📄 DEA Begins Issuing Federal Medical Cannabis Registrations

📄 DEA Begins Issuing Federal Medical Cannabis Registrations

Curaleaf Acquires Equity Interest in Boone Town Provisions. Cronos closes CanAdelaar acquisition for €57.5M + earnouts. SNDL starts Cannabis Operations strategic review.

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🌿 Industry

DEA begins issuing federal medical cannabis registrations. The Justice Department announced more than 900 initial dispensary registrations across Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. — U.S. DOJ

• State licensure alone does not confer federal registration; approved operators remain subject to federal security, inventory and recordkeeping requirements

• This implements the separate medical-cannabis framework—not nationwide adult-use legalization or completion of the broader rescheduling proceeding

Square’s Hemp/CBD cutoff arrives before the federal deadline. Square’s Oct. 15 deadline required affected merchants to remove CBD, hemp and hemp-derived items from both in-person and online catalogs. — Marijuana Moment

• Its notice says accounts can remain open for permitted non-CBD products and outstanding Square Loan terms are unchanged

Missouri study puts licensed dispensaries at 93% of reported cannabis spending. The state-commissioned Phase 1 study combines a survey of 1,200 past-month consumers with 35 months of track-and-trace data. — Missouri DCR

• It finds no evidence of overconcentration in sales across licensed facilities

• The important caveat: facility-level competition is not the same as ownership-level competition. The report recommends incorporating de-identified common-ownership data into future analyses

New York appeals court reinstates a dispensary-license application. In Griffon Green v. Cannabis Control Board, the Third Department reversed OCM’s decision to void an application after one true party of interest responded late to a supplemental-information request. — New York Appellate Division

Hall of Flowers NYC 2026 Picks Up an Accent. Hall of Flowers returned to Pier 36 for its second New York show, and this time the city set the tone. Exhibitors and buyers say three things define the scene here: hustle, homegrown pride and customers who know their stuff. — CannabisNow

💵 Deals

Curaleaf Acquires Equity Interest in Boone Town Provisions. The Company acquired an equity stake and certain operating rights in Boone Town Provisions, a dispensary in Boonton, NJ. The acquisition expands Curaleaf's footprint to four dispensaries in the state and 191 nationwide. The storefront is expected to be immediately accretive to the Company's New Jersey business. Opened in July 2024, the 6,400-square-foot store sits on a busy stretch of Myrtle Avenue with few dispensaries nearby. Boone Town Provisions complements Curaleaf’s three other New Jersey dispensaries located in Bellmawr, Bordentown, and Edgewater Park.

Curaleaf pushes back after Aurora wins the ATM dispute. The Alberta Securities Commission dismissed Curaleaf’s application to halt Aurora’s at-the-market program. In its Oct. 27 response, Curaleaf maintained that the ruling does not settle the takeover debate and criticized Aurora’s refusal to provide customary diligence Curaleaf says it remains open to constructive engagement. The financing ruling is not a resolution of the takeover contest.

Cronos closes CanAdelaar for a €57.5M base price plus earnouts. Additional cash consideration equals 50% of CanAdelaar’s Normalised EBITDA for each of 2026 and 2027; the base price remains subject to closing and post-closing adjustments. A final, non-appealable Dutch Bibob background-review decision remained outstanding. A proposed €12.5M odor-related penalty was deducted from the estimated initial price, with subsequent true-up mechanics and seller indemnities. The penalty had not been formally imposed at closing.

Rubicon raises C$3M to expand output from existing facilities. Siwash Rock Investments subscribed for approximately 6.67M shares at C$0.45 in a non-brokered private placement. Proceeds will fund lighting and greenhouse upgrades at Pacifica plus working capital. Rubicon targets 20,000 kg of combined annual capacity by June 2027, roughly a year earlier than previously expected.

Grown Rogue increases its New Jersey stake to 70%. The company exercised its second option for another 26% of ABCO Garden State and took majority control of its board. The ~$743,000 purchase price was advanced in 2023—not newly raised cash. Phase II construction is targeted to be substantially complete by year-end, bringing flowering canopy to ~16,000 sq. ft., with additional capacity ramping in 2027.

