MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

It's the most wonderful time of the year! As we get ready for another year in cannabis (hopefully one that is at least a little easier on our collective spirits and budgets), we wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2022. At Cannabis Business Times world headquarters, we really had a fun time this year. 

From January through today, we've hit the ground running with each of our print issues and each of our newsletters. The team has held steady with a commitment to delivering the most important news of the day and the most insightful features from around the industry. We have several mottos at CBT, and one of them is that "We're here to serve the market." We bring that sentiment to each story we publish.

The editorial team has highlighted some of their favorites from 2022, and we hope you enjoy revisiting them with us.

Check out the full list below.

Five of the oldest cannabis markets in the U.S. are facing declining year-over-year sales figures for the first time since launching their respective commercial retail programs for adult use.

After pandemic peaks equated to record growth across much of the industry in 2021, Colorado and Oregon dispensaries are now facing the brunt of 2022’s correction, while Nevada and Washington retailers also are on track to report double-digit downturns in terms of percent decreases to their sales totals this year. And California, which began adult-use retail more recently, on Jan. 1, 2018, also is amidst a shrinking regulated market (as far as sales go).

With the exception of Alaska, which does not tax sales to end users and therefore does not keep records pertaining to those transactions, according to its Department of Revenue, those five states represent the most mature adult-use markets in the U.S. They also represent some of the oldest medical markets, too, with California pioneering that reform front in 1996.

And age has something to do with the trends of 2022, according to Cooper Ashley, analytics manager, and Mitchell Laferla, data analyst, at cannabis data and research company Headset.

“The biggest contributing factor to whether a market is growing this year is where it’s at in its market maturity,” the analysts said via email. “The separation is not actually geographical in nature, rather it’s about legacy markets (California, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Washington) versus new markets (Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois).”

Specifically for states that track adult-use sales separately from medical sales, Maine, which launched its adult-use retail program in October 2020, Michigan (December 2019) and Arizona (January 2021) experienced the largest percent increases for adult-use sales through the first three quarters of 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021, according to data collected by CBT.

California, the tastemaker of the U.S. cannabis landscape, has once again given us a robust top-10 list of best-selling flower cultivars.

According to Headset data, the largest cannabis market in the world leaned heavily on sweet flavor profiles and recognizable genetics. Wedding Cake, Blue Dream, Gelato, Runtz, Durban Poison, GG4 found comfortable spots among the top 10 best-selling strains this year. One could argue as 2022 ticks into 2023, that these cultivars have become household names.

At the top of the list, based on sales from January through November, was Wedding Cake. California consumers purchased more than $35 million of this strain.

In the final 90 days of the year, Pacific Stone's Wedding Cake (at $18.85 an eighth) was among the best-selling by brand.

Wedding Cake’s genetic lineage remains a matter of debate, but the most cited cross is one between Cherry Pie and GSC (with GSC itself being a cross between OG Kush and Durban Poison).

Not for nothing, Wedding Cake earned Leafly’s prized Strain of the Year award in 2019. 

If you’ve been around the cannabis industry long enough, you’ve likely heard the saying that the cannabis industry ages in dog years. This is to say that one year in cannabis feels like seven (or more) in any other industry, due to the constant change and normalization of a newly legal industry.

The cannabis landscape across the U.S. has changed dramatically over the past 10 years since Washington and Colorado first legalized adult-use cannabis in 2012. More states have legalized both adult-use (21 states) and medical cannabis (38), creating a new, multi-billion-dollar industry in just a few short years.

But with so much change in cannabis across varying state markets, it can often be hard to keep track of what is happening when and where. Below is a roadmap explaining where we’ve been and what’s ahead for the cannabis industry, as well as key dates and information to keep in mind in the New Year.

Dec. 1, 2022: Rhode Island Launches Adult-Use Sales

The Ocean State launched adult-use cannabis sales in the final month of 2022, becoming the 16th state to expand commercial access to cannabis for adults 21 and older. The opening of adult-use sales comes just over six months after Gov. Dan McKee signed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act on May 25.

When adult-use sales launched Dec. 1, five existing compassion centers were given the green light to commence sales with hybrid (medical/adult-use) retail licenses: Aura of Rhode Island (Central Falls), Thomas C. Slater Center (Providence), Mother Earth Wellness (Pawtucket), Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center (Portsmouth), RISE Warwick (Warwick).

