Calif. asks judge to toss $500M suit – Newsletter 10/9/26

Hi all, It was great seeing so many of you at our LA happy hour this week. Lawyer and consultant Hirsh Jain didn’t pull any punches in our conversation and we’ll be posting more clips soon. Here’s the news.

Alex

FROM WEEDWEEK

SCOOP: Calif. asks judge to toss $500M diversion suit

The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) asked a judge to throw out a $500M operator lawsuit alleging the agency allowed “an unchecked market to flourish through diversion schemes commonly known as burner distributors.”

Read the story

Also in WeedWeek:

• Newsbrief: Feds prioritize 280E guidance, but mum on details
• Newsbrief: Trucking biz faces pot testing dilemma

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

QUICK HITS

Federal:

• The DEA denied an application submitted by Denver-based MedPharm Research LLC to be a bulk marijuana manufacturer since it and related companies have been “manufacturing marijuana without DEA registration for at least the past 10 years.“
• State officials are growing more irate over the DEA’s lack of guidance on the rescheduling process.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• At least some of the money MSOs donated to a Trump-linked PAC is going to support the Senate campaign of anti-weed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
• Canna Law Blog previews weed and the midterm elections.
• Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan said he believes rescheduling is close, but the hemp ban will take effect in December. “I think the hemp industry hurt itself,” Jordan told IgniteIt. “They didn’t self-regulate.”
• The Los Angeles Times reports on the hemp industry’s push to save itself.
• Curaleaf raised its hostile bid for Canadian operator Aurora to $5/share.
  Cultivated
• ProcureCulture is a new independent magazine started by longtime buyer John Hirsch for the people who decide which products dispensaries sell.

State and local:

• Washington state tweaked its rules to better comply with rescheduling.
  MJBiz
• Ohio now has stricter purchasing limits.
  WOWK
• Lab capacity is a bottleneck in new-ish market Minnesota.
  Post Bulletin
• Texas representative Vicki Goodwin(D), who seeks to oust Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick(R), sees hemp as a wedge issue.
  Cultivated Live
• Idahoans will vote on whether to prohibit legalization ballot initiatives.
  KXLY
• Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey(D) wants to keep REC legal.
  Cannabis Business Times
• A lawsuit alleges a New Jersey state senator improperly tried to take advantage of the state’s equity law.
• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection entered into a formal consent order with Trulieve requiring the leading MSO to address wastewater discharges at a north Florida grow.
  Tallahassee Reports
• A St. Louis jury awarded $10M in a complex fight over who owns six licenses.
  Missouri Independent
• Tennessee lawmakers held hearings on whether to begin a restrictive MED program.
  Tennessee Lookout

Health and science:

• Problem cannabis use is increasing, the New York Times reports.
• More doctors are issuing green cards.
  Norml

Fun and interesting:

• High Times visited the farmers betting on regenerative cultivation in Humboldt, Maine and Oregon.

CALIFORNIA HITS

State:

• Lt. Gov. candidate Fiona Ma (D), currently the state treasurer, and gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton (R) both said California’s REC law needs an overhaul at IgniteIt‘s conference this week. Xavier Becerra (D), the heavy favorite to be the next governor, has not been as vocal.
  Marijuana Moment
• Pot taxes are paying for police cameras, automatic license plate readers and drones.
  CannaBitch

Business:

• The Tax Appeals Office ruled a license owner cannot be held personally liable as a transferee for more than $79,000 in unpaid taxes. The ruling is a loss for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. (CDTFA)
  Marijuana Herald
• Cannabis Business Times reports on the 17-month ordeal faced by San Benito County operator Euphoric Life, as it tries to recover 390 pounds of product confiscated by the DCC in April 2025.
• Cannabis Business Times also previewed this year’s harvest.
• Non-profit Kind Works believes better worker training reduces turnover.
  MJBiz

Local:

• Los Angeles pot shops with unpaid taxes can stay open another year.
  LAist
• Auburn (Placer Co.) will consider whether to allow at least one dispensary.
  Gold Mountain CA News
• After some pushback, a farm in Fortuna (Humboldt Co.) can expand into manufacturing and distribution.
  Redheaded Blackbelt
• A “homegrown” cannabis exhibit “Behind the Redwood Curtain,” opens tomorrow in Willits, Mendocino County.
  The Willits News