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THE BIG IDEA Hi all, Happy Friday and happy almost spring. It was a typically, though not excessively, hectic week in the cannabiz. In the newsletter: DCC “sandbagging” diversion enforcement: Catalyst alleges Hope you find it valuable, Alex Send tips, press releases, concerns, feedback and criticism to hello@weedweek.com. Sensitive material to share? Contact Alex on Signal. FROM WEEDWEEK DCC “sandbagging” diversion enforcement: Catalyst alleges Retailer Catalyst alleges the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is trying to evade a court order on how it prevents diversion from the . . .

Retailer Catalyst alleges the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is trying to evade a court order on how it prevents diversion from the licensed market. After more than four years of litigation, in December California judge Lee Gabriel ruled that the DCC “has failed to show” that reports generated by compliance software Metrc, meet their legal obligation to flag irregular activity to DCC analysts. As a result, agency analysts “without the benefit of any objective criteria or definitions, must review manually to look for irregularities.” In its . . . Log in or become a WeedWeek . . .

AWH Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results Delivered Q4 2025 and FY 2025 revenue of $120.5 million and $500.6 million Expanded Adjusted EBITDA Margin1 to 25.1% in Q4 2025 and 23.4% for FY 2025 Maintained strong liquidity with $85.7 million in cash and no significant near-term debt Retail footprint reaches 48 locations as [ . . . ]

Snoop Dogg’s signature catchphrase “Smoke Weed Everyday” cannot be trademarked by the artist because marijuana remains federally illegal and the slogan has become too popular in mainstream culture, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) says. Dr. ETC Holdco, LLC-an entity affiliated with Snoop that owns his intellectual property portfolio-submitted a trademark application for the phrase in 2024. Then, nearly two years later, it received a denial letter from USPTO on Tuesday. The federal agency, which falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce, gave two main reasons for the rejection: . . .

Maryland lawmakers on Wednesday took up a bill to protect firefighters and rescue workers from being penalized over their lawful use of medical marijuana off the job-taking testimony on the unique need to give emergency service professionals the option to use cannabis as an alternative treatment for health conditions that commonly afflict the first responder community. Members of the House Economic Matters Committee met to discuss the legislation, HB 797 from Del. Adrian Boafo (D), about a week after a Senate companion version of the cannabis measure sponsored by Sen. Carl Jackson (D) . . .

Table of Contents Infrastructure: From Overbuild to Smart Build THC Beverages Grow Up B2B Software, Payments, and the Plumbing of Cannabis Commerce Medical, Wellness, and the New Capital Logic Compliance, Consumer Behavior, and the Long Game 2026 is shaping up less like a cannabis land rush and more like a controlled burn. After several years of over‑licensing and margin erosion, capital and innovation are consolidating around three themes: efficient infrastructure, grown‑up infused products (especially THC beverages), and a slow but steady pivot toward medical and wellness channels. . . .

Delaware senators have approved a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Members of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee on Tuesday passed the legislation from Sen. Marie Pinkney (D), along with an amendment to clarify its scope. “This is a compassionate measure for patients in acute care settings to seek comfort with the use of their medical marijuana in a safe and dignified manner,” Christopher Otto, executive director of the Delaware Nurses Association, told senators before the vote. Pinkney, the chair of . . .

Bipartisan senators have introduced a bill to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish psychedelic-focused “centers for excellence” at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine. As Trump administration officials continue to promote the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, with plans in the works to expand access and research opportunities, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and David McCormick (R-PA) filed the “Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act” this week to help . . .

“Cannabis consumers as a group do not have a political party preference that differs from the general electorate.” By Andrew Graham, NuggMD The persistent assumption that cannabis consumers are not sufficiently loyal to the Republican Party has always stood in the way of progress, to one degree or another, in the fight to end prohibition. With Republicans in unified control of the government and an executive order to complete the process of rescheduling the plant in force, that assumption affects how audiences who are not necessarily in tune with the culture think and act with respect to . . .

Sine die came for Oregon’s 2026 legislative session last Friday, March 6th. I previewed the roster of cannabis bills in play back on February 12th. Two of them passed; two of them failed. Below is a recap of the action, with links to each bill in the headers. HB 4139 (FAILED) This was the session’s omnibus cannabis bill, which I explained had a rough start due to various disagreements between the marijuana and hemp lobbies. On February 16th, HB 4139 was shuttled to the Ways and Means Committee and never heard from again-a fate that befalls many bills in that committee, especially in short . . .

Legal cannabis takes a lot of time. Legal cannabis programs often take years to launch. Advocates may spend years or even decades pushing for reform. Once approved, officials must draft regulations while operators build a supply chain. Delays are common, but for medical marijuana patients in Alabama, it has taken nearly five years for products to reach the market. Now, officials say that wait may soon be over. RELATED: Free CBD for seniors? What the Medicare proposal actually says Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Chairman Rex Vaughn recently told News 19 the state’s medical cannabis market . . .

An Ohio campaign is making a final push for signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot that would repeal a law rolling back the state’s marijuana law and ban the sale of consumable hemp products outside of dispensaries. With about a week until a signature turn-in deadline, Ohioans for Cannabis Choice is calling on supporters to spread the word and ensure that they’re able to submit the requisite 248,092 signed petitions by March 19 to secure ballot placement. If the petition drive is successful, the implementation of the cannabis law enacted by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) after the state . . .

