Top Stories (2026) -
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| Mar 23, 2026 |
How US cannabis breeders can protect their IP before legalization Renowned cannabis breeder James Loud plans to spend the next several years developing cultivars specifically designed for pre-rolls and joints. Cannabis with enhanced shelf life better-suited for prepackaged products should be ideal for the market. The trick is ensuring nobody steals his ideas. And until cannabis is federally legal in the United States, operators have to get creative. |
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| Mar 23, 2026 |
Request to pull cannabis working group debate A debate on whether Guernsey should explore legalising cannabis may be pulled after the politician leading the proposal said allegations had created a "risk" of undermining discussions. Home Affairs Committee President Marc Leadbeater confirmed he would ask the States to withdraw his requête, which called for a cross?committee working group to examine how a regulated cannabis regime could operate. |
| Mar 21, 2026 |
New Ohio Restrictions On Marijuana And Hemp THC Products Take Effect After Referendum Push Fails The changes made by Republican state lawmakers to Ohio’s voter-passed weed law have now taken effect, including new criminal charges, along with the state’s new intoxicating hemp ban—which includes THC and CBD beverages. Ohio Senate Bill 56 became law Friday after Ohioans for Cannabis Choice failed to get enough signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot for voters to block the law. |
| Mar 21, 2026 |
Five Years In: What New York Cannabis Got Wrong—and What’s Finally Going Right Five years after New York created the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), the state’s legal cannabis industry is still finding its footing. When New York created the OCM, it felt like the state had a chance to rewrite the cannabis playbook and address many of the harms created by the War on Drugs. With lessons learned from markets like Colorado and California, the hope was that New York could build an adult-use system that worked differently. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
France: A Last Bastion of Cannabis Prohibition Paris, France: While the United States Supreme Court reviews landmark challenges regarding the rights of cannabis consumers and Germany establishes a robust framework for legal adult-use, France has taken a dark, regressive turn. The French approach serves as a significant case study of the consequences of maintaining strict prohibitionist policies amid a shifting global landscape. Despite early signs of reform, recent executive decisions have led to increased friction between the state and millions of cannabis consumers. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
Idaho Medical Marijuana Initiative Exceeds Statewide Signature Count To Make November Ballot, Campaign Reports An Idaho campaign says it’s collected enough signatures for a medical cannabis legalization initiative to exceed the statewide threshold for ballot qualification. But because it’s unclear how many are valid and whether activists have met a separate requirement for regional distribution of petitions, the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI) is continuing to hold signature gathering events across the state to widen their coalition of supporters in the run-up to the May 1 submission deadline. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
End of Cannabis Act funding accounts for significant Health Canada spending and staff reductions Health Canada’s 2026-27 Departmental Plan, released on March 13, 2026, outlines spending and employee reductions, with $87.8 million in reductions in 2026-27, $152.5 million in the following fiscal year and another $198.2 million in cuts in 2027-28. The planned spending reductions are anticipated to involve a decrease of 942 full-time equivalents (FTEs) by 2028-29. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
Federal Agencies Retain Employee Marijuana Testing Guidelines The U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced that federal workplace drug testing programs will continue screening for cannabis metabolites, maintaining the current approach. The announcement comes despite a December 2025 executive order by President Trump which called for cannabis to be reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act as quickly as federal procedures allow. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
Beyond the Abstract: What the Landmark Lancet Psychiatry Cannabinoid Review Shows A major new systematic review has concluded that the available evidence rarely justifies the routine prescribing of cannabinoids for mental health conditions and substance use disorders. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
