Cannabis Retail Marketing in the Digital Era,From the left: Mike Zaytsev, Ed Keating, Solonje Burnett, Mike Ballard, and Jon Lowen

A new year. Unpredictability. Entrepreneurship & Opportunities in Cannabis.

Power and Deal Rooms at CMB Conference & Expo.

Happy New Year!

As we look toward the rest of 2025 and beyond, the industry and our thousands of entrepreneurs continue to be faced with challenges. The difficulties the industry had at the end of 2024 still remain, with 2025 arriving with additional concerns including:

  • Uncertainty of the Rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III and what appears to be stagnation of any progress, as the anticipated January Rescheduling hearing has been postponed.
  • A new congress and government administration whose support for cannabis reform is also uncertain.
  • Threats to ballot measures that have been approved at the ballot box for medical and/or retail cannabis legislation– will they be challenged to the point of not being economically feasible, or not being implemented at all?
  • Continued tax burdens for legitimate cannabis business owners as collateral damage of the Rescheduling stagnation.
  • Debanking issues where business owners are prevented from opening bank accounts and obtaining other financial services from banks in the name of risk management and risk aversion.

Amid the many challenges, the industry has much to be optimistic about, thanks to the business owners who continue to build and expand it with their passion for the plant, their ingenuity, their dedication to developing the plant’s health benefits, and their perseverance. In addition, as the new year unravels, the industry will welcome new entrepreneurs and investors who see the opportunities ahead.

Cannabis Means Business – Now in its 11th Year – Be There

Cannabis Means Business, formerly CWCBExpo – now in its 11th yearis a conference and expo that reflects the rapid growth of cannabis as a legitimate global industry. It is the place to be if you want to expand your business in the cannabis industry.

Cannabis Means BUsiness Conference & Expo
June 4 – 5
Javits Convention Center, NYC

Federal News

Rescheduling Hearings

As we highlighted in our December Newsletter, on December 2, 2024 the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held its first hearing about Rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug – without testimony from selected participants. Full hearings with testimony had been delayed into 2025 with the timeline set by Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney. Hearings with actual witness testimony were set to start January 21, 2025, but have again been postponed.

SAFER Banking Act

Whatever Happened to SAFER Banking Act?

High hopes abounded for well over a year regarding the SAFER Banking Act, which was not brought to a vote despite good prospects that it may have gotten passed. “Debanking” has become an issue in the newly Republican-controlled Senate. Where this all goes will have to be seen.

New York State Cannabis News

New York State Office of Cannabis Management, Cannabis Control Board, Cannabis Advisory Board

The OCM, the CCB and the CAB held meetings in January with much to celebrate – as NYS retail cannabis sales exceeded $1B and over 295 dispensaries were opened for business. Several items were addressed and discussed at these meetings including:

  • Market Update & Data Highlights
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • Advocacy
  • Social Equity and Licensing
  • Training Programs for Licensees
  • More Adult Licenses Approval
NYS OCM Office of Cannabis Management

Recent New York Adult-Use Dispensary Openings

Noteworthy is that 298 legal Adult-Use dispensaries are were operational by the end of January. Congratulations to these newly opened dispensaries in NYS.

 

Woodstock Oasis
BETHEL | 2166 NY-17B, Bethel 12720
Website: woodstockoasis.com

 

Kaya Bliss Dispensary
BROOKLYN | 8412 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn 11209
Website: kayablissnyc.com

 

The Spot Dispensary
BROOKLYN | 154 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn 11205

 

Cannabicity
SCHENECTADY | 220 Harborside Drive, Suite 111, Schenectady 12305
Website: cannabicity.net

 

The Phinest Buds
DEPEW | 576 Dick Road, Suite 10, Depew 14043
Website: thephinestbuds.com

 

Phenos*
*This is a microbusiness with retail location.
BUFFALO | 69 Allen Street, Buffalo 14202
Website: phenosnewyork.com

 

Canna Planet Kingston
KINGSTON | 1221 Ulster Avenue, Kingston 12401
Website: cannaplanet.com

 

Canna Planet Ellenville
ELLENVILLE | 37 N Main Street, Ellenville 12428
Website: cannaplanet.com

The Station Beacon
BEACON | 463 Main Street, Beacon 12508
Website: thestationbeacon.com

 

Clouditude Dispensary
STATEN ISLAND | 4034 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island 10308

Website: clouditudedispensary.com

 

Wild Flower Dispensary
AUBURN | 41 E Genesee Street, Auburn 13021
Website: nywildflower.com

 

