MSOs sued over health claims – Newsletter 5/8/26

THE BIG IDEA

Hi all,

It was another not-boring week in the cannabiz.

Don’t miss next week’s WeedWeek Wonks where I’ll be discussing the industry’s ongoing accounts receivable crisis with Brett Gelfand of CannaBiz Collects and FundCanna’s Adam Stettner.

Read up,

Alex

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FROM WEEDWEEK

“Unscientific, false, fraudulent, illegal”: Lawsuit challenges MSOs’ health claims

A federal lawsuit filed against three big MSOs alleges the companies have made unsupported claims about cannabis’ health benefits while selling products linked to schizophrenia, psychosis, heart disease and other conditions. Proposed as a class action which could potentially attract millions of plaintiffs, the suit seeks substantial remedies comparable to those paid out by the tobacco industry in the 1990s.

Read the story

Also in WeedWeek:

• Insurer sues to avoid covering fatal extraction blast
• Newsbrief: Texas judge allows hemp sales to temporarily resume

QUICK HITS

Federal:

• Anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana sued the feds to stop MED rescheduling. The National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA), whose membership includes drug screening companies and non-profits joined the case as a co-plaintiff.
  Marijuana Moment
• The New York Times called the Trump administration the “industry’s new best friend.“
• The administration’s new National Drug Control Strategy document claims “new legal authority” to ban hemp-derived products.
  Cannabis Business Times
• How the GOP came to embrace psychedelics.
  NY Times

Business:

• MJBiz asks if rescheduling is good for big pharma.
• Leading MSO Green Thumb Industries reported a profitable Q1.
• Target is expanding THC beverage sales from Minnesota to Florida, Texas and Illinois.
  BevNet
• Canadian player Tilray may be ready to enter the U.S. market, CEO Irwin Simon says.
  MJBiz
• Federal regulators rejected a Missouri operator’s claim that industry manufacturing workers can’t unionize because they are agricultural workers.
  Missouri Independent
• Cannabis Musings unpacked MSO Vireo Growth‘s acquisition of Fluent.
• Longtime pot stock analyst Alan Brochstein, who ran New Cannabis Ventures, said he was exiting the industry.
• Tech shops Joint Commerce and Proteus420 announced a partnership.

State and local:

• An equity business acquired 51% of Vireo Health of New York, an affiliate of the MSO.
• Connecticut’s house passed a bill to allow more potent products. But lawmakers in both chambers voted to keep a 35% THC cap on flower.
  CTMirror
• Plaintiffs argued Ohio’s new intoxicating hemp ban is bad for business.
  States Newsroom
• Arkansas-based operator Good Day Farm has ties to more than a quarter of Mississippi MED shops.
  Missouri Independent
• Insiders suggested expanding cannabis access in Las Vegas could boost the gaming industry.
  Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Whether Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs on to open the REC market remains an open question, as the FBI raided a cannabis business owned by a prominent Democratic state senator.
  Marijuana Moment, AP
• A Colorado bill to allow THC beverage sales in supermarkets and restaurants fell short.
  Colorado Politics
• North Carolina Democrats introduced a bill that would allow voters to decide on REC legalization in November.
  CBS(local)
• An Arizona activist ended an effort to make REC illegal again. The only REC reversal push left standing is in Massachusetts.
  Tucson.com
• New York operators can now apply to sell at farmers markets.
  Cannabis Equipment News
• A “cloud of uncertainty” looms over Texas hemp.
  Dallas Morning News
• An Idaho MED ballot initiative submitted signatures for verification.
  KREM

Health and science:

• The Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision of the American Chemistry Society is hosting a May 21 discussion on how cannabis use impacts cravings for alcohol.
  @cann_acs
• Cannabis is Americans’ preferred substance to microdose, according to a UCSD study.
  Medical XPress
• California teens view cannabis as less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco another UCSD study found.

International:

• The U.K. is banning cigarette sales to those born after 2008. The end of cigarettes is coming, The Atlantic says.
  BBC
• Israel’s health ministry is looking to ban smokeable MED within three years.
  YNet

Fun and interesting:

• Raw papers announced the winners of the World Rolling Championship.
  @worldrollingchampionship

CALIFORNIA HITS

State:

• A bill to allow drive-thru dispensaries advanced to a floor vote in the state assembly.
  Marijuana Moment
• A bill targets “next-gen” vapes like one with a built in video game.
  GreenState

Business:

• Hall of Flowers is moving its fall show from Santa Rosa to a new location in Sacramento. One reason is proximity to a larger airport.
• The WSJ profiled The Green Spot in Santa Cruz, a profitable California dispensary.
• High Times checked out California’s biggest ever clone release weekend.
• Distributor Nabis entered a deal to acquire a New Jersey distribution license.
• Glass House has submitted applications to the DEA to register its California MED operations.
• MM Brands said StateHouse would produce brands Mary’s Medicinals and Dixie in California.

Local:

• The city of Monterey approved two more pot shop licenses.
• A large scale industry project is moving forward in California City (Kern Co.)
  Mojave Desert News
• Sacramento city council is set to vote on a measure that would use pot taxes to provide a basic income for former foster youth.
  KCRA

Crime:

• A fourth and final person was sentenced to life in prison for the 2019 murder of Santa Cruz entrepreneur Tushar Atre.
  East Bay Times
• Ex-cops, who posed as federal agents to extort weed, were sentenced to federal prison.
  CourtHouse News