News Archive

In News from October 9, 2026 to November 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

New Mexico wrote a psilocybin law with no prescriber gate, and the draft rules are building one

What it says. On October 2, 2026 the New Mexico Department of Health held a public hearing in Santa Fe on proposed rule 7.35.3 NMAC, the patient, clinician, facilitator, healing center and educational program rules for the Medical Psilocybin Program created by the Medical Psilocybin Act (Senate Bill 219 of 2025). The Act allows psilocybin "in an approved setting to treat qualified medical conditions," removes psilocybin and psilocin from the state schedule "for purposes of qualified medical treatment," creates an advisory board and a "medical psilocybin treatment equity fund" for patients who meet income limits, and tells the department to implement the program "by December 31, 2027." The department's own FAQ sets the goal of "enrolling the first patients by the end of December 2026" and lists four qualifying conditions: treatment resistant depression, post traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders and end of life care. The Act defines a clinician as "an approved health care provider licensed in New Mexico who holds a permit from the department." The draft rule adds a layer the Act does not mention. A certifying clinician is "a clinician who holds a state of New Mexico controlled substances number," must attest to an in-person examination within the previous six months, or a telemedicine evaluation backed by records or a consultation from a clinician who did one, and the department then reviews the application "within 30 calendar days"; enrollment "shall expire two years after the initial date of enrollment." For sessions outside a healing center, which the rule says "may include a patient's residence," the application must carry "proof of ownership" of the property "or a signed, written statement from the owner of such property acknowledging that the owner understands that persons will be participating in the medical psilocybin program on the premises." Written comments had to arrive by the close of the hearing, and the hearing record the department posted holds 51 of them, including from MAPS, the Psychedelic Bar Association's New Mexico Working Group and Firefighters for Plant Medicine; the two provisions the comments return to most are the property owner statement and the certifying clinician requirement. The statute contains no controlled substances number, no in-person examination and no property owner. The rule's effective date is still printed as xx/xx/2026, and the department had not adopted it as of this update.

In News from October 9, 2026 to November 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

The 280E tax break is on Treasury's list with no date, and it fits through the same two doors

What it says. On September 29, 2026 the Treasury Department and the IRS released the 2026-2027 Priority Guidance Plan, the list of guidance projects the two agencies say "will be the focus of our efforts during the plan year," which runs October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. The plan holds 121 projects. Item 9 under "Other Priorities" reads, in full, "Guidance under §280E." The plan says of itself that it "does not provide any deadline for completing the projects." Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code denies ordinary business deductions to any trade or business trafficking in a Schedule I or II controlled substance. The April 28, 2026 rescheduling rule (91 FR 22714) said that "holders of state medical marijuana licenses will no longer be subject to the deduction disallowance imposed by Section 280E," that "nothing in this rule constitutes a determination regarding federal tax liability," and that the Administrator "encourages the Secretary of the Treasury to consider providing retrospective relief from Section 280E liability for taxable years in which a state licensee operated under a state medical marijuana license." Five days before the rule published, on April 23, Treasury and the IRS announced that guidance was coming: rescheduling "generally removes section 280E as a bar to claiming deductions and credits" for a business that no longer traffics in Schedule I or II substances; for a business with mixed activities, 280E "applies only to those activities related to trafficking in Schedule I or II controlled substances," with expenses apportioned; and a transition rule would apply rescheduling to "a business's full taxable year" that includes the order's effective date. The April release gave no date and the September plan gives none. Marijuana outside an FDA approved product or a state medical license, including adult use product, stays in Schedule I, and 280E still applies to it in full. In Congress, the No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act (S. 471, introduced by Senator Lankford with Senator Ricketts, and H.R. 1447, introduced by Representative Arrington with six cosponsors) would rewrite section 280E to keep the disallowance for marijuana whatever its schedule; both bills sit in committee.

In News from October 9, 2026 to November 5, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Five psilocybin cousins are headed for Schedule I on a resemblance test, and the window to object closes October 23

What it says. On September 23, 2026 the Drug Enforcement Administration published a notice of proposed rulemaking (91 FR 60338, Docket No. DEA1715) to place five tryptamine hallucinogens, 4-OH-DiPT, 5-MeO-AMT, 5-MeO-MiPT, 5-MeO-DET and DiPT, "including their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers," in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Comments were due October 23, 2026, which was also the deadline to request a hearing under 21 CFR 1308.44; both have passed. This is the second attempt. DEA proposed the same placement on January 14, 2022 (87 FR 2376). That notice drew 589 comments and four requests for a hearing, DEA convened a hearing in response on July 6, 2022, and on July 27, 2022 (87 FR 45076) it withdrew the proposal and cancelled the hearing before it opened, saying "upon further consideration" it would ask HHS for an updated scientific evaluation. It requested that on November 16, 2023 and received it on April 2, 2026, recommending Schedule I. The pharmacology finding is a resemblance test: "based on available pharmacology information the five tryptamines are expected to have significant overlap in effects with schedule I hallucinogenic substances such as DMT, psilocybin, and others." The notice finds the five "have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States," are "not legally marketed in any country," and that "legitimate drug channels are limited to research conducted with the drugs," while "FDA is not aware of any diversion from research or legitimate manufacturing activities." The abuse record it cites is 65 poison center exposure cases in roughly two decades, with tachycardia, hallucinations, agitation and hypertension among the effects reported; the notice dates that span two ways, 2000 to 2021 in one passage and January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2021 in another. It reports one death, a 5-MeO-AMT case in 2004 in which alcohol and the antidepressant bupropion were also present, and says that "No single-substance exposure cases involving the five tryptamines resulted in death." Law enforcement first encountered the five between 2003 and 2009, the user population is "commonly comprised of young adults," and the products are "generally purchased from internet-based companies." If finalized, anyone who handles the five, including anyone who engages in research with them, would need a Schedule I registration. The Administrator certifies the rule "will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities." Status, October 24, 2026: the comment and hearing request period closed on October 23, 2026, and the Federal Register shows no extension or later notice in Docket No. DEA1715. We will update this story when DEA reports what it received.

