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In the 1970s, the landscape of wine in the US looked markedly different from today’s. Without access to boutique wine shops across the country where an educated staff supports consumers in making exploratory and even esoteric selections, the average American wine drinker was relegated to bulk jugs of straw-wrapped Chiantis and largely uneducated about the world of the vine beyond vague notions of “whites with fish and reds with meat.” But there were two major moments that decade that brought US consumers out of the wine dark ages and laid the foundation for this country’s modern era of . . .

A Florida campaign hasn’t thrown in the towel just yet on its proposal to put marijuana legalization on the November ballot, with an appeal concerning the invalidation of about 71,000 signatures now before the state Supreme Court. While the court recently agreed to close a separate case involving a legal review into the ballot measure from Smart & Safe Florida, it’s now been handed another case challenging the earlier mass signature invalidation. The state’s First District Court of Appeal submitted a notice to invoke discretionary jurisdiction and notice of appeal to the Florida Supreme Court . . .

Virginia’s House and Senate have given initial approved to two differing versions of bills to legalize marijuana sales in the Commonwealth-teeing up final votes and bicameral negotiations on the reform while also advancing separate legislation to provide a pathway to resentencing for people with past cannabis convictions. On Monday, the House passed a marijuana sales measure from Del. Paul Krizek (D) on second reading-and the Senate did the same with its version from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D)-setting the stage for final floor votes in their respective chambers on Tuesday, which is the deadline . . .

TheLeafOnline took a trip to Europe to check out the cannabis scene in Portugal, Spain and France and found that cannabinoid hemp abounds. The post Cannabis in Portugal, Spain and France appeared first on The Leaf Online.

“There were at least 20-some states doing this today, they don’t seem to have a problem with it, and they’re all spending it, right?” By Henry Culvyhouse, Mountain State Spotlight This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at https://mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter. Last October, Mountain State Spotlight discovered $34 million from West Virginia’s medical cannabis program had never been spent, despite state law prescribing its specific uses. Since then, the Treasurer’s . . .

As the November election approaches, Nebraska candidates for Congress are pledging to stand with voters in support of medical marijuana access-in part by ousting members of the current delegation who have worked to undermine cannabis reform while the state is inexplicably excluded from federal non-interference protections that exist for other states. During a webinar hosted by Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana on Monday, Nebraska State Sen. John Cavanaugh (D) and independent Dan Osborn-who are running for U.S. House and Senate, respectively-joined advocates . . .

Table of Contents AI Supported Tech In the Grow: From Gut Feel to Data‑First What this means for operators: Compliance, Testing Tech, and the 2026 Regulatory Shake‑Up Action items for compliance and quality teams: Cannabis Processing: From Bottlenecks to Orchestrated Flow What this means for processors: A New Operating Model for Cannabis: Data, Not Gut, at the Center Welcome to Cannabis Tech’s Monthly Tech Dispatch, your curated insight into the technologies reshaping the cannabis industry. Each month, we break down the innovations driving operational excellence and data‑driven decision . . .

Announcement Launches ASA’s Compassionate Candidate Campaign Washington, DC / Lincoln, NE – Americans for Safe Access (ASA) today officially launched its 2026 Compassionate Candidate Campaign, with Nebraska State Senator John Cavanaugh, candidate for U.S. Congress (District 2), and Dan Osborn, U.S. Navy veteran and Independent candidate for Nebraska’s U.S. Senate seat announcing they have signed The Compassionate Pledge 2026 at ASA’s “Nebraska: Ground Zero for Medical Cannabis Policy 2026? ” press briefing.

“The evidence from other states is unambiguous: over-taxation kills cannabis markets’ ability to displace illicit sales and generate sustainable revenue.” By Max Jackson, Cannabis Wise Guys Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) 2026/27 budget proposal to legalize marijuana projects $729 million in first-year cannabis revenue to address Pennsylvania’s $4.8 billion structural deficit. It’s a politically appealing pitch: legalize cannabis, capture tax dollars currently flowing to neighboring states and fund education and infrastructure without raising income taxes. But Shapiro himself . . .

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan bill to legalize the regulated use of psilocybin for medical purposes. After unanimously passing the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee late last month, the full chamber advanced it in voice vote on the consent calendar on Thursday. It now goes to the House Finance Committee before a final floor vote that could move it to the Senate. The legislation from Rep. Buzz Scherr (D) would create a regulatory pathway for patients with certain conditions to access the psychedelic for therapeutic use through a . . .

The regulated Missouri cannabis industry set a $1.5 billion sales record in 2025, including $1.3 billion in adult-use sales, MJBizDaily reports. The industry also generated a record-breaking $255 million in cannabis tax revenue, with about $151 million going directly to the state and about $104 million going to local governments that host licensed dispensaries. The 2025 cannabis tax revenue is more than six times the amount originally predicted by the State Auditor’s Office, according to KCTV. “If you want to do something for the Missouri economy, if you want to help local communities, go to . . .

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) on Friday vetoed a ban on hemp-derived THC sales that the Chicago City Council passed last month, CBS News reports. The ban would have banned the sale of intoxicating hemp products, including edibles, flower, and vaporizers in the city, but left a carve-out for hemp-derived beverages, drink additives, and topicals like gels and creams. Under the ordinance, licensed liquor retailers would have been allowed to continue selling THC-infused beverages. The City Council, which voted 32-16 to pass the ban, could override the mayor’s veto with 34 votes. In his veto . . .

