Policy, Decoded

What changed in cannabis and hemp policy, and what it means before it takes effect. Every weekday morning, free, from the former regulator who built the Massachusetts program.

“It’s an excellent resource and often surfaces perspectives or commentary I would not have considered.”

Hirsh JainCEO, Ananda Strategy

“Learning about problems states are having, traps that North Carolina might hope to avoid. And keeping up with tax policy developments, too.”

Pat OglesbyCenter for New Revenue

“Regulatory updates without a biased angle and, most importantly, coming from people with expertise that I trust.”

Elliot LaneIgniteIt

From a reader survey run in August 2026, published with permission.

🧪 Colorado's botanical blind spot

Sep 25, 2026

🧪 Colorado's botanical blind spot

A Denver lab found the solvent in August. Colorado's test for it still hasn't started. Plus: Montana puts residency on the payroll, Hilgers subpoenas a Colorado dispensary, and Massachusetts funds the CCC.

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🏛️ 84 for 84, and no manual

Sep 24, 2026

🏛️ 84 for 84, and no manual

GAO says DEA followed HHS on every final scheduling rule it checked, with almost nothing written down about how. Plus: Missouri's missing scorer notes, Curaleaf's full-page ask to Hochul, and Delaware's new THC drink aisle.

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🧮 Michigan's ounce costs $60.33 or $160

Sep 23, 2026

🧮 Michigan's ounce costs $60.33 or $160

The state average and the shelf price are counting different transactions, and only one of them tells you what happened to the wholesale tax. Plus a receiver holds PharmaCann's Maryland licenses, a cannabis super PAC's $11.8 million in cash, and the wage board bill still on Hochul's desk.

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🧾 $4.6M rides on whether a THC lemonade is hemp

Sep 22, 2026

🧾 $4.6M rides on whether a THC lemonade is hemp

Dogtown Pioneers shareholders take 280E to the Tax Court. Plus Michigan's reference lab that can't hold a sample, Nevada's 60-gram rule and Germany's 300 tons.

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🏛️ Five months, no DEA guidance

Sep 21, 2026

🏛️ Five months, no DEA guidance

California's top regulator says DEA has sent no formal Schedule III guidance, and Congress's deadline is September 30th. Plus Alabama lets the change through, North Carolina sketches state-run stores, and the Globe's own teen-use data undercuts its headline.

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🥃 Cannabis costs $15 in one state and $52 in another. Bourbon doesn't.

Sep 20, 2026

🥃 Cannabis costs $15 in one state and $52 in another. Bourbon doesn't.

Four states that have never traded a gram with each other all charge about $18. Everywhere else, the difference is a decision somebody made, and patients are paying for it.

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