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Welcome back to the Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the big news is out of Virginia, where there's some progress on a retail market bill. Medicare may begin paying for CBD. Many people are less than delighted with the coming ban on intoxicating hemp. And finally, cannabis makes an appearance on The Family Feud.
VIRGINIA
Last month, we noted that legislators in Virginia were drafting a bill to set up a retail cannabis market in the state. The latest news is that the legislature's Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market (which is a mouthful) has released a list of proposed changes to current legislation. Nothing's final yet, but it seems clear that 2026 will bring a retail market.
MEDICARE
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule the day after Thanksgiving that would allow Medicare to pay for cannabis products that are not illegal under federal law, which, at the moment, would include hemp and hemp-derived CBD. Of course, federal law may be about to change as regards hemp, so it's unclear exactly how this would work going forward. Expect more updates in 2026.
HEMP BAN
Speaking of the forthcoming hemp ban, it has a lot of people up in arms. In Minnesota, several lawmakers spoke out against the ban, citing the cost in jobs lost and offering the state's regulatory framework as a national model. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D) said at a press conference, "Hemp products alone brought in $16 million of state tax revenues through September," and Tina Smith (D) noted that "Minnesota has one of the strongest and safest and most responsible hemp markets in the whole country."
Meanwhile, Nikki Fried, Florida Democratic Party Chair, had a slightly different take:
AND FINALLY
One of the questions on a recent episode of Family Feud involved Snoop Dogg and his new line of weed.
Be well everyone – we'll see you next week.
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