The Archive
206 guides · page 2 of 18
Field Notes
Who Is Lazarus Naturals? A Brand File on the Seed-to-Shelf Value House
A Portland original that does the transparency work almost nobody else does — it owns its farm, names its USDA-organic certifier, names its ISO-accredited lab, and runs a public batch portal, all at value prices with a 60%-off assistance program. What holds it to a B: a settled data-breach class action, a settled Prop 65 notice, rough workplace reviews, and several big claims — cGMP, employee ownership, B Corp status — that are currently self-asserted rather than shown.
Read the guide →12 min read
Field Notes
Delta-8 THC Statistics (2026): Usage, Sales, Safety Data, and the Ban
How many people actually use delta-8, how big the market got, what poison centers and the FDA have logged, how many states restrict it, and what the November 12, 2026 federal ban does to all of it. Every number tied to a named, dated source.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Field Notes
THC Drinks Statistics (2026): Market Size, Growth, and What the Ban Changes
How big the hemp THC beverage market really is, how fast it grew, who sells it, how it stacks up against alcohol's decline, and what the November 12, 2026 federal ban does to all of it. Every number cited to a named source and year.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Field Notes
Hemp Industry Statistics (2026): Market Size, Sales, Acreage, and the Ban
How big the U.S. hemp industry really is — market size, delta-8 and CBD sales, USDA acreage and farm value, jobs, the state-by-state crackdown, and what the November 12, 2026 federal ban erases. Every number cited to a named source.
Read the guide →~14 min read
Field Notes
The 2026 Hemp Ban, Brand by Brand: Who Survives, Who's Exposed
We graded 41 of the biggest hemp, CBD, and THC brands on 300+ public records. Now we've mapped every one of them against the federal law that takes effect November 12, 2026. The result: 24 of 41 have their core catalog exposed, 8 are built to survive, 3 are insulated by dispensary licenses, and the brands most likely to make it are also the most transparent.
Read the guide →16 min read
Field Notes
Who Is Litto? A Brand File on the Anonymous Vape Brand
A popular LA-styled hemp-THC vape brand with a slick catalog — and almost no verifiable company behind it. No disclosed legal entity, no named founders, a disputed founding year, an unnamed lab, and COA pages that don't always load.
Read the guide →9 min read
Field Notes
Who Is Hidden Hills? A Brand File on the Smoke-Shop THC Brand
A fast-growing, LA-styled hemp-THC vape and edible brand with named manufacturing partners (including a Nasdaq hardware maker) — but weak lab transparency, a heavy counterfeit problem, an 'F' at the BBB, and an open Prop 65 notice.
Read the guide →10 min read
Field Notes
Who Is Medterra? A Brand File on the Mass-Retail CBD Brand
A big, NSF-certified, US-Hemp-Authority CBD brand you'll find in CVS and Kroger, with QR-batch COAs and a strong customer rating. The asterisks: a 'F' BBB rating, labs it doesn't clearly name, a panel that skips herbicide testing, and a merger that hasn't actually closed.
Read the guide →10 min read
Field Notes
Who Is Green Roads? A Brand File on the Pharmacist-Formulated CBD Brand
A long-running, pharmacist-founded CBD brand with per-batch QR COAs and an independent lab test that actually passed — genuine strengths. The asterisks: a 2017 FDA warning letter, dismissed mislabeling suits, thin sourcing disclosure, and an ownership chain that's changed hands three times.
Read the guide →11 min read
Field Notes
Who Is Bluebird Botanicals? A Brand File on the Testing-Transparency Veteran
For over a decade, Bluebird set the standard for CBD lab transparency — a named lab, a public batch database, Eurofins-audited cGMP, and a founder who helped write the 2018 Farm Bill. Then, in January 2026, a public company bought it. A strong B, with the asterisk that its independent era just ended.
Read the guide →12 min read
Field Notes
Who Is NuLeaf Naturals? A Brand File on the Veteran With a Hidden Owner
A 2014 Denver CBD veteran with genuinely strong batch testing — and a transparency record that hasn't kept pace with its reputation. It no longer names a founder, no longer mentions that a public Canadian company owns 80% of it, blurs 'organically grown' into 'organic,' and has seen its service reputation slide. A D, kept off the floor by a real lab program.
Read the guide →12 min read
Field Notes
Who Is Joy Organics? A Brand File on the Family Organic CBD Brand
A family-founded Colorado brand built on USDA-organic sourcing, THC-free formulations, and full-panel batch testing — strong where it counts, with named owners and a clean, accredited record. It earns a solid B; the gaps that keep it from the top tier are a lab that isn't named on its official page and a manufacturing model it doesn't spell out.
Read the guide →12 min read