🌿 Industry
DEA judge pauses broader cannabis rescheduling case. Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius stayed the proceeding on Sept. 29 while he considers opponents’ request to add a new Government Accountability Office report to the record and allow supplemental briefing. — DEA order
DEA must respond by Oct. 13. That is a briefing deadline—not a guaranteed restart date or a final Schedule III decision
The order concerns the broader rescheduling case, rather than announcing a reversal of the separate medical-cannabis action
New York tops $1.4B+ of sales, but store-level competition is intensifying. Sales through the first 3Qs are on pace to exceed 2025’s $1.68B total. — MJBizDaily
OCM also reported that average annualized sales/retailer declined 3.4% to ~$2.7M
With 1,039 retailers licensed and hundreds still not operating, statewide growth is not necessarily translating into stronger economics for each store
Massachusetts repeal effort trails in another poll. A MassINC Polling Group survey for CommonWealth Beacon finds 61% of likely voters oppose Question 8, vs. 27% in favor and 11% undecided. — CommonWealth Beacon
The measure would end legal adult-use sales while leaving medical cannabis in place. The poll surveyed 800 likely voters Sept. 14–22 and has a ±4-point credibility interval; the November result is still ahead
Maryland launches a five-lab potency comparison. The CSQ CLEAR pilot will compare flower results across four independent testing laboratories and the state reference laboratory, examining repeatability and discrepancies against product labels and original certificates of analysis. — CSQ
Testing begins in early October, with results expected in December. Findings will be anonymized and informational, with no punitive consequences for participating labs
California signs off on off-the-shelf testing and consumer access to lab results. AB 1965 requires retailers to allow regulators to obtain products for independent testing and provide COAs to customers on request. — California Legislature
It also provides for laboratory performance testing and evaluation of testing practices—putting more scrutiny on the reliability of results
Room for Everyone at 2026 Revelry Buyers’ Club NY. At this year’s Revelry NYC, cannabis brands and operators are growing with confidence, and making room for everyone else. — CannabisNow
Pier 36 filled up fast on Friday, Sept. 18, as exhibitors and buyers from across the country came out for Revelry Buyers’ Club, New York’s homegrown cannabis trade show hosted by On The Revel. This year’s edition ran a single day instead of the usual two, drawing a sizeable crowd to Manhattan’s Lower East Side
💵 Deals
Vireo $60M Financing for New York and Florida Cultivation Facility. Vireo entered into a $60M real estate financing with a U.S. commercial bank and institutional lender, related to the cannabis cultivation and production facilities located in Johnstown, New York and Palatka, Florida. ~$49M of the financing proceeds are being used to refinance existing senior debt that was entered into in connection with the previously announced option to purchase the Johnstown facility and ~$11M of the financing proceeds are being used to finance the acquisition of the Palatka facility. The Palatka facility is a significant cultivation and production asset supporting the Company’s Green Dragon operations and is an important component of Vireo’s strategy to build scale and strengthen its vertically integrated platform in Florida. The Palatka facility was previously leased from Rainbow Palatka FL LLC. In connection with the acquisition of the Palatka facility, the existing lease with Rainbow will be terminated and a new lease with Green Dragon Florida LLC, an affiliate of Vireo, will be executed. The $60M loan bears interest at 8.5% per annum and matures on April 2, 2034. The Loan is secured by a first-priority mortgage on the Properties, a first priority pledge of membership interests by each of Vireo Health Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Vireo, Holdings, Holdings NY and Holdings FL in their respective wholly owned subsidiaries comprising Borrower, a security interest in substantially all personal property of the Borrowers and other loan parties and is subject to customary terms and conditions.
Vireo adds an equity-linked route to acquire $18.1M loan. A three-year agreement with Battle Green Holdings SR gives the holder a put and Vireo a call on a BG Ohio SPV promissory note. Shares would be issued at $19.50 under the put or $18.60 under the call; principal-based issuance is capped at 972,905 shares, with potential additional consideration for interest. If neither right is exercised, Vireo must acquire the note at maturity using a trailing 30-day VWAP share price. No shares are issued until exercise and satisfaction of conditions.
Trulieve secures a royalty-free Florida/Texas master license for Connected and Alien Labs. The perpetual, exclusive agreement covers genetics, trademarks and know-how and extends a Florida relationship dating to 2022. Trulieve plans more categories and formats in Florida, with Texas introduction subject to final licensure and regulatory approvals. The company also has an opportunity to negotiate additional markets.
