A subsidiary of a multi-state marijuana company is suing DoorDash, Total Wine and several other businesses for allegedly violating Virginia hemp laws by marketing cannabis products that exceed the legal THC limit.

In a lawsuit filed with the Virginia Circuit Court of Arlington County on Wednesday, Jushi Holdings Inc. subsidiary Dalitso LLC claimed that defendants have engaged in a “deliberate and coordinated scheme to erode Virginia’s heavily regulated medical cannabis market” by selling intoxicating cannabinoid products that run afoul of state law.

“Disguised as lawful ‘hemp,’ these products are, in reality, potent and dangerous forms of marijuana, offered without the mandatory safeguards, testing, or oversight that the Commonwealth imposes on licensed cannabis operators such as Plaintiff,” the complaint says. “Through this deception, Defendants have flooded Virginia’s marketplace with unregulated and illegal cannabis products, exploiting consumer confusion and contravening Virginia’s state statutes to gain an unlawful competitive advantage.”

The filing walks through the history of cannabis laws that led to the proliferation of the consumable hemp market, including the federal legalization of hemp containing up to 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by dry weight under the 2018 Farm Bill. Then, in 2023, Virginia implemented its own law imposing additional restrictions on what can be legally sold, with a 2 milligram THC per package requirement.

“However, despite Virginia’s efforts to establish its Total THC standard available for purchase outside of authorized dispensaries, Defendants to this lawsuit engaged in a conspiracy to sell hemp products and industrial hemp extracts in Virginia that exceed the Commonwealth’s Total THC standard,” the lawsuit—which also lists Grayscale Brewing, Specialty Beverage and Coastalo as defendants—says.

“In Virginia, the influx of these illegal products into unregulated retail channels directly undermines the Commonwealth’s regulated medical marijuana program. Licensed dispensaries like Plaintiffs operate under stringent oversight, pay substantial licensing and operational fees, and comply with rigorous testing, packaging, and tracking requirements. Intoxicating hemp sellers, by contrast, bear none of these costs or obligations, yet compete for the same consumers by selling untested, unregulated, and unlawfully potent intoxicants in violation of Virginia law.”

Jushi is asking the court for a jury trial to settle the issue, and it’s seeking more than $80 million from defendants over the claimed economic injury from the alleged unfair competitive advantage.

Marijuana Moment reached out to each of the defendants, but representatives were not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit.

One of the most well-known defendants is the delivery service DoorDash, which announced in January that it was expanding its offerings in select states to include hemp-derived THC and CBD products, including gummies and beverages. The company said at the time that it was partnering with businesses such as Total Wine, another key defendant.

It remains to be seen how the lawsuit will be received by consumers and advocates, who may view the legal challenge as an attempt to stamp out competition by eliminating a source of cannabis products that some have come to rely on while Virginia continues to disallow sales of recreational marijuana, which is nonetheless legal to possess in the state.

From Jushi’s perspective, however, the lawsuit is necessary to level the playing field and address what is sees as unfair business practices the undermine its legal medical cannabis operations.

Trent Woloveck, chief strategy officer of Jushi, said the company’s “goal is not to remove products that are following the law and regulations set forth in Virginia.”

“We should ensure that businesses that want to continue to participate in cannabis do it under what is allowed so that we can get to our end goal of normalizing the plant. However, if businesses want to continue to short cut the process, then we are going to shine a light on them,” he told Marijuana Moment. “These sellers are selling intoxicating THC products without nearly the oversight, licensing, or tax burdens borne by licensed cannabis companies, so they ought to be extremely careful about following the law.”

“As for patient and consumers, we’ve received extremely positive support and feedback in our fight for public health and safety,” Woloveck said. “Unregulated and lawful marijuana products guised as hemp have created a significant problem for those pushing for real, permanent reform of cannabis industry because hemp-derived products are rarely (if ever) tested with the vigor required of licensed cannabis companies.”

Use and possession of adult-use marijuana has been legal in Virginia since 2021, but retail sales remain forbidden—a situation that’s helped fuel a multibillion-dollar illicit market. Despite efforts by Democrats in past years to legalize and regulate the retail system, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has stood in the way of the reform, vetoing proposals passed by lawmakers during each of the last two sessions.

Lawmakers on a legislative commission have been laying the groundwork to push for legalization of recreational cannabis sales in the 2026 session, but the success of that effort will likely depend on the results of next month’s gubernatorial election. Democrat Abigail Spanberger backs the reform but Republican Winsom Earle-Sears opposes it, and the two clashed on the issue at a recent debate.

Hemp businesses tried to block Virginia from enforcing the intoxicating hemp cannabinoid law in 2023, but a federal judge rejected the legal challenge.

All of this comes as Congress and state legislatures across the country grapple with their own hemp laws, with a growing number making moves to either ban or strictly regulate the sale of intoxicating cannabinoid products.

On Friday, a bipartisan coalition of 39 state and territory attorneys general called on Congress to clarify the federal definition of hemp and impose regulations preventing the sale of such products.

A GOP senator is hoping to replace a proposed ban on hemp THC products with alternate appropriations language mandating a study into state regulatory models for consumable cannabinoids. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is circulating legislative language that he’s asking to be adopted as part of the final package.

