If you want to be a successful entrepreneur in the cannabis space, then it’s critical to know your industry inside and out.
In a lot of industries, reading classic books is a great way to establish a baseline level of know-how. For example, if you’re a marketer, you can read Purple Cow or Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and you’ll be equipped to talk pretty knowledgeably about marketing. While marketing strategies are constantly evolving, the basic principles have remained the same for decades and counting.
In contrast, the cannabis space doesn’t have a long-established baseline of precepts that can be gleaned from a book, because it’s not a long-established industry! What’s more, it’s changing so rapidly that even descriptions of the space from a couple years ago could now be obsolete. So while reading books can still serve your cannabis business, you might be better off getting your industry updates from cannabis blogs and other digital publications.
One of the main perks of reading cannabis blogs is that they’re equipped to publish industry updates as they happen, so you can stay abreast of the ever-evolving cannabis space. Cannabis blogs can also provide you with detailed information about a particular niche, whether that’s cannabis law, cultivation techniques, or anything in between.
There are well over 100 high-quality cannabis blogs on the web right now, but trying to keep tabs on over 100 blogs would be a full-time job — and given that you’re an entrepreneur, you probably don’t have time for that!
So we’ve narrowed in on 15 of our favorite cannabis blogs for entrepreneurs, which will keep you informed about everything from new currencies to analytical testing, political updates, and so much more.
15 Stellar Cannabis Blogs for Entrepreneurs
No matter whether you’re looking to beef up your cultivation skills, stay up-to-date on the latest political and legal updates surrounding cannabis, or keep tabs on other companies in the cannabis space, these 15 cannabis blogs have got you covered. Prepare to bookmark some tabs!
1. Cannabis Business Executive
Are you a cannabis business executive? Then head on over to Cannabis Business Executive (CBE) to avail yourself of relevant industry content tailored just to you! The B2B publication is exclusively devoted to the cannabis industry and reaches more than 40,000 subscribers with its weekly email newsletter.
The mission of CBE is twofold: They aim to provide cannabis industry leaders with the information needed to run a cannabis business successfully, and they strive to advance the cannabis industry by empowering industry leaders with an understanding of emerging trends and how best to capitalize on them.
To that end, the blog covers everything from policy and legal developments to industry news. It also features company profiles that provide real-world examples of how to navigate the cannabis space successfully.
One added perk? In addition to its educational and actionable content, Cannabis Business Executive also houses directories for state regulatory agencies and cannabis associations, which can make it easy to network with other cannabis brands.
2. Cannabis Business Times
Professional cannabis cultivators, unite! On Cannabis Business Times, that is. There, you’ll find actionable content pertaining to all relevant aspects of running a medical or recreational cannabis business, including cultivation, compliance, legislation, regulation, marketing, finances, and industry trend reports.
In addition to supplying content on its blog, the organization behind Cannabis Business Times also distributes an email newsletter, publishes a print magazine, produces a mobile app, and hosts the annual Cannabis Conference, an educational event focused on cannabis cultivation and dispensaries.
The organization is run by a powerhouse team with broad-ranging experience. That team includes editorial director Noelle Skodzinski, the co-founder of Cannabis Business Times and one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Cannabis,” according to Cannabis Business Executive. In 2018, the print arm of the publication earned the title of “Magazine of the Year” from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
3. The Canna Law Blog
If you’re involved in the cannabis industry, then you know legality is of the utmost importance.
Nothing can take down a budding startup (pun intended!) faster than a failure to comply with state or federal regulations. What’s more, those regulations are in a near-constant state of flux as cannabis laws and regulations evolve. So what’s a harried cannapreneur to do?
We’ll tell you: Head to the Canna Law Blog, which exists to help you make sense of the cannabis industry’s ever-changing legal landscape.
The blog is run by the Canna Law Group®, a cohort of 10 attorneys who are part of the Harris Bricken law firm. Together, they’ve represented hundreds of cannabis businesses on a range of issues including compliance, intellectual property, real estate, litigation, contracts, employment issues, and consumer product issues.
The blog itself focuses on everything that falls under the “cannabis law” umbrella, with an emphasis on how different laws impact the industry. The blog’s stated goal is to provide industry professionals with insights into how they can leverage laws to their companies’ advantage.
4. Cannabis Life Network
Don’t let the name fool you — the Cannabis Life Network isn’t merely a blog for cannabis lifestyle enthusiasts. While it does publish content that’s relevant to cannabis consumers, the blog also targets growers and entrepreneurs with a diversity of content that’s meant to educate, entertain, and inspire.
