Business
Metrc and BioTrack Partner to Forge Cannabis Compliance and Innovation
LOS ANGELES – Metrc LLC, a leading developer of regulatory track-and-trace systems, unveiled a strategic alliance with BioTrack, a prominent Cannabis technology provider, aimed at enhancing compliance and operational solutions for the Cannabis sector. The partnership establishes BT Government, Inc., an independent entity led by Moe Afaneh, to oversee BioTrack’s government-focused operations, enabling both companies ...
Miss Grass Joins Curaleaf to Expand Medical Cannabis Access in Florida
LOS ANGELES – Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. has entered into an exclusive partnership with Miss Grass, a women-founded Cannabis brand celebrated for its premium flower and wellness-focused approach. Announced on August 4, this collaboration introduces Miss Grass’s products to Curaleaf’s 68 dispensaries across Florida, broadening access to high-quality Cannabis for the state’s registered medical Cannabis patients. ...
HCN Launches HCN Pay: The First Dual-Processor Payments Solution Designed Specifically for Cannabis Retail
LOS ANGELES — Highly Capitalized Network, a leading business and financial media platform for the Cannabis, psychedelics, and wellness industries, has officially launched HCN Pay, a breakthrough payments solution built exclusively for Cannabis retailers. HCN Pay is the first platform in the sector to offer fully redundant, dual-processor terminals, ensuring business continuity even in the ...
Week In Review: Cannabis & Psychedelics Industry Highlights
LOS ANGELES - Critical compliance issues, market exits, and clinical and regulatory breakthroughs shaped a turbulent week for cannabis and psychedelics businesses. Cannabis Industry Highlights 1.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. ...
Canada’s Cannabis Industry Defies Economic Odds
TORONTO – In a striking contrast to Canada’s faltering economy, the legal Cannabis industry continues to flourish, bolstering the nation’s GDP while other sectors struggle. Statistics Canada reports that the licensed cannabis sector grew by 0.63% in May 2025, contributing $9.28 billion to the GDP, even as the country’s real GDP dipped by 0.1% for ...
Aurora Cannabis Inc. Reports 93% Sales Surge & Focus on Medical Market Dominance
OTTAWA – Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB), a leading Canadian cannabis producer, has reported a 93% jump in sales for its latest quarter, cementing its position in the medical cannabis market. The Edmonton-based company’s financial results, released last week, underscore its focus on high-margin medical products and international expansion, even as the global cannabis industry navigates ...
Germany Breaks Ground with EU’s First Psilocybin Compassionate Use Approval
BERLIN – Germany has become the first European Union nation to authorize the compassionate use of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Under this program, approved by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), two leading facilities, the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Mannheim ...
Analysis: The Quiet Revolution in U.S. Cannabis: Efficiency Is the New Growth Engine
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Cannabis industry is evolving—but not in the way headlines suggest. Yes, national retail sales remain strong at a $32 billion annualized pace. And yes, states like New York and Ohio are posting impressive gains following adult-use rollouts. But the real story—the one determining which operators thrive and which fade away—is ...
Verano Reimagines Cannabis Retail with Bodega-Style Store in Phoenix
PHOENIX – Verano Holdings Corp., a Chicago-based multistate Cannabis operator, introduced a novel retail concept with its "bodega-style" dispensary at the Zen Leaf Phoenix-Cave Creek location. This innovative store offers a new take on the Cannabis shopping experience, blending accessibility with a familiar, neighborhood vibe. Unlike traditional dispensaries where customers interact with budtenders at a ...
Cash, Crime, and Cannabis: Attorneys General Push Congress on SAFER Banking Act
WASHINGTON, D.C.–In a rare show of bipartisan unity, attorneys general from 32 states and U.S. territories issued a pointed appeal to Congress on Thursday: pass the SAFER Banking Act of 2025 — and finally bring the Cannabis industry into the financial mainstream. The letter, addressed to congressional leadership, presses lawmakers to provide regulated financial access ...
The DEA’s Time‑Warp Appointment: Terrance Cole and the Revival of “Reefer Madness”
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Terrance Cole, the newly confirmed Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator, brings a worldview rooted in 1980s-era drug hysteria—one that dismisses decades of research, economic gains from cannabis legalization, and evolving public opinion. His alarmist rhetoric, linking cannabis to autism, stunted brain growth, and youth suicide, threatens to stall the long-awaited, evidence-based rescheduling ...
Texas Governor Backs Regulation Over Ban in Hemp THC Showdown
DALLAS —Texas Governor Greg Abbott has drawn a firm line in the sand when it comes to the future of the hemp industry in the Lone Star State. In a public statement on July 22, Abbott clarified his preference for a tightly regulated adult-use market for hemp-derived products—countering efforts by Senate leaders pushing for an ...
Single Psilocybin Dose Shows Promise in Easing OCD Symptoms, Study Finds
LOS ANGELES – In a pioneering study, researchers from the University of Hertfordshire and Imperial College have uncovered the potential of psilocybin to alleviate symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Published in Comprehensive Psychiatry on July 1, 2025, the study demonstrates that a single 10 mg dose of oral psilocybin can significantly reduce compulsive behaviors, offering ...
