Welcome to September.
Verano Chief Investment Officer Aaron Miles joins Jay and Jeremy on Cultivated Live at 10 AM. See you there »
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
This newsletter is 541 words or about a 5-minute read.
💡 What’s the big deal?
LEGALIZE IT
Legalization didn’t increase teen cannabis use
What happened: A new review of 329 studies found teen cannabis use did not rise uniformly following state legalization, cutting against a core claim from prohibition-aligned groups.
The review looked at studies on how different cannabis regulatory policies affect public health, criminal justice, and other outcomes. It was published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse on August 26.
The proof:
Adolescent use showed no uniform increase across studies published from 2020 to 2025.
Some groups showed more frequent use, lower risk perception, accidental ingestion, and increases in emergency-care and use-disorder outcomes.
Illicit markets persisted where legal products cost more or were harder to access than illicit alternatives.
Adult use and legal purchasing rose most where commercialization expanded fastest.
What they’re saying: “Legalization is best understood as a regulatory process,” the researchers write.
Go deeper: The finding lines up with an argument I made last week.
Legalization and commercialization are different variables, and outcomes depend not on legalization itself but on how states regulate the commercial market. You can read that here.
And more: A small Johns Hopkins pilot study found that a big enough oral THC dose felt like tripping on psilocybin to the participants. It’s a fun paper.
-JB
📣 Quotable
“That horse is out of the barn,” Rep. Morgan Griffith told Politico of the fight within his party over hemp-derived THC products. “What we need to do is corral it.” Griffith is behind a bill that would set federal standards for hemp THC products.
The House is set to vote on the Senate-passed bill that would delay the hemp ban for one month this week.
⏩ Quick hits
Campus cannabis use carries one-year sentence in Louisiana
A tweet from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry reminded us of how far the U.S. still has to go on cannabis reform: Cannabis use near a school or university campus carries a one-year jail sentence in the state. Consider that with the fact that people can buy cannabis legally in 24 states. It’s a bizarre state of affairs.
Is Missouri's hemp ban unconstitutional? A judge will decide
A federal judge is deciding whether to let a constitutional challenge to Missouri's intoxicating hemp ban proceed before it takes effect Nov. 12. The Missouri Hemp Trade Association says the law simultaneously calls the same product legal hemp and illegal marijuana, while the state insists its carve-outs make the hierarchy "that simple." Read more from the Missouri Independent.
🚀 Deals, launches, partnerships
Curaleaf is opening a new store in Cutler Bay, Florida on September 1st, its eighth in Miami-Dade County. That brings the company's Florida count to 76 stores and its nationwide total to 177. $CURLF ( ▲ 0.41% )
📰 What we’re reading
How Rhode Island’s messy cannabis legalization rollout is affecting the race for attorney general | The Boston Globe
What’s happening behind the doors of retirement communities? | cleveland.com