Verano Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results Company delivers sequential revenue and margin improvement within guidance in the fourth quarter; closes 2025 with top three market share positions1 across all competing categories Newly-announced $195 million credit facility demonstrates Company’s ability to access lower-cost capital and secure among the industry’s most favorable terms [ . . . ]

A New Jersey Girl Scout troop turned one of their classic cookie booths into a high-demand hotspot by setting up outside Daylite Dispensary in Mount Laurel Township last month. Customers, fresh from their purchases and hit with the infamous cannabis-induced munchies, snapped up boxes by the armful. The troop sold out quickly during the trial run, raking in impressive numbers that delighted the dispensary owner, Steve Cassidy. He told reporters that many of his staff also bought the cookies and that feedback from customers was “overwhelmingly positive.” However, senior Girl Scouts leaders . . .

Smokeable hemp products must be removed from Texas stores by the end of the month under new rules adopted by the state health department, KUT News reports. The new regime also includes stricter packaging and testing requirements for edible hemp products and higher fees for retailers and manufacturers of hemp products. Health officials in the state were directed to amend the state’s rules around hemp products by an executive order from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in September 2025. The adopted rules increase the initial and annual renewal licensing fees for consumable hemp manufacturers to . . .

The owner of the TD Garden is suing a cannabis dispensary named The Boston Garden for trademark infringement, Boston.com reports. In the complaint, Delaware North, the Buffalo, New York-based company which is run by the billionaire Jacobs family – owners of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins – contend in the lawsuit that the dispensary is copying the “distinctive and famous” trademark of the former arena. “The Boston Garden mark has become widely known and famous throughout the United States in connection with Boston’s premiere sports arena. Members of the public are likely to be . . .

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Monday signed a cannabis compact with the Lower Sioux Indian Community. It is the ninth such agreement between the state and Minnesota tribes to regulate Tribal cannabis businesses off tribally regulated lands. In a statement, Joseph O’Brien, president of the Lower Sioux Indian Community Council, called the compact “a meaningful step forward for the Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota.” “This compact reflects the state of Minnesota’s growing respect for Tribal sovereignty and economic self‑determination. And we are excited for the . . .

Vertosa, a maker of THC-infusions for hemp and edibles brands, moved to dismiss a federal lawsuit alleging it has deceptively marketed cannabis-derived ingredients as hemp-derived. Vertosa denied that its products are made from cannabis, and cited additional reasons why it claims the suit, brought by Florida hemp company CCT Sciences is deficient. CCT alleges that using cannabis instead of hemp would amount to false advertising and . . . Log in or become a WeedWeek Member to read this article. The post Newsbrief: Vertosa moves to dismiss Fla. hemp suit appeared first on WeedWeek.

Hey guys, it’s me, Heady NJ Editor Dan Ulloa. I’m doing a new podcast show here, The Heady Chronicle. So, this is an episode of that show (in article form). This is my office here in the Essex County suburbs in North Jersey. I thought it’d be like an interesting thing to explore, talking to [ . . . ] Source: Presenting The Heady Chronicle Show! from Heady NJ

The New York Times editorial board frames its reconsideration of marijuana legalization as a thoughtful reassessment of new evidence. But it reads less like a discovery than a justification-an attempt to explain why a policy the board once championed did not unfold as cleanly as promised, with the responsibility shifted away from regulators and toward the public. Let’s start with what is obvious. Marijuana legalization did not fail because cannabis suddenly revealed itself to be dangerous. It faltered because the United States legalized first and governed later. When access expands without . . .

The Hawaii Senate has passed a bill to allow qualifying patients to access medical marijuana at health facilities. After receiving a favorable report in committee last week, the legislation from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) advanced through the full chamber in a unanimous 25-0 vote on Tuesday as part of the consent calendar. A House companion version of the proposal has also been moving through the process this session. The bill states that it’s the “intent of the legislature in enacting this chapter to support the ability of terminally ill patients and qualifying patients over sixty-five . . .

While marijuana may soon be rescheduled under federal law, that doesn’t currently exempt state-legal cannabis businesses from an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E that bars them from taking federal tax deductions, the agency argues in a new filing with the U.S. Tax Court. In response to a petition to the court filed by the New Mexico marijuana business Ultra Health-which challenged the conventional interpretation of the IRS code, which applies to tax deduction claims connected to the sale of Schedule I and Schedule II drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)-IRS said . . .

“Kiosk-based cannabis access for seniors can be a positive development only if it is embedded within a medically supervised, ethically structured care model.” By Jordan Tishler, Association of Cannabinoid Specialists A company recently declared its intention to roll out cannabis ordering kiosks in several senior-life communities in Arizona. The general idea is that residents would gain easier access to cannabis by being able to order products on the kiosk and have the product delivered right to them-kind of like online ordering but without needing a computer. But without appropriate . . .

Lawmakers in the South Carolina Senate are set to consider legislation to regulate hemp-infused beverages in the state with a system closely resembling the state’s regulatory framework for alcohol, WCSC reports. The bill would allow retailers, including grocery and convenience stores, to sell 12-ounce beverages containing no more than 5 milligrams of THC. Liquor stores would be allowed to sell cans of stronger 10-milligram beverages or “fifths” of even more potent products, according to the report. Restaurants and bars would be banned from selling THC-infused beverages. The proposal also . . .

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Smart & Safe Florida to restore signatures supporting the campaign’s 2026 cannabis legalization bid. The signatures in question, about 70,000, were disqualified by Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd under new rules approved by lawmakers last year that made the signature-gathering process for voter ballot initiatives in the state more difficult. The campaign sued to overturn the rules, but an appeals court ruled in the state’s favor. The appeal was the campaign’s last-ditch effort to qualify for this year’s ballot – the court already . . .