Good morning!

Still here, still processing the slew of “cannabis addiction” stories published by NYT and NY Mag in recent weeks, and still impatiently awaiting more well-rounded cannabis reporting in major media outlets. For now, let’s get caught up on the latest national updates and a few intriguing state-specific news items.

One Hitters: Cannabis News At A Glance

• The latest iteration of the Farm Bill won’t include any changes to the November hemp ban. After 20 hours of markup last week, the 2026 Farm Bill advanced with only one mention of the hemp world: restating the recent change to hemp plant definitions as “a cannabis plant that does not test higher than 0.3% total THC (including THCA),” replacing the loophole language from the 2018 Farm Bill that only addressed delta-9. Regulations on finished hemp products were not addressed in hearings, which House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said isn’t an ag problem, but an issue the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should “promptly engage.”
  
  

• Although this federal hemp ban still looms, many brands and investors don’t seem to care. Willie Nelson’s THC-infused beverage brand, Willie’s Remedy+, secured $15 million in Series A funding in February 2026 to accelerate its national retail expansion. Based on how many times I’ve heard ads on major podcasts, RYTHM-owned THC drink brand, Señorita, has been spending tens of thousands on recent media buys. A zero-proof, hemp THC-infused bar just opened in Chicago.
  
  

• Is there something to so much beverage activity happening mere months before the potential ban? The bill pushing for a 2-year delay seems to be where many brands and lobbyists continue to focus their efforts, but nothing is set in stone—yet people remain so damn bullish on hemp-derived drinkables. I’m looking into some potential potable loopholes. More to come. 👀
  
  

• Chicago’s United Center is set to be the first major US area to offer intoxicating hemp beverages at concession stands. Speaking of Señorita — four 5-milligram THC drinks from RYTHM and Señorita will be available to guests 21 and over at most concerts and live events. Unfortunately, not at any Chicago Bulls or Blackhawks games, though.
  
  

• Wyld acquired Grön, cementing its status as the biggest edible company in the US. It was already considered the top-selling edible brand, but now it’s well ahead of the competition. The exact terms of the “cash-and-stock transaction” weren’t publicly disclosed. Both are Oregon success stories—I toured Grön’s small Central Eastside space for a 2018 story about their novel CBD-infused cafe. Wyld is notably still owned and operated by its original founders, and it reached this point without ever raising venture capital.
  
  

• A push and pull on legal weed in Massachusetts. This November, a bill to repeal legalization will be on the ballot. However, based on recent polls, 63% of residents oppose the idea. And they’re about to be able to enjoy it in new places: The regulatory commission just finalized rules for social consumption licenses that will allow adults to buy and consume cannabis at licensed “Marijuana Establishments,” sanctioned events, and non-cannabis businesses that partner with licensees.
  
  

• The Wall Street Journal reports on high schools losing the war on weed during classes. I only scanned some of this before the paywall kicked in, but I know you get the idea. Teens be teen-ing, as they always have. Amid pressure to cope with problems at school and at home, one 18-year-old cites an all-too-familiar need to “numb those feelings.” Now, the tech-infused consumption methods are enabling school staff to track areas of “high vape activity” with apps.
  
  

• Would weed topicals get you to the dentist more regularly? A group of Brazilian dentists published a compelling white paper exploring the therapeutic potential of various cannabinoid-based treatments in dentistry. Beyond pain and anxiety management, they highlight CBD’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, as well as emerging evidence of CBD improving mineralization and dental tissue regeneration.
  

See you sooner than the last dispatch, promise!
Lauren Yoshiko

Good morning!

The year did not get off to as productive (or humane, ethical, or inspiring) a start as I’d hoped, but here we are. I hope all of you are prevailing against January blues/doomsday resignation as best you can. Personally, I’ve found reprieve and even hope while revisiting HBO’s Watchmen series—its world of masked law enforcement and post-woke politics is as prescient as ever, and not to be written off as superhero malarky if you’ve never seen it!—as well as Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, the source text for the bones of One Battle After Another but far richer in spirit and story of aging revolutionaries pulled back into a tango with rogue feds. I can’t handle Pynchon’s prose with more than a few milligrams of THC in my system, but it’s its own high to ride that ride.

I figured it makes the most sense to get caught up on the two most significant things happening in weed right now: rescheduling cannabis and the federal hemp ban. Here’s a recap of where we’re at with each, along with the latest updates and efforts working for and against these shifts.

Reclassifying Cannabis From Schedule I to Schedule III

To recap: Last month, President Trump ordered the Justice Department to fast-track the reclassification of cannabis to Schedule III, which would put it alongside regulated pharmaceuticals like anabolic steroids and Tylenol with codeine. The change would, in theory, open access to traditional banking services, allowing plant-touching businesses to obtain loans and process electronic payments, as well as take tax deductions and credits for the first time. (That said, the American Bankers Association has previously stated that dedicated legislation like the SAFER Banking Act would make them more comfortable doing biz with weed people than reclassification.) Schedule 3 would also open up medical research capabilities.

The executive order didn’t automatically make anything real, though—it ordered the Attorney General and relevant agencies to complete the formal process asap, which kicked off during Biden’s last term. A bunch of stuff still needs to happen for the rescheduling to happen. The Dept. of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency have to first publish an official proposal, followed by a 1-2 month public comment period, which is typically followed by legal challenges. Once litigation is resolved, the final ruling can be issued, making rescheduling a reality. Until then, it’s status quo.

What’s New

• Two Republican senators filed an amendment last week to block the Justice Department from carrying out President Donald Trump’s executive order.
  
  

• Much of the Republican party isn’t happy about the order, period—POLITICO revealed that 22 Senate Republicans, including all four members of Senate Republican leadership, sent a letter urging Trump not to proceed on the eve of his announcement.
  
  

• While reclassification could benefit cannabis businesses of all sizes, it’s worth noting which cannabis interests actually have Trump’s ear. I want to call out two people who were in the Oval Office the day the executive order was signed: Kim Rivers, the CEO of Trulieve (the second largest cannabis company in the world and monopoly ruler of Florida’s medical market), and Jim Hagedorn, the CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro (which has invested heavily in their cannabis arm, Hawthorne). It doesn’t get bigger, more extractive, or more corporate than that.
  
  

• Speaking of Scotts Miracle-Gro. They are the exclusive marketer and distributor of Roundup—a popular herbicide produced by Monsanto that has been linked to cancer (and is slowly destroying Earth’s natural food supply). You might have heard something about Roundup or its active ingredient glyphosate in recent weeks—that’s because internal Monsanto emails made public through litigation recently revealed that a highly influential 2000 review article concluding glyphosate was not harmful was, in fact, mostly written by Monsanto employees. If it’s in your/your parent’s garage, throw that shit out right now.
  
  

• Reclassification will not stop people getting arrested for possession. Some celebrations of reclassification misunderstand the fact that reclassifying cannabis does not make it less illegal. In an interview with the Guardian, Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance, explains how, “Under the Controlled Substance Act, marijuana has specific penalties that are not dependent on whatever schedule marijuana is on.” Additionally, the Department of Justice rescinded Biden-era guidance in September that directed US attorneys to refrain from prosecuting simple cannabis possession cases.
  

The Federal Hemp Ban

To recap: The spending bill that reopened the government in November was embedded with a provision that changes the definition of hemp to include all forms of THC, including THCA, and caps maximum THC at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, effectively closing the loophole created by the 2018 Farm Bill for intoxicating hemp products. It overrides state laws that currently regulate hemp-derived intoxicants, and, if nothing changes between now and then, would go into effect November of this year.

What’s New

• Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN) introduced a bill this month that would delay the ban for two years. Going by the “Hemp Planting Predictability Act” (H.R. 7024), the goal is to give time and security to current hemp operators to be able to see this and next year’s crops through (planting season is around the corner) and buy time to figure out a longer term reversal/revision of federal hemp rules. Its co-sponsors include Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Gabe Evans (R-CO), Tim Moore (R-NC) and Angie Craig (D-MN). The U.S. Hemp Roundtable is putting their weight (and their lobbyists) into supporting this bill as well. U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Rand Paul, and Jeff Merkley also seem to have introduced a separate two-year delay bill.
  
  

• More hemp lobbyists hit the Hill. In December, two new hemp entities registered to lobby Congress: Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, which is working to “maintain the status of hemp cultivation and manufacturing as expressed in the current Farm Bill law in the next update of the Farm Bill,” and Team Hemp Inc., which, according to Cannabis Wire, hired three different lobbying firms in November that are “well-connected to Republicans and the Trump administration.”
  
  

• One question: Is the ban even enforceable? A resource report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a government agency, stated that it remains ‘unclear’ how the federal hemp ban will be enforced in practice. The FDA hasn’t been bothered to send more than letters to noncompliant operators thus far—who’s to say they’ll have bandwidth for more than that if and when the hemp ban hits? It made me curious about California, where hemp is technically banned but plenty of folks continue to produce and ship THC-infused products under the 2018 Farm Bill rules. I know some are playing it safe, but is that ban being enforced at all for DTC companies still shipping to CA consumers? (Honest question to my CA people!)
  
  

• That spending bill also included a potential doomsday ban on cannabis genetics. Going to need some lobbyists to throw their weight into this one, too! 😰 The ban restricts “any viable seeds from a Cannabis sativa L. plant that exceeds a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (including THCA) of 0.3% in the plant on a dry weight basis”, essentially restricting seeds based on the plants they might produce. However, while the new legislation addresses ‘viable seeds,’ it doesn’t mention tissue cultures and clones. So seeds may potentially no longer be able to ship nationwide, but clones would? Not ideal for pests, but a potential loophole for precious genetic diversity. ✤

Tl; DR: This conversation between Oregon Public Radio, cannabis economist Beau Whitney, and friend and hemp grower Mason Walker of East Fork Cultivars walks through the implications of both of these legislative shifts pretty comprehensively in one easy 20-minute chat.

Keep puffing the good puff,
Lauren Yoshiko

There is certainly weed news worth working through this week, but Christmas doesn’t care! (And shipping deadlines are closing in.) If you, like me, are the Token Weed Person of your family and group chats, you have a reputation to uphold, and I can’t say I found any of this year’s mainstream weed guides hit the mark. Fortunately for your loved ones, I never stopped paying attention to interesting and innovative launches during my newsletter-light year.

Everything on this list can be ordered online, which is why there isn’t much flower. For high-THC, go to a dispensary you trust and ask lots of questions about the farm behind the flower that smells best to you. If the budtender doesn’t know anything about the farm, go to a different shop. If they don’t let you smell flower before buying in your state, come visit Oregon 🙂. There are also zero drinks here…mostly because I still haven’t normalized drinking weed in my rituals. Maybe next season!

Without further ado, here’s Sticky Bits’ 2025 Gift Guide, based on the best gifts I’ve given and a few things I’ve got my eye on.

For The Salt-Of-The-Earth Uncle: Heir Handpipe

It’s wood, metal, and ceramic in all the right places. Half the men in my family asked for this over the years.

For The Gen Z Stoner:
Jeremy Dean x Raw Garden Collection — 420 Hoodie

They’ll love the nostalgia of the perfectly imperfect wash and custom design by the graphic tee/concert poster legend, Jeremy Dean.

For The Millennial Stoner: Mary Kate & Ash Tray

Ashtrays are highly personal — and something fun to buy yourself. But this timeless shape and very specific wordplay ensure delight with the right audience.

