismiss a man’s lawsuit seeking an injunction barring enforcement of the state’s drug laws against his religious use of cannabis.

Montana’s top marijuana regulator dismissed a request to suspend testing requirements for marijuana products.

New York regulators launched a statewide “listen & learn” series focused on engaging young people and trusted adults to shape the future of cannabis education.

Missouri regulators sent a newsletter with updates about various cannabis issues.

The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission will meet on Friday.

Washington State regulators will begin accepting registrations for the Cannabis Social Equity Program on Monday.

—
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 Easton, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania City Council is considering a marijuana decriminalization proposal after a previous measure failed.

/ INTERNATIONAL

The UK’s deputy prime minister said the government does not support decriminalizing marijuana and is “not going to be changing our policy there.”

Germany’s new commissioner for addiction and drugs deleted his position on cannabis from his website.

A British Columbia, Canada lawmaker pressed the minister of finance about cannabis tax revenue and enforcement.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study on medical cannabis use by older adults provided “evidence of momentary improvements in pain, anxiety, depression, and indirect benefits for sleep quality.”

A review concluded that “despite their Schedule I classification in the U.S., mounting evidence from contemporary clinical trials and neuroimaging studies suggests psychedelics may offer a safe and effective approach to treating complex mental health disorders.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

A poll of UK adults found that they support decriminalizing marijuana, 54 percent to 34 percent.

The UCLA Labor Center and Cannabis Worker Collab published a report on the California cannabis industry, including “unsafe working conditions, wage theft and how diversity and organizing is transforming jobs.”

/ BUSINESS

Rubicon Organics Inc. reported quarterly net revenue of C$12.4 million and a net loss of $322,000.

Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. closed a private placement of $50 million of its senior secured notes.

Apollo Technology Capital Corporation issued a warning about “alleged extensive securities act disclosure violations committed by” the MediPharm Labs Corp. board of directors and management team.

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is giving weight to the idea that marijuana could be more likely to cause psychosis than methamphetamine is—promoting a recent article where a psychiatrist indicated that the jury is out on the question.

In an email blast on Wednesday, DEA’s Just Think Twice campaign shared a link to the story from The Lund Report, with a subject line that asks: “Meth or Cannabis…Which Raises Risk of Psychosis More?”

“Studies have linked early and heavy use of cannabis to schizophrenia and psychosis,” DEA said, while prominently featuring a quote from Oregon-based psychiatrist David Rettew, who said there’s “overwhelming evidence that cannabis use, particularly for young people, changes the brain, and this is particularly true for adolescents.”

“But when it comes to psychosis, there’s really strong evidence at this point that cannabis raises the risk of psychotic disorders more than other drugs, even methamphetamines, which is surprising,” Rettew said.

While that was the only reference to meth in the original article, DEA evidently felt the standalone quote warranted more attention, with a subject line that indicated it was a key component of the reporting in the agency’s view.

This comes amid lingering questions about how DEA will navigate a pending marijuana rescheduling proposal that was initiated under the Biden administration. And while the agency has long been known to promote sensational claims about the risks of cannabis use, it appears there’s been a stepped-up push to reinforce that message, particularly for youth.

For example, DEA recently teamed up with an anti-marijuana organization to mark “National Prevention Week,” promoting a campaign that encourages people to share memes with dubious claims about the effects of cannabis—including the theory that it is a “gateway drug” to using other substances.

The memes ran the gamut, citing certain reports and studies that have been contradicted by other research. One meme claimed that cannabis use is associated with a 50 percent decrease in sperm count, which the DEA-promoted meme suggested could contribute to infertility.

In March, DEA separately promoted an “Anti-420 Day” campaign with Johnny’s Ambassadors that recruited students to send short videos warning their peers about marijuana use.

The plan was to “flood” Instagram with the short-form videos that would feature students talking about “why young people should not use THC.”

DEA has developed a reputation for its awkward messaging and educational materials around youth drug use.

For example, in 2023, DEA advised young people that, rather than doing drugs, they should focus on becoming Instagram influencers. The agency promoted tips on how to get a “natural high” as an alternative to drugs, sharing what it said were “7 Better Highs” such as becoming famous on Instagram, playing video games and going to a pet store to look at animals.

DEA is also known for its attempts to decode emojis that it claims are used to buy drugs.

Beyond its youth prevention outreach efforts, DEA is actively considering a proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). But that process has been delayed amid legal challenges by witnesses participating in administrative hearings to finalize the proposed rule.

Recently, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead DEA to commit to rescheduling marijuana, or to say how he’d approach federal enforcement in states that have legalized cannabis.

In written responses to questions from two Democratic senators as part of his confirmation, the nominee for DEA administrator, Terrance Cole, largely demurred on multiple questions around marijuana policy issues, including a pending proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III that was initiated under the Biden administration.

