BottomBounce
21 hours ago
Tilray Brands, Inc., a lifestyle consumer products company, engages in the research, cultivation, processing, and distribution of medical cannabis products in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Beverage Alcohol, Cannabis, Distribution, and Wellness. It also offers medical and adult-use cannabis products; purchases and resells pharmaceutical and wellness products; and produces, markets, sells, and distributes beverage alcohol products, and hemp-based food and other wellness products. The company offers its products under the Tilray, Aphria, Broken Coast, Symbios, Navcora, Charlotte's Web, Montauk Brewing, Shock Top, 10 Barrell, Breckenridge Brewery, SweetWater Brewing, Breckenridge Distillery, Blue Point Brewing, Broken Coast, Redecan, XMG, Manitoba Harvest, CC Pharma, Good Supply, Solei, Mollo, Chowie Wowie, Original Stash, Canaca, RIFF, Bake Sale, The Batch, HEXO, Alpine Beer Company, Green Flash, Hiball Energy, Redhook Brewery, Square Mile Cider, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Runner's High Brewing Company, Happy Flower, and Fresh Hemp Foods brands. It sells its products to retailers, wholesalers, patients, physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, researchers, and governments, as well as direct to consumers. The company was formerly known as Tilray, Inc. and changed its name to Tilray Brands, Inc. in January 2022. Tilray Brands, Inc. is headquartered in Leamington, Canada. $TLRY
doomed
3 days ago
Hawaii House Shelves Recreational Cannabis Bill in Stunning Reversal
Ben Stevens (Doomed)
FEBRUARY 13, 2025
Hawaii House Shelves Recreational Cannabis Bill in Stunning Reversal
Less than 48 hours after Hawaii lawmakers appeared poised to legalize recreational cannabis, the state’s House of Representatives unexpectedly slammed the brakes, shelving the measure until at least 2032.
The sudden procedural move on Thursday, led by Representative Chris Todd, stunned advocates and lawmakers alike, reigniting frustration over the state’s stalled cannabis reform efforts.
Last week, Business of Cannabis reported that House Bill 1246 (HB 1246), championed by Representative David Tarnas, cleared two key committees: the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, chaired by Tarnas, and the House Agriculture and Food Systems Committee.
The bill proposed legalizing personal cannabis use for adults 21 and over starting in 2026 while also establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework under the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
It would also have seen the creation of a new state agency, the Hawaii Cannabis and Hemp Office, to oversee both medical and recreational cannabis, as well as hemp products. It would also impose a tax on cannabis sales, as seen throughout the US.
Despite gaining momentum earlier in the week, clearing two key committees with a 6-4 and 5-0 vote, respectively, Todd introduced a rare motion to recommit the bill to committee, effectively tabling it for the year. The motion passed via voice vote without public debate.
“On this particular bill, it became clear that we did not have enough support to pass the measure in this session,” Todd told Civil Beat following the vote.
The bill remains alive for the 2026 legislative session without needing to be reintroduced, and a separate Senate proposal, SB 1613, is still under consideration.
doomed
3 days ago
Good luck guys. You are in good hands with Grumpy Trumpy!
Business of Cannabis North America
Republican Senators Introduce Bill to Block Cannabis 280E Tax Relief Even if Cannabis Is Rescheduled
Ben Stevens (doomed)
FEBRUARY 13, 2025
As the cannabis rescheduling project hangs in the balance, two Republican senators are attempting to ensure that one of its core benefits would be made redundant, even if rescheduling is successful.
Aside from the potential of interstate trade and the official acknowledgement of cannabis’ medical uses, businesses across the US are primarily looking ahead to the tax benefits that will come with rescheduling.
Section 280E of the federal tax code currently prohibits businesses involved in trafficking Schedule I or II controlled substances from deducting ordinary business expenses, leading to significantly higher effective tax rates for cannabis businesses compared to other industries.
Figures from Whitney Economics suggest that the additional tax paid by US cannabis operators due to 280E is now over $2bn a year, including hundreds of millions of dollars for some of the largest companies.
However, a newly proposed bill from senators James Lankford and Pete Ricketts would indefinitely extend this tax burden.
Under the proposed legislation, any company involved in ‘trafficking marijuana’ would remain subject to 280E, unless cannabis is completely descheduled—a scenario that remains politically improbable in the near future.
Lankford, a long-time cannabis opponent, framed his bill as a safeguard against legitimizing the industry.
