Category: Cannabis Info

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One In Three Americans 'Pre-Game' With Marijuana Before Family Holiday Gatherings, Survey Finds

Georgia under pressure to expand low-THC medical cannabis in 2026

January 15, 2026 Published by

Georgia under pressure to expand low-THC medical cannabis in 2026

Back in session as of earlier this week, Georgia lawmakers are set to reconsider a major expansion of the state’s limited, low-THC medical cannabis program.

That would be good news for medical marijuana operators in the state, where patient growth remains stagnant under the status quo, according to a recent state report.

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Last fall’s legislative session ended without definitive action on Senate Bill 220, which proposed legalizing vaporizable cannabis flower for the first time and raising allowable THC from 5% to 50%, as Fox 5 reported.

Current access is restricted to low-THC oil, also included in edible products.

According to Axios, medical cannabis advocates are pushing lawmakers this session to revisit the bill, which would also expand the list of medical

The post Georgia under pressure to expand low-THC medical cannabis in 2026 appeared first on GrowCola.com.

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France Extends Medical Cannabis Access Again as Full Access Bill Remains Stuck in Limbo

France Extends Medical Cannabis Access Again as Full Access Bill Remains Stuck in Limbo

January 15, 2026 Published by

France Extends Medical Cannabis Access Again as Full Access Bill Remains Stuck in Limbo

Thousands of French medical cannabis patients will continue to receive their treatment for the foreseeable future, as the highly anticipated full generalised framework edges towards reality. 

France’s Ministry of Health announced yesterday that patients currently enrolled in the country’s long-running medical cannabis programme will receive another extension beyond the March 31, 2026 deadline, though exactly how long this latest extension will last is unclear. 

The announcement, made during a temporary scientific committee meeting of the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM), aims to ensure thousands of patients receiving medical cannabis through its pilot programme are not suddenly cut off on April 01, 2026. 

While this is a critical move by the French government, it fails to address the wider issue of inaction regarding the country’s incoming generalised framework.

“We really hope that this will come out now,” Hugues Péribère, CEO of French medical cannabis company Overseed, told Business of Cannabis. “We absolutely need a new extension for the patients who are included in the process. But what we are really hoping is that new patients could have permanent access as soon as possible.”

The rapidly evolving situation, and the opportunities it creates, will be examined in rigorous detail next month at Cannabis Europa 2026, organised in partnership with medical cannabis trade organisation UIVEC, where policymakers, healthcare leaders, and industry executives will convene to assess what France’s transition to permanent medical cannabis means in practice.

Regarding yesterday’s news, UIVEC’s President Ludovic Rachou welcomed the extension, but warned it ‘cannot indefinitely replace the expected regulatory decisions…There is no longer any room for ambiguity: the Government must now publish the texts allowing for a lasting exit from the experiment.’

National framework ‘ready to go’

France’s battle to secure access to medical cannabis, which has now been running for five years, is frustratingly close to being enacted, but remains stuck in regulatory limbo. 

During 2025, France emerged as one of the most unique and exciting upcoming medical cannabis markets in Europe, submitting detailed plans for a permanent generalised framework to the European Commission for approval in March. 

This came as a surprise to many industry hawks, not just because the project appeared on the brink of failure, but because it proposed one of the most considered and unique approaches seen so far in the industry. 

After five years of development, political upheaval, and repeated delays, France’s medical cannabis framework is technically complete, having been submitted to the EU in March 2025, approved by Brussels in June 2025, and validated by the Conseil d’État in August 2025. 

Now, only ministers’ signatures are needed for the bill to be published in the Journal Officiel, but once again, despite outcry from patients and businesses trying to prepare for the new market, progress has stalled. 

“We’ve been building this for five years… It’s not a 180-degree turn,” Péribère explained. 

“The big problem we had with the evolution of the regulatory framework was the dissolution of the National Assembly in France. The process was going on, we had milestones to reach in 2024, and then with the dissolution, it was a complete mess.”

The political chaos meant, as seen repeatedly in markets throughout Europe, that medical cannabis plummeted down the list of political priorities. For the industry, it meant having to continually rebuild political relationships. 

“Every time we had to redo the work to make contact with the cabinets, with the minister, all the time wondering if we would have somebody that will be pro or anti-medical cannabis.”

The situation improved briefly in December 2024 with the appointment of Health Minister Yannick Neuder, known to be supportive of medical cannabis. Under his watch, the texts were sent to the EU and subsequently validated. However, just months later, another confidence vote brought down the government.

“At the end of last summer, we considered that the subject was no more than technical; it was in the administrative process to be published,” Péribère says. “But with the mess we had during the autumn, the subject became political again.”

Now, with yet another new Minister of Health in place, the question is simply ‘when will (it) be published?’. 

The HAS Bottleneck

Once the framework is published and signed into law, the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) must then finalise its crucial reimbursement evaluation, meaning clarity on what patients are expected to pay is also dependent on publication. 

In December 2025, HAS explicitly stated it would be unable to complete its work on pricing and reimbursement structures until the Conseil d’État decree governing the evaluation procedure is officially published. 

HAS launched its evaluation process in July 2025, setting an ambitious target of delivering final reimbursement recommendations by the end of Q1 2026, a deadline which is now increasingly ambitious given the pilot’s extension beyond March 2026. 

Crucially, HAS will also determine prescriber training requirements and broader healthcare system integration, meaning its decisions will have an outsized impact on patient accessibility and the speed of the framework’s rollout. 

