Business & Strategy

AI is lowering the barrier to sophisticated cyberattacks, raising the stakes for cannabis businesses already vulnerable through POS systems, compliance platforms, and sensitive customer data.

Capital and technology may not determine which cannabis companies survive consolidation. The real dividing line is whether leaders can replace individual intuition with repeatable systems and make difficult organizational decisions before the market forces them. Drawing on his own countercyclical investment and painful restructuring, one executive asks whether today’s company is built to remain standing five years from now.

Local conservation can give cannabis companies a meaningful way to support their communities. Adolphus A. Busch V outlines four principles for credible partnerships and explains why transparency, measurable commitments, and long-term participation matter more than promotional claims.

Curaleaf’s hostile bid asks Aurora Cannabis shareholders to accept an offer advertised at US$4 per share. But the mostly stock consideration has no downside floor, its upside is capped, and U.S. investors would exchange a Nasdaq-listed security for shares traded domestically over the counter. The offer circular also appears to contain outdated information about the conversion of Boris Jordan’s multiple-voting shares.

Before consumers read a label or try what’s inside, they have already begun judging a product’s quality, credibility, and value. Packaging strategist Kary Radestock explains how materials, structure, texture, and opening mechanics create the first product experience and why successful cannabis packaging makes a promise the product can actually keep. The strongest designs don’t merely attract attention on the shelf; they build confidence in the consumer’s hands.

Curaleaf’s proposed hostile takeover places Aurora Cannabis on the receiving end of a playbook it once used successfully. But earlier cannabis takeover battles produced very different endings, and Aurora’s cash-rich balance sheet gives its board room to resist, negotiate, or demand more.

Vertical integration often is sold as a margin strategy, but its greater value may appear when cannabis supply exceeds demand. Operators that control cultivation and retail gain shelf certainty, direct visibility into customer demand, and a longer planning horizon. Those protections don’t eliminate oversupply risk, but they can help keep a temporary mismatch from becoming a survival crisis.

Cannabis operators aren’t alone in worrying about consolidation. Consumers interviewed across nine established adult-use markets praised legalization for improving safety, access, and social acceptance, but many also saw regulatory costs and corporate concentration pushing small businesses aside. Participants also questioned whether cannabis tax revenue has delivered promised community benefits and worry large corporations eventually could shape policy in their favor.

Vireo Growth’s proposed acquisition of Planet 13 would add 36 dispensaries, a high-profile Las Vegas superstore, and greater density in Florida. But the all-stock deal comes as Planet 13 reports declining revenue, widening losses, and a narrower operating footprint. The assets offer clear strategic value, yet Vireo’s projected scale, including roughly 265 dispensaries across fifteen states, depends on multiple transactions closing and integrating successfully.

Cannabis banks continue monitoring deposits, sales, licenses, ownership, and compliance after an account opens. Medical marijuana’s move to Schedule III may add new documentation and reporting questions, especially for businesses serving both medical and adult-use markets. Here, two bankers advise how to strengthen your banking relationship and avoid common pitfalls during the rescheduling transition.