compliance
California Court Orders DCC to Overhaul Cannabis Track-and-Trace System
An Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered California’s Department of Cannabis Control to take steps to bring the state’s cannabis track-and-trace system into compliance with California law, concluding that the system does not currently flag irregular transactions for investigation. The August 4, 2026, final judgment in HNHPC Inc. v. Department of Cannabis Control represents the latest […]
Hemp Beverage Operators Are in Fight Mode
“Everybody who came here today, and not giving up and saying that we’re going to continue to fight for this category, thank you, give yourself a round of applause, please,” were the fighting words of Christopher Lackner, President of the Hemp Beverage Alliance (HBA), as he opened the panel discussions for the Hemp Beverage Expo […]
Why California Cannabis Businesses Remain at Risk After the Schedule III Order
On April 22, 2026, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order placing state-licensed medical marijuana into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The cannabis industry declared it a turning point. In certain respects, it is. But turning points are not endpoints. And for California cannabis retailers who operate in the most complex, most […]
What Makes a Healthcare-Ready Cannabinoid Ingredient?
For much of the cannabinoid supply market, the model has been simple: make the molecule, test the batch, sell the material. If the product meets basic specifications, passes third-party testing, and can be produced at a competitive price, it is considered ready for market. That model has supported much of the consumer cannabinoid industry, where […]
Cannabis Labeling Workflows—Reinvented!
For years, cannabis operators have accepted labeling inefficiencies as an unavoidable cost of doing business. Yet, many facilities still rely on fragmented, manual workflows that require employees to export spreadsheets, copy cannabinoid results, and rekey intricate terpene data into static label templates. This traditional approach actively drains productivity, inflates labor costs, and introduces unnecessary opportunities […]
Why Workforce Risk is Real and What it Means
Every conversation about cannabis risk follows the same script: Regulatory uncertainty, 280E, capital access, and maybe interstate commerce, depending on the room. None of that is wrong, and operators dealing with those pressures daily don’t need me to tell them they’re real. But after more than a decade working inside this industry, watching companies scale, […]
CSQ Launches EU GMP Tool to Help Cannabis Businesses Break Into European Markets
As U.S. cannabis rescheduling moves forward and export opportunities to the European Union become available, a new certification tool to help producers prove their products meet EU standards and fight back against supply chain fraud is now available. CSQ (Cannabis Safety & Quality), the first ANAB-accredited cannabis and hemp safety and quality certification program, announced […]
Engineering Consistency: Inside the Push for GMP-Compliant Cannabis
As cannabis becomes a globally traded medical commodity, cGMP compliance is reshaping how it is grown, handled, and transported. For operators working with imported biomass, controlling contamination and ensuring consistency across supply chains has become a defining challenge. That challenge was a central focus at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin, where a panel […]
Inconsistent Messaging Is a Compliance Risk. Full Stop.
Picture the moment a cannabis company’s compliance team gets copied on an email from a banking partner’s risk officer. The subject line says “Questions re: public materials.” Attached is a spreadsheet. On one side, language from the company’s Florida medical dispensary website. On the other, language from the California recreational site, the New Jersey acquisition […]
How to Evaluate Cannabis Packaging Suppliers Before You Commit
Cannabis packaging decisions have downstream consequences for compliance, operations, customer perception, and margins. This article offers a practical framework for evaluating packaging suppliers across five dimensions: compliance, product quality, operational fit, customization, and partnership reliability. It closes with a pre-commitment checklist that operators can use before signing any supplier agreement. Cannabis packaging is no longer […]