“Application stacking” in a Calif. town — Newsletter 3/27/26

THE BIG IDEA

Happy Friday all,

Rescheduling is likely on the way. Yesterday’s WeedWeek Wonks featured a presentation by veteran cannabiz CPA Gail Rand on the implications for your business’s financial strategy. Don’t miss it.

In the newsletter:

• Monterey Co. town pauses licensing for “application stacking” probe

Read up,

Alex

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FROM WEEDWEEK

Central coast town pauses licensing amid “application stacking” claims

Monterey County town Pacific Grove has delayed a lottery drawing to award a dispensary license, following complaints that eight of the ten extant applications are from retailer Off The Charts.

Read the story

Also in WeedWeek:

• WeedWeek Wonks: Financial Strategy Implications of Rescheduling
• SCOOP: Stiiizy sues retailer Cannabis 21+ for $1.2M
• Newsbrief: Indiana, Idaho may be opening to reform
• Why one NY team wanted their dessert delicacy inside of this LA garden party by former WW California editor Donnell Alexander

QUICK HITS

Federal:

• A new bipartisan bill, the CLIMB Act, would enable the industry to access financial services and list on U.S. stock markets.
  Cannabis Business Times
• The feds detailed plans for patients enrolled in certain federal health insurance programs to get up to $500 off hemp derived products annually. Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp said it has secured an exclusive contract to supply a national Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) serving 68,000 healthcare provider locations.
  Marijuana Moment
• A new U.S. Army rule removes the waiver requirement for recruits with a minor cannabis conviction.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• “Pot Inc.” is cooling its heels, waiting for news on rescheduling. Prominent business reporter Charles Gasparino remains skeptical it will happen. A Bloomberg interview with White House drug ‘czar’ Sara Carter didn’t mention rescheduling.
  NY Post
• MSO Vireo reported the strongest earnings in cannabis.
  Mindset Value
• With equity hard to come by, debt is dominating raises.
  MJBiz
• Whitney Economics forecasts U.S. cannabis growth to resume this year.
• MSO The Cannabist Company filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy, which can recognize foreign proceedings.
  Delaware Business Now!
• MJBiz reports on how breeders can protect their IP before legalization.
• Dispensaries face another crackdown on so-called “cashless ATMs.”
  NewsTalkKit.com
• Vertosa CSO Harold Han writes that the inside of cans — “can liners” — can affect beverage potency.
• A bank’s lawsuit against cannabinoid company MC Nutraceuticals is part of a broader “reckoning” for the hemp sector, Hemp Today reports.
• Cartoonist Brian “Box” Brown asks if the industry can stave off the fast approaching national hemp-derived THC ban. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America launched a new site promoting the regulation of hemp-derived THC beverages.
  @boxbrown
• Lawyer turned consultant Bob Hoban argues the industry faces a “global reckoning” on “Good Manufacturing Practice [GMP] Washing.“
• In a podcast interview, industry pioneer Steve DeAngelo discussed ‘Why legalization still isn’t working.’
  High Times

State and local:

• In Texas, the smokeable hemp ban takes effect next week. The industry says it will affect most of their inventory.
  Texas Tribune
• Maine’s unique MED market is threatened.
  High Times
• Massachusetts lawmakers grilled a spokeswoman for the initiative to re-prohibit REC. Meanwhile, industry workers in Massachusetts are pushing for stricter workplace safety protections.
  Cultivated, Talking Joints Memo
• Lawmakers in South Carolina reached an agreement to protect hemp beverages.
  CBS local
• MSO PharmaCann is closing a Denver area grow house.
  Denverite
• Nevada has a new top regulator, serving in an ‘acting’ capacity.
• Alabama’s MED regulator got hit with a tough audit weeks before product becomes available.
  AL Reporter
• Michigan is asking the state supreme court to halt a lawsuit challenging a new industry-hated tax.
  WOOD Radio
• Efforts to block new, stricter cannabis rules and a hemp drinks ban fell short in Ohio.
  StateNews
• The Boston Globe reports on the Rhode Island industry’s struggles.

Law enforcement:

• Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman, best known for Because I Got High, won a nearly $4M lawsuit against seven cops who raided his Ohio home and later sued him, claiming he had defamed them in songs and videos detailing the raid.
  Vanity Fair

Health and science:

• Yale and McGill universities reached an agreement to expand cannabis research.

Fun and interesting:

• Newly minted New York Times bestselling author Berner shared his biggest business mistake.
  @vladtv
• The Puffco Art Show is tomorrow (Saturday) in LA.

CALIFORNIA HITS

State:

• Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) claims he’s never smoked weed. Politico seemed dubious.
  

Business:

• Glass House reported full-year financial results.
• “The vibes are back,” Cultivated reports from Hall of Flowers‘ conference in Ventura.

Local:

• Mendocino County’s sheriff is seeking $4.5M to rebuild the cannabis enforcement unit and target unlicensed grows.
  KymKemp.com
• Consultancy Higher Origins published an open letter on the challenges facing Mendocino growers.
• Long Beach advanced plants to allow cannabis events.
  Long Beach Post
• Sacramento received a $2.5M state grant to support its equity program.
  Sacramento Observer
• The Desert News spoke to the new Cannabis Program Manager in California City
• Stiiizy proposed a new shop in San Pablo (Contra Costa Co.)
  Richmond Standard