Italy Barely Has Any Fentanyl… Thanks to the Mafia? What the Evidence Says
Italy has extensive opioid use, established illicit drug markets and criminal organizations capable of moving substances across continents, yet fentanyl remains remarkably scarce. Theories range from mafia groups protecting established cocaine and heroin markets to simple differences in demand, while a recent hospital theft of 80 vials raises new questions about how long that absence […]
Jamaica’s Cannabis Reform Opens a New Path for Small Growers
Jamaica has introduced two new special permits designed to help traditional growers and small farmers enter its regulated cannabis industry despite the financial, technical and administrative barriers that have historically kept them out. The reforms create transitional and community-based pathways into the legal market while extending cultivation licenses and simplifying some requirements. What Is Jamaica’s […]
Federal Cannabis Sentencing Gave Her 8 Years. She Has Missed Her Son’s First Steps, First Christmas, First Birthday.
Yasquasia Delcarmen was remanded into custody the day her federal sentence came down. Her son was 11 months old. She has missed his first steps, his first Christmas and his first birthday. Yasquasia Delcarmen is 29 years old. She is a mother, a musician, and an aspiring screenwriter. She was building a life, pursuing a […]
GOP senators push probe on cannabis & China ties (Newsletter: October 2, 2026)
Congressional psychedelics report; GA medical marijuana delivery; CA gov signs cannabis edibles & drinks bill; Vets medical marijuana research measure Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… BREAKING: Journalism […]
VA Would Be Required To Study Medical Marijuana’s Benefits For Veterans With PTSD And Pain Under New Congressional Bill
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers introduced a bill to direct the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out studies on the therapeutic potential of marijuana for military veterans with certain conditions. An earlier Senate version of the VA medical cannabis legislation cleared a committee in that chamber and was taken up on the floor for […]
The Case for Clean Cannabis: Pesticide Testing in California
What cannabis is teaching us about pesticides and modern agriculture. By Micah Anderson. An earlier version of this article appeared in Cannabis Confidential. On October 1st, California is changing the way cannabis is tested for pesticides. The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is getting rid of the old system that divided pesticides into Category I […]
GOP congressman backed by cannabis biz donations bashes legalization (Newsletter: October 1, 2026)
PA won’t legalize marijuana soon, top GOP senator says; Ads against MA anti-cannabis ballot measure; VA psychedelics research op-ed Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Subscribers who value […]
Are You Sure You’re Not Committing a Crime? The Supreme Court Ruling That Put Spain’s CBD Flower Industry on Edge and United the Entire Sector
Rafael Fernández de Noreña opened one of Spain’s first CBD shops in 2018. Eight years later, his company is closed and his case has become a precedent that prosecutors are already citing against other flower retailers. What Supreme Court ruling 301/2026 does and does not say, and how the industry organized to respond. “The company […]
GOP Senators Want Investigation On Chinese Role In U.S. Marijuana And Hemp Industries
A group of Republican senators are pressing the attorney general to “investigate the growing role of Chinese transnational criminal organizations in America’s cannabis and intoxicating-hemp markets.” The lawmakers, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday expressing concerns that criminal networks linked to China are “exploiting vulnerabilities […]
Better Call Saul: How Cannabis Lawyers Work in a Business That’s Still a Federal Crime
Cannabis lawyers operate in a legal world full of contradictions, where state permission, federal prohibition, tax burdens, weak trademark protections, and shifting regulations constantly collide. Their work goes far beyond paperwork: it involves protecting clients, navigating gray areas, persuading politicians, and trying to build a legal industry without erasing the people criminalized before legalization. In […]