Top Stories (2026) -
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| Apr 3, 2026 |
Hemp’s AI Moment Is Already Here and It’s Bigger Than Cultivation Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how hemp is grown. What is less obvious and far more important is how it is beginning to reshape how the industry thinks, operates and earns trust. At the 2026 Industrial Hemp International Conference, held in Denver on March 26-27, a panel on AI and the evolution of the hemp industry made that shift clear. What began as a discussion of tools quickly became broader: a conversation about how intelligence, machine-driven and human, will define the next phase of the industry. |
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| Apr 3, 2026 |
Trump Proposes To Keep Protecting State Medical Marijuana Laws From Federal Interference While Blocking DC From Legalizing Recreational Sales President Donald Trump is requesting that Congress continue to protect state medical marijuana programs from federal interference while also maintaining a policy that has blocked local officials in Washington, D.C. from legalizing recreational cannabis sales. |
| Apr 3, 2026 |
Arrests over marijuana use hit record high in Japan Police arrested a record 6,832 people for marijuana-related cases in 2025, with 70% of them under the age of 29 and increasingly accessing the drug through social media, National Police Agency data showed. The NPA data, released on Thursday, showed the figure more than doubled from 2017, when it was 3,008. Among the 6,800-plus people, 1,373 were 19 years old and younger while 3,633 were in their 20s. |
| Apr 3, 2026 |
Fresh Lawsuit Filed Challenging Michigan’s New Cannabis Tax
Michigan’s legal cannabis sector has launched a second legal challenge against a recently implemented 24% wholesale tax. According to the lawsuit, the levy, which took effect at the start of the year, pushes the overall tax burden on marijuana beyond limits established in the state constitution. Rose Tantraphol, speaking on behalf of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, said the system effectively layers one tax on top of another. She explained that the wholesale levy operates similarly to a sales tax, meaning it is applied before the standard 6% retail tax. As a result, customers end up paying tax on top of an already taxed product, a practice commonly referred to as tax pyramiding. |
| Apr 3, 2026 |
Highway 4 reopened following blockade and cannabis raid Highway 4 through the Potlotek First Nation has reopened following a series of blockades that slowed down traffic Thursday. The RCMP said in a post on social media that as of Friday morning Highway 4 was no longer blocked. |
| Apr 3, 2026 |
Hawaii Senators Push Congress To Federally Legalize Marijuana And Clear Past Convictions Hawaii senators have approved a pair of resolutions calling on Congress to federally legalize marijuana, support state efforts to clear people’s conviction records and take steps to facilitate access to banking services for companies in the cannabis industry. |
| Apr 3, 2026 |
The Europe Trap: Why U.S. Cannabis Companies Keep Getting It Wrong Europe is the hottest market around for most US cannabis companies, including the tech companies. They enter Europe expecting a familiar landscape, assuming the multiple countries in the EU market will align with their state-by-state experience back home. And they are nearly always unpleasantly surprised. Investors and developers are consistently making the mistake of treating Europe as “America, but later”. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
Züri Can Extended By Two Years As Results Point To Black Market Deterrence Zurich’s municipal parliament has voted to extend its flagship adult-use cannabis pilot, Züri Can, by a further two years to October 2028, and to provide an additional CHF 800,000 in funding, in a 101-13 vote that laid bare the fault lines in Swiss cannabis politics. After applying to extend the ‘Züri Can: Cannabis with Responsibility’ pilot last October, following what officials describe as encouraging early results in reducing illicit sales and improving public-health outcomes, the council held a vote on March 18, 2026. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
First Nation blocks main highway to Halifax over cannabis crackdown A First Nation says it is blockading part of a main highway into Halifax to protest police raids against unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in Indigenous communities. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
How Educational Institutions Are Embracing Legal Marijuana As the cannabis sector continues to expand, universities and colleges across the U.S. are adjusting their academic offerings to keep pace with a growing need for trained professionals. The industry currently supports an estimated 425,000 full-time positions nationwide. This has prompted higher education institutions to introduce targeted programs that prepare graduates for roles in medical use, product innovation, regulatory compliance, cultivation, and retail operations. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
