News
High Tide Tightens Ownership Guardrails with New Two-Part Rights Plan
CALGARY – High Tide Inc. announced that its board of directors approved a Temporary Shareholder Rights Plan and an Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan, both executed with Olympia Trust Company as Rights Agent, dated June 26, 2026. The dual structure stems from a procedural constraint. The Amended and Restated Plan updates the shareholder rights ...
Splash Beverage Group Takes Global License on CannEpil, Targeting Drug-Resistant Epilepsy
FORT LAUDERDALE – Splash Beverage Group Inc. announced it has secured an exclusive worldwide license to CannEpil®, a cannabinoid-based investigational treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), through an agreement with Argent BioPharma Limited, the Australian-listed clinical-stage company behind the therapy. DRE affects approximately 30% of epilepsy patients worldwide and remains one of the most significant unmet ...
Legal Cannabis Generates Billions, Reaches New Highs Across Key States
LOS ANGELES - When Colorado and Washington launched the first legal adult-use Cannabis markets in January 2014, the debate was primarily about public safety and social policy. Twelve years later, the fiscal argument has taken center stage. A comprehensive report published by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) found that the 24 states and the District ...
Cannabis Retailers Face Engagement Gap in Loyalty Programs
LOS ANGELES – A new report published by Sweed, a tech company that provides an all-in-one software ecosystem for Cannabis dispensaries, draws on Q1 2026 data from 2.1 million shoppers and $452.5 million in retail transactions to produce what may be the most detailed picture yet of how dispensary loyalty programs actually perform vs. how ...
Virginia Lawmakers Enact Plan for Legal Cannabis Sales
RICHMOND – The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates gave final approval Monday to a budget bill that legalizes recreational Cannabis sales. Lawmakers adopted Gov. Abigail Spanberger's proposed amendments in full, meaning the measure is now law without further action required from her office. The outcome follows Spanberger's veto last month of an earlier sales ...
Tilray Acquires HelloMD to Build Out Canadian Medical Cannabis Network
NEW YORK – Tilray Brands Inc. has agreed to acquire HelloMD Corporation’s Canadian medical Cannabis assets, in a deal the companies say will build a fully vertically integrated medical Cannabis structure in Canada and add a digital healthcare platform to Tilray's broader operations. Tilray was named the winning bidder in HelloMD's formal sale process, and ...
DEA Opens Hearing on Cannabis Federal Schedule III Status
ARLINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration began hearings Monday on a proposal to reclassify Cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a proceeding officials and advocates on both sides describe as among the most expected in the history of federal drug policy. The hearing is scheduled to run through ...
Helus Pharma Advances Phase 3 Trial for Novel Therapy in MDD
NEW YORK – Helus Pharma, the business name now used by Cybin Inc., announced that enrollment in its APPROACH Phase 3 trial has passed the 86% mark. The trial is testing HLP003, the company's lead drug candidate, as an add-on treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients who have not fully responded to standard ...
Hemp THC Beverages Return to Ohio Shelves
CLEVELAND – Hemp-derived THC drinks are back on a limited number of Ohio shelves after U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its newest hemp licensing law against a group of plaintiff companies. The temporary restraining order, issued June 15 in the Northern District of Ohio, found that Senate Bill 56 ...
Georgia Expands Access to Medical Cannabis
ATLANTA – A revised medical Cannabis law takes effect in Georgia on Wednesday, broadening the conditions that qualify patients for legal access and permitting vaporization as an approved method of use for the first time. The measure, Senate Bill 220, known as the Putting Georgia's Patients First Act, was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in ...
California Directs $227M Toward Cannabis Enforcement
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California has awarded $227 million in Proposition 64 grant funding to local governments working to address the public health and safety effects of Cannabis legalization. The money is meant to help cities and counties strengthen enforcement against illegal operators, fund youth prevention programs, support public health initiatives, and ...
Bipartisan Cannabis Banking Bill (SAFE) Returns to Congress Ahead of DEA Hearing
WASHINGTON – A bipartisan coalition of senators and representatives reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, restarting a long-running effort to let banks and credit unions serve Cannabis businesses without fear of federal punishment. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D) is again leading the Senate version, with Rep. Dave Joyce (R), leading the companion bill ...
Glass House Brands Gains NYSE Listing Approval
LONG BEACH – Glass House Brands Inc. has secured approval to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, marking another step for a major player in the state’s market toward a prominent trading venue. The move follows the company’s earlier restructuring to separate its medical Cannabis operations from its adult-use retail business, a ...