In News from September 28, 2026 to October 26, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

The agency that decides what is a drug has no written procedure for deciding

What it says. The Government Accountability Office published a review of how the Drug Enforcement Administration schedules drugs, GAO-26-108623, released September 23, 2026. Of the 208 substances DEA took scheduling action on from 2020 through 2025, DEA considered the Department of Health and Human Services evaluation for all 95 where one was required, and its final decision matched the HHS recommendation for all 84 substances that had a published final rule by December 31, 2025. GAO also found that DEA has no policies identifying roles, responsibilities, and procedures for scheduling, and that FDA, which prepares the scientific and medical evaluation, has no policies specifying how its staff conduct evaluations or develop recommendations. GAO made three recommendations: that the DEA Administrator develop scheduling policies and procedures, that the FDA Commissioner do the same for evaluations and recommendations, and that FDA and the National Institutes of Health update the memorandum of understanding that governs their part of the work.

In News from September 23, 2026 to October 26, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The subcommittee met on October 16 and October 23, 2026. Its minutes record no vote and say its report will set out the leading sales models with their pros and cons, not a single recommendation. Nothing has been adopted. See the North Carolina brief (link).

North Carolina is drafting a market where the state owns every store, and the farmer is still barred from the counter

What it says. On September 18, 2026 the Market and Regulatory Subcommittee of the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis took up a two page document titled "Cannabis Licensing Draft Recommendations," marked in its own header "FOR DISCUSSION ONLY." It describes a "Hybrid NC ABC liquor/Quebec cannabis model" in which "The state exclusively controls the retail channel while private businesses remain responsible for cultivation, manufacturing/processing, and wholesale distribution." The structure is three tiers: Tier 1 produce, private licensed businesses that grow, process, package and label; Tier 2 distribute, licensed independent wholesalers who purchase from Tier 1 and supply the state retail system; Tier 3 retail, a "State-controlled cannabis retail system." Tier 1 would carry several licenses rather than one, including a "Craft Farm Cannabis License (A small-scale license specifically designed for NC farmers and small cannabis businesses.)" Tier 2 is offered as three options: private wholesalers, a state central cannabis warehouse "analogous to the NC ABC warehouse," or a hybrid. Tier 3 would create a North Carolina Cannabis Control Commission or assign retail control to an existing state entity, with a retail corporation "analogous to Québec's SQDC," and states the objective as "bringing consumers into and keeping them in the legal market without encouraging cannabis consumption." Listed elements include "Protect the 3-Tier system from vertical integration," "Statewide product approval," and "State-controlled does not have to mean state-set pricing." The document closes with eight questions for discussion and has not been adopted. The council was created by Executive Order No. 16 under Governor Josh Stein. The subcommittee meets again on October 16, 2026, and the full council on September 29 and November 17.

In News from September 27, 2026 to October 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

The DEA called its HHC rule inconsequential to the industry, and the industry took it to a federal appeals court

What it says. On Friday, September 18, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral argument in Richmond in Bluestar Operations, LLC v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, No. 26-1691, before Chief Judge Diaz, Judge Quattlebaum and Judge Heytens. The court's own calendar describes the case in one line: "ADMINISTRATIVE LAW: Challenge to DEA action interpreting hemp-derived HHC as a Schedule I controlled substance." The action under review is a final rule published May 4, 2026 (91 FR 23913, Docket No. DEA-1632), signed April 22, 2026 by Administrator Terrance C. Cole, which adds hexahydrocannabinol to the Schedule I hallucinogen list at 21 CFR 1308.11(d)(115) with its own drug code, 7220. The rule says HHC "is a synthetic substance that is structurally related to tetrahydrocannabinols" and was already controlled under the general tetrahydrocannabinols code, and it states the agency's reading of the 2018 farm bill in one sentence: "tetrahydrocannabinols produced through chemical conversion, even when hemp derived are considered synthetically produced for purposes of the CSA, do not qualify as 'tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp.'" The agency skipped notice and comment, calling the listing "a minor or merely technical amendment in which the public is not particularly interested" and "insignificant in nature and impact, and inconsequential to the industry and public," and made it effective the day it published. The rule traces its origin to a June 9, 2025 letter from the United Nations Secretariat, after the Commission on Narcotic Drugs added HHC to Schedule II of the 1971 Convention in March 2025, and to a December 3, 2025 letter from HHS concurring in the listing. The argument was livestreamed. No decision has issued. Sourcing note: we have read the rule and the court's argument calendar; we have not reviewed the briefs or the argument recording, and we do not characterize how the panel received either side.

