Cannabis Legalization News Podcast

Hosted by Cannabis Legalization News

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Episodes

628

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Cannabis Legalization News explains what changed in cannabis—and what comes next. Each week, cannabis attorney and dispensary owner Thomas Howard and activist Miguel “Miggy” Santiago connect the laws, court decisions, policy shifts, rights issues, hemp developments and regulated-market realities that matter. Each episode connects consequential cannabis developments and explains what they mean. Ask Thomas is a forthcoming pilot and will not be represented as an active series until it launches. CLN publishes news, analysis, commentary and education—not legal advice. Sponsored work and related-party relationships are disclosed; coverage is not for sale. Watch, read the sources and find current episodes at cannabislegalizationnews.com.

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60 recent

October 11, 20261 hr 7 min

Marijuana Rescheduling's Court Fight Could Stretch Into 2027

Send us Fan Mail Recorded October 11, 2026. Thomas Howard and Miggy present the Cannabis Legalization News weekly roundup. Watch the original CLN video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mHjZk34FPo Brought to you by Collateral Base. CLN is news, analysis and education—not legal advice. Discussion reflects the information available at the time of recording. Chapters 00:00:00 - Welcome and dispensary operations 00:06:05 - Rescheduling court fight 00:09:05 - How the briefing calendar works 00:12:04 - Hemp THC and legalization debate 00:18:27 - DEA registration and supply chains 00:24:48 - Trump's cannabis comments 00:25:44 - Washington medical-cannabis verification 00:29:04 - Illinois homegrow and possession limits 00:34:54 - Massachusetts and Idaho ballots 00:42:46 - AI and running a law firm 00:46:39 - Illinois oversight and age checks 00:48:28 - Medicare CBD court challenge 00:52:40 - Missouri cannabis ownership dispute 00:55:39 - Cannabis takeovers and valuations 00:59:02 - Cannabis enforcement and promotions 01:02:13 - Taxes, banking and business costs 01:04:38 - Closing updates 01:06:58 - Collateral Base sponsor message Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

October 4, 202612 min

DEA Judge Stays Rescheduling Case: Is This a Dead End?

Send us Fan Mail Thomas Howard examines the DEA marijuana rescheduling stay, the GAO report, and what the delay means for cannabis operators. October 13 is a response deadline—not a promised decision date. Recorded analysis reflects the record as of October 3, 2026. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtbMDdoG-h8 Signed DEA stay order: https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2026-09/Proposed%20Marijuana%20Rescheduling_Stay%20and%20Briefing%20Order.pdf GAO report: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108623 This episode is sponsored by Howard East—counsel for regulated operators, from dispensaries to data centers. Public education, not individualized legal, tax, medical or investment advice. Thomas holds Illinois cannabis retail interests. Chapters 00:00:00 - Delay Hits Operators 00:01:09 - GAO Report Triggers Pause 00:02:02 - What The Stay Order Does 00:02:36 - Judge Authority After Hearing 00:03:41 - Inside The GAO Findings 00:04:58 - Opponents Seek Do Over 00:05:32 - Law Limits GAO Role 00:07:57 - Best Case For The Pause 00:09:14 - Real World Cost Of Waiting 00:10:18 - Sponsor And April Rule 00:11:12 - What Happens Next 00:11:53 - Closing Thoughts And Call Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

October 4, 20261 hr 15 min

The DEA Rescheduling Stay: Everything You Need to Know

Send us Fan Mail In this October 4, 2026 replay, Thomas Howard and Miggy discuss the DEA's marijuana rescheduling stay and what happens next. October 13 is a response deadline, not a promised decision date. Watch the original YouTube replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3PDI24KPgY Primary lead source: https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2026-09/Proposed%20Marijuana%20Rescheduling_Stay%20and%20Briefing%20Order.pdf Sponsor CLN: https://www.cannabislegalizationnews.com/sponsor/ Collateral Base sponsors CLN. Public education, not individualized legal, tax, medical or investment advice. Thomas holds Illinois cannabis retail interests. Chapters 00:00:00 - Welcome and weekly headlines 00:01:28 - DEA rescheduling stay and next steps 00:05:15 - Due process and the GAO report 00:08:14 - Hemp THC and enforcement debate 00:11:12 - Homegrow and regulatory limits 00:13:44 - Sponsor break and strain talk 00:19:13 - Illinois drive-thru and curbside rules 00:21:38 - Cannabis business, banking and 280E 00:26:05 - Federal hemp restrictions 00:27:37 - Short break 00:28:17 - Cannabis creators and retail operations 00:37:06 - Cannabis possession limits 00:38:53 - California testing and retail bills 00:42:14 - Alcohol, nicotine and drug schedules 00:50:04 - Michigan licensing and diversion 00:54:18 - Connecticut cannabis excise tax 01:00:00 - Georgia medical cannabis delivery proposal 01:03:22 - New York licensing and business risks 01:08:13 - SEC allegations involving Mississippi Green Oil 01:13:57 - Closing updates and sponsor message Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

September 28, 202613 min

Marijuana Rescheduling: Is an October Surprise Still Possible?

