Top Stories (2026) -
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| Sep 15, 2026 |
Health Canada Releases New Analytical Cannabis Testing Guide
Health Canada has published a new Validating Analytical Methods in Cannabis Testing Guide, providing more detailed guidelines to help producers and laboratories validate analytical testing methods. While the document does not introduce new, specific rules for cannabis testing, it provides a centralized list of requirements the agency has not previously referenced in any front-facing capacity. The document serves as supplementary guidance to the international ICH Q2(R2) standards, tailored specifically to address the unique chemical complexities of cannabis products. Although the guidance is framed for cannabis cultivators, processors, and analytical labs, the latter will likely find it most valuable. |
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| Sep 15, 2026 |
Curaleaf Urges Aurora Cannabis Shareholders to Tender Shares to Takeover Offer
Curaleaf Holdings (USOTC:CURLF) has sent a letter to Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) shareholders urging them to tender their shares to its outstanding acquisition offer after Aurora's board declined to engage with the proposal. Under the offer, Aurora shareholders would receive 0.3463 Curaleaf shares and $0.75 in cash for each Aurora share. |
| Sep 15, 2026 |
Vermont Lt. Gov. Settles with Regulators for Cultivating Cannabis Plants at Unlicensed Location
Vermont Lt. Gov. John Rodgers (R) says he agreed to pay a $2,500 fine to state regulators to settle a violation for growing about 200 cannabis plants at an unlicensed location, Vermont Public reports. The settlement cuts the initial $5,000 fine in half. In an interview with Vermont Public, Rodgers called the fine “very expensive… for a very minor infraction that could have been dealt with in a much easier collegial way.” He explained that his son, a partner in the cannabis businesses, neglected to tell the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) about the greenhouse in West Glover. “Sometimes you drop the ball and it’s on me. I dropped the ball because after my son put the application in, I didn’t check to make sure.” — Rogers to Vermont Public |
| Sep 15, 2026 |
What Is Going On With French Medical Cannabis Regulations?
In late June 2026, an official decree on how France will govern the reimbursement of medical cannabis was reportedly submitted to the French Council of State, as the Union of Manufacturers for the Utilization of Hemp Extracts (UIVEC) announced at the time. “On 30 June, Laurent Panifous, Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament, confirmed that the decree on the rules for the coverage of cannabis-based medicines, finalised in mid-June, had received the Ministry of Economy’s approval. This text, which is essential for the transition to a permanent framework, will be sent to the Council of State today for examination after the summer break and publication to be announced at the beginning of the school year.” UIVEC wrote on LinkedIn, translated from French to English. |
| Sep 15, 2026 |
Medical cannabis may improve endometriosis symptoms – study Women with endometriosis reported less pain and better sleep after taking medical cannabis, with improvements lasting for two years in a UK study. Researchers cautioned that the findings do not prove medical cannabis caused the improvements because the study had no control group and participants received different products and doses. The observational study followed 101 women prescribed cannabis-based medicines and also recorded improvements in anxiety, quality of life and the effect of pain on daily activities. |
| Sep 15, 2026 |
Inside Northern Leaf’s Remarkable Turnaround: From Brink of Collapse to £8m Cultivator
Northern Leaf, the Jersey-based medical cannabis cultivator, looked all but certain to follow in the footsteps of Curaleaf, Aurora and Tilray to become the British Isles’ very own international cannabis superstar. In 2021, the height of the global ‘green rush’, Northern Leaf was granted the first British high-THC commercial cultivation licence since GW Pharmaceuticals (now Jazz Pharmaceuticals) in 1998. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Curaleaf (CURA.T) vs Aurora Cannabis (ACB.T) is a battle of two badly run companies Curaleaf (CURA.T) is in a fight with Aurora Cannabis (ABC.T) and both sides are getting messy. At the root of the fight: Curaleaf made a takeover bid for Aurora with a pretty good premium on offer. But Aurora execs think the offer underpays for the assets involved, and that Curaleaf has enough skeletons in its wardrobe (or debts on its bank balance, to be more precise) that the deal should be ignored. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
How Canadian Cannabis Producers Learned to Make Money
