Good morning.
Today 10 AM Eastern today, we’ll stream our second episode of Banker on Call, our regular feature produced in partnership with Shield Compliance. Today’s episode: Navigating Cannabis Tax Season - Insights for Operators, features a conversation between Tony Repanich of Shield Compliance and Jill Scher of CBIZ. Tune in on LinkedIn.
Let’s get to it.
-CC, JR
Today’s newsletter is 1,143 words or about a 9-minute read.
💡 What’s the big deal?
HEMP
Edible Arrangements opens a brick-and-mortar store
What happened: The parent of Edible Arrangements is opening its first brick-and-mortar location dedicated to hemp-based THC offerings despite the looming November hemp ban.
The store, located in Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood, is set to open Thursday, roughly a year after Edibles.com entered the market with an expansion plan to deliver and sell delta-9 beverages, gummies, and drink enhancers nationwide.
What they’re saying: Edibles.com executive vice president and general manager Thomas Winstanley told Cultivated on Tuesday it took time to work out some design concerns and the final location.
“We prioritized finding the right space, in the right location, with strong proximity to our core customer base, which naturally extended our timeline,” he said.
“Rather than rushing to market, we focused on getting the experience exactly right.”
Why it matters: The launch could signal some company optimism amid negotiations on Capitol Hill to reach some compromise on the sale and production of intoxicating hemp products before the Nov. 12 deadline.
The store was originally pegged to rollout last summer, company officials told me about a year ago.
The flagship Atlanta store was intended as a prototype franchising model to expand the concept to other markets, Winstanley told me about a year ago.
“Our goal over time is to be able to make this more accessible, where entrepreneurs who are interested in coming into the category can come in, whether through licensing or franchise model, and open up a storefront where they sell these products under this banner,” he said at the time.
Retail was always a long-term strategy to expand product access, he reiterated Tuesday.
“Having spent years developing dispensaries in highly regulated markets, this was a unique opportunity to build a retail experience with fewer constraints,” the former chief marketing officer of Theory Wellness told Cultivated.
What’s next: You can expect Georgia-based Edible Brands, which launched its e-commerce marketplace in March 2025, to leverage the financial strength and resources of Edible Arrangements, a powerhouse that generates about $500 million in annual sales from its bouquet-shaped fruit baskets.
Winstanley told me last year the subsidiary was working with lobbyists and trade groups to help influence policy.
“We know at the end of the day, that's all we can do. You can't control policy, but you can do your best to influence it,” he said at the time.
For more from Winstanley, check out his appearance on Cultivated Live last year.
-CC
💬 Quotable
“I support anybody making their own decisions,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told the Cincinnati Enquirer when asked about recreational cannabis.
“The state of Kentucky should be deciding the marijuana laws for the state of Kentucky, not the federal government.
In the wide-ranging interview with the newspaper, the congressman who has clashed with President Trump over the release of the Epstein files, also said he prefers “medicated margaritas.”
⏪ In case you missed it
In the inaugural episode of our new segment in partnership with the Canadian Securities Exchange, Jay sits down with Zachary George, CEO of SNDL — one of cannabis's most consequential and unconventional public companies. $SNDL.CSE ( ▼ 3.23% )
⏩ Quick hits
A proposal from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to restrict the sale of various hemp-derived THC edible products drew criticism from the industry and Democratic State Sen. John Cavanaugh, who is running in a congressional primary. The language would classify foods with cannabinoids as “adulterated” under the Nebraska Pure Food Act, effectively barring them from sale, reports KETV in Omaha.
A bill is expected to pass the Massachusetts legislature this week that would overhaul the Cannabis Control Commission. The legislation would reduce CCC members from five to three, allow retailers to double locations to six and void the requirement of vertically-integrated medical cannabis companies, a structure that overwhelmingly favors large, multistate operators while nearly eliminating small, independent businesses from the market, reports WBTS-TV.
Ohio Judge Jeremiah Ray halted the implementation of a new Ohio law prohibiting intoxicating hemp products that was set to go into effect on March 20. The temporary restraining order, according to Cannabis Business Times, freezes law enforcement efforts of Senate Bill 56, which was signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in December.
West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack will release $38 million in dormant medical cannabis funds under the state's original 2021 law, splitting the money between the Office of Medical Cannabis, substance abuse treatment, and law enforcement. The move comes days after Gov. Patrick Morrisey vetoed a bill that would have redirected the funds elsewhere. Read more.
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
In the run-up to 4/20, Portland-based Grön, which was acquired in a January blockbuster deal by Oregon edibles competitor Wyld, released PIXLZ, a Nerds Gummy Clusters-like candy. It’ll be available at licensed cannabis retailers in New York and Arizona.
For more on the Grön and Wyld deal, read Lit Alerts’ exclusive insights on how the deal shakes up in New York, New Jersey, and other markets.
💰 Earnings roundup
Grown Rogue reported a Q4 net loss of $2.1 million on $8.8 million in revenue. For the full year, the Oregon-based multistate operator posted net income of $3.2 million on $32.4 million in revenue, up 22% year over year. The company guided 2026 revenue to $32-$35 million and Adjusted EBITDA to $6-$8 million, and set 2027 targets of $50-$58 million in revenue and $14-$18 million in Adjusted EBITDA as New Jersey, Illinois, and Minnesota operations scale. $GRUSF ( ▼ 1.36% )
🧳 People moves
New York City-based Rudick Law Group, a cannabis law firm, has added Juliana Salazar, a Columbia-based attorney with a decade of experience in corporate law, market-entry strategies, compliance, operations and entrepreneurship. More on LinkedIn.
🔬 Science & research
A new University of Georgia study published in the American Journal of Health Economics found that dispensary openings in legal states were tied to significant reductions in opioid outcomes, including smaller opioid prescriptions for patients where medical cannabis was available. Researchers reviewed insurance claims from 2007 to 2020. Read more.
📰 What we’re reading
Is the high over for hemp drinks? | The Wall Street Journal