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Adolescents are using an often unregulated, psychoactive derivative of cannabis, according to national data released Wednesday, as the Biden administration deliberates expanding access to marijuana at the federal level.  The data could complicate hemp regulation at the state level, as some states move to rein in THC use. It could also have ripple effects around efforts to legalize marijuana, which already operates under an extremely gray patchwork of regulations at the state level, where it’s often legal, and the federal level, where it’s not. (Raman and Clason, 3/14)

The CEO of Texas’ largest medical cannabis distributor is urging leaders to regulate the state’s CBD market, citing concerns over health issues related to hemp-derived products such as delta-8 and delta-9 THC. Delta-8 and delta-9 THC are compounds closely related to the psychoactive compound in marijuana that gets users “high.” It’s legal in most states after Congress passed the 2018 farm bill, which had an unintended loophole due to how lawmakers defined “hemp” while legalizing it. (Madden, 3/13)

Vice President Harris will convene a roundtable on marijuana reform Friday with rapper Fat Joe, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and individuals who received pardons for marijuana convictions. A White House official said Harris will highlight actions the Biden administration has taken to pursue criminal justice reforms, including by pardoning tens of thousands of Americans with federal marijuana possession charges. (Samuels, 3/13)

Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday proposed a blanket pardon of misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions in Massachusetts in what she described as the broadest action taken by a governor to forgive past marijuana crimes since President Joe Biden handed down federal pot pardons. Healey’s move to wipe out all past adult state court misdemeanor convictions for possession of marijuana comes seven years after the state legalized cannabis. The pardons will be mostly automatic, she said, and could potentially clear the charge from hundreds of thousands of people’s records. (Kashinsky and Garity, 3/13)

A quadruple murder in Oklahoma shows how the Chinese underworld has come to dominate the booming illicit trade, fortifying its rise as a global powerhouse with alleged ties to China’s authoritarian regime. Rotella, Berg, Yalch and Adcock, 3/14)

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Wednesday didn’t shut the door to drug testing welfare recipients, a policy San Francisco voters approved earlier this month. Becerra, former California attorney general, said that he didn’t want to tell cities, counties or states what actions they should take but that all options should be on the table when considering how to address the drug crisis facing the nation. (Messerly, 3/13)