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Top Stories (2026) - (1701 items)

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Jun 25, 2026	Cannabis Teamsters Launch ULP Strike (BARRY, Ill.) – Over 300 members of Teamsters Local 916 at Ascend Wellness have been forced out on strike over the company’s unfair labor practices (ULPs), which includes their refusal to bargain in good faith. It’s the first strike undertaken by Teamsters at a cannabis grow house.
Jun 24, 2026	Health Canada answers concerns about retail cannabis oversight Health Canada is defending its oversight of the cannabis industry after a recent study concluded there are gaps in the tracking of new products and a lack of uniformity in how product potency is displayed on packaging. These concerns were raised in a report prepared by Lakehead University researchers.
Jun 24, 2026	The Hidden Cost of Sin Taxes: High Taxes Undermine Goals of Cannabis Legalization A new study analyzing market factors in the US says a $1 increase in cannabis taxes leads to a $4–$6 increase in cannabis prices. Those higher prices can drive consumers back to the illicit market while reducing government revenue. The paper, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, also looked at how taxes on cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and beer impact cannabis sales, given the elasticity of demand from consumers depending on total price.
Jun 24, 2026	Pennsylvania Voters Strongly Support Legalizing Marijuana—And They Blame Republicans For Blocking Progress, New Poll Shows A new poll shows that Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly support marijuana legalization—and that the largest share put the blame on Republican lawmakers for the fact that the state has not yet enacted the reform. The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling this month, found that three out of four voters favor legalizing recreational cannabis. When asked whether “adults over 21 should have places to purchase non-medical cannabis products that are legal, and strictly regulated,” 55 percent said they strongly agree and 20 percent somewhat agree.
Jun 24, 2026	Nebraska Officials Approve First Legal Medical Cannabis Cultivator The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission on Monday unanimously approved the state’s first medical cannabis cultivator to begin operations, the Nebraska Examiner reports. The regulators’ sign-off on the official inspection of MahaMota Cultivation Company in Raymond paves the way for the state’s first legal medical cannabis crop.
Jun 24, 2026	Deep Green Guam receives island's first cannabis establishment operating permit Guam's Cannabis Control Board has approved its first permit to operate a cannabis establishment, granting unanimous approval to Guam Real Deal LLC, doing business as Deep Green Guam, on Wednesday, nearly seven years after the island legalized recreational adult-use marijuana in 2019. Revenue and Taxation Department director and board vice chair Marie Lizama says the permit represents the furthest any applicant has advanced since the board began accepting applications in 2022. Lizama says, "It's probably one of the harder hurdles to overcome."
Jun 24, 2026	Cannabis Inherits Its Future: Part 1, The Genetic Legacy Loop Cannabis is being asked to do two jobs at once, and the genetics that win one don’t necessarily win the other. As a recreational flower, it is judged on cultivar name, flavour, and other craft-flower aesthetics. As a regulated medicine, it has to deliver chemotype consistency, batch reproducibility, and a pharmacopoeial-grade monograph. The gene pool the modern industry inherited was bred almost entirely for the first job. It is being asked, now, to deliver the second.
Jun 23, 2026	Virginia to Start Retail Cannabis Sales in July 2027 Virginia leaders have reached an agreement on legislation aimed at establishing a regulated recreational cannabis market across the Commonwealth, a watershed moment in the state’s long-running debate over legal cannabis sales. Under the deal, licensed recreational cannabis sales would begin on July 1 next year. A statewide tax of 6% would take effect when the market launches, increasing to 8% two years later. Cities and counties would also have the option to impose an additional local tax ranging from 1% to 3.5%.
Jun 23, 2026	How Countries Legalise Cannabis Matters More Than Whether They Do, Lancet Review Finds Thirteen years ago, Uruguay became the first country on the planet to officially legalise cannabis for recreational (adult-use) purposes. In December 2013, state-controlled cannabis retail sales, home cultivation, and social clubs were fully legalised by President José Mujica.
Jun 23, 2026	Uruguay Wants to Integrate Medical Cannabis into Its Healthcare System Uruguay was the first country in the world to establish a legal framework for the entire cannabis industry. Yet, ten years later, medical cannabis still has not found its place in the healthcare system. Its exclusion from the Therapeutic Drug Formulary limits access to it, while the lack of training among healthcare professionals and the cost of treatment are hindering its development.
