November 2–8, 2026 | Issue #23
Hey friend, welcome back to Last Week in Cannabis. A major takeover agreement was announced this week, Ottawa’s budget includes a change to cannabis packaging, and new research adds to what we know about youth cannabis use and store locations. We also check in on medical cannabis in Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom. Let’s get into it.
1. CANADA: A Takeover Agreement Is Announced for One of Canada’s Largest Medical Cannabis Producers
We have followed this story for several weeks, and it took a significant turn on November 3rd. One of Canada’s largest licensed producers agreed to be acquired by another Canadian producer in a deal valued at about C$561 million on a fully diluted basis, or roughly US$400 million. The price is about 21 percent above the value of a hostile offer from a US operator that has been on the table since August. It is also 93 percent above the target company’s share price before that hostile offer was announced. The target company’s board supports the agreement and recommends that shareholders reject the hostile offer. The US operator has said its offer remains outstanding. The agreement still needs shareholder, court and regulatory approvals, with shareholder meetings expected in December and closing targeted for January 2027.
Mary Jane’s Take: For patients, nothing changes today. Prescriptions, products and access stay as they are while the approvals are pending. What the deal does show is how much value is placed on medical cannabis and on supply into Europe and Australia, where Canadian producers have built a strong position. It is worth treating this as an agreement in progress rather than a finished deal, since the shareholder votes and approvals are still ahead.
2. CANADA: New Research Finds Little Consistent Link Between Nearby Cannabis Stores and Youth Use
A study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence looked at survey responses from 419,887 secondary school students in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec between 2018 and 2023. The researchers measured how close each school was to licensed cannabis stores and how many stores were nearby. They found little consistent evidence that greater access to stores was linked to whether students used cannabis. Across the sample, past-year use fell from 22.2 percent in 2018 to 10.0 percent in 2023. There was one exception. In 2018, early after legalization, closer store access was linked to more frequent use among students who already used cannabis, but that link faded in later years.
The authors point to limits. Use was self-reported, different students were surveyed each year rather than followed over time, and the pandemic disrupted school life. The figures also describe students in participating schools and are not a nationally representative sample.
Mary Jane’s Take: Protecting young people matters, and this study does not say cannabis is safe for teenagers. What it suggests is that where a store is located may not be the main thing that shapes whether a young person uses cannabis. Other routes, such as friends and family, may matter more. That points to the everyday protections that work: age limits, storing products securely at home, and honest conversations with the young people in your life.
3. CANADA: Ottawa’s Budget Proposes Fewer Cannabis Excise Stamps
The federal government’s 2026 Budget, presented on November 5th, proposes reducing the number of different cannabis excise stamps from 13 to six. An excise stamp is one of the markings on legal cannabis packages that shows federal duty has been paid. A single common stamp would be used in the provinces and territories that share the same duty rate, including British Columbia, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nunavut would be invited to opt in. Producers could begin using the common stamp on January 1, 2028. The budget also proposes stronger enforcement provisions. These are proposals and are not yet law.
Mary Jane’s Take: You will not notice this change at the shelf, but it matters behind the scenes. Producers have long said that managing a different stamp for each region adds cost and complexity. Simpler packaging rules can mean less waste and a smoother supply chain. For you, the stamp remains one of the signs that a product comes from the legal market.
4. GERMANY: Medical Cannabis Faces Falling Prices and Fewer Insurance Options
Germany’s medical cannabis market is changing quickly. Health insurance reimbursement for dried flower ended on July 30th, which affected an estimated 65,000 patients. Social courts in Frankfurt and Leipzig have ruled that removing flower from the law ends the reimbursement claim outright, and a constitutional complaint is still pending. At the same time, the average price of flower fell from about €7.70 per gram in September 2025 to about €6.00 in October 2026, a drop of roughly 22 percent. The number of products on offer rose by 73 percent. Proposed changes could also restrict telemedicine and mail-order access, which have driven much of the market’s growth.
Mary Jane’s Take: Two things are happening at once. Lower prices help people who pay for their own medicine, but losing insurance coverage is hard for patients who relied on it, particularly those on limited incomes. Germany is one of the largest medical cannabis markets in the world, so its rules affect patients and producers well beyond its own borders. This is one to keep watching.
5. AUSTRALIA: Medical Cannabis Approvals Dip Slightly in October
Approvals for medical cannabis through Australia’s Special Access Scheme fell to their second-lowest level of 2026 in October. The Therapeutic Goods Administration approved 17,771 applications from 799 prescribers, the first month this year with fewer than 800 prescribers. The ten-month total still reached about 198,000, almost 6 percent higher than the same period in 2025. The Special Access Scheme is a pathway that allows doctors to prescribe unapproved medicines to individual patients.
Mary Jane’s Take: One quieter month does not tell us much on its own. The year as a whole is still running ahead of last year, which suggests steady demand even as the market matures and regulators keep a close eye on prescribing. It is a useful reminder that medical cannabis markets grow in steps, not in a straight line.
6. UNITED KINGDOM: Private Prescribing Has More Than Doubled, While NHS Access Remains Limited
A feature this week drew on regulator data showing that cannabis-based medicines prescribed in the UK rose 2.3 times in the year to March 31, 2025. There are now 39 providers prescribing, and 63 percent of repeat prescriptions are issued by pharmacists rather than doctors. Almost all of this activity happens privately. Access through the NHS remains very limited and is largely restricted to licensed medicines for certain forms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-induced nausea. A working group report from the government’s drug advisory council is expected by the end of the year.
Mary Jane’s Take: The UK shows a gap that appears in many countries. Patients and prescribers are moving ahead, but public health systems ask for a type of evidence that cannabis-based products have found hard to provide. Closing that gap will likely take better clinical trials, and it will be worth watching what the advisory council recommends.
That’s your week, with three stories from Canada and three from around the world. See you next Monday.
Mary Jane
