Anon. employees blow the whistle on NY regulators 🔊

"Morale is at an all-time low. Staff who question decisions or advocate for transparency face professional consequences. This is unsustainable and misaligned with the values of equity, integrity, and accountability our agency was built on." Anonymous letter from employees at the New York Office of Cannabis Management

In a blistering letter released by anonymous employees of OCM blasted leadership at the beleaguered agency. The unsigned letter calls for the removal of Acting Executive Director Felicia Reid, Chief Administrative Officer Susan Filburn and Director of Administration Amanda Wilson. It also calls for an audit of the agency's hiring and promotion practices, as well as an independent investigation into workplace culture, retaliation and staff morale.

We’ve got a copy of the letter for you to read.

Two hundred Canna Cabanas across Canada 💯💯

High Tide announced yesterday that its retail chain, Canna Cabana, had expanded to 200 locations across Canada. The company has the largest retail footprint in the country. High Tide President and CEO Raj Grover shared the news on X/Twitter.  

MA lawmakers move to increase retail ownership cap 🧢

Massachusetts legislators are considering a new omnibus cannabis bill that among other things, would increase the state cap on retail ownership from three licenses to six. This would allow further consolidation in the market at a time when smaller operators are struggling and looking for an exit plan from the industry. 

Texas lawmaker pass medical expansion bill 🩺

While Texas, and everyone else in the industry, watches to see if Governor Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 3, which bans most forms of hemp in the state, the state Senate passed House Bill 46, which expands access to the Texas medical cannabis program. The bill would increase the number of operator licenses from three to 12, add chronic pain as a qualifying condition and replace the 1% THC cap with a 10 mg per dose limit. 

KY Governor and town officials break ground on new testing lab 👷

Governor Andy Bashear joined officials from the town of Mayfield, Kentucky to start construction on one of seven cannabis testing labs that have been licensed to support the upcoming launch of the state's medical market. Support for the  testing lab construction is part of the governor's larger efforts to economically assist parts of Kentucky that were wrecked by tornadoes in recent months.

• Cresco Labs plans to release its first-quarter report on May 30, with an earnings call scheduled for June 2, at 8:30 a.m. Cresco Labs was originally going to release their earnings on May 9, but at the last minute the company postponed the event in order to give independent auditors a chance to take a second look at their finances, for undisclosed reasons. 

• Fluent reported a first-quarter loss of $8.75 million on $26.7 million in revenue. The Florida company is still in the process of converting RIV Capital's medical operations in New York, which Fluent bought last year, closing in December.

Study: CA cannabis workers want better treatment and more training 🦺

Most workers in the California cannabis industry want stronger health and safety protections, along with in-depth training on cultivation techniques and medical cannabis care according to a recent study from the UCLA Labor Center. The study interviewed 1,111 cannabis workers from an estimated 78,618 shift workers across the California cannabis market. Of those surveyed, 20% were in a union, and 62% reported experiencing some form of wage theft.

Test your joint rolling skills ⌚

The Rolling Derby is opening its joint rolling competition to the entire globe. Contestants must start with a 1-gram nugget of flower, grind it and roll it with the timer starting the moment fingers touch the paper. Participants can upload video of themselves rolling joint until June 30 to X/Twitter or Youtube with the hashtag #rollingderby, and the fastest 16 will advance to a championship bracket.

As Virginians await a retail weed market, new THC mocktails expand slate of alcohol alternatives | Virginia Mercury

The UK's Cannabis Paradox: Leading Global Exports Amid Domestic Restrictions | Business Matters