Shad Dales and Anthony Varrell opened Wednesday Trade to blackwhich Flowhub submitted, in brief review on the third day of the ALJ hearing; a quieter session ahead of the prohibitionists’ testimony, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, before marking the first time medical cannabis products for smoking became available in Georgia. The presenters emphasized that the first purchase was made by a veteran, using the moment to highlight the continued importance of expanding access to plant medicine for those who have served.

In the first segment, Flowhub founder and CEO Kyle Sherman joined to discuss how artificial intelligence is beginning to transform cannabis retail operations and where most operators are still falling short of its true potential. Sherman observed that while AI adoption is accelerating across industries, most users are stuck with basic generative tasks rather than stepping into the emerging agent era, where tools connect to each other, automate workflows and take actions on the user’s behalf.

To address that gap, Flowhub launched an open MCP – Model Context Protocol – server, making it the first cannabis retail platform to allow operators to connect their data directly to AI language models of their choice, including those from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. Instead of building a proprietary chatbot, Flowhub made its system accessible to the operator’s preferred frontier model, enabling agents to independently query inventory data, identify trends, handle transactions, adjust pricing across multiple locations, and generate scheduled reports in natural language.

The second segment continued the show’s weekly Vantage Standard series, presented by Vantage, in which Dr. Paul Shields, Vantage’s chief medical officer, offered his perspective on medical use discussions arising from ALJ hearings. Shields described the FDA’s public recognition under oath of the medical benefits of cannabis as a landmark moment; not a change in scientific opinion, which he suggested doctors had kept quiet for some time, but a key public confirmation.

Hear it all as you merge.

In our latest Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell bring you the most consequential week of federal cannabis policy, live. Gretchen Gale joins live from Arlington, Virginia, where the DEA administrative law judge’s hearing continues with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) testifying today. Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Hemp and Hemp (ATACH), returns with a full recap of key highlights from the hearing.

Gretchen Gale joined live from the courthouse to recap testimony from Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the leading ban-aligned group in the proceedings. SAM called as a key witness Dr. Bertha Madras, a professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School who has testified for the DEA under both the Bush and Trump administrations. Gailey detailed Madras’ three-plus hours of testimony, which argued that cannabis is highly addictive, unregulated and dangerous, especially for teenagers and pregnant women, and links it to an increased risk of schizophrenia.

The DEA’s cross-examination lasted just five minutes, during which Madras conceded that hemp met the definition of a Schedule III substance. The discussion also touched on the medical use disclosure adopted by HHS and SAM’s attempt to argue that the push for realignment was politically motivated.

Michael Bronstein, president of the American Hemp and Hemp Trade Association, chimed in with his weekly analysis, arguing that opponents are increasingly relying on procedural objections rather than substantive science, calling it a likely long-term legal strategy for future court challenges. Bronstein and the hosts also discussed the sluggish state of cannabis capital markets, the need for clearer guidance from the Treasury on tax liability and the ongoing effort to build institutional investor confidence ahead of a possible positive outcome from the overhaul.

Hear it all as you merge.

On Thursday Trade to black podcast presented by Flowhub, we tackle the big questions of how the latter half of 2026 will shape what’s next for cannabis. First, TerrAscend (TSX: TSND | OTCQX: TSNDF) Executive Chairman Jason Wilde and CEO Ziad Ghanem join the show to walk through what’s happening on their side of the business. In the second segment, Adam Stetter, CEO of FundCanna, returns to his weekly appearance to provide his first week’s results from the ALJ hearing.

TerrAscend (TSX: TSND | OTCQX: TSNDF) Executive Chairman Jason Wilde and CEO Ziad Ghanem joined to discuss a number of company developments. The couple confirmed that TerrAscend has signed an option agreement to acquire Aunt Mary’s Dispensary in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, a Tier 1 location that generates more than ten million dollars annually and the company’s fifth retail location in the state. Ghanem highlighted how TerrAscend has maintained gross margins of about sixty percent, despite retail prices falling by roughly fifty percent since the launch of adult use;

The conversation also touched on the DOJ’s lawsuit over a disputed $8.3 million tax refund, with Wild clarifying that the July 17 filing represents a procedural step, not an escalation, and that the company’s legal position remains firm. In a supplemental listing, Wild confirmed that a shareholder vote is set for Aug. 25 to authorize the share consolidation, with a primary listing scheduled for Q3 or Q4 pending a full reclassification.

FundCanna CEO Adam Stettner returned to his weekly talk to share his reading of the first week of ALJ hearings, describing the government’s stance as unexpectedly strong and the tone within the proceedings markedly different from previous regulatory battles. He also previewed an upcoming FundCanna data report that analyzes first-half lending performance by geography and vertical, with early findings pointing to flattening demand in legacy markets and significant growth in new adult-use states. The full release is expected in the next few weeks.

Does this bode well for the hemp industry for the rest of 2026? Hear the entire discussion when you listen to the full podcast.