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.
The first of
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.
We
I suspect my entry into the hemp market was similar to many of yours. I have never been a regular consumer of THC and consider myself a rule follower. A few years ago, I noticed new cannabis boutiques popping up in my neighborhood. Then canned hemp drinks started to appear at grocery stores around town.
This morning, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission voted unanimously to issue dispensary licenses to four applicants. Absent a stay entered by a court or the commission, three of those licenses will be issued on January 8, 2026. Those three are GP6 Wellness LLC, RJK Holdings LLC, and CCS of Alabama LLC. Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries LLC
A few weeks ago, someone at a holiday party asked “Whitt, why doesn’t Budding Trends take on the weighty legal issues of the day and instead resort to cheap pop culture references and puns?” I thought about responding with a quote from “Run Like an Antelope” but then it hit me: Maybe we
Sportscaster Jim McKay famously said that “our greatest hopes and worst fears are seldom realized.” When the federal government enacted a law that, on its face, would essentially eradicate the consumable hemp industry in America, my first reaction was great sadness for those I had gotten to know in the industry and those millions of
Shock. Grief. Dismay. Desperation. Just a few of the emotions I have encountered during countless phone calls and meetings with stakeholders in the hemp industry since the federal government enacted a law that would essentially ban all of the consumable hemp industry.
I have heard for years that Congress needed to “close the loophole” created
The Traveling Wilburys – perhaps the musical supergroup most aligned with the mood and spirit of the Budding Trends blog – tell us that it’s all right to live the life you please. The state of Alabama, however, has determined that the End of the Line for unregulated consumable hemp is January 1, 2026.
As
Late Thursday, an administrative law judge (ALJ) in Montgomery issued a Recommended Order naming GP6 Wellness, LLC, RJK Holdings, LLC, CCS of Alabama, LLC, and Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries, LLC as “the four most suitable applicants for a Dispensary License from the Commission.”
Capitol Medical, LLC was also deemed suitable, and in fact had been named
You’re awake. This is real. Yes, the federal government just passed a law that, if it goes into effect in its current form in a year, will essentially destroy the non-industrial hemp industry as it exists today. So now what?
I suspect it will take some longer than others to process the shock. While anti-hemp