Good morning.
We want to share a quick update on the Midwest Cannabis Forum.
After the overwhelming response to the event, we’ve decided to move the Forum from March to May (new date coming soon). You can read more about why we’re shifting dates below. For the sizeable group that have already purchased tickets, you’ll be getting a ticket refund today.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH
Today’s newsletter is 1,084 words or about a 7-minute read.
💡 What’s the big deal?
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Same cannabis song in Granite State 🪨
A new cannabis legalization bill in New Hampshire failed yet again.
The bill, HB 186, was passed by the state House but voted down by a Senate committee, suffering the same fate that similar bills tend to face every year.
What they’re saying: "Water is wet and the senate won't pass legalization," said Matt Simon, Director of Public and Government Relations for Granite Leaf, a medical cannabis company.
Simon, who has also been a long-time advocate for legalization in New Hampshire, said he was not surprised by the move, though he noted that the bill would likely get a vote on the Senate floor despite the committee's recommendation to reject it, because state law allows it.
"There's still going to be a senate vote, but this one will go probably down. All the Democrats will vote for it with maybe one or two Republicans, then we'll move onto election year," he added.
New England’s ‘Donut Hole’ of legalization: For almost the last decade, efforts to legalize in New Hampshire have made it past the State House, while failing in the more-conservative Senate, with pressure increasing each year that a neighboring state enacts legal cannabis sales.
New Hampshire, a state that lacks state income taxes and has a regional reputation for opposing high taxes, would charge 8.5% on cannabis purchases under the proposed bill.
Vermont consumers can expect up to 21% tax on their purchases based on excise and local rates. Massachusetts purchases fetch as much as 20%, while Maine taxes 14%.
Not done yet: Despite the failure, there are still New Hampshire bills in play.
HB 1235 would allow for simple possession without allowing a fully-fledged legal market, while CACR 19 would put legalization on the ballot.
The ballot effort would need 60% of the House and 60% of the Senate, along with two-thirds of voters. A Granite State Poll from last year found that 70% of New Hampshire residents support legal cannabis.
-ZH
📣 Quotable
"We've seen a dramatic increase in teens vaping with THC — that's marijuana — in the last administration, in the 4 years prior to us coming into office. So we are taking this very seriously ... the marijuana today is not the marijuana of hippies ... it is a controlled substance," FDA Director Dr. Marty Makary told Fox Business this morning.
Reporter Aaron Rupar posted the clip on Twitter/X.
📹 In case you missed it
Wednesday’s Cultivated LIVE featured Stacey Hronowski, Co-Founder and CEO of Canix, who discussed the company’s recent acquisition of Trym and what it means for the future of cannabis technology.
⏩ Quick hits
Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O'Brien continued to butt heads with CCC staff during a Feb. 10 meeting over payment extensions for a testing lab that was fined last year for under-reporting the presence of microbials.
Maryland Cannabis Administration Director Tabatha Robinson said she hopes to see 60 new dispensaries open in the state by this fall. Most are expected to come from social equity licenses that were awarded last year.
Missouri cannabis tax revenue hit $255 million in 2025, which is about six times as much as the state predicted for 2025 when adult-use was legalized in 2022.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Assembly Bill A10140, which intends to correct the proximity issue, which put the licenses for at least 150 dispensaries in jeopardy due to confusion over how close dispensaries could be located to schools. The new rules codify OCM's old methodology which measured distance of a dispensary based on the school's entrance, rather than its property line.
MIDWEST CANNABIS FORUM
A Message from Cultivated & Grown In
We want to share a quick update on the Midwest Cannabis Forum.
After the overwhelming response to the event, we’ve decided to move the Forum from March to May (new date coming soon).
Why the shift?
First, demand exceeded our initial expectations. Because this event is intentionally curated and application-based, we want to make sure we can properly accommodate the level of interest — which means rethinking our venue approach to create the right experience and room size.
Second, with little meaningful movement from the federal government since December, we believe pushing the event later into the spring allows us to host the Forum at a moment when there’s more clarity — and more substance — around rescheduling, capital markets, and policy shifts that directly impact Midwest operators.
And third, we want to do this right. The Midwest Cannabis Forum isn’t meant to be just another event on the calendar. It’s designed to be a high-signal, operator-driven gathering that reflects what’s actually happening in this region — and taking a bit more time ensures we deliver exactly that.
We’re energized by the response and grateful for the enthusiasm. A new date and updated details will be announced shortly.
Thank you for your support — and we look forward to bringing this room together soon.
Brad Spirrison, Grown In & Jay Rosenthal, Cultivated
🧑⚖️ Lawsuits
A federal judge tossed a lawsuit from New Mexico cannabis operators challenging Border Patrol seizures at interior checkpoints, ruling that because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, the confiscations were lawful.
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
Safe Harbor Financial extended its banking partnership with Partner Colorado Credit Union through 2031, lifting its share of cannabis-loan interest to up to 65% and adding an estimated $9 million in revenue over the term.
Former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill partnered with hemp-THC seltzer brand hi Seltzer to pitch THC as an alcohol alternative, a partnership that comes after he quit drinking, spoke openly about PTSD and ibogaine treatment in Mexico, and launched his own cannabis company, Operator Canna.
Gotham launched the Gotham Growth Project, a six-session accelerator for growth-stage New York cannabis brands from underserved communities, with an inaugural cohort focused on Black-owned businesses
📰 What we’re reading
When immigration enforcement collides with legal weed | Green State