Highway blockades persist following cannabis raid in Cape Breton First Nation There are reports of multiple blockades taking place in Nova Scotia on Thursday afternoon following a cannabis raid in Potlotek. In a post on X, Mounties said Highway 102 near exit 10 is reduced to one lane of traffic due to a protest and people on the roadway, adding that anyone driving in this area is asked to use extreme caution. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
The UK’s ‘Cannabis Martyr’ Keeps Opening Weed Cafes. Britain Keeps Locking Him Up. Gary Youds is best known as the UK’s “cannabis martyr.” That’s because he has continually sacrificed himself for the cause of cannabis legalization. He is currently spending his sixth stint in jail for operating an illegal cannabis cafe in Liverpool. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
Canadians could claim part of $8-million cannabis settlement Canadians who invested in cannabis stock could cash in on a hefty settlement. Law firm Berger Montague announced the approval of an $8-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Canadian cannabis company Wayland Group Corp. (formerly Maricann Group Corp.). It was approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on March 19. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
'None of this existed five years ago': New York's new weed czar seeks market stability Happy fifth birthday, legal New York weed. The Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act — which ushered in legal cannabis to the Empire State — passed five years ago Tuesday. |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
The Rise of Minor Cannabinoids: How CBN and THCv Are Becoming Cannabis’s Next Big Trend For much of the modern cannabis era, product development has centered on two compounds: THC and CBD. But the industry is increasingly turning its attention to a wider group of plant molecules known as minor cannabinoids, including cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCv). |
| Apr 2, 2026 |
RCMP officers forced to leave on foot as protesters surround vehicles during cannabis raid RCMP officers had to leave the scene of a raid on a cannabis store in Cape Breton on Thursday morning after people surrounded police vehicles and blocked access to the highway. RCMP say officers were executing a search warrant at a storefront on Highway 4 in Potlotek First Nation, and when they finished, a group gathered in protest and blocked access to the road. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Governor Vetoes Mississippi Bills Granting Expanded Access to Medical Marijuana
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has vetoed two measures aimed at broadening access to medical cannabis, even as he approved a separate measure to advance research into a psychedelic drug with potential therapeutic uses. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Seasonal alcohol, cannabis ban in Banff campgrounds on three long weekends Parks Canada has issued a seasonal order prohibiting alcohol and cannabis in several Banff National Park campgrounds during three summer long weekends in 2026. The restricted activity order, issued April 1, applies only during those specified periods. Parks Canada issued long weekend prohibition orders in previous years under the same regulations. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Canadian cannabis companies eye US medicare CBD pilot project Americans covered by certain US health insurance programs could have up to $500 in hemp-derived products covered each year. Under a new pilot program from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that begins on April 1, 2026, participating healthcare providers can offer eligible patients hemp-derived CBD products for symptom control with no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Oliver’s Law: The Campaign That Could Reshape UK Cannabis Prescribing A new campaign is calling for urgent regulatory changes to how medical cannabis is prescribed to patients in the UK, following what is believed to be the first time a coroner has found that a prescription for cannabis contributed to a death in the country. Oliver Robinson, 34, who had a dual diagnosis of recurrent depressive disorder and mental and behavioural disorder due to cannabinoid dependency, died in tragic circumstances in November 2023. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Judge Denies SAM’s Temporary Restraining Order; CBD Pilot Program Launches A U.S. District Court judge denied Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s (SAM) motion for a temporary restraining order on March 31, allowing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) CBD pilot program to commence on April 1. The federal pilot program is to allow doctors to recommend hemp-derived CBD products to older Americans as an alternative treatment, including up to $500 per year in coverage for those products. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Why Ganja Should Be Re-Legalized in India
