🧑⚖️ DEA Judge Cancels Upcoming Rescheduling Hearings
United Cannabis Community Fire Relief Fund. AWH $15M Senior Secured Notes. High Tide acquires Purecan GmbH (Germany). Eaze Closes Asset Purchase, Expands FL Cultivation. GTI x Salt Shed.
🌿 Industry
Marijuana rescheduling process paused indefinitely after judge cancels hearing. The agency’s chief administrative law judge canceled hearings scheduled for next week. — MJBizDaily
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney II issued a ruling that included the cancellation of a hearing scheduled for Jan. 21 pending the outcome of a yet-to-be-filed “interlocutory appeal” to the agency’s eventual administrator
Mulrooney’s ruling Monday came in response to a Jan. 6 request from two pro-rescheduling “designated participants” that current DEA administrator, Anne Milgram, and her agency be removed from the proceedings for demonstrating what they argue is bias
While the jude’s order means the hearings are temporarily canceled, he suggested the leave to file an appeal could prevent an even more extensive delay

United Cannabis Community Fire Relief Fund. Embarc organized a centralized GoFundMe for ALL cannabis companies to make a collective impact in supporting Southern California fire relief. The company seeded the efforts with a $16,000 contribution to World Central Kitchen, which is providing free hot meals to first responders and those in need. Embarc CEO Lauren Carpenter said the company chose this organization “because food, like cannabis, has the unique ability to bring nourishment, comfort and connection when communities need it most.”
4 New York Dispensary Licensees Sue State Regulators Over Buffer Rule. Four Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensees filed a lawsuit Jan. 9 against the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). — CBT
At issue is a series of meetings at which the CCB issued six unannounced, secretly decided waivers undermining the legally guaranteed 1,000-foot protection rule, a regulation intended to protect small operators
This decision by the CCB—supported by its board Chairwoman Tremaine Wright—appears to undermine the CCB’s and OCM’s commitment to creating an equitable cannabis industry and following their own regulations
Currently, 38 other New York CAURD licensees have signed affirmations of support for the lawsuit
Is Alabama’s long stalled medical marijuana dispute finally nearing a solution?Lawyers involved in the conflict that has delayed medical marijuana in Alabama are trying to reach an agreement through court-ordered mediation. — AL.com
An attorney for the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission said there have been at least three mediation sessions involving all the parties in the lawsuits
The disputes are mostly over efforts to issue business licenses to integrated companies that will cultivate, process, and dispense medical cannabis products
Company says $100,000 in state-legal cannabis products seized at border checkpoint. Caleb Mata said federal agents detained an employee of his Las Cruces-based cannabis company. — The Santa Fe New Mexican
The experience has Mata planning to join a lawsuit eight licensed marijuana operations in New Mexico filed in federal court in October against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection because federal agents have continued to detain their employees and confiscate state-legal marijuana
In the suit, state-authorized cannabis businesses cite an "ongoing pattern" of seizures by federal agents at highway checkpoints, resulting in the loss of revenue totaling more than $1M
Amplify ETFs to Liquidate the Amplify U.S. Alternative Harvest ETF (MJUS). The $70M fund will stop accepting new investment orders after Jan. 20, with shareholders having until Jan. 27 to sell their positions. MJUS joined similar funds like the Roundhill Cannabis ETF (WEED) and AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) in facing steep declines, with each fund dropping ~48% in value in 2024.
Arizona sales began an unprecedented slide in July 2024, falling below $100/month for the first time in years. October's numbers reversed the trend mildly as the industry moved into its fall high season, but overall revenue remained relatively low at $92.2M in combined medical and recreational sales — an 18% decrease over last October.
Michigan Eclipses $10 Billion in Adult-Use Cannabis Sales. Retailers recorded $3.27B in adult-use cannabis sales last year, eclipsing $3B for the first time. That represents a 9.9% increase from the $2.98B in adult-use sales from 2023.
💵 Deals
Ascend Wellness Holdings Closes $15M Private Placement of Senior Secured Notes. The 12.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 form part of the same series of the $235M aggregate principal amount of the Company's 12.75% senior secured notes due 2029 issued on July 16, 2024. The Notes were issued at a price of 97.00% of face value.
High Tide Enters German Medical Cannabis Market Through Acquisition of Purecan GmbH. Purecan is a profitable, import-oriented pharmaceutical wholesaler based in Germany, that holds a license to import medical cannabis into Germany and is preparing to launch a telemedicine portal for medical cannabis patients in Germany, along with complete warehousing and logistics infrastructure. High Tide will acquire 51% of Purecan for ~€4.8M and will have a future option to acquire the remaining interest in Purecan. It implies an enterprise valuation of €9.5 Million, representing 3.0x Annualized Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended December 31, 2024.
