Good morning.
The DEA judge running the rescheduling hearing gave the agency until October 21 to answer opponents who want to reopen testimony. The hearings have been frozen since last month.
Also: Aurora confirms that it’s talking to companies other than Curaleaf. All that, and more below.
And finally, our partners at Lit Alerts are expanding their East Coast Eighth Index into other categories and other geographies. As a Cultivated reader, you get to see it first.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 1,107 words or about a 9-minute read.
TODAY’S NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
CULTIVATED CALENDAR
October 20 » Sweed x Cultivated Webinar: Turn Green Wednesday traffic into repeat customers
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Visit our revamped Events Page »
What’s the big deal
M&A
Aurora says it’s ‘actively exploring’ alternatives to Curaleaf
Aurora Cannabis on Wednesday once again urged shareholders to reject Curaleaf’s upsized hostile bid, but added that it’s actively exploring alternatives.
“Curaleaf's revised offer still does not reflect the value of the company Aurora shareholders own today,” CEO Miguel Martin said, adding that the company is debt-free with a strong cash position.
Curaleaf upsized its bid from $4 per share to $5 last week. On Friday, I reported that Organigram had explored a potential deal with Aurora, though the discussions don’t guarantee a deal will emerge. Aurora’s Nasdaq-listed shares closed at $4.17 on Tuesday.
In Wednesday’s release, Aurora said it is “actively exploring a range of alternatives,” to Curaleaf’s hostile bid, including other transactions or remaining a standalone company.
Aurora said it has entered into confidentiality or standstill agreements with “multiple parties,” but didn’t disclose who those parties were, or whether Organigram/BAT are among them.
Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan called Aurora’s response “grossly inadequate and negligent to its shareholders,” on X.
When reached for comment, an Aurora spokesperson told me that the company is “actively evaluating strategic alternatives with the goal of maximizing value for shareholders.”
The final word: “Superior proposals or other alternatives may emerge from Aurora's ongoing strategic review process,” Aurora said. “Aurora shareholders are encouraged to wait for the results of that process.”
-JB
Quotable
“Like prohibition, bans don’t work,” Texas Senate Candidate James Talarico said. “In the Senate, I’ll support legalizing marijuana for adults — regulating and imposing taxes on its sales to support public safety and health programs.”
Talarico’s support for cannabis legalization could tip the race in its favor, Republican strategists told Cultivated in August. And check out our interview with Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, Vikki Goodwin.
Thought bubble
MA
SAM’s woes in Massachusetts
Smart Approaches to Marijuana is making itself the face of the likely doomed campaign to repeal cannabis sales in Massachusetts. The anti-cannabis organization’s CEO, Kevin Sabet, said he’s doing it to “put the industry on the defense.”
That is surely happening, especially as SAM’s lobbying arm pumps millions of out-of-state dollars into the campaign. But what’s also happening is that local journalists are scrutinizing the well-funded prohibitionist group’s tactics. And the scorecard isn’t looking good.
Sabet told The Berkshire Edge that the state has no THC limits. Edibles in Massachusetts do. The same reporter asked for sources on Sabet’s psychosis and ER claims. Sabet never got back to him.
I’ve been beating this drum for weeks. SAM’s website is misleading voters about the ballot measure. I’m glad others are finally calling out the organization’s slippery statistics.
-JB
Quick hits
DEA has until Oct. 21 to answer bid to reopen rescheduling hearing
DEA’s chief judge ordered the agency to respond by Oct. 21 to rescheduling opponents, who want new testimony and discovery based on a GAO report that found gaps in how the feds schedule drugs. Until he decides, the hearing stays on hold, and every week it sits there is a week opponents are happy to take.
Kansas Democratic nominee for governor backs legalization
Democratic nominee Cindy Holscher says it’s time for Kansas to legalize, and she’s pinning the blame for the state’s long holdout squarely on her opponent, Senate President Ty Masterson. Her pitch is simple: Kansans are already driving to Missouri and Oklahoma dispensaries, so the state might as well get the tax money.
Insights
LIT ALERTS
The East Coast Eighth Index just got a whole lot bigger
The eighth was never the whole story. Lit Alerts is expanding its East Coast Eighth Index into a full multi-category pricing benchmark, starting with New York — and the data is full of surprises.
A 2.5g pre-roll costs more than a 3.5g pre-roll. A 50mg edible costs more than a 100mg edible. And a full ounce of flower runs 54.7% cheaper per gram than an eighth.
Then there’s the compression: 2g concentrates fell 11.37% in six months, while 0.5g vape carts saw five straight months of price cuts. Meanwhile, 1g pre-rolls and 10mg beverages haven’t budged.
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland roll out next month.
Deal, launches, partnerships
Wiz Khalifa’s Khalifa Kush is heading to New York on Oct. 31 through a cultivation and distribution deal with Skyworld Cannabis.
California’s Glass House Brands earned GACP certification for two greenhouse farms, readying them for overseas medical markets once federal law allows export. $GLAS ( ▼ 4.16% )
Science & research
Study of 420,000 Canadian teens finds store proximity didn’t drive use
A new study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found no consistent link between how close cannabis stores were to secondary schools and whether students used, across four provinces from 2018 to 2023. Past-year teen use fell from 22% to 10% as stores spread, and the authors say limiting how close retailers can be to schools likely does little once a market matures.
Hemp THC drink ban could cost consumers up to $146 million a year
Economists writing in the Journal of Wine Economics say pulling hemp-derived THC beverages off shelves will cost consumers $112 million to $146 million a year, or about $3.32 per person every time they reach for one. The federal ban is still set to take effect Dec. 11 after Congress pushed it back 30 days.
