Cannabis Rescheduling to Schedule III: What Operators Must Know
By Jeff Cohen on May 29, 2026 12:00:00 AM
In the cannabis industry, federal movement can feel slow — until it suddenly matters. The recent legal shift toward cannabis rescheduling to Schedule III status is one of those moments.
Cannabis Customer Retention Strategies for Dispensaries
By Faai Steuer on May 22, 2026 12:00:00 AM
If you’re a dispensary operator in a mature cannabis market, you already know how tough customer acquisition is. Digital ad restrictions, limited broadcast options, and high CPCs on compliant platforms make every new customer expensive to earn. What's less discussed is cannabis custom …
How to Compete Without Discounting in a Competitive Cannabis Market
By Faai Steuer on May 7, 2026 12:00:00 AM
The cannabis retail market is maturing faster than many operators expected. More dispensaries are competing for the same customers, product assortments are starting to look alike, and consumers have more information and more options than ever before. While the instinct to discount is …
Virginia Recreational Dispensaries: Timelines and Next Steps
By Dayna Van Buskirk on Apr 22, 2026 12:00:00 AM
Virginia is one of the largest untapped cannabis markets in the eastern United States. With nearly 8.9 million residents, legal possession since 2021, and a pre-existing illicit market estimated at $3 billion annually, the demand is there. What has been missing is the legal retail inf …
Cannabis Tracking Labels Explained: RFID, Package IDs, and Metrc Retail ID
By Faai Steuer on Apr 10, 2026 12:00:00 AM
Cannabis tracking labels are primarily an upstream function. Whether it’s an RFID tag, package ID, or Metrc Retail ID, suppliers and distributors apply the label before product ever reaches your dispensary. Your retail team’s job is receiving, scanning, and reconciling against the tra …
Cannabis Product Trends 2026: Seasonal Sales Trends by Category
By Faai Steuer on Apr 6, 2026 12:00:00 AM
Most dispensaries track which products sell best, but too many don’t track when those products sell best. That’s a problem, because missing seasonal peaks can tie up capital and leave revenue on the table.
Dispensary SMS Marketing: Laws, Software & Compliance
By Faai Steuer on Mar 5, 2026 12:00:00 AM
Text messaging has become one of the primary ways for cannabis dispensaries to reach customers. Emails can get buried, and social media posts can get suppressed – but an SMS lands on a screen that almost everyone checks within minutes. As convenient as it is, though, dispensary SMS ma …
Customer Spotlight: How 1922 Cannabis Reclaimed Lost Revenue with Cova Pay
By Dayna Van Buskirk on Feb 18, 2026 12:00:00 AM
When 1922 Cannabis signed a lease on a retail space in Ontario, they expected challenges. What they didn’t expect was an 18-month wait to open their doors and start generating revenue.
Customer Spotlight: Breaking New Ground with Minnesota’s First City-Owned Cannabis Dispensary
By Dayna Van Buskirk on Feb 3, 2026 12:00:00 AM
A small, unassuming suburb of Minneapolis has made U.S. cannabis history.
Cova Software Founder's POV: Where Cannabis Retail Is Headed in 2026
By Gary Cohen on Jan 26, 2026 12:00:00 AM
I’ve been in the cannabis industry for about nine years now. In that time, I’ve been deeply involved in the day-to-day reality of this business — talking with retailers, operators, tech partners, and yes, even competitors, almost every single day.