Meet Bloomwell, The Telehealth Company Growing Germany’s $900 Million Cannabis Industry Brother and sister duo Niklas and Anna-Sophia Kouparanis built Bloomwell to help patients get a prescription for medical marijuana—and have it delivered to their door. It’s a preview of what’s to come in Europe as they build the Amazon of pot. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
Indiana Will 'Have To Address' Marijuana Legalization Because It’s 'Lagging' Behind Neighboring States, Governor Says The Republican governor of Indiana says the fact that four neighboring states have moved to legalize marijuana in some form means Hoosiers are “probably going to have to address” the issue, while also likening cannabis reform to sports betting. |
| Mar 20, 2026 |
Canadian Cannabis Sales Began 2026 with Growth Statistics Canada released January retail sales for the country, with cannabis sales decreasing from the December levels, down 8.4% to C$466.1 million from the all-time high monthly total. The sequential decrease was up the same 8.4% on a per-day basis more due to the equal number of days than in the prior month. December, originally reported at C$503.7 million, was revised slightly higher to C$508.6 million. The sales in December were up 6.4% from a year ago, down from the level in May at 8.3% and 7.5% in June but better than the prior lowest annual growth rate since legalization commenced of -0.9% in September 2024 and then -1.6% in October due to the BC strike. In December, growth was much slower at just 3.9%. In 2024, total sales increased 4.5% to C$5.39 billion, and they were up 4.1% in 2025 to C$5.62 billion. |
| Mar 19, 2026 |
Conservatives’ cannabis contradictions on full display in Rogan/Poilievre interview The surprising part, for Canadians who don’t have the political memory of a gnat, was Poilievre’s agreement with Rogan on the topic and principles of cannabis legalization. Despite Poilievre’s agreement with Rogan that the government should not be preventing people from consuming something like cannabis, cheeseburgers, or whisky, he and his entire party (save for one, who was punished for it) voted against legalizing cannabis in Canada. |
| Mar 19, 2026 |
Study Finds That Marijuana Legalization Lowers Crime Rates A new study suggests that marijuana legalization may be linked to changes in crime patterns over time. Researchers found that allowing cannabis for recreational use among adults appears connected to gradual declines in violent offenses, while laws permitting medical marijuana are associated with decreases in property-related crimes. |
| Mar 19, 2026 |
Tilray Medical Announces Major Expansion of Medical Cannabis Portfolio in Australia (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tilray Medical, a recognized global leader in medical cannabis and a division of Tilray Brands, Inc. ("Tilray") (Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), today announced its largest portfolio expansion in Australia to date. The expanded medical cannabis offering reinforces Tilray Medical’s long-term commitment to the Australian market and supports increased patient access to regulated, clinically supported medical cannabis products. |
| Mar 19, 2026 |
Japan: Consumer products containing cannabis-derived CBN to be banned starting June Japan’s health ministry announced Wednesday that it has classified cannabinol (CBN), a compound derived from cannabis, as a “designated drug,” banning its manufacture, import, sale and use starting June 1, except for limited medical purposes. |
| Mar 18, 2026 |
Georgia House Approves Bill Easing Medical Marijuana Program Access The Georgia House of Representatives has approved medical marijuana legislation designed to broaden patient access. The proposal cleared the chamber with strong bipartisan support, passing 138 to 21. The measure, Senate Bill 220 by Senator Matt Brass, proposes expanding the number of medical conditions that qualify for treatment, revising possession limits, and allowing patients to use vaporized cannabis products. |
| Mar 18, 2026 |
DEA’s New 'Drug Quiz' Admits That Youth Marijuana Use Is Declining As Legalization Expands The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is acknowledging that, even as more states have legalized marijuana, youth cannabis use has "declined" over the past several decades. |
| Mar 18, 2026 |
Where Does Marijuana Grow Naturally in the U.S.?
Marijuana does not grow naturally in the U.S. as a native species, but feral cannabis populations can still be found today—primarily in Midwestern states where historic hemp farming allowed the plant to naturalize. |
| Mar 18, 2026 |
‘Equal representation’: cannabis advocates push for public pot zones There are hookah lounges and smoking zones — and now, advocates are pushing the provincial government for public places to consume weed. The Cannabis Business Association of Manitoba is calling on Premier Wab Kinew to green-light public cannabis consumption spaces. |