The agriculture appropriations measure the Senate passed as part of a package over the summer initially contained provisions hemp industry stakeholders said would effectively eradicate the market by banning consumable hemp products with any “quantifiable” amount of THC. But after the measure came out of committee, Paul threatened to hold up its passage over the issue, and the language was removed.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who ushered in the federal legalization of hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill, championed the THC criminalization language and took to the floor to criticize those who opposed the ban, including Paul.

Meanwhile, Paul recently filed a standalone bill that would go in the opposite direction of the hemp ban, proposing to triple the concentration of THC that the crop could legally contain, while addressing multiple other concerns the industry has expressed about federal regulations.

The senator introduced the legislation, titled the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act, in June. It mirrors versions he’s sponsored over the last several sessions.

Separately, the retail giant Target has also started to soft launch sales of THC-infused beverages at select stores in Minnesota.

Read the Virginia lawsuit over alleged unlawful cannabis sales below: 

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

[PRESS RELEASE] – NORWOOD, Mass., Oct. 28, 2025 – MariMed Inc., a leading cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer, announced that it has completed a strategic review of its Missouri business operations and decided to exit the market, effective immediately.

Since 2024, the Company has managed the Missouri operations of another licensed cannabis operator and distributed certain of its brands there under a Managed Services and Licensing Agreement, while awaiting license transfer approval from the state. The company will no longer manage the facility and will no longer seek the license transfer.

MariMed continues to own or manage revenue-generating operations in six states, including 13 dispensaries and six cultivation and processing facilities in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Exiting Missouri is expected to improve the company’s overall financial performance, particularly gross margin and adjusted EBITDA, and allow management to focus resources on higher return opportunities.

“Our brands performed well in the select stores where they were available in Missouri, but we concluded that reaching scale would have required significant resources we believe are better utilized in our core markets, where MariMed has established strong retail and wholesale positions,” MariMed CEO Jon Levine said. “Moving forward, we will consider licensing opportunities in Missouri with a vertical operator if it makes financial sense and supports our goal of becoming a cannabis CPG powerhouse.”

As Nebraska officials face criticism over attempts to significantly scale back a voter-approved medical marijuana law, an Native American tribe within the state has now approved its first license for a vertically integrated cannabis operation since approving legalization in its borders earlier this year.

At its first meeting on Monday, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission discussed proposed rules to stand up the tribal marijuana market. They also agreed to license the tribe itself to move forward with next steps in setting up the industry for launch.

The draft rules weren’t adopted at the meeting, but the tribe’s attorney general, John Cartier, said that in time he wants the territory to “stand as a direct contrast to that dysfunction and show that the will of the voters is being respected, at least on the Omaha Reservation.”

“We’re prepared to move forward to grant access to the folks that need help through medical cannabis,” he said.

Under the legalization code that the tribe adopted in July—making it the first to enact such a reform in a state where lawmakers have long resisted the policy change—adults 21 and older can purchase and possess up to an ounce of cannabis as long as they’re on the tribal land.

Arthur Isagholian, a member of the cannabis commission, cautioned at the meeting that, “If you violate rules off of the tribal land and you get caught with product that you purchased on tribal land, you’re kind of on your own,” as NTV reported.

While the tribe approved a vertically integrated license for its own purposes to help streamline the implementation of legalization in the territory, it’s unclear when the regulatory rules will go up for a vote and open up opportunities for legal sales.

The tribe’s license “will be subject, obviously, to our published rules and regulations—but just so the tribe is able to start working towards agreements, equity and funding while we’re hashing this out,” a member said.

The commission will be meeting once a month, and it’s expected that at least some of the proposed regulations will be approved when members come together again in November.

In a press release ahead of Monday’s meeting, the tribe’s attorney general had some choice words for state officials.

“While Nebraska’s process lurches from delay to debate, we’re doing the one thing patients and businesses need—governing,” Cartier said. “On October 27, we give Nebraska a greenlight: clear rules, real oversight, and a workable, well-regulated industry rooted in sovereignty, safety, and common sense.”

“We want to stand as a direct contrast to that dysfunction [at the state level] and show that the will of the voters is being respected, at least on the Omaha Reservation, and we’re prepared to move forward to grant access to the folks that need help through medical cannabis,” he said.

He’s not alone is the criticism. Advocates have strongly pushed back against the state after a governor-appointed panel put forward proposed rules for the medical cannabis market, including prohibitive purchasing limits.

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While the state approved its first medical cannabis business license to a cultivator, there is still no lawful means for patients to access products yet.

Meanwhile, last month Nebraska activists have filed an initiative to legalize marijuana and establish a constitutional right to use cannabis for adult over the age of 21. If organizers collect enough valid signatures from registered voters, it could appear on the 2026 ballot.

The marijuana reform push also comes as the state attorney general is cracking down on sales of intoxicating hemp-derived products, including those containing delta-8 THC.

Las year’s approval of two medical marijuana ballot measures came after an earlier attempt in 2020 gathered enough signatures for ballot placement, but saw the measure invalidated by the state Supreme Court following a single-subject challenge. Supporters then came up short on signatures for revised petitions in 2022 due in large part to the loss of funding after one of their key donors died in a plane crash.

Photo courtesy of California State Fair.