Virginia cannabis sales bill vetoed by governor (Newsletter: May 20, 2026)
- Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana sales, following lawmakers' rejection of her proposed delays, tax increases, and new criminal penalties.
- The U.S. Army warned soldiers that all cannabis use is prohibited, including common hemp-based CBD products like vape juices, foods, and cosmetics.
- California is proposing emergency cannabis rules to simplify licensing for businesses, helping them access federal benefits by separating medical and recreational operations.
- A new study showed that marijuana legalization is linked to significant reductions in non-fatal opioid poisonings among commercially insured adults.
Army wants soldiers about marijuana, hemp & CBD; CA emergency cannabis rules for rescheduling relief; LA marijuana penalty bill to gov; Opioid study
Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day.
Email address:
Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible…
Before you dig into today’s cannabis news, I wanted you to know you can keep this resource free and published daily by subscribing to Marijuana Moment on Patreon. We’re a small independent publication diving deep into the cannabis world and rely on readers like you to keep going. Join us at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) vetoed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales after lawmakers rejected her proposed amendments to delay the launch of the market by six months, increase taxes and institute new criminal penalties for cannabis consumers. The U.S. Army published a warning reminding soldiers that use of cannabis is prohibited—including “even common hemp items containing CBD, such as vape juices, food, hair care products, oils, lotions and other cosmetics.”
The California Department of Cannabis Control is proposing emergency rules aimed at making it easier for the state’s marijuana businesses to take advantage of federal benefits under the Trump administration’s rescheduling move by letting those with current licenses covering both medical and recreational products secure a secondary license through a streamlined process to separate out the segments of their operations. Louisiana lawmakers sent Gov. Jeff Landry (R) a bill that threatens to send people to jail for up to one year if they smoke marijuana within 2,000 feet of a school property—including college campuses. A new federally funded study that analyzed claims data on 107.5 million commercially insured adults found that marijuana legalization is “associated with significant reductions in non-fatal opioid poisonings.”
The deputy senior director of the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division said that the amount of chemically converted hemp being illegally sold as marijuana is “larger than we can quantify” and “would probably explode your minds” in a meeting with industry representatives, according to a leaked recording. / FEDERAL The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to change the process by which it sets annual production quotas for drugs. The Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration issued an advisory on addressing cannabis use disorder. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) cited Tennessee’s failure to enact medical or recreational marijuana legislation as an example of how the state is “really backwards” and “slow.” Nebraska independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn posted a video of himself discussing medical cannabis and Sen. Pete Ricketts’s (R-NE) opposition to it. Florida Republican congressional candidates agreed on opposing legalizing marijuana during a debate. / STATES Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) appointed new members to a restructured Cannabis Control Commission. The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill to allow sales of large-container hemp beverages and to let medical cannabis dispensaries add adult-use marijuana sales without local approval. A former New Hampshire representative coauthored an op-ed criticizing federal marijuana rescheduling. Oregon regulators filed a brief opposing a lawsuit that seeks to expand psilocybin services access to homebound patients. Kentucky regulators will host a webinar for medical cannabis patients on Wednesday. The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority Board of Directors will meet on June 2.
/ LOCAL Pawtucket, Rhode Island firefighters who claimed in a lawsuit that they were improperly fired for off-duty marijuana use are being reinstated. / INTERNATIONAL South Africa’s deputy minister in the presidency visited a medical cannabis facility. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A review concluded that “CBD exerts antitumor effects through multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms involving oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, calcium homeostasis imbalance, and modulation of signaling networks.” / BUSINESS SHF Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Safe Harbor Financial reported quarterly revenue of $2 million and a net loss of $1.8 million. TerrAscend erroneously received more than $8 million in tax refunds, federal officials said in a lawsuit. FundCanna secured a new senior credit facility of up to $60 million. / CULTURE Football player Rashee Rice has been ordered to spend 30 days in jail for violating probation by testing positive for cannabis.
Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.
Email address:
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.