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Top Stories (2026) - (1822 items)

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Jun 19, 2026	April 2026 Cannabis Sales Data: Regional Trends and National Growth Cannabis sales in Canada in April 2026 were $482.6 million, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. While cannabis sales have been showing signs of slowing, compared to exponential growth in the first few years of legalization, sales were still up 3% from April 2025 and up 5% from the previous month’s $466.8 million. Statistics Canada also updated its March 2026 sales figures, which were previously reported as $471.4 million. The country’s national statistical agency routinely adjusts these sales figures as new data comes in. Year-over-year and month-over-month increases were seen in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador, which showed a 2% decline compared to March, and Manitoba, which showed a decline of less than 1% MOM. Sales figures for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut were not available.
Jun 19, 2026	Cannabis Tax Revenue Hits $28 Billion Since First Legalization States that have legalized recreational cannabis have collected more than $28 billion in tax revenue over the past roughly 12 years, according to a new report from the cannabis policy reform group Marijuana Policy Project.
Jun 19, 2026	Health Canada Orders Ontario Cannabis Store to Remove Colourful Mural Health Canada has told a cannabis retailer about two hours north of Toronto that it must remove a large, colourful mural from the outside of its building. Treetz Cannabis, an independently run store in the community of Collingwood, had an artist paint a mural on the outside. The mural includes various characters painted in bright colours.
Jun 19, 2026	Fewer Colorado Teens Are Using Marijuana Now Than Before Legalization, State Study Shows, Refuting Opponents’ Core Argument Rates of marijuana use among Colorado teens continued to decline in 2025—and youth are also reporting significantly lower levels of access to cannabis—according to a biennial survey from state health officials.
Jun 19, 2026	The Power of Patient Stories: How Lived Experience is Shifting Medical Cannabis Stigma Despite medical cannabis being legal in the UK for almost eight years, many patients remain hesitant or unsure about whether it is right for them. While awareness of the legality and legitimacy of the medicinal use of cannabis has improved since 2018, misconceptions and stigma continue to shape public perceptions. Even though cannabis-based products for medicinal use are prescribed under a tightly regulated framework in the UK, many people still associate it primarily with recreational use.
Jun 19, 2026	How Cannabis Went Mainstream In Modern Culture Cannabis used to live on the edges of the culture. Now it sits near the center, in the music, the lifestyle content, and the everyday routines of millions of adults. The shift was gradual, then sudden. A generation that grew up online watched the old stigma quietly fall away. Part of that change is simply access. The rise of services that let someone find a Kush Delivery Near Me Now and order from the couch made cannabis feel ordinary, not illicit. Vancouver operators shipping across Canada helped set that pace. This piece looks at how cannabis went mainstream, and what that means for the people buying it.
Jun 19, 2026	DEA Names 7 Anti-Rescheduling Parties for Cannabis Hearing, Zero Pro Parties Those who thought the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stacked the cannabis rescheduling deck in favor of prohibitionists under the Joe Biden administration may be in for more disappointment. Under a new administrative law judge hearing process that’s scheduled to begin June 29 – for the DEA to determine the merits of a proposed rule to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) – President Donald Trump’s administration will only entertain testimony from those who oppose the proposed rule.
Jun 19, 2026	In the cannabis industry, ‘culture’ is revealed in hard times Cannabis companies are eager - sometimes desperate - to show authentic "cannabis culture." But companies create and maintain culture through consistent actions, our columnist argues.
Jun 18, 2026	Nova Scotia Reports $138.8 Million in Cannabis Sales for Fiscal 2025/26 The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) sold $138.8 million worth of cannabis in the fiscal year 2025/26, ending March 31, 2026, increasing 9.3% year over year. The NSLC reported total sales of $898.4 million, including $759.5 million in beverage alcohol sales. Total earnings for the agency for the year were $268.8 million, down 4.1% from the previous year. Cannabis transactions increased 4%, with the average basket value increasing 5% to $39.50. Nova Scotia cannabis sales increased 10.2% to $39.9 million. Nova Scotia cannabis accounts for 28.7% of all cannabis sales. The average price per gram for cannabis decreased by 0.3% to $5.70.
Jun 18, 2026	High Doses of CBD Superior to Placebo in Treating Neuropathic Pain Sydney, Australia: The daily use of CBD is safe and effective for treating chronic neuropathic pain, according to placebo-controlled clinical trial data published in the journal eClinical Medicine. Australian researchers assessed the consumption of oral THC versus a placebo among a cohort of 38 patients with spinal cord-related neuropathy. Study participants receiving the intervention used increasingly higher doses of oral CBD throughout the trial, with patients consuming 800 milligrams of CBD daily for the final four weeks of the study. Patients’ pain levels were assessed one week prior to the start of the trial and again at the conclusion of the study.