“Marijuana doesn’t make our families stronger, our streets safer, or our workplaces more productive,” he stated, adding.
The effort has been strongly backed by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a prohibitionist advocacy group which has already proven a major hindrance to the rescheduling process.
SAM President Kevin Sabet hailed the bill as a way to prevent what he called $2.3 billion in ‘tax cuts’ for the cannabis industry, stating that ‘the federal government should not be in the business of giving tax relief to the federally addiction-for-profit marijuana industry.’
The bill has sparked sharp criticism from cannabis industry advocates, who argue that maintaining 280E restrictions will only benefit the illicit market by making legal cannabis less competitive.
doomed
3 days ago
Business of Cannabis North America
Trump’s DEA Revolving Door: 4th Administrator in as Many Months Rings Alarm Bells for Cannabis Industry
FEBRUARY 13, 2025
The fourth head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in as many months has been given the green light by President Donald Trump, painting an even more worrying picture for the future of cannabis in the US.
Trump has now nominated anti-cannabis Terrance C. Cole as the next DEA administrator, less than a month after appointing long-time cannabis sceptic Derek S. Maltz as ‘acting administrator.’
While it’s not yet clear why Maltz was shunned so quickly, his replacement, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and former DEA official, has caused even more panic in the country’s cannabis community.
Cole has historically taken an even more hardline stance than his all-too-temporary predecessor, publishing numerous public posts claiming, among other things, that cannabis is ‘four times more dangerous’ than 30 years ago, that it leads to higher suicide risk, while advocating a #justsayno stance.
Before taking office, Cole must still be confirmed by the Senate, which could prove to be a contentious process given his hardline stance on cannabis and drug enforcement. If confirmed, he will inherit the rescheduling review, along with growing scrutiny over the DEA’s role in delaying administrative hearings on the proposal.
While this places the rescheduling process on even more dangerous territory, one analyst told Business of Cannabis that it could signal much more serious consequences for cannabis policy in the country.
Deborah Tharp, cannabis legal researcher and consultant, says that this gives legitimacy to the theory that the administration is attempting to push through Project 2025 regardless of public opinion, including a war on state-legal cannabis.
“Trump has hardcore prohibitionists in all the right places now. Time to start praying for miracles.”
However, she stipulates that his choices reveal a lack of cohesive policy, no surprise given the president’s tendency to change his position on key topics on a dime.
This has already been demonstrated in his picks for the head of the DEA. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first selection for administrator, announced in November that he was withdrawing himself from the process as he dealt with a House of Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct.
His next choice, Florida County Sheriff Chad Chronister, abruptly withdrew his nomination for the post just weeks later.
Chronister’s sudden exit was initially framed as a voluntary withdrawal, citing dedication to his constituents; however, Trump soon sought to correct this to his own narrative, stating: “He didn’t pull out. I pulled him out because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters.”
With suspicions that the far-right think tank, The Heritage Foundation, is largely guiding this administration, Tharp fears the US is ‘going to get very, very regressive’ in the coming months and years.
doomed
4 days ago
Trump taps career DEA official to lead agency, oversee marijuana rescheduling
Doomed
February 12, 2025
President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is Terrance Cole, a career anti-cannabis DEA official currently serving as a top law enforcement official in Virginia.
The appointment of a longtime DEA insider – which Trump announced midday Tuesday in a social media post – is not likely to boost hopes that the agency will resume the Biden administration-initiated marijuana rescheduling process.
A previous Trump pick to head the DEA, Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff, abruptly withdrew his nomination for the post.
Cole served more than two decades in the DEA, retiring in 2020 as the acting regional director overseeing operations in Canada, Central America and Mexico.
Trump has said he supports marijuana rescheduling, but Cole’s resume does not suggest he may embrace cannabis reform.
Cole worked under Virginia’s anti-marijuana governor
after exiting the DEA, Cole joined Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration, where he served as the state secretary of public safety and homeland security.
Youngkin, who has repeatedly opposed adult-use marijuana sales in Virginia, praised Cole’s appointment.
“He will put the safety and security of Americans first as head of the DEA,” Youngkin said in a statement.
“It’s a great day to be an American and a bad day to be a drug dealer.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Cole would assume control of the paused marijuana rescheduling process.
Marijuana rescheduling process remains up in air.
Rescheduling has been on hold since January after pro-legalization “designated participants” in hearings before a DEA administrative law judge accused the DEA of bias.
