Focus Article
$1.3 Billion/Month Later: What Cannabis Banking Has Really Taught Us
A decade ago, most banks wouldn’t touch a cannabis business. Whenever banking access came up, the discussion stopped almost immediately. People said it was too risky, too unclear, or that the timing just wasn’t right. Today, Green Check has over 180 financial institutions across the U.S. that actively serve more than 17,000 licensed operators. Together, […]
What Cannabis Branding Gets Right and Why Every Industry Should Follow Suit
81% of consumers need to trust a brand before they’ll even consider buying from it. But what happens when your industry is built on a shaky foundation—one full of stigma, skepticism, or confusion? That’s cannabis. And yet, some of the sharpest, most strategic brand-building I’ve seen is happening here… because it has to. There’s no […]
Trump Reschedules Cannabis!
The moment many in the cannabis industry have been waiting for has finally arrived. Operators, investors, and advocates are cautiously celebrating President Trump’s executive order directing the Department of Justice to finalize the rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III, an action many hope is a stepping stone toward full federal descheduling. Full descheduling would free […]
Move Over Clones, Seeds Are Making A Comeback
Cutting cultivation costs was one of the loudest themes at this year’s MJBizCon. Michigan cultivator Kevin Kuethe, Chief Cultivation Officer at Lume, shared his strategy for combating price compression through genetics during a panel discussion titled “Mastering Genetics.” “The easiest way to do that is through more yield,” he told the crowd. “If you have […]
Treating Cannabis Like A Fine Wine
The experience in both wine and cannabis starts with ritual: swirling, inhaling, letting heat or air coax the plant’s chemistry to life. Where wine has long relied on sommeliers to guide that moment, cannabis has spent decades without an equivalent voice to explain how cultivation, curing, and preparation shape what a consumer feels. The emergence […]
Is The Industry In Danger of Losing Its Prized Genetics?
In cannabis, everything begins with genetics. Before lighting, curing, irrigation, or any cultivation technique, there is the seed. And within that seed lives more than chemistry. It holds history, culture, and potential. Genetics are the soul of cannabis. They determine whether a cultivar expresses citrus or earth, calm or clarity, relief or joy. They decide […]
Cannabis Banking Today: Navigating Verification, Compliance, and Regulatory Change
Banking for cannabis businesses has come a long way. Ten years ago, most banks wouldn’t even consider it. Conversations would stop almost as soon as they began. “Too risky,” they’d say. “Too unclear.” Or, “Maybe someday, but not now.” Fast forward to today, and Green Check Verified works with more than 180 financial institutions across […]
Can NY’s Legal Stores Compete with an Eight-Billion-Dollar Illicit Market?
The recent Business of Cannabis Summit in New York City brought together industry professionals at the trendy Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for a day focused on tackling the cannabis industry’s toughest challenges: price compression, retail survival, and the slow but steady shift from legacy to legal markets. The conversations offered a candid look at […]
International Trade and Cannabis Decontamination Considerations
With shifting perceptions, economic incentives, and the evolution of international regulatory frameworks, more countries around the world are starting to embrace legal cannabis for its medical and recreational uses. One of the hotspots of legalization remains the European Union, where countries like Malta and Luxembourg have legalized cannabis for adult use, and Switzerland and the […]