🌿 Dutchie drops latest set of new features, USDA clarifies cannabis banned with SNAP, and alcohol trade association seeks hemp protections

Happy Friday Pre Rollers! Welcome to another edition of The Pre Roll, the cannabis newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the industry happenings you need to know.

Here’s what we’re rolling up this week:

• Dutchie drops latest set of new features

• USDA clarifies cannabis banned with SNAP

• Alcohol trade association seeks hemp protections

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 ROLL CALL

Business

Higher standards. Cannabis tech giant Dutchie released a host of enhancements to its products aimed at modernizing cannabis retail operations. These come as a follow up to the massive platform update, dubbed Dutchie 2.0, that was launched at the end of last year.

The upgrades were bucketed into two categories, with a corresponding status for each:

• Dispensary of Tomorrow: Branded Mobile App (Beta), Digital Wallet & Payments (Coming Soon), Loyalty & Marketing Pro (Alpha), Ecommerce Pro (Live), Kiosk Pro (Coming Soon)

• Dutchie Intelligence: Intelligence Homepage (Coming Soon), Pricing Insights (Coming Soon), Inventory Alerts (Coming Soon), Global Product Catalogue (Alpha), Brand Promotions & Credits (Alpha)

Dutchie CEO Tim Barash celebrated the news as a “big swing at creating the next evolution in consumer experience as well as a meaningful AI control center” for dispensaries.

Policy

Oh SNAP. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a reminder to SNAP retailers that cannabis-derived products are ineligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. This policy applies to all cannabis products, regardless of THC content, and extends to items such as hemp flower and edibles.

Retailers are advised to ensure compliance by training employees and verifying that products sold are eligible under SNAP guidelines. Violations may result in disqualification from the program, fines, or criminal prosecution.

Policy

Delta defense. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), an aptly named national membership organization of wine and spirits distributors in the United States, has urged Congress to remove specific language in the proposed FY2026 Agriculture–FDA appropriations bill that could lead to the federal prohibition of naturally-derived, state-regulated Delta-9 THC hemp products. Eliminating this language, they say, would preserve state authority, protect compliant businesses, and ensure clarity for consumers and regulators.

The WSWA previously called for federal legalization and regulation of adult-use cannabis in 2023.

🇺🇸 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

Florida: A revised recreational cannabis amendment received enough verified signatures for a judicial review in hopes of making it on the 2026 ballot; a similar initiative in 2024 narrowly missed the 60% approval threshold at the ballot box.

Hawaii: Governor Josh Green has indicated he will veto a medical cannabis expansion measure that would allow patients to enroll in the program via telehealth, citing concerns that provisions allowing access to patient medical records without consent could deter participation due to privacy violations.

Massachusetts: The House unanimously passed a bill to overhaul the Cannabis Control Commission, proposing to appoint a full-time chair and two part-time associate commissioners, while also expanding retail license caps, increasing daily purchase limits, and regulating hemp-based consumables.

Minnesota: The inaugural cannabis business license lottery awarded licenses to 249 businesses, marking a significant step toward kicking off the state's adult-use cannabis market.

Missouri: Missouri regulators will begin unannounced visits for monthly testing of cannabis products starting July 1 to to verify lab accuracy and improve consumer safety.

New York: Current board member Jessica García, who was nominated by Governor Kathy Hochul, has been confirmed to lead the state’s Cannabis Control Board.

💼 BUSINESS

Organigram Global shares CEO succession plan

The Canadian cannabis operator announced that CEO Beena Goldenberg will retire at the end of the company's fiscal year on September 30, 2025, and the Board of Directors has initiated a comprehensive CEO selection process to identify a successor.

🤝 DEALS

Budr buys three Botanist locations

The Tri-State area dispensary chain has expanded its presence in Connecticut by acquiring the three hybrid medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries in Danbury, Montville, and Vernon, bringing its total number of locations to seven.

💻 TECH

Metrc marks significant milestone

The cannabis RegTech company revealed its Metrc Retail ID solution it introduced last year now tracks over 1 million unique products weekly across 21 markets; the data comes from more than 4,500 early adopters made up of brands, retailers and third-party integrators.

💨 QUICK HITTERS

• Jack Daniel's parent company says rising cannabis use is partly behind declining U.S. whiskey sales.

• Mountain High Seltzer has become the first THC-infused beverage distributed in Virginia

• Home-grown cannabis, now legal in Ohio, has become a favorite target for deer.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

• We sell THC beverages. We think Missouri should regulate them more | Opinion (Kansas City Star)

• Hemp producers already obey the law. If only these bill sponsors would follow the science. (Rhode Island Current)

• Plummeting pot prices have Mass. cannabis businesses on edge (WBUR)

• Don’t give Dan Patrick his THC ban. Here’s a better way for Texas on cannabis | Opinion (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

• Sadiq Khan is right: Britain must decriminalise cannabis – or remain in the dark ages (The Guardian)

🔎 JOB BOARD

• Vice President, Marketing

  • Schwazze

  • $160,000—$180,000

• Sales Operations Coordinator

  • Vertosa

  • $80,000—$90,000

• Account Executive (AZ & CA)

  • Sweed

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Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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