Weekly archive

Cannabis industry news

A growing archive of sourced cannabis industry coverage across regulation, medical markets, licensing, imports, retail, and public-company developments.

128 published articles

Showing 106–120 of 128 articles

GLOBALMay 23, 2026

New Zealand Is Dropping Industrial-Hemp Licensing as Costs Swallow a Shrinking Sector

New Zealand will revoke its industrial-hemp licensing regime on 28 May, removing a compliance burden that the government says was consuming up to 13 percent of annual sector revenue in a market now worth only about NZ$1 million.

New Zealand is about to remove one of the central operating requirements for industrial hemp. From 28 May, activities that previously needed an industrial-hemp licence can be carried out without one for defined purposes under a new permission-based model, according to Health New...

France’s Medical Cannabis Market Is Still Waiting for a Decree After the Patient Bridge Ran Out

France has stopped admitting new medical-cannabis patients, its transition period ended on March 31, and the commercial framework notified to Brussels last year still has not produced a live market.

France’s medical-cannabis market is still not properly open. The clearest number is also the smallest one. A Senate written question published on January 22 said that only 1,683 patients were still benefiting from the program when the question was filed, even though more than...

Missouri Opens Marijuana Research Licenses, but the State Expects Only 10 Applicants at First

Missouri has opened a May comment window for new marijuana research licenses, creating a rare entry path into the state’s cannabis system even as regulators project only a small first wave.

Missouri is in the middle of a live rulemaking window to create marijuana research facility licenses. The proposal was published in the Missouri Register on May 1, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says public comments run through May 31.

California Moves to Split Adult-Use and Medical Cannabis Retail Licenses for Federal Registration

California regulators want stores with a combined adult-use and medical cannabis license to split it into two quickly, so the medical side can pursue new federal registration while a short filing window is still open.

California has opened emergency rulemaking to let cannabis retailers with one combined adult-use and medical license split that approval into two separate licenses. Under the proposal published by the Department of Cannabis Control on May 18, a retailer could convert its...

Michigan Reopens Marijuana Rulemaking After 120-Plus Changes to the Draft

Michigan has reopened its marijuana rule rewrite after public feedback led regulators to revise the draft extensively, leaving key operating rules unsettled for businesses across the state.

Michigan’s marijuana rule rewrite is no longer on a straight path to adoption. On May 14, the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency said it had received more than 700 individual suggested changes on its proposed rules and made more than 120 changes to the draft. That was enough for...

GLOBALMay 15, 2026

Australia’s Medicinal-Cannabis Sales Have Posted Their First Sharp Reversal

A new analysis of Australian Health Department data says medicinal-cannabis units sold fell 28.5 percent in the second half of 2025, suggesting tougher scrutiny of prescribing, supply and advertising is already cutting into one of the world’s fastest-growing medical markets.

Australia’s medicinal-cannabis market has printed its first clear reverse. Penington Institute said in an April 2026 analysis that units sold fell to 2.65 million in the second half of 2025, down from 3.70 million in the first half. That is a 28.5 percent decline in six months.

Ireland Opens Medical Cannabis Review After Approving Just 74 Patients

Ireland has started a formal review of medical cannabis access just as new parliamentary reporting shows the state programme has approved only 74 patients, underscoring how little legal demand the current system is capturing.

Ireland has moved from talking about medical cannabis reform to formally reviewing it. On 1 April, the Department of Health announced the appointment of a chair to lead a review of access to cannabis for medical use. That procedural step matters because it turns a long-running...

Oklahoma’s Store Math Is Finally Improving as the License Freeze Nears Its End

New Oklahoma data show the average dispensary is now splitting a larger share of a still-shrinking medical cannabis market, just months before the state’s license moratorium is due to expire.

Oklahoma’s retail cannabis market is still smaller than it was a year ago. But the average dispensary is finally carrying more volume.

Virginia Budget Puts a Real Price on Launching Cannabis Retail

Virginia has written more than $40 million in market-launch spending into its budget, giving cannabis businesses and local officials the first hard sign that retail sales are being prepared even though the underlying bill is still unresolved.

Virginia has stopped talking about a retail cannabis market in the abstract and started pricing it. Budget language tied to the retail-market push provides $18,223,509 for fiscal year 2027 and $22,221,363 for fiscal year 2028 for the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, the...

New York Ends Manual Cannabis Retail Reporting and Forces Live Metrc Tracking

New York retailers can no longer report cannabis inventory and sales by hand, and the shift to Metrc-based transaction reporting raises the compliance bar across a market that has already grown past 600 licensed dispensaries.

New York has stopped allowing cannabis retailers to file inventory and sales reports manually. The state Office of Cannabis Management said the manual system ended on May 5, 2026, and that all inventory and sales transactions must now be accurately recorded and transmitted to...

GLOBALMay 9, 2026

Brazil’s Medicinal-Cannabis Rulebook Now Has an 86-Day Countdown

Brazil’s health regulator has fixed August 3 as the start date for its first federal medicinal-cannabis production rules, giving companies, patient associations and import-based suppliers less than three months to prepare for inspections, tracking and security controls.

Brazil’s first federal framework for medicinal-cannabis production is no longer a policy headline. It is an implementation deadline.

Spain’s Medical Cannabis Supply Chain Comes Into View as 12 Cultivation Permits Link to the New Patient Market

Spain’s updated cannabis cultivation register shows which operators are positioned to supply the country’s new medical system, while also making clear that a large share of licensed activity is still limited to research.

AEMPS’s May 7 register turns Spain’s cannabis framework into a 12-permit medical supply map

Minnesota Picked 150 Adult-Use Retail Winners. Only 9 Licenses Are Issued.

Minnesota has filled all 150 slots in its capped adult-use retailer lottery, but the latest state data shows only nine retailer licenses issued, leaving the real store rollout stuck in post-lottery approvals and local sign-off.

Minnesota has already chosen the 150 applicants that will fill its capped adult-use cannabis retailer class. But the latest state data shows that selection and launch are still far apart.

Michigan’s Q2 marijuana tax benchmark lowers the flower base for integrated operators

Michigan’s second-quarter state price for marijuana flower fell to $629.39 a pound, reducing the value some related and self-supplying cannabis businesses must use to calculate the new wholesale tax through June 30.

Michigan’s Q2 flower benchmark drops to $629.39 a pound, and the tax clock is already running

New Jersey’s 0.4 mg THC line turns intoxicating hemp into a licensed-channel fight

New Jersey now treats products with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC as cannabis or marijuana, pushing much of the intoxicating hemp trade into licensed cannabis stores and giving hemp beverages only a temporary route through liquor wholesalers and retailers until November 13, 2026.

New Jersey has moved intoxicating hemp out of the loose edge of general retail and into the state’s licensed cannabis system. As of April 13, 2026, any product with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC is treated as cannabis or marijuana under state law, according to state...