For The Outdoorsy Cousin:
Topo Designs x Dangle Supply Musette Bag

Extremely utilitarian, lightweight, water-resistant, and big enough for a book/journal, phone, lighter, and a joint case. Can be customized as snug as you want as a crossbody fit. Also looks cool in the city.

For The Home Grower: Rogue Paq Python Scissors

After so many decades of prohibition, cultivating your own plants at home is a special, meaningful practice. Make the ritual even more precious with these lovely small scissors—perfect for detail work as you trim buds and also great for snipping other homegrown herbs for cooking.

For The Sativa Diva:
Pure Beauty Strawberry Pitaya Gummies

The first gummies to actually nail a buzzy, energizing high for me in a looooong time.

For The Flower Head Who Gets Bored:
Barbari Herbal Pre-Roll Variety Pack

Smoking herbs + cannabis is a new dimension for joint-lovers—once you understand which herbs you prefer. Find your flavor with this 5-blend pack, featuring USDA organic hemp grown by Oregon’s East Fork Cultivars.

For The Joint-Setter:
Green Scenes: A Guide To Cannabis Destinations Across the US

The only guide to the most reliable dispensaries, unique experiences, and inspiring personalities that define America’s most poppin’ cannabis culture hubs. It looks great on a coffee table, too. ;)

For The California Dreamer: The Family Acid

This recent release from Broccoli Publishing documents the golden age of the Golden State with a trip through Roger Steffens’ archive of over 40,000 film photos. Double exposures and signature Broccoli-fied art direction make every page a feast for the eyes.

For The Best Cook In The Fam:
Hoshigaki Persimmon Rose Chocolate

Their 70% Blanco Jaguar cacao, 5 mg per generously-sized square bars are some of the best chocolate I’ve ever had. Been dying to try the latest persimmon drop.

For The Chic Sibling: Mister Green Hippie Shit Fragrance

This iconic Palo Santo-inspired parfum is a refined, gender-neutral blend of notes of soft wood, neroli, musk, smoke, and leather. The perfect juxtaposition with its irreverent name. Restocked for a very limited time.

For The Best Foot Massager:
oHHo Dream Cream &
Tonic Body Butter with CBD & CBG

For The Arthritic Artisan: Flower Mill 2.0” Grinder

The smoothest, lowest-resistance user experience and perfectly not-too-powdery results.

For The Bonger At Heart: Mantelpiece

It’s a vase! It’s a glass sculpture! No, it’s a bong! With the best name ever. A totally fresh approach to the classic tubular shape.

Bonus Bong Mention:
I can’t attest to this user experience, but Yung Lauren would’ve been pretty keen to try out this self-cleaning Mary Go Round bowl.

Stocking Stuffers

Small essentials any flower enthusiast will appreciate.

Session Glass One-Hitter

Edie Parker Lighter Bikini

Pure Beauty Pick-Your-Size Papers

Brass Pipe Screens

Yew Yew Pokers

✤

Next time — the news.
Cheers,
Lauren Yoshiko

It’s a real business-y one today, folks! As promised: a deeeeeep dive into my biggest learnings cosplaying as a normie skincare marketer. Founders, this one’s for you. Back with the usual botanical programming next week.

Making a living as a writer typically involves less writerly supplementary work. Most recently, I’ve been moonlighting as a sort of marketing-manager-swiss-army-knife at the butt-centric wellness company, Asset—the culmination of skills honed via other side gigs writing brand copy, using Klaviyo for email marketing, working alongside designers, and moving in with a long-term boyfriend who happens to be the founder and CEO of said butt brand. Turns out my cannabis experience dovetails nicely with the compliance challenges of a business navigating Meta’s community guidelines on nudity and medical language. I’ve had a front row seat as Asset went from Order #1 to a $3 million business in year two, learning quite a lot about the DTC game and surviving common obstacles for regulated/highly censored businesses along the way.

That’s why I’m talking about a butt brand in today’s weed newsletter. Sticky Bits aims to support cannabis entrepreneurs and small business owners with insights to help them thrive, be that news roundups, cultural analysis, or helpful insider insights from fellow entrepreneurs. Today, I’m breaking down the five biggest lessons I’ve learned this past year—one of which actually has a lot to do with weed.

#1: Take Advantage Of Email (& Get Weird)
#2: Agencies Are Experiments, Not Panaceas
#3: Nobody De-Risks Like Weed Does (Or: How Asset Got Unbanned)
#4: Ignore The Copycats
#5: No One Will Care Like You Do

Some of today’s insights will be more relevant to your business than others. But whether you’re in the licensed market or a Farm Bill biz, you’re dealing with email marketing (if not, you should be! More on that in a moment). You’ve likely debated whether PR support is worth it and how to approach user-generated content/gifting influencers on social media, and you can definitely learn from the agencies and approaches that got Asset’s Meta ban lifted.

[If you are not currently a paying subscriber but were at some point in 2025, just reply to this email, and I’ll grant you access. Thank you for your support. 💚

Read more

Good morning!

Two weeks in a row? Dare we say…she’s back?!

Sticky Bits is indeed back, but she’s different. As you all noticed, this year was light on newsletters. (I’ll get into what I was up to shortly). There were times I considered calling it a day on this newsletter, but every time I came across an interesting headline or caught up with an industry friend, the need for nuanced reporting on cannabis business and consumer trends was boldly underlined. Plus, I missed it. I was still screenshotting and scribbling notes about things to look into, all the while.

So, here we are. No longer bi-weekly, but not down for the count. Head here for a fuller breakdown of where we came from and where we’ve landed. This recalibration brings you perks: I am dropping the cost of a paid subscription.

Paid subscriptions are now $6/month or $65/year.

Current paid subscribers: you don’t have to do anything, the change will be automatically reflected on your next invoice. Thank you so, so much for the ongoing support—you make this newsletter possible.

What does a paid subscription get you? Along with 2-3 free newsletters per month accessible to all, there will be 1-2 paid-only posts per month. You’ll also continue to get access to all past posts, my gratitude for empowering this newsletter to remain ad & affiliate-free, and access to a new living database to connect and find likeminded freelancers/job opps. Think of it like an ongoing Lonely Hearts Board. (Head here to learn what that is.) Coming soon.

The next paid post lands next week, and I’m making up for lost time, my friends. I’m coming clean with what I’ve actually been doing the last eight months: working as the right-hand marketing woman at my partner’s personal care company. Running email marketing, working with seeding and UGC agencies, navigating Meta censorship on ads, handling full-on copycat brands, writing podcast ad scripts—and I’ve learned a lot. Because it isn’t a cannabis company, and all of my business experience is from the weed side, this was like a journey to the upside-down. A strange, foreign land where Shopify never gives you grief, and massive media outlets are vying for your award applications. I’ve also gotten a front row seat as the company navigated a couple of crises, and I’ve been granted permission to get into the nitty-gritty with you. Tune in for lessons and hard-won advice from the other side of the wellness coin.

Now — let’s catch up on some weed news, shall we?

One-Hitters: Cannabis News At A Glance

• Not everyone is mad about the hemp ban. One perspective I failed to include in last week’s hemp ban debrief is that of licensed cannabis companies, many of whom are eager for everyone to have to play by the same rules. One drink brand reached out to me, pointing out that my phrasing of “Who To Be Mad At” for the ban getting signed into law implied a “hemp bias.” Fair enough. Personally, I have loved ones navigating chronic illness who live in states without legal cannabis, and I’m glad that they’re able to access real cannabis through the hemp loophole in the past few years. However, I do not love that we can’t be sure the products they access at random South Carolina hemp stores are safe to consume. I know many responsible business owners operating within the hemp space feel the same.
  
  

• Instead of doom and gloom, hemp brands are activated. Peers I’ve spoken to are fed up with this tug-of-war and loophole limbo—they want federal decriminalization. They want legalization. One Republican representative has already filed a bill to repeal the provision, and The US Hemp Roundtable is focused on securing a one-year moratorium on the effective date of the ban as a first step. But the energy out there feels like we’re aiming higher than restoring the norm. As CANN co-founder Jake Bullock put it in a piece for Business Insider, “It’s a one-year shot clock for us to go get the rules that we’ve always wanted.”
  
  

• Mainstream media is actually listening. From the Guardian to Slate (I was quoted in this piece!), there is a ton of reporting on what’s happening and who this ban could hurt. Similar to the dominoes that started the wave of medical legalization, the kids taking CBD to treat severe seizures might find themselves at the forefront of the cannabis movement once again.
  
  

• Researchers release standardized terms for cannabis aromas. One step closer to treating cannabis as wine! A team at Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences worked with renowned cannabis-centric scientist Dr. Adie Rae (who I’ve spoken to for past newsletters on THC and cannabis psychosis) to develop a “descriptive aroma lexicon of 25 terms,” creating a foundation that clarifies product characteristics for consumers, producers, and retailers. This is a key step to advancing cannabis marketing beyond THC%. (Imagine if people shopped wine by alcohol content?)
  
  

• The best cannabis equity update can be found in Bon Appetit. Surprising—until you see Mennlay Aggrey’s byline. Her piece picks up where 2020’s boom and bust of equity coverage ended, analyzing how the fallout of the tide turning on DEI initiatives has hit the cannabis world as well as positive news like the rise in Indigenous representation thanks to hemp and cannabis businesses on tribal lands.
  
  

• Unionized cannabis workers in Pennsylvania emerge triumphant from a 45-day strike. The record-breaking cannabis strike resulted in a new collective bargaining agreement with Green Thumb Industries subsidiary, Rise, that includes paid holidays and bereavement leave, annual wage increases, and a fair process for disciplinary matters.
  

Thankful for each of you,
Lauren Yoshiko

Hello, dear readers. It’s been a minute. Nothing like a federal hemp ban out of left field to bring me back into the swing of things. It was nice catching up with a few of you this past week to hear your thoughts, and it’s wonderful to be back in your inboxes today.

I’ll get more into what I’ve been up to in an upcoming dispatch. For now, let’s get caught up on what happens now, what some Sticky Bits readers and founders are saying about the federal policy shift, and alternate paths for hemp’s future.

Federal Hemp Ban Passes

Amid gridlock over the spending bill to reopen the federal government, a sneaky addition was made in the eleventh hour. A provision that effectively bans hemp-derived THC products.

This provision changes the definition of hemp to include all forms of THC, including THCA, and caps maximum THC at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. The new language essentially closes the loophole created by the 2018 Farm Bill that made space for intoxicating THC products to be sold nationwide. It would also override state laws that currently regulate hemp-derived intoxicants.

This wasn’t the only weird weed provision added to the spending bill—another bars funding to reclassify marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. So…I guess the potential rescheduling to Schedule 3 is at a standstill.

Who This Affects

The redefinition of hemp affects everyone involved in cannabis business outside state-licensed dispensaries. Whether it’s gas station THCA vapes, Kush Queen’s Delta-8 gummies, or Rose Los Angeles’ flower-rosin Delights, this ban, as it stands, would make them illegal come November 2026.

A reminder that THC is THC, whether derived from high THC cannabis plants or low THC plants categorized as hemp, it’s the same compound. And realistically, in most cases, “hemp-derived THC products” are made with concentrate created by processing full-strength plants. It’s just a matter of math per milligram that makes it legal to ship across state lines. I broke down this fundamental misunderstanding of hemp THC and cannabis THC being different in this past dispatch—scientifically, they just aren’t.

