News
BLAZE Rolls Out AI Connector for Cannabis Dispensaries
ANAHEIM – Cannabis retail software provider BLAZE has introduced a new tool that links common AI assistants directly to its platform data. The release aims to let operators query inventory, adjust promotions and manage other tasks through everyday language prompts. The product, called BLAZE MCP or Model Context Protocol, connects assistants like Claude and ChatGPT ...
Study Finds Strong Consumer Support for State Cannabis QR Codes
LOS ANGELES – Cannabis Public Policy Consulting conducted the study, surveying over 3,000 past-month Cannabis consumers across 33 U.S. jurisdictions with legal medical or adult-use markets. Metrc commissioned the work, though the consulting firm retained independent control over methods, findings and conclusions. Respondents viewed a demonstration of a state-issued QR code linking to laboratory results, ...
Nasdaq’s $5M Delisting Rule: Frozen, Not Finished
WASHINGTON – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a new Nasdaq listing requirement on July 22, stayed it seven days later after receiving petitions, and on September 11 formally granted those petitions for full agency review. Comments are accepted through October 6. Filed as SR-NASDAQ-2026-004, the rule would require all companies listed on the ...
Trulieve Secures Exclusive Master Licensing Agreement with Connected
TALLAHASSEE – Trulieve Cannabis Corp. announced a master licensing agreement giving the multi-state Cannabis operator exclusive rights to cultivate, manufacture, and sell Alien Labs and Connected-branded products in both Florida and Texas. The agreement is perpetual and royalty-free, covering both brands' genetics, trademarks, and proprietary production knowledge. Trulieve has been the exclusive provider of Alien ...
New Menopause Guide Unlocks the Power of Major Cannabinoids
HONOLULU – As demand for Cannabis and hemp-based wellness products aimed at midlife women continues to grow, a new comprehensive guide by Rare Cannabinoid Company is pushing back against the one-size-fits-all framing that has come to define this segment. Titled CBD for Menopause: A Guide to Cannabis, THC, CBN and Hemp, the resource examines growing ...
Kasvu Therapeutics Raises €30M for Next Generation Neuroplasticity Drugs
HELSINKI – Kasvu Therapeutics, a three-year-old spinout from the University of Helsinki, closed a €30 million Series A to advance its lead compound toward clinical development. The round was led by Hadean Ventures, with participation from Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment), the Finnish Drug Discovery Center, Innovestor Life Science Fund, Stephen Industries, and existing backers Nordic ...
Aurora Hits Curaleaf with Regulatory Complaint Over Hostile Bid
EDMONTON – Aurora Cannabis Inc. filed an application with the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), asking the regulator to order Curaleaf Holdings Inc. to correct several alleged deficiencies in its hostile takeover bid circular – or face consequences that could invalidate the bid's current structure entirely. Aurora says Curaleaf's circular, which formally commenced the unsolicited bid, ...
RIOCOCO Opens Its Largest Single Production Site in Sri Lanka
KATUPOTHA – RIOCOCO, one of the world's leading manufacturers of coconut coir growing substrates, has opened the largest single coco coir production facility in Sri Lanka, built at its existing base in Katupotha and operational since July 2026. The announcement coincides with the company's 22nd year in business. The facility was commissioned to absorb rising ...
California Backs Psychedelic Research for Veterans
LOS ANGELES – When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 113, he gave California the distinction of becoming the first state to fund psychedelic-assisted therapy research through an official budget appropriation. The legislation channels $4.7 million to the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM), an office within the California Health and Human Services Agency, ...
Kite Challenges Trends with Mindful Wellness Cannabis Line
NEW BRITAIN – A new Cannabis brand out of Connecticut is making a clear break from convention. Kite, founded by entrepreneur and lifelong athlete Oz Pariser, launched its first product line this week with a proposition that runs counter to how most Cannabis brands have traditionally competed. The company is positioning quality of experience above ...
FTSE Canada All Cap Index Adds Curaleaf to Its Ranks
STAMFORD – Curaleaf Holdings Inc. confirmed that it has been added to the FTSE Canada All Cap Index, effective after the close of trading on September 18, 2026. Maintained by FTSE Russell, the index tracks large-, mid-, and small-capitalization companies listed in Canada. The inclusion is Curaleaf's second major Canadian benchmark in twelve months. In ...
Canopy Growth Powers European Expansion with UK Entry
SMITHS FALLS – Canopy Growth Corp. announced that it will supply four Canadian-grown medical Cannabis flower strains for distribution in the United Kingdom, expanding its international Cannabis business into another European market. The products will be supplied to GROW Group U.K. Ltd., a British pharmaceutical company that imports, manufactures and distributes prescribed Cannabis-based medicines, and ...
Canna Cabana Takes the Widest Lead Yet in Canadian Cannabis Retail
CALGARY – A Retailer Insights Report compiled by Rebel & Thorn, a media and marketing consultancy, shows Canna Cabana extending its position across Canadian Cannabis retail in Q3 2026. The findings span brand awareness, primary shopping preference, and daily consumer behavior; with the High Tide Inc. banner topping every regional market measured. Nationally, 36% of ...
