Virginia senators have approved a pair of bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales and provide sentencing relief for people with prior cannabis convictions. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the marijuana sales legislation from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) in a 9-6 vote. Members also voted 12-TK3to approve the cannabis resentencing measure from Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D). Both measures next head to the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee before potentially reaching the floor. Aird told colleagues at Wednesday's hearing that her bill "establishes a market that, once and for all, will protect consumers and prioritize health and safety, while ensuring balance to our regulatory structure that ensures legalization is aligned with public health and safety goals and avoids past mistakes embedded in alcohol laws that allow the legal substance to remain a pipeline to criminalization."

Washington State lawmakers have approved a bill to legalize and regulate therapeutic use of the psychedelic psilocybin. During a hearing on Tuesday, members of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee advanced SB 5921 from Sen. Jesse Salomon (D) in a voice vote. It next heads to the Ways & Means Committee. The legislation would provide for regulated access to psilocybin in a medically supervised environment for patients with qualifying conditions. The state Department of Health (DOH) would be responsible for developing the psychedelics therapy program and establishing rules for the production and administration of psilocybin.

The Florida Supreme Court has cancelled oral arguments and closed a case concerning a marijuana legalization ballot initiative that was under review at the request of the state attorney general. Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) notified the court on Monday that he was withdrawing his request for a legal review into the cannabis measure because election officials determined the campaign behind it had fallen short of the signature requirements for ballot placement. But while the campaign urged the court to reject the notice of dismissal, contesting the signature count, justices on Wednesday accepted the attorney general's motion.

"Putting hemp THC-derived beverages on premise at a restaurant or bar is actually the safest way to consume these products." By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current Rhode Island hospitality and liquor industry representatives voiced their opposition to a proposed ban on restaurants and bars serving intoxicating THC beverages during a virtual public hearing with state cannabis regulators Monday afternoon. Approximately 120 licensed retailers, including restaurants and liquor stores, have been serving hemp-derived THC beverages since August 2024, when the state’s Office of Cannabis Regulation began allowing the sale of products containing low levels of delta-9 THC.

A Maine campaign seeking to significantly roll back the state's marijuana law failed to submit signatures by a deadline this week to make the November 2026 ballot, meaning the anti-cannabis activists will need to shift their focus to 2027 if they hope to put the issue before voters. Amid criticism from reform advocates, industry stakeholders and certain lawmakers over allegedly misleading signature gathering tactics, Mainers for a Safe and Healthy Future was evidently unable to make the cut by the February 2 turn-in deadline. “The cannabis petitions were not returned yesterday,” Deputy Secretary of State for Communications Jana Spaulding…

Virginia lawmakers have approved a bill to allow qualifying patients to access medical marijuana in hospitals—but only if the federal government moves forward with a pending plan to reschedule cannabis. The Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Health voted 4-0 on Tuesday to advance the legislation from Sen. Barbara Favola (D). The proposal would build upon existing state statute protecting health professionals at hospices and nursing facilities that assist terminally ill patients in utilizing medical cannabis treatment. Those protections would be expanded to hospital workers under the substitute version of the bill that was approved by the subcommittee.

The attorney general of Oklahoma says he would "love" to see the state's medical marijuana program wiped out, as the governor recently suggested. But he cautioned that doing so would mean reimbursing the hundreds of licensees participating in the market because the state would be "taking" a revenue source away from them. During a press briefing on Tuesday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) was asked about Gov. Kevin Stitt's (R) call to have voters revisit the state's medical marijuana program and ultimately "shut it down." Drummond said it's a "complicated issue."

"For many adults, a hemp-derived THC beverage is their first cannabis product." By Joe Gerrity, Crescent Canna Three years ago, hemp-derived THC beverages were a regulatory curiosity—a byproduct of the 2018 Farm Bill that few outside the cannabis world noticed. Today, they represent a multibillion-dollar national market, sold in mainstream retail alongside beer and hard seltzer, and widely viewed as the fastest-growing segment of the broader cannabis industry. That growth is now on the verge of being erased. Congress recently voted to prohibit hemp-derived THC products nationwide—not through comprehensive cannabis legislation, but through language inserted into a federal appropriations bill.

