💸 The Tape

More than a century and a half later, Canada’s cannabis industry faces its own test of unity, not in war, but in purpose. Unless we find common ground and speak with one voice, our sector risks weakening itself from within, just as external forces grow stronger around us.

That lesson is especially relevant today. The federal government’s 2025 budget was a stark reminder of what happens when our industry speaks with disjointed voices.

Despite years of advocacy by an under-resourced industry association representing licensed producers, the budget offered nothing to ease the crushing weight of excise taxes or the regulatory burdens that continue to stifle innovation and growth. Instead, it went in the opposite direction, reducing reimbursement rates for veterans’ and RCMP members’ medical cannabis benefits from $8.50 to $6.00 per gram.

The move, aimed at saving money, directly undermines patient access and the legitimacy of the legal market. For an industry that employs tens of thousands of Canadians and generates billions of dollars in GDP, this omission felt less like an oversight and more like indifference. The message from Ottawa was clear: until we find our collective voice, cannabis will remain an afterthought in Canada’s economic story.

To change this trajectory, Canada’s cannabis sector must unite around a common narrative, one that reminds Canadians this is not a fringe market, but a legitimate, job-creating, tax-paying industry with enormous economic potential. Public opinion shapes political will, and right now, too few Canadians understand the scale of our contribution or the barriers we face.

Other industries have mastered this dynamic: the beverage alcohol lobby consistently frames its value in terms of tourism and tax revenue; life sciences groups successfully link their research incentives to national competitiveness; dairy farmers have built decades of public goodwill through unified branding and regional advocacy; and the auto sector speaks with one voice when seeking subsidies or trade protection.

Cannabis, by contrast, remains fragmented, divided between large and small producers, and between corporate and independent retailers. Until we close ranks and tell a cohesive, fact-based story about our industry’s role in Canada’s economy, we cannot expect policymakers, or the public they answer to, to champion our cause.

Of course, no one expects perfect alignment across such a diverse industry. Licensed producers, retailers, processors, and ancillary businesses will inevitably have different perspectives and priorities. But unity does not require uniformity; it requires cooperation on issues of shared consequence.

Whether it’s reducing the punishing excise tax that eats away at profitability, creating a single national excise stamp to cut red tape, revisiting outdated THC limits on edibles and beverages, lowering provincial markups, or opening new revenue streams for retailers, there is ample common ground to stand on.

These are reforms that would strengthen the entire value chain, from cultivator to consumer. The challenge and opportunity before us is to build a coalition that can advance these shared goals with one clear, credible, and consistent voice.

We’ve already seen what’s possible when the industry works together.

In Alberta, cross-sector collaboration helped convince the government to step back from cannabis e-commerce, open the door to home delivery, issue special event permits, and remove outdated street-visibility restrictions for retailers — policies that strengthened the legal market while supporting responsible access.

In Ontario and British Columbia, joint advocacy by retailers and producers led to the removal of similar visibility restrictions, treating cannabis stores more like other regulated businesses. Manitoba went even further, repealing its social responsibility fee, retroactively and permanently ending plans to grant “controlled access” licences to convenience stores and gas stations — decisions that reflected a unified message about protecting public safety and supporting legitimate operators. Even Ontario’s modest reductions in wholesale markups, while incremental, demonstrated that consistent and coordinated engagement can make a difference.

These examples prove that when our sector stands together, governments listen, and meaningful reform follows. As an industry, we must resist the instinct to retreat into our silos. Producers, processors, and retailers, large and small alike, can and must work together to advance the interests that bind us rather than the differences that divide us. Progress will not come overnight; it will require a unified, strategic, and patient approach grounded in trust and shared purpose.

Other sectors have demonstrated that collective advocacy works when guided by discipline and persistence. Ours must now follow suit, abandoning parochialism in favour of partnership. Only then can we speak with one voice, earn the respect our industry deserves, and ensure that Canada’s cannabis story is one of strength, stability, and unity, not division.

Op Ed by Omar Kahn via StratCann

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

Hemp Ban Blowback Hits Washington | TTB Weekly Recap

What we will cover:

✅ What actually mattered this week in cannabis and hemp — and what should the industry be paying attention to with everything shifting at once?

That’s what today’s TDR Weekly Recap is all about, as host Shadd Dales runs through the biggest policy moves, state updates, and business headlines without any spin. A lot changed fast — from Washington to New York to the Midwest — and the impact is already starting to show up across the sector.

This week, Shadd breaks everything down through a neutral, third-party lens. The recap covers Nancy Mace stepping out with a bill to undo the new federal hemp ban, New York officially hitting 500 licensed dispensaries, and Minnesota trying to figure out whether it can protect its THC beverage rules before the federal crackdown kicks in. Virginia finally has a path toward retail cannabis sales, San Francisco delays its cannabis tax again, and a new Supreme Court challenge could end up reshaping the federal government’s authority under the Controlled Substances Act.

There’s also movement in Ohio, where lawmakers say they’re close to locking in a cannabis–hemp compromise that sets clear rules for both industries. And in the business roundup, FLUENT rolls out a new pre-ground flower line in Florida, Decibel posts another strong quarter driven by international sales, and Vext Science continues to build momentum in Ohio and Arizona.