New FBI data shows more than 200,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in the United States in 2025, with another 17,000 booked for alleged sales or cultivation. The figures show that cannabis enforcement remains a major national issue even as legalization expands, with continued pressure around criminal records, expungement, hiring, compliance, and reform policy.

DEA has released the complete 2,533 page transcript from 11 days of federal cannabis rescheduling hearings as the administrative law judge prepares a recommendation. The record moves the process closer to a decision while operators continue facing uncertainty around 280E, federal compliance, medical cannabis strategy, research, and investment timing.

Missouri received nearly 900 applications for 77 licenses in its final cannabis microbusiness round, with the lottery scheduled for September 9. New ownership and vetting rules mean selection alone will not guarantee a license, increasing pressure around control, financing, compliance, and post selection readiness.

Palomar is asking a federal court to rule that its general liability and product liability policies do not cover Cresco Labs in two major consumer class actions. The dispute highlights growing cannabis insurance pressure around marketing claims, product warnings, economic losses, exclusions, defense costs, and the difference between having a policy and having coverage for a specific lawsuit.

Rhode Island cannabis retail licensing is moving again after a federal judge lifted an injunction that had frozen the state's application and selection process. Applicants now face a revised system with new deadlines, updated ownership rules, site control requirements, and renewed pressure around capital and market entry.

CBS News and The Marshall Project reported that THC testing after childbirth has led to new mothers being placed on child abuse registries, with Idaho highlighted as a state where more than a thousand mothers were affected. The bigger lesson is that cannabis legality is still colliding with healthcare, child welfare, medical testing, parental rights, and state enforcement systems.

A New Jersey cannabis operator filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s labor peace agreement requirements, arguing the rules forced the company into union related terms it did not want to accept. The bigger lesson is that labor policy is becoming part of cannabis market access, with direct pressure on license renewals, operator control, payroll planning, compliance costs, and litigation risk.

Alabama’s response to federal cannabis rescheduling is not a true opt out, but it raises real questions about 280E tax relief, interstate commerce, and state medical cannabis rules. The bigger lesson is that federal Schedule 3 changes will not land the same way in every state, so operators need market specific legal, tax, and compliance planning.

Texas will recriminalize the sale or possession of hemp derived products containing more than trace amounts of delta 8 THC and other synthetic THC analogues starting July 31. The bigger lesson is that Texas hemp operators now face immediate enforcement, inventory, vendor, criminal, and insurance exposure.

Idaho medical cannabis supporters will not challenge the state’s decision to reject 61 percent of petition signatures, leaving the 2026 ballot effort unable to move forward. The bigger lesson is that Idaho remains one of the toughest cannabis access states, where signature validation, ballot rules, and political resistance can stop legalization before voters ever see it.