Critics have accused the DEA of slow-walking the process and refusing to hear evidence from states, including Colorado, in support of the change.
Considering those designated participants’ appeal and resuming the process – or abandoning it – is solely up to the discretion of the DEA administrator.
The acting administrator, Derek Maltz, also a longtime DEA insider, has not moved to resume the rescheduling process.
Nor did he indicate any plans one way or the other.
Capitol Hill observers believe federal agencies such as the DEA as well as Republican lawmakers will pursue whatever marijuana policy the White House demands.
However, a Trump edict issued on Inauguration Day froze all changes to federal law pending review – and approval – by a department or agency chief appointed by the president.
BottomBounce
4 days ago
Tilray Brands, Inc., a lifestyle consumer products company, engages in the research, cultivation, processing, and distribution of medical cannabis products in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Beverage Alcohol, Cannabis, Distribution, and Wellness. It also offers medical and adult-use cannabis products; purchases and resells pharmaceutical and wellness products; and produces, markets, sells, and distributes beverage alcohol products, and hemp-based food and other wellness products. The company offers its products under the Tilray, Aphria, Broken Coast, Symbios, Navcora, Charlotte's Web, Montauk Brewing, Shock Top, 10 Barrell, Breckenridge Brewery, SweetWater Brewing, Breckenridge Distillery, Blue Point Brewing, Broken Coast, Redecan, XMG, Manitoba Harvest, CC Pharma, Good Supply, Solei, Mollo, Chowie Wowie, Original Stash, Canaca, RIFF, Bake Sale, The Batch, HEXO, Alpine Beer Company, Green Flash, Hiball Energy, Redhook Brewery, Square Mile Cider, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Runner's High Brewing Company, Happy Flower, and Fresh Hemp Foods brands. It sells its products to retailers, wholesalers, patients, physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, researchers, and governments, as well as direct to consumers. The company was formerly known as Tilray, Inc. and changed its name to Tilray Brands, Inc. in January 2022. Tilray Brands, Inc. is headquartered in Leamington, Canada. $TLRY
doomed
5 days ago
Home / Finance
GOP senators’ bill would keep 280E for cannabis operators permanently intact
Doomed
February, 11 2025
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Two Republican U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would continue to ban federal tax deductions for the cannabis industry – regardless of whether marijuana is rescheduled.
According to Law360, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska introduced the “No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act,” which would essentially kill any substantive tax breaks operators hoped to receive if marijuana status were downgraded from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substance Act.
Under Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, cannabis operators are prohibited from deducting typical business expenses, such as payroll and marketing, on federal tax returns.
So, in that respect, the senators’ proposal would not change the federal government’s ongoing policy stance regarding 280E, a provision that has wiped more than $1 billion from the balance sheet of marijuana companies nationwide.
Some tax experts expressed doubts the bill would advance, given the widespread popularity of marijuana reform, Law360 reported.
In January, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s the chief administrative law judge canceled the marijuana rescheduling process indefinitely amid accusations the agency is deliberately corrupting the hearing.
In August 2023, federal health regulators under former President Joe Biden recommended rescheduling marijuana.
doomed
6 days ago
Claims of marijuana testing lab fraud hit New York’s $1 billion adult-use market
Chris Roberts, Reporter
February 10, 2025
Familiar allegations of marijuana testing lab fraud – including vape oil cartridges with “certified” total cannabinoids of more than 100% – are now roiling the adult-use market in New York.
Accusations that labs are inflating THC potency to satisfy clients – and potentially manipulating data in tests meant to ensure consumer safety – echo similar complaints made across the country.
But they hit New York at a sensitive time.
Critics say the lab-fraud problem threatens to undermine consumer confidence just as recreational cannabis sales in New York eclipsed $1 billion for the first time after a rocky start.
Making the problem worse, according to two lab operators in New York, is that regulators aren’t taking the problem seriously.
‘The last thing NY cannabis needs right now’
In a December letter to the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), representatives from two of the state’s 16 testing labs outlined what they said are “serious problems.”
The problems included cannabis products with inflated THC potency, as well as vape oil cartridges with impossible cannabinoid profiles.
“If these issues remain unaddressed, we fear that unethical and unsafe lab results will become the norm, mirroring situations seen in other states and Canada,” Aaron Riley, the CEO of Orlando, Florida-based Certified Testing and Data, and Edward Lukaszek, the CEO of Biotrax Testing Laboratory in Buffalo, told the OCM in a Dec. 17 letter obtained Doomed.