High Tide buys a Chestermere store for C$670,000. The all-cash acquisition closed Oct. 8 and will add the established Alberta store to the Canna Cabana banner. High Tide puts the price at 2.1x annualized adjusted EBITDA, based on ~C$316,000 annualized from the three months ended Aug. 31. The transaction takes its announced Canadian network to 234 stores.

SynBiotic says it will seek insolvency proceedings. In an Oct. 16 disclosure, the German cannabis and industrial-hemp group said it would apply to the Münster local court after failing to secure financing in time. It also cited the absence of shareholder approval for new authorized capital. Management expected a provisional administrator and an initial continuation of operations. The disclosure is an intention to file—not proof that a court has opened proceedings or approved an asset sale.

📄 Company Updates

Verano grows sales and operating cash flow, but adjusted EBITDA declines. Q3 revenue rose 5% to $212.4M. Adjusted EBITDA was $50.4M, down from $53.1M, with margin declining to 24% from 26%. Operating cash flow increased to $49M from $26M; after $13M of capital spending. Net loss narrowed to $4.1M from $43.8M, helped by lower tax expense. Cash of $102.1M, and full-year CapEx guidance increased to $54M–$60M.

Jushi grows wholesale, while Virginia expansion keeps financing in focus. Q3 revenue increased 7% to $70.5M, including 40% wholesale growth to $9.7M. Adjusted EBITDA reached $13.6M vs. $12.8M, while net loss narrowed to $12.5M from $23.7M. Operating cash flow declined to $3.5M from $6.1M. Cash totaled $30.9M against $215.6M of gross debt subject to scheduled repayment, excluding leases and certain other obligations. Management is exploring financing for Virginia cultivation and processing projects ahead of the scheduled July 2027 adult-use launch.

SNDL starts a Cannabis Operations strategic review after an impairment. Q3 net revenue declined 2.5% to C$238.0M and adjusted EBITDA fell to C$15.8M from C$18.1M. Net loss widened to C$50.8M from C$13.3M, with a C$52M non-cash Cannabis Operations goodwill impairment. Reported record free cash flow of C$20.0M included a C$10.6M benefit from unwinding a captive-insurance arrangement. The strategic review may include asset divestitures or productivity initiatives. SNDL’s indirect Parallel equity ownership rose to ~92%.

Tilray’s record revenue masks a decline in total cannabis sales. Fiscal Q1 2027 revenue rose 23% to $257.1M, helped by BrewDog, while cannabis revenue declined to $56.1M from $64.5M. Cannabis gross margin improved to 39% from 36%. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $9.2M from $10.2M, and the company reported a $40M net loss. Tilray reaffirmed full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $68M–$75M.

Organigram simplifies its portfolio after Sanity integration. The company plans to discontinue three brands and trim SKUs while concentrating investment behind SHRED, BOXHOT and Big Bag O’ Buds. Management expects C$8M–C$10M of annualized savings, with C$5M–C$6M realized in fiscal 2027, ~C$2M of one-time costs, and the full annualized benefit in fiscal 2028.

Aurora completes its German facility expansion. The Leuna site, renamed Aurora Horizon, is expected to more than double annual flower output after a multi-million-dollar expansion. The newly built areas received an expanded EU-GMP license from the Saxony-Anhalt authority. The project adds domestic German production capacity; the expected output increase is not the same as realized sales growth.

Trulieve receives federal dispensary registrations. The company confirmed it is among the initial recipients of DEA registrations under the medical-cannabis framework. Its announcement does not provide a dispensary count or say every state operation has been approved.

Vireo receives registrations for all 41 Florida medical dispensaries. Vireo said every one of its state-licensed Florida medical dispensaries received DEA registration.

Cresco shareholders approve restructuring steps toward a potential U.S. listing. At the Oct. 30 meeting, shareholders approved creation of a new parent company, a potential subsequent redomicile from British Columbia to Delaware, and an extension of the multiple-voting-share listing sunset from one to three years.

