💸 The Tape

The Justice Department has officially admitted what anyone watching the courts already knew: America’s patchwork of rulings on whether marijuana users can legally own firearms is a full-blown judicial spaghetti bowl—and the Supreme Court should untangle it.

In a new filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that seven federal appeals courts—the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits—have all weighed in on Second Amendment challenges to the federal gun ban for “unlawful users” of cannabis (and other drugs). Each court, Sauer noted, applied a “somewhat different constitutional test.” Translation: lower courts are improvising their own riffs on gun rights and weed, and the cacophony is getting louder.

At issue is Section 922(g)(3) of federal law, which bars anyone considered an “unlawful user” of controlled substances—including cannabis, which remains federally illegal—from possessing firearms. That prohibition has been colliding with the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which tightened the rules for evaluating gun restrictions against historical precedent. Since then, multiple appellate courts have started poking holes in the ban.

The DOJ’s Ask

Interestingly, the DOJ isn’t asking the Court to hear every case right now. In U.S. v. Baxter, prosecutors argued the case had become procedurally messy and should be rejected. Instead, DOJ urged the Court to focus on U.S. v. Hemani, where the defendant’s drug history includes both cannabis and cocaine—a fact pattern the government thinks could tee up a cleaner test case. Other petitions, DOJ suggested, could be held in the wings until clarity arrives.

A Deepening Split

Recent rulings underscore just how fractured things have become.

• The Tenth Circuit backed a district judge who tossed an indictment against a cannabis user caught with a firearm, reasoning that the government hadn’t proven non-intoxicated marijuana users pose a danger.

• The Eleventh Circuit sided with medical cannabis patients seeking Second Amendment protections.

• Meanwhile, the Seventh Circuit recently upheld the ban, leaning on historic laws disarming “the intoxicated and mentally ill” as analogous.

Even within circuits, nuances are emerging—some say each case needs an individualized danger assessment, while others think blanket rules could pass muster if the government shows a whole class of drug users is risky.

What’s Next

The justices are scheduled to discuss multiple petitions, including Baxter and Hemani, in a closed-door conference on October 10. Depending on what they decide, we could see the Supreme Court finally weigh in on whether America’s swelling ranks of cannabis consumers must permanently choose between joints and Glocks.

For now, the only certainty is more legal haze—and a DOJ that’s ready to punt the issue upstairs before the circuits tie themselves into knots.

📈 Dog Walkers

St Louis Hemp Crackdown Fails

What’s Going On Here: A proposed St. Louis County bill that would’ve banned intoxicating hemp-derived THC products from convenience stores and gas stations is officially dead. Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, the bill’s sponsor, pulled it back after retailers, distributors, and industry groups pushed hard against it.

The issue? While state law prohibits marijuana sales outside licensed dispensaries, hemp loopholes from the 2018 Farm Bill have allowed thousands of Missouri retailers to sell gummies, vapes, and drinks that get consumers just as high. Lab experts testified that without a track-and-trace system, it’s impossible to know if those products come from hemp or the black market.

Local action fizzled, but industry groups like MoCannTrade stressed the state needs to lead. Executive Director Andrew Mullins put it bluntly: a patchwork of county bans won’t cut it—Jefferson City has to regulate.

The fight is far from over. Sen. Nick Schroer’s spring proposal to allow low-dose THC beverages but restrict high-potency hemp products was filibustered by Democrats who argued it would create a cannabis monopoly. Clancy hinted the county may revisit if lawmakers stall again in January, but for now, Missouri’s “Wild West” hemp market rides on.

Hemp Is To Blame In Mass

What’s Going On Here: Massachusetts health data just dropped a sobering stat: cannabis-related ER visits for kids under 13 nearly doubled (+97%) in the past three years. Most cases were accidental, and some children experienced cannabis-induced psychosis—hallucinations so severe they lost touch with reality.

Licensed cannabis operator Insa says the culprit isn’t dispensaries, but the unregulated hemp gray market. NBC10 Boston reviewed Insa’s sting purchases, including gummies in Springfield labeled at 500 mg THC per serving—100x the legal limit—sold under the name “Stoner Patch Dummies” in packaging nearly identical to Sour Patch Kids.

“This isn’t what legalization was supposed to look like,” said Insa counsel Steve Reilly, calling it both a child safety hazard and unfair competition. Hemp sales are technically legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, but lax enforcement has opened the door to candy-coated chaos.

Fixes are being debated at multiple levels: Congress could close loopholes in the Farm Bill, Massachusetts lawmakers have a bill waiting in the Senate, and Springfield has already passed its own ordinance—the first city in the state to regulate hemp products more tightly.

Until then, kids, parents, and ER doctors remain unwilling participants in this “edible experiment.”

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

Cannabis Reform: Hemp, Trump, and Descheduling I TTB Powered by Dutchie

What we will cover:

✅ Federal hemp legislation could soon change the legal cannabis and hemp markets in the United States. A recent Marijuana Moment op-ed outlines how pending proposals would ban certain hemp-derived products and force adjustments across the supply chain. These are major developments for operators, investors, and consumers paying attention to the future of hemp.

On the Trade To Black Podcast, presented by Dutchie, host Shadd Dales and co-host Anthony Varrell sit down with Eric Berlin of Dentons to examine what the pending hemp bill would mean in practice. He details which categories of products are at risk, how regulators may enforce new standards, and what steps companies should expect if the legislation advances.

In the second segment, Marc Cohodes returns to provide an update on federal cannabis reform after his recent trip to Washington, D.C. Marc outlines the timelines he is hearing for rescheduling under the Trump administration, why descheduling is the stronger long-term option if it is ever considered, and how political strategy could shape the outcome.