Jun 23, 2026	Alberta’s Cannabis Event Model Is Leading the Industry Not long ago, buying legal cannabis at a music festival in Canada was unthinkable. Today in Alberta, you can walk into a dedicated consumption space at a major outdoor event, browse a curated product menu, and spark up legally, all without leaving the grounds. The province has become the most progressive jurisdiction in the country when it comes to cannabis at public events, and the people who built that landscape say it has outperformed even their most optimistic projections. The question now isn’t whether the model works; it’s what comes next.
Jun 22, 2026	Homegrown Weed vs Dispensary: What Growing My Own Taught Me About Buying Bud The whole homegrown weed vs dispensary question never crossed my mind until I started growing my own. I’m not some legacy cultivator with a sealed tent and a spreadsheet of feeding schedules. I grow flowers. I grow vegetables. I’ve spent years babying tomatoes and marigolds, so this spring I figured it was time to branch out. Before I get into it, home cultivation laws vary by state. Some allow adults to grow a small number of plants for personal use. Others prohibit it entirely. Check your state’s rules before you plant anything. What’s legal where I am may not be where you are.
Jun 22, 2026	Cannabis producers give up trying to get Ottawa to stop smothering their business The Cannabis Council of Canada has announced it is suspending its advocacy operation, apparently because its member companies have given up hope that the federal government is prepared to listen to them. In a letter to Finance Minister François Philippe Champagne that foreshadowed this week’s announcement, outgoing council president Paul McCarthy said the country’s licensed cannabis producers have lost confidence that the government is committed to getting its tax and regulatory policies right.
Jun 22, 2026	Federal Cannabis Rescheduling 101 As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gears up for this month’s administrative hearing on the fate of federal marijuana legalization, we sat down with UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute (CPI) director Riana Durrett for the rundown on decades of debate surrounding the plant — and what giving the green light could mean for businesses, tourists, and residents in Las Vegas, the Silver State, and beyond.
Jun 22, 2026	Virginia Lawmakers Approve Bill To Legalize Recreational Marijuana Sales Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales that was recently negotiated with the governor following her veto of an earlier proposal to enact the reform.
Jun 22, 2026	Is the US Hemp Ban Punishing the Wrong People? Uncertainty isn’t what hemp needs right now. Just as the market for legal hemp-derived cannabinoids is maturing, peer-reviewed research is flourishing, and serious brands are raising the bar, the upcoming federal ban threatens to kill the industry’s momentum. After the midnight passage of a policy rewrite that would eliminate 95% of the current market, we’re facing down the barrel of an entirely new landscape within six months. Worse, the vast majority of operators, farmers, and consumers are doing the right thing but finding themselves in the crosshairs of prohibition. This change punishes the wrong people and threatens to undo almost a decade of hemp progress.
Jun 22, 2026	Congressional Amendment Would Expand Marijuana Waivers For Military Recruits Who Test Positive For THC A Republican member of Congress has filed an amendment that would expand waivers for military recruits who’ve tested positive for marijuana. The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) filed by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) acknowledges that the Army and Navy have already “taken positive steps in their work to design and implement a waiver system that permits potential enlistees into the Armed Forces to reapply for enlistment following a positive toxicology test for tetrahydrocannabinol.”
Jun 22, 2026	DaySavers Launches Perfect Pack 2 Portable Joint-Filling Machine to Create Perfect Pre-Rolls On the Go RENTON, Wash., June 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DaySavers, the most innovative and transparent smoking accessories brand on the market from Custom Cones USA, today launched the latest model of their signature joint-filling machine, the Perfect Pack 2, a personal, made-for cannabis cone- and tube-filling machine that can perfectly pack a pre-roll in seconds from anywhere, thanks to a new battery mode and USB-C cable that works with power banks and even smartphones.
Jun 21, 2026	Cannabis Council of Canada Ends Active Operations The Cannabis Council of Canada (C3) is suspending its active operations as of June 22, 2026. In a press release, the organization says the board will now take time to consider the Council’s future and the role it can continue to play in advancing the sector’s policy priorities. The decision, says President Paul McCarthy, reflects the headwinds facing Canada’s licensed cannabis sector. “The Council is proud of the role it has played in advocating for a responsible, competitive, and sustainable legal cannabis industry in Canada,” read the organization’s farewell press release. “While it will not be operating in the same active capacity during this period, its work, records, and institutional knowledge will be preserved so that the progress made is not lost.
Jun 21, 2026	Cannabis Doesn’t Distort Reality. It Shows You the Director’s Cut. David Lenson, in On Drugs, isolates with rare philosophical precision a feature of cannabis consciousness that transcends the usual cliches about intoxication. He writes: “The cannabis user wants to take control of his or her consciousness, and what it contains at any given moment. The 1965 phrase of dismissal ‘Get out of my movie!’ expresses this heightened stewardship of internal life. What offends must be avoided, and what pleases can be enjoyed instant by instant with contemplative exactitude.”
