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Seven testing labs in Nevada told regulators the new flower sampling rule could let contaminated product pass. Sixty-three Massachusetts legislators, led by the Speaker and the Senate President, came out against Question 8, and eight Boston clinicians wrote that the state never taught the public what cannabis can do. Colorado lawmakers open the state’s marijuana consumer safety audit this morning. Total Wine has spent $510,000 lobbying Congress on hemp drinks this year, and eight FDA information-sharing agreements with state regulators expire October 31st.
🧪 Sixty grams, unmixed
🗳️ Ten years, new side
🍷 One issue, $510,000
📚 Storage is a lesson
Trust, but verify.
The Office of the State Auditor released its marijuana consumer safety audit on Monday, with 14 recommendations for the Marijuana Enforcement Division and the state health department. About 41,000 harvest batches, 26 percent of 2025’s total, were never tested for contaminants. From 2023 through 2025, a product named in a health advisory stayed on shelves more than seven months on average, and some went as long as three years before a warning. Colorado lets businesses collect their own testing samples, while 24 of the 42 states with cannabis markets use lab staff or another third party. MED planned to change that this year and dropped the idea after industry objected to the cost. “It was decided now wasn’t the right time to propose that as a policy change,” deputy director Kyle Lambert told the Denver Gazette. Senior director Dominique Mendiola said the recommendations will inform “a constructive road map,” and MED agreed to partially carry out the safety framework changes by December 2027. Auditors spent more than two years combing through our very first year at the Commission. They generally came up empty, and the argument that did come up was over the initial inventory that transferred to us from the Department of Public Health. Audits are always going to find something, and sometimes they’re political. I’m most curious to see what MED’s full response is. (Denver Gazette; Axios; Colorado Office of the State Auditor)
Dr. Sam Blakemore, chair of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, told WBRC that executive director John McMillan will leave October 29th after about five years, and that a search committee should handle the succession. McMillan told the Alabama Political Reporter on Monday that he has no plans to go. Asked whether he was leaving, he said, “Not me.” No board vote is on record. The commission still hasn’t issued its first integrated licenses, and applicants are before an administrative law judge after three failed attempts to award them. I’ve been there and done that. My own chair announced my resignation before I’d planned to step down and move on, so this one gets an eye roll from me. Here we go again. (Alabama Political Reporter; WBRC)
The latest UMass Amherst-WCVB poll of 800 registered voters, taken October 5th through 12th, has 16 percent definitely voting yes on Question 8 and 47 percent definitely voting no, with a margin of error of 4.6 points. That 16 percent makes sense to me. There are people morally opposed to legalization, and some of them probably live in Massachusetts. On Monday, Ricky Williams stood in a downtown Boston dispensary and warned that ending retail sales “could set a really dangerous precedent.” He was joined by Gosder Cherilus of Primitiv and Ryan Dominguez of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition. I was glad to help host Ricky this weekend, and I’m grateful for his genuine support for cannabis and for the folks working in and around the space. His visit to the Patriots tailgate certainly raised awareness, and it boosted morale for the volunteers and campaign workers in the closing stretch. Ricky co-founded Project Champion, a bipartisan group of former pro athletes backing legal, regulated markets, and he joined us recently on The Hybrid. The case for voting no is at StoptheRepealMA.com. (MJBizDaily; The Boston Globe)
🏪 Ontario plans to give the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario power to inspect unlicensed storefronts and online sellers, seize product and equipment, and issue administrative penalties. The powers are part of a legislative package the province hasn’t tabled yet. “Illegal cannabis retailers that operate outside the rules undermine the businesses that play by them,” Attorney General Doug Downey said. Cameron Bishop of Organigram put the illicit share of provincial sales near 30 percent, citing the government’s announcement. (StratCann)
