Business

Younger consumers are still celebrating — they’re just drinking less alcohol. From sober-curious New Year’s Eve parties to low-dose THC spritzers replacing champagne, cannabis beverages are reshaping how people socialize. For retailers, the shift represents a rare opportunity to capture a moment historically owned by booze. Here’s what the data, culture, and operators say about selling cannabis drinks during peak celebration season.

For years, legal cannabis behaved like a precocious teenager — full of ambition but fueled by optimism more than discipline. In 2025, that adolescence ended. Price compression, oversupply, and tighter capital forced operators to confront hard truths about efficiency, quality, and sustainability. The result? A more mature industry trading hype for resilience and learning how to earn legitimacy instead of chasing it.

Impressions and clicks once defined digital marketing success, but they never showed whether anyone actually paid attention. As privacy rules tighten and AI accelerates audience behavior, cannabis brands are turning to attention data to understand real engagement. Here's why vanity metrics are fading, how attention metrics work, and what they mean for compliant cannabis marketing strategies moving forward.

As winter settles in, cannabis consumers are gravitating toward comfort, intention, and small rituals that support rest and well-being. For retailers, this shift creates an opportunity to reframe cannabis as part of everyday self-care through thoughtful merchandising, wellness-forward education, and cozy seasonal storytelling. From topicals and low-dose edibles to premium flower, winter has become one of cannabis retail’s most meaningful moments to build trust and long-term loyalty.

Public relations plays an outsized role in cannabis marketing — but impressions alone don’t prove value. This feature breaks down how to measure PR ROI, connect earned media to revenue and market share, and build attribution systems executives and CFOs actually trust.

First-time cannabis customers often enter dispensaries feeling overwhelmed, intimidated, and unsure they belong. As the industry matures, experience — not price or product innovation — will define which retailers earn trust and loyalty. From education and store design to leadership and staff training, this column explores why fixing the customer journey is no longer optional for sustainable growth.

What cannabis rescheduling to Schedule III really means, how the process works, and why it matters for businesses and patients.

Rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III would not legalize cannabis — but it could fundamentally alter how the federal government treats the plant. From tax policy and medical research to regulatory oversight, here’s what cannabis rescheduling actually means, how the process works, and why it matters to businesses, patients, and policymakers.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to expedite the rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III — a move that could eliminate 280E taxation for cannabis businesses but still requires formal DEA rulemaking. While the White House framed the order as “common sense,” opposition from congressional Republicans and unresolved administrative hearings leave the timeline uncertain.

As operators finalize their 2026 plans, fresh data shows cannabis consumers are changing in ways that directly impact marketing, product development, and retail strategy. From the rise of wellness and discreet formats to the growing demand for personalization, digital-first shopping, and founder-led authenticity, here’s what today’s consumers expect and how brands can adjust for the industry’s next era.