“This milestone is the result of a carefully executed process to ensure that our state’s entry into this emerging market was done in a safe, controlled and equitable manner,” McKee said in a Nov. 22 announcement. “It is also a win for our statewide economy and our strong, locally based cannabis supply chain, which consists of nearly 70 licensed cultivators, processors and manufacturers in addition to our licensed compassion centers. Finally, I thank the leadership of the General Assembly for passing this practical implementation framework in the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, and I look forward to continuing our work together on this issue.”

A group of 29 lawmakers are urging President Biden to understand the necessity of federally descheduling cannabis after Biden announced plans in October to direct Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to launch a review of how cannabis is scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act.

Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Brian Mast, R-Fla., as well as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led 24 of their colleagues in submitting a letter calling on Biden’s administration to deschedule cannabis.

“The instruction for the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to review the scheduling of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act was necessary and welcome,” the lawmakers wrote in the Dec. 22 letter. “However, it is time to deschedule marijuana. While Congress works to send you a comprehensive legalization bill, the administration should recognize the merits of full descheduling.”

RELATED: To Reschedule or Deschedule? Plant-Touching Businesses Weigh In

“Marijuana does not belong in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, a classification intended for exceptionally dangerous substances with high potential for abuse and no medical use,” the lawmakers continued. “The decision to schedule marijuana was rooted in stigma rather than an evidence-based process, and it is time to fully remedy this wrong. Descheduling marijuana can uphold federal and state authority to regulate cannabis, while also authorizing states that wish to continue to prohibit cannabis production and sales the right to do so.”

Detroit officials announced the winners of the city’s first 33 adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses Dec. 22 after legal challenges delayed the process.

The city’s Office of Marijuana Ventures & Entrepreneurship announced Thursday that it awarded licenses to 13 non-equity applicants and 20 equity applicants under Detroit’s revised adult-use cannabis ordinance, which city officials adopted in April.

The Office of Marijuana Ventures & Entrepreneurship awarded the non-equity licenses to the following applicants:

The following equity applicants were issued licenses:

The Office of Marijuana Ventures & Entrepreneurship published a full listing of the applicants in all categories, as well as their scores, here.

Regulators, lawmakers and industry members have spent the past year laying the groundwork for an adult-use cannabis industry that was legalized in March of last year.

In that time, they’ve built a unique plan that attempts to prioritize equity by offering additional opportunities to those disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs; minority, women and small business owners; and hemp growers.

But despite their efforts, the state has yet to begin retail sales, as regulators had planned do by the end of this year. With just days left in 2022, is a launch by the year’s end still attainable?

Now that all the regulatory pieces are in place along the supply chain, some operators are still holding on to hope. Housing Works, a nonprofit organization that operates other businesses, recently announced its plans to open its dispensary doors by Dec. 29, kicking off sales that have been nearly two years in the making.

New York has tried to position its adult-use program as “a model for the rest of the nation,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul in October. Regulators and lawmakers have hefty goals for the program–and in a state expected to do $1 billion in legal cannabis sales “relatively quickly,” according to Cannabis NYC Director Dasheeda Dawson, all eyes are sure to be on New York when adult-use sales do commence.

Eyeing Equity

Cannabis data and research company BDSA projects U.S. cannabis sales to grow from $25 billion in 2021 to $42 billion by 2026, with the new and emerging markets driving the majority of that growth, according to the company’s fall 2022 global cannabis market forecast. 

As the cannabis industry continues to emerge, brand differentiation is critical for new and existing operators.

And this year, the cannabis industry saw differentiation in products and how they are marketed, as well as a focus on consumer education.

Cannabis Business Times spoke with Laurie Parfitt, CEO of LKP Impact Consulting, a fractional CMO firm, to discuss the top cannabis marketing trends that emerged in 2022 and the opportunities they provide businesses.

1. Increased emphasis on product differentiation.

Parfitt says the industry is starting to see companies focus on how they can differentiate themselves in the edibles space by creating different forms of delivery methods.

“So instead of just doing the traditional gummy, now they’re looking at other methods of delivery that are still discrete and along the lines of an edible, but really create a differentiating point for them in the marketplace,” she says.

For example, while chewables have become a classic form of edibles within the industry, companies are starting to segue into other delivery methods, such as cooking and baking oils, savory snacks, beverages, mints and hard candies, sublinguals (listerine strips) and more. 