At Monday’s meeting, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission told the state’s licensed cultivators they may need to store their harvest for one to two years while manufacturing, testing and distribution rules catch up. MahāMotā Cultivation expects to harvest within about seven weeks, and Nebraska has no licensed processor, transporter, lab or dispensary to take the crop. State law doesn’t give the commission authority to license a testing lab. Garrett Elting of MahāMotā told commissioners that degradation can set in within three to six months. “The longer we hold on to this product, the quicker it degrades,” he said. The Nebraska agency has lacked any political support that would speed up its timelines and lead to a meaningful market. Storing a crop for up to two years is its own quality control headache, though. Something has to give. (Nebraska Public Media; Nebraska Examiner)
The Illinois Department of Agriculture published proposed rules in the October 16th Illinois Register for at least 45 new adult-use infuser licenses, to be issued by January 1st. Applicants pay a $2,500 nonrefundable fee and need 51 percent ownership by qualifying social equity individuals. A lottery decides the round if more than 45 apply. A business gets one extra entry if, as of May 1st, 2026, it was a registered hemp processor, held a state hemp cultivation license, or earned most of its receipts from hemp. Comments run 45 days, and Public Act 104-0463 authorizes up to 100 more licenses starting in 2028. The state begins treating hemp over 0.4 milligrams of THC as cannabis on November 12th. This is a solution for Illinois hemp businesses looking to migrate and shelter from the federal change. It’s a smaller market given the border constraints, but it offers possible survival. (The Marijuana Herald; Illinois Register)
Albany County Supreme Court rejected Veterans Holdings’ argument that the Office of Cannabis Management needed a new regulation before requiring every product to be tracked individually in Metrc. The court found that existing law gave the agency that authority. In decisions issued September 22nd and 25th and announced by OCM on Monday, the court also dismissed Stonedhenge Smoke-N-Grow’s challenge to a 2024 seizure because the company hadn’t finished the administrative process first. OCM gave processors 30,000 free identifiers for the transition. Since September 15th, OCM has used the same system to enforce payment terms. Retailers have 30 days to pay suppliers, and suppliers have seven more days to report a late account. A retailer on the cash-on-delivery list can’t buy on credit until it pays. September’s list held 87 retailers owing $3.9 million, and Nabis dropped its order minimum to $1,000 across more than 50 brands. The payment process could be a solution to the accounts receivable problem plaguing this industry. It solves a portion of the business-to-business problem as long as both sides are in Metrc, which leaves some vendors outside. That said, it may have potential. (The Marijuana Herald; MJBizDaily)
Herb Light, the hemp drink maker, launches “Cheers Against Prohibition” on Wednesday. A customer buying a 12-pack can add a six-pack for their members of Congress, delivered with a letter urging support for a bill that would keep THC drinks legal under federal regulation. Herb Light’s cans carry 1 milligram of THC, and the company plans a 0.4 milligram version if the December 11th ceiling holds. The same day, Adam Smith, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, answered ATACH’s Chris Lindsey in Marijuana Moment and defended MPP’s call for a federal extension. One thing I know about Congress is that it doesn’t react to stunts terribly well. Its members will be around after December, and they have long memories that hold grudges. It may raise awareness, but at what cost? MPP’s reply is another press cycle that keeps the divide going, with the organizations fighting to get the last word in. (Marijuana Moment)
🗺️ Around the map: Aurora Cannabis’s board recommended that shareholders reject Curaleaf’s raised offer of US$1.00 plus 0.4013 Curaleaf shares. Curaleaf answered on Monday, and the bid runs to December 4th. NORML asked the Sixth Circuit to rehear Hello Farms Licensing MI v. GR Vending MI, the September ruling that barred federal breach-of-contract damages on agreements tied to conduct the Controlled Substances Act prohibits. In Tennessee, Democratic nominee Jerri Green backs medical and adult-use legalization, and Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn opposes adult use. In Nebraska, Democratic nominee Lynne Walz promised a first-day executive order on medical cannabis. (MJBizDaily; NORML; Ganjapreneur; WOWT)
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