For the last few years, the story of many of Canada’s LPs has felt more like an episode of Survivor than an upward growth trend. Companies closed facilities, cut staff, restructured operations, and the catalysts for needing those changes will forever be debated in the history books. That reality, however, seems to be changing as more Canadian producers report stronger margins and sustained profitability. But the companies emerging from the industry’s prolonged shakeout look considerably different from the LPs that raced to build capacity following legalization. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Portugal’s Regulator Defends Cannabis Crackdown as Export Permit Delays Fall
Portugal’s medicines regulator has defended a year of tightened oversight and extended licensing delays throughout the country’s medical cannabis sector, telling operators that export certificates are now issued within 12 days and that the enforcement which unsettled the market stemmed from record-keeping and traceability failures rather than problems with the product itself. Speaking at the Portugal Medical Cannabis (PTMC) conference in Lisbon yesterday (September 10, 2026) Vasco Bettencourt, Director of the Licensing Unit within Infarmed’s Inspection and Licensing Directorate, said the regulator had strengthened supervision of traceability, waste management and the qualification of customers and suppliers after weaknesses in those areas triggered criminal investigations. The problem, he said, lay in paperwork and partner checks, not in the medicines themselves. Portugal is Europe’s largest medical cannabis exporter, but the enforcement drive and the permit backlog that followed is forcing many supply chains to reroute elsewhere, threatening the country’s long held reputation as the ‘doorway’ to European cannabis markets. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Aurora Cannabis Refutes Curaleaf's Latest Attempt To Distract Shareholders From The Facts EDMONTON, AB, Sept. 14, 2026 /CNW/ -- Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: ACB) (TSX: ACB), the Canadian-based leading global medical cannabis company, today responded to the application by Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. ("Curaleaf") (TSX: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) to halt Aurora's at-the-market ("ATM") program. Aurora believes Curaleaf's filing is simply the latest attempt to distract shareholders from the fundamental issue before them: Curaleaf's hostile bid significantly undervalues Aurora and seeks to acquire Aurora's cash, unique EU-GMP assets, global growth platform and future upside at a discount. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Indigenous cannabis shop owners fight Ottawa closures
The email came one day in May, 2025. Bryan Brant’s landlord said the police had contacted him about his cannabis dispensary and that Brant was being evicted. He had 48 hours to vacate his shop — Native Cannabis Depot — on Bank Street. Brant, as an Indigenous businessperson, claimed he had rights to open and run such an unlicensed shop. But the closure became just one of several in Ottawa that he and another Indigenous owner have been fighting. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Curaleaf asks Alberta regulator to halt Aurora's share issuances while its offer stands
Curaleaf has filed an application with the Alberta Securities Commission seeking to stop Aurora Cannabis from issuing shares under its at-the-market program for as long as Curaleaf's offer for the company remains outstanding. The application asks the commission to halt further issuances immediately and to protect the ability of Aurora shareholders to consider and respond to the offer, and Curaleaf has requested an expedited hearing. It follows Curaleaf's formal offer for all issued and outstanding Aurora shares, commenced on 19 August at 0.3463 Curaleaf subordinate voting shares plus US$0.75 in cash per Aurora share, which the company values at approximately US$4.00, and Aurora's rejection of it. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Report: Cannabis Excise Taxes Totaled Over $3.5 Billion Across 30 U.S. States Last Year
Locally licensed cannabis retailers in 30 U.S. states and the District of Columbia generated about $3.55 billion in cannabis excise tax revenues between July 2025 and June 2026, according to a U.S. Census report. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Cayman Islands Considers Cannabis Reform Options
Government officials in the Cayman Islands, a self-governing British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, are reviewing public responses regarding proposed changes to current cannabis laws. The public submitted responses during a two-month consultation period. On July 1st, 2026, the Cayman Islands government published its “Cannabis Reform: Options for a Harm Minimisation Framework” discussion paper, which included various options to consider for modernizing current cannabis laws. The public consultation period ended on September 1st. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Bill Directing Federal Health Officials To Track Testing For Marijuana And Other Drugs In Hospital ERs Set For House Vote This Week The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill this week to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study how prevalent drug testing for marijuana, fentanyl and other drugs is in hospital emergency departments. |
| Sep 14, 2026 |
Cannabis: do workplaces have a problem with ‘drug thinking’?
