California’s 2026 Cannabis Bills: All Active, All in the Assembly, and a Critical Deadline Approaching
Every active 2026 California cannabis bill affecting licensed dispensaries and retailers — including AB 2532’s beverage overhaul — is now sitting in the Assembly Appropriations Committee with a hard May 15 deadline. California cannabis attorney Shay Aaron Gilmore breaks down all of the bills, their current status, who’s sponsoring them, and what operators need to do before the window closes. Read the full legislative update at shaygilmorelaw.com.
California M-License Operators in a Bifurcated Federal World: A Legal Deep Dive on DOJ’s April 2026 Rescheduling Order
The DOJ’s April 22, 2026 order rescheduling medical marijuana to Schedule III is the most significant shift in federal cannabis law in a generation — but it is narrow, legally fragile, and comes with a hard deadline. Here is what California M-license operators and investors need to know right now.
Where the Law Meets the Ground: A Spring 2026 Field Report for California Cannabis Operators and Investors
California’s spring 2026 cannabis landscape is being shaped by ground-level events that demand immediate attention from operators and investors: nine Santa Barbara County licenses revoked over odor compliance failures, geopolitical fuel price shocks stress-testing distribution contracts across the state, a wave of M&A deals introducing new joint venture and earnout structures, and pricing data from Michigan and the East Coast confirming that California’s price compression is structural — not temporary. California cannabis attorney Shay Aaron Gilmore analyzes what it means for your business.
Physician-Furnished, Legally Frozen: How AB 8 Locks California Out of the Federal Hemp-CBD Medicare Benefit
California’s AB 8 bans detectable THC in hemp products sold outside licensed dispensaries — putting the state on a direct collision course with the new CMS Substance Access BEI, which allows physicians to furnish hemp-CBD products worth up to $500 annually to Medicare patients. Here’s what ACOs, hemp businesses, and healthcare providers need to know.
California Cannabis Regulatory Compliance in 2026: What Local & State Headlines Are Telling Operators
Update (October 7, 2026): The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (P.L. 119-103), enacted September 2, 2026, split the effective date of the federal hemp redefinition in § 781 of P.L. 119-37. The exclusion for intermediate and final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing cannabinoids the cannabis plant cannot naturally produce takes effect November 12, 2026. The […]
Administrative Law and the California Cannabis Industry Now: New Rulemaking and Appeals Process
By Shay Aaron Gilmore | The Law Office of Shay Aaron Gilmore | shaygilmorelaw.com Right now, in the spring of 2026, California cannabis administrative law is as active as it has ever been. A new multipack rulemaking is open for public comment through April 13, 2026. The Cannabis Control Appeals Panel is hearing contested license […]
California Cannabis & Hemp Industry and Legal Update: What Operators and Investors Need to Know
Update (October 7, 2026): The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (P.L. 119-103), enacted September 2, 2026, split the effective date of the federal hemp redefinition in § 781 of P.L. 119-37. The exclusion for intermediate and final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing cannabinoids the cannabis plant cannot naturally produce takes effect November 12, 2026. The […]
More Than a Dozen Cannabis and Hemp Bills Introduced in the 2026 California Legislative Session
Update (October 7, 2026): The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (P.L. 119-103), enacted September 2, 2026, split the effective date of the federal hemp redefinition in § 781 of P.L. 119-37. The exclusion for intermediate and final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing cannabinoids the cannabis plant cannot naturally produce takes effect November 12, 2026. The […]
The Intersection of Cannabis Law and Family Law in California: Legal Standards and New Questions
California stands at a crossroads in American jurisprudence, where liberalization of state cannabis laws has converged with family law issues. Since the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, which legalized medical marijuana, and Proposition 64 in 2016, which legalized recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over, the Golden State has led the nation in cannabis […]
California Cannabis M&A in 2026: Rescheduling Momentum, Hemp Bans, and State Integration Collide
Update (October 7, 2026): The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (P.L. 119-103), enacted September 2, 2026, split the effective date of the federal hemp redefinition in § 781 of P.L. 119-37. The exclusion for intermediate and final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing cannabinoids the cannabis plant cannot naturally produce takes effect November 12, 2026. The […]
California Opens Public Comment on Cannabis Appellations Program Amendments
On January 2, 2026, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) released proposed amendments to its Cannabis Appellations Program (CAP) regulations, marking a significant step toward operationalizing the world’s first governmental appellation system for cannabis. The 45-day public comment period runs through February 17, 2026, giving stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in on key […]
2025 California Cannabis Litigation and Case Law: DCC Loss Headlines Year of Court Decisions
As California’s cannabis industry matures, the past year has produced an array of court decisions and case law addressing regulatory compliance, property rights, insurance coverage, and the persistent tension between state legalization and federal prohibition. DCC’s Track-and-Trace System Fell Short in California Superior Court Arguably, the most significant decision this year came from Orange County […]
Marijuana Rescheduling, If It Happens, Will Be Incremental Progress and Still Not the Answer
Introduction Rumors of marijuana rescheduling have again dominated the headlines, with reports that President Trump is considering an executive order to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. [1] [2] As I previously discussed in my September 19, 2024 blog post, one fundamental truth remains unchanged: rescheduling does not […]
Shay to Present a Review of the Cannabis Laws of the 2025 California Legislative Session
Join Shay Aaron Gilmore of The Law Office of Shay Aaron Gilmore for a review of the cannabis laws of the 2025 California Legislative Session, presented by the Beverly Hills Bar Association. California lawyers can earn 1.0 hour of general CLE credit, but anyone interested in the 2025 California laws impacting cannabis and hemp should […]
New Federal Ban Set to Meet California’s AB 8 in a Regulatory Squeeze for the Hemp Industry
Update (October 7, 2026): The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (P.L. 119-103), enacted September 2, 2026, split the effective date of the federal hemp redefinition in § 781 of P.L. 119-37. The exclusion for intermediate and final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing cannabinoids the cannabis plant cannot naturally produce takes effect November 12, 2026. The […]