Here at Budding Trends, we like to roll up our “Top 10 Weed Roundup” between the sacred and renowned 420 holidays. Each year, we pack a recap post with 10 highly read blog posts since the previous 420 to see what’s shakin’ on shakedown street over the last year — and we have seen a lot go down and a lot go up in smoke. So, let’s get down to business, shall we?
We’ve got everything from Alabama’s baby steps into hemp reform and kicking off their medical cannabis program to Texas going big with its medical cannabis program, proving that the Lone Star State prefers everything supersized — even their weed laws. The Trump administration’s never-ending tease of potential federal marijuana rescheduling followed by the big announcement that had us all thinking our dreams might come true just before the holidays.
We also get more down with Dr. Sunil Aggarwal’s legal tango with the DEA over psilocybin rescheduling — a seemingly sci-fi saga that brings new meaning to “tripping through red tape.” And let’s not forget how Trump’s surgeon general nominee isn’t exactly buzzing over cannabis but seems ready to blast off with psychedelic therapy.
We finish up with the intriguing tale of Maine’s Sirois case, reminding us that there’s a chilling federally patrolled intersection between state medical marijuana efforts and the Controlled Substances Act — and that’s something every cannabis entrepreneur should keep in mind, mind, mind, mind, mind, mind.
Enjoy this roundup burning with legislative drama, a dab of regulatory change, and the occasional puff of good news.
1. Is “Compromise” a Four-Letter Word? Alabama Legislature Passes Comprehensive Consumable Hemp Reform Bill
“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 products in Alabama, I’ve been looking at some quotes about compromising and it turns out there’s some pretty good stuff from some pretty interesting folks.
2. What You Need to Know: Texas Substantially Expands Medical Cannabis Program
Everything’s bigger in Texas, unless you’re talking about the medical cannabis program. It’s no secret that Texas has the potential to be a behemoth in the space, but for years, Texas’ medical cannabis program has lagged behind other states. At the same time, Texas’ booming hemp industry is fighting for survival.
3. Crank the Party Up: Is the DEA About to Get It On with Psilocybin?
On August 11, 2025, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officially transmitted a request to the Department of Health and Human Services to loosen the federal restriction on psilocybin, seeking to move one of the better-known psychedelics from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act. The petition was submitted by a familiar face to Budding Trends readers, Dr. Sunil Aggarwal. This marks a big step in Aggarwal’s years-long legal battle, which I’ve found myself keeping close tabs on.
4. What Means Means for Mushrooms and Marijuana: How Might Trump’s Surgeon General Nominee Shift the Conversation for Cannabis and Psychedelics?
Earlier this month, President Trump tapped “physician-turned wellness influencer” Casey Means as his nominee for surgeon general. Means has close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Trump has touted her “impeccable” Make America Health Again (MAHA) credentials. We’ve written previously on what impact Trump’s second presidency could have on American cannabis and psychedelic policy, but Means’ public statements on cannabis and psychedelics got us pondering on how she may shift the conversation.
5. Let’s Get to It: Will the Trump Administration Reschedule Marijuana?
Stakeholders in the marijuana space have been anxiously awaiting news about rescheduling marijuana since the Biden administration announced its intention to consider rescheduling in August 2023. And while we are less than a year into the new Trump administration, there are increasingly fewer signals that rescheduling is a reality in the short term. There are also more questions about what rescheduling would look like should it eventually occur.
6. Trump Orders Marijuana Rescheduled, Broader CBD Access in Major Announcement: What Does It Mean?
Are you not entertained? In a much-anticipated ceremony in the Oval Office, President Trump signed an executive order that (1) directs the attorney general to expeditiously reschedule marijuana to Schedule III and (2) instructs senior White House staff to work with Congress to revise the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
7. Was Rescheduling a Pipe Dream? DEA Questions Reliability of State-Run Programs and Impact on Transnational Crime
Often wrong, never in doubt. That’s our promise here at Budding Trends. A little over a year ago, we wrote these words: “DEA will reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule III.” We later acknowledged we (may have) jumped the gun on that and modified our prediction to be that rescheduling won’t happen in 2025. To be fair, that prediction is almost going to prove true but not exactly the way we meant it.
8. Reefer Madness: Congressional Proposal Would Keep Marijuana Schedule I, Prevent Most Prosecutions of Marijuana Use
What. Are. We. Doing. Here? The latest from Capitol Hill is a doozy: A congressional committee has approved a spending bill that contains provisions to block the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana. The legislation would also maintain a separate long-standing rider protecting state medical cannabis programs from federal interference — though with new language authorizing enhanced penalties for sales near schools and parks. It next heads to full committee and then, potentially, to the floor.
9. Medical Cannabis Finally Rolling in Alabama
In a monumental decision almost five years in the making, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission on Thursday issued medical cannabis dispensary licenses to three applicants: GP6 Wellness LLC, RJK Holdings LLC and CCS of Alabama LLC. Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries LLC is in line to receive a license as soon as January 26, 2026, absent a court order or other action by the AMCC.
10. Hashing It Out: What the Final Chapter of the Sirois Case Teaches Us
On November 18, 2025, United States v. Sirois finally came to an end when Lucas Sirois and his father, Robert Sirois, were found guilty in the District of Maine on multiple charges related to a conspiracy to cultivate and distribute thousands of kilograms of marijuana on the black market.