Business
From Survival to Execution: Hall of Flowers Ventura Reflects an Evolving Cannabis Industry
LOS ANGELES- Hall of Flowers Ventura continues to set the standard for what a modern Cannabis industry event should look and feel like—focused, curated, and highly effective. Hall of Flowers Ventura this past March 18 & 19th brought the industry together last week in Ventura for two high-impact days centered on real business activity and ...
Updated: Europe’s Cannabis Business Events 2026
BERLIN- Europe’s Cannabis market is moving from theory to execution. And the clearest signal is the event calendar. From Berlin to London to Prague, the sequence of events tells a story—not just of geography, but of how the market is maturing: policy first, then capital, then culture, then scale. Below is the 2026 European Cannabis ...
Element 7 Schedules Receivership Auction for its Dispensary Portfolio
LOS ANGELES – Element 7 is heading into a court-ordered receivership auction for its portfolio of seven dispensary locations after a breach-of-contract lawsuit. Court-appointed receiver Kevin Singer will conduct the sale on April 1 at 2 p.m. The assets, which include inventory, retail licenses where active, furniture, fixtures, equipment, intellectual property and other intangibles, will ...
M&A Heats Up: Kiva Sales & Service and Petalfast Sign LOI to Combine Operations
LOS ANGELES- Kiva Sales & Service (KSS) has signed a letter of intent to combine with Petalfast, marking another consolidation move in California’s Cannabis distribution and sales infrastructure. The proposed transaction would bring together two established operators across sales, distribution, and retail engagement, with combined operations spanning California and Arizona. The companies also indicated longer-term ...
Georgia Expands Medical Cannabis Program with SB 220: What It Means for Patients and Operators
ATLANTA- The state of Georgia is on the verge of a meaningful shift in its medical Cannabis program. Legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly—Senate Bill 220—would significantly expand the types of Cannabis products available to patients, moving the state beyond its historically restrictive, low-THC framework. From Limited THC to Full Medical Program For years, ...
Cheech and Chong Ink Distribution Deal with Breakthru
LOS ANGELES – Cheech and Chong’s Global Holding Company has entered a strategic partnership with Breakthru Beverage Group to bring its line of hemp-derived THC drinks to a much broader audience across key U.S. markets. The agreement pairs the comedy duo’s branded beverages with one of the country’s largest alcohol and beverage wholesalers. Breakthru Beverage ...
C-Stores Press Ahead with Hemp-Derived Products as Regulations Tighten
LOS ANGELES – Major convenience store operators keep stocking hemp-derived THC beverages and related items on shelves in states where sales remain legal, even as a federal overhaul set to take effect in November 2026 threatens to ban most of them nationwide. The moves come after Congress approved changes in November 2025 to the 2018 ...
The ROI Investors Are Ignoring Within the Cannabis Industry
LOS ANGELES- Industrial hemp has more ROI potential than the medicinal and intoxicating side for a simple reason: industrial hemp is a raw material that can be swapped into enormous existing markets, while medicinal products are constrained by a small set of delivery formats and a much higher regulatory playing field. On the medicinal side, ...
The 2nd Annual Cannalaugh Kicks Off March 28 in Chicago
CHICAGO- CannaLaugh, a live event series combining nationally touring stand-up comedians with cannabis education, will host its second annual event on March 28. The event, scheduled to take place at the Galleria Chicago at 9 W. Division Street, will feature touring comics Mike Samp, Big Keef, Zako Ryan, and Casey The Icon. The experience continues ...
PharmaCann to Shut Down its Denver Cannabis Grow Facility
DENVER – Chicago-based PharmaCann Inc., one of the largest privately held and vertically integrated Cannabis companies in the United States, has notified Colorado officials that it will permanently [?] close its major cultivation site in north Denver, eliminating 132 positions. The facility ranks among the state’s biggest grow operations. In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining ...
San Francisco Considers Ordinance for Cannabis Cafes
SAN FRANCISCO – Customers at licensed Cannabis retailers here could soon relax in dedicated Amsterdam-style cafes, consuming products on site while ordering prepared food and nonalcoholic drinks, following legislation introduced this week by Board of Supervisors President and District 8 representative Rafael Mandelman. The ordinance, developed in partnership with Assemblymember Matt Haney, would amend the ...
Tilray Medical Expands Australian Medical Cannabis Offerings
NEW YORK – Tilray Medical, an internal division of Tilray Brands Inc., one of the largest global suppliers of pharmaceutical-grade medical Cannabis operating in 20 countries across five continents, announced expansion of its medical Cannabis portfolio in Australia since entering the market in 2017. The company will introduce new items over the coming months under ...
