Author: News Room

The New York Media Softball League (NYMSL)—which has teams representing The Wall Street Journal, High Times and BuzzFeed among its ranks—is one of the latest athletic organizations to embrace the cannabis industry, launching a new sponsorship deal with a Kentucky-based CBD company. Cornbread Hemp will become a sponsor of the media league, joining its playoff series in September and providing players with hats embroidered by the company’s logo and samples of its CBD products such as gummies and topicals. The idea behind the collaboration was inspired by moves by Major League Baseball (MLB) and certain teams like the Kansas City…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have teamed up to send warning letters to six companies that the agencies say are unlawfully selling “copycat” delta-8 THC products that are misleadingly packaged to mimic popular brands like Doritos, Cheetos and Jolly Ranchers. The market for delta-8 THC and other novel cannabinoids has rapidly expanded in recent years following the legalization of hemp and its derivatives under the 2018 Farm Bill. FDA and FTC have generally exercised discretion in taking enforcement action against businesses that are selling products containing substances like CBD or delta-8, targeting those whose…

As Colorado approaches its 10-year anniversary since legal adult-use marijuana sales began, the city of Denver has released a report indicating that its local regulatory framework has effectively reduced the size of the illicit market, with law enforcement processing a record low amount of illegal cannabis in 2022. The municipal government’s report also provides an overview of marijuana licensing and sales trends, showing how the recreational market has gradually overtaken the medical cannabis industry and how overall sales have started to slump. It additionally details how tax revenue from marijuana purchases is being locally distributed and the limited progress of…

Maryland marijuana sales totaled more than $10 million this past holiday weekend as retail sales for adult consumers launched across the state, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) reported. From Friday through Sunday, collective recreational and medical cannabis purchases reached $10,429,736—which is more than double the $3,985,527 in medical marijuana sales that the state saw during last year’s 4th of July holiday weekend. For the first official day of adult-use sales on Saturday, Maryland sold $4,518,377 worth of cannabis—the vast majority of which ($3,558,947) came from recreational marijuana purchases. Medical cannabis sales, meanwhile, totaled $959,430 for the day. “We are now…

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says that while he believes the justice system has effectively handled prosecution against President Joe Biden’s son, there’s still a double-standard in the country that has allowed presidents and members of Congress to admit to past marijuana use with impunity while subjecting thousands of less privileged people to punitive cannabis laws. In an interview with CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace” that was released late last month, the senator was asked whether he believes that there’s a partisan bias in the criminal legal system, pointing out that the Justice Department offered Hunter Biden a deal in…

Most shareholders in U.S. CBD maker Charlotte’s Web withheld their votes for four directors during the company’s recent annual meeting, as a conflict between the founders and the current board is now fully in the open. Ahead of Charlotte’s Web’s June 15 annual meeting, founding brothers Joel and Jesse Stanley sparked a skirmish in a June 12 press release, questioning the strategic direction of the company and calling for resignations from four of six current directors, including board President John Held and CEO Jacques Tortoroli.  The Stanleys called for strategic changes and nominated themselves to a slate of four candidates…

California courts have sealed, resentenced or dismissed about 90 percent of eligible marijuana convictions for activity that was legalized under a 2016 voter-approved initiative, a new report from the state attorney general’s office shows. As of April 6, the state’s judicial system has processed relief for 206,052 of out an estimated 227,650 cannabis cases that were identified as eligible following the passage of records reform legislation that the governor signed in 2018. The new report, released last month by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) office, shows that most counties across the state have made significant progress since being given the…

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are applauding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for releasing first-ever draft guidance on psychedelics research—a development that they had requested through a new bill just days before the agency took the step. Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) filed the legislation this month. And while FDA didn’t say that its decision to release the guidance was directly responsive to the measure, it’s precisely the action that the first part of the bill addressed. “I’m glad the FDA is taking this first step of issuing guidance for psychedelic clinical trials—and listening to…

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, formally announcing his candidacy on June 7, 2023. The governor has approved several marijuana policy reforms at the state level, though he’s stopped short of embracing adult-use legalization and opposed ballot initiatives to enact such a system in his state. Among the bills that Burgum has signed during his tenure are ones to decriminalize simple possession, increase allowable THC limits for medical cannabis and allow people in hospice care to self-certify as medical marijuana patients. He’s also called for congressional reform to decriminalize cannabis and resolve…

“The fight for cannabis freedom will continue and, given the divided nature of Congress, it will be long.” By: Justin Strekal, BOWL PAC Founder This Fourth of July, cannabis advocates and industry interests alike will likely make wisecracks about celebrating freedom and watching the sky light up with fireworks while it remains federally illegal to light up a joint.  But the rest of July offers the reform movement its first real opportunity for a Senate committee markup on a bill that addresses marijuana policy reform.  Readers of Marijuana Moment are likely already well-versed in the state of things, but to…