May 25 2025

Texas Senate Approves Legislation to Ban Hemp-Derived THC Products, Sending Bill to Governor Abbott

The Texas Senate voted tonight to approve Senate Bill 3, which would ban hemp-derived THC products, sending the measure to Governor Greg Abbott for consideration.

Hemp THC gummies.

SB 3, which previously passed the Senate in March, was passed this week by the full House. Given the House approved amendments to the bill, it went back to the Senate for final approval, which they gave Sunday night.

The proposed law would outlaw most edibles, beverages, tinctures, and vape products that contain any meaningful amount of THC, with limited exceptions for trace-level products. The House had initially sought to revise the bill to create a regulatory framework for these products. However, a floor amendment reversed that approach, returning it to the Senate as a ban similar to the original Senate version.
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May 25 2025

Study: CBD Nanoemulsion May Alleviate Parkinson’s Symptoms and Intestinal Damage

A new preclinical study finds that a cannabidiol (CBD) nanoemulsion could protect against both brain and gut damage caused by Parkinson’s disease, while also improving behavior and reducing inflammation.

Published in the European Journal of Pharmacology, the study was conducted by researchers at the Federal University of Ceará in Brazil. It used a rat model of Parkinson’s disease induced by the toxin rotenone, which mimics the disease’s characteristic neurodegeneration, including the buildup of α-synuclein and increased oxidative stress.

Rats exposed to rotenone experienced significant motor and cognitive impairments, elevated oxidative stress, and reductions in glutathione, an important antioxidant. They also showed increased α-synuclein accumulation and inflammation not only in the brain but also in the intestine—a common site of dysfunction in Parkinson’s patients.
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May 25 2025

Study: 3D-Printed CBD Stent Shows Promise for Localized Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Treatment

According to a new study, researchers have developed a 3D-printed stent designed to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) using cannabidiol (CBD), potentially offering a targeted alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy.

The study, published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics, was conducted by scientists from the University of Bern in Switzerland and the University of Rome in Italy. The researchers created a customizable stent made of a laponite-alginate hydrogel and infused it with CBD-loaded PLGA microparticles to allow for controlled and sustained drug release. The stent, tailored for the female urethra, was engineered to maintain structural integrity for at least 14 days under simulated physiological conditions, delivering localized CBD directly to the site of infection.

In laboratory testing, the device demonstrated prolonged antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Researchers say this targeted approach could reduce the need for systemic antibiotics, potentially lowering the risk of side effects and improving adherence while helping combat the global issue of antibiotic resistance.
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May 24 2025

First Recreational Marijuana Store Outside Tribal Land Opens in Minnesota

Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana store not located on tribal land is now open in the city of Moorhead.

Operated by the White Earth Nation, the store is part of a broader agreement signed with Governor Tim Walz that allows the tribe to open up to eight marijuana retail locations across the state. The agreement makes White Earth the first tribal nation in Minnesota to launch adult-use marijuana stores outside of its reservation.

“This is a historic moment for Minnesota and for White Earth,” said Zach Wilson, CEO of Waabigwan Mashkiki, which operates the Moorhead store. “We’re proud to be the first adult-use dispensary open in the state.”
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May 24 2025

Texas Senate Committee Drastically Pares Back House-Approved Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill

A Texas Senate committee has quietly approved new language for House Bill 46 that significantly rolls back a proposed expansion of the state’s Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), eliminating chronic pain and traumatic brain injury (TBI) from the list of qualifying conditions and cutting the number of new business licenses by two-thirds.

The revised bill, approved during a Senate State Affairs Committee hearing Friday night, now heads to the full Senate for a vote. If passed, it will need to be reconciled with the more expansive House version before going to Governor Greg Abbott.

The move is expected to upset House lawmakers who backed the controversial ban on hemp-derived THC product, which recently passed the full House, with the understanding that medical marijuana access would be broadened—particularly for veterans and other patients with serious health conditions.
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May 24 2025

California Committee Unanimously Passes Bill to Delay Marijuana Excise Tax Increase

A bill to delay changes to California’s marijuana excise tax was unanimously approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee yesterday in a 13 to 0 vote, sending it to the full Assembly for consideration.