In News from September 16, 2026 to October 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Two unanimous rulings in eight days, and Nebraska's medical cannabis vote stands

What it says. On September 4, 2026, in Kuehn v. Evnen (No. S-24-901), the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed a Lancaster County ruling that the two 2024 medical cannabis initiative petitions had enough valid signatures. Each petition needed 86,499 signatures. The Secretary of State certified 89,962 on the Legalization Petition and 89,856 on the Regulatory Petition, then joined the challenge as a cross-appellant, represented by the Attorney General's office. To knock either measure off the books, the challengers had to disqualify at least 3,464 signatures on one petition and 3,358 on the other. After a trial, the district court found 711 and 826 signatures had lost their presumption of validity, most of them tied to one circulator and to notarization errors, leaving 89,251 and 89,030 valid signatures, and the Supreme Court held that a notary's error on one page does not void every page that notary handled. Chief Justice Funke wrote for the court. On September 11, in Kuehn v. Pillen (No. S-25-503), the same court, again through the Chief Justice and with the five participating justices joining, affirmed the dismissal of a second suit that asked the court to declare both laws preempted by federal law. The plaintiff conceded he had suffered no injury in fact and argued taxpayer standing instead. The court held that the incidental cost of implementing a statute is not an "illegal expenditure of public funds," that recognizing standing on that theory "would allow almost any taxpayer to challenge the constitutionality of almost any statute," and that federal preemption is not automatically a "matter of great public concern." The dismissal is without prejudice.

In News from September 23, 2026 to November 2, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

A petition asks the Supreme Court who is allowed to hold a license, and the circuits do not agree

What it says. On January 2, 2026 a Ninth Circuit panel (Judges Rawlinson, Bress, and Bumatay, opinion by Judge Bress) decided two consolidated appeals, Nos. 24-3481 and 24-7196, and affirmed the dismissal of both. The plaintiff is Kenneth Gay, a Michigan resident and majority owner of Peridot Tree, Inc., a California corporation, and Peridot Tree WA, Inc., a Washington corporation. Washington has required six months of state residency for a cannabis license since 2015 (RCW 69.50.331(1)(b)) and reserves retail licenses for social equity applicants under criteria that require a 51 percent controlling interest held by someone who has resided in the state for six months (WAC 314-55-570(2)). Sacramento's Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity program reserved ten storefront permits for two classifications that both require current or former Sacramento residency, out of a city ordinance cap of 40 permits, of which 30 had already been granted. Washington's board notified Peridot on September 17, 2023 that its application would not be considered because it failed the residency qualification. The panel held that the dormant Commerce Clause does not reach these schemes at all, writing that it declined "to extend the dormant Commerce Clause to interstate commerce in a drug market that Congress has declared illegal." The opinion catalogues the split it is joining: the First Circuit in Northeast Patients Group, 45 F.4th 542, struck down Maine's residency rule over a dissent, and the Second Circuit in Variscite NY Four, LLC v. New York State Cannabis Control Bd., 152 F.4th 47 (2d Cir. 2025), held New York's residency preference violated the clause, also over a dissent. The Fourth Circuit in Jensen v. Maryland Cannabis Admin., 151 F.4th 169 (4th Cir. 2025), decided on other grounds and expressly did not reach the question. A petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to resolve the split was filed on September 10, 2026, and is docketed as No. 26-343, Peridot Tree WA, Inc. v. Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board; the response was due October 15, 2026, and on October 5, 2026 the Clerk granted a motion extending that date to December 4, 2026. We read the Ninth Circuit opinion in full and quote it directly, and we read the Supreme Court docket on September 22 and again on October 6, 2026.

In News from September 16, 2026 to October 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

A state license, a signed contract, a $31.8 million verdict, and a federal court that says the deal was a felony

What it says. On September 10, 2026, in Hello Farms Licensing MI, LLC v. GR Vending MI, LLC, a three judge panel of the Sixth Circuit reversed a $31.8 million jury verdict won by a Michigan licensed marijuana grower. In November 2020, GR Vending MI and CURA MI, which the opinion identifies as "both subsidiaries of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.," signed an output contract to buy Hello Farms' entire 2020 and 2021 harvests, with a $2.2 million deposit; the 2020 crop came in at about 16,300 pounds and passed testing. GR Vending took the first shipment of roughly 2,000 pounds and, "by January 2021, the price of marijuana was in freefall. So GR Vending refused to accept any more deliveries." Hello Farms sued in Michigan state court in February 2021; the case was removed to federal court on diversity. A jury found breach and awarded $31.8 million, and the district judge, calling it "a close call," declined to void the contract as illegal. The panel, in an opinion by Judge Nalbandian joined by Judge Siler, with Judge Hermandorfer concurring in all but one subsection, held that "federal courts cannot enforce agreements to commit federal crimes," that "on the face of the contract, the parties promised to commit felonies," and that this is true "whether we view the contract as encompassing recreational marijuana or limited to medical marijuana." The court held the April 2026 rescheduling rule "isn't a safe harbor," because a contract illegal when made is not cured by a later change in the law and the rule "wouldn't, by itself, legalize the parties' transaction." It added that the appropriations rider protecting state medical programs "doesn't legalize marijuana or provide immunity from prosecution," and that "Congress knows how to legalize conduct, but it chose a different route." The court acknowledged Hello Farms "may understandably view this outcome as a windfall for Defendants."

In News from September 16, 2026 to October 6, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Thirty states, three and a half billion dollars a year, counted by the same government that still calls the product a crime

What it says. On September 10, 2026 the Census Bureau published an America Counts analysis of its cannabis excise tax data. Thirty states and the District of Columbia collected an estimated $3.55 billion in cannabis excise taxes between July 2025 and June 2026, up 15.7 percent from $3.06 billion in fiscal year 2022, the first year the Bureau tracked it. When collection began in 2021, 19 states and D.C. levied the tax; 11 more have entered since, Alabama last, with medical-only sales starting May 20, 2026. California's cut of the cultivation tax on July 1, 2022 drove its revenue from $878.56 million in fiscal 2022 to $528.23 million the next year, enough to pull the national total down before other states filled the gap. Washington and Montana collect more than $50 per resident, on retail excise rates of 37 and 20 percent; Alaska collects more than $30 per resident with no retail tax at all, relying on a $50 per ounce cultivation levy. Minnesota raised its rate from 10 to 15 percent, issued 324 new licenses in 2025, and more than doubled collections to $34.44 million. The Bureau notes that states "aim to generate revenue without driving prices so high that consumers turn to illegal markets."

