Good morning and happy Friday.
Three things you should know today:
Thing 1: Today is the final day to submit your nominees for Cultivated Thirty Thirties powered by White Ash Group. For all you procrastinators out there, today is The Day.
Thing 2: At Noon Eastern/9 AM Pacific, we’ll be launching a new feature on our YouTube and LinkedIn channels - This Week in Cannabis LIVE. It’s a program we’re producing alongside our partners at High Spirits: The Cannabis Business Podcast and Cannabis Musings. So, join us on LinkedIn or YouTube later today.
Thing 3: We’ve been publishing a This Week in Cannabis Puzzle for the past few weeks - a crossword for Cultivated readers. Check out today’s puzzle.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH, NM
This newsletter is words or about a -minute read.
Today’s newsletter made possible by:
📣 Quotable
“The unknown of what’s coming out of Omnium is a headline or two away from causing a loss of consumer trust in this industry,” Mack Hueber, the president of the Empire Cannabis Manufacturers Alliance, a state trade association, told the New York Times. “And if that happens, everything that New York has been building could go away very quickly.
Operators in New York are worried about the market developing a bad reputation due to the actions alleged to have taken place at Omnium Health. Earlier this week, the New York Office of Cannabis Management announced charges against the processor for allegedly allowing out-of-state operators to use their facility.
⏩ Quick hits
Ohio issues edible recall for missing THC symbol 🍬
The state's Department of Commerce ordered the recall of three different varieties of Kiva Lost Farms pectin gummies, sold in about 56 different stores across Ohio. The edibles, manufactured by Klutch Processing, were missing a THC symbol. The state requires the warning symbol to be placed on each individual serving, which is a single gummy.
Kentucky’s medical market is ramping up 🌿
The state expects to have approved at least one license at every stage of the medical cannabis supply chain following an inspection of what would be the first licensed processor. There are also now about 15,000 registered medical patients in the state. Aside from processing, the state is still waiting for its first harvest. Gov. Andy Beshear, who previously pledged the first sales would come before the end of the year, shared updates on Oct. 23 during his weekly live-streamed address.
Minnesota developing a secondary license market 🪪
After awarding 324 licenses through second sets of lotteries, Minnesota has developed a secondary license market where an estimated 80 licenses are currently for sale. Fox 9 in Minneapolis has more.
📺 In case you missed it
On Thursday's Cultivated Live, Jeremy was joined by the co-founders of cannabis beverage brand Levia to hear about their startup story, selling the brand to Ayr Wellness, and then eventually buying it back. It’s an interesting story worth your time.
Watch it:
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
MariMed enters the New York market 🗽
Based out of Norwood, Mass., MariMed announced on Oct. 23 that it reached a licensing agreement with New York-based Farm 2 Hand to produce MariMed products, starting with edibles. Licensing deals are a key path for out-of-state, publicly traded cannabis firms to gain access to the New York market. $MRMD ( ▲ 10.73% )
Emerald Intel acquires Cannabiz Media 📊
Consolidation in cannabis data: Emerald Intel will acquire Cannabiz Media. “This acquisition represents a pivotal step forward for the cannabis industry and advances Emerald Intel’s mission to build the definitive source for industry intelligence,” Emerald Intel CEO John Stanfill said.
📰 What we’re reading