Tag: Featured Story

Cannabis operators are clinging to a capital playbook that no longer works — waiting on reform, “sideline” investors, or a return to the equity markets of five years ago. But the drought isn’t cyclical; it’s structural. Between 280E, regulatory unpredictability, and a vanished exit path, traditional equity logic collapses. The result is “toxic hope” that delays restructuring and burns runway. The fix isn’t optimism. It’s architecture: structures designed to work under current law.

Opening your first dispensary is a milestone. Scaling it — profitably, compliantly, and without burning out the team — is another challenge entirely. In cannabis, each new location behaves like a new regulated entity, with new approvals, licenses, and operational risk. This guide breaks down what retailers need before expansion: SOPs embedded into systems, consistent customer experience, portfolio-level reporting, disciplined inventory controls, and a tech stack that keeps every store compliant and visible as complexity grows.

Rescheduling isn’t just a tax story. It’s also a technology story. As FDA-style oversight and GMP expectations come into play, spreadsheets, tribal knowledge, and handwritten logs won’t cut it. David Sandelman explains how sensor-driven grow rooms, automated post-harvest systems, and integrated compliance platforms can help cultivators protect margins and survive the next wave of consolidation.

At GreenPharms in Mesa, Arizona, cannabis shopping feels less like a counter transaction and more like a quick stop at the corner store. Customers grab a basket or cart, browse bright aisles, read labels, and compare products at their own pace, but budtenders remain available at the flower bar and checkout counter. Founder and CEO Marie Saloum spent two years navigating regulatory pushback to bring Arizona its first supermarket-style dispensary, and now she's planning a larger Phoenix flagship.

A personal brand isn’t a logo or a vibe. It’s your reputation, your value, and the story people repeat about you when you’re not in the room. In cannabis, where competition is fierce and change is constant, being intentional matters more than ever. This guide breaks down what a personal brand really is, why authenticity wins, and how to build visibility without feeling performative through smart social media habits, consistent messaging, and real-world networking that reinforces who you are.

Beyond basic utility, the modern cannabis grinder has evolved into a precision-engineered tool and a luxury design object. From aerospace-grade aluminum and non-stick ceramic coatings to handcrafted exotic hardwoods, we explore the eight must-have grinders redefining retail inventory for 2026.

Rescheduling may bring long-awaited 280E relief and a new sheen of mainstream legitimacy, but it also opens the door to federal-grade oversight, GMP expectations, stricter lender requirements, and expanded liability exposure. The “extra” cash operators anticipate could be quickly absorbed by compliance upgrades, professional services, and risk management. For CEOs, COOs, and CFOs, reclassification isn’t a finish line. It’s the starting gun for a tougher operational race.

Cannabis has learned to talk in data — THC percentages, yields, margins — but consumers buy in feelings. Perfumers have long faced the same challenge: how to translate molecules into emotion and guide people through an experience that unfolds over time. In this operator-focused breakdown, perfumers explain why scent is “experience architecture,” why layering is temporal (not additive), how design and story can outrank taxonomy, and why unfamiliar terpene profiles need context to succeed.

Zen Leaf operates dispensaries in 13 states, each shaped by different regulations, real estate constraints, and local culture. Instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all store model, the brand designs for consistency of experience: hospitality-led service, approachable education, and localized storytelling that still feels unmistakably Zen Leaf. Executive Vice President Robert Cohen explains how the company translates its “DNA and intention” across markets without losing the qualities that make cannabis retail feel human.

Retail veteran Aaron Dubois explores the shift from transactional efficiency to empathetic simplicity, offering a strategic playbook for brands to win over consumers in an increasingly crowded market.