Introduction: Returning to India With Purpose When I first visited India in 1981, cannabis cultivation was still legal in certain regions. During that trip, I photographed a large, government-regulated ganja farm—an experience that left a lasting impression. The plants were grown openly, harvested responsibly, and taxed by the state. Today, cultivation is no longer legal anywhere in India. Yet cannabis remains widely available throughout the country—typically of poor quality, harvested prematurely before flowering, and sold through unregulated channels. Prohibition has not eliminated cannabis use; it has simply ensured inferior products while generating no public benefit. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Germany’s Cannabis Reform Shows No Signs of Harm its Critics Predicted, Government Mandated Data Shows On the second anniversary of Germany’s landmark Cannabis Act (CanG) coming into force, the most comprehensive data and analysis of its impact to date has been published. Today, the government published the results of the second Ekocan (Evaluation des Konsumcannabisgesetzes) evaluation, providing vital new details to an increasingly robust picture of the ambitious cannabis project. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
Cannabis tops BC crop cash receipts DELTA – BC’s legal cannabis crop is reaching new highs, ranking as the top cash crop by value – ahead of both fresh fruits and vegetables. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, and since then it has become a major agricultural crop. Last year, licensed cannabis producers contributed $10.6 billion to Canada’s GDP. |
| Apr 1, 2026 |
German cannabis legalization remains controversial as report shows no major increase in use Two years in, Germany’s partial cannabis legalization experiment is still a controversial policy among politicians, despite a new report showing the law was not associated with a change in trends of 12-month cannabis use prevalence after implementation, nor with a change in the proportion of heavy users among past-12-month users. |
| Mar 31, 2026 |
Cannabis Vaping May Be Linked To Earlier Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Symptoms The findings of a group of researchers at the University of California suggest that the use of vape cartridges containing THC may play a key role in the development of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome symptoms. California researchers, in a study published in Cannabis & Cannabinoid Research this month, took a closer look at this little-known condition that triggers repeated bouts of nausea and vomiting in people who use cannabis to get a clearer picture of how it develops, exploring several cannabis habits and types of products. |
| Mar 31, 2026 |
Hawaii Senators Pass Resolutions Seeking Federal Medical Marijuana Exemption From DEA Hawaii senators are sending a message to the governor, state attorney general and health department to recognize their “clear legislative stance” in support of requesting an exemption from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stipulating that Hawaii is permitted to run its medical cannabis program without federal interference. |
| Mar 31, 2026 |
Cannabis Stocks Were Crushed in March Cannabis stocks, as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index, were quite volatile in 2024 and then in 2025 as well. While the index did rally in December, it fell for the year. The index dropped 14.4% in January to 5.89. February saw lower prices, but the market recovered with the index ending the month at 5.86,. March was very tough, with the index plunging 10.6% to 5.24. |
| Mar 31, 2026 |
Winnipeg defence lawyer accused of smuggling cannabis into correctional centre A Winnipeg-based criminal defence lawyer is facing charges after allegedly trying to sneak cannabis into a correctional facility in Manitoba. |
| Mar 31, 2026 |
Idaho Senate Passes Resolution Urging Voters Not To Sign Medical Marijuana Ballot Petitions The Idaho Senate has approved a resolution urging voters in the state to “reject” an ongoing effort to place an initiative to legalize medical marijuana on the November ballot. |
| Mar 31, 2026 |
Bam Margera: ‘Weed Does Not Lead To Other Drugs. It Leads To Fucking Carpentry.’ “Weed does not lead to other drugs,” says Bam Margera in an exclusive interview with High Times. “It leads to fucking carpentry.” He says it to make a point about his wife. She builds bongs out of apples. That, he explains, is what cannabis actually does to people. Two years sober from alcohol, goes to bed at ten, skates; he’s building a cannabis brand called Bam THC with his wife Dannii Marie, and the project feels less like a licensing deal than like something they are actually building around their life. |
| Mar 30, 2026 |
Women Lead Cannabis Culture But Ownership Still Lags Behind Women are one of the fastest-growing and most influential forces shaping the cannabis industry. In 2023, women ages 19 to 30 reported higher cannabis use than men for the first time, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future study. Today, roughly one in three women in the United States consumes cannabis, and women account for more than half of users on major platforms. |