Jun 18, 2026	Study Shows Marijuana Extracts Notably Improve Symptoms of Cancer Patients A new clinical study indicates that cannabis-derived medicinal extracts may help reduce several symptoms associated with cancer, including difficulty sleeping and anxiety, though patient responses varied considerably depending on which cannabinoid profile worked best for each individual. The study team evaluated oil-based formulations with different proportions of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) using a randomized, placebo-controlled trial that was triple-blinded to reduce bias. Overall results suggest that cannabis oil treatments produced meaningful relief in about half of participants, with improvements most often reported in sleep-related issues and closely connected symptoms. When outcomes were averaged across the study population, no single formulation consistently showed superior performance compared with the others.
Jun 18, 2026	Medical Cannabis in France: What the First Major Study Reveals About Its Actual Impact Four years after the launch of the national pilot program, a study commissioned by the ANSM finally provides concrete data on the effect of medical cannabis on treatments and the care pathways of French patients. The results, published in September 2025 by the AHeaD team at the Inserm Research Center at the University of Bordeaux and obtained by the Union of Industrialists for the Promotion of Hemp Extracts (UIVEC) following a CADA request, are encouraging.
Jun 18, 2026	Minnesota cannabis store owners lament testing backlog: "It's getting frustrating for everyone involved" One of five cannabis testing sites in Minnesota is shutting down, citing exorbitant costs as the reason. William Drexler is moving product he has around as he waits patiently for more. He says customers who come into Grey Area, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, are looking for adult-use items, which he says are being held up by a backlog in testing.
Jun 18, 2026	Massachusetts caps cannabis cultivation, expands retail Massachusetts cannabis regulators recently moved in two directions at once, freezing one part of the market while opening another. As of June 16, the state Cannabis Control Commission has temporarily stopped accepting new applications for marijuana cultivation licenses, according to an agency bulletin. With an estimated 1 square foot to 1.2 square feet of licensed canopy per adult age 21 or older, Massachusetts has significantly more cultivation capacity per capita than nearby Connecticut, where prices are higher, according to the CCC.
Jun 18, 2026	Cannabis Stocks Pop As Another U.S. Company Applies to List on NYSE That was fast: California cannabis company Glass House Brands on Wednesday applied to become the second U.S. cannabis firm to list on the NYSE, following the path laid by competitor Trulieve last week. Glass House stock popped about 5% on Thursday and is up about 52% since January 1. Trulieve stock rose about 5% and is up about 16% this year. The AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (MSOS) is up 4% Thursday and about 4% since January 1, though still about 90% below its 2021 all-time high.
Jun 18, 2026	Union Warns of Possible Ontario Cannabis Store Labour Action as Negotiations Continue The labour union representing some workers at the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is warning cannabis retailers across the province of a potential labour disruption that the union says could affect services. In a letter sent to cannabis retailers on June 15, 2026, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) warns of ongoing negotiations and a possible labour disruption if union demands are not met following a final bargaining session with the OCS on June 22. The union represents approximately 200,000 members across Ontario, including employees at the OCS.
Jun 18, 2026	Plant-Derived Cannabis Formula Granted ‘Breakthrough’ Designation by FDA for Pain Treatment Regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration have granted ‘Breakthrough Therapy Designation’ to a proprietary cannabis extract (VER-01) containing 2.5 milligrams of THC and standardized percentages of CBD and CBG (cannabigerol). A press release issued by the product’s manufacturer, VERTANICAL, states that the designation “is intended to expedite the development and review of investigational medicines where preliminary clinical evidence indicates the potential for substantial improvement over available therapies.” The FDA’s decision follows the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial concluding that patients who consumed the cannabis extract experienced greater mean pain reduction than did those taking opioids.
Jun 18, 2026	Supreme Court Upholds Marijuana Users’ Gun Rights, Rejecting Trump DOJ Arguments In Major Second Amendment Case The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously sided with a man who was prosecuted for possessing a gun while being a regular consumer of marijuana, ruling that the government’s actions violate the Second Amendment. The opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch is narrow in scope and does not entirely strike down the federal law known as 922(g)(3) that prohibits people who illegally consume controlled substances from possessing or purchasing firearms.