A laboratory can answer the wrong question perfectly. An employee provides a sample. The result is positive for cannabis. The analysis may be technically sound, the chain of custody secure and the paperwork satisfyingly complete. But what, exactly, has the test shown? That has become harder to answer since 2018, when certain cannabis-based products for medicinal use were moved into Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations, creating a lawful route to prescription. Recreational cannabis did not become legal. Yet cannabis can now sit, depending on context, on both sides of a workplace ‘drug’ policy: prescribed medicine and illicit drug. The Care Quality Commission reported a 130% rise in private prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based medicinal products between 2022-23 and 2023-24. Those are prescription items, not patients, but the rise makes medical cannabis increasingly difficult for employers to regard as marginal. |
| Sep 12, 2026 |
Can Exercise Get You High? The Surprising Link Between Cannabis and Exercise
The research over the last decade has been diving deeper into cannabis use and its effects on the body and mind. Some studies have even found surprising correlations between the euphoric feeling during exercise—sometimes referred to as a runner’s high—and how your body reacts to cannabis. That high can feel like a change in mood to straight up euphoria. And as it turns out, it is the result of activation of the endocannabinoid system—cannabis-like substances that our bodies produce naturally. |
| Sep 11, 2026 |
What Massachusetts Cannabis Consumers Need to Know About Question 8, The Ballot Measure To Roll Back Legalization (Op-Ed) If you are a Massachusetts voter who has not been following the debate over cannabis policy, Question 8 on this November’s ballot deserves your attention. The measure asks voters whether Massachusetts should repeal the laws that allow and regulate adult-use cannabis sales. The implications go well beyond whether a dispensary remains open. The question reaches the system of licensed businesses, product testing, taxation and regulatory oversight that Massachusetts has built over the past decade—seeking to eliminate 27,000 jobs and $300,000,000 in tax revenue that will need to be made up somewhere else. |
| Sep 11, 2026 |
Positive Early Results for Dutch Cannabis Supply Chain Pilot
The Netherlands’ experiment to introduce regulated cannabis into its coffeeshop system is going well, despite some growing pains, according to the first follow-up study after the program launched in 2025. The Dutch Government launched its Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment in April 2025, as part of a plan for a “closed cannabis chain” for dozens of cannabis coffeeshops in ten cities across the country. The experiment is planned to continue through the end of 2029, with the goal of better understanding how to fully regulate cannabis sold in the Netherlands. |
| Sep 11, 2026 |
Mexico’s Supreme Court allows home cannabis edibles, but with a limited practical effect
Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that people with personal recreational cannabis authorizations can now make marijuana-infused edibles for their own personal use — but people still cannot legally buy or sell them. The ruling — which applies to gummies, brownies and other homemade edibles laced with cannabis — expands what the Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) must allow under an authorization for adult recreational self-consumption. |
| Sep 11, 2026 |
What Curaleaf’s hostile takeover bid for Aurora Cannabis is really about
First, this is not a $4 cash offer. Aurora shareholders would receive $0.75 in cash and 0.3463 Curaleaf subordinate voting shares for each Aurora share. When Curaleaf announced the bid, that package was worth approximately $4. But its value changes with Curaleaf’s stock price, which during trading Thursday afternoon was hovering around $10.09 per share on over-the-counter markets. Despite announcing intentions to uplist to a major exchange in May, Curaleaf remains listed on OTC. If Curaleaf’s stock falls, Aurora shareholders receive less. If Curaleaf’s stock rises far enough, the exchange ratio is reduced so that the total consideration does not exceed $5 per share. Aurora shareholders are exposed to the decline, but their upside stops at $5. The cash portion deserves a closer look. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
