Jay Rosenthal, Jeremy Berke, Marc Hauser, and AnnaRae Grabstein return from their summer breaks to break down the biggest cannabis news of the week.

They dig into Curaleaf's hostile takeover bid for Aurora Cannabis and what it means for EU GMP export assets, unpack a new Congressional letter pushing the White House on rescheduling (and a surprising DEA admission buried in the briefing), and call out The New York Times for its recent slate of skeptical cannabis coverage.

Plus: AI and data tools transforming cannabis analytics, a Massachusetts repeal measure poll, and this week's winners and losers.

Jay Rosenthal is joined by Marc Hauser and Jeremy Berke for a packed episode of This Week in Cannabis Live — and Washington is a hemp circus.

This week: Vice President JD Vance personally lobbied Republican Senators to delay the Hemp Act, fracturing his own party over cannabis policy. Jay, Marc, and Jeremy break down what it means, why it happened, and what's next.

Then: Texas state rep James Talarico takes his pro-cannabis message to Charlamagne Tha God and The Breakfast Club ahead of his Senate run against Ken Paxton.

Plus, Q2 earnings season is underway — what are cannabis companies saying about the impact of medical rescheduling?

And in Winners & Losers: Dwyane Wade's new Cann collaboration gets the panel's verdict, Ted Cruz gets roasted (again), and Jay floats a theory about TrumpCoin and regulatory change that you'll want to hear.

Also: Jay's got a hot cannabis beverage review from Toronto, an Oliver Hazard concert recommendation, and a new webinar announcement with Sweed on August 20th — "From First Visit to Repeat Customer."

This Week in Cannabis Live drops every Friday.

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Cultivated's Jay Rosenthal and Bryan Fields of The Dime Podcast break down the biggest cannabis stories of the week from the Chandelier Bar — well, almost.

This week: federal survey data officially confirms that more Americans use cannabis daily than drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes — a first in history. Jay and Bryan dig into what it means, the social media backlash, and why the Scott Galloway crowd needs to relax.

Then: Congress still can't agree on a hemp bill, so now there's a third one. Jay makes the case for why the November hemp ban is unlikely to go into effect — and why brands like LEVIA launching nationally right now are either very smart or very bold.

Plus: Total Wine's senior VP goes on record saying their THC customer "looks like their alcohol customer" — every demographic, 21 to 99.

Winners & Losers closes out the show, with Jay giving the W to infused pre-rolls, the one cannabis category actually holding its price in a market full of compression.

Hosted by Jay Rosenthal, Managing Director of Cultivated. Featuring Bryan Fields of The Dime Podcast.

Topics covered: Daily cannabis use stats · Hemp bill update · Total Wine & THC · Infused pre-roll pricing · DEA rescheduling · Retail strategy

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Jay Rosenthal and Jeremy Berke (Cultivated) are joined by AnnaRae Grabstein (High Spirits) and Marc Hauser (Cannabis Musings) for a wide-ranging look at where the cannabis industry stands right now.

This week: Congress surprises everyone with a serious bipartisan hemp regulation bill — Representatives Andy Barr (R-KY) and Angie Craig (D-MN) introduce a framework for consumable hemp, potency caps, and FDA oversight. Is it destined for a continuing resolution or the chopping block? The panel breaks it all down, including why inhalables are the elephant in the room.

Then: The so-called "Year of M&A" has so far been mostly Vireo doing the heavy lifting. What does deal flow actually look like right now, and are private companies quietly outpacing their public counterparts? Plus, Jeremy's interview with Rove founder Paul Jacobson reveals what building a $100M private cannabis company actually looks like.

On rescheduling: When will the ALJ issue its finding? (Jay bets the Friday before Labor Day.) And what happens next — Marc walks through the lawsuit landscape, the DC Circuit, injunctions, and why the real action is still to come in federal court.

Winners & Losers: AnnaRae salutes the California State Fair's cannabis activation (100,000 sq. ft. and counting), Marc mourns the layoffs at CannaCraft, March & Ash, and NorCal Cannabis, Jeremy praises the bipartisan hemp effort, and Jay shouts out the Oakland Ballers — soon to become the Oaksterdam Blazers for a day.

Guests: 

AnnaRae Grabstein (High Spirits Consulting)

Marc Hauser (Cannabis Musings)

Jeremy Berke (Cultivated)

Host: 

Jay Rosenthal, Cultivated

Jay Rosenthal (Cultivated), AnnaRae Grabstein (High Spirits), and Jeremy Berke (Cultivated) break down the biggest stories in cannabis policy this week.

The DEA rescheduling hearings are over — but the real fight may be just beginning. The trio unpacks what actually happened in the room, why the opposition may have been building a federal court appeal all along, and what Kalshi's prediction markets say about timing. Plus: a Trump-linked PAC just collected $11.5 million from major cannabis operators — what does that signal about where policy is headed?

Then: Senate Democrats reintroduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), including a new hemp-derived THC regulatory framework. Is it a long shot, or the beginning of a bipartisan negotiation? And Pennsylvania punts on legalization — again.

They close with Winners & Losers, including the DEA (yes, really), Smart Approaches to Marijuana, San Francisco's new Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes, and Idaho legislators who may have killed citizen-led cannabis reform for good.

Also: a lesson from Canada's legalization experience on why "federally legal" doesn't automatically mean "good for business."

Topics covered:

This Week in Cannabis Live is a joint production of Cultivated, High Spirits, and Cannabis Musings.