Welcome to the latest edition of “Last Week In Weed,” catching you up on the latest breaking news and industry developments in the world of cannabis.
Here’s what you may have missed over the last week:
Curaleaf Goes Hostile With $272 Million Aurora Cannabis Bid
Curaleaf Holdings is pursuing a roughly $272 million hostile takeover of Aurora Cannabis after Aurora leadership declined to engage in acquisition talks. Curaleaf plans to take its proposal directly to Aurora shareholders, offering $4 per share through a combination of Curaleaf stock and $0.75 in cash per share. The offer represents a 45% premium over Aurora’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price, according to Curaleaf.
The deal could substantially expand Curaleaf’s international footprint. A combined company would operate across 17 countries and generate more than $1.5 billion in trailing 12-month revenue, according to Curaleaf. Aurora would also bring more than 50 tons of annual EU-GMP cultivation and manufacturing capacity to a Curaleaf network already spanning Germany, the U.K., Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Canada. Aurora shareholders have yet to receive a formal offer, leaving one of cannabis’ most consequential takeover battles very much in play.
Alcohol Industry Throws Its Weight Behind Cannabis Drinks
The relationship between cannabis and alcohol is entering an interesting new phase as alcohol industry interests back federal legislation addressing cannabis beverages. The development gives the rapidly expanding THC beverage category an established ally with considerable experience in regulated distribution, retail, and policymaking.
For cannabis businesses, alcohol’s involvement could help move intoxicating hemp and cannabis beverages toward clearer national rules while influencing what those rules eventually look like. Beverage regulation has increasingly become its own policy battleground as THC drinks migrate beyond dispensaries and into liquor stores, restaurants, and other mainstream retail environments. The bigger story may be that an industry once positioned as cannabis’ competition increasingly sees cannabinoids as part of the future beverage market.
Michigan’s Cannabis Tax Squeezes Dispensary Margins
Michigan cannabis retailers are confronting new financial pressure as the state’s cannabis tax structure adds costs to an already intensely competitive marketplace. Dispensary operators told Upper Michigan’s Source that additional taxation is affecting margins and forcing businesses to reconsider pricing and operations.
The pressure arrives in one of America’s largest and most competitive legal cannabis markets, where retailers have already been navigating declining prices and dense competition. For operators, the Michigan experience offers another example of how cannabis taxation can shape the health of a legal marketplace long after legalization itself has been settled.
Read more: Afroman Strikes Back – Cannabis & Tech Today
Green Check Returns to Inc. 5000 as Cannabis Banking Infrastructure Grows
Green Check has landed on the 2026 Inc. 5000 for the second consecutive year, reflecting continued growth in the financial infrastructure serving cannabis and other high-risk industries. The compliance platform reported more than $1.7 billion in average monthly verified deposits across its financial institution network, a 54% year-over-year increase, while its ecosystem has grown to more than 17,500 specialty businesses.
The company has also expanded its services as access to banking and capital remains a central concern for cannabis operators. Green Check recently launched Managed Services and Portfolio Management 2.0 for financial institutions and partnered with Coda Capital Advisors on a new Lending Alliance aimed at expanding cannabis lending. Its second appearance on the Inc. 5000 offers another indicator that the infrastructure surrounding legal cannabis, from compliance technology to banking and lending, continues to develop into a substantial business sector.
Sweed Opens Its Cannabis Retail Platform to Developers
Cannabis retail technology company Sweed has launched a public API designed to give retailers and developers greater flexibility in building custom digital storefronts. The move allows businesses to connect Sweed’s underlying retail infrastructure with customer-facing experiences developed around their own brands and operational needs.
That matters as cannabis e-commerce matures. Dispensary websites increasingly function as full retail environments where inventory, loyalty programs, product discovery, payments, and customer data intersect. Opening the platform to outside developers gives larger and more technically sophisticated operators additional control over the experience consumers encounter before they ever enter a dispensary.
Green Leaf Business Solutions Makes the Inc. 5000 Again
Cannabis payroll and HR company Green Leaf Business Solutions has been named to the 2026 Inc. 5000, marking its second consecutive appearance on the annual ranking of America’s fastest-growing private companies. The recognition is notable in an industry where businesses still encounter difficulties accessing many of the financial, employment, and professional services routinely available to companies operating outside cannabis.
Green Leaf provides managed payroll and HR services to cannabis operators and has expanded into employee benefits through GreenPath 401(k), a pooled employer retirement plan developed for an industry that has historically struggled to access conventional retirement infrastructure. Companies qualifying for this year’s Inc. 5000 were ranked according to percentage revenue growth between 2022 and 2025, with entrants required to reach at least $2 million in 2025 revenue. Green Leaf’s second appearance is another small marker of cannabis’ gradual development of the decidedly unsexy infrastructure every mature industry eventually needs: payroll, benefits, HR, and getting everybody’s check deposited on time.
PAX Gives the FOUR a Northern Lights-Inspired Makeover
PAX is bringing a little aurora borealis to cannabis hardware with Aurora Burst, the first limited-edition colorway for its PAX FOUR dry-herb vaporizer. Released August 4, the brushed-aluminum device moves from turquoise to lime in a gradient inspired by the Northern Lights. Beneath the new finish is the recently released FOUR, which uses hybrid heating, four preset heat modes, and patented temperature controls. PAX says the model produces 50% more vapor and heats faster than its previous dry-herb devices.
The release also points toward cannabis hardware becoming increasingly intertwined with lifestyle and industrial design. PAX is pairing Aurora Burst with an outdoor travel sweepstakes and positioning cannabis as part of experiences such as hiking and camping, expanding the familiar visual language of cannabis technology beyond the dispensary.