Jun 21, 2026	Cannabis in Oncology Nursing: Reducing Polypharmacy and Managing Symptoms At the OneOncology APP Symposium, Morvarid Rezaie, DO, HMDC, FACOI, a palliative care physician at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, addressed a key challenge for oncology nurses: managing the complex symptom burden of cancer patients while minimizing polypharmacy. In an interview with Oncology Nursing News, Rezaie explained how medical cannabis serves as a multimodal tool that can simplify care plans and improve patient outcomes.
Jun 21, 2026	How to Buy Weed in Las Vegas: Dispensaries, Strip Rules, and What Every Tourist Needs to Know Getting Las Vegas cannabis rules wrong can mean fines, buying from fake “hemp shops,” or missing the city’s legal cannabis scene entirely. Nevada runs a substantial regulated market, and tourists can buy with nothing more than a valid ID. The smart move is not avoiding cannabis altogether. It is understanding exactly where, when, and how to buy and consume legally as a visitor.
Jun 20, 2026	Idaho medical cannabis legalization campaign says it’s on track despite legal setback Supporters of a voter initiative campaign that seeks to legalize medical marijuana in Idaho say the effort remains on track. That’s despite a state judge’s recent ruling that thousands of signatures were submitted too late to count. The signatures arrived at the Minidoka County Clerk’s office at 5:05 p.m. May 1 – minutes after the close of business and the statutory filing deadline – when a contractor for the pro-MMJ campaign Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho tried to drop them off, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.
Jun 20, 2026	The Cannabis Debate Is Not Just About Legalization Anymore, It’s About Who Benefits Generations of activists have protested against cannabis prohibition, taking to the streets in cities around the world to lobby for legalization. But a major global review published this week, suggests this once-controversial conversation is no longer a question of whether cannabis should be regulated, but how— and what comes next.
Jun 20, 2026	Vermont Governor Signs Bill To Double Legal Marijuana Possession Limit And Allow Interstate Commerce Vermont’s governor has signed legislation that will allow adults over the age of 21 to legally possess twice as much marijuana as they could previously, enable interstate cannabis commerce and make other changes to rules for licensed businesses. Gov. Phil Scott (R) on Friday announced that he approved the large-scale cannabis regulatory reform bill, S. 278, which passed both chambers of the legislature last month.
Jun 20, 2026	Regulated, Untamed, and Built to Last: Inside Montana Cannabis How Montana built a legal cannabis market from a thin medical marijuana law, federal raids, ballot fights, and two decades of stubborn local pressure.
Jun 19, 2026	DEA Judge Issues Order Laying Out Process For Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing Starting This Month A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) judge has issued an initial order laying out basic rules for a hearing about the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling process that is set to start later this month. Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Derek Julius signed the 12-page order on Thursday, setting initial timelines for designated parties that will be participating—which under a separate announcement from DEA this week only includes opponents of cannabis reform.
Jun 19, 2026	DEA Judge Issues Order Laying Out Process For Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing Starting This Month A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) judge has issued an initial order laying out basic rules for a hearing about the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling process that is set to start later this month.
Jun 19, 2026	Health officials warn visitors that cannabis in Washington can be stronger than in other parts of US WASHINGTON — The Washington Department of Health is warning FIFA visitors about the strength of cannabis in Washington. The state health agency says potency varies by product and recommends that users start with a low dose and go slow. The Washington DoH posted the recommendation on its Facebook page on Friday, along with a claim that it has seen an uptick in cannabis-related emergency room visits.
Jun 19, 2026	April 2026 Cannabis Sales Data: Regional Trends and National Growth Cannabis sales in Canada in April 2026 were $482.6 million, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. While cannabis sales have been showing signs of slowing, compared to exponential growth in the first few years of legalization, sales were still up 3% from April 2025 and up 5% from the previous month’s $466.8 million. Statistics Canada also updated its March 2026 sales figures, which were previously reported as $471.4 million. The country’s national statistical agency routinely adjusts these sales figures as new data comes in. Year-over-year and month-over-month increases were seen in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador, which showed a 2% decline compared to March, and Manitoba, which showed a decline of less than 1% MOM. Sales figures for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut were not available.
Jun 19, 2026	Cannabis Tax Revenue Hits $28 Billion Since First Legalization States that have legalized recreational cannabis have collected more than $28 billion in tax revenue over the past roughly 12 years, according to a new report from the cannabis policy reform group Marijuana Policy Project.