| Mar 30, 2026 |
Air Canada employee used bag tags in cannabis trafficking plot: RCMP The RCMP says an Air Canada employee has been charged after allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 60 kilograms of cannabis out of a Toronto airport using suitcases labeled with the names of two unsuspecting passengers. |
| Mar 30, 2026 |
How higher education is embracing legal cannabis As the labor-intensive cannabis industry matures, colleges and universities across the country are adapting to meet the demand for a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. With the national industry supporting an estimated 425,000 full-time jobs, higher education institutions are launching programs to prepare students for careers in cultivation, retail, compliance, product development and medical applications. And cannabis education is no longer a niche offering. Schools across the country offer courses designed specifically for careers in the marijuana industry. |
| Mar 30, 2026 |
Life after flower: Rise of the edible The Canadian cannabis industry has restructured its identity, moving far beyond the legacy era of dried flower dominance into a highly complex, heavily regulated consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment. According to StratCann, Canadian cannabis sales were up 20% in Q2 2025 as the licensed area expanded following years of a traditional flower-dominated retail landscape. While dried cannabis continues to account for the largest share of total medical and non-medical sales at 50% (roughly 13 million units), edible cannabis and cannabis extracts each now represent a formidable 25%. |
| Mar 30, 2026 |
South Africa moves to target global cannabis leadership The South African government is accelerating efforts to develop a commercially viable cannabis and hemp industry, positioning the sector as a potential driver of economic growth, job creation and rural development. |
| Mar 29, 2026 |
Building Europe’s Cannabis Powerhouse: A Conversation With Finn Hänsel
The legal international cannabis industry is expanding at a significant rate, with Germany serving as ground zero for global expansion. The European country is the top destination for medical cannabis product exports from other countries, having received over 201 tonnes of cannabis products from abroad in just the 2025 calendar year alone. Germany’s legal medical cannabis patient base continues to experience exponential growth year after year, and medical product import totals are reflective of increasing demand. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Teamsters cannabis union claims win over marijuana MSO in Pennsylvania A 20-day strike at a marijuana multistate operator-owned medical cannabis dispensary in Pennsylvania ended this week with the union claiming a victory. Dispensary workers organized by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at a Wyomissing location of Sunnyside, a retail brand owned by Chicago-based MSO Cresco Labs, went back to work after winning a contract, the union said in a press release Thursday. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Mississippi Governor Vetoes Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Access, But Signs Psychedelic Research Measure Mississippi’s governor has vetoed a pair of bills to expand medical marijuana access while signing separate legislation to support research in hopes of gaining federal approval for the psychedelic ibogaine as a novel treatment option. Lawmakers approved each measure by strong margins, but on Thursday Gov. Tate Reeves (R) rejected the cannabis proposals while accepting the psychedelics one. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Why You Should Be Eating Hemp Seeds Right Now
Did you know a tablespoon of hemp seeds contain a serious amount of essential nutrients? Here’s everything you need to know about these special little seeds. Hemp seeds are best known for their omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and may help lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Animal sources of omega-3 are salmon and sardines; vegetarian sources include walnuts, flaxseed and our dear hemp seed. Hemp seeds contain a precursor omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid, ALA) that the body converts into EPA and DHA. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Indiana Governor Blames GOP Leaders For Marijuana Legalization Inaction While ‘Half Of Hoosiers Probably Smoke It Illegally’ The Republican governor of Indiana says the “crescendo will rise” in the call to legalize marijuana, with regional dynamics and even law enforcement buy-in favoring reform down the line. But for now, he says GOP legislative leadership is “not interested in doing anything soon,” even if “over half of Hoosiers probably smoke it illegally.” |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
