Good morning.
Thank you to the huge crew that turned out for the inaugural Midwest Cannabis Forum yesterday at Salvage One in Chicago. It was day filled with critical cannabis conversations, incredible networking, and some delicious only-in-Chicago eats. It was great to be with the Grown In team to make the day possible. More on what we learned on Monday.
For today, join us at 10 AM Eastern for our latest stream from the Canadian Securities Exchange with Taz Turner CEO of CordovaCann. LinkedIn » and YouTube »
And then at Noon Eastern, we’ll be joined by our friends at High Spirits and Cannabis Musings for This Week in Cannabis Live on LinkedIn and YouTube.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 511 words or about a 4-minute read for your Friday morning.
💡 What’s the big deal?
NUGGMD x CULTIVATED
The NuggMD-Cultivated Cannabis Consumer Economic Anxiety Index 📊
In the latest Cannabis Consumer Anxiety Index with NuggMD, 55% of 534 consumers polled said the economy would have no impact on their cannabis spending over the next three months, up from 52% in Q4, though 37% said they'd spend less, compared to 40% last quarter.
📣 Quotable
“This funding recognizes both the importance of a strong seed-to-sale tracking system and the financial strain implementation has placed on licensed cannabis businesses across New York,” a group of New York cannabis industry trade groups said about the state’s budget including funding to help operators comply with track-and-trace costs.
“Our groups worked hard to ensure state leaders understood that compliance costs fall especially hard on small and independent operators.”
⏩ Quick hits
Minnesota approves sweeping cannabis overhaul
Minnesota lawmakers have approved a cannabis omnibus bill that merges the state's medical and adult-use supply chains, creates a new "macrobusiness" license, and gives hemp operators a transition pathway ahead of looming federal THC limits. The bill heads to Gov. Tim Walz's desk.
ATACH assembles legal team to defend cannabis rescheduling
The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp has retained Blank Rome's Shane Pennington, widely considered the leading legal expert on cannabis rescheduling, to defend the Schedule III designation against court challenges from prohibitionist groups. ATACH has also filed a notice of intent to participate in a DEA hearing on rescheduling set to begin June 29.
Cannabis farm receipts mark largest increase since 2020
Canadian cannabis farm receipts rose 16.9% in 2025 to $2.56 billion — the largest production increase since 2020 — while recreational sales hit $5.5 billion for the fiscal year, a 6.1% gain but a slowdown from prior years. Inhaled extracts were the fastest-growing category, reaching nearly a third of total sales.
⏪ In case you missed it
In our Banker on Call segment yesterday, Shield Compliance CEO Tony Repanich was in conversation with Jill Scher from CBIZ to talk about the latest with 280E and what rescheduling means for bankers and operators.
🧳 People moves
Safe Harbor Financial appointed cannabis regulatory veteran Tyler Klimas and communications strategist Sean Tonner to its board of directors. $SHFS ( ▲ 0.32% )
📰 What we’re reading
Rokita wants to block federal marijuana shift | Indiana Capital Chronicle