Cannabis packaging decisions have downstream consequences for compliance, operations, customer perception, and margins. This article offers a practical framework for evaluating packaging suppliers across five dimensions: compliance, product quality, operational fit, customization, and partnership reliability. It closes with a pre-commitment checklist that operators can use before [...]
Driven by innovation and convenience, pre-roll sales in 2025 not only had the strongest growth of any major category, topping $3.6 billion in sales and moving 383 million units, but supplanted flower as the most units sold for the first time in the industry’s history, according [...]
As federal policymakers move toward restricting hemp-derived cannabinoid products, a new state-level effort in Colorado is taking the opposite approach by moving to integrate low-dose THC beverages into mainstream hospitality. A coalition led by Colorado-based attorney Brian Vicente, partner at Vicente LLP, has formed the Colorado [...]
As the U.S. hemp industry braces for potential federal disruption later this year, a new bipartisan bill aims to give states a way to maintain control over intoxicating hemp products and potentially keep the category alive. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Joni Ernst [...]
For years, the cannabis industry operated in an environment where expansion was the primary signal of success, and investors were excited to get involved. New markets opened, and rapid growth often took priority over efficiency. Companies could move quickly and sort out the details later, trusting [...]
A letter to California’s Assembly Committee on Business and Professions argues a proposed 10mg THC-per-package cap would eliminate 93% of beverage sales — and more than $21 million in annual tax revenue. But the bill has a longer backstory rooted in child safety, audit findings, and [...]
In 2024, Colorado state officials announced a recall affecting 172 stores across the state. Batches of flower and pre-rolled joints from one grower exceeded mold and yeast limits. The losses were immense, including for companies that thought the money they were paying each year to insurance [...]
A cannabis biopharma company is seeking to join the federal lawsuit challenging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new hemp and CBD pilot program, adding a pharmaceutical voice to a government-sanctioned program allowing untested and unregulated hemp products into the marketplace. MMJ International Holdings [...]
All roads in cannabis retail lead back to inventory. Retail cannabis operators across the country are being squeezed by razor-thin margins, declining cash flow, and a growing inability to pay vendors on time. The culprit is often not weak sales or lack of demand. It is [...]
From cultivation to retail, businesses are digging deep to tighten operations and increase margins as the only way to endure another grueling year in cannabis without federal support. A common sales pitch these days centers on cost-saving systems and operational efficiency. The industry has shifted from [...]
Press release first published by Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA): WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Congressman Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) have introduced the bipartisan Capital Lending and Investment for Marijuana Businesses (CLIMB) Act. This legislation will allow state-legal American cannabis companies, including small, minority, and [...]
For many cannabis founders, the exit problem is not finding the right buyer. It is that there are barely any buyers at all. The field is narrow, capital is tight, and the strategic buyers that do exist are rarely showing up with clean cash offers. More [...]
It starts with a routine test result. A mid-size cannabis brand discovers that a batch of infused edibles has failed a pesticide screening. Within 48 hours, the company issues a voluntary recall, pulls product from dozens of dispensary shelves, and begins fielding calls from anxious retail [...]
Missouri has quietly built one of the country’s more successful adult-use cannabis markets since launching recreational sales in 2023. Since legalization, the state has quickly grown into one of the largest cannabis markets in the Midwest, generating strong sales and supporting an expanding network of cultivators, [...]
While the cannabis industry has made significant strides in incorporating minor cannabinoids into product formulations, a vast number of therapeutic compounds remain largely unexplored. Researchers and cannabis physicians have been experimenting with acidic cannabinoids for several years with promising results, but the broader industry is only [...]
Biotechnology, cannabis medicine, and the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are beginning to converge. Hemant Kumar Bid, program director for the Master of Science in Biotechnology and the Medical Cannabis concentration at Morehouse School of Medicine, believes this convergence could dramatically [...]
When most people think of luxury goods, they picture high-quality, high-priced products. But what truly sets luxury apart is not just cost. It is craftsmanship, design, heritage, cultural cachet, and mastery of materials and technique. Luxury is a sensory experience rooted in both tradition and innovation. [...]