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Doobie, a multi-state cannabis delivery service, announced today that it has launched operations in San Francisco in partnership with Posh Green Cannabis Boutique, the first Equity Retail Cannabis Dispensary in San Francisco independently owned by a woman of color.

Located in Hunters Point, Posh Green was founded by San Francisco native Reese Benton. Posh Green offers top-shelf premium cannabis products and actively supports local farmers and greenhouse vendors. Benton is a force in the San Francisco cannabis market, and a leader, equity advocate and mentor for women in the cannabis industry.

"We are thrilled to commence Doobie cannabis delivery operations in San Francisco," said Jessica Powell, co-founder of Doobie. "Doobie is committed to bringing high-quality cannabis to consumers everywhere, and we are proud to partner with cannabis trailblazer Reese Benton of Posh Green to offer a better delivery option to customers in the Bay area."

"I'm excited to work with Doobie, a company whose commitment to excellence makes it the perfect cannabis delivery partner for Posh Green," said Benton.

Doobie delivery customers will receive 20% off their first orders. The company delivers to the San Francisco metro, South San Francisco and San Mateo areas Monday through Saturday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Doobie's product offerings can be viewed at trydoobie.com, which provides a streamlined, mobile-optimized shopping experience. Customers can browse popular products by category or brand, and Doobie expert consultants are available via chat and phone to answer any questions. Doobie empowers consumers to be confident in their choices and delighted with their experiences, ensuring that happiness is delivered.

Detroit, Mich., has cleared another legal hurdle in its efforts to stand up an adult-use cannabis market after a judge denied plaintiffs’ request to halt the city’s licensing process.

A prospective cannabis business owner and a medical cannabis company in Detroit filed litigation in September that claimed the city’s adult-use cannabis ordinance gives unfair preference to longtime Detroit residents.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, according the Detroit Free Press.

Michigan launched adult-use cannabis sales in December 2019, and Friedman issued a 19-page injunction last year to block the Detroit City Council’s original adult-use ordinance.

Detroit’s initial plan allowed business entrepreneurs to obtain “Detroit Legacy” status when applying for an adult-use cannabis license. The legacy provision would have also given preference to applicants with low incomes or past cannabis-related convictions.

A team of researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife is working to develop new hemp varieties that can withstand the southern U.S.’ high temperatures and substantial drought conditions, and meet legal requirements.

Russ Jessup, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research hemp breeder and associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, told Texas A&M Today that the “goal is to create a collection that incorporates the majority of genetic variation across all cannabis within C. sativa that will benefit farmers with high-yielding cultivars, biofuel refineries with reliable feedstocks, customers with quality products, and society with beneficial ecosystem services.”

The researchers received a two-year $201,174  Compliant Hemp Accelerated Improvement Network (CHAIN) grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop the hemp cultivars.

Jessup told the news outlet that the goal is to release between 10 and 20 lines by the end of 2023 and 20 to 50 more in 2024.

Addressing the Challenges

According to the news outlet, the researchers are trying to fill a “gap in breeding” in the state and address the significant challenges with hemp cultivation, explicitly noting the high heat and drought stress in Texas, which has made hemp production difficult.

According to a recent study, “Hemp plants can endure drier conditions after establishment, but severe drought results in early maturity and stunted plants.”

How does your company grow (its cannabis, that is)?

This year, sustainable cultivation practices and in-house R&D efforts emerged as common trends that growers pursued, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Here, three cultivators share which techniques they focused on in 2022 and what they may try going into 2023.

1. Biodynamic Farming

Lex Corwin, founder and CEO of Nevada City, Calif.-based Stone Road Farms, shared with Cannabis Business Times in January that the company, which grows cannabis in greenhouses and outdoors, uses elements of biodynamic farming.

“Obviously, [we don’t do] all of the crazy stuff, like combining cow manure with llama poop and growing under a full moon,” he said at the time. “We don’t have time for all that. But [we implement] other things, like regenerative water practices [and] using living soil. Instead of using pesticides or synthetics, [we use] predator mites. [We make] our own compost teas.”

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) and Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU) announced a plan Dec. 19 to issue up to 22 additional medical cannabis licenses across the state.

