CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Welcome today Clint Kellum the new (as of November 2025) director of the California Department of Cannabis Control. The CDCC licenses and regulates the business of cannabis, including the regulation of cannabis growers, the production of cannabis products, and the sale, transportation and tracking of cannabis products. Immediately after that, Kellum took the reins Governor Newsom signed AB 564, a bill that would restore the state’s hemp excise tax rate to 15% through 2028, giving hope to California’s struggling legal hemp market after several difficult years. Kellum explains what AB 564 means for the industry and the state, and looks at the challenges and opportunities ahead. And as always, we tell you who had the worst week in California politics.
Vireo Growth Announces California Retail Joint Venture with Glass House Brands
MINNEAPOLIS and LONG BEACH, Calif., April 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vireo Growth Inc. (“Vireo”) (CSE: VREO; OTCQX: VREOF) and Glass House Brands Inc. (“Glass House”) (CBOE CA: GLAS.AU) (CBOE CA: GLAS.WT.U) (OTCQX: GLASF) (OTCQX: GHBWF) today announced a joint venture to build one of the largest and most strategically located cannabis retail platforms in California. Subject to regulatory and certain closing conditions, each company will contribute its California dispensary operations to the joint venture in exchange for a 50% ownership interest.
Vireo operates twelve dispensaries and home delivery from recently acquired Eaze, Inc. (“Eaze”). Glass House currently operates eleven retail locations in California. The combined network will be supported by a preferential supply agreement with Glass House, California’s largest producer of large-scale hemp. After five years, Vireo will have the option to acquire Glass House’s shares in the joint venture, and Glass House will have a reciprocal right.
Cory Azzalino, president of California-based Vireo, has been named CEO of the joint venture, where he will oversee operations and lead the platform’s retail acquisition and expansion strategy.
“California remains the world’s largest legal cannabis market, and this joint venture allows us to unlock its potential in a way that neither company can achieve alone,” said Kyle Kazan, Glass House co-founder, president and CEO. “Vireo brings exceptional retail access and delivery infrastructure through the Eaze platform, while Glass House leverages proven retail execution, low cost, scale manufacturing and deep brand equity. Together with Vireo, we have found ways to mitigate California’s challenging pricing dynamics and expand the value of our retail operations without increasing the value of our retail operations without the core objectives of Glass. new legal markets outside the state”.
“Glass House is an ideal partner to collaborate with to build the future of cannabis retail in California,” said John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo. “Their manufacturing scale and brand strength, combined with Vireo’s retail depth and one of the industry’s leading technology-based delivery platforms, creates a joint venture that is greater than the sum of its parts;
The joint venture’s integrated delivery capabilities through the Eaze platform will expand distribution to areas with limited retail access, providing competitive pricing that supports the legal market.
I am proud to lead this platform and the opportunity it represents. Our combined retail and delivery network gives us the ability and resources to bring high-quality, affordable cannabis to consumers in California, including underserved communities, while pursuing disciplined growth that strengthens the legal market over the long term.
Cory Azalino
About Glass House Brands
Glass House is one of the fastest growing, vertically integrated cannabis companies in the US, focused on the California market and building leading, sustainable brands to serve consumers across all segments. Whether through its portfolio of brands that include Glass House Farms, PLUS Products, Allswell and Mama Sue Wellness, or its network of retail clinics across the state of California that includes The Farmacy, Natural Healing Center and The Pottery, Glass House is committed to its vision of excellence; For more information and company updates, visit www.glasshousebrands.com/ and https://ir.glasshousebrands.com/contact/email-alerts/.
About Vireo Growth Inc
Vireo was founded in 2014 as a leading medical cannabis company. Vireo is building a disciplined, strategically aligned and execution-focused platform in the industry. This strategy drives our intense local market focus while leveraging the strength of the national portfolio. We are committed to hiring industry leaders and deploying capital and talent where we believe it will deliver the most value. Vireo operates with a long-term mindset, an action bias, and an unwavering commitment to its customers, employees, shareholders, industry partners, and the communities it serves. For more information about Vireo, visit www.vireogrowth.com.
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New Cannabis Ventures offers readers this easy-to-read exclusive summary of BDSA’s 15-state monthly cannabis sales data.
Cannabis sales rose 6.5% sequentially in March. Adjusted for the higher number of days, sales were down 3.8% sequentially on a daily basis. In this review, we break down the results by state, starting with the western markets and then ending with the eastern markets. Overall, the BDSA estimates sales in 15 markets totaled $2.14 billion in March, up 1.6 percent from a year ago.
Western markets
BDSA provides coverage for Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. In March, annual growth was negative in four states. Growth in each of these states fell consecutively on a daily basis.
Eastern markets
BDSA provides coverage for Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In March, annual growth ranged from -6.8% in Florida to +32.7% in Ohio. Ohio began using adults in August, spurring growth. Note that Florida and Pennsylvania are medical markets only. On a daily basis, sequential growth declined in seven out of ten markets. Annual growth was negative in five markets and rose sharply in only two states. We warned of a potential slowdown in Florida despite strong dispensary and unit volume growth due to competitive pressure.
For readers interested in a deeper look hemp markets in these fifteen states and more, including segmentation by additional product categories, brand and product details, longer history and segmentation by product attributes, learn how BDSA Solutions can give you access to actionable data and analytics.
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
Shunning public health concerns, the City Council on Tuesday voted to move forward with plans to hold specially-permitted cannabis events within city limits.
On a 6-2 vote, with Council members Christina Duggan and Megan Kerr dissenting, the council agreed to return the item for a second reading before final approval. Once passed, the ordinance will allow the city to issue permits for events dedicated to the sale and consumption of cannabis.
The item, originally proposed in 2019 but shelved amid the coronavirus pandemic, was first studied by the city in 2024, with results released in January 2025. According to the developed plan, the city can issue up to a dozen permits to each state-licensed event organizer; each permit is good for an event of up to four days.
Public cannabis events will require a special permit, which is generally allowed on any city street, sidewalk, alley, park or pier. For cannabis-themed events on private land, this will require a one-day occasional event permit.
The city has listed the Queen Mary, Marina Green Park, Rainbow Lagoon, Waterfront Park, the city convention center and the soon-to-be-built Long Beach Amphitheater as potential sites.
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