Newsletter
Governors press Congress for cannabis banking bill (Newsletter: November 11, 2026)
NC House speaker on marijuana as a priority; TX legalization bills filed; NH cannabis prospects in 2027; Marijuana tax op-ed; Industry & GOP op-ed
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
A group of 16 governors sent a letter calling on Congress to pass legislation to increase marijuana businesses’ access to banks—saying it will “protect public safety, increase revenues, and improve transparency in our states.”
North Carolina House Speaker-elect Robert Reives (D) said “decriminalization of marijuana has been on top of everybody’s minds”—adding that when it comes to medical cannabis, “I want everything we can to help our veterans, and that is one of the top items that people have talked about.”
Texas lawmakers have already begun prefiling bills to legalize recreational marijuana, expand medical cannabis access and establish THC drug testing employment protections for the 2027 session following last week’s midterm elections.
New Hampshire Democratic lawmakers are discussing the opportunity to legalize marijuana in the state next year under their party’s new majorities in both chambers of the legislature—even as voters also reelected Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R), who strongly opposes legalizing cannabis.
The Center for New Revenue’s Pat Oglesby, who serves on North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein’s (D) Advisory Council on Cannabis, argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that cannabis should be taxed by THC potency—rather than by price.
- “THC taxes, aiming squarely at cannabis’s main intoxicating molecule, are stable; they keep nudging against intoxication and rising potency, even as pre-tax prices fall.”
KCSA Strategic Communications’s Ellen Melody argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that the cannabis industry’s “pursuit of Republican gatekeepers has come at the expense of priorities such as patient protections, home cultivation and social equity, treating them as bargaining chips rather than principles worth defending.”
- “The answer is not to become a Democratic industry. It is to become a genuinely nonpartisan one. Support lawmakers based on their records, not the letter after their names.”
The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is clarifying that it has not yet established a timeline for when laboratory testing of medical marijuana products will become available—pushing back on recent reporting that suggested it could take up to two years to issue guidelines.
/ FEDERAL
Former White House Office of Public Engagement Director Cedric Richmond and former Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Asa Hutchinson spoke in favor of keeping the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products on track at a press conference organized by No Dangerous Intoxicating Products.
Former Department of Health and Human Services Senior Advisor Calley Means claimed that former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles “put her finger on the hemp policy scale because of her family,” referring to her son-in-law’s involvement in the industry.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) tweeted about discussing her bill to keep hemp THC drinks federally legal with members of the Texas Restaurant Association.
The House bill to protect people from being denied federal employment or security clearances due to past marijuana use got one new cosponsor for a total of three.
/ STATES
Illinois regulators agreed to pause enforcement of hemp product restrictions amid pending litigation.
Mississippi regulators published tips about reading medical cannabis product certificates of analysis.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a University of Colorado Board of Regents member who owns a cannabis business and who claimed that she was improperly censured for criticizing a marijuana education campaign.
California regulators sent updates about various cannabis issues.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission will meet on Thursday.
Vermont regulators will begin accepting applications for cannabis event permits on November 16.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board will meet on November 19.
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Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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/ LOCAL
Tulsa County, Oklahoma’s district attorney discussed forthcoming restrictions on hemp THC products.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study “did not find evidence for significant mean differences in impairment” after Colorado legalized recreational marijuana sales and that “contrary to expectation, we found that high-risk participants with [cannabis use disorder] endorsed significantly more [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)] criteria before 2014 than after 2014.”
A study of chronic pain patients found that “participants described turning to cannabis or CBD after judging prescribed treatments to be ineffective, addictive or harmful” and that “reported benefits centred on relief of pain and muscle tension, improved sleep and mood, and support for everyday coping rather than cure.”
/ BUSINESS
WM Technology, Inc. reported quarterly revenue of $38.5 million and a net loss of $5.9 million.
Total Wine & More’s CEO criticized Illinois’s hemp THC product restrictions.
Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. said it received competition law clearances in Germany and Canada for its proposed unsolicited acquisition of Aurora Cannabis Inc.
Zen Leaf Dispensary workers voted to decertify the United Food and Commercial Workers union as their bargaining representative.
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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