Jun 19, 2026	Health Canada Orders Ontario Cannabis Store to Remove Colourful Mural Health Canada has told a cannabis retailer about two hours north of Toronto that it must remove a large, colourful mural from the outside of its building. Treetz Cannabis, an independently run store in the community of Collingwood, had an artist paint a mural on the outside. The mural includes various characters painted in bright colours.
Jun 19, 2026	Fewer Colorado Teens Are Using Marijuana Now Than Before Legalization, State Study Shows, Refuting Opponents’ Core Argument Rates of marijuana use among Colorado teens continued to decline in 2025—and youth are also reporting significantly lower levels of access to cannabis—according to a biennial survey from state health officials.
Jun 19, 2026	The Power of Patient Stories: How Lived Experience is Shifting Medical Cannabis Stigma Despite medical cannabis being legal in the UK for almost eight years, many patients remain hesitant or unsure about whether it is right for them. While awareness of the legality and legitimacy of the medicinal use of cannabis has improved since 2018, misconceptions and stigma continue to shape public perceptions. Even though cannabis-based products for medicinal use are prescribed under a tightly regulated framework in the UK, many people still associate it primarily with recreational use.
Jun 19, 2026	How Cannabis Went Mainstream In Modern Culture Cannabis used to live on the edges of the culture. Now it sits near the center, in the music, the lifestyle content, and the everyday routines of millions of adults. The shift was gradual, then sudden. A generation that grew up online watched the old stigma quietly fall away. Part of that change is simply access. The rise of services that let someone find a Kush Delivery Near Me Now and order from the couch made cannabis feel ordinary, not illicit. Vancouver operators shipping across Canada helped set that pace. This piece looks at how cannabis went mainstream, and what that means for the people buying it.
Jun 19, 2026	DEA Names 7 Anti-Rescheduling Parties for Cannabis Hearing, Zero Pro Parties Those who thought the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stacked the cannabis rescheduling deck in favor of prohibitionists under the Joe Biden administration may be in for more disappointment. Under a new administrative law judge hearing process that’s scheduled to begin June 29 – for the DEA to determine the merits of a proposed rule to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) – President Donald Trump’s administration will only entertain testimony from those who oppose the proposed rule.
Jun 19, 2026	In the cannabis industry, ‘culture’ is revealed in hard times Cannabis companies are eager - sometimes desperate - to show authentic "cannabis culture." But companies create and maintain culture through consistent actions, our columnist argues.
Jun 18, 2026	Nova Scotia Reports $138.8 Million in Cannabis Sales for Fiscal 2025/26 The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) sold $138.8 million worth of cannabis in the fiscal year 2025/26, ending March 31, 2026, increasing 9.3% year over year. The NSLC reported total sales of $898.4 million, including $759.5 million in beverage alcohol sales. Total earnings for the agency for the year were $268.8 million, down 4.1% from the previous year. Cannabis transactions increased 4%, with the average basket value increasing 5% to $39.50. Nova Scotia cannabis sales increased 10.2% to $39.9 million. Nova Scotia cannabis accounts for 28.7% of all cannabis sales. The average price per gram for cannabis decreased by 0.3% to $5.70.
Jun 18, 2026	High Doses of CBD Superior to Placebo in Treating Neuropathic Pain Sydney, Australia: The daily use of CBD is safe and effective for treating chronic neuropathic pain, according to placebo-controlled clinical trial data published in the journal eClinical Medicine. Australian researchers assessed the consumption of oral THC versus a placebo among a cohort of 38 patients with spinal cord-related neuropathy. Study participants receiving the intervention used increasingly higher doses of oral CBD throughout the trial, with patients consuming 800 milligrams of CBD daily for the final four weeks of the study. Patients’ pain levels were assessed one week prior to the start of the trial and again at the conclusion of the study.
Jun 18, 2026	Study Shows Marijuana Extracts Notably Improve Symptoms of Cancer Patients A new clinical study indicates that cannabis-derived medicinal extracts may help reduce several symptoms associated with cancer, including difficulty sleeping and anxiety, though patient responses varied considerably depending on which cannabinoid profile worked best for each individual. The study team evaluated oil-based formulations with different proportions of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) using a randomized, placebo-controlled trial that was triple-blinded to reduce bias. Overall results suggest that cannabis oil treatments produced meaningful relief in about half of participants, with improvements most often reported in sleep-related issues and closely connected symptoms. When outcomes were averaged across the study population, no single formulation consistently showed superior performance compared with the others.