Assembly Bill 564, introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney, would push back the state’s scheduled adjustment of the marijuana excise tax rate until the 2030–31 fiscal year. Under current law, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is required to review and possibly raise the excise tax every two years starting in 2025 to make up for the elimination of the state’s cultivation tax. AB 564 delays that requirement by five years.

The excise tax is currently 15% of the total retail price of marijuana products, with a legal cap of 19%. The bill keeps the existing tax rate in place and preserves the system that allows future adjustments based on how much revenue the state would have collected from the repealed cultivation tax. However, those changes would now begin in 2030 instead of 2025.
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May 24 2025

Study: Low Dose of CBD May Reverse Depression-Like Symptoms Caused by Stress by Restoring Brain Synapses

A new study published in Neuropharmacology suggests that even a very low dose of cannabidiol (CBD) may be enough to partially reverse symptoms of depression brought on by chronic stress.

Researchers from the Universitat de Barcelona and the University of Greifswald used a well-established mouse model of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to examine the effects of CBD. Mice exposed to chronic stress were treated with just 1 mg/kg of CBD, a significantly lower dose than what is typically tested in similar studies.

The results showed notable improvements in brain regions associated with mood regulation, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Mass spectrometry revealed changes in several neurotransmitter systems, including glutamatergic and serotonergic pathways—both of which are commonly implicated in depression. Further analysis using microstructural techniques showed that CBD restored mature synapses in the mPFC, suggesting that the treatment helped repair brain circuitry damaged by stress.
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May 24 2025

Two-Thirds of Children With Autism Showed Behavioral Improvements From CBD in New Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

A new double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study has found that cannabidiol (CBD) led to behavioral improvements in about two-thirds of boys with autism spectrum disorder, though researchers emphasize that a strong placebo effect complicates interpretation of the results.

Conducted by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the trial involved autistic boys aged 7 to 14 with severe behavioral challenges. Over two eight-week phases separated by a four-week washout, participants received either CBD (up to 20 mg/kg per day of Epidiolex®) or placebo. Behavioral assessments were conducted before and after each phase.

Improvements were observed across both treatment and placebo groups on the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Scores on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) improved during the placebo phase, but this disappeared when factoring in other medications taken by participants.
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May 23 2025

Study: CBD May Delay and Reduce Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology has found that cannabidiol (CBD) may help delay the onset and reduce the severity of Parkinson’s-like symptoms, particularly when administered as a preventive treatment.

Conducted by researchers from Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Universidade de São Paulo, and Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, the study evaluated CBD’s neuroprotective effects using a mouse model of progressive Parkinsonism induced by low-dose reserpine.

Researchers administered CBD at 0.5 mg/kg using two different approaches: concurrently with reserpine to assess therapeutic effects, and prior to reserpine to examine possible preventive benefits. They assessed behavioral symptoms such as catalepsy and vacuous chewing movements, along with changes in dopaminergic neurons using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunolabeling in the substantia nigra pars compacta—a brain region critically affected in Parkinson’s disease.
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May 23 2025

Canada’s Legal Marijuana Market Generated CA$428.4 Million in Sales in March, Pushing Q1 Total to CA$1.27 Billion

Canada’s legal marijuana market generated CA$428.4 million in sales in March, according to newly released data from Statistics Canada.

The March total marks an increase from February’s CA$404.7 million, though it still falls short of January’s CA$437 million. Combined, legal marijuana sales in the first quarter of 2025 now total approximately CA$1.27 billion.

Ontario once again led all provinces with CA$174 million in legal cannabis sales in March. Alberta followed with CA$81 million, while British Columbia came in third at CA$56 million. These three provinces continue to dominate the legal market, accounting for nearly 74% of total March sales.
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