For the Culture By The Culture
Health Canada’s recall of Chillows THC pouches exposes a deeper flaw in cannabis regulation: mislabeled potency, weak oversight, and labs chasing numbers over truth. Across North America, inflated THC counts and unreliable testing show how legalization’s promise of accuracy keeps slipping through the cracks. The high might be real, but the numbers are not.
Reefer Report Card Vol. 17 grades the latest moves in cannabis policy. California brings intoxicating hemp under regulated sales, Nebraska misses its medical deadline, a Florida court curbs police search powers, Oregon challenges the interstate commerce ban, and the FDA starts tracking hemp events. Thailand offers a rare global bright spot. Better than last week but still a mess.
Massachusetts health officials report a surge in pediatric cannabis ER visits, but the real culprit is the unregulated hemp gray market. Candy-lookalike edibles and weak enforcement fuel fear while licensed operators take the blame. Pot Culture Magazine cuts through the panic to expose how prohibitionist loopholes and corporate spin create the danger.
Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA 56 hands Texas alcohol regulators control over hemp THC, framing it as “protection” while consolidating power. The $5 billion hemp market now faces child-resistant packaging rules, ID checks, and compliance costs that favor big players. This is not about kids or health; it is about control, consolidation, and outlaw culture under fire.
A group of licensed dispensaries is suing New York State after regulators admitted they approved stores using the wrong buffer zone measurements. Over 150 cannabis businesses, most of them social equity operators, now face relocation or shutdown. The Office of Cannabis Management’s zoning blunder has triggered legal chaos, broken trust, and exposed the fragility of New York’s so called cannabis reform.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is under fire after a scathing state audit uncovered over $1.7 million in uncollected fees, weak enforcement, and systemic mismanagement. From missing millions to delayed oversight and a major mold contamination scare, the findings expose a cannabis regulator in chaos as Massachusetts lawmakers weigh sweeping structural reforms to restore trust and accountability.