Jun 18, 2026	Illinois Senate candidate Juliana Stratton calls for federal cannabis legalization Cannabis policy is becoming a more prominent campaign issue for politicians across the country. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, is leaning into her state’s industry success story in her run for office, telling the crowd at this week’s IgniteIt Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago that pot is a priority. “I would love to see us legalize cannabis on the federal level,” she said during the show’s keynote fireside chat.
Jun 18, 2026	More seniors are using cannabis. Utah and Colorado researchers want to know why Many older adults are turning to edible cannabis for the first time to find relief from age-related health issues. Researchers want to better understand their motivations. A new study out of the University of Utah and University of Colorado Boulder surveyed about 170 adults in Colorado over the age of 60 about why they wanted to purchase edible cannabis products. This cohort was primarily seeking to manage pain, sleep, or health concerns.
Jun 18, 2026	Ethan Zohn reveals he tried to get cannabis use approved for Survivor -Survivor champion and Kicking Back host Ethan Zohn reveals the reason he could not get cannabis use approved for the show, but he came close! -How would Survivor be different if cannabis was allowed? Ethan shares his take. -Ethan also names his all-Survivor soccer team. Who made the cut?
Jun 17, 2026	Listed: Cannabis Finally Cracks America’s Major Exchanges Cannabis stocks have, for the last five years or so, represented one of, if not the worst-performing, niche categories on any exchange. Ever since the heady ‘Green’ IPO rush of the late 2010s and early 2020s, MSOS’ stocks tracked by New Cannabis Ventures have plummeted -87.1% in value, while the wider Global Index fell by -85.2% over the same period. Effectively banned from listing on US blue chip exchanges like Nasdaq, any US operators willing to fight their way onto the public markets have been limited to smaller platforms, offering limited access to institutional capital, poor liquidity, and leaving these stocks exposed to the volatility of sentiment-driven retail investors.
Jun 17, 2026	Producers Weigh Cash Flow Risks of Alberta’s New Cannabis Consignment Model Alberta’s recent announcement that it is moving from its current wholesale model for cannabis sold and distributed in the province to a privately managed consignment model is being met with mixed reactions by the producers supplying that market. The memo, shared with the industry in early June, explains how Alberta’s cannabis regulator would, over time, more closely align the province’s wholesale cannabis handling with its wholesale alcohol distribution.
Jun 17, 2026	Illinois Governor Signs Law Restricting Sales of Intoxicating Hemp Products Illinois has enacted new restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products, bringing them under rules similar to those governing recreational cannabis sales across the state. Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3222 into law on Friday, establishing a minimum purchase age of 21 for products containing intoxicating hemp compounds. The measure targets products such as HHC, Delta-8 THC, THC-P, and Delta-9 THC, which have largely been sold outside Illinois’ regulated cannabis marketplace.
Jun 17, 2026	NC Senate Democrats propose legalizing cannabis, but prospects hazy A new bill proposed by North Carolina Senate Democrats would put constitutional amendments to legalize recreational and medical cannabis on the ballot. But its odds of getting a vote in the Senate are not high, Republican leadership says.
Jun 17, 2026	No soil, no problem: Arizona company pioneers aeroponic cannabis cultivation Inside a 66,000-square-foot facility nestled in an industrial neighborhood in Phoenix, thousands of cannabis plants grow with their roots hanging freely in the air, receiving only a mist of water. This is Aeriz’s approach to cultivation. The company is a growing operation, and according to Aeriz’s website, it uses 95% less water than traditional soil farming, in a state that desperately needs it.
Jun 17, 2026	Major Restaurant Lobby Group Pushes Congress To Keep Hemp THC Drinks Legal As An Alternative To Alcohol An organization that represents the restaurant industry is calling on Congress to delay the federal recriminalization of hemp THC beverages that is scheduled to take effect later this year and replace it with a regulatory framework that “ensures consumer safety and supports restaurant operators serving these products” as an alternative to alcohol.
Jun 17, 2026	Cannabis funded basic income scheme successful after first year, city leaders say A universal basic income scheme, funded by tax revenue from cannabis sales, is helping families thrive, according to leaders in the US city of Albuquerque.
Jun 17, 2026	Fewer Employees Skip Work Days Where Medical Marijuana Is Legal, Especially For Manual Labor Jobs, Study Shows Legalizing medical marijuana appears to be associated with reduced rates of employees missing work—particularly in trades like manufacturing and agriculture where workers are more likely to experience symptoms such as pain that cannabis can help treat—according to a new study.