They added that “no enforcement on this matter will only hamper the program for years to come.”
“We respectfully request that the OCM enact immediate recalls to begin dealing with these issues,” their letter continued.
“There is no place for such behavior in New York’s cannabis industry. It is leading to an erosion of trust – the last thing NY cannabis needs right now.”
But, as Riley and Williams Nichols, lead technical director at Biotrax, regulators are brushing off their concerns.
Lab officials are also months overdue in releasing data sets that could paint a fuller picture of the situation, they claimed.
In other states, anonymized testing data has revealed patterns that suggest data manipulation.
That would track with what some industry players believe is a deliberate effort to pump results to please clients.
Meanwhile, Nic Fera, a part-owner of Amsterdam, New York, cultivator Goldfinch Flora and board member of the Cannabis Farmers Alliance, claimed to have been approached by a salesperson from a licensed lab who offered a guarantee of high-potency test results – for a price.
“It’s a crisis for sure,” Fera told MJBizDaily.
Marijuana regulators’ actions unclear
In response to a request for comment, an OCM spokesperson said the agency “does not comment on open investigations, nor does it disclose actions taken against a licensee or permittee to a third party.”
In a Dec. 20 response to Lukaszek and Riley, state cannabis officials insisted they are taking “these concerns seriously and (are) committed to protecting public health and safety.”
“I can assure you that OCM is investigating the concerns you provided and will act in accordance with its regulatory protocols, should any allegations of potency inflation be substantiated,” wrote Nicole Rosa, the executive deputy director of the agency’s Office of Health and Scientific Affairs.
Rosa also wrote that whatever action OCM might be taking is confidential.
“OCM does not comment on open investigations, nor does it disclose actions taken against a licensee or permittee to another licensee or permittee, including to the complainant,” she wrote, in part.
“While the information you shared is much appreciated as we work to investigate concerns regarding potency inflation, OCM cannot recall products or impose disciplinary action upon licensees based solely upon the information you presented.”
Blowing the whistle
In their letter, Biotrax’s Lukaszek and Certified Testing’s Riley claim to “have received customer complaints regarding pesticide contamination, excessive micro reruns and false COAs (certificates of analysis)” produced by three competing labs.
Those labs are also “consistently reporting products with tested values beyond what other labs have found,” the letter claimed.
The lab officials also claimed in their letter to “have performed off shelf testing on various products proving that these results are dangerously inflated and misleading consumers.”
“Based on our findings, there is a pattern in the data which illustrates that these labs are likely inflating every test they complete.”
According to the letter, Certified Testing and Biotrax tested flower that a competitor certified at more than 30%.
Their tests found THC content to be in the teens.
The letter also identifies what it claims are several dozen examples of vaporizer oil cartridges with “certified” cannabinoid profiles of at or near 100%.
“A fifth grader can tell you that’s not right,” Riley told MJBizDaily.
How high is too high?
Such lab results are not meant to be exact.
State law allows a “potency variance” of 85%-115% in adult-use products, according to guidelines updated last summer.
However, even total cannabinoid percentages in excess of 90% are questionable.
That’s because vape oil generally contains terpenes for flavor and other compounds, such as “thinning agents,” that allow the product to be vaporized, according to published research.
In a 2021 study of 12 vape oil cartridges obtained from legal stores conducted by the California Department of Public Health, average total THC content rarely exceeded 70%.
In an review of vaporizer products on New York cannabis store menus, advertised THC contents in excess of 90% was common.
Both the wide potency variance and what they claimed is lax enforcement of mislabeled potency threaten to render lab results meaningless, Riley said.
Familiar lab-testing problem with state solution
According to some critics, similar dynamics are unfolding in other states.
In Massachusetts, one lab also active in New York, MCR Labs, sued some of its competitors in state court after it uncovered what it claimed to be a widespread pattern of potency inflation and data manipulation that allowed product tainted by mold or pesticides to be cleared for sale.
At the same time, most observers agree that best practices involve aggressive state oversight.
In other states, such as California and Colorado, state reference laboratories obtain product from marijuana store shelves for independent testing.
When products are found to have inflated potency or to be contaminated with pesticides or mold, the state regulators then issue a recall.
Recalls in California increased significantly – and some labs went out of business – after stricter regulations were imposed, including a more rigorous formula for determining total THC.
But New York has yet to publicize any recalls or reference testing.