The editorial team covers a broad range of cannabis-related topics under several umbrellas, including culture, health, law, politics, science, and technology. But perhaps its biggest draw is its huge repository of business profiles, news, and updates, which serve as models and inspiration (and, more rarely, cautionary tales) for other aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs.
5. Cannabiz Media
The eclectic experts at Cannabiz Media have one mission: to help cannabis and hemp industry professionals simplify the process of business development. To do that, the organization has created a lead-generation and relationship-building platform along with a blog that’s jam-packed with relevant content for industry professionals.
The Cannabiz Media blog covers everything from state-specific news to cannabis research and statistics, finance and investing, business ethics, intellectual property, product testing, taxes, supply chain logistics, technological innovation, and social issues pertaining to cannabis.
Alongside its educational content, the blog also features actionable posts about how to do everything from writing a business plan for the cannabis industry to understanding how stacked monopolies impact the industry, identifying the best cannabis license holders, obtaining a cannabis business license, networking with cannabis industry professionals, marketing effectively, and much more.
6. Cannabis Science and Technology
Looking to beef up your cannabis cultivation or manufacturing company’s quality control? Then spend some time on the Cannabis Science and Technology blog, which educates professionals in the legal cannabis industry about all things quality assurance, from analytical testing to cultivation, extraction, processing, and manufacturing.
Looking to test for potency? The team has you covered with actionable guidelines. Worried about contaminants such as heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides, or residual solvents? They’ve got your back with tips for developing effective testing methods. Want to get your lab certified or standardize your testing? They can help with that too. Need to know what atomic absorption spectroscopy is all about? Who doesn’t?
Bottom line: If you’re looking to understand or develop analytical methods for assessing cannabis and cannabis products, the good folks at Cannabis Science and Technology have got you covered.
7. Ganjapreneur
Stop by the aptly named Ganjapreneur for daily news updates and industry insights, which are specifically curated for industry investors and entrepreneurs. The platform bills itself as a hub for “trusted cannabis industry resources,” and it delivers on several fronts.
Blog readers can access broad-reaching content ranging from interviews with cannabis experts to business news, political and legislative updates, and dismantling the War on Drugs. There are also specialized topic categories relating to medical marijuana, industrial hemp, recreational cannabis, or CBD.
In addition to its blog content, Ganjapreneur has a few extra services that might be relevant to your work. If you ever tire of reading, give a listen to The Ganjapreneur Podcast, which includes expert interviews, actionable information, business ideas, and business strategy advice. When you’re ready to grow your team, list job openings on the platform’s job board. And consider growing your brand’s reach by joining Ganjapreneur’s business or CBD directory, distributing your company’s press releases on Ganjapreneur’s platform, or submitting a product for review.
8. Green Entrepreneur
Brought to you by the well-respected folks at Entrepreneur, Green Entrepreneur targets (you guessed it!) cannabis entrepreneurs at all stages of growth.
No matter whether you’re just starting a business, looking for effective strategies to keep your business healthy over the long-term, or trying to scale, you’ll find a wealth of high-quality, actionable content. Mixed in with all the business how-tos, you’ll find industry news, trend analyses, legislative updates, brand profiles, and more.
The site also offers a marketplace where all manner of cannabis industry companies can expand their brand awareness and learn about other companies in the space, from cannabis tour companies to edible products, ancillary products, and so on. The B2B directory keeps entrepreneurs appraised of products and services that could advance their business.
9. Grizzle
In a sea of cannabis industry blogs, Grizzle stands out for focusing on a very specific niche. In fact, it’s not actually a cannabis-specific blog. Instead, it explores broader shifts in the economic landscape resulting from technological disruptions.
Here’s where the cannabis connection comes in: Because the cannabis space is often at the forefront of financial innovation, it earns a top slot in Grizzle’s coverage beside “Investing” and “Tech.”
The “Marijuana” umbrella on the Grizzle blog includes hundreds of posts about cannabis and finance. Topics range from weekly roundups of cannabis investor news to quarterly results from big players in the cannabis industry, state tax news, legalization news, and much more. If you’re curious about the evolving relationship between cannabis and fintech, Grizzle is a must-read.
10. I Love Growing Marijuana
In case you couldn’t guess, I Love Growing Marijuana is devoted to content that’s all about… that’s right!… growing marijuana. Since 2012, founder Robert Bergman and his team have been publishing quality content about the art and science of growing cannabis successfully.
Bergman comes by his expertise honestly: He’s been growing cannabis since the 1990s, starting out with small home grows and gradually scaling up to run industrial grow rooms and lab breeding programs.
Today, Bergman and his team share what he’s learned, detailing everything from choosing seeds and gear to caring for plants, maintaining security, harvesting, and even selling — quite literally, from seed to sale!
