During the course of the most recent session when the Alabama Legislature gutted Alabama’s consumable hemp program, I had the opportunity to hear from certain individuals with thoughtful, nuanced views on the pros and cons of...more
7/9/2025
/ Alabama ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Pets ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Legislatures
These are remarkable times in what has been a remarkable, albeit relative to other industries, remarkably short life cycle for the cannabis industry....more
6/25/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Reform
One of my favorite quotes from Justice Potter Stewart (naturally, a Supreme Court justice writing about watching pornography is my favorite) is “[f]airness is what justice really is.” The Alabama attorney general has an...more
6/13/2025
/ Alabama ,
Cannabis Products ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
Most of the annual state legislative sessions have ended or are nearing an end, and it would be an understatement to say that the hemp industry has ever experienced a more widespread and seemingly coordinated effort to roll...more
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. That’s been the tenor of what I’ve heard and read from stakeholders in the Alabama hemp industry in response to the enactment of comprehensive hemp reform legislation earlier this...more
5/28/2025
/ Alabama ,
Cannabis Products ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
Are cannabis beverages poised to take over the market for intoxicating beverages from alcoholic beverages, or are they simply the latest fad set to give way to alcoholic beverages’ century of dominance? A decade ago, the...more
“Compromise” sometimes gets a bad rap. And history teaches us that there can be bad compromises. But as your resident glass-is-half-full contributor who has also been closely following debate over access to consumable hemp...more
5/9/2025
/ Alabama ,
Cannabis Products ,
Government Agencies ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Legislatures
As the hallowed cannabis holiday for stoners-turned-business-entrepreneurs falls upon us, we find ourselves in the shifting sands of change in the cannabis industry as usual. Not surprisingly, many states have seen...more
4/20/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Government Agencies ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legalization ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Political Campaigns ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
There’s a great scene in the movie Wall Street when the up-and-coming Charlie Sheen (pre-Tiger Blood and now that I think about it maybe the precursor to the “winning!” mantra that seems to resonate today) is playing the role...more
4/1/2025
/ Alabama ,
Appellate Courts ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Proceedings ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
I’ve had Georgia on my mind these days. I needed to get that out immediately because otherwise I would have been hearing that song in my head the entire time I was writing.
As is the case in many capitals around the...more
3/12/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Georgia ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
For the hemp industry, it appears the beatings will continue until morale improves. Following the lead of a number of other states in recent years, the Alabama Legislature is set to consider a measure that would eliminate...more
Longtime readers of Budding Trends (and there are dozens of you) know that I have been saying over and over recently that – as counterintuitive as it may sound – the fastest way to get Alabama’s medical cannabis program...more
2/13/2025
/ Alabama ,
Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Jurisdiction ,
Licensing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government
Anyone who thought that the momentum towards federal liberalization of marijuana would be a straight line found themselves with a cold dash of water to the face. Late last week Republican senators filed a bill, entitled the...more
2/11/2025
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Reform
The title of this post comes, of course, from The Who’s classic track “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” This post analyzes whether there is cause for worry on the part of cannabis operators – both marijuana and hemp – under a second...more
11/12/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
The DOOBIE Act – yes, you read that correctly – could soon become law. While the law isn’t as fun as it might sound to certain cannabis enthusiasts, it would substantially change the hiring practices of the federal government...more
9/24/2024
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employment Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Legalization ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws
Well, it’s here. Late yesterday afternoon Sens. Tim Melson and David Sessions introduced the long-awaited “legislative fix” to help get Alabama’s long-stalled Alabama medical cannabis licensing program off the ground. The...more
If you know either of us, you know neither of us would pass up a chance to say, “I told you so.” As we looked ahead to 2024 in January, we speculated that psychedelics could be legalized as a prescription medicine. Now, not...more
Earlier this week, the Florida legislature passed a bill (SB 1698) that will limit the amount of THC in hemp-derived products and threatens to upend the novel cannabinoid industry in the state.
For the past few years,...more
3/12/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Florida ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government
We told you it may be coming, though we were admittedly cynical about the ability to pass a bill funding psychedelic research given the current political landscape — a narrowly controlled Democratic Senate that is generally...more
As we’ve discussed, the federal government seems to be getting on board with the legal use of psychedelics. So are many states. While states across the country are moving towards expanding legal (or at least decriminalized)...more
9/25/2023
/ California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Colorado ,
Hawaii ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Prescription Drugs ,
State and Local Government
While it appears likely that Tennessee will be the last Deep South state to legalize medical cannabis (as we wrote about here), it has always been a favorable state for the hemp industry. The Tennessee Legislature just came...more
There is a moment in the movie Wall Street, just before a fresh-faced Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox interviews for a coveted position with a peak-of-his-fame Michael Douglas playing the iconic Gordon Gecko, where Sheen looks in...more
We have long suspected that North Carolina may be the next great cannabis market. In describing North Carolina as “the sleeping giant of the South,” we wrote recently:
From Murphy to Manteo, North Carolina is a state that...more
1/26/2023
/ Cannabis Products ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
North Carolina ,
Patients ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Suppliers
I’m not proud of it, but I’m the resident cynic amongst the editorial staff here at Budding Trends when it comes to federal marijuana reform. And after all, someone has to temper the frivolous whims of others. But we’re...more
1/5/2023
/ Banking Reform ,
Banking Sector ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legalization ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SAFE Act
Like many sports fans, we’re suckers for next-season predictions immediately following the prior season (even when Notre Dame is inexplicably ranked in the Top 10). At the time of this writing, applications have just been...more