Good morning.
The eight-year anniversary of Canada legalizing cannabis sales came on Saturday.
It’s interesting to look back — in 2018, it seemed like the US would be right around the corner. After eight years, we’re still awaiting Schedule III, while countries in Europe and around the world weigh legalization. Still, a big takeaway: Despite not being perfect, cannabis is simply “normal” in Canada like any other industry.
Hopefully, things start to move a little quicker south of the border…
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 1,232 words or about a 10-minute read.
TODAY’S NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
CULTIVATED CALENDAR
TOMORROW October 20 » Sweed x Cultivated Webinar: Turn Green Wednesday traffic into repeat customers
October 22 » The Highrise → Check out the second in our NYC series and apply to attend. Details on the website!
November 12 » Pot Policy and Politics → The second installation of the Midwest Cannabis Forum, this time in St. Louis. Ticket discounts through October 12.
COMING EVENTS → Las Vegas & Buffalo
Stay tuned for more Fall 2026 events coming soon!
Visit our revamped Events Page »
What’s the big deal?
MASSACHUSETTS
Cannabis industry mobilizes to defeat Massachusetts repeal campaign
Mobilization drives are under way in Massachusetts to combat a November ballot referendum that aims to repeal cannabis sales.
Industry efforts run the gamut, from the ground game of hosting awareness talks at community centers and dispersing educational materials at dispensaries, to the more traditional like outreach campaigns to local and state lawmakers, to the more personal like budtender interactions with customers.
The overarching goal is to squash the campaign and hopes of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an Alexandria, Va.-based conservative think tank that organized, authored and bankrolled Question 8 on the ballot.
Like many ballot initiatives the language is a bit tricky. A Yes on 8 would repeal recreational cannabis sales, cultivation, taxation and regulation while lowering possession limits and invoking civic penalties. A No on 8 would maintain the status quo.
Ryan Dominguez, who’s leading support efforts for No on 8: Stop the Repeal Campaign, prioritized solidifying the base, while mobilizing the state’s 350 operational dispensaries and thousands of advocates.
“We've done everything from rallies at our state capitol building to going out to each of the stores and putting materials in each of them, so that every patient, every customer that is coming in is aware of the question,” he told Cultivated. “And then making sure they're pledging to vote no on 8 come November.”
Quotable
“We will be in the category on December 12th. We plan to stay in the category. We have to tweak some things within our business model. If it's not federally legal, we'll no longer be able to take credit cards,” Jon Halper of Top Ten Liquors, a Minnesota liquor chain said of hemp-derived THC beverages.
“We literally have three sections and a lot of cooler space dedicated to THC.”
The federal ban on hemp derived THC beverages lands on December 12, unless Congress comes up with a fix. Per state rules, hemp derived beverages are able to contain up to 10 mg of THC and be sold in liquor and grocery stores.
SHIELD COMPLIANCE*
Cannabis banking doesn’t have to be guesswork
For many financial institutions, cannabis banking still feels like a maze of evolving guidance, documentation requirements, and risk questions.
That uncertainty doesn’t just slow down banks and credit unions. It limits access to the financial services operators need to grow.
Shield Compliance helps banks and credit unions turn that complexity into an opportunity to serve cannabis-related businesses with efficient and scalable programs.
Its Cannabis Banking Playbook lays out what a sustainable program looks like, from building the right foundation to managing risk.
Whether you’re a banking professional exploring the space or an operator trying to understand what your bank needs to say yes, it’s a practical place to start.
*sponsored
People moves
Our weekly People Moves run-down is available today for Cultivated Members.
We believe we are putting together the most comprehensive list of this sort in the industry. We know our Members are finding it valuable.
This week, our list includes twenty-five individuals moving up and moving on in the cannabis industry as well as fifty-five job listings throughout the US, Canada, and the rest of the world. All broken down by jurisdiction.
Cultivated Live
Friday’s This Week in Cannabis Live was a good one, with the usual crew.
Jeremy discussed his reporting on Curaleaf’s Aurora bid, and what, if anything, to make of the Organigram CEO’s comments. And Ben Larson of High Spirits broke down the hemp versus cannabis fight emerging between industry trade group ATACH and the Marijuana Policy Project.
Catch up:
Quick hits
Cannabis MSOs carry $2.82 billion in disputed tax bills
Fifteen public cannabis operators held a combined $2.82 billion in uncertain tax liabilities as of June 30, up $47.3 million since January, according to a Marijuana Herald review of SEC filings. April’s medical rescheduling didn’t erase the old 280E fights, and 12 of the 15 saw balances rise in the first half, with Trulieve, Curaleaf, and Verano alone carrying 52% of the total. $TRLV ( ▼ 2.82% ) $CURLF ( ▼ 6.79% ) $VRNO ( ▼ 4.68% )
Hempstead, New York, weighs ending Nassau’s dispensary blackout
Village of Hempstead officials are weighing whether to allow recreational dispensaries, pitching the tax revenue as a way to fund close to $75 million in parks projects. Every town and village in Nassau opted out in 2021 while Queens shops along the county line soaked up their customers, so a yes would be the county’s first crack.
Dark money ad targets Sheehy over hemp THC push
A new 501(c)(4) called NADP Action Fund is attacking Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) in a 30-second spot for working with “shady companies” to keep THC drinks in convenience stores, as he drafts a hemp regulation bill with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) ahead of the Dec. 11 ban. The group doesn’t disclose donors, and industry sources are split on whether it’s licensed cannabis operators eyeing hemp competition or prohibitionists who want both gone.
New Jersey and Illinois head opposite ways on hemp
New Jersey’s Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill letting liquor stores and cannabis retailers keep selling hemp drinks until the federal ban takes effect Dec. 11. Illinois is going the other way, with its Department of Revenue reclassifying any hemp product over 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container as cannabis, sellable only by licensed operators starting Nov. 12.
Science & research
Cannabis tied to restless sleep users don’t report
Cumulative and recent cannabis use were tied to more fragmented sleep and more time awake at night as measured by wrist trackers, according to a Northwestern-led analysis of 1,266 middle-aged adults followed for 35 years and published in JAMA Network Open. Participants didn’t report sleeping any worse, which the authors say means people using cannabis as a sleep aid may not notice the disruption.
