Good morning.
Good morning and welcome back. It feels like real September has officially kicked off now that we’re all back in the office.
Who’s ready for a huge cannabis fall?
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 414 words to ease you into your post-long weekend week or about 3-minute read.
💭 Quotable
The New York Post ran an editorial castigating the state’s Cannabis Control Board for the union-wage proposal:
“State government apparently hasn’t screwed up pot legalization badly enough yet: Now it’s looking to dictate wages for “budtenders,” certified “ganjiers” (cannabis sommeliers) and “trimmers” at legal-MJ shops.”
⏩ Quick hits
New York will pick up the tab for Metrc tags
The Office of Cannabis Management started covering licensees' Metrc inventory tags on Sept. 1, using money Gov. Hochul added in the 2026-27 budget. OCM projects the allotment will cover most tag costs for 12 months, though past purchases won't be reimbursed and licensees still pay shipping. Tag costs were a core complaint in the lawsuit and supply chain mess Cultivated reported on in January, when operators put the added burden in the millions. Elsewhere, state cannabis tax dollars funded a free YWCA summer leadership camp in Jamestown, a $100,000 grant that's one of 50 OCM handed out across 24 counties this year.'
Colorado took 15 months to warn consumers about a sleep pill tied to liver damage
A ProPublica investigation with The Denver Gazette found state cannabis regulators average more than seven months between a complaint and a public warning, and took nearly 15 months to tell consumers to stop taking 1906 Midnight Drops after reports of acute liver injury started coming in. The product was Colorado's top-selling cannabis pill, and its maker, Sima Sciences, paid $400,000 last year to settle a state attorney general probe. Regulators disputed the analysis but offered no evidence to the contrary.
📹 In case you missed it
On Friday, Ben Larson from High Spirits and Marc Hauser from Cannabis Musings joined Jay on This Week in Cannabis Live for a lively discussion on hemp’s future and what the $CURLF ( ▲ 4.75% ) $ACB ( ▲ 1.54% ) battle really means for the industry.
🗽 One fun thing
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka called out some fans for smoking courtside at the US Open. We get it, watching tennis while stoned is very fun, but maybe go with an edible next time…
📰 What we’re reading