There’s an opportunity in the pre-roll sector that many companies are missing. The pre-roll sector is the fastest-growing category in the cannabis industry. In 2025 alone, $3.6 billion worth of pre-rolls were sold across the 14 markets tracked by cannabis analytics firm Headset. Customers love the [...]
Maryland launched its medical cannabis program in 2018 and transitioned to adult use in 2024 as a limited-license state. Currently, there are 108 active dispensaries, with additional operators expected to come online following a March 2024 lottery that awarded conditional licenses to social equity entrepreneurs. However, [...]
A new scientific review published in the National Library of Medicine (NIH) shines a spotlight on one of the most overlooked areas of cannabis science: the untapped benefits of acidic cannabinoids naturally produced by Cannabis sativa — THCA, CBDA, CBGA, and CBCA. These compounds are the [...]
2025 saw most businesses scrutinizing their operations to trim margins and survive the tumultuous market. 2026 is about digging deeper to uncover hidden costs that will further improve their bottom line. Tom Zuber, partner at Zuber Lawler, led a panel discussion at the recent IgniteNJ event, [...]
New Jersey is a highly desirable cannabis market for new operators because of its rapid billion‑dollar growth, strong consumer demand, and status as one of the most profitable yet undersupplied markets on the East Coast. Cultivators came together at the recent IgniteIt event to share their [...]
There was passion, power, and plenty of practical business advice from the women (and one man) who took the stage at the recent IgniteIt event in New Jersey. As the industry shifts away from the early “shiny-object” phase, operators are increasingly doubling down on what works. [...]
Market Maturity Brings Pricing Pressure New Jersey’s cannabis market is showing signs of maturity, according to a presentation by Headset CEO Cy Scott at the recent Ignite NJ event, saying the overall revenue hit the billion-dollar mark in 2025 and is growing nominally. Similar to other [...]
California’s medical cannabis market began in 1996 when voters passed Proposition 215 (the Compassionate Use Act), making it the first state to legalize cannabis for medical use. Twenty-two years later, Proposition 64 ushered in adult-use sales, which commenced in January 2018. Initially, three separate agencies handled [...]
The Super Bowl has long been one of the most important sales moments of the year for alcohol, food, and consumer packaged goods. Cannabis, however, has been left out of the conversation, often due to regulatory complexity, limited retail data, and conservative planning assumptions. However, new [...]
Josh Kaplan, PhD, is a neuroscientist and associate professor in the Behavioral Neuroscience program at Western Washington University, where his lab focuses on optimizing cannabidiol (CBD) based medicines for pediatric conditions. His work examines not only CBD’s therapeutic potential, but also its long-term developmental effects on [...]
In the cannabis industry, pricing behavior often reveals more about market pressure than financial statements ever could. However, some of the most revealing cost signals are subtler, showing up in pricing behavior, discount strategies, and category-level decisions rather than on balance sheets. The CannabisDeals US Cannabis [...]
A wave of infused beverage brands flooded the market over the last few years. Now, the sector has entered a period of settling and reassessment, as operators pause to evaluate the real opportunity and determine the smartest path forward amid ongoing legal uncertainty. While adult-use cannabis [...]
As the cannabis industry readies for the growth surge rescheduling could trigger, it’s getting dangerously close to losing its grip on the craft sector. We are entering the era of the connoisseur, where consumer palates are becoming increasingly sophisticated and demand products that provide a full-spectrum [...]
It has been one year since Germany fully legalized cannabis on April 1, 2024, following the launch of its medical program in 2017. While cannabis was removed from the narcotics list, Germany continues to take a medical-first approach. Few expect full adult-use legalization anytime soon, particularly [...]
It all starts with genetics. The possibilities for manipulating the cannabis plant through breeding and cultivation are expanding rapidly, and advancements in methods for achieving optimal plant expression are accelerating as the industry moves into 2026. Breeders and cultivators are increasingly banding together to share knowledge [...]
For licensed cannabis cultivators, water filtration isn’t news. It’s critical infrastructure. Yet treating it as fixed infrastructure rather than an operational cost could be quietly cutting into grower margins. As operators finalize budgets and review efficiency for the seasons ahead, water quality deserves closer scrutiny. Not [...]
