Summary Since Last Update: Teen Brain Risk, Hemp Market Crisis, and the Science of Appetite — February 24, 2026

Cannabis News
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February 24, 2026 — 93 articles reviewed

This cycle was dominated by two forces pulling in opposite directions: a landmark study on adolescent cannabis and psychiatric risk that received massive media coverage, and an accelerating federal regulatory crisis threatening to eliminate the hemp-derived cannabinoid market by November. Alongside these, rigorous new research on appetite science, minor cannabinoids, and clinical applications for sleep, pain, and alcohol reduction continued to build the evidence base for adult cannabis medicine.

🧠 Adolescent Cannabis Use and Psychiatric Risk

A single large longitudinal study from Kaiser Permanente, UCSF, and USC — tracking 463,396 adolescents through age 26 and published in JAMA Health Forum — received widespread coverage across NPR, Forbes, Medscape, Ground News, Psychology Today, and multiple other outlets this cycle. The findings were consistent and significant: past-year cannabis use between ages 13 and 17 was associated with approximately double the risk of psychotic and bipolar disorder diagnoses, with cannabis use preceding psychiatric diagnoses by roughly two years on average. A separate Swedish population-level study found that adolescent cannabis consumption mirrors alcohol trends, meaning rising overall use drives disproportionate heavy use among the most vulnerable youth. None of this undermines the case for adult medical cannabis, but it makes the case for youth prevention, age-appropriate restrictions, and psychiatric screening unassailable — the developing brain is not the adult brain, and our policies must reflect that distinction. Clinicians should screen every young patient for age of first use, family psychiatric history, and frequency of consumption before making any cannabinoid recommendation.

🚨 The November 2026 Hemp Ban: An Industry and Patient Access Crisis

The approaching November 12, 2026 federal deadline is shaping up to be the most consequential regulatory event in hemp history, and this cycle’s coverage made the scale of disruption unmistakably clear. The 2026 Farm Bill draft replaces the delta-9-only threshold with a total THC standard, reclassifying delta-8, THCA flower, HHC, and similar compounds as Schedule I — while a 0.4mg THC per-container cap would effectively ban the entire hemp beverage market and threaten even CBD products labeled “THC-free.” The FDA has already missed its congressionally mandated deadline to publish cannabinoid classification lists, enforcement mechanisms remain unclear per the Congressional Research Service, and hemp farmers face the impossible decision of planting crops that may be criminalized before harvest. Patients who rely on affordable hemp-derived CBD — particularly in states without medical cannabis programs — face abrupt disruptions in care with no federal transition plan in place. This is not a theoretical risk; it is an operational countdown that clinicians and patients need to prepare for now.

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