In News from September 12, 2026 to October 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Seven years of reform talk, and the banking number has not moved

What it says. The Government Accountability Office published a report on access to banking for cannabis businesses, GAO-26-107498, dated August 7, 2026 and publicly released September 8, 2026. It finds that roughly 1,000 banks and credit unions filed cannabis related suspicious activity reports in 2024, a figure essentially flat since 2019. It identifies the cost of Bank Secrecy Act compliance as the binding constraint on institutions that might otherwise serve the industry, and notes that card networks still decline to process cannabis purchases.

In News from September 12, 2026 to September 28, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

The hemp delay is law, and the switch they left on is the one that cannot see the tank

What it says. On September 2, 2026, the President signed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, which funds the federal government through December 11, 2026. The Senate passed it 90 to 6 at 3:37 in the morning on August 8 (roll call vote 228, one senator voting present and three not voting). The House agreed to the Senate amendments 370 to 48 on September 1 (roll call 286), on a motion to suspend the rules; the House Clerk still lists the vehicle by its original title, the AGOA Extension Act, an African trade measure. Section 2019 of Division B is one sentence long and reads in full: "Until December 11, 2026, the amendments made by section 781 of division B of Public Law 119-37 (7 U.S.C. 1639o note) shall only apply with respect to products described in paragraphs (1)(C)(ii)(I) and (1)(C)(iv)(I) of section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1639o) (as amended by such section 781)." The law does not say what those two subclauses contain. We looked them up on August 2 when the text was first released, and the enacted version is word for word the same: they are the "not capable of being naturally produced" test, and only that test. The tests that go to sleep until December 11 are the one asking whether a cannabinoid was synthesized or manufactured outside the plant, and the quantity caps.

In News from September 12, 2026 to September 28, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The governor's release reports the hemp figures for Alcoholic Beverage Control licensees ("Among Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) licensees, 99.33% are following the law by not selling illegal hemp products"). This story described them as sweeps of retail shelves in general. The numbers are as the state reported them; the group they describe is narrower than our wording. This is logged on the Corrections page (link).

California counted the shelves, and the compliance rate is the number to read

What it says. On September 2, 2026 the California governor's office reported the results of two statewide enforcement sweeps of retail shelves. On hemp: 23,667 site visits, 158 violations, a 99.3 percent compliance rate, and 7,403 products removed. On kratom and 7-OH: 8,038 site visits, 181 violations, a 97.75 percent compliance rate, and 7,888 products removed. The two sweeps together account for 15,291 products pulled from California stores.

In News from September 12, 2026 to September 27, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Three lab-made analogues went to Schedule I, and the plant compound did not

What it says. On August 26, 2026 the DEA published a temporary scheduling order, docket DEA-1644, placing mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16 into Schedule I on a finding that the action is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety. The order is effective August 26, 2026 until August 26, 2028. On the same day, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS extended to September 10 the comment period on its request for information about the threshold for the separate action that would place 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine) above a specified threshold into Schedule I. That separate action has not issued. The notices of intent filed July 1 and published July 6 said an order could issue on or after August 5, 2026, and as of today none has published. So the three named analogues are federally controlled and 7-OH itself is not.

In News from September 12, 2026 to September 23, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The December 1 deadline no longer applies. Our current story reports Curaleaf's offer, dated October 6, 2026, as expiring December 4, and on November 3, 2026 Aurora announced an agreement to be acquired by Organigram instead. Current story: (link).

A hostile bid for a company that said no, and the map gets smaller again

What it says. On August 18, 2026 Curaleaf Holdings formally commenced a take-over bid for Aurora Cannabis and took it directly to Aurora shareholders, after announcing its intention on August 11 and after Aurora's board declined to engage and formed a special committee. The offer, in the company's own words, carries a "total implied consideration of US$4.00 per Aurora common share, comprised of 0.3463 of a Curaleaf subordinate voting share plus US$0.75 in cash," based on Curaleaf's closing price of US$9.39 on August 10, 2026. Curaleaf describes that as a 45 percent premium to Aurora's 30 day volume weighted average price of US$2.75. The bid carries a Cap Price of US$5.00 and a Cap VWAP Price of C$17.05, and no financing or due diligence condition. It states that "the Offer will remain open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) on December 1, 2026." Curaleaf filed the offer materials with the SEC, and filed a further 8-K on August 25, 2026, dated August 24, attaching a release responding to Aurora.

In News from September 12, 2026 to September 28, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

A bill that regulates the drink instead of banning the plant, and hands the shelf to the wholesalers

What it says. On August 10, 2026, Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas introduced the Beverage Regulatory Parity Act, H.R. 10079, "To provide for the regulation of hemp-derived beverages, and for other purposes," with Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio as the sole cosponsor. It was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and, in addition, to the Committee on Ways and Means. The bill would bring hemp derived THC beverages under the Food and Drug Administration and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and run them through the same three tier structure that governs alcohol, with producers, wholesalers, and retailers held in separate licensed layers. It sets a purchase age of 21, caps a serving at 5 milligrams of THC, imposes an excise tax of 8 cents per milligram of THC, and defines a hemp derived beverage as one containing no synthetically derived cannabinoids, which keeps them out of the regulated lane without a separate prohibition.

