Family feud over D.C. cannabis license leads regulators to block sale of ‘Blunt DC’
The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board has issued a proposed order denying the transfer of downtown dispensary Blunt DC’s medical retailer license to prospective buyer Half Smoke Herb Inc. The regulatory ruling follows a family feud in which Blunt DC’s sole owner, Chong Nak Son, revoked a power of attorney previously granted to his son after the son executed an unauthorized transfer agreement. Because the power of attorney was revoked and Chong Nak Son disclaimed the deal before agency approval, regulators ruled the transfer application incomplete and legally invalid
- Catch up on the July 29th disposition or subscribe to a paying membership to receive exclusive summaries of Board meetings and see our map of pending cannabis businesses in D.C.
- The ABC Board will observe summer recess from August 13 – September 15.
Virginia hemp files federal lawsuit against state over budget bill’s ban
Seven Virginia hemp businesses have filed a federal lawsuit challenging provisions in the state’s new biennial budget bill that eliminate the 25:1 CBD-to-THC ratio exception and cap all hemp products at 2 milligrams of total THC per package. The plaintiffs argue that the abrupt restriction effectively decimates the state’s legal hemp industry, destroying millions in existing investments and inventory without due process or fair compensation.
Maryland moves to launch a free cannabis helpline for patients
The Maryland Cannabis Administration is moving forward with a pilot “Cannabis Care Line” that would provide free clinical guidance to registered medical cannabis patients. Through a new state contract worth up to $200,000, qualified healthcare professionals would answer questions about product selection, side effects, contraindications, and other medical concerns as Maryland explores new ways to support patients amid declining medical cannabis enrollment.
- The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled that police can search a vehicle based on marijuana odor plus knowledge that occupants are under 21 (since cannabis possession is illegal for minors), carving out an exception to the state’s 2023 law that otherwise bars searches based on odor alone.
ICYMI: D.C. denies license over illegal sales history
East Coast Roundup
Vermont’s small-batch, artisan-focused licensing (canopy caps as low as 20,000 sq ft vs. Massachusetts’ 100,000) keeps its wholesale weed at roughly $9.59/gram vs. $3.87/gram next door, and a new Vermont law now opens a legal pathway toward interstate cannabis commerce if federal enforcement risk drops.
With ~300 licensed dispensaries now competing on price-thin margins under heavy taxes and federal illegality, NYC operators are using distinctive interior design (from museum-like “premium” boutiques to prison-themed social-justice branding to subway/borough-culture motifs) as a differentiation and branding strategy — and bud bars have emerged as a clever workaround to the state’s caging/security requirements that otherwise block customers from smelling flower before buying.
Gov. Meyer of Delaware signed HB 373 restricting hemp-derived THC drinks to liquor stores and dispensaries, capping potency (10mg/serving, up to 170mg per 750ml bottle), taxing them per-serving/per-bottle, and building in a sunset clause tied to the looming federal hemp ban.
Culture & More
Colorado’s first-in-the-nation workers’ comp reimbursement pilot for medical cannabis (oral formulations only) showed a patient cutting opioid use 17% with no adverse events, offering an early template for how rescheduling could eventually open insurance coverage nationally.
Kenya’s High Court dismissed Rastafarians‘ constitutional challenge to decriminalize cannabis for religious use, upholding the ban while the judge urged a broader national drug-policy debate.
OPINION: Former AG William Barr and Kevin Sabet argue the DEA should reject rescheduling cannabis, calling the evidence for medical use and safety insufficient — a signal of the anti-rescheduling camp’s continued political weight.
Around the Country
As of July 31, Texas recriminalized delta-8, delta-10, THCA and other synthetic hemp cannabinoids as Schedule I (state jail felony), leaving only compliant delta-9 products legal and threatening to strip 60-90% of inventory from many of the state’s ~14,000 hemp retailers.
Trulieve’s massive Waukeenah cultivation campus in Florida (whose CEO Kim Rivers helped push Trump’s medical-cannabis rescheduling and took the company onto the NYSE) is facing mounting neighbor complaints and multi-agency state investigations over odor, noise, and viral video footage of storm-water runoff onto an adjacent property — testing so far shows no confirmed contaminants, but the fight illustrates the community-pushback risk cultivation operators face even in cannabis-friendly, medical-only red states.
Sheriff Kendall detailed a record-breaking July sweep in Mendicino, California(173,244 plants, 26 guns) that’s increasingly focused on labor trafficking and suspected organized-crime ties at illegal grows, signaling law enforcement’s pivot from plant counts to human-trafficking and cartel investigations.
From the Swamp
Senate appropriators added language to a stopgap funding bill delaying the federal hemp THC ban from November 12 to December 11 (with synthetic cannabinoids still banned immediately), giving the industry a few more months to lobby for permanent regulatory fixes.
The House passed NDAA amendments extending DOD’s psychedelics research program to 2033 and codifying Trump’s psychedelics executive order, with AOC touting psilocybin’s promise for treatment-resistant PTSD.
OPINION: A guest column warns operators that federal legalization won’t reduce compliance burden — it’ll add OSHA, DOL wage-and-hour, EEOC, and IRS scrutiny on top of existing state rules, and urges payroll/HR audits now before institutional investors and regulators come calling.