📄 Company Updates / Earnings
GTI Partners with Iconic Chicago Music Venue, The Salt Shed, Introducing Retail Store RISE at Salt Shed and RYTHM Brand Activations. Elements include an on-site retail experience from RISE Dispensaries, RISE at Salt Shed, opening soon and offering hemp-derived THC Delta 9 (HD9) products from Green Thumb brands like incredibles and Beboe, as well as branded merchandise and accessories. In addition, concertgoers and artists alike will enjoy immersive experiences from GTI’s best-selling flower brand, RYTHM Premium Cannabis – all meticulously designed to amplify the powerful connection between cannabis and music. All products available for purchase are Farm Bill compliant, manufactured in certified cGMP facilities, and have transparent labeling including ingredients, potency, and a QR code linking to certificates of analysis from independent testing labs.
RAW Parent Company Awarded $8.7M in Copycat Products Suit. BBK Tobacco & Foods, dba HBI Innovations, a leading global provider of high-quality rolling papers, cones, and smoking innovations, secured a legal victory with an award exceeding $8.7M against entities responsible for manufacturing, importing, and distributing counterfeit products that imitated BBK’s iconic RAW® rolling paper packaging. The court awarded BBK more than $3M in disgorged profits from the defendants and more than $5.6M in statutory damages for copyright violations concerning BBK’s packaging designs.
The Berkeley Patients Group has been sued by a vendor, a security firm and a landlord saying they’ve been stiffed more than $250,000. The dispensary has denied any debts.
Receiver appointed for Red White & Bloom cannabis subsidiary in Michigan. PharmaCo, which was acquired in February 2022 by Red White & Bloom subsidiary RWB Michigan, has operated licensed medical and adult-use dispensaries and conducted limited cultivation in Michigan.
Würk x Green Check Partner to Provide Comprehensive Workforce Management Solutions to Cannabis Businesses. By utilizing Green Check’s industry-leading connections, this collaboration provides Würk with the insights needed to provide cannabis businesses with more streamlined, scalable, and compliant solutions to manage payroll, benefits, compliance, and analytics.
Prodigy Processing Solutions to be First Hydrocarbon Cannabis Extraction Equipment Approved for Use in New York City. ProXtracts, a producer of cannabis oil, distillate and concentrates, selected Prodigy as its exclusive equipment provider to power its state-of-the-art hydrocarbon extraction lab, the first in New York City.
Tilray Brands Q2 2025 Financial Results. Net revenue increased 9% to $211M compared to $194M in Q2 2024. Gross margin increased to 29% compared to 24% in Q2 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $9M compared to $10M in Q2 2024 due to the beverage segment’s SKU rationalization EBITDA impact of $1.8M. Net loss was $(85M), of which $75M was comprised of non-cash items (including foreign exchange loss, amortization, and stock-based compensation) and $8M, of which were one-time non-recurring costs.
🏬 Retail
Eaze Closes Asset Purchase, Plants 1st Cannabis Crop at Green Dragon Facility in Florida. Eaze completed the hiring and onboarding of ~1,100 employees across California, Colorado and Florida. In addition, Eaze has expanded its Green Dragon Florida cultivation facility which will increase the indoor flowering canopy from 32,000 sq ft to 64,000 sq ft. Products from the expansion will be available starting in April 2025 with new genetics. The company is also opening its 40th retail location in Florida later this month.
Ayr Wellness opens Miami’s first medical cannabis dispensary. The City of Miami has been an island of prohibition. Ayr Wellness opened its dispensary in Midtown after years of the city dragging its feet in permitting the opening of medical marijuana dispensaries.
Oneida Indian Nation's Verona Collective to open two more cannabis dispensaries. Verona Collective, an enterprise of the Oneida Indian Nation, is opening two new cannabis dispensaries, one on Jan. 16 in Sherrill and one in Chittenango on Jan. 23. And it plans to open two more dispensaries by the end of the year.
🌱 Product
STIIIZY Launches New Hemp-Infused Seltzers. Available for purchase at STIIIZYHemp.com, the new product line marks the brand’s first entry into the cannabis beverage market.
🧔 People
1933 Industries Paul Rosen will resign as CEO. Rosen will remain a member of the Board. Brian Farrell, who currently serves as CFO and has served on the Board of Directors since 2018, will assume the role of Interim CEO.
Vertosa Adds Dr. Gul Konuklar VP of R&D. Konuklar previously led the design and execution of three pilot plants, one commercial plant, and a commercial process. She successfully presented three novel processes to the FDA, all of which were approved.
🎙️ Interviews
B-Real, On The Record | CannabisNow
Curaleaf’s Boris Jordan Talks 2025 Cannabis Trends | TDR
Cansortium CEO talks future of the Florida market | GMR (paywalled)