The rule would allow health officials to accept new license applications in a batching process, limiting all new licenses from being available at once. It would also increase the nonrefundable application fee for new licenses to $146,000.

According to the emergency rule, a “Batching cycle means the grouping for comparative review of applications for MMTC (medical marijuana treatment centers) licensure that are submitted for a specified number of available MMTC licenses within the same application window.”

The application window would be a five-day period during which the DOH can accept applications for the batching cycle. The emergency rule states that the DOH will release a separate rule to specify the number of licenses it will issue per batching cycle.

This long-awaited move from regulators would allow aspiring cannabis businesses to enter the state’s market, whose retail footprint remains limited to 22 operators, with Trulieve, Verano, Ayr Wellness and Curaleaf representing more than 58% of the state’s 501 retail locations as of Dec. 16, according to a weekly update from the OMMU.

Under state law, the DOH is required to issue four additional MMTC licenses for every 100,000 new patients. With 776,365 active patients as of Dec. 16, the state would need to issue more than 20 additional licenses to keep up with the number of active patients, Cannabis Business Times previously reported.

Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Chair Tiffany Rudolph announced during the commission’s Dec. 15 meeting that she will step down from her role as the regulatory authority over the state’s cannabis program transitions to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.

Rudolph has served on the commission since 2017, when she was first appointed by the governor to serve as a member filling the required role of an attorney with knowledge about medical cannabis laws. She was reappointed and named vice chair in 2019 before becoming the commission chair in 2021.

Rudolph will resign as of Dec. 31.

“It has been a distinct pleasure and honor to serve on the Medical Cannabis Commission,” Rudolph said in a public statement. “Over the past five years commissioners and staff have established Maryland as a model medical cannabis program and helped prepare the state for a transition to an expanded medical and adult-use market. I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues on the commission for their hard work and continued dedication to this program.”

Rudolph also served as chair of the Application Review Committee, where she oversaw the state’s issuance of 14 medical cannabis grower and processor licenses to minority- and women-owned businesses in 2020.

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2022 -- PRESS RELEASE -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., an international provider of consumer cannabis products, today announced the opening of its second Tallahassee dispensary, located at 2121 W. Tennessee St. Unit 10, Tallahassee FL 32304. The new location is Curaleaf's 55th in the Sunshine State and 145th nationwide.

The new 3,414-square-foot dispensary opens its doors to patients on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 9:00 a.m., with ongoing operating hours of 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Curaleaf Tallahassee is dedicated to providing high-quality cannabis products and service to patients at all stages of their cannabis journey. The new location offers a broad selection of premium cannabis products, including high-quality flower and pre-rolls, BlueKudu Chocolate, Select Squeeze, Select X-Bites, Select Elite, Elite Live and Live Rosin vape cartridges, as well as other concentrates by Curaleaf.

"We are thrilled to continue expanding access to medical cannabis for Florida's growing patient population," said Matt Darin, CEO of Curaleaf. "We look forward to welcoming patients from Tallahassee and across the Sunshine State with an unrivaled retail experience and the high-quality, trusted cannabis products they can rely on."

For more information on Curaleaf's locations, patient resources and products in Florida, please visit: https://curaleaf.com/dispensary/florida.

PRESS RELEASE - The list for pesticides that can be used on cannabis without being a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act has been updated. Please note the following products have been added:

To view the updated list, click here for a pdf or click here for an Excel form. For questions regarding this change, contact Jolynn Morris at (303) 869-9060 or email [email protected].

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is currently reviewing pesticide labels upon request and maintaining a list of products whose label it has reviewed that it believes could be used on marijuana without violating 35-10-117(1)(i), as long as the applicator follows the label directions.

Please be sure to review the list; pesticide products may be removed from the allowed products list if the registrant has not renewed their pesticide product with the department. Use of unregistered pesticides on cannabis would be a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act.

Stay Informed

New York’s adult-use cannabis program won’t be fully implemented before the end of the year, but state regulators announced Dec. 21 that at least one licensee will begin sales before 2023.

Housing Works Cannabis Co., one of eight nonprofits that the state’s Cannabis Control Board approved for a retail license in November, plans to begin serving adult-use cannabis customers at 4:20 p.m. on Dec. 29 at its facility at Broadway and Eight Street in Manhattan, Chris Alexander, executive director for New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), announced at Wednesday’s board meeting.