Sacramento Clears Path for Cannabis Consumption Lounges
SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento City Council voted 7-1 to amend the city's zoning code and classify Cannabis consumption lounges as an allowed land use, capping a process that traces back to a pilot program the council approved in late 2024. In a separate 6-1 vote, the council also set business permit fees for the lounges ...
Delaware Moves to Regulate THC-Infused Beverages
DOVER – Delaware's Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee advanced House Bill 373, sending the measure to the Senate Finance Committee and bringing it a step closer to a full Senate vote. The action follows the bill's passage in the House on June 16, which cleared by a 34-5 margin. The legislation, filed by ...
AMASS Invests in Hemp-Derived THC Beverage Brand Afterdream
LOS ANGELES – AMASS Brands Group, a California-based multi-category beverage platform, has entered into a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) in Afterdream, a hemp-derived THC beverage brand. The agreement grants AMASS the right to at least a 15.67% fully diluted ownership interest in Afterdream once a qualifying financing or liquidity event occurs. Under SAFE ...
Nebraska Takes First Step Toward State-Grown Medical Cannabis Supply
LINCOLN – Nebraska’s medical Cannabis program, approved by voters in 2024, has reached a notable early milestone. State regulators recently authorized the first licensed cultivator to begin planting, marking concrete progress in building a regulated supply chain for patients. The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission voted unanimously to approve the inspection results for MahāMotā Cultivation Company ...
Ora Pharm Completes Helius Acquisition, Becomes New Zealand’s Largest Medical Cannabis Company
AUCKLAND – Ora Pharm has completed the acquisition of the key assets of Helius Therapeutics and restarted manufacturing operations. The agreement covers Helius's EU-GMP-certified production plant, its remaining inventory, and its operating licenses, though it excludes the cultivation site Helius once ran. The purchase follows a binding conditional agreement Ora Pharm signed in May, when ...
Glass House Brands Triggers Warrant Acceleration
LONG BEACH – Glass House Brands Inc., a major player in California Cannabis production and retail, has told holders of warrants issued in two earlier financing rounds that their right to convert those securities into shares will end well ahead of schedule. The company said the early cutoff was set in motion after its stock ...
Week in Review: Cannabis & Psychedelics Industry Highlights
LOS ANGELES – Two weeks of headlines confirm a market sorting itself by balance sheet rather than by ambition. Cannabis is consolidating into a smaller circle of disciplined operators, while psychedelics graduate from pilot programs to checkbook-sized pharmaceutical commitments. Capital is flowing again, rewarding strength over growth and regulatory compromises over recreational promises alone. Conventional ...
Virginia Lawmakers Send Cannabis Retail Framework to Governor’s Desk
RICHMOND – The Virginia General Assembly approved budget language that sets the terms for a regulated adult-use Сannabis market, sending the measure to Gov. Abigail Spanberger after a year of stalled bills and one rejected proposal. The Senate passed the budget conference report 23 to 16, and the House of Delegates followed 71 to 22. ...
Definium Clears Phase 3 Trial for its LSD-Based Depression Treatment
NEW YORK – Definium Therapeutics Inc. announced positive topline data from its Phase 3 Emerge study evaluating DT120, an orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) formulation of pharmaceutical LSD, in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). The results highlight notable improvements in depression symptoms after a single dose, adding to the growing body of research on psychedelics ...
Vireo Growth Finalizes Equity Stake in Two Maryland Dispensaries
MINNEAPOLIS – Vireo Growth Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of an indirect 49% equity interest in HA-MD, LLC, the entity that owns Chesapeake Integrated Health Institute and Maryland Alternative Relief, two licensed dispensaries operating in Maryland. The agreement underlying the transaction was signed on November 3, 2025, and required sign-off from the ...
Khalifa Kush Enters Australia Through Endoca Distribution Deal
LOS ANGELES – Khalifa Kush, the Cannabis brand founded by rapper Wiz Khalifa, has struck a distribution agreement with Australian medicinal Cannabis company Endoca to bring its flower, edibles and vape cartridges to patients across the country. The agreement marks the brand's sixth international market, following earlier launches in Germany, Israel and Thailand. The deal ...
Otsuka Completes $1.23B Buyout of Transcend Therapeutics
PRINCETON – Otsuka America, the U.S. subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., announced that it has completed its acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics, a New York biotechnology company developing rapid-acting treatments for neuropsychiatric disease. First disclosed in March, the deal makes Transcend a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka America and folds the company's lead candidate, TSND-201, ...
