Curaleaf fights tip theft suit – Newsletter 8/21/26

Hi all,

Excited to announce that WeedWeek is hosting a happy hour on Tuesday, October 6 at Benny Boy Brewing in LA. It’s the eve of IgniteIt’s California Market Spotlight and should be a good time. Tickets are free but supply is limited. Hope to see you there!

The WeedWeek newsletter will be off next week. Have a terrific end of summer and see you in September. I promise it won’t be boring.

Alex

FROM WEEDWEEK

Curaleaf fights ‘class’ status in tip theft suit

Leading MSO Curaleaf asked a federal judge to reject class action status for a 2022 lawsuit alleging the company “maintained a uniform ‘policy’ of ‘tip theft.”

Read the story

Also in WeedWeek:

• Newsbrief: San Diego Co. supes advance equity plan
• Newsbrief: Insurer sues MSO Cresco over litigation coverage
• Newsbrief: Joe Rogan warns hemp ban could turn Texas blue

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QUICK HITS

Federal:

• A bipartisan group of lawmakers have questions for the Trump administration about rescheduling.
  Marijuana Moment
• Marijuana Moment posted the parties’ final briefs following this summer’s rescheduling hearings. The DEA acknowledged marijuana is not a hazard for the “vast majority” of users. Vanderbilt law professor Robert Mikos argues rescheduling REC may be DOA under the Trump administration anyway.

Business:

• Canadian operator Aurora fired back at Curaleaf’s hostile takeover bid.
  Cultivated
• IT consultant NIck Afonsky made the case for “cannabis AI guardrails.“
  MJBiz
• Acquisitive MSO Vireo predicts a 270-store footprint nationwide.
• With the hemp ban approaching, MSO Verano launched a hemp beverage line.
  Forbes
• Kim Rivers, CEO of MSO Trulieve, rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
• Investor Aaron Edelheit found Wall Street “barbarians” investing in the green stuff.

State and local:

• California’s ‘weed nuns’ are expanding to Oregon.
  Cannabis Equipment News
• A judge approved Virginia’s hemp ban.
  WTVR
• Illinois may be opening the door to outside grows.
  Illinois News Joint
• Connecticut tax revenue soared despite flat sales.
  CT Insider
• Sales are booming in Ohio.
  MJBiz
• Georgia is poised to approve MED delivery by mail. Lawyer and consultant Marc Hauser shared his thoughts.
  WSB
• MED access is sputtering in Alabama.
  WDHN
• A federal judge greenlit Rhode Island’s retail licensing process to begin again.
  Rhode Island Current
• A poll found Massachusetts residents oppose the REC repeal ballot initiative that comes before voters in November. Regulators in the state want more funding.
  Marijuana Moment, StateHouse News

Upcoming:

• The Minority Cannabis Business Association’s third annual Green Equity Summit is August 24-26 in Minneapolis.

Fun and interesting:

• The Fresno zoo’s new Malayan tapir calf has a name! It’s very cute even compared to other baby tapirs.
  GVWire
• Rachel Bell, content director at Gotham dispensary in New York, has a social media series called “Hi, I’m High.”
  The New Yorker

CALIFORNIA HITS

Business:

• Retailer The Artist Tree is beefing up its compassion program ahead of opening its first New York store, on Long Island.

Local:

• Military helicopters and a convoy equipped with a skidsteer, a kind of small bulldozer used to rip up grows, were spotted in the Emerald Triangle.
  KymKemp
• Oceanside (San Diego Co.) upheld the denial of a storefront license to The Artist Tree.
  The Coast News

Crime:

• Police arrested a Sacramento man for allegedly firing a gun at his pregnant girlfriend after she yelled at him for smoking marijuana too nearby.
  The Mercury News