Avicanna Launches New Integrated Health Program to Expand Medical Cannabis in Clinical Settings
Medical cannabis company Avicanna Inc. has launched a new program to support healthcare organizations looking to incorporate medical cannabis into their existing models of care. The Toronto-based company is expanding its MyMedi.ca platform as part of its new Integrated Health Program, designed to integrate medical cannabis care and patient support into Canadian healthcare institutions and clinical networks. The new program builds on Avicanna’s existing MyMedi.ca platform, a medical cannabis care infrastructure to better serve medical cannabis patients’ needs. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
Nebraska Supreme Court Reaffirms Validity of State’s Medical Marijuana Laws
Nebraska’s highest court has upheld a pair of voter-endorsed medical marijuana measures, dismissing a legal effort that argued that fraud tainted the petition campaign that placed them before voters in 2024. In a unanimous 7-0 ruling, Jeffrey Funke, the Chief Justice, said a Lancaster County judge was correct to conclude that supporters had gathered sufficient valid signatures. The 49-page decision rejected claims brought by John Kuehn, a former senator in the state and a vocal critic of medical cannabis, along with arguments advanced by state AG Mike Hilgers and Bob Evnen, the Secretary of State. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
Wisconsin Is Ready To Legalize Marijuana Next Year Under Democratic Or GOP Control, Congressman Says A Democratic congressman who represents Wisconsin says the state is poised to legalize marijuana as soon as next year—especially if his party wins control of the legislature in the November elections, but perhaps even if Republicans maintain a majority under new leadership for the 2027 session. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) told Marijuana Moment that there’s a “really good chance” of legalizing cannabis in Wisconsin in the short term if Democrats can “flip the legislature,” where marijuana reform proposals have stalled under Republican control in recent sessions. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
A Magazine From 1969 Made the Case the DEA Is Making Now. It Also Named the People Who Would Spend 57 Years Stalling.
The government’s closing brief in the marijuana rescheduling hearing was filed on August 17, 2026. It argues that cannabis has an accepted medical use, that the evidence has been sitting there for years, and that the people insisting the science isn’t ready yet are applying a standard the law does not require. Somebody made that argument first, on newsprint, for fifty cents, in the winter of 1969. The magazine was called The Marijuana Review. Volume one, number two, dated January through March 1969, twenty-four pages, published by an outfit called LeMar International out of Box 71, Norton Hall, at the State University of New York at Buffalo. LeMar was short for Legalize Marijuana. The editors listed on page 3 are Mike Aldrich and Ed Sanders. Under a heading reading “consultant gurus,” the first name is Allen Ginsberg. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
CBD Helps Athletes Recover From Exercise But Does Not Boost Performance, Study Shows The cannabis component CBD “supports post-exercise recovery” for athletes “but does not directly enhance performance,” according to a new scientific review. Cannabidiol “demonstrates efficacy in modulating delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and lowering concentrations of muscle damage markers (creatine kinase and myoglobin), particularly within the 48-72 hour window following intensive exercise,” the paper, published in the International Medical Journal, found. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
New Orleans’ French Quarter gets its first-ever marijuana dispensary. ‘I’m speechless.’
