FireStarter: Village Farms Exports Up 75%, Hemp Rules Hit Nov. 12, Canada Cuts Cannabis Stamps

1Village Farms posts record cannabis sales as exports climb 75%

Village Farms International reported third-quarter cannabis sales of $55.0 million on Monday, a record for the company and up 3% from $53.5 million a year earlier. Total sales were $66.9 million, compared with $66.7 million, according to the company’s release.

International exports drove the gain. Export sales rose 75% to $20.8 million from $11.9 million. Canadian non-branded sales were $3.3 million, compared with $7.3 million, and Canadian branded sales were $25.3 million, compared with $26.8 million. Cannabis gross margin was 48%, compared with 55%. The company attributed the margin difference mainly to a softer spot market for trim in the Canadian wholesale channel.

Net income attributable to shareholders was $10.0 million, or $0.08 per share, compared with $10.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $18.2 million, compared with $20.7 million. CEO Michael DeGiglio said the company “delivered our sixth consecutive quarter of positive net income and EPS.” Management said it believes trim volumes and pricing “reached trough levels” in Q3, and it is mobilizing its 30-acre Monahans, Texas, greenhouse for cannabis production as part of a U.S. entry effort.

2Hemp’s Nov. 12 deadlines: Illinois lawsuit, Missouri law, federal synthetic ban

Thursday is a hard date for hemp in two states. In Illinois, the Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association, a trade group it says represents 250 companies, and several hemp businesses filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on Nov. 5. They want to stop provisions of the Illinois Hemp Act from taking effect on Nov. 12, arguing the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, WICS/WRSP reported. The filing says the act would “immediately and unconstitutionally slam shut access to Illinois markets by out-of-state companies.”

In Missouri, House Bill 2641 takes effect the same day. It caps finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products at 0.4 mg of THC per container and routes intoxicating products through the licensed marijuana system, the Missouri Independent reported via Marijuana Moment. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced four lawsuits against retailers accused of selling marijuana as hemp, and a federal judge dismissed an industry challenge to the law, ruling it had not yet taken effect. “You’re going to see more lawsuits,” Hanaway said.

At the federal level, the broad ban on most hemp THC products was pushed from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11 by a funding bill signed in September, Marijuana Moment reported. Synthetic cannabinoids “that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant” are still set to be banned on Nov. 12.

3Texas appeals court cancels hemp-rules arguments after election

Texas’ 15th Court of Appeals canceled oral arguments set for Dec. 8 and 9 in four cases, including a challenge to state rules limiting sales of THC-containing hemp products, The Texas Tribune reported, as republished by Marijuana Moment on Nov. 7. The court said the cases will be reset “at a later date.”

Voters ousted all three Republican justices on the court on Nov. 3, and three Democrats take office in early January. Justice Scott Field told Bloomberg Law, as quoted by the Tribune, “We know we can’t get the opinion out for cases orally argued before the end of the year.”

The Department of State Health Services rules include a purchase age of 21, new testing and labeling requirements, and licensing fees of $10,000 per manufacturing facility, up from $258. A Travis County district judge temporarily blocked the rules on April 10 while the industry’s lawsuit proceeds.

4Ottawa proposes cutting cannabis excise stamps from 13 to 6

Canada’s Budget 2026 proposes a common cannabis excise duty stamp for all provinces and territories that share the same duty rate. The budget says this “would reduce the number of unique cannabis excise duty stamps from 13 to 6.” The common stamp would become available to licensed producers on Jan. 1, 2028.

The eight jurisdictions covered are British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nunavut are invited to join and have until Jan. 31, 2027 to say so, according to the budget. The Marijuana Herald reported that producers could use either stamp through June 30, 2029, and that the plan remains a proposal until legislation passes.

Village Farms said in a Nov. 6 release that it welcomed the measure.

5Virginia’s adult-use market sized at about $1.05 billion a year

A report prepared for the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority by Cannabis Public Policy Consulting estimates Virginia residents spend about $1.054 billion a year on cannabis, with a range of roughly $835.7 million to $1.27 billion. The October report counts 872,216 adults 21 and older who used cannabis in the past month. The Marijuana Herald reported the findings on Nov. 6.

Under its base case, the report estimates the market could support 135 retail licenses, with a range of 107 to 163. It says the analysis “supports retaining Virginia’s statutory maximum of 350 retail licenses” and suggests a phased rollout. Adult-use sales are scheduled to begin July 1, 2027, The Marijuana Herald reported.

The spending estimate covers Virginia residents only and excludes tourists and out-of-state buyers, the report notes.

6Maryland tops $1 billion in 2026 cannabis sales

Maryland passed $1 billion in 2026 cannabis sales once October is counted, The Marijuana Herald reported on Nov. 6. Sales from January through September totaled $917.23 million, and a Maryland Cannabis Administration spokesperson put October above $83 million.

It is the third straight year above $1 billion, and the state reached the mark a month earlier than in 2025, according to the report. September sales were about $101.5 million, up about 8.3% from $93.7 million a year earlier. Sales for all of 2025 were about $1.174 billion.

7Tribal governments ask DOJ to rewrite the rescheduling order

The National Congress of American Indians says the Justice Department “failed to engage in Tribal consultation” before moving state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III, Marijuana Moment reported on Nov. 6. The group adopted a resolution at its October convention.

NCAI says the April order signed by Attorney General Todd Blanche “does not specifically mention Tribes or Tribally regulated medical cannabis programs.” It asks DOJ to start consultation right away and either amend the order to cover tribally licensed products or issue a separate rule moving them to Schedule III.

Separately, DEA and rescheduling opponents filed what are expected to be final briefs on Nov. 5 in the hearing on broader rescheduling, Marijuana Moment reported. Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius has not set a date for his recommendation.

8Massachusetts Senate passes medical cannabis access for veterans

The Massachusetts Senate voted 35-4 to pass an amended supplemental budget bill that would let veterans register as medical cannabis patients by showing “official documentation from the Veterans Administration indicating a diagnosis of a debilitating medical condition,” Marijuana Moment reported on Nov. 6. The Cannabis Control Commission could not require a separate certification from a healthcare provider.

The bill also adds PTSD, opioid use disorder and “a medical condition that produces chronic pain” to the state’s list of qualifying conditions.

9New Hampshire lawmaker drafts a new legalization bill

State Rep. Jared Sullivan, a Democrat who sponsored the legalization bill that passed the House this year, is drafting a new one after Democrats won both legislative chambers, The Marijuana Herald reported, citing WMUR. “There’s obviously room for negotiation if there’s something that can make this bipartisan,” Sullivan told WMUR.

Democrats are projected to hold 292 of 400 House seats and 15 of 24 Senate seats. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who was reelected, opposes adult-use legalization. A veto override needs two-thirds of each chamber, so Senate Democrats would need at least one Republican vote, according to the report. The Republican-led Senate tabled the earlier bill, HB 186, 15-9 in March.

10MediPharm clears an EU step for its cannabis inhaler

MediPharm Labs received a positive Article 117 Notified Body Opinion from BSI Group The Netherlands for the device part of its metered-dose cannabis inhaler, the company said in a Nov. 5 release. CEO Greg Hunter called it “an important regulatory milestone for our inhaler.”

The opinion is an EU requirement for medicines with an integral device. It is not a product approval. MediPharm plans to launch three products in the U.K. and selected European markets in 2027, subject to country-specific approvals and import permits, with Blackpoint Limited handling distribution.