Last Week in Cannabis #16
September 14–20, 2026 | Issue #16
Hey friend — welcome back to Last Week in Cannabis. A record-breaking week for one of Canada's biggest cannabis retailers, an important update on the Aurora takeover saga, and a cannabis industry story out of Quebec that deserves more attention than it will likely get. Let's get into it.
1. CANADA — High Tide Just Had Its Best Quarter Ever
High Tide Inc. released its third fiscal quarter results this week, reporting record revenue of $198.8 million for the three months ending July 31 — up 33% from the same quarter a year earlier. It was the company's fifth consecutive record quarter. Gross profit came in at $52.7 million and adjusted EBITDA at $16.2 million. High Tide now operates 232 Canna Cabana locations across Canada and holds a 12% share of the cannabis retail market in the five provinces where it operates — up from 11% a year ago.
Mary Jane's Take: Five consecutive record quarters is not luck — it is a business model working. High Tide has built something that a lot of cannabis retailers have struggled to: a combination of scale, competitive pricing, and a German medical cannabis distribution operation that is growing fast. For consumers, a financially healthy leading retailer generally means more competitive prices and better product availability. For the industry, it proves that cannabis retail can be a real, sustainable business when it is run well.
2. CANADA — Aurora Rejected Curaleaf's Bid Again — and the Takeover Drama Continues
Curaleaf sent another letter to Aurora Cannabis shareholders this week urging them to accept its $4 per share takeover offer, while Aurora's board continued to publicly reject the bid as an undervaluation. The two companies have now been exchanging public statements for weeks, with Curaleaf arguing Aurora is underperforming and Aurora countering that Curaleaf's offer does not reflect the value of its global medical cannabis platform.
Aurora also announced that Faris El Refaie — a biopharmaceutical leader with 25 years of experience — will join the company as Executive Vice President of Global Commercial, effective September 28th, a clear signal that Aurora intends to keep operating independently.
Mary Jane's Take: A hostile takeover that drags on in public like this is unusual in any industry. Both companies are making their case directly to Aurora's shareholders, who will ultimately decide whether Curaleaf's price is fair. Aurora keeps making moves that signal confidence — new executives, new market entries — while Curaleaf keeps turning up the pressure. Something will have to give eventually, and when it does it will be one of the bigger stories in Canadian cannabis history either way.
3. CANADA — Quebec's Cannabis Industry Is Publicly Calling Out the Province's Premier
Quebec's cannabis industry is calling for a public apology from Premier François Legault after comments he made characterizing the province's cannabis sector negatively. Industry representatives say the remarks were inaccurate and damaging, particularly given that the SQDC — Quebec's government-run cannabis retailer — just posted its best financial results ever and is generating hundreds of millions of dollars in provincial revenue annually.
Mary Jane's Take: It takes some nerve for an industry to publicly call out a sitting premier, which tells you how frustrated Quebec cannabis producers are. The SQDC's results speak for themselves — over $800 million in annual sales, $331 million contributed to the provincial government — and yet the political narrative around cannabis in Quebec has not kept pace with the economic reality. If you are going to have a government-run cannabis monopoly that generates that kind of revenue, it is reasonable to expect the government to at least speak accurately about the industry that makes it possible.
4. GLOBAL — UK Medical Cannabis Prescriptions Are Trending Heavily Toward High-Potency Products
New data from the UK shows that products above 22% THC now account for 85% of prescription items dispensed in the country so far in 2026 — up from around half in early 2025. The shift reflects both patient preference and growing physician comfort with higher-potency medical cannabis products as the UK's medical programme matures.
Mary Jane's Take: This is a meaningful shift in a relatively short period. It tells you two things: UK patients are becoming more knowledgeable about what works for them, and the physicians prescribing in that market are becoming more comfortable recommending higher-potency products for conditions that warrant them. It also underlines why accurate dosing information and patient education matter — higher-potency products are appropriate for many medical patients, but they require a different level of care and understanding than lower-potency options. Education is everything.
That's your week — three from Canada, one from the UK. See you next Monday.
— Mary Jane
