Judge rules for Stiiizy in packaging dispute – Newsletter 9/11/26

Hi all, I’m excited to see many of you at WeedWeek‘s October 6 happy hour in LA. I’ll be talking with lawyer and consultant Hirsh Jain on whether the California recovery is finally here. Plus, there’s an open bar for beer and cider. Here’s the news, Alex

FROM WEEDWEEK:

Judge rules for Stiiizy in packaging dispute

A judge blocked a packaging company’s motion to become the sole packaging supplier for Stiiizy, determining that the packager’s claims of millions in damages did not merit the “extraordinary” measure it was asking for.

Read the story…

• Newsbrief: Nebraska supreme court upholds MED laws
• Newsbrief: Gov. DeSantis tightens screws on Fla. biz

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

QUICK HITS

Federal:

• An appellate court declined to halt the Trump administration’s MED rescheduling, a blow to prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. But more legal challenges are coming.
  Law360, MJBiz
• President Trump commuted the sentences of two federal cannabis prisoners.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• The U.S. hemp industry could record $39B in sales this year, according to a new report from Whitney Economics. If the ban takes effect in December it would wipe out close to 70% of the industry, the report finds.
  Denver Gazette
• Pharmaceutical company Endovia Health Sciences is pursuing FDA approval for a drug to treat cancer-related pain in pets. It then hopes to get it approved for human use. Sunburn Cannabis CEO Brady Cobb is Endovia’s interim CEO.
  MJBiz

State and local:

• Supporters of the Massachusetts ballot initiative to recriminalize REC are heavily outspending cannabis advocates, MJBiz reports.
• An investigation found Colorado regulators took more than a year to warn consumers that a sleep-associated cannabis pill was causing liver damage.
  Denver Gazette, ProPublica
• An Arizona testing lab kept breaking the rules after receiving a major fine, the Arizona Republic reports.
• New York state is covering the cost of Metrc tags for a year.
• A former Massachusetts town official plead guilty to misleading investors about two pot shops.
  Law360
• Oregon could raise the state’s pot tax.
• Michigan gubernatorial candidate John James(R) has pledged to eliminate the new, industry-hated, wholesale tax.
  BridgeMI
• Following a default, a lender is auctioning off its stake in Times Square dispensary The Daily Green.
• Illinois is expanding the number of MED dispensaries.
  Marijuana Moment
• Georgians can now vape, but not smoke, their MED.
  Georgia Recorder
• Virginia released draft REC regulations.
  CBS
• An Ohio shop voluntarily closed its doors pending a state investigation into two “serious adverse health events” which authorities believe stem from products purchased at the shop. The store said it didn’t have additional details.

Fun and interesting:

• A new ranking lists colleges that consume the most weed.
  @smoke
• High Times warned about a new wave of chads.

CALIFORNIA HITS

State:

• “California just told you its cannabis enforcement strategy,” lawyer Ryan Kocot wrote. “Licensed operators should read it closely.”
• The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association called the $8.4B California has collected in pot tax revenue since 2018 to spur tougher enforcement against the illegal market. California’s state budget this year is $351.7B.

Business:

• The industry is divided on the new tighter labeling restrictions.
  Green State

Local:

• The Humboldt County Growers Alliance has a new strategy to expand markets and “demand recognition” for local cannabis.
  Lost Coast Outpost
• While many California dispensaries cut back, this one in SLO Co. is expanding.
  The Tribune
• Guadalupe (Santa Barbara Co.) residents are set to vote on a tax measure in November.
  Noozhawk
• Sonoma Hills Farms is hosting two days of pick your own hemp in late September.
• Mendocino’s sheriff is treasurer of a private nonprofit that funds trafficking raids, The Mendocino Voice reports.
• NBC took a look at the 1981 disappearance of Emerald Triangle farmer Ollie Letrell Cader.