Good morning.
It appears that legalization won’t reappear on Florida’s ballot this year, despite the fact that a recent poll indicates 66% support — well above the 60% needed to pass. While the initiative isn’t totally dead, it’s on life support.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH
Today’s newsletter is 927 words or about a 7-minute read.
💡 What’s the big idea?
RED STATES
Louisiana floats a cannabis pilot 🌿
Driving the news: With legalization bills stalling in multiple states, some markets are soft-shoeing their approach to cannabis reform.
Louisiana could become the latest via HB 373, which creates a cannabis pilot program in the state, allowing its existing medical operators to sell to non-patients during a fixed, three-year period before the state considers a more permanent regulatory change.
State Rep. Candace Newell, a Democrat from New Orleans, filed the bill last week.
What they're saying: “Now that we have a lot of changes and reductions to the federal funding that we’re getting in our states, we can insulate ourselves from the negative impacts of that if we have the tax structure to sustain ourselves,” Newell explained to the Louisiana Radio Network.
The bill would only allow the state's existing medical cannabis providers the chance to sell in the recreational cannabis market.
Louisiana launched its medical market in August, 2019. Since then the number of registered patients has jumped to almost 150,000.
Medical cannabis companies in Louisiana are permitted to open multiple dispensaries, but they will have to select one retail location that would be allowed to become a hybrid shop serving patients and non-patients.
Participating operators would be issued initial adult-use permits on Jan. 1, 2027, with a full permit awarded on July 1. Operators would have to renew their permits annually, until the pilot sunsets on July 1, 2030.
Zoom out: Similarly, North Carolina is also testing the water on legalization with the formation of the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis by way of Gov. Josh Stein's June 4, 2025 executive order.
Stein noted that unregulated hemp has flourished in the state, and his solution is to enact regulations that would legalize recreational cannabis while also reining in hemp.
The advisory council has until March 15 to issue their preliminary recommendations with final recommendations due by the end of the year.
And more: The Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission was created in 2021 to study state and federal policy with the intent of eventually producing regulatory recommendations to launch a medical market in the Volunteer State. The commission released its fourth annual report on Jan. 2, 2025 but so far no changes have been made to the state’s law outside of implementing stricter intoxicating hemp rules.
Kansas lawmakers considered a bill in 2024 that would have created a five-year pilot program for a medical cannabis market, but it ultimately did not pass the legislature.
The final word: As full legalization stalls in conservative legislatures, states are increasingly experimenting with incremental pathways — pilot programs, advisory councils, and tighter hemp regulation — that allow lawmakers to test regulated cannabis markets without fully embracing legalization.
-ZH
📣 Quotable
"Now we're at around 29 in receivership. Sadly I think that list is going to be growing," said Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission member Kimberly Roy during a March 4 meeting.
With the number of distressed businesses increasing in Massachusetts, the CCC discussed increasing its list of recommended receivers, which are pre-vetted by the agency to expedite count appointments.
⏩ Quick hits
Virginia lawmakers passed regulations that would govern the state’s voter-approved legal cannabis market. The bill inches closer to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk, who has indicated support.
After chronic delays, New York operators will officially have to start using Metrc to track inventory this Saturday on March 7.
The Los Angeles City Council is considering an amnesty program for cannabis operators with delinquent tax bills.
Legal cannabis contributed almost $11.6 billion to Canada's GDP in 2025. Much of those gains came from the production side of the industry as Canadian operators have increasingly turned to foreign markets.
Lawmakers in Connecticut are considering a bill that would allow THC beverages in bars.
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
High Tide and NuLeaf Naturals announced that they have joined the U.S. National Compassionate Care Council as founding members. $HITI ( ▼ 1.2% )
Better Days Delivery, a Colorado cannabis delivery service, is shutting down, owner Michael Diaz-Rivera said on LinkedIn. “Entrepreneurship in this industry will test you. It will stretch you. It will humble you,” he said.
The Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition (BAMCO), an alcohol industry trade group, says hemp-derived THC beverages “belong in the regulated beverage marketplace,” with age limits and oversight. Read more.
🧪 Science & research
A study out of the University of Colorado found an increase in the rate of positive urine cannabis tests from 15% to 30% from 2008 to 2015 before that figure plateaued. At the same time the frequency of testing decreased dramatically accounting for 0.04% of visits to UCHealth, down from 0.25%.
📰 What we’re reading
Texas primary candidates weigh in on THC policy ahead of elections | Spectrum News 1
Emerald's MJBizCon's Evolution Amid Industry Overhaul | A Media Operator
The Supreme Court Has a Marijuana Problem | Bloomberg
Cannabis doesn’t quite get a day in court | Cannabis Musings
Restoration as Revolution: Putting Roots Down in Cannabis | Dexter Capital
1