Federal Policy
Verano Q1 2026: The First MSO Read-Through Post Schedule III
22 min read
Cover Story — Market Intelligence, Unfiltered
Green Thumb Is Paying $70 Million a Year to License Its Own Brands
Green Thumb's Q1 looks clean by cannabis standards: $300M revenue up 7.4% YoY, $76M operating cash flow, $54.6M net cash, an aggressive buyback. But starting Q2, GTI begins paying $70 million a year in fixed brand-licensing fees to RYTHM, Inc. — a separately Nasdaq-listed holding company chaired by GTI's own CEO. The $15.4M net income was flattered by a $17M Ascend arbitration win and $6.5M RYTHM equity income; strip those out and operating income actually declined year-over-year. The DEA registration filing, the Texas TCUP license, and the dual-entity architecture all telegraph one thing: Green Thumb is engineering itself into something that isn't quite a cannabis operator anymore.
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Tracking every step of the federal rescheduling process — from Biden's 2022 review order through Trump's executive action and the April 23 DOJ order moving medical cannabis to Schedule III, to the June 29 Phase Two hearing on full rescheduling.
Oct 2022
Biden orders scheduling review
Aug 2023
HHS recommends Schedule III
May 2024
DEA proposes rescheduling rule
Aug 2024
42,000+ public comments received
Dec 2025
Trump signs executive order
Jan–Apr 2026
Biden-era ALJ proceeding withdrawn
Apr 23, 2026
DOJ orders medical cannabis to Schedule III
Jun 29 – Jul 15, 2026
Phase Two hearing on full reschedulingIn progress
Late 2026
Final rule on full rescheduling
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