Good morning.
This fall, Cultivated is on the road — The Highrise NYC in October, round 2 of the Midwest Cannabis Forum in St. Louis in November, activations in Las Vegas in early December, and our event debut in Buffalo in mid-December. On top of this daily newsletter reaching the most engaged audience in the cannabis industry, it's shaping up to be our busiest quarter yet.
We work with a great group of partners already — and we've got a handful of spots left across this lineup for companies and brands who want in front of this B2B audience before year-end.
If that's you, grab time on Jay’s calendar and let's talk.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 1,097 words or about a 9-minute read.
📅 CULTIVATED CALENDAR
September 24 » Webinar → Metrc is here. Now what? Making track-and-trace work for your New York cannabis business
October 22 » The Highrise → Check out the second in our NYC series and apply to attend. Event details coming!
What’s the big deal?
HOSTILE
Curaleaf asks regulators to freeze Aurora's stock sales as hostile bid drags on
What happened: Curaleaf has asked the Alberta Securities Commission to bar Aurora Cannabis from issuing new shares while its $4.00-per-share hostile offer stands.
The filing says Aurora has sold about 2.81 million shares through its at-the-market program since Curaleaf first approached in June, at $3.04 apiece.
That's roughly 4.9% dilution and more than $11 million added to the cost of the bid, Curaleaf says. It wants an expedited hearing.
What they're saying: "Every Share Aurora sells below the Offer price raises the same question: if management believes $4.00 undervalues the company and the company has ample cash, why continue diluting its shareholders?" said Curaleaf chairman and CEO Boris Jordan.
Aurora fired back within hours, saying the ATM predates the bid by six months and has been inactive for weeks.
"Curaleaf is attempting to spin a story that simply does not align with the facts," said Aurora CEO Miguel Martin.
Why it matters: Aurora is debt-free with about C$149 million in cash. Curaleaf carries more than $1 billion in debt, including $500 million in notes at 11.5%. Martin's pitch: don't trade a clean balance sheet for levered stock with concentrated voting control.
What's next: Neither side has budged on price. Expect more barbs.
Quotables
There's an easy fix to all the players, media, and fans complaining about the smell of cannabis at the US Open: Let THC drinks be served on premise, and people won't smoke.
A THC-infused honey deuce sounds pretty good to us…
Cultivated Live
Today at 10am ET, Cornbread Hemp co-founder Jim Higdon joins Cultivated Live to break down the hemp THC ban: the last-min ngress returns for December's lame-duck session.
Watch on YouTube » or LinkedIn »
Quick hits
New report warns countries against importing North American cannabis market rules
A new report from Parabola Center for Law and Policy and Open Society Foundations shared with Cultivated argues that testing and product-safety systems can transfer across borders, but licensing regimes, capital thresholds, and ownership rules built for North American markets shut out small farmers and legacy growers when copied elsewhere.
Drawing on three years of convenings in Salem, Prague, and Rio, authors Damian Fagon, formerly of the New York Office of Cannabis Management, and Shanel Lindsay say early design choices lock in who participates, prohibition-era enforcement agencies often keep their power after legalization, and cannabis genetics are being enclosed as private IP faster than laws can protect the communities that developed them.
Michigan's wholesale cannabis tax is $241.6 million short of projections
Michigan collected $37.4 million from its 24% wholesale tax in Q2, bringing the year-to-date total to $73.4 million against a $315 million projection through Oct. 31 for a tax that was expected to raise $420 million a year, Crain's Detroit reported. Based on $1.48 billion in first-half recreational sales, operators should have paid at least $177.7 million to hit the Treasury's 75% minimum, leaving the state more than $104 million short on a tax meant to fund road repairs.
California suspends nearly 1 million square foot cannabis farm after worker death
The Department of Cannabis Control suspended Joel Michaely Farms' license on Sept. 8 and recalled three batches of infused flower after finding "adulterated" product and pesticide violations at the Lake County grow, where 46-year-old worker Yufang Lan died Aug. 27, MJBizDaily reported. A search warrant turned up 55,069 plants, 6,000 pounds of processed cannabis and roughly 20,000 gallons of contaminated liquid at a farm regulators had never inspected since licensing it in July 2025.
Mexico's Supreme Court says personal-use permits cover homemade edibles
The court ruled 7-2 on Sept. 10 that adding cannabis or THC to food for your own consumption is ordinary cooking, not manufacturing a regulated health product, and ordered regulator Cofepris to issue a permit allowing it. The infused food still can't be sold, shared or given away, and Cofepris' limits on cannabis in medicines, supplements, cosmetics and vapes stand.
Cannabis earnings roundup
Canadian retailer High Tide reported fiscal Q3 revenue of C$198.8 million, up 33% year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of C$16.2 million and net income of C$12.7 million. German subsidiary Remexian moved a record 10.2 tonnes of medical cannabis, generating C$38.2 million in revenue and growing its market share to 10.5% from 6.5% at acquisition. $HITI ( ▲ 3.95% )
People moves
Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth is hiring a Social Media & Digital Marketing Manager and a Brand Manager for its recreational portfolio. $CGC ( ▲ 1.15% )
Science & research
Minnesota study of 6,621 cancer patients finds cannabis eases pain, nausea, and anxiety
Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management analyzed purchase data and symptom surveys from 6,621 medical cannabis patients with cancer-related conditions, finding 30% of those with moderate-to-severe pain cut their scores by at least 30% within four months. Nausea and vomiting scores improved for 40% and 47% of patients respectively, and only 15% reported any side effects, most of them mild.
97% of Canadian cannabis retailer websites show apparent marketing violations
A content analysis of 153 licensed retailer websites found nearly all displayed content that appears to breach the Cannabis Act's promotion rules, most commonly inducements like discounts and loyalty programs (86%), followed by endorsements (46%) and youth-appealing content (23%). Government-run retailers fared somewhat better than private ones, and the authors argue Health Canada's complaint-driven enforcement is not keeping pace with a commercialized market. International Journal of Drug Policy.