A brass band, feathered showgirls and brightly beaded Mardi Gras Indians brought the party to Bourbon Street on Wednesday morning, but it wasn’t for a wedding or a bachelor party — or anything to do with boozing on New Orleans’ most popular path for partygoers. The French Quarter’s first-ever cannabis dispensary opened its doors to customers in a 100-year-old building at 433 Bourbon St., offering three stories of edibles, vapes, cannabis flower as well as features like a third-floor gallery, theater experience and terpene smell bar. |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
Legalization Nation: Media misleading readers about cannabis safety – again Legalization Nation talks about cannabis from a ground-level perspective, addressing issues like the traditional market, patients’ rights, corporate advantage, and more, and compares state cannabis legalization policies to help make sense of a daunting landscape through a familiar medium. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Campaign to criminalize Massachusetts cannabis sales heavily outspending opposition
The national anti-cannabis advocacy group behind the effort to convince voters to recriminalize the state’s $1.6 billion annual adult-use marijuana industry is outspending industry supporters by a more than 2-to-1 margin, campaign finance records show. Through the end of August, SAM Action Inc., the political arm of legalization foe Smart Approaches to Marijuana, has committed nearly $3.2 million to the so-called Coalition for Healthy Massachusetts. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
New Review Challenges Evidence Behind Cannabis ‘Entourage Effect’
A comprehensive new review dives into the available research looking at the entourage effect for cannabis. This “entourage effect” is at the heart of the argument for why full-spectrum products are frequently presented as more medically effective than single-molecule pharmaceuticals like dronabinol, something cannabis consumers often echo through personal experience. First introduced in 1998 by Dr. Raphael Mechoulam and Dr. Shimon Ben-Shabat, the popular theory that whole-plant products offer superior medical outcomes and enhanced tolerability over isolated THC has become a foundational narrative shaping patient advocacy and commercial market strategy within the cannabis sector. However, the new review published in Current Neuropharmacology suggests that the scientific reality of these phytochemical interactions is far more complex, and often less conclusive, than popular consensus might sometimes imply. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
CT cannabis company continues hostile takeover fight with Canadian rival Stamford-based cannabis giant Curaleaf Holdings has fired the latest salvo in its hostile takeover fight with Canadian company Aurora Cannabis. Curaleaf announced in August that it intended to acquire Aurora Cannabis for $4 per share, saying the proposal represented a 45% premium to Aurora’s 30-day average share price. The company said at the time it had initially approached Aurora privately in June and followed up in July after the Canadian company declined to engage. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Cannabis Policies In The Netherlands Have Plenty Of Room To Improve
The Netherlands is well known around the world for its rich history with cannabis. One could easily argue that Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, was the first international cannabis tourism destination. Cannabis consumers have traveled to Amsterdam to partake in local offerings for decades. In recent years, the Netherlands has ceded, to some degree, its title as the world’s top location for cannabis. Several governments around the world have modernized their laws and regulations to permit various cannabis activities, including cannabis commerce. Cannabis is now legal for adult use in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, South Africa, and Czechia. Recreational cannabis is also legal at the state level in the U.S. in nearly half of the country’s states. Comparatively, while recreational cannabis activity has historically been largely tolerated in the Netherlands, it is not expressly legalized. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Can South Africa challenge Canada for global cannabis export dominance?
In a challenge to licensed cannabis producers in Canada, long the global export leader, a growing share of cannabis exports is coming from companies in South Africa. Firms in South Africa enjoy lower production costs, but they’re also meeting European Union standards for pest control as well as EU-GMP requirements. With European markets increasingly interested in GMP-compliant product that’s also non-irradiated, South African cannabis producers are mounting a direct threat to Canadian LPs, operators told MJBizDaily. “South Africa is quickly becoming a serious exporter to Germany,” said Johan Slabber, the CEO of Nexus Pharma, which bills itself as South Africa’s first vertically integrated THC company. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Federal Court Lets Trump Move Ahead With Marijuana Rescheduling, Rejecting Pharma Company And Drug Testing Industry Request To Block It A federal appeals court has rejected a request from a drug testing industry association and a pharmaceutical company to block the Trump administration from moving forward with federal cannabis rescheduling while ongoing litigation challenging the reform is considered. “Petitioners have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Wednesday. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
State Department Warns Americans Against Traveling Internationally With Marijuana Or CBD Products The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens against traveling internationally while carrying marijuana or CBD products. “U.S. citizens are subject to local laws,” the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs said in a social media post on Tuesday. “Just because a cannabis, THC, or CBD product is legal in your home state does not mean you can take it abroad. This includes prescribed medical marijuana.” |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Beer Buzz vs. Cannabis Buzz: What’s The Difference?