What Happens Now

Nothing changes for now. The ban doesn’t go into effect until this time next year. But a lot can happen in a year. One has to imagine that with at least $1.5+ billion in sales tax revenue for states at stake, there is plenty of incentive to recalibrate this overreaching ban. (More on those possibilities in a bit.)

Who To Be Mad At

Mitch McConnell, grim reaper incarnate, is largely responsible. When Rand Paul proposed to delete this provision from the bill, McConnell knocked that down as well. He’s been lamenting the 2018 Farm Bill’s impact for a while, so it isn’t a surprise. But I do want to clarify one thing: There’s a tweet going around claiming he received $889,254 in donations from the beer, liquor, and wine industries. While true, it’s a cumulative figure of everything he’s received from those industries between 1990 to 2024. It’s still possible that significant chunks of the $785,856.23 he’s received this year are coming from Big Beer, Wine, and Liquor—he was last ranked #10 in the top recipients of contributions from those industries.

The six democrats who flipped their vote on this bill to get it through merit mention here as well: Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Adam Gray of California, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Tom Suozzi of New York. I don’t know how they’re sleeping right now. Of course, there were mounting pressures to restore SNAP benefits and other government-funded programs key to thousands of people’s survival. But what of the sacrifices those citizens made during the shutdown? All for naught, now. With way more expensive health insurance premiums to look forward to.

What Folks Are Saying

In the eyes of David Wilfert, co-founder of athletic CBD topical brand, Weedsport, it was only a matter of time, and he’s already considered next steps if the ban goes through.

“39 state attorneys general want the THCA loophole closed by the feds. Can’t see any way around that. We can reformulate the base oils for our topicals, but it’s really a waiting game for the final regs. If the feds target the “C” class of cannabinoids, “CBG, CBN, etc.” it will be a bummer, but we’ve always had CBD iso[late] products for our elite-level athlete customers who can’t risk hot piss.”

Weedsport has plans to expand its offerings, and this ban has lit a fire under them to pick a recreational state and partner to get back in the mix of dispensary shelves.

Olivia Sawyer, founder of Kush Queen, also puts diversification high on her list of priorities right now.

“You would have to not have been paying attention to see this coming from a mile away. We’ve been expanding into more compliant markets over the last year to prepare for this. We would likely have to edit some dosages and change some things, but we’ll find a way to keep selling online. I would imagine most smart people have already pivoted into functional mushrooms, adaptogens, uninfused products, and strengthening core CBD.”

As many of my colleagues who sprung into action following news of this bill are friends who feel numb to dramatic changes at this point. After so many pivots, pitfalls, merchant processors freezing funds, and new costly overhead requirements, there is an understandable hopelessness for many founders who’ve done everything by the book year after year and still get screwed. I’m sure many of you can relate to that feeling, or at least at some point have.

Alternate Futures

While it is possible this ban goes into effect as it’s written, other possibilities abound.

• Perma-delay. The 2018 Farm Bill was due for a five-year revision in 2023, but it was pushed out to 2024, and pushed again when Congress couldn’t come to a consensus by the deadline. This is a different scenario, but there are pathways to simply push out the date on which the ban actually goes into effect.
  

• Repeal the provision. Through something called a technical provisions bill, this hemp definition provision could simply get wiped from this bill ex-post-facto. That’s what plenty of congress intend to do with another weird provision in the spending bill that would allow senators to sue the federal government if their phone records are accessed without notice (with a minimum payout of $500k 🫠).
  

• Revise the provision to leave it to states to decide. They could open it up to individual states to decide and operate on their own, the way they can with medical and adult-use cannabis programs.
  

• Enact the legislation to clean up hemp regulation that Oregon senators introduced last year. Yep. We already wrote this shit out! A national age restriction, testing requirements, truth in labeling, and FDA oversight—it’s all in there.
  

• Legalize hemp and cannabis on a federal level. Take everything we’ve learned in individual state programs and do this thing right. (A girl can hope!)

Many other things can happen between now and November 2026—let’s not forget the midterms! All 435 Representatives and a third of the Senate will be up for election. Democrats are looking pretty favorable right now, and imagine how many new embarrassing scandals will occupy the GOP by then. ✤

What are your thoughts? What’s your next move? How can I help connect folks?
Comments are open, as is my inbox. (Just reply to this email.)

‘Til next time (I promise it will be sooner than last time),
Lauren Yoshiko

Greetings from the most perfect time of year in Portland, OR. Trees are still lush and green from June showers. Roses are in bloom. Dispensaries are overstocked as ever with high-quality, severely underpriced flower, and you can catch a whiff of it in most corners of town.

I have two notable signals of normalization to report: 1. The last batch of blackening spice I took home from my mom came in a recycled flower jar, and 2. My grandma is popping gummies so comfortably that she called me post-dentist appointment to share how well it went with 10 mg in her system. Would I have recommended that timing and dosage? Probably not! But I’m grateful for her giggly call the following day and for one more reason to appreciate this plant.

Here are the most resinous news updates and emerging trends on my mind as summer hits full swing.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• We need to talk about RAW rolling papers. Y’all. First, it was announced that Josh Kesselman, the founder of RAW, had bought High Times. All of it—the magazine, brand, Cannabis Cups IP—for $3.5 million cash. Only a bit more than what Jones Soda sold its cannabis venture for last month. Then, within days, news dropped of a nationwide RAW ban connected to a lawsuit about deceptive marketing filed by competitor Republic Brands (OCB, JOB, DRUM, etc.). The claims made by RAW that have been proven to be inaccurate include:
  

  • A portion of profits from RAW products goes to the non-existent "RAW Foundation," which uses those funds to save lives worldwide.

  • RAW organic hemp papers are made in Alcoy, Spain

  • RAW organic papers are made with natural hemp gum

  • RAW organic hemp papers are the "world's first" or "world's only" organic hemp rolling papers

  • RAW organic hemp papers are made using wind power

  • HBI's owner, Josh Kesselman, invented rolling paper "cones"
    

  There is no RAW foundation????? What?
  
  There isn’t much written about this yet, my ears (and the comment section on this newsletter) are open to any whispers or backstory. Considering the ubiquitous chokehold the brand has on every smokeshop and dispensary in the world, I’m skeptical of the implementation of any such ban. But I’m thrilled at the prospect of a profiteering exaggerator getting a dose of well-earned karma.
  
  

• It’s been over a year since a new country legalized cannabis. It occurred to me recently that no country has legalized cannabis since Germany in April 2024. There’s been partial legalization in Slovenia (for home grows and possession), and the Czech Republic seems to be on a similar path, but it feels like global momentum has slowed. Or even going backwards? Last month, Thailand’s government reversed course, moving to make cannabis accessible only via a medical license. I think this regression has less to do with conservative shifts as much as it does the continued obstacles to banking, merchant services, online advertising, and navigating social media when dealing with cannabis.
  
  

• One place where legalization progress hasn’t slowed? Tribal lands. According to a new map released by the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, one in four federally recognized Indigenous communities in the continental U.S. is home to a recreational and/or medical cannabis program. Minnesota, Washington, and a handful of other states have incorporated Tribal programs into their statewide systems; in others, such as South Dakota and North Carolina, tribal lands are the only places to find legal weed in the state.
  
  

• A midnight veto saved Texas’s booming hemp scene. For a minute there, things were looking bleak for hemp operators and businesses like Go Easy boutique that sell hemp THC-derived goods. Senate Bill 3 had passed in both chambers, and the stars were aligning for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s goal of banning any and all consumable hemp products containing delta-8 and delta-9 THC. Then, at the eleventh hour, Governor Greg Abbott vetoed the bill and set a special session for lawmakers to convene July 21 to further suss out consumable hemp regulation.
  
  

• Kiss My Grass, a short film about Black women in cannabis, produced and directed by Black women in cannabis, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by Mary Pryor and Mara Whitehead, Kiss My Grass highlights the challenges and fortitude of Black women working in and around cannabis and demands urgent reform in an industry “built on exclusion.” I feel proud to see so many familiar names involved—many of past Sticky Bits fame!—and inspired to see these stories shared in those rooms. More of this!
  
  

• A spacecraft carrying cannabis seeds crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Martian Grow is an open-source citizen science project based in Slovenia, focusing on the effects of microgravity on seed germination on Mars. They sent seeds on a June mission by German aerospace startup The Exploration Company, but a parachute failure brought the vessel unceremoniously back down to Earth. One setback for Martian weed, one giant leap for aspirational seshing.
  
  

To boldly sparking what no man has sparked before,
Lauren Yoshiko

It started back in October 2024, when Broccoli magazine published its final issue. The first inkling that a greater shift in the cannabis scene was upon us.

Change is a constant in this industry, of course. But the recent closures of Sackville & Co. and Canadian retail chain Superette—two brands I considered, along with Broccoli, tastemaking leaders in New Weed—felt more meaningful than the usual turnover. Coupled with disappointing sales (and media coverage) of a first-of-its-kind guide to legal cannabis destinations, I’ve been struck with a creeping suspicion that we’ve reached the end of an era. After bouncing this idea around with colleagues and ChatGPT, I think it’s fair to say we’re witnessing the end of third-wave weed and moving into new territory.

Today’s newsletter explores that thesis, defining third-wave weed and attempting to capture what defines this fourth wave unfolding right now, with the help of commentary from Anja Charbonneau, Broccoli’s founder. This is all subjective, for sure, and undeniably rooted in nostalgia for the chapter of cannabis culture that gave me a platform and career. But it’s not that I think the game is collapsing or that all of the cool things are done. I think a significant chapter in the story of cannabis has closed, and I want to understand those implications. I’m curious what we can learn from it, what lies ahead, and what we can bring with us into this new epoch.

The Waves of Weed

When I asked ChatGPT to apply the “wave” concept to cannabis, this was its analysis (followed by what it gets wrong):

First Wave: Prohibition; Underground Era (Pre-1990s)

Cannabis use was largely illegal and underground. Quality was inconsistent, with little information about strains or effects. Informal distribution through friends and underground dealers. Highly stigmatized.

Human Check: Sure…if we’re exclusively talking about a more recent American lens. One could argue that the first wave of weed spans ancient times to the 1920s, when it becomes officially criminalized for the first time, following many generations of humans cultivating it, manufacturing with it, and consuming it across the globe.

Second Wave: Medical Legalization & Strain Branding (1990s–2010s)

Cannabis began to be legalized for medical use in certain states/countries. The rise of dispensaries and branding of strains like OG Kush, Sour Diesel, indicas, and sativas, etc.

An awareness of THC content and a proliferation of edibles and concentrates beyond familiar brownies and old-world hashish.

Human Check: I would argue that this erases the significance of the 1960s countercultural movement around cannabis. That surely factors into the 2nd wave in some way. It was still legal in that era, but culturally it was becoming more accepted, and people were familiarized with certain strains, seeking out Thai sticks and Acapulco Gold, etc.

Third Wave: Artisanal, Legal, and Lifestyle Integration (2010s–now)

Full adult-use legalization in many places. Craft cannabis emerges: terroir, small-batch growers, sun-grown vs. indoor, sustainability. Cannabis is increasingly seen as a wellness or lifestyle product, like wine or coffee. Detailed cannabinoid and terpene profiling becomes standard. Sleek packaging, designer brands, and experience-driven dispensaries. Birth of cannabis lounges and cannabis-infused fine dining. Acknowledgement of social equity and pushes for restorative justice.