Send us Fan Mail Could marijuana rescheduling still produce an October surprise? Thomas Howard traces the federal timeline, the DEA process and the separate court challenge, then explains what he is watching next. October remains a possibility, not a promised outcome. This episode explores the timeline without promising a decision date. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/DXlSz99DIu0 Follow Cannabis Legalization News for more cannabis policy news and analysis. This discussion was first available to YouTube channel members in September 2026. Later developments may change the picture. News and commentary; not legal advice. Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

September 27, 2026Episode 71050 min

Montana's New Weed Rule: Who Can Actually Run the Store?

Send us Fan Mail Montana is spelling out who must document residency to run a licensed cannabis business—even when that person is not an owner. Its new rule cites the Ninth Circuit, while the wider cannabis-licensing dispute continues. Recorded September 27, 2026. Thomas Howard and Miggy host Cannabis Legalization News. This episode covers Montana's operational-control rule; GAO's scheduling-policy findings; DOJ's firearm-rights restoration process; Ohio VIP Smoke Shop guilty pleas; a military marijuana-testing appeal; the Third Circuit's Welch decision; hemp and full-spectrum CBD; Pekin's dispensary and a local PBS feature; Colorado vape recalls; Massachusetts' repeal poll; and the federal-policy outlook. Plus Name That Strain: GG4. Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ZmBXsM5dE Primary reading: Montana adopted rule: https://revenue.mt.gov/news/rules-hearing/MAR-Notice-2026-155-2 | GAO report: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108623 | DOJ program: https://www.justice.gov/ffrr A proposal is not enacted law, a plea is not sentencing, a poll is not an election result, and rescheduling is not blanket federal legalization. Some secondary-reported details remain qualified in the show notes. Thomas practices cannabis law and holds Illinois cannabis retail interests. This show provides general education, not legal or tax advice. Sponsored by Collateral Base. Sponsorship: https://www.cannabislegalizationnews.com/sponsor/ Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

September 20, 2026Episode 70953 min

Is Your Cannabis License Safe? Supreme Court Petition Update

Send us Fan Mail WHO GETS IN? The cannabis licensing fight reaches a new procedural step—not a Supreme Court ruling. Sunday, September 20 at 3:05 PM Central with Thomas Howard and Miggy. A petition asks the Supreme Court whether the dormant Commerce Clause applies to state and municipal cannabis-licensing schemes. Review has not been granted. We unpack the licensing dispute and nine more cannabis-law stories, separating filings and proposals from decisions and effective law. This week's rundown: • Supreme Court petition: who gets a cannabis license? • Third Circuit strip-search limits—and why the plaintiff still lost on qualified immunity. • New York's marijuana-odor argument, not a decision. • Texas: a vacated judgment, but an opinion left standing. • The Federal Reserve's proposed vendor-risk guide, not a new banking rule. • TerrAscend's procedural defense, not a Section 280E merits ruling. • Michigan's $2 million processor fine and licensing action. • Rhode Island's hemp-removal bulletin and the federal dates behind it. • Illinois HB5815: a filed cash-payment proposal, not an enacted program. • Connecticut's separate concentrate and flower potency changes. Disclosure: Thomas practices cannabis law and holds Illinois cannabis retail interests. News and commentary, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Sponsored by Collateral Base. Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

September 13, 2026Episode 70853 min

Legal Loopholes: How a $32 Million Cannabis Contract Dispute Was Dismissed

Send us Fan Mail Curaleaf’s $31.8M Contract Verdict Tossed, Schedule III Can’t Be Enjoined, and Regulators Crack Down The hosts discuss cannabis legalization and business news, arguing that federal marijuana rescheduling to Schedule III is inevitable and noting a court denial of injunctive relief seeking to block it, with briefing planning due by October 9 and an amicus request granted. They cover a roughly $31.8 million marijuana contract verdict tied to an output contract dispute that was moved to federal court and dismissed on federal illegality grounds, warning that federal courts remain effectively closed to marijuana contract enforcement even after rescheduling, including for medical contracts. Additional topics include Washington State banning strain names that mimic children’s candy (e.g., “Runts,” “Skittles,” “Gushers”), Colorado regulators’ handling of a harmful edible product, limited cannabis banking participation per GAO data, dormant Commerce Clause splits, CDC overdose-death cannabis detection context, Nebraska’s medical cannabis laws upheld, and the hosts’ dispensary operations, local medical sales and lounge efforts, and business-building plans. Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

