DEA calls recreational cannabis sales ‘diversion’

October 22 » The Highrise → Check out the second in our NYC series and apply to attend. Event details coming!
November 12 » Pot Policy and Politics → The second installation of the Midwest Cannabis Forum, this time in St. Louis. Ticket discounts through October 12.
COMING EVENTS → Las Vegas & Buffalo

Stay tuned for more Fall 2026 events coming soon!

Cultivated and Gotham are bringing The Highrise to The Greene Space on October 22, and the lineup is our strongest yet.

The headliner pairs Clint Kellum, who runs California's Department of Cannabis Control, and John Kagia, newly confirmed to lead New York's Office of Cannabis Management. Between them, they oversee the two biggest cannabis markets in America, worth billions combined. Cultivated's Jeremy Berke will moderate a must-see conversation about what’s on their radar about rescheduling, hemp, and helping the industry thrive. 

Joanne Wilson of Gotham, Vlad Bautista of Happy Munkey and Christina de Giovanni of Emerald join Cultivated's Jay Rosenthal to talk about what it takes to build a retail brand that lasts in New York.

And with wholesale prices falling across New York, a panel spanning the whole supply chain will dig into the price of flower. 

Smrita Choubey of Nabis, Rustin Kluge of Ruby Farms, Alison Gordon of Ripped and Rick Bashkoff of Lit Alerts will lay out where the bottom is and how to survive until it arrives.

Attendance is by application, so apply now.

See you there!

“Cannabis legalization and regulation is positive for small businesses, local communities and restorative justice,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, said. “And keeping marijuana legal in Massachusetts is both economic justice and racial justice policy.” 

Safe to say, she’s a no on Question 8, the campaign to repeal legalization in the state.

The DEA opened the door to registering state medical cannabis operators when it moved them to Schedule III in April.

But on Wednesday, the DEA denied a bulk manufacturing application from Denver's MedPharm Research, first filed in 2016. The DEA said in a footnote on the Federal Register post that MedPharm can still apply under the new medical framework.

The agency said MedPharm's parent and sister companies "have been engaged in the manufacture of marijuana for sale in the recreational market...without a registration from DEA."

The DEA said the company’s conduct "constitutes diversion of a Schedule I controlled substance."

That description fits nearly every licensed recreational operator in the country. It’s a sign that federal oversight, while welcome by many in the industry, brings up a host of complications.

"It's a feature, not a bug," said attorney Jeffrey Hoffman, who highlighted the DEA’s decision on social media.

It’s important not to read too much into what this all means yet, but it is certainly interesting.

-JB

For months, New York's top three were untouchable: ayrloom, Florist Farms, and Off Hours locked down the podium.

But below them? Chaos.

Seven of the top ten positions changed hands in September. Dank. by definition. plummeted from #7 to #12. Jaunty slipped to #6. Meanwhile, national powerhouses are executing systematic takeovers: Jeeter exploded +6 spots to #17. Stiiizy methodically climbed from #19 in June to #11 — one position away from cracking the top ten.

The message is blunt: early-mover advantage has expired. Retail buyers are aggressively auditing slow SKUs and replacing them with high-velocity brands. Local provenance and first-mover status no longer guarantee shelf space.

For regional operators still relying on distribution inertia, the warning is clear: defend or lose.

See the full September rankings on Lit Alerts »

Tennessee lawmakers held nearly six hours of hearings on a state cannabis commission proposal for a non-smokable medical program covering nine conditions, including cancer, epilepsy and Parkinson's. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it opposes medical cannabis under any circumstances, calling it "a dangerous drug," but lawmakers from both parties pushed back.

New York's Cannabis Control Board approved a research license for a placebo-controlled trial of VER-01, an oral THC solution, in patients with chronic sciatica pain that non-opioid drugs haven't managed. Upstate Clinical Research Associates in Williamsville will run the New York site for German sponsor Vertanical, with other sites around the country.

Trulieve repaid a $65 million mortgage on its Jefferson County, Florida grow ahead of maturity, cutting its debt to about $225 million. CEO Kim Rivers said the lower interest bill frees up cash for expansion in Georgia and Texas, pending regulatory approvals. $TRLV ( ▲ 1.22% )

A St. Louis jury awarded $10 million to investors in a fight over six licenses, after a trial where one defendant testified that many companies run Missouri dispensaries without state-approved ownership. Regulators just proposed rules to police who exercises "controlling influence" over a licensee, a sign the state is catching up to the equity-for-management deals that built much of its market.

Q&A: Good Feels grows amid cannabis industry uncertainty | Worcester Business Journal

It’s ‘High Time’ For DEA To Answer Questions About Marijuana Rescheduling, State Officials Say | Marijuana Moment