For the most part, I think the Third Wave analysis is pretty solid. I’d add that Third Wave is also marked by cannabis getting the traditional consumer packaged good treatment, with multidimensional brand identities speaking to neglected corners of the cannabis community for the first time. It’s also defined by a boom in indie cannabis-centric publications like Broccoli, Gossamer, Dope Magazine, Emerald Magazine, among many others, as well as a boom in mainstream coverage going beyond the usual reporting on policy and illegal busts.

I think the timestamp of “2010s to now” is a bit of a stretch, though. I’d place the start more around 2015–2024, peaking in 2019-2020, at least culturally. California adult use was kicking into gear at that time, the first big celebrity brands launching, and events like Broccoli’s In Bloom captured the multidisciplinary energy swirling in the cannabis scene.

“Our little era was special,” recalls Broccoli’s founder, Charbonneau, who’s since broadened Broccoli into a “publisher of unusual delights”. “I like to think of it as being led by creativity, using artistic expression in all forms to help people understand and accept the beauty of the plant.”

2019 was peak for Broccoli, too—a time when the magazine was growing and expanding its reach, advertisers had amazing budgets, “social media was fun, and all of the traditional media outlets were publishing cannabis pieces.”

She also highlights how, despite the COVID-19 pandemic initially led to increased sales, increased magazine subscriptions, and more Broccoli Talk listeners, 2020 was when the dream of the Green Rush began to fade.

“Cannabis investors realized they weren’t going to see profitability in Oregon or California, so the cash flow into businesses quickly evaporated. We never had investors, but we did rely on advertisers who were funded by venture capital. CBD boomed for a bit, but brands and the media oversold it, so that industry quickly rose and fell, too,” says Charbonneau. “It was still a very powerful time for a growing community, but businesses started to struggle behind the scenes.”

The Beginning Of The End

In 2023, Broccoli’s Instagram saw its first flags, and Charbonneau saw the writing on the wall.

“This was also when I started thinking about ending the magazine. I could feel the era coming to a close, and I wanted to end on a high note where we could feel proud and accomplished, but not drag it out too long.”

2023 was the year I lost my cannabis editor role at Thrillist during their acquisition, but then also gained a book deal. At the time, all signs pointed to success: cannabis cookbooks and growing guides performed well. No one had yet written a guide to the new world of weed-infused wellness classes, fine culinary experiences, and cool dispensaries that went above and beyond. The publisher—Hardie Grant, out of Australia— was confident. Based on my conversations with fellow authors like Mennlay Aggrey, who still sees chunks of royalties roll in from her 2018 book, The Art Of Weed Butter, I was too. When publication day came in March 2024, everything felt good. Over a thousand books sold during the presale period. Then, when I checked in at the end of the year, hopeful I’d see my first royalties check in time for Christmas, I received a reality check instead.

Only around 100 books had been sold from March to December 2024. Today, I have yet to see any royalties.

I believe that if the book was published in 2019, it would’ve been a different game. There would’ve been more press, more stockists, more hubbub. I barely got any writeups at all. It didn’t make it in one 4/20 gift guide— but there were barely any 4/20 gift guides, period, last year. Same goes for this year. This is as much to do with cannabis being old news as it does the media as a whole taking a massive hit in recent years. An estimated 35,000 media jobs have been eliminated between 2023 and early 2025. Combine that contracted media landscape with an equally transformed social media environment, and it’s safe to say all CPG businesses are navigating a new era.

“In 2018, posting a good thematic photo once a day on Instagram was enough to grow a massive audience,” says Charbonneau. “Now, brands have to experiment so much more, and what audiences want from brands keeps changing, too. Five years after the pandemic started, I’m only recently starting to see IRL events truly return.”

A New, Nano-Tech Dawn

When I asked Chat GPT about whether it agreed that the third wave is in the rear view mirror, it did posit that we are on the cusp of a new era. But its description of this fourth wave is severely lacking/just odd:

Fourth Wave: Possibly Emerging

Potential markers include:

• Nanotech, fast-acting edibles, and custom blends tailored to mood or body chemistry.

• Mainstream normalization: Major pharmaceutical and wellness players entering the space.

• Psychedelics integration: Cannabis seen alongside psilocybin and other psychoactives in a broader “plant medicine” conversation.

• Hyper-personalization: AI-driven suggestions, DNA-based strain matching, etc.

Broader plant medicine phenomenon, sure. More pharmaceutical companies trying to get into the weed game, probably. But who tf is “strain matching” by DNA?

I agree that nano tech—a molecular breakthrough that allows for consistent, truly fast-acting edibles that bypass the usual digestive process—is a game-changing element that is only now becoming more broadly available. This tech is a huge part of the THC beverage boom, and unlocks the viability of THC drinks existing alongside traditional alcohol at bars and restaurants. You don’t have to wait two hours to feel the effects anymore—they’ll hit before the main course hits the table.

Hemp-derived THC is a massive element in this fourth wave, allowing for cannabis products of all forms to fly across state lines and land in mailboxes, regardless of federal policy. Through these Farm Bill-enabled products, THC beverages are literally sold alongside alcohol at liquor stores in certain states. I think another more recent side effect of the hemp-derived trend is the rise in low-dose edibles—a massive unlock for people who are interested in cannabis but don’t enjoy smoking/getting too high. The average dispensary doesn’t have anything available under 5 mg. A big part of this fourth wave, from where I’m standing, is a broader, better spectrum of dose options for people of all THC tolerances.

While media coverage has seemingly regressed, the other side of that coin is the massive blank space that endures for cannabis storytelling in all forms, from writers of all backgrounds. Many more people will be able to find their niche like I did and get their foot in the editorial door earlier than expected simply because of a passionate perspective on this still misunderstood plant.

Although one chapter is closing, this new chapter holds plenty to get excited about. There are still beautiful, interesting brands and thoughtful events. More people are casually growing cannabis at home like a tomato patch, and more medical research opens up the possibilities every year. There may be more censorship online, but it's pushed people to find creative, hilarious *gardening* solutions. I don’t think federal legalization is on the horizon yet, but maybe, just maybe, this fourth wave will finally bring about access to financial services for cannabis/hemp businesses. Charbonneau, for one, sees a bright future for this plant with ancient roots.

“While many of us who were part of this moment have left the space, there are tons of people who are still finding success and growing their projects, and that’s so cool to see. The people who can act as a bridge between what was and what’s next are important, and there are benefits to eras ending. It creates space for something new.” ✤

Hello, dear subscribers!

I hope everyone’s spring season is budding nicely. If you’ve been here a while, you may be wondering: Wtf is going on with Sticky Bits? Will she ever get back to the twice-weekly schedule? The answer to that is: sometimes, maybe?

The reality is, I’ve been working on this for almost five years. Weekly newsletters are a grind, even when you’re blessed with a bottomless well of curiosity about the culture and commerce of cannabis. Sometimes, ya girl needs a breather from the news. Sometimes, she lands a dream article about the controversial, historic Portland neighborhood where her great-great-great-grandparents ran a hotel, and it takes an additional two months and 2,000 more words to complete.

I love studying the cannabis industry as it evolves, and I care about supporting small businesses with insights to help them thrive in this space. I want to maintain Sticky Bits. I just need flexibility to sustain it. Thank you—so, so much—for reading Sticky Bits, where the posting schedule is irregular but the caliber (and author) is almost always high.

I’ve got a few potent trend reports in the works, including one on an intriguing product launch currently on my mantel and one exploring the notion that a new cannabis epoch is upon us (concluding the one that started in 2018).

For now, let’s get caught up on some top news updates.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• Tariffs will certainly impact the pockets of cannabis consumers. Yes, the dreaded “t” word. It doesn’t matter that our industry is technically borderlocked—from glass packaging and vape components to indie cannabis magazines, many companies in our community rely on China in their supply chain. Just what licensed cannabis biz needs to thrive: more taxes!
  
  

• A potential Texas hemp ban would have nationwide impact. A thriving hemp scene has filled the void of an adult use scene in this massive state, resulting in a hemp consuming populating that generates an estimated $5.5 billion(!) in annual sales. That number is why hemp companies across the country are paying attention to two bills moving through state legislature: Senate Bill 3, an outright ban, and House Bill 28, which would impose age restrictions, ban edibles and smokables, and impose strict licensing requirements for the hemp industry, while making an exception for hemp-derived THC drinks to be sold in liquor stores. As of this week, Texas senators passed SB 3, and the House committee left both bills pending.
  
  

• Matt Gaetz pens a pro-rescheduling op-ed for the Tampa Times. In what seems like an unsanctioned update from the disgraced former congressman, Gaetz wrote about “meaningful change on the horizon” for the rescheduling of cannabis from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 3. He goes on to remind readers that he’s always believed in policy reform “rooted in science, not stigma,” and then lauds President Trump for “backing” this move to reschedule (he hasn’t done that). In fact, Trump hasn’t said a word about weed since taking office. This post makes me wonder if Gaetz has some stakes in a Florida cannabis venture or two?
  
  

• In fact, rescheduling isn’t named in Trump’s announcement of drug policy priorities. Cracking down on cannabis or hemp business isn’t mentioned, either—moreso mitigating opioid trafficking. Maybe all those pro-weed billboards around Mar-a-Lago and the White House are working.
  
  

• The Drug Enforcement Agency is partnering with an anti-weed influencer community to troll 4/20. Johnny’s Ambassadors describes its mission as an effort to “educate parents and teens about the dangers of today's high-THC marijuana on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide.” Founded by a mother who attributes cannabis use to her son, Johnny’s, suicide, the Instagram account is a mix of her public speaking clips and paid Reels from young people sharing anti-cannabis content. For 4/20, they’re running a video contest in attempts to “flood Instagram with anti-THC messages.” $25 for an individual UGC video, $35 for a group video of 2+ people in a dialogue, and $50 for a professionally produced educational video or skit.
  
  

• Remember Edible Arrangements? They’re selling THC edibles now. I’m not sure if they happened to own the edibles.com URL and just now found the most profitable way to use it, or this is a totally fresh endeavor, but it’s happening and it’s fascinating. It’s also really locked down, age gate-wise, requiring a scan of government issued ID to prove 21 and up. An interesting thought for all DTC hemp brands dealing with wary regulators to consider. 👀
  
  

• My current go-to gummy: Miss Grass Jewels. The brand’s first hemp-THC edible is my new fave, and not just because I worked with Miss Grass on the flavor names and product copy. There are two flavors, my fave is Lift Up in Sour Watermelon Blood Orange Mimosa (you can choose sweet v. sour). The 5 mg D9 THC is supported with energizing ingredients like ginseng, B12, and lion’s mane mushroom. It’s a really buoyant, happy, layered high, and it hits fast, nano-style.
  

Grateful to grace your inbox,
Lauren Yoshiko

After 11 years in the weed scene, the lines between subjects and friends have blurred. My community includes my sources. My cat is referenced by name in PR sends. So, when I spotted a paid ad for what looked almost exactly like Another Room’s Jointlocker, but under the name JointKeeper by a brand called Funky Forms, I felt personally offended.

I’ve spoken to AR’s co-founders, Chloe Popove and Shafeez Walji, at length about their design process and consideration when it comes to methods and materials. I know that the satisfying sound you hear when sliding a lighter out of the Jointlocker is intentional. I recognized an uncomfortable similarity in Funky Form’s name, “JointKeeper,” its design, and the whole website’s color palette. So I reached out to Another Room. And I reached out to Funky Forms. I also reached out to many other colleagues, running this Jointlocker/JointKeeper situation past them for a third-party reaction and gathering any similar anecdotes.

