“Patent troll” sues MSOs – Newsletter 9/18/26

Hi all, If you’re coming to LA for the upcoming IgniteIt California event, don’t forget to stop by WeedWeek‘s happy hour the night before. There’ll be new and familiar faces, and an open bar for cider and beer. It’s FREE but space is limited.

See you there,

Alex

FROM WEEDWEEK

EXCLUSIVE: “Patent troll” sues MSOs

After a key ruling, an intellectual property accumulation company, the kind of entity sometimes known as a “patent troll,” has sued two leading MSOs alleging their extraction processes violate its intellectual property.

Read the story

Also in WeedWeek:

• Arbitrator orders Cookies to pay investors $61.5M
• Newsbrief: Oklahoma biz in “freefall”
• Newsbrief: SF proposes rules for pot cafes
• WeedWeek Wonks: Jason Harris, founder of Jerome Baker Designs, on 30+ years in glass

Send tips, press releases, concerns, feedback and criticism to hello@weedweek.com. Sensitive material to share? Contact Alex on Signal.

QUICK HITS

Federal:

• The Supreme Court has been asked to assess whether states can discriminate against out of state license applicants.
  Canna Law Blog
• Two Democratic Senators are co-sponsoring a banking reform bill.
  Fox5Vegas
• A bi-partisan bill introduced in the House would help operators insure their businesses.
  Cannabis Business Times

Business:

• The “illegality defense,” that is when operators argue in court that federal illegality excuses them from honoring their contracts, had its day in court, lawyer and consultant Marc Hauser writes.
  Cannabis Musings
• Stemming from an IP dispute with rival PAX, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said Stiiizy’s vapes can’t be imported.
  Law360
• Cultivated has the latest on MSO Curaleaf‘s hostile bid for Canadian player Aurora.
• With the federal hemp ban looming in December, some companies are unwinding, MJBiz reports. It could even put the “weed nuns” out of business.
  CEN
• Barron’s says psychedelics are “Wall Street’s next trip“.
• Scandal heavy Instagram feed @theblacklistxyz said it has been idle for six weeks because the woman who writes it was attacked in her eye.

State and local:

• With Massachusetts set to vote on whether to recriminalize REC, MJBiz profiled Ryan Dominguez, chairman of the “No on 8” campaign to keep REC legal. PR shop Marino is soliciting Massachusetts stories about cannabis making a positive difference in people’s lives.
• A doctor’s Boston Globe op-ed called for repeal.
• Michigan’s pot tax revenue came in far short of projections.
• Florida granted an additional 22 vertical licenses which have been under dispute for years.
  MJBiz
• Residents sued a St. Louis County, Mo. facility over its alleged odor.
  SBJ.net
• Denver’s 420-friendly ride-share service wants to expand.
  CBS
• Weed gummies and prescription pill bottles were found in the Las Vegas hotel room of a mother who allegedly killed her daughter and then herself.
  TMZ
• After a green light from the state’s supreme court, Nebraska’s regulator met again.
  Nebraska.tv
• Dozens of trafficking victims were rescued from sweltering illegal farms in Oregon.
  Fox12

Health and science:

• Steph Sherer, founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Access, argues addressing cannabis safety issues is a strength, not a weakness, for the movement.
  Marijuana Moment
• A study questioned whether there’s much to the entourage effect.
  EurekaSelect

Fun and interesting:

• Cycling California’s north coast.
  NY Times
• Substack Dexter Capital wrote about “Cannabis in hard times: Adaptation as survival“

CALIFORNIA HITS

State:

• The Department of Cannabis Control(DCC) said it is making progress to address what the state auditor called “unclear rules and insufficient enforcement” at keeping cannabis away from kids.
  State Affairs
• After the law passed in 2023, California is moving to allow batch Metrc tagging of plants. It will reduce the environmental toll of one use plant tags and anticipates reduced labor costs for operators.

Business:

• More products were recalled after the death of a worker on a licensed farm in Lake County may have been linked to pesticide exposure.
  MJBiz
• A complex dispute played out Instagram between Mario Guzman, founder of the brand Sherbinskis, which merged with PrimeTime Capital in 2023, and Ryan Bartholomew, founder of brand Doja Pak, who took an additional job as Sherbinskis head of genetics. Here’s the statement Sherbinskis put out on Wednesday.
  @sherbinskis

Local:

• Paso Robles (SLO Co.) took a step towards welcoming more cannabis businesses.
  The Tribune
• Conservative outlet City Journal reports on illegal farms in Siskiyou County.

Upcoming:

• The Latinas in Cannabis Summit is September 26 in LA.
  @latinas_cann