Monticello Cannabis
MONTICELLO | 73 Pleasant Street, Monticello 12701

 

Vaporize
SOUTH RICHMOND HILL | 124-20 Liberty Avenue, South Richmond Hill 11419
Website: vaporizeny.com


The Dabber Hashery*
ELMIRA | 1051 College Avenue, Elmira 14901
Website: dabberhashery.com

 

Buddeez
ROCHESTER | 1460 Lyell Avenue, Ste 200, Rochester 14606

 

Caffiend Cannabis
BROOKLYN | 892 Wyckoff Avenue, Brooklyn 11237

 

The Flowery Upper West Side
MANHATTAN | 2465 Broadway, New York 10025
Website: thefloweryny.com

New Jersey Cannabis News

Certain NJ Employees’ Insurance Now Includes Medical Cannabis

Some good news for certain municipal NJ employees who will now have insurance coverage for medical cannabis. Learn more from NORML.org who has been front and center on supporting health coverage for medical cannabis patients everywhere.

Cannabis Tax Revenue Helping to Fund Violence Intervention Programs

More good news in NJ as Governor Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin credit the NJ cannabis industry, through adult-use tax revenue, for helping to fund violence intervention programs.

New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission Licensing Portal Timetable

The NJCRC set a timeline for applications for cannabis consumption areas. Consumption areas must be attached to a licensed dispensary.

The Consumption Area Endorsements Licensing Portal began accepting applications for consumption area endorsements in January 2nd.

Here is the timeline:

    • January 2, 2025: Applications open for Social Equity designated retail businesses (owners with cannabis-related convictions or residents of Economically Disadvantaged Areas)
    • April 2, 2025: Applications for all other microbusinesses and Diversely-Owned dispensaries (minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-owned)
    • July 2, 2025: Applications open for all other Class 5 retail operators
NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission

California Cannabis News

Wildfires Have Impacted Cannabis Business Owners

Our prayers and thoughts are with all of the victims affected by the CA wildfires. So many businesses have been affected both inside and outside the cannabis sector. The entire supply chain has been impacted to an astronomical degree.

Ohio Cannabis News

Lawmakers Propose to Roll Back Voter-Approved Cannabis Legalization

In our December newsletter we highlighted that Ohio had surpassed $200MM in adult-use sales in only the four months since it started. In spite of this strong start, Ohio is one of the states with cannabis legalization laws being challenged by its own lawmakers. The laws that are being challenged were approved by voters in 2023 and have started a thriving and sound adult-use cannabis industry.

The state Senate is proposing severe changes that would impose higher taxes on retail cannabis sales, restrict home-grow, limit the statewide retailers, and bar adults from sharing cannabis.

Colorado Cannabis News

Colorado Springs City Council Attempting to Overturn Voter-Approved Adult Use

The Colorado Springs City Council is trying to flatly overturn the 54% voter-approved ballot measure to allow adult-use within the city’s limits. Rejected was a ballot measure that restricted allowing it. Now, council members are trying to overturn it by asserting that voters voted on confusing write-ups of the ballot measures and are second guessing the voter-approved outcome.

Corporate News

Door Dash

Door Dash will begin to deliver to legal-aged customers hemp-derived THC and CBD products for on-demand delivery in select states.

This Month’s Archived Video

Cannabis Retail Marketing in the Digital Era,From the left: Mike Zaytsev, Ed Keating, Solonje Burnett, Mike Ballard, and Jon Lowen
Cannabis Retail Marketing in the Digital Era,From the left: Mike Zaytsev, Ed Keating, Solonje Burnett, Mike Ballard, and Jon Lowen

Cannabis Retail Marketing in the Digital Era

This month we feature a session from our June 2024 conference that focuses on retail marketing for dispensaries and brands.

This session explores marketing cannabis brands in the digital era. What are the best methods and platforms to market cannabis brands? What are the demographics that guide how cannabis brand owners create campaigns? What works and what does not work to market your brand front and center? What platforms should you spend your marketing dollars on? Should Artificial Intelligence (AI) be figured into your digital marketing budget? How does influencer marketing figure into your digital budget? Hear from experienced dispensary owners on how to secure shelf space for your product, what is driving the marketing for certain products, how a dispensary makes decisions in what products they sell, and what analytics are used.

Moderator: Michael Zaytsev, Academic Director, LIM College

Speakers: Michael Ballard, Vice President Sales, Leafwire; Solonje Burnett, Weed Auntie, Co-Founder and Chief Culture & Community Officer of Erven; Ed Keating, Co-Founder CannaBiz Media; Jon Lowen, Co-CEO, Surfside Media

This session was recorded at CWCBExpo, Javits Convention Center, NYC, on June 6, 2024.