It’s an interesting question: in 2025, at a time when one can find 100+ versions of most things somewhere online, where is the line between creative inspiration and lazy knockoff?

This dispatch explores three case studies: Homecoat vs. Housecoat, Session Bong vs. Pinnacle Bong, Jointlocker vs. JointKeeper. What happened, what they did about it, and what came out of their courses of action. Then, we zoom out to look at other factors at play when assessing your options.

A quick note before we dive in: I’m no contracts lawyer, and no two cases are alike. One brand’s advice won’t fit all. But it’s all relevant information to those creating new products. And if you are an innovator with great ideas, as I know many of you are, you are on track to meet your first copycat sooner than later.

Case Study #1: Gossamer X OffHours Homecoat

Q&A with Verena von Pfetten, co-founder of Gossamer, who collaborated with OffHours on a limited edition Homecoat.

Read more

Hiiiiiii, dear readers!

How are you? I missed y’all.

A lot of the time since my last dispatch was dominated by a 2,000-word commission turned 4,068-word opus on Portland’s Old Town/Chinatown/formerly Japantown neighborhood. The lengthy historical research was ultimately a welcome reprieve while processing horrific disasters, natural and manmade. I hope everyone is taking care as best they can, and highly recommend a stroll back in time if you need inspiration for navigating the present.

I’ve also been working on a special newsletter for you. A spicy deep dive on the bane of every entrepreneur’s existence: copycats. More specifically, when some other brand releases a product suspiciously similar to yours. I spoke to Another Room, Gossamer, and Session Goods about their experiences with copycats, and researched how similar instances played out in other industries of late. When to get lawyers involved, the pros and cons of a public IG post, the pros and cons of addressing it at all—we’re getting into all of it. It drops this Friday.

This will be a post for paid subscribers only, but if you recently canceled and were a paid subscriber at any point in January, I’ll honor it. I know it’s been a minute. Just reply to Friday’s email, and I’ll send you a link.

Subscribe now

Today, let’s start with the stickiest bits of cannabis news and culture that stayed with me over recent weeks. Keep scrolling for my dream Valentine’s box of moderately-dosed edibles.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• It’s not looking good for federal cannabis reform in the next four years. Rescheduling hearings put on indefinite hold. Oregon Representative Earl Blumenhauer, one of weed’s loudest champions on Capitol Hill, just retired. The new DEA head hasn’t expressed a gram of support for rescheduling (and the DEA gets the final sign-off).
  
  

• The “hemp” free-for-all isn’t over yet. In case you missed it, the Farm Bill update got postponed for a third time in December. That means 2018 rules still stand, allowing for intoxicating products (so long as they contain <.3& THC by weight) to be mailed across state lines, except for the states with individual bans. But even those aren’t strictly enforced, and with DoorDash agreeing to stock hemp-derived THC goods, the momentum is still feeling positive for that side of things. On the other hand, Oregon’s legal market is collapsing in on itself with millions of pounds of unsold product. California’s bracing for more taxes. In a perfect world, cannabis regulation moves towards a system somewhere in between the two realms, with more accessibility and trust in the safety of age verification at delivery (as we do with alcohol) and less prohibitive costs of doing legal business.
  
  

• Does the New York Times hate weed? Nah, but a cursory glance at recent headlines doesn’t look great: “As America's Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms.” “Stories of Marijuana’s Little-Known Risks.” “Should We Be More Concerned About the Growing Use of Marijuana?” “Marijuana Dependence Linked to Higher Risk of Death.” It’s a lot when you see it all together—it also feels all too familiar, like the 100% negative coverage we grew up with. But 100% of their coverage isn’t negative—recent stories also include an interesting look into Rastafarian religious practices bumping up against New York’s legal market and a piece on shifting trends across demographics, including the reports showing underage use has dropped since legalization. When it comes to regular, high-THC consumption over long periods of time, I don’t deny that real risks are on the table, and I see the need for honest, balanced coverage. I also know that media outlets invest in high-engagement stories, and the comment section on every Reefer Madness-y post is always lit.
  
  

• Legal cannabis gets a spotlight in a new Studs Terkel-esque book on work. In the new book, 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life, author Adam Chandler (journalist and former staff writer at The Atlantic) explores the myth of American self-reliance and the notion of hard work as destiny. In Chandler’s cross-country travels talking to people about their work, one figure he focuses on is a young dispensary operator and infused-sauce maker in Oklahoma who’d grown to become the largest operator in the state by revenue—a rare success story for a mom-and-pop business. Although likely not the end of that story, considering the premise of the book.
  
  

• A clinical trial studying the effects of a cannabinoid-based formula to treat symptoms related to menopause is recruiting (paid!) test subjects. Spearheaded by acclaimed researchers Dr. Ethan Russo and Nishi Whiteley of CReDO Science, this 12-week, US-only, randomized placebo controlled clinical trial will investigate the efficacy of a hemp-derived cannabinoid and terpene-rich formula. Peri/menopausal women are invited to head here for more info on participating.
  
  

• Mike Tyson’s weed brand opened a coffeeshop in Cape Town, South Africa. What a surreal sentence to write. I didn’t realize it was legal legal there, but this is, in fact, a full-service cafe offering flower, vapes, those awful/iconic ear-shaped edibles, and apparently pretty decent coffee.
  
  

• Black Girls Smoke is back in NYC. After going dark for most of last year, Black Girls Smoke, the New York-based weed-friendly community helmed by Victoria Sanders, marked its return with an edible-fueled museum meet-up at the Met last weekend. She’s also launched a Substack, The High Note, and this Thursday, the FOMO continues with a “High Frequency Night For Us” at Sweet Fire Cafè & Studio in Brooklyn. You can read more about Victoria’s inspiration and how Black Girls Smoke came together in the New York chapter of my book, Green Scenes.

High Finds: The Sweetest

I love Valentine’s Day. Single or attached, I go for a garish pink and red eyeshadow moment every year and treat myself to a pastry or three from somewhere special. In light of my edible-heavy consumption habits this winter, I’m sharing my current favorites. None of these are paid placement or affiliate links. Some have sent me free samples over the years. All are delicious.

• Touch Grass gummies by Potli. Such great honey, passionfruit and matcha-dusted flavor in a tiny package. These 5 mg pieces are maybe too tiny for how great they taste, but it’s a light dose—a gentler 5 mg experience than most. I comfortably eat two before cooking dinner. Bonus points for the honey coming from founder Felicity Chen’s family’s hives. Available online.
  
  

• KIVA Milk Chocolate. I love the flavor of pure chocolate so much, I rarely reach for infused versions. I got this as a sample around the holidays and found myself relying on it to get through extended family time. It’s a really pleasant, happy high (5 mg/piece, 100 mg/bar). It’s made with cold water hash, and I’m now wondering if that more full-spectrum extract factored into the buoyant vibe. 1.5 pieces was a really strong, satisfying high for me. The weed flavor is there, but the chocolate quality is very good. Available in dispensaries in CA, AZ, MA, OH, MI, OK, IL.
  
  

• Mochi Gummies by Sundae School. Although these gummies actually don’t contain rice flour, they nailed the mochi texture. The chew is so satisfying. Lychee Dragon is my favorite—such a refreshing flavor in the grand scheme of gummies—I go through a tin too fast. This one’s also on the more mellow side of a 5 mg experience. Available online.
  
  

• Mesobis Gomitas. The Mango Con Chile flavor in particular. Perfect heat! I’m also obsessed with the pyramid shape (the founders designed the custom molds to reflect Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Sun). It takes a while to feel anything, and then the 10 mg of happy buzz lasts long and fades slowly. Nothing sudden about it, which is ultimately really nice. Available online.
  
  

• Offfield High-Performance Energy Gummies. This Watermelon Mint flavor and sporty branding has probably increased my gym visits by 30% this winter. I can’t get suuuuper high and still get a good workout in anymore (I end up just stretching and giggling at podcasts in the corner), but this 3 mg THC gummy is just the right amount of float. Nice ‘lil boost from Yerba Mate, a hearty dose of CBD and CBG as well. Available online.
  
  

• Rose Delights by Rose Los Angeles. These rosin-infused culinary gummies remain a beloved commodity in my recreation supplies. Maybe it’s the literary romance I associate with Turkish delights, but I’m partial to the original sweet and botanical Rose Hibiscus flavor. And I don’t know if this has to do with the flower rosin, but I feel like I don’t build up a THC tolerance as fast with these as I do with CO2 extract infusions. Available online.
  
  

• A new nano gummy from [redacted brand] I got to help name, formulate, and build out a world for coming very soon. 👀 Excited to share.

Bon appetit,
Lauren Yoshiko

Further V-Day Reading

Relationship Advice: Surprising cannabis + sexual wellness trends. (January 2022)

Trend Report: Weed Lube. Products, brands, and collateral benefits. (March 2021)

Good morning!

Cheers to making it through the melee of Green Wednesday and Black Friday. All you small business owners reading this—and the marketers, creative workers, and budtenders who support them—have been in my thoughts. I’ve been working on a big freelance story for a Portland magazine, fueled by ample gummy samples for a separate project I’m working with a brand on. Excited to share both with you when they come to fruition.

Today, I offer you a quick round-up of cannabis news of note and some High Finds that are getting me in a merrier mood.

But before we get into it, I have a couple of questions for you:

1. What was a high point for you this year?

2. What was your biggest challenge?
   

Although I celebrate each of you and your personal growth, in this case, I’m interested in your business-related highs and obstacles. Reply to this email to chime in, or message stickybitsyo@gmail.com. You can keep it short or lean in, this is a safe space for cannabis and cannabis-adjacent entrepreneurs to let off steam. We can keep it anonymous if that’s more liberating, but please include which part of the industry you operate in. I’ll gather all the answers for an end-of-year recap and temperature check on issues you’re invested in as we kick off 2025.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• The first DEA hearing on rescheduling cannabis went down. And you can watch the whole thing with great audio quality. Even though this first hearing was mostly for administrative review of future hearing dates—witness testimonies kick off mid-January—the lively Judge Mulroony and passionate lawyers in attendance couldn’t help but lean into the gravity of the momentous proceedings with some early back-and-forth. A more detailed schedule of testimonies can be found here—I will be tuning into as many of these hearings as I can.
  
  

• A New Mexico cultivator aims to grow cannabis and opium poppies for Big Pharma. Bright Green and its CEO, Gurvinder Singh, are banking on the value of developing a domestic supply chain for federally illegal crops for use in research and the manufacture of federally approved medicines. The company supposedly has an agreement to supply cannabis extracts to a Texas company that makes tinctures used by cancer patients. Unsurprisingly, fundraising is the company’s biggest challenge at the moment, but it hasn’t stopped them from building out a 10-acre greenhouse. It’s a surreal read.
  
  

• Cannabis ruled exempt from a residential smoking ban in Oakland, CA. There is technically another vote required before the ordinance banning tobacco and vaping in multi-unit dwellings officially passes. I’m not positive this will set a precedent elsewhere, but I think this is a win for more nuanced approaches to regulating cannabis consumption in rentals.
  
  

• Hawaii could be set for its strongest attempt yet at legalizing adult use in 2025. With a lot of new legislators in the mix, no elections on the calendar, and a new majority leader in charge, the stars are aligning for a serious debate around the ongoing question of adult use during the legislative session kicking off mid-January.
  