The Justice Department should “take about 20 years” to finish the marijuana rescheduling process, a GOP congressman who staunchly opposes cannabis reform tells Marijuana Moment. With the proposal to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) still pending, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) is in no rush to have DOJ see the process through-despite President Donald Trump’s December executive order directing the attorney general to quickly finalize the rule. “Last I looked, it hasn’t been rescheduled. The president said to look into it,” Harris said in an . . .

“Republicans, Democrats and independents alike understand that regulation is better than prohibition, and that good science takes time.” By Mike Simpson, Lovewell Farms via Rhode Island Current At a moment when Americans across the political spectrum say they want evidence-based policy, Congress is on the verge of repeating a familiar mistake: banning first and studying later. Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate would delay the impending federal ban on hemp-derived products. This is not to legalize anything new, but instead to give regulators, . . .

“We have to make sure that we don’t have unintended consequences, and destroy things that do not need to be destroyed.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent A push for Missouri to immediately adopt planned federal limits on intoxicating hemp products ran into a filibuster in the state Senate Wednesday, with critics demanding any changes wait until national regulations go into effect in November. Democratic state Sen. Karla May of St. Louis led the two-hour filibuster of a bill that would immediately ban hemp-derived THC beverages and edibles as soon as the legislation was passed and signed . . .

“I think that sample fraud should be a death sentence for a licensee. Right now, it’s a $15,000 slap on the wrist.” By Christopher Osher, ProPublica and Evan Wyloge, The Denver Gazette This story was originally published by ProPublica. Colorado marijuana manufacturers would no longer be allowed to choose which product samples they send for mandatory lab testing under a new regulatory proposal discussed at a policy forum on Friday. Instead, the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division may require independent labs or outside vendors to collect product samples for the testing that’s required . . .

A key House committee chairman has unveiled the latest version of a large-scale agriculture bill-with provisions his office says will reduce “regulatory burdens for producers of industrial hemp.” The proposed 2026 Farm Bill released on Friday by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) would maintain the industrial hemp program at a time when the cannabinoid industry finds itself threatened by a pending recriminalization of most consumable cannabinoid products under separate legislation President Donald Trump signed into law last year. But for farmers growing hemp for . . .

President Donald Trump has pardoned a former NFL star who was convicted of trafficking 175 pounds of marijuana. As advocates await action on federal marijuana rescheduling-and many people continue to endure the consequences of ongoing cannabis criminalization-Trump granted clemency to five ex-NFL players, including Nate Newton, who helped lead the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories in the 1990s. In 2002, however, Newton was arrested in Texas and convicted on federal drug trafficking charges after police discovered $10,000 in his truck and 175 pounds of marijuana in an accompanying . . .

Virginia senators have advanced an amended bill to legalize recreational marijuana sales in the Commonwealth toward a floor vote while removing new criminal penalties that were recently added to the measure-setting the stage for negotiations between both chambers of the legislature as they work to enact differing versions of the reform. At a hearing before the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Thursday, members passed the legislation from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) in a 7-5 vote, along with several amendments that were adopted by the panel’s Resources Subcommittee earlier in the . . .

Washington, DC / Lincoln, NE – On Monday, February 16, at 10:00 AM CT, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will convene patients, advocates, and state policymakers for a press briefing on Nebraska’s unprecedented exclusion from federal medical cannabis protections in the FY2026 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill.

An administrative law judge in Minnesota ruled on Thursday that hemp product retailers can ship their products directly to consumers, overturning a ban implemented last October by the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), the Star Tribune reports. Judge Kristien Butler wrote in the ruling that state law “remains silent on the modes of shipping or delivery,” and that “Language may not be added to a statute that the Legislature did not supply itself.” “Consequently, the Office must cease enforcement of the unpromulgated and invalid rule,” Butler wrote. Low-dose THC edibles and beverages . . .

A proposal to ban intoxicating hemp products stalled in the Missouri Senate on Wednesday following a lengthy discussion between lawmakers, the Missouri Independent reports. State Sen. Karlya May, a Democrat from St. Louis, led the two-hour filibuster against the proposal by state Sen. David Gregory, a Republican from Chesterfield. The bill seeks to ban hemp products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container and with a total dry weight THC concentration greater than .3%, including delta-8, delta-9 THC, and other intoxicating cannabinoids commonly sourced from hemp. Gregory . . .

Colorado senators have advanced a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in healthcare facilities such as hospitals. The Senate Health & Human Services Committee on Thursday unanimously approved the legislation from Sen. Kyle Mullica (D) in a 9-0 vote, with amendments. It’s one of the latest examples of a state legislature moving to adopt what’s known as “Ryan’s law,” named after a young cannabis patient in California who passed away. As revised by the panel, the proposal allows health facilities to permit patients who are terminally ill and registered in the state’s . . .

As cannabis industry stakeholders await action on a marijuana rescheduling proposal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized a rule to provide federal health insurance coverage for CBD, according to an executive with a hemp company that’s been collaborating with the agency on the initiative. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December that directed the attorney general to quickly complete the process of moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. While that component of the order made national headlines, another . . .

Maryland senators have taken up a bill to extend a psychedelics task force through the end of 2027 to develop updated recommendations on expanding therapeutic access to the novel drugs and potentially creating a regulatory framework for broader legalization. The Senate Finance Committee considered the legislation from Sen. Brian Feldman (D) at a hearing on Thursday. A Home companion version sponsored by Del. Pam Guzzone (D) was separately taken up by the Health Committee on Tuesday. The proposals are aimed at building upon a current law that created the Maryland Task Force on Responsible Use . . .