A mid-summer snapshot of big cannabis company financials 📈

"The federal government shouldn't be able to shut down bank accounts because of outdated reputational risk claims. Having consistently fought against debanking in Congress, I want to thank President Trump for acting on this issue. On the legislative front, I will continue to work to codify these efforts into law by way of the SAFE Banking Act," Republican Rep. Dave Joyce said on social media in response to President Donald Trump's debanking executive order. 

The order, which was signed late afternoon on August 7, does not specifically mention cannabis, but it does call for an end to "reputational risk" being a factor in debanking.

Massachusetts issues warning over potentially moldy cannabis products 👀

Massachusetts regulators are warning consumers that some cannabis products sold between April 2024 and April 2025 may be contaminated with mold. They’re urging people to check product labels and either safely throw them out or return them to the store. Massachusetts in July suspended the license of a testing lab in the state for fudging results. 

New York suspends track-and-trace implementation 🗽

New York’s cannabis regulators have temporarily paused the deadline for licensees to integrate their systems with the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system — which was set for August 1. Licensees still must use electronic real-time inventory tracking, and the agency plans to share further guidance soon. The pause comes as BioTrack partners with Metrc to support the state’s tracking transition. “We are frustrated by yet another delay in deploying the regulatory infrastructure needed to enforce accountability across the market, and we believe this is the fault of the OCM, not the vendor they selected,” Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan said.

New York clarifies that it won’t close dispensaries 🤝

The New York Office of Cannabis Management told impacted licensees that they can continue operating despite proximity violations, clarifying it is not ordering closures, relocations, or changes to operations — even if licenses are technically expired — while awaiting a legislative fix. However, without a clear timeline for that fix, licensees remain in legal limbo.

California’s cannabis audit 🍬

California’s cannabis regulator has failed to clearly define what makes packaging appealing to children and isn’t consistently enforcing marketing rules meant to protect youth, according to a new state audit. The report found gaps in documentation, lack of escalation for repeat offenders, and unclear restrictions on flavored inhalable products. Read it.

Florida physicians group discusses the future of cannabis 

In a meeting on Wednesday, the Florida Medical Cannabis Physicians Group (FMCPG) discussed the future of cannabis in Florida. The topics included the impending reality of the alcohol industry moving into cannabis beverages, the inevitability of recreational marijuana in the 4-8 years and the need for physicians to have a bigger voice in cannabis matters.

Opioid deaths go down where cannabis is legal 🌿

Opioid death rates decline in counties with legal cannabis shops, according to a new analysis from The Washington Post. The analysis finds that ten years after that first dispensary opens, opioid death rates in cannabis counties are, on average, about 30 percent lower than death rates in counties without a dispensary.

Check out the chart:

A few launches that caught our eye in the inbox:

• Edibles brand Grön is expanding to Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis market in partnership with Curaleaf. 

• Times Square has a new dispensary: The Daily Green. More details on the opening.

• Upling, a medical cannabis delivery app, is launching Bud-E, an AI tool that uses patient feedback, health history, and optional genetic data to recommend strains.

• Verano reported a $19 million loss on $202 million of revenue. The company continued to slowly expand its retail footprint, with two new dispensaries in Connecticut and one more in Florida. 

• Cresco Labs reported a $14 million loss on $164 million of revenue. During the quarter the company was able to refinance its debt with a $325 million loan. Cresco Labs said that it plans to continue looking for acquisition opportunities as more companies either divest or seek an exit from industry entirely. 

• The Cannabist Company reported a $77.3 million loss on $86.3 of revenue. The company's revenue was slightly down from last quarter, when they pulled in $87.4, but their loss was a significant drop from the $32 million loss it reported three months ago. The company continues to divest from California, Florida and Illinois. At the same time, Cannabist has plans to open a new dispensary in Virginia and three in Ohio. 

• Ascend Wellness reported a $24.4 million net loss on $127 million of revenue for the second quarter. 

• TerrAscend reported a $6.4 million net loss on $65 million of revenue. 

• MariMed reported a $1.3 million loss on $39.6 million of revenue. The company's revenue remained on par with the previous quarter as well as Q2 in 2024, which was $38 million and $40.4 million, respectively.

• Cronos reported a $38 million loss on $33 million of revenue. This was a steep decline from the $7.7 million in net income the company reported the previous quarter when the company had similar revenue of about $32 million. 

We’ve got you covered with the rest of the schedule:

August 8
Canopy Growth - 10AM

August 11
Village Farms - 8:30AM

August 12
Grown Rogue - 4:30PM

August 13
Organigram - 8AM
Planet 13 - 5PM

Verano Holdings President steps down 🧳

Verano President Darren Weiss announced his resignation as president of the company on August 7. Weiss, who originally joined the company in 2017 as General Counsel, said that he will be pursuing cannabis business opportunities outside of North America. 

FLUENT CEO Robert Beasley steps down 🌿

More exec turnover: FLUENT CEO Robert Beasley will step down as CEO and board director, effective today. He’ll be replaced on an interim basis by David Vautrin, the company’s former Chief Commercial Officer, while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

A group of New York cannabis industry entrepreneurs, advocates, and local politicians are holding a rally at 10:30 AM tomorrow in front of City Hall to push back against the Office of Cannabis Management’s new interpretation of the proximity-to-schools rule.

They say the new interpretation threatens to shutter 30% of licensed dispensaries — and they’re calling for all operating dispensaries to have their locations grandfathered in. 

More information.

Drippy’s guerilla marketing stunt ✈️

Cannabis beverage company Drippy issued a press release and created an ad that claimed the company was partnering with Virgin Airways to allow passengers to purchase THC-infused beverages in-flight. But, it’s all fake — when Marijuana Moment reached out to Virgin, the company said they had no knowledge of the partnership. Seems like a risky strategy to us.

The cannabis industry has a major retail problem | GreenState

Marijuana companies take action to appease Donald Trump | MJBizDaily