  

• Troubled delivery giant Eaze is back? After laying off nearly 500 employees and ostensibly going out of business earlier this year, the new owners of Eaze have somehow secured $10 million in Series B funding. In a press release, they announced the funds will go towards reopening 70 Eaze and Green Dragon locations across California, Colorado, Florida, and Michigan.
  
  

• New York’s Dazed dispensary hosts a sidewalk apple pipe workshop on Green Wed. I love this endearing, wholesome activation concept—and I think there’s also something to reminding passersby of the innocent, homemade roots of this increasingly modernized pastime. The pop-up, made in collaboration with Old Pal, marked the launch of a sustainability program that rewards customers with discounts when returning and reusing packaging.
  
  

• The empire of Snoop Dogg launches an online hemp marketplace. The weirdly clinical and boring SWED.com (“Smoke Weed Every Day,” like his Los Angeles dispensary) site offers hemp flower by the jar, smoking accessories, and concentrate products like the Tha Everyday Pen—a vape pen that’s also a writing pen.
  
  

• More people are casually growing cannabis at home, and most of them are women. In a national survey of nearly a thousand self-identified home growers conducted by Stripe Theory on behalf of online seed bank I Love Growing Marijuana (ILGM), 61% of respondents were women.
  
  

High Finds: Holiday Edition

• I can’t imagine a cuter stocking stuffer than hemp seeds. Whether or not they end up smokable, it’s a beautiful, conversation-sparking houseplant! Grow It From Home sells easy, trustworthy starter packs of 5 feminized seeds in a variety of THC and CBD dominant varieties.
  
  

• My favorite fake plant brand Pot Plant dropped an adorable mistletoe-shaped leaf cluster for red-eyes romantics.
  
  

• The creative recyclers at Bong Candles made a limited-edition “Canna Cane” candle scented with notes of peppermint, sugar, vanilla, and musk.
  
  

• At last: fine, weed-themed playing cards! Gotham collaborated with Maison Games on a beautiful set of two decks featuring a leafy design and deep green instead of red suits, contained in a very giftable alligator-styled vegan leather box.
  
  

• The gift I’ll most likely get myself: CBD / THC faux pearl earrings by JIWINAIA.
  
  

• The ultimate gift for the weed-inclined: an amazing, first-of-its-kind guide to the most interesting, thoughtfully-operated dispensaries, farms, and destinations in the country called Green Scenes. 😌Filled with beautiful photography, helpful breakdowns of legal states and their unique vibes city-to-city, and interviews with the advocates, chefs, and curators of elevated experiences that define these respective scenes.
  
  Available on Amazon and small bookstores across the country. (Lmk if you’d like to stock the book in your business!)
  

Good tidings and great terpenes,
Lauren Yoshiko

Good morning!

Today’s newsletter is a lil news, a bit of trend reporting, and a bit of a history lesson, all focused on hemp. But not the intoxicating kind.

In other words, today, I want to talk about why hemp gives me hope right now.

To be clear: by “hemp,” I’m talking about consumable cannabis plants containing less than .3% THC and generally low THC plants that are grown for textiles and other manufacturing purposes. There is no biological difference between hemp and cannabis—it’s all cannabis. Just different strains with different cannabinoid contents.

Yep, despite the (IMO, silly) animosity that’s emerged between certain parts of the licensed cannabis and Farm Bill hemp industries, we’re all talking about and passionate about the same plant. Instead of stoking a rivalry based on shifting and conflicting legislation, I want to provide food for thought and inspiration to think bigger. Think longer term. Think generationally.  

Let’s get it.

Edible Hemp — Non-Intoxicating Value

In our current proteinmaxxing era, hemp protein powder is a star. 

Isn’t it crazy how on top of the medicinal, spiritual, and material applications of this plant, the cannabis seed contains all nine essential amino acids? Hemp seeds also contain omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids, and even when ground up into powder, it’s less processed than whey, which is a byproduct of the cheesemaking process. 

The global hemp protein powder market size was estimated at $163.6 million in 2023, and in light of high-protein diet trends, it’ll only increase. (Unless you’re in the military).

This counts for livestock, too. 

Following a recommendation by the FDA, livestock feed control officials voted to allow commercial farmers to use hemp seed meal as food for egg-laying hens earlier this year. Evidence showed that cannabinoid content was negligible, nutrition was high, and there was an improvement in egg quality. Can we also acknowledge the silliness of the FDA having more to say about chickens consuming hemp than humans?

Wearable Hemp — Fashion & Innovation Update

Hemp-based activewear signals major potential.

Hemp-based leggings are actually what inspired this newsletter. Not because they’re some ridiculous example of how far the marketing buzz around hemp has gone. It’s exciting because they don’t create microplastics.

You’ve heard about these little bits of plastic floating in the air and water across the furthest reaches of the planet. How the fish we eat already have bellies full of it; how they’re disrupting our nervous, endocrine, and reproductive systems. When we wear polyester-based (a.k.a. petroleum-based) materials like spandex and nylon, we release microscopic plastic particles into the air. Many more when they are washed. These leggings by a brand called Namarie are made with 78% proprietary hemp yarn & 22% biobased elastane. No plastics. 

With a category like activewear that requires a very specific fit and feel, proving this problem can be solved with hemp helps me sleep at night. We do have choices. Not many—the brand’s still small—but it’s proof that hemp-based fabrics can replace spandex if the market demands it.

More brands, styles, reasons to believe—and confusion.

For so long, “hemp clothing” was synonymous with stiff tees and rough jackets. We’re living in a very different era today, fam. Jungmaven’s line of tees and sheets continues to expand with many apparel styles and varying percentages of hemp and cotton. I check every seasonal drop by Australian brand Afends for super flattering hemp-based denim and dresses. Patagonia has a whole hemp line now, and brands like Mister Green, Tentree, and Toad & Co. offer long-lasting hemp-based classics.

Hemp makes sense as a textile for more reasons than just being plant-based: it’s got better SPF protection than polyester or linen, too. Hemp requires 20% of the water it takes to grow the same amount of cotton, and it can be grown in more places than cotton. It requires less fertilizer, herbicides, and insecticides. Its fibers are stronger; its shape is kept better over time.

When you look at all these logical reasons for the plant to be a bigger part of our modern world, it’s hard not to wonder why. We know about Prohibition and reefer madness and all of that, but why aren’t we making more with it? 

The answer long predates Nixon’s War on Drugs. 

Industrial Hemp — A Century Behind

You know about the textile applications of this plant. You’ve probably heard of hempcrete as a promising building material, and you’ve maybe even seen hemp-based plastics in some packaging. What you may not know—I didn’t—is how many more practical applications used to exist for hemp.

Medieval colonizers hoisted their ship’s sails with hemp rope. George Washington grew his own crop to make rope and fabric. In some Iroquois tribes, each family would be responsible for growing the hemp they needed for textiles. Up until the 1900s, hemp seed oil was the most common lighting oil for lamps. Henry Ford built an exterior auto body made of soybean and hemp plastic in the 1940s. 

Sometime during the pandemic, I heard a comment from activist and hemp cultivator Winona LaDuke at a virtual Cannabis Sustainability Symposium that has stuck with me: 

“100 years ago, we had a choice between a carbohydrate [hemp] and a hydrocarbon [fossil fuels] economy. We made the wrong choice,” said LaDuke.

When you look closer, you see it was less of a choice and more of an instance of market manipulation by those with the most to lose. 

In the US, most hemp cultivation ground to a halt with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. It essentially made it too heavily taxed to be worth growing or buying. The Act was drafted by Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a man we heavily associate with cannabis prohibition. But the real machine behind this Act was three very wealthy businessmen: Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst, and the Du Pont family.

Newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst knew hemp threatened the value of his sprawling timber holdings as a more sustainable and affordable resource for paper products. Mellon, then the Secretary of the Treasury and the wealthiest man in the country, had invested heavily in the Du Pont family's new synthetic fiber, nylon, and wasn’t about to see his money bottom out.

Now, imagine what could’ve been if that hadn’t passed. If hemp materials overtook polyester in the 1940’s. If petroleum-based plastics had never beat out more affordable hemp-based competitors. Our world would be a significantly less polluted place. There’d be fewer landfills. Cleaner water.

In a paper called “Making Hemp a 21st Century Commodity in Oregon and Beyond,” published by the Global Hemp Innovation Center at Oregon State University, Dr. Jeffrey Steiner, Ph. D. actually outlines this alternate timeline. All that cannabis can be used to make and what it would take to make the crop as common as wheat or cotton.

Much of that gap is knowledge. Knowledge about how best to incorporate which parts or strains of the plant into established agricultural production systems. Knowledge we’d have if not for Prohibition. 

I look at all those uses, and while it frustrates me how far we are from that point, I am energized by the fact that plenty of these applications have been tried and proven true before. The potential is exhilarating. It’s hard to feel hopeless when seeing all that’s possible.

Perhaps, in light of the known reserves of oil on the planet amounting to enough to last us only 50 years at our current rate of consumption, this plant is about to finally get the scientific attention it deserves. ✤

Good morning, dear readers (missed you!),

Well, here we are. 2016 again. And yet, it isn’t. The world is in a very different place than it was in 2016. We’re different. We’ve gotten more creative by necessity. Sharper. Our weed stronger. We learned how to connect and activate and pool resources and build anew amidst unimaginable challenges. Personally, right this second, my values and priorities are clearer than ever. I know exactly where I want and need to focus my energy, which is why I’m here, tending to this honest, radical, and open-minded community of cultivators (literal and figurative).

I let the newsletter schedule slip to put my head down on client work (and distract from global horrors) the past month, and I’ve felt noticeably unbalanced. This work I do for myself and for those who believe in this plant and in challenging outdated and unethical ways of doing business, and I feel called to double the fuck down. 

Here’s to knowledge, to progress, and to linking arms to build a better future. Sending all of you positive vibes and suggesting a cup of licorice root tea if you smoked as much as I did yesterday.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• Even though it was a 55.7% Yes vote, Florida did not legalize adult use. Insane they have state legislation requiring 60% majority to pass??? In other legalization votes: North Dakota: No, South Dakota: No, and Nebraska: Yes to medical marijuana.
  
  

• Oregon voted on a measure protecting employees of cannabis businesss right to organize. Measure 119 passed, meaning employers at cannabis retail and processing businesses are now required to sign a “labor peace agreement” with a labor union to receive a license from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. This effort was spearheaded by The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. I’ve written about how UFCW has taken on cannabis as a massive focus—they will likely take this effort to other states.
  
  

• The very red state of Texas is warming to weed. The city of Dallas approved a measure decriminalizing cannabis. Proposition R prevents police from arresting or citing individuals for possessing up to four ounces of cannabis and from using the smell of cannabis as probable cause for searches and seizures. 
  
  

• A coalition of Texas hemp businesses sued the DEA for heavy-handed raids of Farm Bill-compliant operations. Following the arrest of a law-abiding vape shop owner—70-year-old Sabhie Khan, who “sat in shackles in a jail cell without bond for two days”—and eight other hemp business owners in the Allen, TX area, the Hemp Industry Leaders of Texas (HILT) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and local law enforcement officials. Khan reportedly takes great care to vet quality products, requiring a certificate of analysis for everything on his shelves. On their end, the Allen Police Department claims products sold by the shops in Allen had tested from 7% to 78% THC. Whoever is wrong/right here—we seem to be reaching a point where certificates of analysis mean almost nothing.
  