In News from August 3, 2026 to September 23, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

The rules for who keeps their job are being written behind a closed door

What it says. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has opened a project titled "Meeting of Experts: Discussion of Cannabis Use and Operational Fitness Policy for Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers" (project CHPP-HCPH-25-02), sponsored by the Department of Transportation and listed as in progress. The statement of task says the Academies will host and plan a four-part expert meeting series "to enhance the FAA's understanding of the impact of both recent and cumulative cannabis use on key functions for pilots and air traffic controllers," and that the discussions "will help inform the FAA on approaches they might take to evaluate, update, or refine their current policies for cannabis use, particularly for determining when individuals are fit for duty." Named topics include initial and ongoing screening, monitoring for cognitive functioning, and the duration and variability of impairment after cannabis use. The Academies describe a meeting of experts as a convening of a small number of selected experts acting in their individual capacities rather than as a committee. Two lines on the project page do the most work: "These meetings are not open to the public, and no product will be generated."

In News from August 3, 2026 to September 12, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: This provision became law. H.R. 6500 was signed on September 2, 2026 with Section 2019 unchanged. November 12, 2026 remains the date for cannabinoids the plant cannot produce; the other two tests and the quantity caps start December 11, 2026. See "The hemp delay is law" on this page (link) and the current hemp story (link).

The hemp cliff moves, but only by a month, and only if this passes

What it says. On August 2, 2026, Senate Appropriations leaders released the text of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, a stopgap that would fund federal agencies through December 11, 2026. Near the end of Division B sits Section 2019, headed "Section 781 Extension." It provides that until December 11, 2026, the amendments made by section 781 of division B of Public Law 119-37 "shall only apply with respect to products described in paragraphs (1)(C)(ii)(I) and (1)(C)(iv)(I) of section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946." The bill does not say what those subclauses contain. We looked them up and published the read the same day: they are the "not capable of being naturally produced" test, and only that test. Section 781 built three tests, and this provision leaves the first one running while putting the other two to sleep for twenty nine days, including the test asking whether a batch was "synthesized or manufactured outside the plant" and the quantity caps. The House passed its own continuing resolution last month with no hemp language, so this text needs a Senate vote and then House agreement before it reaches the President.

In News from July 27, 2026 to September 12, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Three deals in eleven days, and the map gets smaller

What it says. On July 20, 2026, Vireo Growth Inc. announced a definitive agreement to buy cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and retail operations from subsidiaries of The Cannabist Company (formerly Columbia Care) across five markets: Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and West Virginia. Total consideration is up to $35 million, up to $18.75 million in cash at closing plus up to $16.25 million in seller notes, with closings staged through 2026 and into 2027 subject to regulatory approval in each state. The deal would add up to 25 dispensaries and one cultivation and one production asset, bringing Vireo to roughly 230 dispensaries across 15 states on a pro forma basis, a figure that also counts other previously announced acquisitions still pending, which the company says would make it the second largest dispensary network in the country. The sale comes out of distress: Cannabist entered CCAA insolvency proceedings before the Ontario Superior Court on March 24, 2026, and obtained U.S. recognition of those proceedings under Chapter 15 in the District of Delaware on May 9, 2026. Vireo's chief executive described the purchase as a "disciplined and strategic approach to industry consolidation." Two more deals followed within eleven days. On July 27 Vireo announced an agreement to acquire Planet 13 Holdings Inc., which the company said would position it as the largest U.S. operator by dispensary count. On July 31 it announced four separate securities purchase agreements to buy FarmaceuticalRx LLC, FarmaceuticalRx 2 LLC, CAOH LLC, and Canoe Hill Ohio, LLC, adding eight Ohio dispensaries plus a cultivation and processing facility and related real estate, for roughly $208 million paid not in cash but in about 11 million subordinate voting shares, issued half at closing and the rest at about 90 and 180 days, with a clawback of up to 25 percent if performance thresholds are missed. Vireo says that once the Ohio transactions and its other announced deals close it expects a presence in 16 states and roughly 270 dispensaries, up from operations in 10 states and about 170 dispensaries today. The Ohio release also discloses that chief executive John Mazarakis is himself a seller under the CAOH LLC agreement. Vireo states he declared the conflict and recused himself from all board deliberations and voting, that the transactions are a related party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, and that the company intends to rely on exemptions from both the formal valuation and the minority shareholder approval requirements on the basis that the interested portion does not exceed 25 percent of market capitalization. Shareholder approval is not expected to be required. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

In News from July 31, 2026 to September 16, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Despite the scary headlines, teen use fell again

What it says. On July 27, 2026, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP26-07-010, NSDUH Series H-61). Past-year marijuana use among people aged 12 to 17 fell to 8.7 percent, about 2.2 million young people, down from 10.9 percent and 2.8 million in 2021; past-month use fell to 5.0 percent from 6.1 percent. SAMHSA labels both trends decreased. Adult use moved the other way: past-year use among people 26 and older rose from 17.3 percent to 20.6 percent over the same period. Separately, Detailed Table 9.38A reports that 21.4 million people aged 12 or older used marijuana on 20 or more days in the past month, against 17.2 million for alcohol on that same 20-day definition and 19.9 million who smoked cigarettes on every one of the past 30 days. The survey's overall response rate was 8.5 percent, and SAMHSA warns that 2025 estimates are not comparable with 2020 or earlier because the survey changed how it collects data. State-level estimates for 2024 and 2025 are not due until early 2027.

