Minnesota has launched two new programs aimed at supporting organizations that assist businesses in the state’s legal marijuana market.

The initiatives, overseen by the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), will distribute up to $8 million in funding.

The CanNavigate program will provide up to $2 million in grants to community-based entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) and groups with expertise in marijuana regulations. These grants will help individuals understand the regulatory framework of operating a marijuana business, with a focus on social equity applicants and those facing employment barriers.
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The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals has overturned a temporary restraining order (TRO) that had blocked the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) from issuing medical marijuana business licenses.

The decision, issued Friday, removes a nearly two-year legal barrier that had stalled the state’s medical marijuana program.

The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit from Alabama Always, a company that challenged how the AMCC awarded licenses. The company argued that the commission violated state law by altering application scores and failing to follow proper procedures. While the TRO is now lifted, other legal challenges remain, meaning further delays are still possible.

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The National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has issued internal guidance requiring special review for research, presentations, and communications that address certain “controversial, high-profile, or sensitive” topics.

According to internal documents reviewed by ProPublica, marijuana is among the 23 flagged subjects, alongside vaccines, fluoride, peanut allergies, and autism.

The directive mandates that all materials covering these topics undergo review by an NCI “clearance team” before publication, with potential additional scrutiny from officials at NIH or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While NCI has historically outlined certain administrative priorities, employees say the scale of this list is unprecedented. Six NCI employees, speaking anonymously, described the move as highly unusual and expressed concerns about its potential impact on scientific research.

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House Bill 1566, which would initiate a legislative study on kratom regulations, is set for a public hearing in the North Dakota Senate.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will review the measure on March 14 at 9:15 a.m, with the public open to give comment on the proposal.

The bill, which passed the House last month in a decisive 79 to 6 vote, directs the legislative management to examine kratom’s potential uses and regulatory framework. The study’s findings and any proposed legislation would be reported to the next legislative session.
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Ohio’s legal marijuana market has recorded more than 7.1 million transactions and over $569 million in sales between August 7 and March 8, according to updated data released today by the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control.

During this period, there were 5,107,590 adult-use transactions and 2,049,935 medical marijuana transactions, totaling 7,157,525. Adult-use sales accounted for $376,482,070, while medical marijuana sales reached $192,822,608, bringing the combined total to $569,304,678.

As of March 8, the average price of dried flower remains steady at $7 per gram. Since the start of Ohio’s licensed medical marijuana program in 2019, all-time sales have now reached $2.5 billion across more than 23 million transactions.
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There was Over $115 million in legal marijuana sold in February in Missouri, according to state officials.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there was $116.16 million worth of marijuana and marijuana products sold in February 2025, a modest increase over the $113 million sold in February 2024. The vast majority of February’s sales was for recreational use, at $102.46 million, with medical marijuana patients purchasing $13.77 million worth of medicine.

January’s marijuana sales resulted in over $10 million in taxes for the state. In 2024, the stater garnered over $120 million in taxes from over $1.3 billion in total sales.
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Legislation that would update medical marijuana product labeling requirements and expand delivery options for patients has been sent to Governor Glenn Youngkin for consideration.

House Bill 1989 was given approval last month by the (84 to 14) and Senate (30 to 10). On Friday, the bill was officially sent to the desk of Governor Youngkin, who now has the option of signing it into law, vetoing it, or allowing it to become law without a signature. If Youngkin does veto the measure, the legislature can overturn it with a two-thirds majority, a threshold the bill could likely reach given its widespread support in the legislature.

Sponsored by Delegate Alex Askew (D), the legislation would update labeling rules for medical marijuana products, requiring pharmaceutical processors to provide clearer cannabinoid content information. Specifically, labels would need to display:

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A second committee in the New Mexico House of Representatives has given approval to legislation that would prevent random cannabis testing and to ensure that cannabis metabolites in someone’s system can’t by itself be considered  impaired.

House Bill 230 states that “An employee shall not be considered to be impaired by cannabis solely because of the presence of metabolites or components of cannabis.” The measure was given approval by the House Judiciary Committee, three weeks after it was passed by the House Health and Human Services Committee. The proposal now advances to the full House of Representatives.

“Random drug testing of an employee shall not include testing for cannabis”, states the proposed law. However, an employer “may require a drug test for cannabis if the employer has a reasonable suspicion of the employee’s impairment by cannabis at work or after an accident involving the employee and at least one other person or an accident causing significant damage to property if the employer has a reasonable suspicion of the employee’s impairment by cannabis at the time of the accident.”
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Legislation has been filed in Texas that would direct state health officials to study the potential of psychedelic therapies such as MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine, for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

Texas State Capitol Building.

House Bill 4014, filed yesterday by State Representative John Bucy (R), would require the Department of State Health Services to conduct a comprehensive study on the use of MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine in treating PTSD, depression, and other co-occurring conditions. The research would be carried out in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine and the Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin.

The bill mandates a review of clinical trials and scientific literature on psychedelic therapies, as well as an evaluation of potential treatment guidelines. It also directs the department to assess patient access to existing treatments for PTSD and depression and recommend legislative actions to improve access to psychedelic-assisted therapy if the substances receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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