Interviewing the Torches team was like talking to one person while chatting with four. First came José, license holder and big-picture hustler from Jamaica, Queens. Then, Jonathan Santana, a former financial advisor who walked away from banking to bet on weed. Pedro Antonio pops in, the Colombian “spice” of the crew, half-strategist, half-hype man. Finally,…
From Queens to the Cannabis Cup: Inside Torches, the Social Read More »
Massachusetts marijuana regulators have unanimously approved rules to license and regulate cannabis social consumption lounges in the state. Members of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) on Thursday voted 4-0 to approve the rule, which was unveiled over the summer. The rules create three new license types related to social consumption: One would let existing dispensaries…
Massachusetts Officials Approve Rules Allowing Marijuana Social Consumption Lounges To Read More »
U.S. Supreme Court justices are scheduled to meet this week to discuss a much-anticipated case challenging the constitutionality of federal marijuana prohibition—an issue that even one of the bench’s more conservative members, Justice Clarance Thomas, has previously argued must be resolved amid the state legalization movement. While it remains unclear whether the court will ultimately…
U.S. Supreme Court To Discuss Case Challenging Federal Marijuana Prohibition Read More »
An Idaho campaign seeking to put medical marijuana legalization on the state’s 2026 ballot is stepping up its efforts by recruiting paid petitioners to gather voter signatures to qualify the measure. The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI) says it is hiring for a “1099 independent contractor opportunity, ideal for motivated, people-oriented individuals who value…
Idaho Medical Marijuana Campaign Steps Up Push For 2026 Ballot Read More »
A GOP senator and former top Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official on Tuesday traded thoughts about the state and federal marijuana policy conflict, arguing that legalization laws are enabling foreign cartels to exploit the system in a way that threatens broader public safety. The discussion took place at a Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control…
State Marijuana Legalization Laws Shield Foreign Cartels And Threaten Public Read More »
Uruguay is once again weighing the possibility of allowing tourists and non-residents over 18 who visit the South American nation to buy legal cannabis even if they aren’t citizens. The executive director of IRCCA (the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis), Martín Rodríguez, confirmed that the agency is analyzing this option to strengthen…
Tourists Already Toke in Uruguay, Now the Country Might Finally Read More »
“Legislators must ensure the launch mechanics don’t inadvertently hand the keys back to the incumbents before independent operators can even get in the door.” By Max Jackson, Cannabis Wise Guys For years, the story of legal cannabis in America has been a rerun of the same bad movie: corporate lobbyists write the rules, “Big Weed”…
Virginia Rejected A Monopoly Model For Marijuana, But Lawmakers Need Read More »
Biden’s Marijuana Pardons Were Just for Show Remember when President Biden made a big show of pardoning thousands of people with federal marijuana convictions? Remember the press conferences, the speeches about how “nobody should be in jail for simple possession,” and the promises of reform? Yeah, about that. Turns out it was all theater. And…
We Now Know President Biden’s Marijuana Pardons Were Just for Read More »
TL;DR: Trump’s surprise hemp ban doesn’t just wipe out a massive part of the hemp-derived market; it may also create the legal framework for a broader federal crackdown on cannabis. With the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 arguing for centralized FDA authority and tougher interstate enforcement, the hemp ban could mark the first real test…
Is a MAGA-Aligned Think Tank Using the Hemp Ban to Read More »
Patients seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) significantly reduce their alcohol intake when they are provided cannabis, according to data published in the International Journal of Drug Policy. Canadian investigators assessed the relationship between cannabis and alcohol in a cohort of 35 patients enrolled at a residential Managed Alcohol Program (MAP). Study participants were…
Yet Another Study Links Cannabis Use to Reduced Alcohol Intake Read More »