  

• Kamala Harris probably wouldn’t have legalized cannabis. Even if she’d won and attempted to make good on her last-minute promise, Congress has more authority to fundamentally change cannabis laws than the executive branch. Now that there is a Republican majority in the House and Senate, I’m not holding my breath for banking reform, criminal justice reform, or the likelihood of alignment of federal cannabis policy with state policy any time soon.
  
  

• The rescheduling process will continue progressing, in theory. Currently, there is an initial hearing scheduled for December 2 bringing all together the “designated participants” who will serve as witnesses for the potential impacts of rescheduling cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. That main hearing when this group actually testifies has been pushed out to early 2025.
  
  

• Teens are smoking less, and girls are smoking more. Vaping is also down. Plenty of them are Zyn-ing more than ever, though.
  
  

• California’s hemp ban passes its first hurdle. A judge denied the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s petition to temporarily halt the emergency regulations banning hemp-THC sales within the state. Kush Queen founder Olivia Alexander took to IG Stories to vent about needing to likely move her hemp-derived THC operations out of state. It’s still unclear how the ban effects brands based elsewhere that ship within CA per 2018 Farm Bill allowances.

• A cool collab between music and meme curator Jazz Dispensary and California cannabis brand Pure Beauty. The Golden Hour Experience includes a new strain from their innovative indoor farm, a curation of “sunbaked tunes from the vaults of Jazz Dispensary”, accessible via their redesigned, high vibration website or vinyl. I will be listening to it for the rest of the week.
  
  

• Broccoli Magazine bids adieu. To be clear, Broccoli, as a publisher, isn’t going anywhere. The second edition of Mushroom People and a sick collab with the Instagram account @femalepentimento just dropped, and the celestially-centric Sun + Moon is in the works, plus a lot more. But the recently released issue 20 of the OG, cannabis-themed Broccoli Magazine will indeed be the last, and it’s a heady, bittersweet farewell. Broccoli not only gave me a platform as a cannabis-interested writer—it played a huge role in legitimizing the art of writing thoughtfully about weed.

  
  I was featured as a subject and a writer in Issue 1, where I was referred to as a cannabis journalist for the first time ever. Over the years, my stories spanned expungement, stoner folklore, and the sustainable wind turbines atop Pure Beauty’s indoor grow. I interviewed musicians, perfumiers, advocates, and farmers. I read stories by other writers that made me laugh, cry, cut out and frame, and feel less alone as a woman who loves weed, weird art, cheeky humor, ancient rituals, and modern science. It was the publication so many of us had been waiting for, and then it delivered much more. I’m grateful for the Broccoliverse making space for Broccoli Talk and Sticky Bits to exist.

  
  I want to say Thank You to Anja Charbonneau and the talented team she brought together and urge all of you to grab any issues you can to preserve your piece of cannabis culture legacy. 
  

To creating the things we want to see in the world,
Lauren Yoshiko

Good morning!

Today marks the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance. Care to watch it together? Or, at the least, get a lil stoned beforehand? Join Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey and me for a Pre-Debate Sesh!

One part Broccoli Talk reunion show themed around the state of cannabis in politics and its role in the 2024 election, one part Sticky Bits X Taste Bud collab addressing shifting cannabis culture across the country, and, if you choose to stay on, a live stream watch party as we watch the debate unfold together. Anyone can join, and all will be able to chime in and ask questions over the group chat.

The sesh begins at 5:15 pm PST / 8:15 pm EST this evening via this Zoom link. Hope to see you there!

One-Hitters: Cannabis News At A Glance

• California hemp THC operators remain in limbo. In the week following Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency ban on hemp THC products, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and a handful of businesses, including Cheech and Chong, filed lawsuits against the California Department of Public Health, alleging the ban far exceeds state and federal laws that legalized the production of hemp and govern the rule-making process. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden introduced a Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act to establish a federal regulatory framework for hemp products. Other than that, it’s been business as usual for most. The hemp THC brands I checked in with are (cautiously) continuing to ship to the state. assuming that even if the ban ends up including DTC, enforcing it is a whole other issue.
  
  

• Newsom also approved the Amsterdam coffeehouse-styled bill. Licensed dispensaries will now be able to sell food and nonalcoholic beverages and host live events on their premises. He’s certainly earning brownie points with state-licensed operators.
  
  

• You can get a $10 tattoo at Planet 13 dispensary in Las Vegas. Despite my experience getting a talking-to for arriving at a tattoo appointment visibly high as a kite, you can do all of the above at Planet 13. And get married, to boot.
  
  

• New York state’s successful crackdown leads to empty storefronts and sidewalk deals. Operation Padlock to Protect has resulted in over 5,000 inspections and the closure of 1,100 unlicensed dispensaries. These closures mean many empty storefronts while owners fight the rulings in court, appeal to reopen as new businesses, or decide to surrender their lease to new tenants. In the meantime, some weed transactions are just happening in front of the shops, on the sidewalk (again).
  
  

• It’s harvest season! I’m really excited about watching the cannabis home grower sector bloom. Great for local gardening stores, great for appreciating the cost and effort of carefully cultivated buds, and good for the soul. Be sure to check out resources from Grow It From Home if you’re going through your first cure (a vital and nuanced step, depending on the humidity in your region).
  
  

• Connie Chung is proud of her cannabis strain. The creation of a “Connie Chung” strain has been a delightfully regular talking point on the icon’s current book tour.
  
  

• Spark like it’s 2002. I keep getting advertised this lighter holder with Y2K tribal tattoo vibes. I’m here for the carabiner and bottle opener elements—the Toker Poker has dominated the utilitarian lighter holder space for far too long.
  
  

Hope to see you tonight,
Lauren Yoshiko

Good afternoon!

Well, California just banned hemp-derived THC, and I believe this has far-reaching impacts on the national cannabis scene. Today’s newsletter is everything that I, and a couple of brands in the space, have to say about it. 

One Hitter: California Bans Hemp THC

Governor Gavin Newsom officially banned hemp-derived THC and other cannabinoids in California. Citing “child safety,” Newsom reasons that the underregulated hemp products are easier for underage youth to access. The regulations require that “industrial hemp food, food additives, beverages, and dietary supplements intended for human consumption have no detectable THC per serving.” You now must be over 21 to purchase any hemp-derived CBD products, and no package can contain more than 5 servings.

This isn’t the first ban on hemp-derived cannabinoids, but California being taken off the hemp map is a big deal. It’s not explicitly stated whether or not Californians will be able to continue ordering hemp-derived products online, but I’m 99% sure this ban eliminates that. Massive gummy brand Wyld already updated the shipping policy on their Delta 9 website to exclude CA. That means the 28.95 million adults living in the state are no longer eligible customers.

In theory, that’s a good thing for licensed cannabis biz, right? All those people buying hemp will now head back to the dispensary and spend money on adult-use weed? That’s what Newsom and many adult-use advocates are saying. But in reality, things just aren’t that simple. Legal dispensaries aren’t well distributed across the vast state of California, and if people can’t buy cannabis at grocery stores or online, they’re going to go to the black market rather than drive an hour or three out of their way to buy more expensive legal cannabis. 

The other issue is the difference in product offerings. The average dispensary caters to high-tolerance daily consumers. You’re lucky if they carry one low-THC flower or an edible containing less than 5 mg THC. In the hemp sphere, low-dose products abound. (This is an issue I’ll be breaking down in much more detail in an upcoming dispatch for paid subscribers). There are many people who can’t find the products that work best for them at their neighborhood shop and instead order hemp joints or 1-2 mg edibles online. 

Is hemp underregulated? Absolutely. It’s vital for consumers to be selective with who they buy from to ensure that the brand tests its product and sources ingredients responsibly. The same goes for adult-use cannabis. Plenty of safety issues have arisen in the licensed space, and hundreds of unlicensed dispensaries are still selling cannabis statewide, all of which may or may not be sticklers when checking IDs. 

Earlier today, I reached out to Nathan Cozzolino, co-founder of Rose Los Angeles, to get his temp on this ban.

“I totally get the need for emergency regulations,” says Cozzolino. “My son can walk into a boutique grocery and buy a 200 mg psilocybin gummy with cannabinoids, and that’s not good. But what Newsom did was such an extreme ban across the board. It feels like influence by adult-use cannabis lobbyists more than it does a logical solution to the problem,” says Cozzolino.

He went on to explain all the ways they could manage an age gate for their DTC operations, not just at checkout but at delivery as well. Like many other brands, I imagine, Cozzolino is in talks with Rose’s legal team today to assess next steps. He’s aware of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s vow to pursue legal action against the state and even accepted an invitation to be a plaintiff in the suit, but its legal standing is no sure thing. 

The emergency regulations, as they stand, will be effective until March 25, 2025. Time will tell whether it’s extended in some form or another, but it’s long enough for brands with California-based manufacturing to face worst-case scenarios of shutting down operations or relocating to another state. For Rose, that would mean essentially throwing away 20 years' worth of relationship-building with local farms and abandoning the sustainable farm that the Rose team themselves have invested in the past few years, cultivating hemp and produce that goes into their Delights.

If the scope of this ban dampens or decommissions thoughtful, small farmer-first operations like Rose, I don’t see how this will be good for the broader cannabis industry in the long run. 

Even in the event that this ban results in an uptick in adult-use sales, it would not come close to compensating for the broken system that put so many hundreds of well-meaning farms, shops, and brands out of business. As Kush Queen founder Olivia Sawyer put it in a passionate Instagram Story last night, “If the state wants to help licensed cannabis businesses, they should cut taxes, not ban hemp.”

The fates of cannabis and hemp are inextricable—it’s the same plant. THC is THC. The entire us vs. them animus is such a fallacy. I understand why some state-licensed cannabis companies feel salty about hemp companies’ lower overhead and freer marketing and sales channels, but hemp prohibition is not going to help this plant’s perception at large. Cannabis in all forms should be regulated with care and accessible to all adults.

Next week, we’ll get caught up on the rest of industry news. It felt necessary to get granular here, as it touches so many issues in the cannabis space right now. I opened up comments below to all for any commentary, in agreement or not, on this situation.

One last thing: In light of reaching the final mile before the election, my Broccoli Talk bud, Mennlay Aggrey, and I have been mulling over a reunion chat to talk about the state of cannabis and politics. Is that something you folks would be interested in? 👀 Stay tuned for more details.

✤✤✤

In service to this plant and her alone,
Lauren Yoshiko

Good morning!

I hope everyone’s September is off to a good start! I’ve found myself examining my social media habits and setting intentions for broader exposure. Not my own visibility (although I should), but getting my eyes on more of the online cannabis community. My usual Instagram browsing for interesting cannabis drops and industry gossip just isn’t bringing in what it used to. I know the industry is always fluctuating—and how, in many states, it’s mellowed, even dipped, since mid-COVID-19 highs—but just to be sure, I’m giving TikTok another shot. It may be more strict over there, but as my recent conversation with Yew Yew founder Jenny Wichman highlighted, there is a “garden”-friendly community there, and I intend to find it. 

So far, the most…memorable…thing in my feed is a woman putting RSO in her belly button (alleged menstrual relief!). I figure another week of intentional TikToking on dog walks will quickly shape a more informed algo. Until then, there’s plenty of other cannabis news to catch up on.

Not least of which is the surreal cannabis acceptance present on both sides of the Presidential race right now. Tim Walz is governor of a state home to one of the most interesting legal cannabis markets in the country. Donald Trump described medical cannabis as “amazing” during an interview last week. I don’t think cannabis policy is the most pressing political matter this election, but I do acknowledge this marks a new era for this plant in the US.