Curaleaf Files Update to Offering Circular. Curaleaf has filed a formal update to its Circular incorporating its previously announced increased Offer for Aurora. Under the terms of the Enhanced Offer, Aurora shareholders would receive total implied consideration of $5.00 per Aurora Share, comprised of 0.4013 Curaleaf Shares plus $1.00 cash based on Curaleaf’s U.S. dollar equivalent closing share price of C$14.21 (C$1.00 = US$0.7015) on October 2, 2026. Based on Aurora’s 30-day volume weighted average price of $2.75 as of August 10, 2026 (the day before Curaleaf announced its intention to make its initial Offer, the Enhanced Offer represents a premium of 86% to Aurora’s Unaffected Share Price.
Cannara Expands International Supply Agreement With Curaleaf. Cannara Biotech Inc., a vertically integrated producer of premium-grade cannabis products at affordable prices with two mega facilities in Québec spanning more than 1.6M sq ft , announced an expansion of its long-term international supply agreement with Curaleaf International Limited, previously announced on July 14, 2026. If fully realized, the amended agreement has a potential aggregate contract value of ~C$34M over its two-year term, compared with up to C$21M under the original agreement, based on committed supply volumes and the terms and conditions of the agreement.
📄 Company Updates
BLAZE launches an AI connector spanning retail operations. BLAZE MCP connects compatible assistants to more than 250 operations across POS, e-commerce and marketing, including 140+ actions that can make changes. Proposed changes require human approval, permissions follow existing user roles and actions are logged.
NCS Analytics adds payment behavior to cannabis lending intelligence. Its exclusive Cannabiz Credit Association partnership brings a dataset exceeding $3.7B in verified payment history into the NCS Platform and NCS Thea. The combination pairs operational track-and-trace signals with license-level payment records and risk ratings. Customer access is expected this fall.
🏬 Retail
Ascend Wellness Holdings Opens New Dispensary in Lewis Center, Ohio. The new location expands Ascend's growing retail footprint to seven dispensaries across Ohio, with locations in Englewood, Cincinnati, Coshocton, Piqua, Sandusky and Carroll The new location expands Ascend’s growing retail footprint to seven dispensaries across Ohio, with locations in Englewood, Cincinnati, Coshocton, Piqua, Sandusky and Carroll.
New York gives provisional dispensary licensees until the end of 2028. The Cannabis Control Board extended the provisional CAURD and adult-use retail period from Dec. 31, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2028, including provisional licenses issued through Dec. 31, 2027. The extension gives applicants more time to submit information needed for final approval; it does not itself authorize an unopened store to begin sales.
🌱 Product
Rove enters Canada through Ontario. The brand’s first international launch puts its Diamond Series Minibar vapes on Ontario shelves through OCS, initially in Granddaddy Purp, Skywalker OG and Blue Dream. Rove plans additional provinces in the coming months and says its U.S. business exceeds $100M in annual revenue, with distribution across more than 3,000 dispensaries in 16 states.
Curaleaf and Jupiter expand their medical inhalation device to Australia and New Zealand. The Que Medical Inhalation Device received Australian TGA registration as a Class IIb device and was added to New Zealand’s WAND database. The October announcement says it is now available in seven countries.
🧔 People
SNDL Board Director Abruptly Resigns. SNDL announced that Carlo Cannell has resigned from the Board of Directors effective immediately.
Artemis Growth Partners adds former JPMorgan credit executive James Hayward. Hayward joins as advisory director following a 35-year JPMorgan career spanning leveraged finance, high yield, credit derivatives and distressed markets. He will advise Artemis on capital formation, LP relationships and strategic financing. The medical-cannabis and emerging-therapeutics investor says it manages more than $300M across six vehicles.
🎙️ Interviews
Higher Exchanges — Auxly CEO Hugo Alves on building Back Forty. Alves discusses the Canadian market, brand share gains, the balance-sheet turnaround, capacity expansion and capital allocation. The conversation connects flower, pre-roll and vape execution with the company’s margin profile.
High Spirits — Nick Richards on hemp taxes and 280E. The Greenspoon Marder tax attorney discusses refund and clawback risks, mixed-product business structures, cost-of-goods-sold accounting and the potential 280E implications of stricter federal hemp restrictions.
Trade To Black — Legal experts unpack the rescheduling pause. ATACH’s Michael Bronstein and Dentons’ Eric Berlin discuss the GAO report, possible procedural paths and the Oct. 13 response deadline.