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
You’re fired. Last Thursday, in a move that had been the subject of widespread speculation but perhaps earlier than some predicted, President Trump announced that Pam Bondi had been removed from her post as attorney general. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will take over on an acting basis.
Our friends at Marijuana Moment
Wouldn’t you know it, just as Alabama’s medical cannabis program is set to launch, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) wants to change the rules. Mercifully, the proposed changes would not delay the launch of the program. They would, however, effect the program in a number of ways – some significant, others more modest.
We
Perhaps you’ve seen the headlines and perhaps you’re intrigued. Alabama physicians appear to be on the precipice of certifying patients to obtain medical cannabis for certain qualifying conditions. Assuming the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission issues at least one cannabis dispensary license at its meeting on January 8, which it is widely expected to do, that
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
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