Good morning.
Today’s newsletter is chart and graph-centric. So all you data-loving cannabis people are going to be very happy: teen cannabis use, brands moving up the charts in Maryland, and gross margins for publicly traded cannabis companies. A little something for everyone.
Let’s get to it.
-JR, JB
Today’s newsletter is 550 words or about a 4.5-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
💡 What’s the big deal?
MONITORING THE FUTURE
Cannabis use among teens peaked decades ago 📉
In 1979, 60.4% of 12th graders reported using cannabis at least once in their life. In 2026, only 34.8% did.
The modern legalization movement's effect on youth use rates in the US is basically just after 2010 onward in the chart below. It’s part of the yearly Monitoring the Future survey from the University of Michigan:
There’s a similar peak around 1980 (10.7%), falling by about half to 5.6% in 2025.
-JB
📣 Quotable
“So that’s why we need this legislation to establish a regulatory framework and create a level playing field with other similar products, especially in the drink category,” Rep. Andy Barr, a Kentucky Republican, told the Hemp Industry & Farmers of America group last Thursday.
“We want to create kind of a level playing field with other adult beverages so that farmers will have certainty that they can sell into a mature marketplace with protections that achieves both what we want it to achieve.”
📊 Insights
Today, our friends at Lit Alerts have released the Challenger Brands in Maryland exclusively for Cultivated readers. These are brands pushing their way up into the Top 10 list in Maryland.
The “Challenger” tier is no longer a sandbox for scrappy new startups. It is an aggressive battleground where MSOs use diversified brand portfolios to fill every conceivable product niche, while deep-rooted independents fight back with pure regional loyalty.
The takeaway:
For any independent brand looking to break into Maryland’s Top 10, the strategy cannot be to out-scale the MSOs — it must be to be out-localizing them.
To learn more about Lit Alerts and get a special offer only available to Cultivated readers, visit litalerts.com.
📺 Tune in
Earlier this morning, Gail Rand from Grand Consulting published her tracking data of Gross Margin Percentage for Q4 2025 on LinkedIn.
For five years, she’s been tracking the gross margin for plant-touching publicly-traded cannabis companies, and things took a tick up at the end of 2025.
And, Gail will with Jay later today on Cultivated Live at 10 am Eastern to talk about what it means and what the future may hold. Tune in on LinkedIn or YouTube.
💸 Earnings roundup
Safe Harbor Financial reported Q1 net loss of $1.8 million on $2.0 million in revenue, or $0.43 per share, as revenue rose 2.2% year over year and its operating loss narrowed. $SHFS ( ▼ 10.23% )
🧳 People moves
Splash Beverage Group named cannabis veteran Brady Cobb interim CEO.
📰 What we’re reading
Seesaw rulings on Texas’ smokeable hemp ban is bad for business, retailers say | The Texas Tribune