As advocates and stakeholders await action on a federal marijuana rescheduling proposal, President Donald Trump has signed large-scale spending legislation that continues a longstanding policy blocking Washington, D.C. from legalizing recreational cannabis sales. Despite District voters approving adult-use legalization for personal possession and cultivation at the ballot more than a decade ago, local officials have been consistently prevented from allowing commercial sales due to an appropriations rider included in a funding bill covering Financial Services and General Government (FSGG). That rider, championed by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), was maintained in the latest version approved by Congress and signed by the president on Wednesay as part of a large-scale funding package.

Florida's attorney general has withdrawn a request to have the state Supreme Court review a marijuana legalization initiative after election officials determined that the campaign behind the proposal failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for placement on the November ballot. But the campaign, Smart & Safe Florida, is sharply criticizing the move and is urging the court to reject the notice of dismissal on constitutional grounds. Advocates have already disputed the secretary of state's signature count, claiming the campaign submitted over 1.4 million petitions—hundreds of thousands more than the 880,062 valid signatures required to go before voters.

Anti-marijuana congressman could lose seat; Lawmakers across US want cannabis access in hospitals; WA marijuana homegrow vote; OK gov cannabis reax Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… BREAKING: Journalism is often consumed for free, but costs money to produce! While this newsletter is proudly sent without cost to you, our ability to send it each day depends on the financial support of readers who can afford to give it.

Ohio's attorney general has approved a recently resubmitted referendum petition to block parts of a restrictive marijuana and hemp law from going into effect after rejecting an initial version he said was "misleading." "Having carefully examined this submission, I conclude that the title and summary are fair and truthful statements of the proposed measure," Attorney General Dave Yost (R) wrote in a letter to the petitioners on Wednesday. "My certification of the title and summary...should not be construed as an affirmation of the enforceability and constitutionality of the referendum petition," he said.

The former chair said she could not “adequately” commit the time needed for the volunteer position with her familial and physician obligations. By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) is accepting applications for a seat on the statewide voter-created Medical Cannabis Commission after its chair resigned Monday. Pillen thanked Dr. Monica Oldenburg, a Lincoln anesthesiologist, for her work. The governor appointed her to the commission in April, and the Legislature confirmed her, 34-11, in May. Her peers named her chair at the commission’s first meeting in June.

Washington State lawmakers have advanced a bill to expand the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law by allowing recreational consumers to grow their own cannabis plants. Weeks after Sens. Rebecca Saldaña (D), Noel Frame (D) and T’wina Nobles (D) filed the legislation, the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Tuesday approved the measure in a voice vote. It next heads to the Senate Rules Committee before potentially reaching the floor. The vote comes about a week after the Senate panel held an initial hearing on the proposal, with law enforcement representatives voicing opposition to the reform and military veterans testifying in support of allowing personal home cultivation.

The governor of Pennsylvania is again calling on lawmakers to move forward with marijuana legalization—and he indicated that a proposed "softening " of federal cannabis laws through rescheduling could bolster the push for reform. As part of his latest budget request, which was released on Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said it's past time for the legislature to deliver an adult-use legalization bill to his desk. Not only would it represent a valuable economic engine for the commonwealth, but it would reflect policy changes that are being enacted in neighboring states and at the federal level, he argued.

The governor of Oklahoma's recent comments suggesting the state should reevaluate its voter-approved medical marijuana law are drawing mixed reactions from top lawmakers and officials. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said during his State of the State address on Monday that voters were misled into supporting the 2018 ballot initiative that created a medical cannabis program, and he wants to see the state "shut it down" to address public safety issues. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R) expressed openness to the idea, though he made clear the will of voters must still be respected, so it's unlikely he would agree to an outright repeal of the legalization law.