There was a time when taking the edge off a long day at work was pretty straightforward. You had a beer. Today, the beverage aisle is getting considerably more complicated. THC-infused seltzers and other cannabis drinks are now part of the conversation, promising something beer has delivered for centuries: relaxation, a little mood alteration and maybe a more interesting evening. But a cannabis buzz isn’t just a beer buzz without the hops. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Study finds link between runner’s high and cannabis like molecules in long-distance runners
A first-of-its-kind study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, has found that long-distance running can lead to an increase in the amount of THC-like molecules in the body. Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen found that levels of anandamide – an endocannabinoid sometimes called the “bliss molecule” – increased throughout a marathon and were still raised 45 minutes after runners had finished. The rise was much smaller when the same people walked the same route for the same amount of time. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Swiss Study: Regulating Cannabis ‘Promotes Safer Consumption’ Regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials are currently operating in multiple jurisdictions in Switzerland, including Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, Geneva, and in the cantons of St Gallen and Basel-Country. The pilot trials allow adults to participate in limited recreational cannabis commerce (production, retail, and purchasing) so researchers, regulators, and lawmakers can gather information to better inform national laws and industry regulations. |
| Sep 9, 2026 |
Federal Prohibition Continues to Stifle Cannabis Banking Access in US and Beyond
Federal Prohibition Continues to Stifle Cannabis Banking Access in US and Beyond
A new report in the US looks at challenges and the regulatory landscape for financial institutions that serve state-licensed cannabis-related businesses, despite recent changes reclassifying state-regulated medical marijuana to Schedule 3. The new US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, publicly released September 8, 2026, notes that despite more than a decade of state-level cannabis legalization in the United States, businesses operating in the sector continue to face significant financial hurdles due to federal prohibition. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
You still can’t smoke medical cannabis in Georgia, but you can vape it. What’s the difference?
Medical cannabis dispensaries are now selling the flower form of the drug in Georgia, but a new state law that took effect this summer has created some confusion over how it can be legally consumed. Lawmakers passed a measure earlier this year that overhauled the state’s medical cannabis program by dropping the confusing “low THC oil” branding, allowing dry-herb and oil vaporization, adding qualifying medical conditions and removing previous potency barriers. The changes quickly triggered significant growth in the number of patients enrolled in the program, with nearly 50,000 patients as of Sept. 2, according to the Department of Public Health. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
India Was Forced to Outlaw Cannabis. I Think It’s Time to Undo That Mistake.
