Dabbin' Dad Can't Have It Both Ways on the Legacy Market and Enforcement-Funding Products

By CT CannaTimes - 5.3.2026

Dabbin’ Dad needs to explain its position.

Because right now, the public record shows a platform trying to benefit from legacy cannabis culture while publishing content that supports the very enforcement system targeting parts of that culture.

That contradiction is not subtle.

It is glaring.

Dabbin’ Dad has visibility in Connecticut cannabis spaces, including spaces tied to legacy culture. At the same time, its own website promotes legal dispensaries, highlights regulated cannabis deals, amplifies enforcement framing against smoke shops, and promotes THC seltzers sold through the legal system.

That matters because Connecticut law places a $1 fee on each infused beverage container sold by cannabis retailers, hybrid retailers, and dispensaries. That money is deposited into the state’s consumer protection enforcement account and used, among other things, for compliance with cannabis and liquor control laws.

So when a cannabis platform promotes THC seltzers without clearly explaining that each can helps fund the enforcement system, that is not just lifestyle coverage.

That is helping normalize a product category tied directly to enforcement funding.

And when that same platform also benefits from legacy cannabis culture, that becomes a serious credibility problem.

The Enforcement Narrative

In Dabbin’ Dad’s article on the Portland smoke shop bust, the framing is almost entirely enforcement-side language.

The article emphasizes that authorities shut down smoke shops, seized 35 pounds of marijuana, arrested a 24-year-old man, and found synthetic mushroom edibles and kratom. It then states that the shops were not licensed dispensaries, that smoke shops are not allowed to sell marijuana, and that officials say underground retail “undercuts legal businesses” and opens the door to “untested, potentially unsafe products.”

That is not legacy-community framing.

That is regulator framing.

It is the same basic message the state uses to justify raids, fines, seizures, shutdowns, and criminal enforcement: legal market safe, unlicensed market dangerous.

The Legal Market Advertising

Dabbin’ Dad is also actively publishing consumer-facing legal market content.

In “The Nutmeg Green Check,” the site tells readers where to find the cheapest legal cannabis flower in Connecticut, including a $110 ounce at Higher Collective, $20 eighths, and other discounted dispensary options.

That is not just reporting.

That is directing consumers into the licensed market.

The site also lists dispensaries, hybrid retailers, and adult-use stores across Connecticut, including major legal operators.

Again: they are not merely observing the legal market. They are helping promote it.

The THC Seltzer Problem

Then comes the THC beverage article.

Dabbin’ Dad published a piece celebrating Connecticut raising the THC limit in cannabis seltzers from 3mg to 5mg per can, framing it as a boost for the regulated beverage market and a move toward stronger infused drinks.

But the missing context is huge:

Every legal THC beverage container carries a $1 state fee. That money goes into an enforcement account used for compliance with cannabis and liquor control laws.

So the issue is simple:

You cannot promote THC seltzers that fund enforcement, promote legal dispensaries, and repeat enforcement narratives against smoke shops, while also enjoying credibility or presence in legacy spaces without answering for the contradiction.

The Core Hypocrisy

This is the contradiction Dabbin’ Dad needs to explain:

They appear to want the cultural credibility of the legacy market while publishing content that supports the regulated market’s enforcement logic.

They appear to want access to legacy events and audiences while promoting products and retailers inside a state system that funds enforcement actions against those very same events.

They appear to want to be seen as cannabis-community media while repeating the state’s core argument that unlicensed operators are unsafe, illegal, and harmful to legal businesses.

That is playing both sides.

And Connecticut cannabis consumers, patients, legacy operators, and independent advocates deserve honesty.

Pick a Lane

Dabbin’ Dad should answer plainly:

Do they support the state’s enforcement approach against smoke shops and unlicensed cannabis sellers?

Do they believe legacy operators are dangerous compared to the legal market?

Do they support THC beverage sales knowing each can contributes to the enforcement account?

Do they believe it is ethical to maintain legacy-market presence while promoting legal products and narratives that help fund and justify enforcement?

This is not complicated.

If Dabbin’ Dad supports the regulated market, legal dispensaries, THC seltzers, and enforcement narratives, then they should say that openly.

If they stand with legacy cannabis culture, then they should stop laundering enforcement talking points as community journalism.

But they cannot keep using the legacy market for credibility while helping promote the system built to replace and police it.

That is the issue.

And it deserves an answer.