Jun 17, 2026	Virginia adult-use cannabis sales to begin July 2027 under new deal Virginia will at long last launch the first regulated adult-use cannabis marketplace in the South next summer after all. Under a deal announced Tuesday that resolves a standoff between Gov. Abigail Spanberger and state lawmakers, the first sale in what’s expected to become a billion-dollar marijuana market will come July 1, 2027. The compromise between Spanberger, who had vowed to sign off on adult-use cannabis sales after years of delay before a shocking veto last month, and state lawmakers comes as part of the state’s budget process – the last chance that Virginia officials had to come to a compromise and start sales next year. Virginia had legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021 but did not allow sales, thanks in part to obstructionism from former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whom Spanberger was elected to replace last November.
Jun 17, 2026	Cannaleaks: Nearly One Million Cannabis Club Users’ Data Was Exposed Nearly 985,000 cannabis club identity documents were reportedly exposed through public URLs linked to Cannabis Club Systems and PuffPal, raising serious questions about how the industry protects sensitive user data. The incident underscores why privacy is especially critical in cannabis, where leaked information can affect not only finances, but also employment, immigration, reputation, and legal exposure.
Jun 16, 2026	Medical Cannabis Benefits Savings: A Note on the Government's Estimate The Parliamentary Budget Officer was requested by MP Blake Richards (Airdrie-Cochrane) to examine the cost profile of the Budget 2025 measure to lower the maximum reimbursement rate for medical cannabis under the Cannabis for Medical Purposes program from $8.50 per gram to $6 per gram – as part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Reduction exercise for Veterans Affairs Canada. This measure will affect Canadian Armed Forces veterans and RCMP members by decreasing the maximum annual amount that most eligible veterans or members can claim by $2,737.50, from $9,307.50 to $6,570. From the latest usage statistics under the program, a veteran using the average amount per day and receiving the average reimbursement rate will incur an additional $2,668 each year due to the reduced reimbursement rate.
Jun 16, 2026	PBO Clarifies the Math Behind $4.4 Billion “Savings” from Veterans’ Cannabis Policy The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has provided additional information on the government’s estimate of savings from recent changes to the medical cannabis compensation program through Veterans Affairs Canada. Canada’s Budget 2025, released in November, included measures to adjust medical cannabis benefits for the RCMP and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), to save the government $4.4 billion over four years. The move lowered the compensation rate from the federal government for cannabis for medical purposes for approved Veterans, from $8.50 a gram to $6 a gram, effective April 1, 2026.
Jun 16, 2026	Do cannabis products need standardized expiration dates? As cannabis flower, edibles and other finished products sit on store shelves, a thorny question follows: When does marijuana “expire,” and who decides? With no national standard, rules vary widely. Some states require expiration dates, others call for “best used by” dates. Many default to a blanket one-year mark that doesn’t account for how flower, edibles and beverages age, critics say. And some states allow operators to set their own standards — if they can find the justification.
Jun 16, 2026	Massachusetts High Court Allows Ballot Measure to End Adult-Use Cannabis Sales to Proceed The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week ruled that the ballot question seeking to roll back the commonwealth’s 2016 adult-use cannabis law will be put to voters, NBC Boston reports. The proposal had been challenged by some participants in the state’s social equity program who argued that Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s summary of the initiative left out key details and that she should not have certified the measure because it contains unrelated policy sections.
Jun 16, 2026	Brazilian researchers are studying hemp fibers to strengthen recycled paper Researchers at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) in Brazil are studying whether hemp fibers could help improve the quality and lifespan of recycled paper products. Conducted in partnership with the startup Buds INC, the project focuses on fibers extracted from the stems, branches, and roots of Cannabis plants, with the goal of strengthening recycled paper, which typically loses its strength after several cycles of reuse.
Jun 16, 2026	Swiss canton St Gallen launches large-scale cannabis studySwiss canton St Gallen launches large-scale cannabis study For five years, around 3,300 people in the canton of St. Gallen in northeastern Switzerland will be able to buy cannabis legally. This is part of a nationwide study on cannabis use, which was presented on Tuesday by the Swiss Cannabis Research association.
Jun 16, 2026	Virginia Governor And Lawmakers Unveil Newly Negotiated Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales That’s Expected To Pass This Month Virginia’s governor and key lawmakers have announced the details of a plan to legalize recreational marijuana sales through budget legislation this month following the veto of a previous proposal to enact the reform.
Jun 15, 2026	Federal Cannabis Trafficking Cases Dwindle Amid State-Level Legalization Federal prosecutions tied to marijuana trafficking have dropped to their lowest level on record, reflecting a 95% decline that has unfolded over more than a decade, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The commission’s data shows that fewer than 400 individuals faced federal marijuana trafficking charges in 2025. That marks the smallest annual total ever recorded and highlights the changing landscape of cannabis enforcement across the country. Marijuana-related cases accounted for just 2% of all federal drug trafficking prosecutions during the year.