No matter whether your company needs help troubleshooting common issues or is looking to beef up its understanding of plant biology, grow stages, grow gear, the role of water and nutrients, or other growing intel, I Love Growing Marijuana has got you covered.
11. Marijuana Venture
According to Marijuana Venture, it’s the “only monthly B2B trade publication dedicated to the legal marijuana industry.” We can’t vouch for that, but we can vouch for the fact that cannabis entrepreneurs should be following this cannabis blog, which empowers cannabis business owners to run efficient, profitable, and compliant companies.
The print version of Marijuana Venture ships to more than 12,000 subscribers and can be found on shelves in major bookstores across North America. Online, the editorial team supplies readers with a huge repository of content pertaining to cannabis cultivation, retail, and business.
That content is informed by insights from the publication’s team of attorneys, accountants, and business professionals. It covers everything from cannabis packaging to the technicalities of mail-order cannabis, sustainability in the cannabis industry, franchising, financials, and more.
12. Medical Marijuana 411
For more than 10 years, Medical Marijuana 411 has been providing educational resources for folks in the medical cannabis space. The team is comprised of physicians, researchers, and patients who draw on peer-reviewed research to publish accurate and unbiased content about cannabis, especially medical cannabis.
As part of its educational efforts, the organization has created several Medical Marijuana courses that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) as well as medical cannabis textbooks for medical professionals. Translation? This organization is all about producing high-quality, research-backed content that generates action both within and beyond the cannabis industry.
But it’s blogs we’re after here, and they’ve got a great one of those too. Not surprisingly, its stories are all data-backed. They cover all manner of topics ranging from legislative updates to political analyses, CBD and autism, cannabis topicals, cannabis and anxiety, CBD as a possible treatment for depression, and more.
In the medical marijuana space? Then Medical Marijuana 411 will probably become one of your most-visited sites.
13. Medical Marijuana Inc.
If you’re an industry professional who’s focused on medical marijuana, then go ahead and bookmark Medical Marijuana Inc. alongside Medical Marijuana 411.
The editorial team at Medical Marijuana Inc. is devoted to sharing professional journalism that’s focused on all things pertaining to medical marijuana. That’s a big umbrella, and it includes everything from political developments to legislation changes, scientific research, stock reports, investment updates, business news, and even a Cannabis 101 section for non-industry consumers who stumble onto the site.
So if you’re interested in not only the science of medical marijuana but also its business, political, and financial contexts, take a gander at Medical Marijuana Inc.
14. MJBizDaily
MJBizDaily is a must-read for medical and retail cannabis industry professionals.
The aptly named blog provides daily updates pertaining to the cannabis industry. Its robust content library covers a huge range of topics including news by state, legal and regulatory issues, financial issues (such as sales, financing, and banking), investing, cannabis cultivation, and international news. It also has dedicated coverage for folks working with hemp, edibles, vaping, retail stores, ancillary products, and more.
If you don’t already recognize MJBizDaily for its blog or newsletter, then you might be familiar with other publications from the same brand — including the monthly Marijuana Business Magazine. Or maybe you’ve heard of MJBizCon, the world’s largest collection of cannabis industry B2B trade shows, which is produced by MJBizDaily.
For its long-standing and robust service to cannabis industry news, the organization has been recognized by the likes of The Inc. 500 and Folio Magazine. It’s also a member of the Associated Press.
15. The Weed Blog
Never feel caught off guard at a networking event again! Think of The Weed Blog as your one-stop shop for ensuring you remain in-the-know about all manner of cannabis news and trends.
The blog employs the “wide not deep” strategy to keep readers abreast of a huge range of topics, which fall loosely into the following categories: advocacy, cooking, culture, growing, industry news and updates, cannabis science, policy updates, and medical cannabis.
Need a quick primer on how presidential candidates feel about cannabis legalization? The Weed Blog has a post about that. Want to know why so many people are applying for medical licenses in Illinois? The editorial team has got you covered. Curious about what went down at the latest MJBizCon? You’ll find a summary on the blog. Need to sound informed about the “schedule-one contradiction”? School yourself in five minutes flat.
By reading The Weed Blog, you can maintain the base level of industry knowledge that’s required for anyone looking to operate successfully in the cannabis space.
Cannabis Blogs: There’s Something for Everyone!
As you can see, the marijuana space is filled with quality cannabis blogs and bloggers who are tackling the industry from every angle.
From news updates to actionable content and industry insights, the cannabis blogs listed here will enable you to stay up-to-date in your industry, capitalize on emerging trends, and sustain the breadth of knowledge required of any cannapreneur.
Happy reading!