In News from July 30, 2026 to September 12, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Delaware puts hemp drinks behind the liquor counter

What it says. On July 23, 2026, the Governor signed House Bill 373 (Volume 85, Chapter 394), sponsored by Rep. Deb Heffernan with Reps. Osienski and Chukwuocha and Sen. Cruce. The act builds a state system for THC-infused beverages. Manufacturers need state authorization and must deliver to licensed importers, who handle notice and testing before the drinks can move from a warehouse to a store. Package stores may obtain authorization to sell the beverages for off-premises consumption under rules on shelf placement, signage, and packaging, and licensed retail marijuana stores may sell them too. The act classifies CBD, CBG, CBN, and CBC as nonintoxicating cannabinoids, raises civil penalties for selling to anyone under 21 to as much as $10,000 for a repeat offense within five years, and taxes infused beverages at 50 cents per container, collected at the warehouse distributor rather than the register. Most of it takes effect October 21, 2026, and the tax provisions on February 1, 2027. The act also carries its own kill switch: sales of infused beverages may sunset if Congress changes the federal definition of hemp in 7 U.S.C. 1639o to make it a controlled substance.

In News from July 31, 2026 to September 12, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

The government is testing the sewer, and the report has no privacy section

What it says. On July 23, 2026, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced its first wastewater-based drug testing report, a newsletter from the ONDCP Office of Data and Research titled Wastewater Analytics: A Powerful Window into Shifting Drug Use Trends. The program quantitatively measures more than 20 drugs across 101 U.S. counties covering about 18 percent of the population, and qualitatively screens for more than 500 substances in selected counties. Biobot Analytics, a private company, collects and analyzes the samples and provides ONDCP with data aggregated at the county level or higher. The trend series runs from June 2022 to April 2026. ONDCP reports declines in fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine between January and April 2026, and says medetomidine, para-fluorofentanyl, carfentanil, and acetyl fentanyl now appear in every census region. Ketamine was detected in every county tested and tianeptine in 77 percent. The report cautions that its findings are not nationally representative and that concentrations should not be read as representative of an entire county or state.

In News from July 27, 2026 to September 23, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The first sentence states the holding too broadly. The court had already held in People v Armstrong, decided April 2, 2025, that the smell of marijuana alone is not probable cause for a search. People v Wilkins answered the question Armstrong left open: the court held that the search was not permitted where the trooper had probable cause to believe only that the occupants, who were under 21, were responsible for a civil infraction. The other factors the court listed are a criminal amount of marijuana in plain view, someone smoking, lingering smoke, or signs of intoxication. See the Michigan brief (link). This is logged on the Corrections page (link).

The smell of a legal plant is not a warrant

What it says. On July 22, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court decided People v Wilkins (Docket No. 167737), holding 5 to 2 that the smell of marijuana alone does not give police probable cause to search a car without a warrant. Justice Kimberly Thomas wrote for the majority, joined by Chief Justice Cavanagh and Justices Welch, Bolden, and Hood; Justice Zahra dissented, joined by Justice Bernstein. The court reasoned that because Michigan voters legalized marijuana through the 2018 Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, and made small-amount possession by a person under 21 a civil infraction rather than a crime, substances prohibited only by civil law are not contraband for purposes of a warrantless automobile search. The opinion is careful: odor can still be one factor toward probable cause when paired with other evidence such as visible smoke, signs of intoxication, marijuana in plain view, or an amount over the criminal threshold. The court decided the case under the Fourth Amendment and declined to reach the Michigan Constitution; Justice Welch joined in full but wrote separately that she would have decided it on state constitutional grounds. The Court of Appeals judgment was reversed and the case remanded.

In News from July 27, 2026 to September 12, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: Our first reading of this bill has since been published: "The Hemp Bill That Would Make the Kid the Offender" (link). The November 12 date in this story predates the two stage calendar set on September 2, 2026.

A new federal hemp bill, and a close reading underway

What it says. On July 22, 2026, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), the lead Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, introduced the Lawful Hemp Protection Act (H.R. 9830). It is a 60-page bill that would replace the hemp regime scheduled to take effect on November 12, 2026 with a new federal structure for hemp-derived consumer products, covering the legal definition of hemp, product standards, federal permitting, taxation, and distribution. It has been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and, additionally, to Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure.

In News until September 12, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: This story cited one source, the sponsors' announcement, which does not mention hemp. The story's line about hemp is not supported by the bill text, S. 5022. Section 803 rewrites the federal hemp definition around a total THC test: 1 milligram per 100 grams for products and 0.7 percent for plant material that has only been harvested, dried, cured or trimmed, counting any tetrahydrocannabinol, including delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10. On our reading, that does not keep intoxicating hemp THC products inside the hemp definition. The phrase "written to block the November 12 federal recriminalization of hemp THC products" says more than the text supports. This is logged on the Corrections page (link).

The bill that would legalize the whole plant, not just the corporate slice

What it says. On July 16, 2026, Senators Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer, and Ron Wyden, joined by 14 Democratic co-sponsors, reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). It would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act entirely, direct the Attorney General to finalize descheduling within 180 days, and set a federal excise tax that starts at 5 percent for small and mid-size producers (rising to 12.5 percent over five years) and at 10 percent for large ones (rising to 25 percent). It would expunge low-level federal cannabis convictions within a year, let those still incarcerated petition for resentencing, fund equity licensing and a Small Business Administration lending pilot for operators harmed by the drug war, create a Center for Cannabis Products at the FDA, and add hemp provisions written to block the November 12 federal recriminalization of hemp THC products. The bill arrived one day after the DEA's Schedule III hearing closed.

