Good morning.
It’s not just the brewing US/Canada trade war that has folks on both sides of the border snipping at each other. The Curaleaf hostile bid for Aurora has ramped up with name-calling and accusations flying. Jeremy takes a look.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, CC
Today’s newsletter is 906 words or about an 7.5-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
💡 What’s the big deal?
HOSTILITY
Aurora and Curaleaf continue sniping 🔫
What happened: Aurora Cannabis on Monday cautioned shareholders that Curaleaf's hostile takeover bid "appears to contain inaccurate statements about Aurora's business" and again told them to take no action while its special committee reviews the offer.
Aurora disputed Curaleaf's read on its German business, saying the flagged reimbursement segment made up less than 10% of German volume before regulatory changes hit, and called Curaleaf's cultivation claims "inaccurate and outdated." It also cited its Aug. 19 UK acquisitions and its top market share in Poland.
Curaleaf fires back: Curaleaf fired back the same day, rejecting Aurora's framing of their prior contacts as real engagement and pointing to roughly C$400 million in inventory impairments and transformation costs under current Aurora leadership.
What they’re saying: “Curaleaf's timing and public comments appear to be a transparent attempt to pressure Aurora shareholders into making a short-term decision for the benefit of Curaleaf shareholders,” Aurora CEO Miguel Martin said.
“Aurora's hollow protests and completely misleading statistics change nothing about reality," Curaleaf said in its statement.
What’s next: Aurora's tender offer stays open for at least 105 days from its early August launch. Aurora's board and special committee haven't issued a formal recommendation yet. Like all hostile bids, expect things to get spicier. $ACB ( 0.0% ) $CURLF ( ▼ 2.9% )
-JB
💻 Cultivated Live
On Tuesday's Cultivated Live: Richard Hahn of the Niskanen Center returns to the cannabis policy work he started a decade ago — and the results are sobering.
From California's licensees defaulting on taxes to South Carolina's unregulated hemp loophole, Hahn breaks down why so many state cannabis markets are failing, what went wrong with the "copy alcohol's playbook" approach.
Tune in on Tuesday, 10 AM Eastern »
📣 Quotable
"Repealing marijuana legalization would not make it go away. It will still be here, being used, but it won’t be regulated and it won’t be as safe,” The Mashpee Enterprise, a Cape Cod newspaper, wrote in an editorial opposing the campaign to repeal legalization in the state,
💭 Thought bubble
Potency caps = illicit market subsidies
Another day, another NYT editorial about the dangers of cannabis. Like we wrote last week, the paper of record has truly picked its stance on the issue (my letters to the editor have, so far, been ghosted).
This one, by Dr. Sivabalaji Kaliamurthy, is at least more balanced. It promotes tighter regulation, rather than a return to prohibition. At the same time, one of Dr. Kaliamurthy’s key policy recommendations is to cap raw flower potency at 5%.
But heavy consumers, who have tolerances, drive the most purchasing decisions. A 5% potency cap is effectively a subsidy to the illicit market. If the legal market won’t meet demand, the illegal market will be more than happy to fill in the gaps.
-JB
⏩ Quick hits
Canada's cannabis sales just hit back-to-back records
Cannabis stores across Canada sold $517.8 million worth of product in June and $510.4 million in May, both topping the previous high of $508.6 million from December. Statistics Canada also revised May's number up by $25.3 million from its initial estimate, largely on a BC sales jump that pushed the province past Alberta into the number two spot.
Minnesota's hemp industry is dying before the ban even arrives
The state's licensed hemp farmer count has dropped from more than 400 at its peak to just 46 this year, with processors already cutting hours as the federal THC ban looms. The Senate bought the industry a one-month reprieve, but the House hasn't moved.
👨⚖️ Lawsuits
Massachusetts' cannabis regulator saga gets a $3 million sequel
Shannon O'Brien, the former Cannabis Control Commission chair who was fired, reinstated, and then ousted again under a leadership overhaul, sued Treasurer Deb Goldberg for $2.95 million over alleged whistleblower and civil rights violations. It lands as Goldberg runs for a fourth term this fall.
New Mexico operators sue to stop a track and trace switch
Two dispensaries and the state's trade group sued to block the state's forced migration off BioTrack, arguing the mandatory replacement, NMS2S, isn't tested and would freeze testing, transfers and inventory for up to six days right as fall harvest hits. The non-retail shutdown begins Aug. 25, with BioTrack gone for good on Sept. 4.
🧳 People moves
The International Cannabis Bar Association named five members to its 2026-2028 board: returning member Zack Kobrin of Saul Ewing, plus newcomers Kyle Finnegan (Ice Miller), Steve Okoroha (Lawyer Up Legal Services), Jason Moscovici (Provisions Legal Services), and Jason Adelstone (Harris Sliwoski).
Jen Lockwood, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Green Monké Drinks, announced on LinkedIn that she was stepping away from her day-to-day at the company to pursue her Doctor of Naturopathy.
📊 Stat of the day
Cannabis is officially more popular than tobacco. Seventeen percent of Americans report smoking cannabis, per a new Gallup poll, compared to 11% who smoke cigarettes.
📰 What we’re reading
Why getting high has only gotten cheaper | The New York Times