An OCM spokesperson said in September that as of then, reference testing “has not been targeted at validating the reliability of permitted laboratory results.”
doomed
1 week ago
Home / Manufacturing / Testing
California issued 63 cannabis recalls, nearly 500 product embargoes in 2024
By Chris Casacchi
February 6, 2025
California’s chief cannabis regulator on Wednesday morning released information about enforcement and consumer-safety efforts the agency initiated in 2024, a year marked by widespread accounts of pesticides and other contaminants found in commercial marijuana products statewide.
The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) issued 481 embargoes last year, resulting in hundreds of thousands of marijuana products and raw materials removed from the supply chain until internal investigations deemed them safe or mandated their destruction, according to a news release.
“DCC is using every resource at its disposal to ensure cannabis products meet safety standards before they reach the marketplace,” the agency’s director, Nicole Elliott, said in a statement.
“We are constantly learning and refining our investigative and recall processes to make California’s market stronger and safer while building upon a compliance model that consumers can trust.”
This is the first time the agency has released embargo figures, MJBiz confirmed.
Recalls up amid pesticide outbreak
The DCC’s product investigations team in 2024 issued 63 recall notices that included 259 products and nearly 25,000 individual units.
MJBiz in early June highlighted the department’s efforts in ramping up cannabis product recalls and health warnings to consumers, prompted primarily at the time by the presence of aspergillus, a fungus that can grow on cannabis plants.
Later that month, a report by the Los Angeles Times and WeedWeek highlighted the presence of pesticides in several regulated products.
That report was an important catalyst that led to more recalls, according to a source with direct knowledge of the agency’s structure and enforcement mechanisms.
The source said other factors that prompted more recalls included:
Bunk products.
Routine DCC visits to marijuana businesses.
Abnormalities in the state’s product tracking system, Metrc.
Internal investigations carried out by the agency’s environmental compliance and manufacturing safety branch.
Closing the gap
Recalls and other enforcement actions go through a cumbersome, painstaking process before they are issued, ensuring the orders can withstand regulatory scrutiny and potential legal challenges, the source told MJBiz.
Most industry recalls are issued several weeks to months after products hit the shelves or are purchased, according to an MJBiz analysis of recalls last year in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York.
The DCC, according to the source, is prioritizing closing that gap through timely lab testing confirmations, the launch of Metrc’s Retail ID and other stress testers, including analyzing timelines and delays.
The regulator issued 366 disciplinary actions against licensees in 2024, including 230 license suspensions and 73 permit denials or revocations.
Testing labs, which allegedly played a role in THC potency inflation, questionable methodology and inaccurate or altered results, were involved in 21 disciplinary actions, including four license revocations and/or denials, and three permit suspensions.
At any given time, more than 30,000 cannabis products and 100 million units are in the supply chain in California, the world’s largest regulated market.
doomed
1 week ago
Home / Cultivation
Oregon’s marijuana glut leads to lowest prices ever, regulator says
By MJBiz
February 6, 2025
Marijuana prices in Oregon have dropped to their lowest levels ever because of the oversupply resulting from last year’s record-breaking harvest.
Read: low sales.
Nearly 12.3 million pounds of marijuana was harvested in the state in 2024, but demand for cannabis products is flat at $960 million – about the same as in 2023.
That’s according to the “2025 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report” issued by the state’s regulator, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC).
The median retail price per gram of flower declined to $3.75 because the amount of product available is double what people are purchasing, the agency reported.
Although Oregon regulators in 2019 issued a moratorium on new licenses for cultivators and retailers and extended it last year, the industry has continued to grow too much so-so product.
If federal legalization occurs, it likely would permit interstate commerce, which would open new markets by enabling Oregon producers to sell bunk products across state lines.
Most experts don’t believe federal legalization will happen under the Trump administration, but the marijuana rescheduling process started by then-President Joe Biden could lead to interstate commerce.
Cannabis consultant Beau Whitney, founder of Portland-based Whitney Economics, said Oregon is failing the industry and should impose limits on the supply of marijuana entering the market.
“State reform has to take place,” Whitney told Axios Portland.
Marijuana businesses are taking two approaches to dealing with the oversupply, according to Portland-based cannabis attorney Vince Sliwoski.
Some producers might ignore interstate commerce laws and recoup their costs by selling their marijuana out of state.
Others are exiting the industry and selling their licenses.
“Similar to Canada, the industry is kind of limping along and will continue to,” Sliwoski told Axios.
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4 days ago
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