Key takeaways from MJBiz in Vegas 🎰

MJBIZ 
Jeremy’s key takeaways from Vegas 🎰

By the time you read this, we’ll be gearing up for our last day in Vegas. 

Coming to MJBizCon each year feels a bit like a homecoming — it’s so nice to see everyone in person after a year of mostly interacting through screens or screaming at each other on social media (I kid).

Writing helps me collect my thoughts, so here are some of my takeaways from a few days, a couple parties, and what felt like hundreds of conversations this week:

Managing lean

Operators are all talking about how to manage lean. The industry is capital starved, and no white knights are coming to the rescue, at least until there’s some federal reform in the US. For now, everyone’s trying to control costs and focus on their unit economics. Private credit appears to be one of the few sources of capital available, and even then, it’s challenging. 

On that front, MJBiz felt lean. The conference floor was far more sparsely attended than years past. I still found it to be very productive, and many of the panel sessions I attended were great, but it is a sign of the times. 

Hemp and cannabis coalesce on a low-dose beverage carve-out

Maybe I’m an eternal optimist, but it feels like the hemp and cannabis industries are trying to coalesce on some level of reform as the shot clock on the hemp ban winds down. Edibles.com’s Thomas Winstanley joined our show on Wednesday and discussed some frank, difficult, but ultimately productive conversations. 

Still, no one knows what’s coming down the pike — but my conversations reveal that there’s an increased focus on getting a low-dose beverage carve-out in the next Farm Bill, or perhaps before. 

Canadians want to export

Export markets are becoming a big growth story for Canadian operators and some US firms. Germany and Israel are big cannabis import markets. The EU is opening, and Canadian firms benefit from predictable federal regulations and listings on premiere, liquid exchanges unlike their US counterparts. 

High Tide opened in Berlin, and Vahan Ajamian, the company’s capital markets advisor, shared with us on our live show that it's just a first step to getting Germans familiar with the brand. US companies are doing deals too, but the regulatory environment is far less favorable for them. 

Smoke… but no fire on US federal reform

I made a rather tongue-in-cheek tweet about what I’ve been hearing from some well-placed sources on the federal policy front. I’m about as bearish as it gets on Trump/cannabis (for good reason, I think) but I did hear some tidbits that were intriguing. There is smoke, but I’m not sure there’s any fire yet. Don’t trade based on tweets, kids. 

Despite Elon Musk’s insistence that X is the media now, pretty much everything on there is unvetted and shot from the hip, my own tweets included. That’s why they’re tweets, not published stories. But let me be clear: My tweet was not a vetted, published story with on-the-record sources. Nor did the sources I spoke with actually discuss rescheduling, just “an announcement.” I was trolling a bit, but the information I heard is real and credible. Still, media literacy is not hard, people. 

Support. Cannabis. Media.

I sat on a cannabis media panel and talked to the few professionals still remaining in the cannabis press corps. It’s dwindling. Here’s my selfish call for the industry to help support industry media. If you want stories told well, accurately, and full of the complexity that all of you work through in your challenging jobs daily, we can do it.

Mainstream media often parachutes in, stirs up controversy, and reports both inarticulately and often inaccurately about cannabis. Look at the recent drumbeat of anti-cannabis stories, relying on Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s Kevin Sabet as an expert.

We know better. Support us. 

Last, I wanted to say how thankful our little Cultivated team is for all of you reading, watching, and engaging with us. The feedback we received from all of you was amazing, and there were even a few instances at parties where people recognized us.

That’s awesome, and a great shot in the arm to keep at it!

-JB

Ohio's hemp ban injunction extended to the end of January 🌿

A state judge in Ohio postponed a scheduled injunction hearing on Dec. 2 thanks to a snow storm in the Buckeye state. As a result, the injunction against Gov. Mike Dewine's hemp ban is extended until Jan. 29 when the hearing is now set to take place.

Mass. CCC forms Red Tape Removal Committee 🚧

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission approved the creation of a Red Tape Removal Committee, composed of several cannabis operators and business advocates. The committee will discuss current regulations to find ways to ease some of the burdens they may be creating for cannabis businesses. 

Maine orders contaminated vape recall 🤮

Maine's Office of Cannabis Policy announced a recall for vape products from Yani. Four separate vape products that were sold between spring of 2025 and October were found to have unsafe levels of pesticides and arsenic. The products were reportedly sold in 26 different dispensaries across the state. 

Jay and Jeremy chatted with Gotham founder Joanne Wilson from our Vegas set about our new partnership and vision for The Highrise, our inaugural, invite-only salon on January 29.

Check it out below, and go here to apply to attend!

Curaleaf opened its 70th dispensary in Florida with a new shop in New Cape Canaveral. 

Study finds insufficient evidence of medical cannabis benefits⚕️

A new review published in JAMA found a lack of credible evidence that cannabis is effective in treating symptoms for many ailments. The exceptions included those suffering from HIV, the side effects of chemotherapy and pediatric seizures. While there is ample anecdotal evidence of the benefits of medical cannabis, there is clearly still more need for research.

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Five years of legal cannabis in Arizona: what's changed and what needs work | GreenState