Cannabis Legalization News Podcast

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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/

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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