In News until September 28, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The record did not go to the Administrator on this schedule. The Chief Administrative Law Judge stayed the matter on September 29, 2026, admitted a Government Accountability Office report on October 22, 2026, and denied a motion to reopen the hearing. Briefs were filed October 29 and replies November 5, 2026. Current story: (link).

A hearing with only one side in the room

What it says. The DEA's formal evidentiary hearing on moving marijuana to Schedule III, before Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius, ran from June 29 and was scheduled to conclude no later than July 15, 2026. It recessed July 3, reconvened July 6, and heard its final participants in mid-July, with the states of Nebraska, Idaho and Indiana closing out the record alongside their own scientific witness. The hearing concluded on July 15, 2026, and Chief Administrative Law Judge Julius set August 17, 2026 as the deadline for optional post-hearing briefs, after which the full record passes to the DEA Administrator for a final decision. The agency selected seven participants, and every one of them opposed rescheduling: the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the states of Nebraska, Idaho and Indiana (Louisiana withdrew on June 25, 2026), DUID Victim Voices, and two clinicians. The government's own FDA witness testified that marijuana has an accepted medical use and that its abuse potential and overdose risk are lower than the scheduled drugs it was compared with.

In News from September 12, 2026 to October 9, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The comment period on this docket closed October 5, 2026. Comments can no longer be filed here. For an FDA psychedelics docket that is still taking comments, see the current ibogaine story (link).

The public hearing on psychedelics rules the public's questions out of order

What it says. The FDA published a notice on July 14, 2026 (91 FR 43095, docket FDA-2026-N-7542) setting a public hearing titled "Considerations for Potential Future Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs." The hearing is on Monday, September 14, 2026, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern, in hybrid form, in person at the agency's White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Maryland. Requests to present were due August 21, 2026. Written comments are open to the docket until 11:59 p.m. Eastern on October 5, 2026, and anyone may file one. The agency says it is seeking feedback on the potential future therapeutic use of drug products containing a psychedelic substance in supervised and supportive settings, and that it is not seeking comment on legalization, decriminalization, the merits of state and local programs, scheduling, or religious and ceremonial use, while welcoming data from state programs. The notice supports Executive Order 14401 of April 18, 2026, "Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness."

In News until September 12, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: Idaho voters rejected HJR 4 on November 3, 2026 (66.27 to 33.73, unofficial results). The initiative power stands. See the Idaho brief (link).

Idaho's medical cannabis initiative falls short, and the state moves to end the ballot option

What it says. On July 14, 2026, the Idaho Secretary of State's Office announced that the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act initiative failed to qualify for the November ballot. Organizers with the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho turned in a maximum of 58,024 county-certified signatures and met the 6 percent threshold in only 13 legislative districts, short of the 70,725 valid signatures and 18 districts state law requires. In a July 13 determination letter, Secretary of State Phil McGrane also said his office referred complaints of possible fraud, including a signature attributed to a voter who died in 2021, to the Idaho State Police, and could not verify the residency of 293 petition circulators. Separately, the legislature has referred a constitutional amendment, HJR 4, to the November 2026 ballot that would give the legislature sole authority to legalize marijuana or other substances and strip the public's power to do so by initiative.

In News until September 16, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Washington moves to build the psychedelics pipeline, and to own it

What it says. On July 13, 2026, HHS and the Department of Veterans Affairs signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to develop psychedelic treatments for veterans with serious mental illness, advancing President Trump's executive order 14401. The same day, the FDA finalized its guidance, Psychedelic Drugs: Considerations for Clinical Investigations, and set a public hearing on therapeutic use for September 14, 2026. Alongside the agreement, the National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded funding to support an investigational new drug application for ibogaine, a plant-derived psychedelic, and the HHS research agency ARPA-H opened funding to study ibogaine for opioid use disorder, saying it would also explore ways to keep future treatments affordable and accessible.

In News from July 30, 2026 to August 3, 2026. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The last paragraph was written before Congress changed the federal calendar. Under Section 2019 of H.R. 6500, signed September 2, 2026, the federal hemp change arrives in two stages, November 12 and December 11, 2026, and delta-8 made from CBD falls in the second. See "The hemp delay is law" on this page (link). The Texas brief has the current state of the Texas rules and the litigation over them (link).

Texas closes the delta-8 door on July 31

What it says. The Texas Department of State Health Services published a notice in the July 10, 2026 edition of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 4597) reinstating clarifications to the definitions of tetrahydrocannabinols and marihuana extract in the state's 2021 Schedules of Controlled Substances. The notice takes effect July 31, 2026. In practice it treats more than trace amounts of THC other than delta-9 as a controlled substance, which reaches manufactured delta-8 and delta-10 products, while finished hemp products that stay at or below the 0.3 percent delta-9 limit remain lawful. DSHS says it acted pursuant to the opinion the Supreme Court of Texas delivered on May 1, 2026 in No. 23-0887, Texas Department of State Health Services v. Sky Marketing Corp., d/b/a Hometown Hero, in which the court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and rendered judgment, with Justice Young writing for the court. The court denied rehearing and issued its mandate on June 5, 2026, ending the stay that had been running against the Travis County injunction.

In News until September 12, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The order did not arrive as described here. On August 26, 2026 the DEA temporarily scheduled the three related substances (91 FR 54948). When we last reported on it, in September 2026, no order on 7-OH itself had published. See "Three lab-made analogues went to Schedule I, and the plant compound did not" on this page (link).

