The public comment period associated with an FDA hearing on cannabis that invited experiences and challenges with cannabis products to be shared with the Administration has now closed.

In May, the USA’s Food and Drug Administration held a public hearing to obtain scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling, and sale of products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. One of particular interest to the FDA is cannabidiol (CBD), which can be derived from hemp; marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin.

Two United States Postal Service workers have been convicted this week in separate schemes to deliver marijuana. 

In Mobile, Alabama, Unterria Rogers was sentenced to 5 years for helping to run a marijuana delivery service that coincided with the city's postal routes. 

Ohio lawmakers advanced a bill earlier this week that would legalize CBD products and hemp production in the state. The bill will now head to Governor Mike DeWine and if he approved the measure it will immediately be made law.

“This is the best news that’s going to hit farm country this year,” said Rep. Bill Seitz from Green Township.

The bill was passed by the Senate in March and approved earlier this week in an 88-3 vote, showing the state’s growing approval for the cannabis industry within Ohio.

Larry Householder, House Speaker, told sources that since farmers in Ohio has such a rough year, this news is a promising  

The first-of-its-kind weed restaurant in America, Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood, California, has announced its opening date of September 1, 2019. It was granted final approval in a unanimous vote July 16, 2019, by the West Hollywood Business License Commission.

At least 34 cannabis plants were removed from a flower bed at the Vermont State House last week after a visitor to the state capitol in Montpelier reported their presence to law enforcement. Capitol Police Chief Matt Romei said, after the plants were discovered, that he was unsure if the young plants were hemp or marijuana and that groundskeepers on the property may have found more plants after the initial discovery.

The chief added that he was not surprised that the cannabis plants found a suitable home in the well-tended garden that lines a walkway in front of the statehouse.

With $42 million having been announced in medical marijuana revenue during the first four months of sales in Michigan, the state’s policymakers face a distinct challenge. How do you make sure that a decent slice of that money goes to those who have had their lives turned upside-down by Drug War prohibition over the years? The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency [MRA] made part of its strategy to this end clear this week when it released details for a sweeping social equity program that will support cannabis entrepreneurs in 19 communities.

A report shows that while the DEA seized a lot less marijuana in 2018 compared to past years, it cost the agency almost twice the cost per plant.

According to recent figures published in the DEA’s Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program Report, the agency and its partners confiscated 2.82 million marijuana plants around the U.S. in 2018, a significant decline from the 3.38 million total cannabis plants it confiscated in 2017.

University of the Sciences, a Philadelphia-based university, has announced the launch of an addition to their Masters of Business Adminstration (MBA) specifically designed for the cannabis industry. While other courses touch on cannabis topics, USciences believes this is the first course of its kind to tie in commerce of cannabis, hemp, and dispensary operations.

With the cannabis market growing, the number of events that are offered to those in the industry is growing as well. So why choose this year’s Cannabis Business Summit & Expo over the others?

On Tuesday, West Hollywood stepped out in front of the cannabis dining and entertainment market by approving the country’s first licensed restaurant featuring THC and CBD-infused food. Lowell Farms — a project of marijuana company Lowell Herb Co. — will also offer an open-air smoking area. While cannabis industry types and users rejoiced over the decision, not all neighbors were pleased.