Last Friday, we saw an important development in the tortuous quest to issue integrated medical cannabis licenses in Alabama. Bottom line: The show will go on.

In our opinion, the decision from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals delivers a resounding statement to everyone involved in the Alabama medical marijuana licensing process: Alabama courts will

As the frozen precipitation is continuing to thaw across the upper part of Mississippi, the Mississippi legislature continues to forge ahead in this year’s legislative session. If you tuned into the webinar we hosted on January 14, you heard our Mississippi government affairs colleague, Spencer Ritchie, discuss the cannabis-related legislation he expected to see this

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

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

It’s that time of year again. Our annual round-up featuring some of the most read content on Budding Trends in the past year. This year’s edition has a little something for everyone: marijuana, hemp, mushrooms, state law, federal law, banking, intellectual property, and more!

Before we dive right in, we want to plug our January

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.

Background of the Sirois Case

We

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

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

This past summer, a collection of hemp companies in Charm City Hemp, LLC asked a Maryland federal court for a preliminary injunction halting aspects of Maryland’s cannabis licensing scheme (the term cannabis encompassing both recreational marijuana and hemp). Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that Maryland is wrongly requiring hemp producers to acquire a “recreational cannabis license.” That