Jun 15, 2026	A hidden cannabis problem sparked New York’s latest crackdown Despite strict supply-chain rules, many legal cannabis states struggle to keep unregulated products off the market. Illegal products aren’t limited to the illicit market or unlicensed smoke shops. They can also enter licensed dispensaries through a practice known as inversion. New York is taking aggressive action against the practice—but regulators still face significant enforcement challenges.
Jun 15, 2026	Eight years after legalization, South African cannabis is still waiting for its legal market Nearly eight years after the Constitutional Court’s ruling authorizing the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use, South Africa is still struggling to establish a coherent regulatory framework for its industry. While the market continues to grow in a legal gray area, companies that have invested in authorized sectors are criticizing the lack of clearly defined legal avenues for their products.
Jun 15, 2026	Ukraine Issues First Medical Cannabis Prescriptions, Two Years After Legalisation On Thursday, 11 June, the first medical cannabis products were prescribed by neurologists at the Vinnytsia Regional Clinical Psychoneurological Hospital to Lyudmila Monastyrska, a patient with multiple sclerosis, and Yaroslav Yurchuk, a veteran who lost his leg a year ago while fighting in the Pokrovsk area.
Jun 15, 2026	Morocco's medical cannabis industry continues development Five years after the adoption of Law No. 13-21 , Morocco continues to develop its legal cannabis sector. The country announced that it has registered more than 140 cannabis-based products , manufactured by Moroccan pharmaceutical laboratories and approved by the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AMMPS) .
Jun 14, 2026	How to Buy Weed in Medellín (2026): Colombia’s Cannabis Laws & Decriminalization Explained Buying weed in Medellín is not legal: there are no recreational dispensaries, and cannabis sales remain illegal throughout Colombia regardless of nationality. Possession of up to 20 grams has been constitutionally protected since 1994 under Colombia’s “dosis personal” framework, and the personal cultivation of up to 20 plants for personal use has legal support from a 2015 Supreme Court ruling. An informal gray market operates through expat and social networks, but no licensed recreational retail exists. Colombia does not currently have a confirmed national legal framework for recreational cannabis social clubs; adult-use regulation has been debated in Congress but not enacted.
Jun 14, 2026	The First U.S. Marijuana Stock Is Now Trading on the NYSE. Here's What That Means for Every Cannabis Investor. Last week, Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF +0.00%) (NYSE:TRLV) became the first U.S. cannabis operator to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is now trading under the symbol "TRLV." Although a publicly traded company moving up to the NYSE is not uncommon, it is in the cannabis industry.
Jun 13, 2026	Opinion: Cannabis, medicine and the crisis of public trust Following multiple surgeries, years of chronic pain, trauma-related symptoms and a growing collection of prescription bottles, I found myself asking a question I never expected to ask: Why are we so quick to trust a pill but so slow to trust a plant?
Jun 13, 2026	Fake Marijuana News: What the Cannabis Media Isn't Telling Investors About the D.C. Circuit Rescheduling Challenge WASHINGTON, June 13, 2026 (Newswire.com) - In the rush to celebrate marijuana rescheduling, much of the cannabis media has abandoned journalism for advocacy. The latest example came after MMJ International Holdings, National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA), Smart Approaches To Marijuana (SAM) and other petitioners filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking a stay of the federal marijuana rescheduling order. Within hours, industry commentators were assuring investors that the challenge was merely a "speed bump," that the legal arguments were "weak," and that rescheduling was essentially inevitable. There is only one problem. That is not what the court filing actually says. (see attached court filing)
Jun 12, 2026	Study Documents Marijuana’s Protective Effects Against Diabetes New research from the University of California, Riverside, has shed light on a long-standing question surrounding cannabis use and metabolic health. While marijuana is widely known for stimulating appetite, regular users have frequently been found to have lower body weight and a reduced likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes compared with non-users.
Jun 12, 2026	Kentucky to End Conditional Pardons for Medical Cannabis Users Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that, as medical cannabis is now legal in the commonwealth, and Team Kentucky has launched every step of the medical cannabis process, his 2022 executive order providing conditional pardons to Kentuckians suffering from eligible conditions who purchased medical cannabis out of state will end on July 1, 2026.
Jun 12, 2026	Tribal cannabis stores hit record expansion across the US Sovereign Native American tribes continue to develop cannabis retail businesses, with a record number of cannabis stores opening in 2025. As of April 30, there are 93 tribally owned cannabis retail outlets in 10 states.

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