Week In Review: Cannabis & Psychedelics Industry Highlights – August 4, 2025

LOS ANGELES- Critical compliance issues, market exits, and clinical and regulatory breakthroughs shaped a turbulent week for cannabis and psychedelics businesses.

Cannabis Industry Highlights

Cresco Labs Exits California, Refocuses on Profitability
Cresco Labs confirmed its full exit from California, divesting cultivation and manufacturing assets to redeploy capital into states with stronger profitability and scale. The company will retain its FloraCal® brand while concentrating on markets better suited to its business model.

Cannara Biotech Gains Québec Vape Listings
Cannara Biotech secured SQDC approval for five vape SKUs—including live resin and solid‑solvent live rosin—slated to launch in November across all Québec outlets. These listings account for around 20% of the province’s total vape selection.

MTL Cannabis Records Best Year Yet, Pushes Global Exports
MTL Cannabis posted CAD 105.2M in FY2025 revenue and CAD 6.8M in net income—boosted by export growth in Portugal and new channels in Germany, Australia, and the UK, while domestic operations maintained operational strength.

Glass House Tightens Compliance After ICE Raids
Following the ICE‑conducted raids at its Camarillo and Carpinteria farms in early July—which resulted in approximately 360 detentions and the death of one worker—Glass House terminated its agreements with implicated farm labor contractors, implemented E‑Verify, engaged Guidepost Services for compliance oversight, and signed a labor peace agreement with the Teamsters. The company is working to restore trust and demonstrate enforceable compliance standards. (Link) (highlycapitalized.com, highlycapitalized.com, highlycapitalized.com)

ICE Raid Raises Broader Industry Tension
The initial federal raid on Glass House also triggered investigation into child labor and trafficking violations, with authorities detaining 361 alleged undocumented workers and rescuing 14 minors. The operation exposed heightened rival tensions within California’s cannabis landscape and signaled potential regulatory escalation across the state’s licensed market. (Link) (highlycapitalized.com)

Federal Rescheduling Delayed, and Q2 EBITDA Outlook Dimmed
With DEA Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney’s retirement on August 1, hearings on cannabis rescheduling have paused. Meanwhile, Viridian Capital forecasts broad EBITDA contraction among U.S. multistate operators heading into Q2 earnings—highlighting poor capital efficiency and margin erosion. Analysts expect modest recovery in 2026 tied to regulatory progress and new adult‑use state rollout. (highlycapitalized.com)

Psychedelics Industry Highlights

GH Research Nears FDA Clearance for Depression Therapy
GH Research is addressing a final FDA query on GH001; it reported 73% remission rates in treatment‑resistant depression patients following a single inhaled dose. A global Phase 3 trial is planned for 2026.

Germany Launches First EU Compassionate Psilocybin Use Program
Germany became the EU’s first country to authorize regulated psilocybin therapy under compassionate-use rules for treatment-resistant depression, under MIND Foundation supervision.

Clearmind Adds Israeli Hospital to AUD Trial
Clearmind’s non-hallucinogenic therapy for alcohol use disorder, CMND‑100, now includes Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in its trial network—joining Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Hadassah to accelerate patient enrollment.

Filament Health and UCL Probe Psilocybin’s Cognitive Effects
Two Phase 2 trials at UCL, backed by Filament Health, will study how digital preparation and micro‑dosing affect perception and therapeutic readiness—findings expected to inform more personalized treatment frameworks.

Enveric Wins Patent for Non-Hallucinogenic Neuroplastogens
Enveric Biosciences secured its second U.S. patent for EVM401—compounds that enhance neuroplasticity without hallucinatory effects, offering scalable outpatient potential for anxiety and PTSD care.

HCN Insight

The enforcement action at Glass House underscores intensifying scrutiny around labor and immigration compliance—raising alarms about regulatory risk for large cannabis operators.

Meanwhile, operational discipline, export diversification, and clinical innovation are becoming defining metrics across cannabis and psychedelics, even as U.S. regulatory timelines remain uncertain. If you’d like this packaged for a press release, investor deck, or policymaker brief, just say the word.