We've done it NY! Dec. 29, the FIRST 21+ legal cannabis sales will begin with a @HousingWorks non-profit assisting justice-involved individuals.

Thank you @GovKathyHochul for your commitment to the Seeding Opportunity Initiative & all you've done to bring this industry to life.

Housing Works first made its intentions known earlier this month to become the first licensee to open its doors to the new marketplace, as reported by Spectrum News on Dec. 14.

“It is our goal to be the first,” Housing Works CEO Charles King told the news outlet. “We will not on the 29th have the build-out complete, but we will have a number of our display cases and cash registers up and be able to serve people.”

Housing Works’ complete build-out of its retail space will likely take several more weeks, King said.

TORONTO, Dec. 21, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE– TerrAscend Corp., a leading NorthAmerican cannabis operator, announced that its subsidiary, WDB Holding PA Inc.,has completed an amendment (the "amendment") to its existing $115 million seniorsecured term loan in Pennsylvania (the"loan").

"TerrAscend has taken significantmeasures recently to reduce its outstanding debt and interest expense, furtherstrengthening our path to positive sustainable cash flow from operations,"TerrAscend Executive Chairman Jason Wild said."The company has access to multiple additional sources of funds, many ofwhich are nondilutive and noninterest bearing in nature, and we intend toexplore all options for continued debt reduction and balance sheet optimization."

The amendment will reduce company debt by $35 million andannual interest expense by $5million. Combined with recently announced debt retirement of $125 million,company debt will be reduced by a cumulative $160 million and will resultin total annual interest savings of $15 million. TerrAscendwill make the $35million payment on March 15, 2023, at theoriginal prepayment price of 103.22% to par. The loan matures in December 2024 andoriginally could not be prepaid without penalty until June 2023. 

Under the terms of the amendment, TerrAscendwill adjust collateral to balance its debt more appropriately with its assets.Included in this rebalancing will be the company’s Maplewood and Lodi, N.J.,dispensary assets as added collateral for the Pennsylvania loan, upon satisfactionof certain conditions. Additionally, the amendment now affords the companyflexibility to enter into a sale-leaseback transaction or mortgage, at itsdiscretion, on its cultivation facility in Pennsylvania, which has anestimated value of $50million.

MÜV Lake City is located at 2938 W US Highway 90, a busy thoroughfare with an average daily traffic count of roughly 32,000 vehiclesIn 2022, Verano has opened 21 new MÜV locations in Florida, underscoring the company’s continued retail expansion across the stateVerano’s active operations span 13 states, comprised of 120 dispensaries and 14 cultivation and processing facilities with more than 1 million square feet of cultivation capacity

CHICAGO, Dec. 21, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Verano Holdings Corp., a leading multistate cannabis company, announced MÜV Lake City will open on Dec. 23, marking the company’s 62nd Florida dispensary and 120th retail location nationwide. MÜV Lake City, located at 2938 W US Highway 90, is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.

According to Florida’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), there are currently more than 776,000 qualified medical cannabis patients in the state. OMMU officials project there will be 889,497 active patients by the end of June 2023, and 1,044,772 active patients by the end of June 2024.

“Opening MÜV Lake City, our first medical cannabis dispensary in Columbia County, adds another convenient location for our valued patients across northern Florida,” said John Tipton, President of Verano. “We’re excited to add MÜV Lake City to our growing Florida retail footprint and introduce our dedicated team of compassionate cannabis advisers and premium medical cannabis offerings to patients across the region.”

As a demonstration of Verano’s commitment to provide a convenient and reliable experience for Florida patients, MÜV dispensaries feature online menus for effortless browsing of their extensive, award-winning product selection, including the company’s signature Verano Reserve flower, Encore edibles, and Savvy flower and extracts. The company also offers one-on-one virtual and in-store consultations at no cost to the patient and provides patient-centric concierge services via phone, email, web chat and text to address patient questions and inquiries. For additional convenience and accessibility, patients can choose to order ahead at muvfl.com or through the MÜV mobile application available in the Google Play and Apple App stores for express in-store pickup.

MÜV’s comprehensive product selection includes edibles, chocolates and lozenges, flower, pre-rolls, an array of vaporizer pens, concentrates, metered-dose inhalers, topicals and oral sprays; along with patented encapsulation formulations in its EnCaps capsules, tinctures, 72-hour transdermal patches and transdermal gels.