🏬 Retail

King City Gardens Opens Latest Ohio Dispensary Near Cincinnati. This marks the company’s third dispensary in the Greater Cincinnati area.

High Profile Cannabis Opens 3rd Kentucky Dispensary in Lexington. High Profile Lexington sits just off Nicholasville Road, one of the city’s busiest retail corridors, and puts medical cannabis on the routes those patients already drive for work and errands. The store is a short drive for registered patients across Fayette, Jessamine and Woodford counties, including Nicholasville, Wilmore and Versailles.

Off The Charts adds Santa Monica to its California network. This extends the network of more than 40 California dispensaries.

Zen Leaf relocates into Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Verano relocated the affiliated dispensary from Wynnewood. It is one of 18 affiliated Pennsylvania locations.

Curaleaf reaches 80 Florida stores with Port Orange. The new location brings Curaleaf’s announced footprint to 80 stores in Florida and 190 nationwide.

GTI adds Belleview, its 26th Florida dispensary. RISE Belleview opened Oct. 16, extending the company’s Marion County presence near its Ocala cultivation and production operations. Green Thumb reports more than 120 RISE stores nationally.

Ascend of Evesham, NJ opens through independent-owner partnership. Michael Santana owns and operates the business independently, while Ascend supplies operational support and resources through its social equity partnership program.

Cresco celebrates Sunnyside Prestonsburg in Kentucky. The location is Cresco’s 83rd dispensary nationally. The opening brings operating dispensaries to all 11 regions of Kentucky’s medical cannabis program.

Fine Fettle adds its tenth Connecticut dispensary. The North Haven adult-use store extends Fine Fettle into the Greater New Haven area.

🌱 Product

Azuca x Ascend expand Effin’ platform with fast-acting gummies. The TiME INFUSION collaboration starts with five products across Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Ascend is also transitioning its existing Effin’ gummy portfolio to the infusion process.

Grön brings Pearls to Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington. The three-state rollout follows September launches in California, Colorado, Michigan and Nevada. Grön attributes the faster expansion to Wyld’s production and distribution platform following Wyld’s December 2025 acquisition.

Seed Junky expands its Trulieve partnership to Pennsylvania. A new exclusive Pennsylvania licensing agreement brings Seed Junky genetics and branded products into Trulieve’s cultivation, processing, packaging and distribution network. The partners also plan to reintroduce Seed Junky as a standalone brand in Florida. This is a licensing expansion, not Trulieve buying Seed Junky.

🧔 People

Decibel CRO Adam Coates resigns. The company will fold the role’s responsibilities into its existing leadership team and align commercial functions with its domestic and international business units, rather than announcing a direct replacement.

🎙️ Interviews

Trade To Black — Verano’s George Archos and Aaron Miles on Q3 cash generation. The CEO and CIO discuss operating cash flow, working capital, medical-cannabis tax relief and Virginia and Texas investment timing.

Higher Exchanges — Jerry Derevyanny on the next leg of cannabis growth. Jesse Redmond and Morgan Paxhia discuss profitability under pricing pressure, stock valuations, capital allocation and M&A. The central distinction is growth that creates shareholder value versus growth that only expands the footprint.

High Spirits — Steve Hilton on California cannabis taxes and enforcement. California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton discusses tax relief, the illicit market and normalization.

👋 Highly Objective is a weekly Cannabis newsletter and podcast curated by Dai Truong, who leads Cannabis Investment Banking at Arlington Capital Advisors. Third-party information presented here and links to third-party content are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument, security or investment. The information provided is not warranted as to completeness or accuracy and is subject to change without notice. Linking to third-party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between Arlington Capital Advisors, LLC, or its affiliates and any third party. The information in this blog constitutes my own opinions (and any opinions posted by guest bloggers from time to time) and it should not be regarded as a description of services provided by Arlington Capital Advisors, LLC or any affiliate.

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