In 1961, 13 years after its independence, India was forced by the U.S. to sign the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which included cannabis, or in India, ganja. However, as far as cannabis was concerned, there were some problems. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
Banks Hesitate to Serve Legal Cannabis Despite Federal Guidance
Cannabis-related businesses experience bank account closures, high fees for bank accounts, and high interest rates for business loans, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, publicly released Sept. 8, 2026. The report exposes a fundamental contradiction in American financial policy: cannabis is legal in many states, yet federal law treats it as a controlled substance, creating a chilling effect on banks willing to serve the industry. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
How El Niño Could Affect Cannabis
If your cannabis plants seem unusually happy—or unusually stressed—this year, the weather may have something to do with it. As if the industry doesn’t have enough on their plate dealing with politicans, here is how El Niño could affect cannabis. 2026 is an El Niño year, and this year’s event is shaping up to be an unusually strong one. According to NOAA, El Niño is strengthening and has more than a 90% chance of becoming a very strong event during the fall and winter of 2026–27. Forecasters are also calling for an increased likelihood of unusual temperature and precipitation patterns across much of the United States. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
Claims of Fentanyl Found in Cannabis Remain Unfounded
Claims of fentanyl being found in cannabis in Canada periodically surface, although there have been no officially documented, laboratory-verified cases of cannabis being accidentally cross-contaminated with strong synthetic opioids like fentanyl in Canada’s cannabis market. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
Why a cannabis business is betting on dogs to reach FDA approval
Key points: Endovia Health Sciences is pursuing FDA approval for CannEpil, a pharmaceutical-grade drug containing CBD and THC isolates in a 20-to-1 ratio, to treat canine cancer-related pain. Veterinary pain management is expected to be a $3.8 billion market by 2030. Endovia is using the veterinary market as its first step toward pursuing human applications for CannEpil. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
UK: "It will be the first CBD novel food authorization in the world" The first CBD novel food authorization is now one Board vote and a ministerial signature away, in the UK. "There will be applications slated to be approved. One is the application we filed as a consortium, and it is an isolated CBD. Another is from a single company, and a synthetic CBD from another company," says Francesco Mirizzi, Managing Director of the European Industrial Hemp Association. The three are RP 7, RP 350 and RP 427. The latter is EIHA's, the output of a cost-sharing exercise proposed at the association's General Assembly, budgeted at roughly €3.5 million for the toxicology and now covering more than 160 companies across the UK, Europe and the US. It cleared the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes in July 2024 and went through a twelve-week public consultation that opened on 28 August 2025 and drew 46 responses. |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
Brazil import approvals for cannabis medicines soar as CBD market continues expansion
Brazil is seeing another sharp increase in demand for imported cannabis medicines, adding to evidence that hemp-derived CBD is becoming an established part of the country’s medical market as regulators create a more defined pathway for the compound. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) issued 116,372 authorizations for individuals to import cannabis-derived products during the first six months of 2026, an increase of nearly 29% from the same period last year, according to data obtained under Brazil’s Access to Information Law. |
| Sep 7, 2026 |
Inside Switzerland’s Unique Experiment in Pharmacy-Led Cannabis Distribution
The SCRIPT (Safer Cannabis Research In Pharmacies) study in Switzerland has shared its first interim results, offering a look at the country’s unique experiment in regulated cannabis sales. Feedback from participants was largely positive regarding product quality and transparent labelling, with calls for some improvements. Participants requested a broader selection of products and higher-quality vaping products. |
| Sep 7, 2026 |
The Company That Wants to Make the Endocannabinoid System as Measurable as Blood Sugar
Dr Stefan Broselid, Founder and Scientific Lead of ECS Restore, has filed a patent application for a non-cannabinoid formulation designed to treat dysfunction in the endocannabinoid system (ECS), moving his research from scientific hypothesis towards a meaningful commercial proposition. The concept behind Dr Broselid’s new formulation is simple and could transform the way patients, prescribers and medical professionals approach cannabis medicine. To limit its implications to cannabis-based medicines, however, is to understate the scope of its potential implementation. Despite this potential, the biological systems it hopes to illuminate remain severely under-researched and poorly understood, something ECS Restore hopes it can change. It centres around the endocannabinoid system (the eponymous ECS), a system which Dr Broselid explained to Business of Cannabis last year is ‘foundational to human physiology’, playing a ‘regulatory role in virtually every major system in the body’. |
| Sep 7, 2026 |
Cannabis use alters how the human brain processes nicotine, new research suggests
Recent non-daily use of cannabis might make the effects of nicotine feel more unpleasant at higher doses, without necessarily changing how often a person chooses to consume it. These findings help unravel the complex biological relationship between two commonly used substances and suggest that cannabis alters how the human body processes nicotine. The research was published in International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. Cannabis and tobacco are frequently used together, and co-use is rising as legal cannabis markets expand and product varieties increase. Cannabis is a psychoactive plant containing compounds like delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Nicotine is the highly addictive chemical found in tobacco plants. |