Jun 18, 2026	Medical Cannabis in France: What the First Major Study Reveals About Its Actual Impact Four years after the launch of the national pilot program, a study commissioned by the ANSM finally provides concrete data on the effect of medical cannabis on treatments and the care pathways of French patients. The results, published in September 2025 by the AHeaD team at the Inserm Research Center at the University of Bordeaux and obtained by the Union of Industrialists for the Promotion of Hemp Extracts (UIVEC) following a CADA request, are encouraging.
Jun 18, 2026	Minnesota cannabis store owners lament testing backlog: "It's getting frustrating for everyone involved" One of five cannabis testing sites in Minnesota is shutting down, citing exorbitant costs as the reason. William Drexler is moving product he has around as he waits patiently for more. He says customers who come into Grey Area, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, are looking for adult-use items, which he says are being held up by a backlog in testing.
Jun 18, 2026	Massachusetts caps cannabis cultivation, expands retail Massachusetts cannabis regulators recently moved in two directions at once, freezing one part of the market while opening another. As of June 16, the state Cannabis Control Commission has temporarily stopped accepting new applications for marijuana cultivation licenses, according to an agency bulletin. With an estimated 1 square foot to 1.2 square feet of licensed canopy per adult age 21 or older, Massachusetts has significantly more cultivation capacity per capita than nearby Connecticut, where prices are higher, according to the CCC.
Jun 18, 2026	Cannabis Stocks Pop As Another U.S. Company Applies to List on NYSE That was fast: California cannabis company Glass House Brands on Wednesday applied to become the second U.S. cannabis firm to list on the NYSE, following the path laid by competitor Trulieve last week. Glass House stock popped about 5% on Thursday and is up about 52% since January 1. Trulieve stock rose about 5% and is up about 16% this year. The AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (MSOS) is up 4% Thursday and about 4% since January 1, though still about 90% below its 2021 all-time high.
Jun 18, 2026	Union Warns of Possible Ontario Cannabis Store Labour Action as Negotiations Continue The labour union representing some workers at the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is warning cannabis retailers across the province of a potential labour disruption that the union says could affect services. In a letter sent to cannabis retailers on June 15, 2026, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) warns of ongoing negotiations and a possible labour disruption if union demands are not met following a final bargaining session with the OCS on June 22. The union represents approximately 200,000 members across Ontario, including employees at the OCS.
Jun 18, 2026	Plant-Derived Cannabis Formula Granted ‘Breakthrough’ Designation by FDA for Pain Treatment Regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration have granted ‘Breakthrough Therapy Designation’ to a proprietary cannabis extract (VER-01) containing 2.5 milligrams of THC and standardized percentages of CBD and CBG (cannabigerol). A press release issued by the product’s manufacturer, VERTANICAL, states that the designation “is intended to expedite the development and review of investigational medicines where preliminary clinical evidence indicates the potential for substantial improvement over available therapies.” The FDA’s decision follows the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial concluding that patients who consumed the cannabis extract experienced greater mean pain reduction than did those taking opioids.
Jun 18, 2026	Supreme Court Upholds Marijuana Users’ Gun Rights, Rejecting Trump DOJ Arguments In Major Second Amendment Case The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously sided with a man who was prosecuted for possessing a gun while being a regular consumer of marijuana, ruling that the government’s actions violate the Second Amendment. The opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch is narrow in scope and does not entirely strike down the federal law known as 922(g)(3) that prohibits people who illegally consume controlled substances from possessing or purchasing firearms.
Jun 18, 2026	Illinois Senate candidate Juliana Stratton calls for federal cannabis legalization Cannabis policy is becoming a more prominent campaign issue for politicians across the country. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, is leaning into her state’s industry success story in her run for office, telling the crowd at this week’s IgniteIt Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago that pot is a priority. “I would love to see us legalize cannabis on the federal level,” she said during the show’s keynote fireside chat.
Jun 18, 2026	More seniors are using cannabis. Utah and Colorado researchers want to know why Many older adults are turning to edible cannabis for the first time to find relief from age-related health issues. Researchers want to better understand their motivations. A new study out of the University of Utah and University of Colorado Boulder surveyed about 170 adults in Colorado over the age of 60 about why they wanted to purchase edible cannabis products. This cohort was primarily seeking to manage pain, sleep, or health concerns.
Jun 18, 2026	Ethan Zohn reveals he tried to get cannabis use approved for Survivor -Survivor champion and Kicking Back host Ethan Zohn reveals the reason he could not get cannabis use approved for the show, but he came close! -How would Survivor be different if cannabis was allowed? Ethan shares his take. -Ethan also names his all-Survivor soccer team. Who made the cut?

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