A Nebraska lawmaker is pushing for a change in the state’s drug laws that he says are outdated, according to a report in the Lincoln Journal Star. Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha has introduced two bills that would adjust penalties for some drug possession and distribution offenses. At a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Wayne said current laws were putting people who were not involved in the distribution of drugs in prison for trafficking and creating overcrowding in state prisons and county jails.

CVS stores in eight U.S. states will begin carrying CBD topicals this week, according to information released on Wednesday from Curaleaf Holdings Inc. The company announced a deal to sell products with CBD derived from hemp at 800 CVS stores during an earnings conference call with investors.

CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. with nearly 10,000 locations. A CVS spokesman confirmed in an email to MarketWatch that the company was entering the CBD market and began selling creams, sprays, roll-ons, lotions, and salves last week.

Canopy Growth Corporation  (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC)  has acquired American hemp company AgriNextUSA in a cash deal for an undisclosed amount.  The company did note that purchase was not material to its current cash position and that the transaction would speed up Canopy Growth’s entry into key markets in the United States.

AgriNext is a hemp enterprise led by CEO Geoff Whaling, that has been at the forefront of hemp advocacy and building a vibrant hemp sector in the USA.

Lawmakers have approved a pair of bills amending the state’s medical cannabis program to expand patients’ access to the plant and to provide additional legal protections.

Lawmakers in South Carolina are currently considering a new bill that would legalize medical marijuana. So far, the bill has seen support both among legislators and the general public.

And now, the bill has formally received support from a potentially important social group. This week, a group of leaders from a number of different religious organizations voiced their support for South Carolina’s Compassionate Care Act.

The support could help propel the state’s bill forward. And more generally, it could signal growing acceptance of medical marijuana among some religious groups.

In New York, the process of getting marijuana legalized has uncovered some deep divides in the cannabis movement. Some of the state’s Black lawmakers say that unless racial justice is prioritized, they will withdraw their support of Governor Mario Cuomo’s legalization bill, which has also raised alarm over what some see as its over-reaching influence of medicinal marijuana conglomerates.

A new cannabis company, Cannadips, is selling a line of chewable cannabis pouches modeled after old fashioned chewing tobacco, or snus. Composed of monk fruit, essential oils, and a dry cannabis tincture enclosed in a small coconut fiber pouch, the cannabinoids absorb through the mouth’s lining and directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the liver altogether, allowing for a faster high that also doesn’t last as long.

As if the U.S. marijuana movement needed a sign beyond the constant yammering about pot stocks and pet-friendly CBD to show that weed is really just becoming another cleanly shaven product of popular culture, a new poll released this week finds that the majority of Republicans is now pledging unwavering support for the herb. That’s right – the same party that has continued to sandbag the progress of legalization for the past several decades is now prepared to give the cannabis industry a shoe shine, a $50 haircut and a good old fashion lesson in capitalism.

The city of Lawrence, Kansas, is looking to make it so that a marijuana possession fine costs less than