The Dealer's Diary is where we share the work. Cannabis HR insights, retention math, compliance gaps, and the operational decisions that actually move the needle for cannabis dispensaries, cultivators, processors, and multi-state operators.
We write for the founder losing sleep over turnover. The GM weighing a PEO against fractional HR. The compliance lead who just got blindsided by a state inspector. The cultivator scaling from one license to three.
Every post is real work with real cannabis operators. The math is real. The advice is what we'd say in a discovery call, written down so you can read it before you call us.
Dealer's
Diary
This post is informational and reflects patterns we have seen across the 50+ cannabis operators we work with. It is not legal advice. Federal drug testing, DOT compliance, and immigration rules interact in complicated ways and change frequently. Consult licensed employment counsel and immigration counsel before making hire or fire decisions involving federally-regulated workers. A […]
July 8, 2026
Most dispensary employee handbook documents we see were downloaded as templates somewhere around 2022, edited once, and never touched again. Those handbooks do not survive a state inspection. They do not survive a wrongful termination claim. And they definitely do not survive the actual day-to-day of running a cannabis retail floor. After working with more […]
June 23, 2026
The Massachusetts cultivator moratorium goes into effect on June 16, 2026. If you are a prospective marijuana cultivator applicant in Massachusetts, you have a small window to act. On April 16, 2026, the Cannabis Control Commission voted to pause new Indoor and Outdoor cultivator license applications, then reaffirmed that vote at the June 11, 2026 […]
June 15, 2026
Cannabis moves fast. Furthermore, the first week of June 2026 packs more activity into seven days than most months of the cannabis calendar. Specifically, Cannabis Means Business returns to the Javits Center for its tenth annual run. The DEA Schedule III registration deadline lands June 22, 25 days out. State markets in New York, New […]
May 28, 2026
Your cannabis employee handbook is the single most important document in your operation that is not a license. It tells your team how things work. It tells regulators you have your act together. And when something goes wrong, it tells a judge whether you did the right thing or you got lazy. However, most cannabis […]
