Category: cannabis

This seven-part series chronicles the milestones, backlash, and unintended consequences that have shaped the war on cannabis from the 1960s to the present day.

California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope.

For much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, American physicians freely prescribed cannabis to treat a wide range of ailments. But by the mid-twentieth century, federal officials were laying the groundwork for a sweeping criminal crackdown. Cannabis would ultimately be classified as a Schedule I substance, placed alongside heroin and LSD, and transformed into a political weapon that shaped American policy for the next six decades.

In a late-session vote last week, House Republicans advanced a sweeping change to federal hemp policy that could outlaw a wide range of intoxicating hemp products, sometimes referred to as “gas station weed,” as the hemp Farm Bill loopholes become a major policy issue in many states, including California, Tennessee and Texas.

<p>On June 23, 2025, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott shocked lawmakers and lobbyists alike by vetoing Senate Bill 3 (SB 3), a measure that would have banned hemp-derived THC products across the state.  He also called for a special session to bring lawmakers back to Austin on July 21 to craft regulations that restrict, but do not outright ban, intoxicating hemp products.</p>

California has just proposed a sweeping new rule to permanently ban intoxicating hemp products — and Texas may soon follow, as Governor Greg Abbott (R) faces a June 22 deadline to sign or veto a similar bill.

In a stunning show of bipartisan agreement, the California Assembly voted 74-0 on June 2 to approve legislation that would pause a significant tax increase on the state’s legal cannabis industry. 

A sweeping bill to ban hemp-derived THC products in Texas is now headed to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk after final legislative approval. On May 26, the Texas Senate voted 25–6 to concur with House amendments to Senate Bill 3 (SB3), clearing the last procedural hurdle for the legislation.

Tennessee's hemp industry is facing major regulatory upheaval after Governor Bill Lee signed a bill on May 21 that will significantly restrict the production and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products beginning in 2026.

In its largest coordinated crackdown to date, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized more than $123 million worth of illegal cannabis during a sweeping, multi-agency operation across the Central Valley.