Corporate valuation increased in 21 of the 38 states studied following medical marijuana legalization. Gross profit per employee and gross sales per employee each rose by more than $8,000. Patent output climbed 10.4% across those states, and the economic value of those patents — not just the count, but how much they were actually worth — rose 22%, as states became better at both retaining their existing inventors and pulling in new ones from states that hadn't legalized.

For the past five years, Texas has lived in a strange legal limbo. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp at the federal level, defining it as cannabis with 0.3% or less delta-9 THC by dry weight. Texas, like most states, wrote that definition into its own hemp program. Entrepreneurs took the opening and ran with it, building a multi-billion-dollar industry of delta-8, delta-10, THCA flower, and other hemp-derived cannabinoids that got people high without technically being "marijuana." The Texas Department of State Health Services tried to shut this down by rule in 2021, reclassifying those cannabinoids as Schedule I controlled substances. A court blocked it with an injunction. For five years, the shops stayed open.

Cannabis cafe culture and consumption lounges are incredibly important for the industry. There are many reasons why. For one, it directly solves a problem relating to access. Lounges already close the gap and take consumption outside residences, public parks, hotel bathrooms, and cars into licensed spaces that are manned by professionals. It also helps that these spaces are properly ventilated.

Robinhood is a popular US-based investment app that allows everyday individuals to buy and sell stocks straight from their smartphones or computers. It offers commission-free trading not just of stocks but also ETFs, cryptocurrencies, options, and retirement accounts.

Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III isn’t the goal, and our work isn’t done yet. Yet, it finally cracks open a nearly ancient framework and makes way for potentially revolutionary healthcare science grounded in research while also legitimizing cannabis as medicine. We no longer have to wonder when cannabis policy will evolve; it’s now a question of when society and institutions around us will finally catch on.

There are moments in media that cut through the bullshit so cleanly, you can actually hear the narrative collapse in real-time. Combat veteran Staff Sergeant (Ret.) Johnny "Joey" Jones just delivered one of those moments on Fox News—and the network's desperate attempt to spin it back into prohibitionist talking points was almost as revealing as Jones' truth bombs.

According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, together with Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, public schools in Massachusetts saw a downward trend in marijuana-related disciplinary issues. After Massachusetts legalized recreational cannabis, consumption of the drug among teens dropped 25%, based on data from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

When they were asked if they think recreational cannabis should be legalized around the country, 54% agreed, while 27% were opponents of legalization. Meanwhile, 19% remained unsure. The respondents’ political affiliation had an impact on their responses. Almost 7 out of 10 Democrats supported legalization, and most Independents were also supportive.

According to Gallup polls, just 54% of American adults now admit to consuming alcohol, which is the lowest it’s ever been in Gallup’s history of 90 years. It’s clear that there is a growing sentiment among American adults that alcohol consumption is harmful for health, and for the first time in history, the majority of the population share this view.

A new survey shows that people who drink THC-infused cannabis beverages are significantly reducing or eliminating their alcohol consumption. According to the data, regular cannabis beverage consumers report drinking 44% less alcohol than before they started using these products. Even more striking: 20% of cannabis beverage users have stopped drinking alcohol entirely.