Trulieve Earns Its Spot on the S&P Indices
TALLAHASSEE – Trulieve Cannabis Corp. announced that S&P Dow Jones Indices had added the company to the S&P Total Market Index, the S&P Completion Index, and their respective health care sub-indices – S&P TMI Health Care and S&P CI Health Care. Shares climbed 3.1% to $11.86 in New York on Tuesday, and trading volume by early afternoon ...
GTI Bets on Its Own Stock, Again
CHICAGO – Green Thumb Industries Inc. announced that its board of directors had authorized a $50 million share repurchase program – the company's third consecutive buyback initiative since 2023. Under the new program, Green Thumb is authorized to repurchase up to 10,364,640 subordinate voting shares over the following 12 months. Purchases can be made on ...
Vireo Growth Completes M3 Wellness Acquisition
MINNEAPOLIS – Vireo Growth Inc. announced the completion of its acquisition of M3 Wellness, a retail Cannabis dispensary in Hawthorne, NV. Structured as an indirect asset purchase from M3 Wellness, LLC under an agreement signed in June, 2026, the transaction closed after the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board granted its regulatory sign-off. Total consideration for the ...
Week in Review: Cannabis & Psychedelics Industry Highlights
LOS ANGELES – Big Pharma stopped dipping its toe and dove in headfirst. A $3.8 billion psychedelic acquisition closed. A hostile Cannabis takeover escalated into a full public war of facts and figures, with a December deadline for shareholders to decide. Operators pushed into new states, capital markets moved, and regulators in Virginia, New York, ...
Safe Harbor Equity & Highly Capitalized Network Announce Strategic Capital Advisory & Investor Outreach Partnership
LOS ANGELES — September 8, 2026 — Safe Harbour Equity, Inc. and Highly Capitalized Network-HCN today announced a strategic partnership to help carefully selected companies strengthen their investment propositions, reach qualified investors and build the relationships required to raise capital. The partnership unites two complementary capabilities. Safe Harbour Equity contributes an extensive investor and professional ...
Vireo Growth Settles Altmore Claim with Share Issuance
MINNEAPOLIS – Vireo Growth Inc. announced that it will issue 462,963 subordinate voting shares as part of a settlement with SHWZ Altmore, LLC and Altmore Debt I, LP – the entities the company collectively refers to as Altmore in its public filing. The shares represent consideration for Vireo's acquisition of secured obligations and related liens ...
Public Opinion Fires Up Support for Cannabis in NC
RALEIGH – A large majority of North Carolina adults support legalizing adult-use Cannabis for medical use, and a smaller but clear majority backs recreational legalization as well, according to an Elon University Poll. The survey also found that most residents want hemp-derived THC products [seltzers, gummies, and similar items] to stay on shelves, but with ...
Xylo Bio Advances Its Lead Into First-In-Human Clinical Trial
BOSTON – Xylo Bio confirmed that the first participants have been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial of XYL-1001, the company's lead drug candidate targeting major depressive disorder (MDD). The trial is underway in Australia, and it marks the company's transition from a preclinical to a clinical-stage running. The study is structured as a ...
TerrAscend Closes Acquisition of Aunt Mary’s in NJ
TORONTO – TRENTON – TerrAscend Corp. confirmed it has closed its previously announced transaction with Aunt Mary's Dispensary LLC, a Cannabis retail operation in Hunterdon County, NJ. The deal marks the company's fifth retail location in the Garden State. The transaction was first signed in June and structured at a total consideration of $9 million. ...
Medical Saints Targets Christina Lake Cannabis in $18M Deal
VANCOUVER, BC – Christina Lake Cannabis Corp. (CLC) has received an unsolicited $18 million cash purchase offer for substantially all of its assets from Ontario licensed producer Medical Saints Ltd. setting up a competing transaction scenario for the company's board of directors. The proposed asset sale represents a structural departure from an earlier non-binding letter ...
Aurora Reaffirms Growth Outlook on European Strength
EDMONTON – Aurora Cannabis Inc. issued a business update, reaffirming guidance for sequential growth in net revenue and adjusted EBITDA in fiscal Q2 2027. The company cited the integration of Safari Flower Company and continued strength in Germany and Poland as the primary basis for that confidence. Aurora closed its C$26.5 million acquisition of Safari ...
Aurora and Curaleaf Trade Statements in Ongoing Bid Dispute
EDMONTON - STAMFORD – Aurora Cannabis and Curaleaf Holdings continued their public exchange over Curaleaf’s unsolicited takeover offer for the Canadian medical Cannabis company. Aurora issued a statement responding to Curaleaf’s regulatory filing, while Curaleaf released a letter to Aurora shareholders and scheduled a direct Q&A session with its CEO. Aurora responded to Curaleaf’s application ...
