Latest Cannabis News: December 10, 2025
Latest Cannabis News: December 10, 2025
Stay up to date with the latest legalization and cannabis news with the C.B. Advisors. Every week, we will release a snippet of what’s happening with each state in the cannabis industry. Did you miss last week? No worries – click here for last week’s cannabis news.
Medical
Arkansas: Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission (AMMC) recently postponed a decision on a proposed rule that would have limited the control that out-of-state companies can hold in Arkansas’s medical-cannabis industry. The delay suggests the commission is taking extra time to review how such a restriction might impact local businesses, market dynamics, and the state’s existing regulatory structure — rather than rushing into a change.
Source: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/dec/04/arkansas-medical-marijuana-panel-delays-action-on/
Florida: A judge in Florida has upheld a decision allowing state officials to throw out about 200,000 signatures collected for a proposed 2026 ballot initiative that would legalize adult-use cannabis. The signatures were invalidated because the petition forms had been altered — a link to the full amendment text was added on the back of the form, which the court found was not an approved change. This ruling effectively cuts nearly a third of the campaign’s support base and puts the initiative’s path to the 2026 ballot in serious jeopardy.
Kentucky: According to the state’s governor, the first licensed medical-marijuana dispensary should have cannabis products “on its shelf” within a matter of weeks. State officials have approved 16 cultivators, 48 dispensaries, and six compliance facilities — and so far more than 23,700 patients have been certified to obtain medical cannabis, including over 15,400 using it for chronic pain (many of whom otherwise might rely on opioids). The governor framed the launch as a milestone for patient care, positioning medical cannabis as a safer alternative to opioids for pain management.
New Hampshire: Lawmakers in New Hampshire have pre-filed several cannabis bills for the 2026 legislative session, including a proposal that would put adult-use legalization before voters via a constitutional amendment. If the amendment gets the required three-fifths legislative approval, it will allow adults 21+ to possess a modest amount of cannabis for personal use, bypassing a potential veto from the current governor.
Adult-Use States
Michigan: In Michigan, state lawmakers recently approved a 24% wholesale tax on marijuana — a levy on sales between producers and retailers — which is projected to raise about US$420 million in additional revenue annually. This tax is part of a broader road-funding plan, so the new cannabis revenue is slated to support road repair and infrastructure projects across the state. Opponents from within the cannabis industry argue the tax could undercut legal sales by raising prices, hurting smaller businesses, and potentially driving some customers back to the illicit market. In response, an industry group filed a lawsuit claiming the tax is unconstitutional — arguing it unlawfully amends the 2018 ballot-initiative that legalized recreational cannabis. As of early December 2025, however, a judge denied the industry’s request for an injunction, meaning the wholesale tax will remain in effect for now while the legal challenge continues.
Ohio: State lawmakers are poised to vote on a bill that would recriminalize certain marijuana-related activities that were legalized under Issue 2 in 2023. Under the proposed SB 56, adults could face a misdemeanor (maximum fine $150, no jail time) for possessing legally purchased cannabis in anything other than its “original container.” The bill would also make it illegal to buy marijuana in other states (for example Michigan) and bring it back into Ohio. Additionally, SB 56 would strip out certain protections that Issue 2 had granted to consumers — for example protections from discrimination in parenting rights, professional licensing, and other civil contexts. If passed, the law would narrow what counts as “legal use” and re-criminalize some behaviors that were previously lawful under the voter-approved legalization scheme.
Virginia: Virginia’s Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales released a revised plan for a legal adult-use cannabis market, marking a major step toward statewide retail marijuana sales. The blueprint proposes that sales could begin as early as fall 2026, assuming the plan becomes law. Key features of the proposal include: statewide legalization of retail sales (no local “dry-county” opt-outs), protections for small businesses (to prevent market domination by large multistate operators), and a regulatory framework focused on public safety, equity, and reducing the illicit market. The plan now heads to Virginia’s legislature when it convenes in January 2026 — giving the state a real shot at having legal, regulated marijuana stores within the next year or so.
Source: https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2025/12/08/virginia-cannabis-retail-plan-2026-legal-weed-sales
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