Business
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 ...
Brazilian App Turns Patient Adoption Into a Cannabis Data Asset
LOS ANGELES- Brazil’s health-tech startup Blis says its mobile platform now supports more than 300,000 registered patients, generates roughly R$2 million (about US$363,000) in monthly revenue and reaches users in more than 1,800 municipalities. By integrating tele-consultation, ANVISA authorization under RDC 660/2022 and direct-to-patient import logistics, the company is accumulating what industry observers describe as ...
Blüm Holdings to Acquire Northern California Cannabis Dispensary
LOS ANGELES- Blüm Holdings Inc, a California-based publicly traded holding company and cannabis operator, has signed a binding all‑stock agreement to acquire a majority stake in a licensed adult‑use and medical cannabis dispensary in Northern California. The deal is valued at up to USD 5.0 million, with additional performance‑based earn‑outs linked to revenue and EBITDA targets. The ...
Curaleaf Takes Full Control of European Arm in Bold Strategic Move
LOS ANGELES - In a major development out of the cannabis industry, Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (TSX: CURA, OTCQX: CURLF) has just announced it’s taken full ownership of Curaleaf International, buying out its minority partner’s stake in a deal finalized on July 2. Sources confirm the transaction, executed through a 2021 Put/Call Option agreement, hands Curaleaf ...
US Cannabis Industry Poised to Top $123 Billion Economic Impact in 2025
LOS ANGELES–Despite mounting challenges, the U.S. cannabis industry is on track to generate a staggering $123.6 billion in total economic impact in 2025, according to new projections from the MJBiz Factbook. That’s a 9% increase over 2024 – a testament to the sector’s resilience amid federal inaction and headwinds from economic uncertainty. While legacy markets ...
Vireo Growth and Curio Wellness Forge Partnership to Enter New York Market
LOS ANGELES- Vireo Growth Inc. and Curio Wellness have announced a manufacturing-and-distribution agreement aimed at introducing Curio’s Best Self Collection into New York’s licensed cannabis market. Vireo will leverage its existing infrastructure to produce and distribute Curio’s full product portfolio—topicals, tablets, chews, and vapes—under a licensing model The deal adopts a capital-light approach: Curio gains ...
Green Thumb Industries Schedules Q2 2025 Earnings Call for August 6
LOS ANGELES- Green Thumb Industries Inc., a cannabis consumer packaged goods company and operator of RISE dispensaries, announced on July 2 that it will release its second-quarter 2025 financial results after market close on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 . The company will host a conference call and audio webcast the same day at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (4:00 p.m. ...
SAFER Banking Act Frozen as Lawmakers Tackle War and Budget Issues
LOS ANGELES – The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, a bipartisan effort to grant state-legal cannabis businesses access to traditional banking services, remains mired in political gridlock, overshadowed by competing legislative priorities. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), a lead sponsor of the bill, recently acknowledged that despite his efforts to push the legislation ...
California’s Cannabis Industry Faces Meltdown as New Tax Hike Begins
LOS ANGELES – California’s legal cannabis industry is sounding the alarm as a significant excise tax increase, which took effect on July 1, 2025, threatens to cripple an already struggling market. The excise tax on legal cannabis has risen from 15% to 19%, a move that industry leaders, including growers, dispensary owners, and advocates, warn ...
Cronos Expands Medical Cannabis Presence in Switzerland
LOS ANGELES- Cronos Group Inc. has entered the Swiss medical cannabis market through a partnership with Dascoli Pharma AG, a Zurich-based pharmaceutical distributor. The deal enables Dascoli to supply five varieties of the company's PEACE NATURALS branded cannabis flower to patients via its established network of pharmacies and clinics. Under the agreement, the following strains will be ...
Analysis: A Tale of Two Markets: U.S. Cannabis at a Crossroads as Global Momentum Builds — and Backtracks
LOS ANGELES-The U.S. cannabis industry stands divided. Some state markets are opening and expanding, while others are contracting under the weight of high taxes, regulatory friction, and unrelenting illicit competition. But across all markets, uncertainty is rising — and it’s not just an American story anymore. Globally, cannabis policy is advancing in some countries and ...
California’s Cannabis Tax Hike Could Break the Legal Market — Just as It Was Starting to Stabilize
LOS ANGELES- California's legal cannabis market, already strained by price compression, regulatory overload, and illicit competition, took another hit on July 1 as the state’s cannabis excise tax officially jumped from 15% to 19%. The increase, part of a 2022 legislative compromise, is being called a potential death blow by operators and advocates who have ...
Analysis: California’s Cannabis Catastrophe: Why the July 1 Tax Hike Threatens an Already-Struggling Industry
LOS ANGELES-California's legal cannabis industry just got hit with a devastating blow. As of July 1, 2025, the cannabis excise tax jumped from 15% to 19% — a nearly 27% hike — pushing total taxes on legal cannabis to as high as 50% in some localities when state and local taxes are combined. For an ...
IM Cannabis Proposes $50 Million Mixed Securities Shelf to Bolster Funding
LOS ANGELES- IM Cannabis Corp. a Canada-based medical cannabis provider operating in Israel and Germany, has filed a registration statement for a mixed securities shelf worth up to USD 50 million. The filing, submitted June 26 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, enables the company to issue common shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, or units as ...
LIMS Market Projected to Hit $5.19 Billion by 2030
LOS ANGELES- The global Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) market is forecast to grow from $2.88 billion in 2025 to $5.19 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 12.5%, according to a recent analysis by ResearchAndMarkets. The projected expansion is fueled by rising demand for cloud-based solutions, increasing adoption of automation in ...
Analysis: What’s Next for Texas THC Policy After Gov. Abbott’s Veto?
DALLAS - In a move that stunned the Texas political establishment and delighted the state’s burgeoning hemp industry, Governor Greg Abbott last weekend vetoed Senate Bill 3 (SB 3), a measure that would have banned virtually all hemp-derived THC products—including popular variants like Delta-8, Delta-9, and Delta-10. The veto not only exposed a rare public ...
Verano Taps Arizona Partner to Introduce Grow Sciences’ Cannabis Line in Illinois
LOS ANGELES- Verano Holdings Corp. a vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator, entered into an exclusive distribution partnership with Arizona-based Grow Sciences to launch a curated selection of premium cannabis flower and solventless extracts in Illinois. Starting June 21, thirteen Grow Sciences strains—including Prickly Pear, Florida Jack, and Jelly RTZ—will be available at all ten Zen Leaf dispensaries across the state, with ...
High-Potency Cannabis Strains Impact Legal and Health Systems
LOS ANGELES— The expansion of high-potency cannabis products—such as concentrated extracts, edibles, and potent vaping liquids is increasingly challenging health-care facilities and legal systems across North America. Emergency departments in the U.S. and Canada report rising visits due to high-THC cannabis use. Symptoms include acute psychosis, severe anxiety, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) a debilitating ...