“The challenge is there… In every country, the question is always the education of the prescribers, the quality of the information we will be able to provide them,” Péribère added.

The post France Extends Medical Cannabis Access Again as Full Access Bill Remains Stuck in Limbo appeared first on Business of Cannabis.

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Study: Cannabis Beverages Associated With Reduced Alcohol Consumption

Study: Cannabis Beverages Associated With Reduced Alcohol Consumption

January 15, 2026 Published by

Study: Cannabis Beverages Associated With Reduced Alcohol Consumption

a cannabis leaf sits atop a canned drinka cannabis leaf sits atop a canned drink“These consistent findings provide support for the notion that legal cannabis can serve as a substitute for alcohol among certain individuals, and that legal cannabis markets may, in some instances, disrupt alcohol-dominant marketplaces.”

The post Study: Cannabis Beverages Associated With Reduced Alcohol Consumption appeared first on NORML.

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280E Tax Relief: Don’t Hold Your Breath (Yet)

280E Tax Relief: Don’t Hold Your Breath (Yet)

January 15, 2026 Published by

280E Tax Relief: Don’t Hold Your Breath (Yet)

Despite the exciting news about cannabis rescheduling to Schedule III, businesses shouldn’t expect immediate relief from the burdensome 280E tax code. Tax experts believe that due to the timing of federal changes, cannabis will likely still be treated as a Schedule I substance for the entirety of the 2025 tax year. This means cannabis businesses will continue to face inflated tax burdens for a while longer, despite the positive shift in federal perception.

The 280E Hangover: Why Dispensaries Still Can’t Deduct Like Normal Businesses

Hey cannabis enthusiasts and industry insiders! We’ve all been buzzing about the potential rescheduling of cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance. It’s a huge step forward, signaling a shift in how federal law views the plant. But let’s pump the brakes on the immediate financial relief, especially when it comes to that notorious thorn in every cannabis business’s side: 280E.

What Exactly Is 280E, Anyway?

For those not intimately familiar with the fascinating (read: infuriating) world of tax codes, Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is a real buzzkill. Enacted in the 1980s, it prevents businesses that “traffic in controlled substances” from deducting ordinary business expenses. Think about it: a regular retail shop can deduct rent, employee salaries, and advertising costs. Cannabis businesses? Nope, not if those costs are “attributable” to the trafficking of Schedule I or II substances. This means their taxable income is artificially inflated, leading to a much higher tax bill than conventional businesses.

The Rescheduling Ripple Effect: Hope on the Horizon?

The proposed move to Schedule III is a big deal. Schedule III substances (think Tylenol with codeine) are recognized by the federal government as having accepted medical uses and a lower potential for abuse. The logic follows: if cannabis is no longer Schedule I, then 280E, which specifically targets Schedule I and II drug trafficking, should no longer apply, right?

In theory, yes! That’s the light at the end of the tunnel everyone’s been eagerly anticipating. Removing cannabis from the Schedule I list would, for all intents and purposes, pull the rug out from under 280E’s application to the cannabis industry. So, why the caution?

The Not-So-Instant Relief: A Look at the Calendar

Here’s where the current news comes in, and it’s a bit of a reality check. Even with a rescheduling announcement, the immediate impact on your 2024 (and even 2025) tax bill might not be what you’re hoping for. As some tax experts have pointed out, there’s a strong likelihood that cannabis operations will still be treated as Schedule I activities for tax purposes for the entirety of 2025.

Why? Tax years are generally determined by the status of the substance during that year. Federal agencies move at their own pace, and the IRS isn’t known for its lightning-fast adjustments. This means that even if the DEA formally reschedules cannabis in late 2024 or early 2025, the tax implications for the 2025 tax year (which you’d file in 2026) could still be governed by the old Schedule I classification.

What This Means for Cannabis Businesses

So, what’s the takeaway for cannabis businesses currently navigating this complex landscape? Patience, planning, and prayer (maybe a little). While the long-term outlook for 280E relief is incredibly positive, immediate changes to your tax burden might not materialize as quickly as the headlines suggest. It’s crucial to continue consulting with tax professionals who specialize in the cannabis industry to understand your specific obligations and strategize for future changes.

Don’t get us wrong, rescheduling is an enormous victory for the cannabis industry, paving the way for more research, banking access, and a more legitimate standing in the eyes of the federal government. But when it comes to those pesky tax deductions, it seems we’ll be waiting just a little bit longer for the full financial benefits to kick in. Keep an eye on those federal registers!

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Royal Watermelon Wreck Strain Feminized Seeds

Royal Watermelon Wreck Strain Feminized Seeds

January 15, 2026 Published by

Royal Watermelon Wreck Strain Feminized Seeds

Description

Royal Watermelon Wreck produces visually appealing buds that highlight its elite sativa-dominant lineage. The scent is bold and complex, starting with a punchy diesel and chemical aroma that comes straight from its Sour Diesel roots. This pungent scent is softened by a layer of fruity sweetness that lingers on the palate. The effects kick in quickly, starting with a bright cerebral rush that sparks creativity and focus before settling into a mellow physical calm. Whether you are tackling a creative project or looking for an uplifting daytime boost, this strain provides a versatile and engaging experience.

The post Royal Watermelon Wreck Strain Feminized Seeds appeared first on Crop King Seeds.

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