September 6, 2026Episode 70747 min

HR6500 Hemp Extension, DEA Questionnaires, and Ongoing Patchwork Cannabis Policy

Send us Fan Mail The hosts discuss cannabis still not being federally legalized and preview 10 news stories, led by Trump signing HR6500, a one-month hemp deadline extension that they argue punts major decisions until after the election. They say synthetics like THCO and HHC will remain illegal, while CBD-derived delta-8/delta-9 products may continue until December 11, and they anticipate a likely per-serving THC limit and clearer FDA definitions such as “container,” especially for beverages. They describe ongoing compliance burdens for dispensaries, including social-media ad suspensions, state police oversight, and a new 26-question DEA Diversion Control business questionnaire requiring extensive leadership, employee, product, supplier, and shipping details. Other topics include a three-ton cannabis seizure in Illinois highlighting diversion, safety-driven regulation after an Oklahoma extraction explosion, California packaging restrictions signed by Newsom, Trump freeing cannabis prisoners, a DeSantis hemp-money scandal, Nebraska cannabis progress, and a Colorado product linked to liver harm that stayed on shelves over a year. Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

August 30, 2026Episode 70658 min

The DEA Transcript is OUT—But the Arrests Never Stopped

Send us Fan Mail This week on Cannabis Legalization News: The hosts recap cannabis legalization news for the week ending Aug. 30, 2026, highlighting the DEA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and release of 11 days/2,533 pages of rescheduling hearing transcripts after ALJ Derek Julius ordered technical corrections. They quote DEA attorney James Schwartz arguing marijuana has currently accepted medical use and therefore cannot remain in Schedule I, while discussing how Schedule III would still leave major regulatory gaps and create “arbitrary and capricious” tax and compliance problems as the same inventory is treated as Schedule I or III depending on the transaction. They note FBI data showing cannabis arrests rising to about 201,000 with 92% for possession and one in four drug arrests involving marijuana. Other topics include Michigan dispensary closures tied to a 24% tax, Missouri collective bargaining rights for cannabis workers, Illinois adding sickle cell and polycystic ovarian syndrome with chronic pain as qualifying conditions, a Fourth Circuit decision rejecting “suspicion by geography,” delayed FDA hemp guidance, and Illinois’ move to issue new hybrid dispensary approvals around Sept. 10, alongside updates on their store, concerts, and a “Name That Strain” segment. 00:00 Welcome and Weekly Rundown 01:04 Dispensary Concert Highlights 01:43 Channel Growth and Store Life 02:53 DEA Transcript Rescheduling Bombshells 04:20 Schedule III Hybrids and Tax Chaos 08:26 Corruption Rants and AI Brain Rot 09:58 Rescheduling Misconceptions and Chevron 17:29 Arrests Data and Why It Matters 22:59 Texas Hemp Lobbying and Media Money 26:54 Illinois Social Equity Loan Fight 30:49 YouTube Analytics Hacks 31:49 Michigan Tax Crunch 33:40 Legalization Lost Magic 35:35 Texas Medical Bottlenecks 38:00 Hemp Bill And Schedule III 41:05 Missouri Union Rights 42:56 Name That Strain 45:58 Illinois Medical Expands 47:05 Fourth Amendment Win 49:29 Hybrid Licenses And Costs 53:32 Pekin Plans And Growth 56:45 Wrap Up And Subscribe Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu

August 23, 2026Episode 70549 min

DEA Rescheduling Briefs, Hemp Loopholes, and the Push for Federal THC Rules

Send us Fan Mail The hosts discuss developments in the DEA marijuana rescheduling process, noting final briefs were due Monday and the DEA is now arguing marijuana should not remain in Schedule I, acknowledging accepted medical use for pain, anorexia, and chemotherapy-related nausea, and disputing two Schedule I prongs including safety under medical supervision. They describe a waiting period after transcript-verbatim corrections and predict movement before the midterms, arguing HHS scientific findings are binding and appeals by groups like SAM and NASTA are unlikely to succeed. They emphasize rescheduling is not legalization and call for federal standards, including a “full spectrum CBD” definition and consistent THC regulation across hemp and cannabis to end “scheduled twice” confusion and address interstate-commerce limits. Other topics include lawmakers pressing the Trump administration on rollout, Georgia regulators’ limits on directing carriers, hemp farmers facing possible THC bans, market chatter on THC beverages, a dementia THC-oil trial, and a Massachusetts whistleblower lawsuit. Support the show Get our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3VEn9vu