We look forward to seeing you at the Cannabis Means Business Conference & Expo.

June 4 – 5, 2025
Javits Convention Center, NYC

HITR #18: Solonje Burnett, The Weed Auntie

In this episode, KymB gets the “blunt” facts in a candid conversation with Solonje Burnett, the “Weed Auntie.”

Solonje is a trailblazing Brooklyn-based entrepreneur and activist in the cannabis space. As a two-time co-founder, first with Humble Bloom, and now as Chief Culture & Community Officer at Erven, Solonje shares her insights on how data and community-driven strategies are shaping the industry.

 

Solonje dives into her passion for self-care, mental health, and creating mindful moments, all while advocating for more diversity and inclusion. Tune in to hear how Solonje is leading the fight for cannabis by putting community first.

Photo by Mara Hoffman

Womxn Luncheon Montage, February 17, 2024

Licensing in NY, Cannabis in Germany, plus Womxn Luncheon with CWCBExpo

Introducing CWCBExpo’s New Podcast

Highest: In the Room

Highest: In the Room
A podcast series that discusses the business of cannabis in a LIT way

Reporting from the weed capital of the world, KymB interviews the power players in the wild industry of cannabis.

In Episode #1, KymB gets the “blunt” facts from the Beard Bros, Bill and Jeff Levers, on cannabis restrictions on Instagram and why cannabis media is an integral part of business.*

*Contains explicit language.

Highest In the Room, with KymB
New York State News

Judge Rules for NYS in Lawsuit

NYS has gotten over another hurdle in court. On February 2, Judge Nardacci ruled against plaintiffs citing unfair issuance of licenses that was based on the social equity criterion laid out in the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed on March 31, 2021. Previous lawsuits claiming similar complaints were settled. The result of the latest ruling by Judge Narducci is a good sign that NYS is continuing to move the industry forward.

Plan to Shut Down Illicit Cannabis Operations

In our January 2024 Newsletter, we noted that Governor Kathy Hochul is committed to shutting down illicit cannabis shops across New York State. The movement to get this done has taken off in recent weeks with several local lawmakers at the NY Assembly and Senate levels supporting legislation and funding targeted at the closing of illegal shops and providing more authority to NYC Mayor Adams and the NYPD to get the job done.

Queens Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar has aggressively been pushing her proposal to shutter illegal cannabis operations across the city, while Queens Senate member Leroy Comrie has pushed to get the law into the budget. It is called the Smoke Out Law.

Spectrum News NY1

Dispensary Openings

The Adult-Use dispensary openings continue across NYS and NYC. Here are 18 of the most recent openings.

NYS OCM Office of Cannabis Management

Legacy Dispensary

COLONIE | 1839 Central Avenue, Colonie, NY
Website: www.legacy-dispensary.com


High Stone
STATEN ISLAND | This is a temporary delivery only location.No in-person or pre-order sales are allowed at this location.
Website: www.highstone.nyc


Royale Flower
ALBANY | 350 Northern Blvd, Albany, NY
Website: www.royaleflower.com


Brownies
COLONIE | 1686 Central Avenue, Albany NY
Website: www.browniesbrand.com  


Northern Lights NY
MENANDS | 90 Broadway, Spc 8, Menands, NY
Website: www.nldispo.com/


Buddega NYC
WHITE PLAINS | This is a temporary delivery only location. No in-person or pre-order sales are allowed at this location.
Website: www.cannabisrealmny.com


The Grass Hole Cannabis
PLATTSBURGH | 779 State Route 3, Plattsburgh, NY
Website: www.thegrasshole.com


Cannavita
ASTORIA | 30-30 Steinway Street, Astoria, NY
Website: www.cannavita.us



Etain
WHITE PLAINS | 75 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY
Website: www.etainhealth.com

The Emerald
BUSHWICK | 85 Suydam St, Bushwick, NY
Website: www.theemeralddispensary.com


NYCBUD

LONG ISLAND | 44-45 Vernon Blvd, Long Island, NY
Website: www.nycbud.com


Puffalo Dreams
BUFFALO | 900 Niagara Falls Blvd, Buffalo, NY [Corrected Address]
Website: www.puffalodreams.com


New Metro

BAYSIDE | 221-50 Horace Harding Expy, Oakland Gardens, NY
Website: www.newmetro.club