ANALYSIS: Germany’s Dual Medical Cannabis Market: A Tale of Two Systems
BERLIN- Since legalizing medical cannabis in 2017, Germany has built one of Europe’s most advanced frameworks for patient access. But today, two distinct markets dominate the scene: the slower-growing, regulated reimbursed segment and the dynamic, out-of-pocket private market. 1. The Public (Reimbursed) Market: Slow & Steady The Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (GKV) and its data arm GKV-GAMSi ...
ANALYSIS : The Looming End of Unregulated Hemp-Derived Intoxicants
LOS ANGELES- July 21, 2025 The hemp-derived THC loophole may be living on borrowed time. Over the past year, the unregulated market for intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids—most notably delta-8 and delta-10 THC—has come under increasing legal and legislative scrutiny. What began as a creative interpretation of the 2018 Farm Bill has morphed into a nationwide regulatory ...
Psychedelic Retreats Offer Mental Health Breakthrough for Military Veterans
LOS ANGELES- A growing body of evidence is challenging how we treat combat-related trauma—and this time, it’s not coming from a VA clinic, but from jungle retreats in Peru and quiet mushroom ceremonies in Jamaica. A new peer-reviewed study suggests that psychedelic-assisted retreats may offer powerful short-term relief for veterans suffering from PTSD, depression, anxiety, ...
DaySavers Introduces ‘Higher Potential’ Scholarship with Over $25,000 in Cannabis Education Awards
LOS ANGELES- DaySavers, the pre‑roll accessories brand under Custom Cones USA, has launched its inaugural Higher Potential Cannabis Education Scholarship—a collective effort backed by industry partners, offering more than $25,000 in financial support for current and aspiring cannabis professionals The scholarship bundle includes direct monetary grants, tuition‑free access to cannabis-related courses and certification programs, mentorships, ...
Verano Elevates James Leventis to Chief Strategy & Compliance Officer
LOS ANGELES- Verano Holdings Corp. Announced the promotion of James Leventis to Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer. Leventis, a licensed attorney with nearly 15 years of experience across the healthcare, pharmaceutical, consulting, and cannabis sectors, has been with Verano since 2019 and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Legal, Regulatory and Government Affairs. In ...
Red Light Holland Taps Scott Melker to Lead Bitcoin Strategy Following Banking Setback
LOS ANGELES- Red Light Holland Corp. an Ontario-based psychedelics company known for its psilocybin truffles, announced a strategic pivot on July 14, 2025: appointing crypto influencer Scott Melker—known as “The Wolf of All Streets”—as Senior Advisor and Crypto Czar to advance its new Bitcoin balance-sheet strategy. This move comes after the company was effectively “debanked” by a ...
HYTN Secures Health Canada Drug Licence to Propel Cannabinoid Prescription Drug Pathway
LOS ANGELES- Vancouver-based HYTN Innovations Inc. (CSE: HYTN; OTC Pink: HYTNF) announced on July 14, 2025, that it has been granted a Cannabis Drug Licence (CDL) by Health Canada, effective July 2. This licence enhances HYTN’s existing Drug Establishment Licence (DEL) and federal cannabis licences, placing it among a select number of Canadian firms authorized to manufacture cannabis-derived pharmaceutical drugs. ...
AYR Wellness Secures Extension of Debt Waiver Ahead of Financial Deadline
LOS ANGELES- AYR Wellness Inc. a vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator, announced on July 11, 2025, that it has secured an additional amendment to its Limited Waiver Agreement with holders of a majority of its senior secured notes, extending the waiver period to July 18, 2025. The waiver protects the company from default-related remedies tied to its ...
Republican Lawmakers Move to Block Cannabis Rescheduling, Undermining Federal Reform Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C.. Just as the Biden administration’s long-awaited cannabis rescheduling effort appeared to be gaining traction, Republicans in the House Appropriations Committee have moved to shut it down—using their control of a key budget bill to insert language that would block the Department of Justice from changing cannabis’s federal classification. Tucked into the draft of ...
Aegis Capital Maintains Buy Rating on atai Life Sciences with $8 Target
LOS ANGELES- Aegis Capital has reaffirmed its Buy rating on atai Life Sciences N.V. (NASDAQ: ATAI), maintaining a price target of $8 following the release of positive Phase 2b results for BPL-003, the company’s investigational psychedelic therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Analyst Nathan Weinstein described the trial outcome as statistically significant across both the 8 mg ...
ICE Raids California Cannabis Farms as Budget Swells and Allegations Mount
CARPINTERIA, Calif. — In a sweeping operation that has stirred legal, political, and cultural tensions across California, federal immigration authorities executed high-profile raids on two cannabis farms operated by Glass House Brands, one of the state’s largest and most visible cannabis companies. The action, carried out on Thursday morning by agents with U.S. Immigration and ...
The Senator Who Legalized Consumable Hemp Now Wants to Ban It
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), once hailed as the architect of federal hemp legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill, is now backing efforts that could dismantle the very market he helped create. Industry insiders say McConnell is behind new language being added to this week’s agriculture spending package that would outlaw consumable hemp products containing ...
