California tax relief goes up in smoke 💨

"Passage of the Vets Equal Access Amendment is a historic win for veterans, who have been champions of cannabis reform and served as ambassadors for the promise of medical cannabis. For years, veterans have called on the VA (Veterans Administration) to make medical cannabis a treatment option, particularly as an alternative to the drugs fueling the opioid epidemic." US Cannabis Roundtable Chair and Cresco Labs CEO Charlie Bachtell said.

Earlier this week, the House approved a spending bill amendment that allows VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis in one of the 40 states where it is legal.

California tax relief goes up in smoke 💨

Excise tax relief for California's beleaguered cannabis industry failed to make it into the final version of the state budget bill on Wednesday. California's cannabis excise tax is set to increase from 15% to 19% on July 1. There is still another active bill that would leave the excise tax at 15%, but at best it would not be able to go into effect until a few months into the 19% rate. MJBizDaily has more. 

Florida removes 11,000 non-compliant hemp products 👮

Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced that his department removed almost 11,000 hemp products from store shelves violating new packaging and marketing rules in the first week of enforcement. The state adopted new packaging and marketing regulations for hemp on March 12, including child-resistent packaging, no artificial colors and mandatory lab testing results. Enforcement of the new rules officially began on June 16. 

No end in sight for Vermont's retail pause 👓

Vermont applicants have been waiting months since the state's Cannabis Control Board voted to hit the brakes on new retail licensing back in September. At the time, the pause was presented as a temporary break to allow the board to write new siting rules intended to alleviate over-saturation. New rules were never put into place, and aspiring retailers are still waiting. The Brattleboro Reformer has more. 

Delaware activists urge governor not to veto zoning bill 🚧

The Delaware Cannabis Industry Association is calling on Gov. Matt Meyers to sign SB 75, which would prevent counties from blocking medical-to-adult-use retail conversions with zoning restrictions. Currently, counties are able to effectively ban retail in unincorporated areas where towns or cities lack jurisdiction. If Meyers fails to sign the bill by June 30, it will fail as a pocket veto. 

Rep. Harris says he’s ‘not worried’ about Senate opposition to reining in hemp 👀

Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican behind the push to close the hemp “loophole” in a new spending bill, told Marijuana Moment in an interview that he’s not worried about Senate opposition. “I think we very carefully drafted it,” he said.

Cannabis Media Council drops its latest report 📒

The Cannabis Media Council, an industry trade association, released its 2025 Full Spectrum report, with an advertising sentiment survey, market forecasts, and Meta marketing guidelines (timely with our newsletter yesterday). Download the full report here.

NY's legal market launch sparked small increase in consumption 🗽

A report from the New York State Department of Health states that 14.7% of adults in the state consumed cannabis within the past 30 days after two years of legalization. That figure, which is from 2023, reflects a slight increase from the 12.7% that claimed to use it when cannabis was first legalized in 2021. Just over half of those users said the cannabis was not-medicinal, while 30.5% say they use it for both medicine and recreation. 

And more:

• Tilray Medical published a new study that shows its cannabis oil kicks in faster and stronger than a popular spray, which could help patients get quicker relief with fewer side effects.

High Hopes, Murky Data: How One Cannabis Heart Study Got Twisted in Translation | Doctor-Approved Substack

A Tribute to Bill Downing, An Incomparable Commonwealth Cannabis Advocate | Talking Joints Memo