Public Flower

BUFFALO | 232 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY


Elevate

MOUNT VERNON |127 S Terrace Ave Mt. Vernon, NY
Website: www.elevatecannabisny.com/


Exit 31 Exotic

UTICA | 255 Genesee Street, Utica, NY
Website: www.uticacannabisco.com


Tiki Leaves

CONEY ISLAND | 1511 Neptune Ave., Brooklyn, NY


Silk Road NYC

QUEENS | 166-30 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica, NY
Website: www.silkroadnyc.com/

Licensing News

Some good news for NYS revenues: NYS’s total adult-use cannabis sales are climbing toward $200MM since MRTA was passed. As of this month, total adult-use sales reached $183MM, as reported by the Office of Cannabis Management and Governor Hochul.

Also this month, the NYS Office of Cannabis Management (OCM):

  • Issued over 100 licenses in mid-February including 38 new Retail Dispensary Licenses, and 26 Micro-business Licenses.
  • Approved Home Grow Cultivation Regulations
  • Opened a new application window for more type 3 processor applications and to allow conditional cultivators and processors to continue transition to non-conditional licenses
Seal of Governor Kathy Hochul
New Jersey News

New Jersey Closes in on $1B in Total Cannabis Revenue

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) reported on February 15 that there were 102 medical and adult-use dispensaries across the state. In addition, total sales for medicinal and adult-use cannabis sales were closing in at $1B combined. These milestones are very good news.

NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission
Pennsylvania News

Governor Josh Shapiro Wants to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis

Will Pennsylvania legalize adult-use cannabis anytime soon? Governor Ron Shapiro is supporting it and presented some key points during his February budget presentation as part of his efforts to legalize adult-use in PA. In his presentation he cited estimated cannabis revenues, social equity, and expungement of minor cannabis offenses and arrests. Not all groups in PA are supportive of the Governor’s efforts.

CBS News
Majority of U.S. Voters Favor Legalization

U.S. Voters Want Legalization

We highlighted in our January newsletter that the issue of de-scheduling vs. rescheduling cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug was heating up. A poll found that the call to de-schedule cannabis is overwhelmingly supported by both Democrat and Republican voters. The results of a poll featured in NORML.org, compiled by The Tarrance Group, showed that well over 50% of respondents want to see full legalization in all 50 states.

Ukraine Legalizes Medical Cannabis

Ukraine’s President Zelensky Signs Medical Cannabis into Law

On February 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the December 21, 2023 bill that was approved by Ukraine’s Parliament. This new law will provide access for medical patients seeking treatment for a variety of conditions including PTSD. The war has created the need for medical cannabis to help treat the traumas of the war suffered by soldiers and citizens. Patients will need a prescription from a doctor to get the medical cannabis and to legally buy it. Recreational cannabis remains illegal. The new law takes effect in July 2024.

Germany Legalizes Adult-Use

Germany Legalizes Adult-use Cannabis

As of February 23, Germany became the third European country to legalize recreational use cannabis for anyone aged 18 or above.

CNN
Community News

Building Community Through Recognizing WOMXN Entrepreneurs

On Saturday February 17, CWCBExpo was honored to be the Nourishment Sponsor for the WOMXN Brunch. The brunch was expertly produced and organized by Solonje Burnett and Kymberly Byrnes (KymB). Solonje Burnett is Weed Auntie and Co-founder and Chief Culture & Community Officer of Erven. Kymberly Byrnes is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of TribeTokes, and Host of “The Highest in the Room” podcast. 

The luncheon took place in Williamsburg Brooklyn at the Moxie Hotel and was sold out. CWCBExpo was in attendance and is sharing some photos below. Thank you Solonje and KymB for making such a memorable afternoon.

Womxn Luncheon Montage, February 17, 2024

Womxn Luncheon, February 17, 2024. Clockwise from the top left, Solonje Burnett, Weed Auntie, Co-founder and Chief Culture & Community Officer of Erven, with Christine Ianuzzi, CEO, CWCBExpo; Kymberly Byrnes (KymB), Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of TribeTokes; Women in attendance; “Local Roots” food table, the woman-owned small business which prepared the healthy, fresh and delicious lunch that was served at the event.

Check out the CWCBExpo BLOG

CWCBExpo blogs contain relevant, timely information.

Recent subjects include cannabis testing laboratories, packaging, facility security, and legalization and regulatory updates.

Lighting a Joint

This is the event you need to attend.

CWCBExpo, Cannabis Means Business, 11th Annual

June 5 – 6, 2024
Javits Convention Center, NYC

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