“It’s not going to happen this year. I wasn’t going to waste a bill slot for a bill that I knew wasn’t going to move.” By Tom Davies, Indiana Capital Chronicle Advocates for marijuana legalization in Indiana already know 2026 won’t be the year they see it happen. Despite President Donald Trump signing an executive order in December for reclassifying marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, the Republican-dominated state Legislature isn’t acting on any bills that would allow medical or recreational use. Instead, legislators are advancing proposals that would tighten state laws on delta-8 products with THC…

As 2026 brings a new wave of marijuana reform bills to state legislatures across the U.S., a theme has emerged in one specific policy area: Lawmakers are pushing to allow seriously ill patients to access medical cannabis in hospital settings, with at least 13 states exploring the reform this year. Variations of what's become known as "Ryan's Law"—named after a young California medical cannabis patient who passed and whose father has since become an advocate for marijuana access in hospitals—have been introduced in legislatures everywhere from New York to Hawaii this session.

A Republican lawmaker who has built a reputation as one of the staunchest opponents of marijuana reform in Congress—and whose record includes ensuring that Washington, D.C. officials are blocked from legalizing recreational cannabis sales—may be at risk of being unseated in November due to redistricting in his state. The Maryland House of Delegates on Monday approved a congressional redistricting proposal that would leave Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) especially vulnerable in the next election, according to analysts, giving Democrats an advantage in the state's first congressional district for the first time since the last map was drawn in 2011.

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"Nebraska needs to seize the opportunity to be slow and deliberate in the manner in which we determine how best to designate appropriate conditions for medical cannabis." By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner The chair of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission resigned from her post Monday, about nine months after Gov. Jim Pillen  (R) appointed her to the post. Pillen appointed Dr. Monica Oldenburg of Lincoln, an anesthesiologist, to the commission April 24 as one of two at-large members. They serve with the three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Beyond a brief statement announcing the resignation, commissioners did not address Oldenburg’s tenure.

The Republican governor of Oklahoma says he wants voters to revisit the state's medical marijuana law and "shut it down," arguing that "liberal activists" conned the state and "opened up Pandora's box' with legalization. During his State of the State address on Monday, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said his "top priority has always been keeping Oklahoma safe," and one of the "greatest threats to public safety is the out-of-control marijuana industry." "When Oklahomans voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018, we were sold a bill of goods," he said. "Out of state liberal activists preyed on the compassionate nature of Oklahomans.

Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers are unveiling a new bill to legalize marijuana in the state—though its prospects of passage remain dubious with Republicans still in control of both chambers of the legislature. "Legalization of cannabis is not radical. What's radical is continuing a system that destroys lives, drains resources and ignores the will of the people," Rep. Darrin Madison (D) said during a press conference on Monday. "Wisconsin's ready." While a majority of states, including most of those neighboring Wisconsin, have legalized marijuana, "Wisconsin hasn't, which leaves us behind the curve," he said.

Bipartisan Texas lawmakers say the stage is set to advance legislation next session establishing regulations for hemp THC products, with growing understanding among their colleagues that prohibition fails to effectively address concerns about the cannabis market. During a panel at the Texas Cannabis Policy Conference last week, state Sen. Nathan Johnson (D) and Rep. Drew Darby (R) spoke about the future of hemp policy in the Lone Star State. While marijuana legalization may remain out of immediate reach in the Texas legislature, they said it's been made clear to lawmakers that hemp regulations must be enacted.

The West Virginia House of Delegates and Mississippi House of Representatives have both approved bills to support research in hopes of gaining federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the psychedelic ibogaine as a novel treatment option. In West Virginia, the legislation from Del. Ryan Browning (R) unanimously passed the House in a 96-0 vote on Thursday, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The similar Mississippi legislation passed that legislature's House in an 111-1 vote earlier this month. The research programs envisioned under both measures would focus on supporting trials that look at ibogaine as a treatment option for opioid use disorder, co-occurring substance use disorder and "any other neurological or mental health conditions" for which the psychedelic "demonstrates efficacy."