Hemp Ban Reactions & New Aroma Terms

Plus: An update for paid subs.

Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Time to read: About 4 minutes. Contains 976 words.

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?

OG weed news spotted at Electric Lettuce dispensary in Portland, OR.

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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