Good morning.
At 10 am Eastern, join us for Cultivated Live with Morgan Tweet, founder of IND HEMP, and Howard Lee, co-founder of Sorse Technology to talk about the hemp ban delay that was voted on in Congress this past weekend. Tune in on LinkedIn » and YouTube ».
Let’s get to it.
-JR
Today’s newsletter is 882 words or about a 6.5-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
💡 What’s the big deal?
HEMP
A new bill would regulate hemp drinks like alcohol 🍹
What happened: With the vote to delay the hemp ban in the Senate now passed, lawmakers are pushing their proposals.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24) introduced the Beverage Regulatory Parity Act. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) signed on as co-sponsor.
The bill sets up a three-tier distribution system for hemp-derived THC beverages, mirroring alcohol regulation, with oversight split across the Department of Agriculture, HHS, and the Treasury's Tax and Trade Bureau.
The looming federal deadline, now set for December 11, could wipe out the hemp beverage market.
What they're saying: "The Beverage Regulatory Parity Act brings long-overdue certainty to the industry by regulating these beverages with the same proven structure that has successfully governed alcohol for decades," said Rep. Van Duyne.
Why it matters: The clock’s ticking to get a deal done before the deadline hits. This bill has specific rules.
Products must use US-grown hemp, cap out at 5mg total THC per serving, and ban synthetic cannabinoids outright while expressly protecting natural Delta-9, CBD, and CBG.
It also imposes a federal excise tax of 8 cents per milligram of THC and product tracking modeled on alcohol's seed-to-sale systems. States keep the right to go stricter or ban the products outright.
The bill says nothing about other hemp product categories. Backers include the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Total Wine & More, and the Hemp Beverage Alliance, alongside several industry groups.
What's next: The bill heads to committee, with no hearing date set. It joins a long list of hemp and cannabis bills circulating around Congress, including Rep. Andy Barr’s Lawful Hemp Protection Act.
-JB
🗨️ Quotable
“There are a couple industries that are opposed to hemp that also sell hemp — meaning the cannabis industry,” Sen. Rand Paul told Marijuana Moment. “The cannabis industry and some of the alcohol industry don’t like it because it competes.”
An interesting window into how Sen. Paul sees it…
⏩ Quick hits
One THC test can put a new mom on a child abuse registry for a decade
A CBS News and Marshall Project investigation found at least a thousand Idaho mothers landed on the state's child abuse registry after a single positive THC test, barring them from hospital, daycare, and school volunteer work for ten years. New moms of Black newborns were referred to law enforcement roughly two-and-a-half times more often than mothers of white babies across the eight states studied. A stark, shameful reminder that legalization is far from over.
Delaware's cannabis market missed its first-year target by $228 million
Delaware's recreational market pulled in just $53.4 million in year-one sales, a fraction of the $281 million the state's first marijuana commissioner had projected. Zoning fights, bank-owned real estate, and stalled social equity licenses are keeping most storefronts closed, reports Spotlight Delaware.
NY regulators say equity licensees must control their own businesses
New York's Cannabis Control Board ruled that Gotham Buds LLC, a CAURD dispensary licensee, failed to maintain the sole day-to-day control equity license holders are required to have under state regulation, after OCM found its operating agreements ceded real authority to outside parties.
💰 Earnings
Village Farms' cannabis exports hit a record $20.9 million
Village Farms' cannabis segment revenue grew 5% to $53.5 million in Q2, with international exports leading the way as the company leans on its EU-GMP certified Canadian facility. Cannabis segment adjusted EBITDA hit $15.3 million, a margin of 29%. The stock went up nearly 14% on Monday. $VFF ( ▲ 0.84% )
Safe Harbor Financial's loan income climbs
Safe Harbor Financial reported Q2 2026 revenue of roughly $1.9 million, up 4.8% year over year, with loan program income climbing 50.7% to about $0.8 million. $SHFS ( ▼ 0.22% )
Here’s the rest of the calendar:
Aug. 11
Vireo Growth - 8:00 AM
Ascend Wellness Holdings
Organigram
Aug. 12
Marimed
Aug. 13
Chicago Atlantic - 9:00 AM
🧪 Science & research
JAMA's negative cannabis guidance written by ChatGPT 🤖
JAMA's new patient page says evidence remains insufficient for cannabis and cannabinoids across pain, insomnia, and most mental health conditions. But scroll to the bottom, and you’ll see a disclaimer. The article was written by ChatGPT. Not that we’re anti-AI or anything, but we found that odd to see from a medical journal.
Frequent cannabis users might start the day with more cortisol 🔬
A new Oregon State study published in the journal Cannabis found frequent users wake up with elevated baseline cortisol, though the morning surge itself looked the same as in nonusers. Researchers stopped short of claiming causation, but flagged the finding as a possible biological marker of problematic use.
📰 What we’re reading
Minnesota is the only state with tribal dispensaries off reservations. Now others look to model it. | Minnesota Star-Tribune