Retail

New reports show that legal cannabis sales worldwide spiked 46 percent to $14.7 billion from 2018 to 2019.

Ontario’s cannabis wholesaler has announced plans for new craft cannabis regulations and to allow on-site cannabis shops for licensed growers.

Alaskan officials have approved curbside and drive-thru cannabis sales to support social distancing efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Vallejo Holistic Health Center in Vallejo, California is employing a “virtual budtender” to fulfill customer orders while maintaining social distance; the process includes a 6-foot long pole with a basket attached.

Budtenders at Clarity Cannabis in British Columbia have become the first cannabis dispensary workers in Canada to join a union.

Cannabis companies in Colorado set a new sales record last year of $1.75 billion, which generated more than $302.4 million in tax revenue for the state.

Another cannabis industry titan is experiencing cash flow issues: delivery platform Eaze is reportedly preparing for further layoffs and a pivot to retail.

An official report has suggested that cannabis sales are 420 percent higher along the state border with Idaho, where cannabis remains illegal.

High Times has signed a deal to purchase dispensary licenses in Los Angeles and Las Vegas; the company plans to open two flagship stores that will sell local Cannabis Cup award-winning strains.

Stephen Rechif is the General Manager of Bloom Room, a popular cannabis dispensary located in downtown San Francisco.

One week after the launch of legal cannabis sales in the state, Illinois dispensaries are already low on products, forcing some to close and/or stop serving adult-use customers.

License applicants who were rejected due to a glitch in the Department of Health website are hoping to have the chance to resubmit and be reconsidered via a merit-based system.

Michigan adult-use cannabis sales are set to begin this weekend on Sunday, December 1 — about 80% of the state’s municipalities, however, have passed local bans on industry operations.

Medmen Enterprises has announced the cutting of more than 190 jobs; the company says it’s an effort to slim down and focus the cannabis retailer’s national footprint.

The Texas medical cannabis dispensary applications portal was shut down without warning after just one week on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s website.

Meg Sanders is co-founder of the Canna Provisions Group — a boutique dispensary in Lee, Massachusetts — and co-owner of the successful MiNDFUL dispensary brand in Colorado.

Cannabis industry veteran Steve DeAngelo is a world-renowned cannabis activist, author, and cofounder of Harborside, Steep Hill Labs, the Arcview Group, and the NCIA.

Michigan regulators have announced that, as per federal law, hemp-derived CBD foods and beverages can only be distributed via licensed cannabis dispensaries. Other industrial hemp products, however — such as hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein, and hemp seed oil — can be produced and sold commercially in the state.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently said, unprompted, that he expects grocery stores — presumably including Whole Foods — to begin retailing cannabis products once legalization occurs.

The Vermont Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill establishing regulations for an adult-use cannabis marketplace.

Cannabis holding company Acreage Holdings opened a new retail location in Queens, New York today.

The United Bodegas of America and other bodega owners are lobbying New York lawmakers for the ability to sell cannabis alongside their current offerings of tobacco and alcohol.

The state’s other seven dispensaries all opened to long in-person lines, a challenge Northeast Alternatives hopes to avoid.