CMS to Cover Up to $500 in CBD Health Program
A new initiative by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could soon allow some patients enrolled in government-backed health insurance programs to receive partial coverage for hemp-based products. The proposal would allow eligible participants to access up to $500 annually in qualifying CBD products, with initial phases possibly starting as early as April 1. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
State's cannabis industry marks 5-year anniversary with $3.3B in sales, 600 dispensaries ALBANY | Gov. Kathy Hochul marked the upcoming five-year anniversary of the passage of the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which legalized adult-use cannabis, established the Office of Cannabis Management, and laid the foundation for a regulated, equity-driven cannabis industry in New York. Since the launch of adult-use sales, New York’s cannabis market has generated $3.3 billion in total retail sales and expanded to more than 600 licensed dispensaries statewide, with Pure Blossom on Manhattan’s Upper West Side recognized as the State’s 600th licensed retail location. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Why does cannabis give people 'the munchies'? One of the best-known side effects of smoking cannabis is "the munchies," or an intense increase in appetite. One minute someone might feel full, and the next they appear ravenous. This effect, known scientifically as cannabis-induced hyperphagia, is powerful enough that for regular marijuana users, it can even cause weight gain, a seven-year analysis found. So what's really going on? Why can cannabis make people want to eat even when they're already full? |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Congressman Demands Marijuana Rescheduling Update From DOJ, Three Months After Trump’s Executive Order A Democratic congressman is pressing the Department of Justice for answers to a question that’s been on the minds of many Americans since President Donald Trump ordered the quick completion of the marijuana rescheduling process late last year: What’s the hold up? |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
New Zealand sun-grown cannabis site earns endorsement from Columbia University scientist Not every cannabis farm gets visited by a Columbia University professor. Fewer still get singled out as the best place on earth to grow the plant. That is what happened when Colin Nuckolls, an organic chemistry professor at Columbia and one of the most cited independent researchers on cannabis chemistry, toured Puro's K?kereng? farm on the Kaik?ura coast earlier this year. |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Synthetic seeds show a glimpse of the future for cannabis breeding When tissue culture laboratories first emerged in the 1970s, they quickly became standard infrastructure for propagating tomatoes, corn, and dozens of other crops. Decades of scientific literature followed, refining the formulas and SOPs that made the process reliable at scale. For cannabis, that body of knowledge simply doesn't exist, effects from the prohibition era. It's a gap that companies like Microhemp, a tissue culture lab based in Italy, are now working to close. "Tissue culture laboratories have been existing since the 70s," says Marco Bianco, founder of Microhemp. "But when it comes to cannabis, this is quite the new space." |
| Mar 27, 2026 |
Vancity Original® enters legal cannabis market with launch of Vancity® Cannabis Brand VANCOUVER, B.C. — March 27, 2026 — Vancity Original®, the iconic Vancouver brand founded in 1998 by Jeff “Mister Martini” Martin, is proud to announce its expansion into the legal Canadian cannabis market with the launch of The Vancity® Cannabis Brand, alongside cannabis industry veteran Brad Nishimura and award-winning cannabis lawyer Robert Laurie of AD LUCEM LAW CORPORATION. |
| Mar 26, 2026 |
Cannabis Legalization Laws Associated With Lower Crime Rates Fairfield, CT: The enactment of laws legalizing cannabis for either medical or adult-use purposes is associated with declining crime rates over time, according to findings published in the scientific journal Economic Modeling. Researchers affiliated with the Jack Welch College of Business at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and Barnard College in New York evaluated the relationship between statewide cannabis policies and crime rates nationwide. |
| Mar 26, 2026 |
German high court rules against medicinal cannabis advertisements
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has ruled that advertising for medical treatments with medical cannabis violates the country’s law on advertising medicinal products. In a ruling posted on March 26, 2026, the First Civil Senate of the Federal Court of Justice, which handles competition law in Germany, ruled that a company operating an online platform that brokers medical cannabis treatments and connects patients with cooperating doctors violates medicinal product advertising law by publicly advertising prescription drugs. |