Last week in a small hearing room in a House office building, the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing titled “Hemp in the Modern World: The Years long Wait for FDA Action.” The hearing, billed as a “first-of-its-kind,” allowed lawmakers and hemp industry experts to discuss issues
Federal Law Developments
Big Tobacco Bets Big On Cannabis
Word began circulating a few days ago that tobacco giant Philip Morris has agreed to purchase Israeli cannabis company Syqe Medical for a whopping $650 million if certain future events come to fruition. While the two companies evidently have some history together, this new deal is reportedly tied to Philip Morris’ interest in acquiring Syqe’s…
Highly Legal: Will Congress Legalize Mushrooms Before Marijuana?
We’ve been tossing this idea around in our heads ever since research about microdosing psychedelics entered the mainstream media a few years ago. And the more we think about it, the more we think Congress may allow patient access to psychedelic treatments before it does so for marijuana.
Before you think we’ve been consuming too…
Cannabis Day: Top 10 Weed Roundup of Budding Trends’ Trendiest Blog Posts of the Year (Obligatory 420 Post)
420. A celebrated day where buds get together and consume copious amounts of cannabis… blog posts. This Cannabis Day, we are celebrating the 1-year anniversary of launching the Budding Trends blog and are sharing our first annual “Weed Roundup.” Featuring our top 10 most read blog posts of the year, the inaugural Weed Roundup is…
Editors’ Roundtable: Predictions About the Upcoming Farm Bill
Welcome to the latest installment of the Editors’ Roundtable, in which our editors – Whitt Steineker, Jay Wright, Hunter Robinson, and Slates Veazey – discuss cannabis issues in the news and take a stab at where the cannabis industry is going in the future.
Whitt Steineker (WS): Oh, boy. We have a
…De-scheduling vs. Re-scheduling Marijuana: A Dramatic Difference
Just before the midterms last year, President Biden made two historic announcements that he described as steps to “end” the federal government’s “failed approach” to marijuana. First, he issued mass pardons for federal convictions of simple marijuana possession and has encouraged governors to do the same for state-level marijuana offenses. Second, President Biden ordered Secretary…
Will the U.S. Supreme Court Make Marijuana Legal?
[Voice over for ESPN 30 for 30 series] What if we told you the United States Supreme Court would legalize medical marijuana? That the unlikely hero of the story was Clarence Thomas? And that he would work with the most liberal justices to make it happen. Sometimes you don’t know how high you can…
The 2023 Farm Bill and the Future of Hemp
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 the mirror, adjusts his tie, and says: “Well, life all comes down to a few moments…this…
You Can Go Your Own Way: Washington’s Cannabis License Residency Requirement Upheld, Breaking the Chain of Contrary Decisions
Oh Daddy! It’s not “Rumours” or one of your “Dreams” – although it may be “Second Hand News” to our most knowledgeable readers: A federal court in Washington recently upheld the state’s cannabis residency requirement for operators.
The Federal Government’s Current Position
If you’re reading this, you surely already know: Marijuana is a…
Removing the Green Tax: Congress Can Bring Cannabis Tax Policy in Line with Cannabis Enforcement Policy
If you give me an opportunity to quote George Harrison, I’m going to do it. In “Taxman,” he wrote:
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don’t take it all
‘Cause I’m the taxman
Yeah, I’m the taxman
I suspect “The Quiet One” would be appalled to know the taxes facing…