Happy Friday.
You’ve made it to the end of the week, but don’t forget to tune into This Week in Cannabis Live at Noon Eastern. In addition to the Cultivated, High Spirits, and Cannabis Musing teams — today we’ll be joined by Bryan Fields from The Dime podcast. Tune in on YouTube or LinkedIn.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH
Today’s newsletter is 1,283 words or about a 9-minute read.
💡 What’s the big idea?
O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A
Oklahoma’s not OK
The fight over Oklahoma's medical market is heating up: A federal judge recently ruled in favor of about 30 cultivators who sued the state over its new certificate of occupancy rules for cultivation sites. The new rules come from a 2024 law, and retroactively adds to the requirements that cannabis farms have to meet to stay in business.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt says it’s a necessary safety measure, but the industry operators argue that it is a deliberate attack on legal cannabis.
What they're saying: "Politicians in Oklahoma need to understand: you cannot use state agencies as a weapon to destroy legal businesses. The Constitution applies — even in the cannabis industry," said Attorney Dana Kurtz of Wirth Law Office.
Kurtz represented At Joy Growers who sued the Oklahoma state government in federal court after the state shut down their outdoor grow site for failing to obtain certificates of occupancy for two adjacent buildings.
The plaintiffs argued that the state was using its new COO rules to unfairly target outdoor grows.
An anti-pot agenda: Stitt has been a vocal opponent of the state's medical cannabis industry. In his Feb. 2, State of the State address, Stitt called for medical legalization to return to the ballot in the hopes that voters shut down the industry.
In his speech, he characterized legalization, which voters approved in 2018, as being the result of "out of state liberal activists" who preyed upon Oklahomans. He also said that the state's medical industry was a threat to public safety that "enables cartel activity, human trafficking, and foreign influence."
Zoom out: Oklahoma's medical market exploded shortly after the 2018 legalization vote, fueled in part by the state's relatively low barrier to enter the market. Applicants needed $2,500 and at least 1 year of state residency. Straw buyers made it possible for anyone to open a cultivation site, and within a short time, Oklahoma had more cannabis licenses than California.
Over the last few years, those numbers of operating businesses dropped dramatically as the state revamped its licensing requirements and started cracking down on scofflaw operators.
There were over 9,000 active cultivation licenses in the state by 2021. Currently, that number is down to just over 2,000.
The governor openly wants to eliminate the industry, but the legal operators are not going down without a fight.
-ZH
📣 Quotable
"Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III does not solve every regulatory or clinical challenge, but it does represent a powerful alignment of federal policy with medical evidence, one that would expand research, empower clinicians and, most important, better serve patients who rely on cannabinoid therapies," Dr. Susanna Kmiecik, an assistant professor at Georgetown and an anesthesiologist, writes in an op ed for The Washington Times.
⏩ Quick hits
The median price per pound in Colorado hit a record-breaking low of $608 on Monday, according to the state's Department of Revenue.
Prices are also hitting new lows in Massachusetts where the average price of a gram has hovered close to $4 over the last few months, causing more businesses to struggle.
The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce approved the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, which would prohibit websites from advertising cannabis, among other things, on platforms that were accessible by minors. If signed into law, this could complicate the industry's ability to promote itself on social media.
Ohioans for Cannabis Choice has started gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would roll back SB 56, which limits the state's cannabis regulations and creates new penalties for violators.
Regulators in Massachusetts voted to extend the state’s social equity exclusivity period for delivery licenses until 2029.
📺 In case you missed it
Jay talked to MariMed CFO Mario Pinho and CCO Ryan Crandall about their company's Q4 and what’s next on Thursday’s Cultivated Live. Come for the insights into MariMed’s business, stay for Jay nailing the opener. $MRMD ( ▼ 3.02% )
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
LEEF Brands announced $4.5 million in new financing that could go as high as $8 million. The round was led by Mindset Capital, and the company said it appointed Jamie Mendola to its board of directors. Read more from Mindset’s Aaron Edelheit here. $LEEF.CSE ( ▼ 4.55% )
Grown Rogue has entered its fourth state with the purchase of a turnkey facility in Illinois. $GRUSF ( ▲ 5.96% )
Verano announced that it successfully refinanced $195 million in senior debt at 9.5%, intended to help the company's ongoing growth plans. The rate is relatively low for the cannabis industry, where debt is expensive thanks to federal restrictions on lending.
💰 Earnings roundup
Most of the large cannabis companies reported their Q4 and full-year earnings. It’s fair to say the MSO business model, buying up cannabis licenses in multiple states with different regulatory frameworks, is under pressure:
Verano reported a $183 million loss on $206.6 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025. The loss reflects a sharp decrease from the third quarter result of $9.3 million in income on $202.8 million in revenue. For the full year, the company reported a $261 million net loss on $821 million. $VRNO.TSX ( 0.0% )
Village Farms reported Q4 net income of $2.4 million on $49.6 million in revenue, or $0.02 per share. For the full year, the company posted record net income of $32.4 million on $215.9 million in revenue, or $0.29 per share. $VFF ( ▼ 13.11% )
SNDL reported $11.8 million in income on $252.5 million in revenue. Despite the positive results, the company also reported a $6.35 million loss for the entirety of 2025, on $946 million in revenue. $SNDL.CSE ( 0.0% )
Ascend Wellness reported a net loss of $48.7 million on $120.5 million in revenue for the quarter. The company lost $118.2 million on $500.6 million in revenue for the entirety of 2025. $AAWH ( ▼ 0.93% )
TerrAscend reported a $500,000 loss on $66.1 million in revenue for the fourth quarter. The results also included a $24.5 million loss for the year on $260.6 million. $TSNDF ( ▼ 1.01% )
⚖️ Lawsuits
A federal judge in Florida ruled that a former Metrc exec failed to repay his $100,000 signing bonus after leaving the company in under two years. The judge also found that he violated his non-solicitation agreement when he tried to convince two other parties to not do business with Metrc. Metrc is the track-and-trace provider for New York and other states.
🔬 Science & research
Recreational cannabis legalization in states is associated with a 45% reduction in illicit cannabis market sizes. But the key is policy design: Price (and associated taxes) are crucial factors, per new research published in the International Journal of Drug Policy. Read it here.
Vapes are linked to ‘scromiting’ or cannabis hyperemesis syndrome at a much higher rate than smokers, according to a new study published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. While the study isn’t causal, it’s certainly an interesting correlation and something for policymakers to monitor. Read more.
😜 One fun thing
This Carl’s Jr. tweet had us howling:
📰 What we’re reading
Hemp's Faustian bargain redux | Cannabis Musings
Why has enforcement slowed against Maine’s Chinese marijuana grows? | The Portland Press Herald