Here’s what else is on my mind this week in weed.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• The Drug Enforcement Agency’s hearing on rescheduling cannabis set for December. So, the rescheduling convo is officially not going to continue until after the election. Interested parties that may be “adversely affected or aggrieved” by the policy change were invited to submit a notice of intent to participate in the public hearing. It’s unclear if post-election changeups would impact whatever verdict they reach in December.
  
  

• A federal court ruled that THC-O acetate falls under the 2018 Farm Bill. Although the potency of this THC derivative can vary greatly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has decided it can live in the same bucket as its parent compounds (D8 or D9). Technically, this violates the DEA’s definition because since it can only be derived from those compounds and not from the plant itself, it’s a “synthetic cannabinoid.” But other courts have disregarded the DEA’s interpretation of the Farm Bill, and really nothing matters that isn’t a fresh set of regulations from the next Farm Bill. Ultimately, this just means more of the same free-wheeling, alt-THC landscape we’ve been living.
  
  

• That said, Governor Newsom’s emergency hemp regulations in California may have serious fallout. Positioned to “protect youth,” the proposed regulations require that industrial hemp products intended for human consumption have “no detectable THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids per serving, create a minimum age to purchase hemp products of 21, and limit the number of servings of hemp products to five per package. Upon approval by the Office of Administrative Law, retailers will be expected to start removing anything that doesn’t meet these rules from their shelves. The state’s Department of Cannabis Control is thrilled, knowing this would get more people into dispensaries for their cannabinoid needs. The hemp industry is not, equating this to a total ban on hemp consumables in the state.
  
  

• Virginia cracks down on hemp businesses with over $10 million in fines. Following new restrictions on hemp-derived edible products manufactured or sold in Virginia that took effect in July 2023, state enforcement has issued $12.4 million in penalties against hundreds of businesses selling product that violated potency and child-safe packaging requirements.
  
  

• In New York, legal hemp shops are getting swept up in the crackdown on illegal dispensaries. When it comes down to it, product-wise, we’re splitting equally intoxicating and unregulated hairs here. But if the stores are abiding by state law, stocking products that meet state guidelines—contain less than 0.3% THC by dry weight (that includes delta-9 THC and THCA in New York), don’t exceed a CBD-to-THC ratio of 15-to-1, and a certificate of analysis—it’s not legal to shut them down.
  
  

• Nearly $8 million in cannabis tax revenue has gone towards homeless services in Denver, CO. Another $7.5 million went to affordable housing efforts and $3.3 million to education. This kind of report should be broadly circulated annually in all legalized states!
  
  

• Weed-y bouquets at New York Fashion Week. Gotham dispensary contributed MFNY pre-rolls to Grace Ling’s runway show, filling the designer’s signature Butt Bag and incorporating them into green florals carried by models.
  

• New cannabis-centric publication, Hiii Magazine, launched in California. Not to be confused with Hii Magazine, Hiii’s inaugural issue shows a lifestyle-y mix of features, product roundups, and recommendations for SoCal experiences. Editor-in-Chief Rob Hill has decades of experience in indie mags and was a part of launching the B2B cannabis biz publication, mg.
  
  

• A new study connects lower rates of obesity with cannabis use. In a study sample of 735,921 participants surveyed from 2016 to 2022, the data showed that cannabis use among “obese individuals” is 35% lower than among “non-obese individuals.” I know “obese” is a highly subjective term based on limited mathematical equations, but I think it’s safe to consider this another drop in the cannabis-can-fit-into-and-even-contribute-to-healthy-lifestyles bucket.
  
  

• RAW drops ultra-thin “Ethereal” rolling papers. My first favorite rolling papers were Elements rice papers, due to my perception that they were thinner and tasted less like paper. I wonder how these Ethereals—“approximately 40% thinner than other ultra-thin papers on the market”—would stack up.
  
  

• I spotted an artful sushi pipe from Elevate Jane. I’m unexpectedly taken by the orange swirls of the shrimp!
  
  

Let the debate pre-game begin 💨,
Lauren Yoshiko

These days, there are many founders, CEOs, and industry folk working in weed who never touch the stuff. Jenny Wichman is not one of them.

In this lovely wake-n-bake of an interview, Wichman talks about getting Yew Yew going, the enduring controversy of being a cute AND bong-forward operation, and much more, including her best advice for having fun on soc…

Read more

Good afternoon!

This week marks this newsletter's fourth birthday. Four years!!! One year as Sticky Bits, following the transition from The Broccoli Report. A huge thank you to everyone reading this, both long-timers and new faces; paid and free subs—I am very grateful to have found an audience that seeks out honest, thoughtful, high-minded (sometimes literally high) reporting on this industry.

The Sticky Bits publishing schedule has become less rigid as I juggle day gigs, life things, and newsletter needs, but that flexibility to post whenever works best for me throughout each week has been key to sustaining my curiosity and creativity. I aim to ensure every dispatch is worth the wait.

I’ve done some reorganizing of the home page to make it easier for paid subscribers to browse the existing library of business tool breakdowns like affiliate marketing, internships, email marketing, pitching to investors, and PR practices tailored to cannabis-centric businesses. Head to the Trend Reports tab for the most-read explorations of cultural shifts across hemp and cannabis industries in the US and abroad. And all the Lonely Hearts Boards are now in one place that anyone can access. 

This Friday, I’m dropping another podcast-styled dispatch, this time with video! I recorded my chat with Jenny Wichman, the Berlin-based founder of accessory brand Yew Yew, and will provide a written transcript for those who prefer to skim. Our convo centers on the brand’s approach to social media content, tips for flying under Meta’s narc AI radar, bong stigma, and what she thinks made the biggest difference in Yew Yew’s success over the past few rocky years. This will be accessible to paid subs only—sign up to listen.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting Sticky Bits. Let’s catch up on the news and enjoy the rest of this summer!

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• A reality TV relative in custody for cannabis trafficking. I have two tastes when it comes to television: heady, dark, finely-produced dramas and absolute trash reality TV. To anyone who shares the latter affinity: Ariana Madix’s brother got caught with 76 lbs. of cannabis as he was boarding a flight from Florida to Germany. Side note: it’s so weird/funny to me that this People article names the brands of his luggage carrying the weed. (It was TUMI and Briggs & Riley).
  
  

• Glass House considers diving into the hemp game. One of—maybe the biggest?—California’s mega producers of cannabis is seriously reviewing a potential move into the hemp DTC realm as they feel the continued dip in revenue per pound. The scale of Glass House’s multiple football fields’ worth of greenhouses has driven hundreds of small farms out of business, and yet, despite that CA market domination, there have been major allegations of the business being involved with illicit out-of-state exports. Seems like all that scale isn’t proving sustainable! What a waste of resources.
  
  

• Are things getting better? Despite even Glass House acknowledging struggles, my weekly cannabis story sweeps brought up more than one positive headline about the overall market: 

  • A NuggMD poll showing people are buying the majority of their herbal supplies from licensed, legal operators. 

  • July numbers showed that most regulated adult-use cannabis markets reported a rise in sales for the month. 

  • New York has shut down over 1,000 illicit operators. 

  • Michigan is still rockin’ and rollin’ (though new competition from neighboring Ohio may chip into that). 

Curious how things feel in your worlds? What’s the temp out there?

• Our Dream delivering more resources to new retailer in New York. The non-profit education and mentorship platform OUR ACADEMY is back in action with tons of resources for dispensary license-holders, including live and recorded courses on compliant operations, fundraising, tax planning, pro forma breakdowns, NYS labor laws, and marketing, as well as standing “office hours” every Thursday.
  

• California won’t bring hemp biz under the adult-use regulation…yet. The hemp vs. adult use dynamic in California was brought to a head in the form of Assembly Bill 2223, which would restrict products containing intoxicating hemp derivatives from being sold at places like gas stations and liquor stores. But when the scheduled time came for a state Senate hearing on the bill last Thursday, the committee declined to vote. With the legislative session about to end, this essentially removes the bill from discussion for now.
  
  

• Free campaign idea: pets! Vogue and The New Yorker ran big pet packages this month which I’m sure performed phenomenally. It made me realize cannabis doesn’t play with animals enough in content. I know there is concern about executing it in a way that doesn’t allude to animals getting ill from breaking into the stash, but I feel like that can be balanced out by the reality of THC and CBD having a legitimate medical role in many pets’ lives.
  
  

• Another Room partners with @girlscarryingshit on a meta Jointlocker. The iconic Instagram account cataloging women’s prowess at holding all the things that don’t fit in their tiny pockets analyzed the captions of every post on their page to create a list of the most popular items to carry. Then they collaborated with accessory brand Another Room to print that list on custom Jointlockers—a tool that already helped one hold a joint and a lighter at once. Brilliant!
  

Your eagle-eyed and limonene-leaning reporter,
Lauren Yoshiko

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For the first few years I worked in this industry, running a “cannabis business” meant you were either growing it, turning it into an edible, processing it, or running a dispensary. All cannabis companies were plant-touching companies, and the founders did everything themselves. Ten years later, the game has wildly changed. (Save for taxes and a bank account, though—no progress there 🙃).

White labeling. Distributors. Affiliate marketing. Remote agencies. Paid ads. Cannabis as a plant may have a ways to go, normalization-wise, but in the realm of business operations, cannabis businesses have most of the same tools as any other, especially in the “hemp” category. 

One brand taking advantage of the latest sales tools available is Snoozy. The CBD gummy brand reached out to me early 2024, I was struck by the timeline of these founders getting going and how established they were. Simple, straightforward branding, nothing wildly ambitious about the recipe or plant extract. But they said they were in something like 300 stores! Did they crack 7-11? Co-founders Chris Abbenda and Owen Martinetti are also fairly green entrepreneurs, just 28 years old.

They were fresh out of Baruch College when Martinetti’s mom shared an article with him about Governor Cuomo legalizing the licensed hemp market in 2017. Martinetti ended up getting some college buds together and applying for a cultivation and processing license, earning two of the earliest in New York. They spent time in Oregon learning about the plant and processing it, wrapping their minds around the “difference” between hemp and marijuana, and founded Naturae, which exists today. 

Since then, they helped open Potency, a Massachusetts dispensary in the Berkshires, and still run the shop’s marketing and finance efforts day-to-day, as well as overseeing all of Snoozy. The latter of which was totally self-funded thanks to some kind of PPE-related gig during the pandemic. My curiosity was piqued.

This Q&A with these early movers covers executing a very clear product offering, leveraging third-party partners, lessons learned playing in licensed and DTC hemp spaces, and the power of timing.

How did you two get connected? 

Chris Abbenda: We met while at Baruch College. I was bored working towards a career in real estate and started seeing Owen posting some things about the farm. I had an appreciation as a consumer but knew nothing about cultivation, so I drove up to check it out. He said they were looking for sales help, and I decided to just take a chance. I started working as his salesperson and crashing on his couch. We eventually moved into an apartment together as roommates. 

How did you fund the Snoozy startup?

OM: By 2020, Naturae had considerable funds raised and a decent-sized team, and I was taking more of a backseat. Then the pandemic hit, and the whole industry on the hemp side took a giant hit. Essentially 8 times the amount of hemp needed for CBD products was produced in 2019, so there was such a surplus and market collapse in early 2020. The way we were set up on the processing side, we weren’t in as bad of shape as many, but we couldn’t continue our work driving around finding new customers.

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