The plant compound Washington just moved to ban

What it says. On July 1, 2026, the DEA filed notices of intent to temporarily place concentrated 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine) and three related substances (mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15, and MGM-16) into Schedule I, published in the Federal Register on July 6. HHS reviewed the science and recommended the action, and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. backed it. The order targets highly concentrated, synthetic, and semi-synthetic 7-OH products, the powders, tablets, gummies, and dissolvable strips sold in gas stations and smoke shops, not ordinary botanical kratom leaf, which carries only trace amounts of 7-OH below the set threshold. The threshold is more than 0.050 percent 7-OH by dry weight in botanical material, or more than 0.050 percent or 1.00 milligram in a synthetic or processed article. The DEA notices themselves take no public comment (docket DEA-1570, 91 FR 40917, and docket DEA-1644, 91 FR 40909); the comment window that closes July 31, 2026 belongs to a separate HHS request for information (docket HHS-OASH-2026-0232, 91 FR 41049), and HHS says it is not taking comment on permanent scheduling or on kratom policy generally, only on the threshold. The DEA says the temporary scheduling order will publish on or after August 5, 2026, and would run two years.

In News until August 3, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Veterans, ibogaine, and who gets to own the cure

What it says. A bipartisan group, Reps. Lou Correa (D), Morgan Luttrell (R), Jack Bergman (R), and Michael McCaul (R), filed the IBOGAINE Act to write President Trump's psychedelics executive order (EO 14401) into law and push the Attorney General to decide within 60 days whether to move ibogaine from Schedule I to Schedule II. Sponsors cite a 2024 Stanford study in which veterans' PTSD symptoms fell 88 percent a month after ibogaine treatment.

In News until July 31, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Georgia treats it like medicine, now watch who gets to grow it

What it says. The Putting Georgia's Patients First Act (SB 220), signed May 12 and effective July 1, 2026, renames low THC oil to medical cannabis, replaces the old 5 percent THC cap with a 12,000 milligram possession limit, adds qualifying conditions including lupus, intractable pain, severe insomnia, and inflammatory bowel disease, and allows vaporization for patients 21 and older.

In News until July 30, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Tennessee hands hemp to the liquor industry

What it says. HB 1376 / SB 1413, enacted as Public Chapter 526, moved oversight of hemp-derived cannabinoid products from the Department of Agriculture to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, banned THCA, and set up an alcohol-style three-tier license system with new taxes. It took full effect July 1, 2026, and limits sales to retailers serving customers 21 and older.

In News until July 27, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

When the legislature overrules the veto, and the counties

What it says. SB 75 limits how Delaware counties can use zoning and permits to block marijuana businesses, and preempts conflicting county rules. Governor Meyer vetoed it; the legislature completed a veto override on July 1, 2026.

In News until July 31, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Note added November 10, 2026: The Nebraska Supreme Court decided Kuehn v. Evnen on September 4, 2026 and upheld the petitions. See the Nebraska Supreme Court story on this page (link).

Voters said yes. Nebraska is fighting it, at home and in Washington.

What it says. On June 30, 2026, Nebraska's Attorney General approved the Medical Cannabis Commission's regulations, but used the signing statement to warn that a pending Nebraska Supreme Court case, Kuehn v. Evnen, which his own office brought alleging petition malfeasance, could erase the law's statutory authority entirely. The rules cap the state at 12 dispensaries and set tight purchase limits.

The federal parallel. On May 22, 2026, Nebraska joined Indiana and Louisiana (which has since withdrawn) in a petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the Justice Department's medical Schedule III rescheduling, and Nebraska is one of the handful of states the DEA hand-picked to argue against reform at its one-sided hearing. So the same officials are working to undo medical cannabis both where their own voters passed it and where the federal government just loosened it.

In News until July 27, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

And then there were two

What it says. On June 30, 2026, Glass House Brands began trading on the NYSE as GLAS, the second cannabis operator on a major exchange, after deconsolidating its dual-use business.

In News until July 27, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Virginia builds a legal market, and its own farmers may not survive to see it

What it says. On June 16, 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger, Senator Lashrecse Aird, and Delegate Paul Krizek announced a budget deal creating a regulated adult-use cannabis market in Virginia, with retail sales beginning July 1, 2027. The same deal ends the state's 25-to-1 hemp loophole (which allowed intoxicating hemp THC products with limited oversight), moves hemp regulation to the Cannabis Control Authority, caps retail at 350 licenses, and sets child-safety rules including child-safe packaging, a ban on products shaped like animals, fruits, vehicles, or humans, and 1,000-foot buffers from schools, hospitals, playgrounds, and treatment facilities. Small hemp farmers and shop owners say the earlier August 15, 2026 hemp crackdown will wipe them out roughly a year before they could enter the new market.

In News until July 30, 2026. Our page history starts July 22, 2026 and this story was published before that. Shown as it last appeared there, including any fixes made while it ran. Not updated since, except where a dated note says so.

Illinois doubles what adults can carry, and pulls hemp indoors

What it says. Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 3222 (Public Act 104-0463), an omnibus that doubles adult possession limits to 60 grams of flower, 10 grams of concentrate, and 1,000 milligrams of THC in infused products, adds curbside and drive-through pickup, lets every licensed dispensary register to serve medical patients, and expands telehealth certification. It also creates a new Illinois Hemp Act that bars intoxicating hemp sales to anyone under 21 and, starting November 12, 2026, folds delta-8, THCP, HHC, and similar products into the state's licensed Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act with child-resistant packaging and marketing limits.