Weekly archive

Cannabis industry news

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

126 published articles

Showing 1–15 of 126 articles

Spain Imported More Medical Cannabis Than It Exported for the First Time

New first-half data show Spain brought in 25,730 kg of medical cannabis and sent out 18,305 kg, exposing a cross-border processing market that is moving faster than the country’s tightly limited patient system.

Spain imported 25,730 kg of medical cannabis in the first six months of 2026 and exported 18,305 kg, according to newly published transparency data from the Spanish medicines agency, AEMPS. The result is a 7,425 kg import surplus.

Florida’s 22 New Medical Cannabis Licensees Are Still at Zero as the Buildout Clock Starts

Florida awarded 22 new medical cannabis licenses, but the first state update after the awards shows none operating yet, shifting attention from supply growth to financing, construction, and staged approval deadlines.

Florida has licensed 22 new medical-cannabis operators. One week later, the first official operating snapshot showed all 22 still at zero.

Massachusetts Starts Writing Rules for Standalone Medical Cannabis Dispensaries

State regulators have begun drafting rules for medical dispensaries that could operate without owning cultivation and manufacturing, opening a new path into Massachusetts’ medical cannabis market.

Massachusetts has moved its medical cannabis overhaul out of the statute book and into live rule design. On September 17, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission opened formal discussion of medical licensing changes, including a new standalone medical dispensary license, as part...

Minnesota’s First Year of State-Licensed Cannabis Sales Clears $250 Million

The milestone gives Minnesota its first solid measure of legal demand and shows a market moving from launch scarcity toward faster supply growth, tougher competition, and a clearer tax contribution.

Minnesota’s legal cannabis market has crossed its first $250 million in combined retail sales roughly one year after adult-use sales began at state-licensed businesses. The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management said on Sept. 15 that the total includes about $150 million in...

Ohio Has Made Packaging Approval a Sales Gate for Cannabis Products

Ohio’s new cannabis packaging rules took effect on September 11, meaning products cannot be sold to consumers unless the state has already approved the package they will reach the shelf in.

Ohio has switched on a new control point for cannabis sales. Since September 11, 2026, cultivators and processors in the state cannot sell cannabis in packaging meant for direct customer sale unless the Division of Cannabis Control has given that packaging written approval first.

GLOBALSep 17, 2026

Australia’s Medical Cannabis Exports Doubled in 2025, With Germany Taking the Lead

Australia shipped 6,780 kilograms of medicinal cannabis overseas in 2025, more than double the year before, turning exports into a real sales channel for domestic producers as Germany became the main buyer.

Australia’s medicinal-cannabis export trade moved into clearer commercial scale in 2025. The latest country-by-country tables from the Office of Drug Control show Australia exported 6,780 kilograms of cannabis in 2025, up from 3,312 kilograms in 2024.

GLOBALSep 16, 2026

Thailand Gives Legacy Cannabis Shops Time to Exit, Not a Way to Stay

Thailand’s cannabis regulator says older flower shops can keep renewing existing licences for up to three years, but the new licensing system now points fresh permits toward medical, pharmacy, herbal-product, cultivation-to-business, and factory channels instead of general storefront retail.

Thailand has answered the question that mattered most once its tighter cannabis rules arrived: old-model flower shops are not being forced to close overnight, but they are being moved onto a timed exit path.

Great Britain’s First CBD Food Authorisations Reach Ministers With 3,000 Products Attached

Britain’s food regulator has put its first CBD authorisation recommendations before ministers, and the three applications already underpin about 3,000 products on the public list that retailers have been using as an interim compliance guide.

Great Britain’s CBD food market has reached its first real decision point. In papers prepared for its September 2026 board meeting and updated on 14 September, the Food Standards Agency said it will recommend ministers authorise the first three CBD novel-food applications. Those...

Connecticut Resets Medical Cannabis Staffing Rules and Eases the Pharmacist Bottleneck

Connecticut has loosened its medical cannabis staffing model, letting trained non-pharmacist workers complete patient sales while pharmacists shift to a consultation role that can often be handled remotely.

Connecticut has formally loosened one of the more rigid staffing rules in its medical cannabis system. In guidance updated on Sept. 3, the state said licensed pharmacists no longer have to be employed for at least 20 hours a week and no longer have to be physically present at a...

New Jersey’s Adult-Use License Bottleneck Has Shifted to Conditional Conversions

State data now show that New Jersey has issued far more provisional cannabis licenses than it has turned into full operating approvals, shifting attention from awards to execution.

New Jersey’s latest cannabis licensing update shows a simple change in where the state’s market is getting stuck. The problem is no longer issuing initial approvals. It is getting those provisional approvals over the line into full annual status.

Netherlands Sets End-2026 Stop for State Medicinal-Cannabis Exports

The Dutch government says state exports of medicinal cannabis will end this year, Dutch pharmacies and researchers will move to imported supply in 2027, and the legal basis for ending the current state-only supply model is targeted for July 2028.

The Netherlands has put a hard date on the end of one of Europe’s oldest state-run medicinal-cannabis export channels. In a 3 July policy letter, the Dutch health minister said exports by the Bureau voor Medicinale Cannabis will stop at the end of 2026. The same letter says the...

Missouri’s Final Required Microbusiness Lottery Drew 888 Applications for About 77 Licenses

Missouri has moved its third and final required cannabis microbusiness round into review, with 888 applicants competing for about 77 small-business licenses that the state says will start being issued in December.

Missouri has posted the results of its third cannabis microbusiness lottery, pushing the process out of application season and into state review. The state says its Division of Cannabis Regulation received 888 applications for round three and expects to issue approximately 77...

D.C. Extends Medical Cannabis Conditional Licenses to Three Years and Eases the Path to Full Approval

Washington, D.C. has given medical cannabis applicants up to three years to turn conditional licenses into operating businesses and now lets many of them convert using a zoning certificate instead of waiting for a certificate of occupancy.

Washington, D.C. has changed the timetable for medical cannabis businesses that have approval in principle but are not yet ready to open. Under D.C. Act 26-391, signed on July 30 and effective immediately on an emergency basis, conditional medical cannabis licenses are now valid...

Virginia Sets a Dated Path to Retail Marijuana Sales, With Launch Planned for July 1, 2027

Virginia’s cannabis regulator has moved the state’s adult-use market from political promise to a public operating calendar, giving existing medical and hemp businesses an early planning lane and putting the wider industry on a fixed clock.

Virginia’s cannabis regulator has posted the clearest adult-use market timetable the state has offered yet. The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority says draft regulations will be released in September 2026, some license applications must start being accepted by February 1, 2027,...

GLOBALSep 8, 2026

Canada Doubles Cannabis Import Permit Validity to 12 Months

Health Canada has extended the maximum life of a cannabis import permit to 12 months and tied Canadian export-permit validity to the foreign permit deadline, giving medical and research supply chains more time to complete cross-border shipments without changing the one-shipment rule.

Health Canada has doubled the import-permit window and only surfaced it to licensees this month