Newsletter
Lawmakers push Trump to pardon cannabis prisoners (Newsletter: May 25, 2026)
Medicare CBD lawsuit dismissed; GOP reps want marijuana testing “carve-out” for rescheduling; Poll: VA gov veto unpopular; AK cannabis record sealing
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from anti-marijuana groups and a cannabis-focused biopharmaceutical corporation that sought to block a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plan to cover hemp products for eligible patients.
A coalition of 29 Democratic House and Senate members sent a letter urging President Donald Trump to use his power to commute the sentences of people still serving time in federal prison for marijuana as a follow-up to the administration’s cannabis rescheduling move.
Reps. Andy Harris (R-MD) and Pete Sessions (R-TX) joined with an anti-marijuana group and a drug testing industry association to push for passage of a “safety carve-out” to ensure that transportation workers can still be tested and punished for cannabis use even after rescheduling.
A new poll shows that Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) veto of legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales is overwhelmingly unpopular with voters—and that there’s strong support across party lines for launching a cannabis market sooner than later.
Alaska lawmakers sent Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) a package of criminal justice legislation including provisions to let people keep marijuana conviction records confidential, subject to certain limitations.
The Department of Transportation adopted a drug testing rule that will require truck drivers and other federally regulated workers to undergo “directly observed” urine collection because no saliva testing labs have yet been certified.
The Alabama State Committee of Public Health voted to object to federal marijuana rescheduling in order to give officials more time to prepare for an automatic reclassification of cannabis under state law triggered by the Trump administration’s move.
The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to allow liquor stores to sell large-sized hemp THC beverages and to let medical cannabis dispensaries add recreational sales without needing local approval.
Delaware lawmakers are weighing four different bills to regulate hemp THC products as the end of the legislative session nears.
/ FEDERAL
The National Institute on Drug Abuse posted notices of intent to award a contract to produce and distribute drugs for research.
Former Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) called marijuana “one of the biggest scourges going in this country” and claimed that “states are going to lose money” from legalization due to the costs associated with use, adding that “there’s no real medical uses.”
/ STATES
Texas Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Marcos Vélez discussed his support for legalizing marijuana.
California’s attorney general announced the arrest of a “conman” who allegedly “defrauded investors out of more than half a million dollars through a fake cannabis investment scheme.”
Minnesota lawmakers declined to enact legislation to create a psilocybin therapy program that had passed the House of Representatives.
An Illinois representative discussed his cannabis reform legislation and the impact of federal marijuana rescheduling on the state.
Colorado regulators are being sued by marijuana businesses that claim the state owes millions of dollars in tax refunds because they allegedly allowed so many sham transactions to proliferate that it undermined sales by licensed operators.
Massachusetts regulators are moving to begin auditing state THC potency on marijuana product labels.
Michigan cannabis regulators are inviting people to join a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workgroup.
The New York Cannabis Control Board will meet on Friday.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Guyana’s agriculture minister discussed moves toward developing a hemp industry in the country.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “cannabis alone and cannabis with the lower dose of alcohol did not reliably impact performance on behavioral tests (ie, SFSTs), commonly used by law enforcement to detect impaired drivers.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party tweeted that Republican gubernatorial nominee “Stacy Garrity made clear that marijuana legalization is ‘never going to pass’ if she’s governor, and her running mate, Jason Richey, doubled down that it would be ‘catastrophic.’ Garrity and Richey are in lockstep on their extreme, toxic agenda that will hold Pennsylvania back — and that’s why we will elect Democrats up and down the ballot to finally get this done.”
/ BUSINESS
Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. reported quarterly net revenue of C$29.8 million and a loss and comprehensive loss of C$2.2 million.
/ CULTURE
Scary Movie 6 is being promoted with a bong-shaped popcorn bucket.
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