What You Missed Over the Summer (Or What Kept You Up at Night!)
By Frank Manganella, Founder, CHNANY

The summer of 2025 was anything but quiet for the cannabis and hemp industries. From Washington D.C. to Albany to Austin, regulators, lawmakers, and courts served up plenty of developments that could reshape the market for years to come. Here’s a look at the headlines, fights, and flashpoints that kept operators, advocates, and investors on edge.

Federal Rescheduling: The Waiting Game Begins

President Trump finally broke his silence on cannabis rescheduling—acknowledging the possibility of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. The comment was enough to send public cannabis stocks and ETFs soaring. Since then, voices across the political spectrum have weighed in: Roger Stone published an op-ed calling rescheduling a pathway to full federal legalization, while opponents of reform doubled down on keeping cannabis in the same legal category as heroin. The result? A whole lot of speculation—and an industry waiting with bated breath. (Stay tuned for a future blog featuring CHNANY members’ perspectives on rescheduling.)

Congress: A Flurry of Bills, But Will Anything Pass?

Several major cannabis bills remain alive in Congress, including:

·      STATES 2.0 Act, shielding compliant operators from federal interference and opening the door to interstate commerce.

·      PREPARE Act, establishing a federal commission to guide future legalization.

·      MORE Act, reintroduced on August 29, which would remove cannabis entirely from the Controlled Substances Act.

·      SAFER Banking Act, the perennial attempt to unlock access to financial services.

The latter received a boost late this summer when 28 attorneys general urged Congress to pass it. Still, seasoned industry watchers know better than to hold their breath.

Hemp’s Crossroads: A Temporary Win, Ongoing Battles

The hemp sector is still mired in uncertainty. A proposed federal redefinition of hemp to include total THC—which would have banned THCA, Delta-8, Delta-10, and HHC—was temporarily stripped out of the Senate’s ag appropriations bill. But the fight is far from over.

Texas, in particular, has become ground zero. Efforts to ban hemp-derived THC there stalled in committee after Governor Abbott pushed for regulation over prohibition—only for the legislature to quickly pivot and pass a similar ban on THC vapes, effective September 1. The hemp industry now finds itself playing defense state by state, while watching the House Ag Committee and Farm Bill negotiations closely.

New York Part I: Proximity Rule Chaos

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) threw the market into turmoil this summer when it corrected its method of enforcing proximity rules. Instead of measuring from entrance-to-entrance, OCM now requires dispensaries to be at least 500 feet from a school property line and 200 feet from a house of worship.

The change affects nearly 200 licensees and applicants. Some must amend applications; others may be forced to relocate. OCM has offered up to $250,000 in relocation or buildout assistance—but not for dispensaries already operating—and a $15 million relief fund critics say is a drop in the bucket. Unsurprisingly, lawsuits have followed, and settlement talks are underway. The outcome could set the tone for regulatory stability—or instability—for years to come.

New York Part II: A Dormant Commerce Clause Bombshell

In Variscite NY Four, LLC v. New York State Cannabis Control Board, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down New York’s CAURD licensing preference for people with in-state cannabis convictions. The court ruled the scheme violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, rejecting arguments that federal prohibition somehow insulated cannabis from constitutional scrutiny.

This ruling is a big deal. If upheld, it could have implications for every state program that prioritizes “local” operators—potentially accelerating the inevitability of interstate commerce.

Takeaway: The Industry Matures, The Stakes Get Higher

Whether it’s rescheduling, banking reform, hemp regulations, or state-level litigation, one thing is clear: cannabis and hemp have entered a new stage of maturity. With that maturity comes heightened stakes, bigger risks, and a greater need for collaboration across the industry.

Welcome back from summer—rest up, because the fall is already shaping up to be just as intense.