Cole—whose nomination was advanced by a Senate committee last week, clearing the stage for his potential confirmation by the full chamber—has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

While he gave noncommittal answers when asked about rescheduling in the written questions, Cole said during an in-person hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that examining the rescheduling proposal will be “one of my first priorities” if he’s confirmed for the role, saying it’s “time to move forward” on the stalled process—but again without clarifying what end result he would like to see.

Appeals Court Rejects Marijuana Companies’ Lawsuit Seeking To Overturn Federal Criminalization

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

Hawaii’s governor has signed into law a bill to expand the rights of medical marijuana caregivers, allowing them to grow cannabis on behalf of up to five qualified patients rather than the current one, among other changes.

Gov. Josh Green (D) formally signed SB 1429 into law earlier this month. The purpose of the legislation, according to its introductory section, is to “maintain and clarify the multiple options currently available for qualifying patients to access a safe and legal supply of medical cannabis,” including from primary caregivers.

In addition to increasing the limit on how many patients a caregiver can cultivate cannabis for, the new law also extends a state allowance for caregivers to cultivate marijuana for patients in the first place—a right that technically expired at the beginning of this year after lawmakers failed to amend a sunset date in prior legislation.

The governor signed an executive order in late December that has since protected caregivers from “undue enforcement” as the legislature worked to hammer out the policy fix.

Only 55 percent of patients in a 2022 survey said they exclusively obtained medical marijuana at licensed dispensaries, the newly enacted measure notes. “This means that up to forty-five per cent of patients obtain their cannabis for medical use from other sources, including cultivation.”

Patients, it continues, “should continue to have multiple options for obtaining medical cannabis, including having a primary caregiver grow an adequate supply of cannabis for medical use on their behalf.”

Violations of the new caregiver law would be subject to a fine of “not more than $5,000 for each separate violation,” which would be imposed by the state Department of Health.

Lawmakers transmitted the bill to the governor earlier this month along with separate cannabis-related legislation, including a proposal to allow people to enroll as medical marijuana patients for any health condition their treating clinician believes that cannabis would benefit.

That measure, HB 302, would also allow patients to receive recommend medical cannabis recommendations through telehealth visits rather than having to establish an in-person relationship with a provider.

Separately this month, a bill to support research into psychedelic-assisted therapies that had passed both chambers of Hawaii’s legislature in different forms missed a legislative deadline and subsequently died for the session.

SB 1042, from Sen. Chris Lee (D), was scheduled for a conference committee meeting—with lawmakers from both legislative chambers set to hammer out differences between versions of the bill passed by the House and Senate—but “Unfortunately, we ran out of time was the bottom line,” Lee told Marijuana Moment at the time.

While the proposal won’t move forward this year, the senator said the conversation this session will set the stage for a renewed effort in 2026.

Lawmakers also recently sent a bill to the governor that would help speed the expungement process for people hoping to clear their records of past marijuana-related offenses—a proposal Green signed into law in April.

That measure, HB 132, from Rep. David Tarnas (D), is intended to expedite expungements happening through a pilot program signed into law last year by Gov. Josh Green (D). Specifically, it will remove a distinction between marijuana and other Schedule V drugs for the purposes of the expungement program.

The bill’s proponents said the current wording of the law forces state officials to comb through thousands of criminal records manually in order to identify which are eligible for expungement under the pilot program.

Hawaii’s Senate back in February narrowly defeated a separate proposal that would have increased fivefold the amount of cannabis that a person could possess without risk of criminal charges. The body voted 12–11 against the decriminalization measure, SB 319, from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D).

Had the measure become law, it would have increased the amount of cannabis decriminalized in Hawaii from the current 3 grams up to 15 grams. Possession of any amount of marijuana up to that 15-gram limit would have been classified as a civil violation, punishable by a fine of $130.

A Senate bill that would have legalized marijuana for adults, meanwhile, ultimately stalled for the session. That measure, SB 1613, failed to make it out of committee by a legislative deadline.

While advocates felt there was sufficient support for the legalization proposal in the Senate, it’s widely believed that House lawmakers would have ultimately scuttled the measure, as they did last month with a legalization companion bill, HB 1246.

Last session, a Senate-passed legalization bill also fizzled out in the House.

This year’s House vote to stall the bill came just days after approval from a pair of committees at a joint hearing. Ahead of that hearing, the panels received nearly 300 pages of testimony, including from state agencies, advocacy organizations and members of the public.

This past fall, regulators solicited proposals to assess the state’s current medical marijuana program—and also sought to estimate demand for recreational sales if the state eventually moves forward with adult-use legalization. Some read the move as a sign the regulatory agency saw a need to prepare to the potential reform.

Hawaii was the first U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana through its legislature, passing a law in 2000.

Appeals Court Rejects Marijuana Companies’ Lawsuit Seeking To Overturn Federal Criminalization

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.