Cannabis Distributors Kiva Sales & Service and Petalfast Sign Letter of Intent to Combine
OAKLAND – Kiva Sales & Service (KSS), a leading sales and distribution agency focused on California’s Cannabis market, signed a letter of intent to combine operations with Petalfast, a national platform known for sales, distribution and retail services in regulated Cannabis markets. The companies said the move would increase operational scale, improve efficiency and broaden ...
Massachusetts Rec Cannabis Sales Exceed $9B Cumulative Total
BOSTON – Adult-use Сannabis retailers in Massachusetts have generated over $9 billion in gross sales since the first stores opened in November 2018, as reported by the state Cannabis Control Commission. Sales data on the commission’s Open Data Platform show the total crossed the line on February 4. A burst of buying ahead of a ...
Virginia Moves Toward Adult-Use Cannabis Sales While U.S. Policy Remains Uneven
RICHMOND- Virginia may finally close one of the most unusual gaps in U.S. Cannabis policy. Lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly have approved legislation to establish a regulated adult-use Cannabis retail market and sent the bill to Governor Abigail Spanberger for consideration. If signed into law, the measure would create a legal marketplace for Cannabis ...
Week in Review: Cannabis & Psychedelics Industry Highlights
LOS ANGELES – The Cannabis and Psychedelics sectors delivered clear signals of financial stability, policy refinement, consumer-driven changes, and therapeutic expansion. State-level sales held firm in key markets, major MSOs shared Q4 and FY 2025 financial results that reflected disciplined operations, regulators advanced practical rules, and new research plus access programs pointed to longer-term value ...
Starting a Cannabis Business: The Real-World Founder Guide for an Industry That Gives You ZERO Margin for Error
LOS ANGELES - Starting any business is hard. Starting a Cannabis business is harder. A founder in a typical startup may need to deal with branding, hiring, websites, customer acquisition, and cash flow. A founder in Cannabis has to do all of that while also dealing with licensing, banking friction, tax distortion, compliance risk, packaging ...
LEGAL UPDATE: California Cannabis & Hemp Industry: What Operators & Investors Need to Know
LOS ANGELES- California’s cannabis and hemp markets are navigating a perfect storm of declining retail sales, shifting local tax policies, and a federal hemp reckoning that could reshape the competitive landscape for years to come. Whether you operate a licensed dispensary in Los Angeles, cultivate in the North Coast, manufacture edibles in the South Bay, or distribute ...
How the Irish Helped Shape — and Continue to Shape — the Modern Cannabis Industry
LOS ANGELES -For a small island, the Irish have a remarkable habit of turning up everywhere. From politics and literature to science and business, the Irish diaspora has left fingerprints across the modern world. Cannabis history is no exception. Some of the most important figures in the evolution of Cannabis — from early medical research ...
Women’s History Month: Supporting the Woman Who Supported Me
By Guy Rocourt. LOS ANGELES-March is Women’s History Month, and with International Women's Day celebrated earlier this month, it’s a good moment to reflect on the women whose strength, leadership, and resilience shape our lives and our work. For me, that reflection is deeply personal. For years my wife, Anea Bogue, supported me while I ...
Cannabinoids and Fatty Liver Disease: Emerging Research Highlights a Growing Health Challenge for Seniors
LOS ANGELES- A growing body of scientific research is examining how compounds derived from Cannabis may interact with metabolic diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Among the most widespread of these conditions is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)—a disorder previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. MASLD affects roughly one-third of adults ...
Texas Restricts Sales of Smokable Hemp Products Effective March 31
AUSTIN – Texas retailers must pull smokable hemp products from shelves by the end of the month under final rules adopted by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The regulations, which take effect March 31, effectively ban the manufacture, distribution, and sale of hemp flower and extracts by requiring total THC testing that includes ...
Ownership Disclosure and 25% Change-of-Control Triggers: How Virginia Will Scrutinize Your Cap Table
VIRGINIA- Ownership transparency and anti-concentration controls remain central to Virginia’s adult-use legislation. Beneficial ownership disclosure requirements capture layered structures and indirect control arrangements. Transfers require Board approval, generally triggered at 25 percent ownership changes within 24 months. This provision directly limits incremental roll-up strategies. The anti–undue–influence mandate empowers regulators to scrutinize capital sources and governance ...
Alcohol Sales Slide as Cannabis Brings in $2.5B for Canada
OTTAWA – Federal and provincial governments in Canada collected $2.5 billion from recreational Cannabis in the fiscal year 2025, marking an 11.5% increase from the prior year. This growth in Cannabis-related earnings contrasts with a 4.2% decline in alcohol revenues, which totaled $13.1 billion – the steepest annual drop since 2004. Retail sales tell ...
ANALYSIS: When Oil Spikes, Cannabis Feels It Too
NEW YORK–Energy markets reacted immediately following the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran. The operation — named by the Department of War (formally the U.S. Department of Defense)— raised fears of disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the attack, Brent crude was trading in the high-$70s per barrel. Within days it surged above ...