The Most Exciting US Market No cannabis market in the United States has experienced a more compelling growth trajectory over the past two years than New York. After a halting and often-criticized launch, the state’s legal adult-use market has accelerated at an unmatched pace. In 2023, [...]
Retailers are not in the business of building brands. They are in the business of selling products. The most effective way to earn buyer attention is still the same: proven sales velocity paired with brand awareness that brings customers through the door. Retail Is the [...]
Research shows that oxidation, not contamination, is the leading cause of vape oil discoloration, according to a recent white paper from Abstrax Tech. Vape brands, particularly those producing high-end concentrates, have struggled to prevent product degradation in retail environments, where display refrigeration is often limited or [...]
A Cleveland-based health-tech company, EM2P2, has launched a platform that could change how Americans pay for medical cannabis. Its new product, CannaLnx, claims to make cannabis care reimbursable, compliant, and accessible by finally allowing patients to apply health-benefit dollars toward cannabis purchases in legal states. Developed [...]
Genetics determines cannabis potency, flavor, and therapeutic value. Choose the right cultivar, stabilize the right traits, and the chemistry will follow. But a new in-depth biological study suggests that genetics may be only part of the equation. A recent study published in Frontiers in Plant Science [...]
Economist, Beau Whitney, released a report on the 2024 Cannabis Business Conditions and Sentiment Survey. It states that the legal cannabis industry remains structurally unprofitable for most operators—an issue that disproportionately impacts social equity entrepreneurs. The survey found that only 27.3 percent of U.S. cannabis businesses [...]
There is a growing fear among New York cannabis operators that the lawsuit challenging Metrc’s Retail ID program will “kill track and trace” and return the state to the chaos of inversion and inventory failures experienced last year. That fear is understandable. It is also wrong. [...]
For cannabis operators, the cost of goods sold (COGS) is far more than an accounting line item. It’s the most critical financial number in the entire business. Under IRC Section 280E, most ordinary business deductions are disallowed, making COGS the primary mechanism for reducing taxable income. [...]
The cannabis industry is still operating within a cobbled-together financial system—one defined by workarounds, instability, and uncertainty. Most major banks remain unwilling to work with cannabis businesses due to the risk and compliance burdens associated with serving a federally illegal industry. In 2014, former Safe Harbor [...]
For years, cannabis executives have built their financial strategies around a single hope: that Section 280E would vanish with federal reform. But hope has quietly drained billions from balance sheets. Every year, operators “wait it out”; they forfeit the one thing they can’t afford to lose, [...]
It is not uncommon for industries outside cannabis to adapt their technologies to address challenges unique to this maturing sector. American Air Filter International (AFF) is one such company, bringing decades of experience in air filtration for critical environments such as pharmaceutical clean rooms, food manufacturing [...]
When a new cannabis business starts hiring, the focus is usually on speed. You need people to pack, label, deliver, and sell. Payroll and HR often come later—until a compliance notice, tax penalty, or angry employee forces attention. By that point, “later” has turned into a [...]
NASA’s core mission is to explore space and aeronautics, expand scientific knowledge, develop breakthrough technologies, and ultimately bring new knowledge and opportunity back to Earth. What many people do not realize is that some of NASA’s most impactful discoveries have reshaped industries far beyond aerospace, including [...]
Not every genetic is suited for every growing environment, production model, or end market. For cultivators, the challenge is not finding new genetics but identifying which breeders align with their goals and whether those genetics are clean, stable, and commercially viable. As demand grows for consistency, [...]
As the cannabis industry continues to mature, labeling will continue to shape the way for product identification and consumer safety. Looking ahead to 2026, cannabis businesses face growing pressure to improve accuracy, strengthen compliance, streamline production, and build trust with both regulators and consumers. The most [...]
For more than a decade, the cannabis industry has been stuck in a state of contradictions: fully legal in many states and fully illegal at the federal level. When it comes to finances, the result is a sector with modern retail expectations supported by armored cars, [...]
A decade ago, most banks wouldn’t touch a cannabis business. Whenever banking access came up, the discussion stopped almost immediately. People said it was too risky, too unclear, or that the timing just wasn’t right. Today, Green Check has over 180 financial institutions across the U.S. [...]
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