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
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
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
Well, it’s officially crazy season. An annual tradition in the Alabama statehouse since the inception of Alabama’s medical cannabis program, last week we saw a flurry of cannabis-related bills introduced with great fanfare...more
If you haven’t seen Ted Lasso, you need to do that immediately (after reading this). In the final episode of the first season, Ted Lasso – an American football coach hired, for reasons that don’t matter here, to coach an...more
Advocates and stakeholders in the medical cannabis world of Alabama are desperate. And as it is so often when we are faced with a desperate situation, we make well-intentioned but ultimately flawed decisions....more
2/12/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alabama ,
Cannabis Products ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
2024 was a banner year for cannabis lawmakers and business operators. From Kamala Harris advocating for marijuana reforms to California’s clash of titans between hemp and marijuana markets, there was no shortage of drama in...more
12/31/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
DEA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Trump Administration
It’s hard to be surprised when you’ve been writing and talking about government decisions about the cannabis industry over the past decade. But I’ll admit that my eyebrows raised when I read a recent letter from the solicitor...more
I can only assume that being a cannabis regulator is a challenging and usually thankless job. The laws are relatively new and constantly evolving. Operators are always pushing the science faster than regulators can promulgate...more
9/30/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
State Legislatures
Over the past nearly two years, I have been talking to friends, clients, and basically anyone at parties about the slow progress (if I might be permitted to use that word in this context) of the Alabama medical cannabis...more
9/10/2024
/ Alabama ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
The Alabama medical cannabis program has been FUBAR for a while now, but there was at least some good news for two applicants last week....more
8/13/2024
/ Alabama ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
The Commonwealth cannot find common ground on cannabis. In the latest in another volley in the back and forth between the Virginia Legislature and governor’s office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently vetoed a bill that would have...more
It’s not a joke. On April 1, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that voters will decide in November whether Florida will become the 24th state to legalize adult-use marijuana. In the face of significant opposition that...more
4/11/2024
/ Ballot Measures ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Florida ,
General Elections ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
During a hearing today on SB276, a proposal released only yesterday that would fundamentally change the landscape of Alabama’s nascent medical cannabis program, would have probably been less one-sided if the proposal called...more
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
Novel psychiatric cannabinoids legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill remain under attack by state regulators. Most recently, the Arizona attorney general opined that “Arizona law does not permit the sale of delta-8 and other...more
Yesterday the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission(AMCC) awarded the five coveted licenses in the Integrated Facility category. The five licenses were awarded to:
1. Trulieve AL
2. Sustainable Alabama
3. Wagon Trail...more
12/13/2023
/ Alabama ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
I feel like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day. I keep writing the same blog post in some way heralding the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s awarding of licenses to would-be operators. Well, on Friday it happened...more
12/4/2023
/ Alabama ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
On November 7, 2023, Ohio voters decisively passed Issue 2, putting the “high” in Ohio and becoming the 24th state to legalize adult-use marijuana. Issue 2, which goes into effect on December 7, 2023, allows adults to...more
Once hailed by observers as the southern state most likely to legalize marijuana first, North Carolina has not kept pace with its northern neighbors in adopting laws to promote the growth of a vibrant medicinal and...more
11/9/2023
/ Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
North Carolina ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
I have literally (yes, literally) lost track of the number of times that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission or a court has ordered a halt to the AMCC’s efforts to issue licenses to medical cannabis operators. If you...more
9/1/2023
/ Alabama ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures