Good morning.
In today’s, Jeremy gets something off his chest: He’s urging his colleagues in the media to stop conflating potency and dose. Read it and share it around!
All that, plus exclusive data from Lit Alerts about which brands are winning in which boroughs in NYC.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH
Today’s newsletter is 773 words or about a 5.5-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
💡What’s the big deal?
THC
The weed potency myth jounalists keep getting wrong 🌿
There’s a clear pattern with mainstream media coverage of cannabis use: Fear-mongering that the weed of today isn’t your parent’s weed. While the underlying data has merit, they’re conflating the strength of the product with how people actually consume it.
To illustrate this, you’ll see charts or vague hand-waving of statistics showing that average THC content in cannabis has quadrupled since 1990. We saw this recently in The Atlantic (repeatedly) and in Slate. It shows up in breathless press releases from anti-cannabis groups like Smart Approaches to Marijuana, and has even been uttered into the public record by Congressional Republicans. I’m going to put it on the Cultivated record: They’re all misinterpreting science and consumer behavior.
I want to make one thing transparently clear: Potency is not the same as dose. Anyone who’s ordered a beer versus a shot implicitly understands this. Or anyone who has taken the recommended dose of Nyquil when they have a cold, rather than just chugging the bottle. Just because the raw material can — and I use can, because there’s a variety of strains with varying degrees of potency — contain 25% or greater THC content, doesn’t mean every legal cannabis user is mainlining THC.
They may take a few less puffs to achieve their desired effect. That might even be better for consumer health, because they’re inhaling less combusted plant matter. Or, they may purchase edibles, of which a single dose is controlled to 2.5, 5, or 10 mg. And the buyers know the dose is precise, because there’s strict third-party testing in legal jurisdiction, though testing remains imperfect.
Of course, things like potency taxes are being debated in state houses across the U.S.
My personal view is that those taxes create an incentive for regular consumers to buy from the illicit market, but I’ll listen to the data as researchers look into it. It’s a debate worth having, but the market has clearly sent signals to cultivators to push for higher potency, for better or worse. That is capitalism.
I’m not saying some consumers don’t want extra high potency. They surely do and those are valuable customers for cannabis brands. But I am calling on journalists to understand the difference between potency and dose so they can accurately report on consumer behavior and help lawmakers develop policy that protects both economic growth and public health.
-JB
⏩ Quick hits
ATF to update guidance after SCOTUS cannabis and guns ruling 🔫
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives plans to release updated guidance for gun purchase forms in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling allowing cannabis users to legally possess firearms. The ATF said in a Twitter post it was currently reviewing the court ruling and a guidance update would be provided soon.
Legalization rollback ballot effort returns to Maine 🗳️
The effort from out-of-state organizers to re-criminalize adult-use in Maine is back, after missing the deadline to make it to this November's ballot. This time, they have their eyes on 2027 and they are reportedly already gathering signatures.
📊 Insights
LIT ALERTS
NYC brand leaders by borough
Which brands are truly dominating New York's adult-use market?
Lit Alerts just released a comprehensive analysis of H1 2026 sales data — and the results are important to understand.
Ruby Farms achieved an unprecedented feat: sweeping all five boroughs in the pre-roll category. But the story gets more complex from there.
Find. and Jaunty are winning the value wars in the outer boroughs, while RYTHM and Fernway command Manhattan's premium consumers. And dank. proves that hyper-local authenticity still beats corporate scale in the Bronx.
The takeaway?
There's no single NYC strategy. Operators and brands need precise, borough-by-borough strategies to win in NYC.
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
Curaleaf moved all 165 of its retail dispensaries onto Sweed's all-in-one operating platform, completing the 85-store migration across 12 states in under six weeks, Swede said in an email. $CURLD ( ▼ 4.14% )
📰 What we’re reading
'Nobody's going first': Cannabis cases bleeding cash waiting to open, six months after regulations passed | Boston Globe
State Rep. Walks Cannabis Tightrope | New Haven Independent