editorial standards

last reviewed: july 2026

the guides and state pages on this site cover money and law — subjects where being wrong costs readers real money. this page explains how the content gets made, what we’re paid, and how to get an error fixed.

how content is researched

we aim to check legal, regulatory, tax, and government-data claims against primary sources before publication. primary means the government body or original document itself, not an article summarizing it. market and underwriting descriptions may also rely on clearly identified industry sources and should be treated as general information rather than a promise of availability.

for smoke shop regulation and taxation, that means:

  • state departments of revenue and taxation, for excise tax rates and licensing
  • state legislature websites, for pending and enacted bills
  • Congress.gov, for federal legislation, including hemp-related provisions
  • the FDA, for tobacco and vape product regulation (including the PMTA process)
  • the CDC, for public health data we cite
  • the SBA and Federal Reserve, for small business lending data
  • court records and agency enforcement actions, where we describe them

we do not cite Wikipedia. where a secondary source points to a primary one, we cite the primary source. where the law is unsettled or sources conflict, we say so on the page instead of picking the convenient version.

who writes it

content is written and reviewed by mellow before publication. we publish under the organizational byline “the mellow team” rather than inventing a personal expert or founder. mellow is an information and referral website — not a lender, law firm, or accounting firm — and the content is general information, not professional advice for a specific situation.

we use software and AI-assisted research and drafting tools, but publication remains subject to review for unsupported promises, source quality, and brand rules. correction requests come to mellow and are evaluated against the best available source.

what we consider authoritative

in order of weight:

  1. the text of enacted statutes and regulations
  2. official guidance from the agency that enforces them (departments of revenue, FDA, etc.)
  3. official government data (Census, CDC, SBA, Federal Reserve)
  4. court decisions and enforcement records
  5. reporting from established outlets, used for context only — never as the sole source for a legal or tax claim

industry blogs, competitor sites, and marketing content are not sources.

review cadence

every page shows a “last reviewed” date. our schedule:

  • state pages: reviewed quarterly. state tax rates and licensing rules change on legislative calendars; quarterly review catches them.
  • guides: reviewed monthly.
  • the federal hemp ban guide: reviewed monthly through november 2026, because the regulatory situation is moving and readers are making decisions against a deadline. after the ban takes effect, it moves to the standard guide cadence.

if a page’s “last reviewed” date is older than its stated cadence, treat its specifics with caution and check the primary source — or ask us.

conflict of interest disclosure

mellow may be paid by a third-party provider, broker, marketplace, or referral partner for marketing, a lead, a referral, or a completed transaction. the structure and amount depend on the arrangement. the initial inquiry is free to the merchant.

that creates an incentive to generate and refer inquiries, and readers should weigh it when reading anything on this site. our controls on it:

  • content is written for accuracy, not promotion. guides describe costs, risks, and downsides of merchant cash advances, not just uses.
  • we tell shops when funding is not the right move — on this site and in direct conversations. some situations call for cutting costs, negotiating with a landlord, or waiting. we say so.
  • no funder reviews, approves, or pays for any content on this site. no page on this site is sponsored.
  • we do not accept payment for placement, links, or coverage.

corrections

if you find an error — a wrong tax rate, an outdated law, a broken citation, anything — tell us:

we verify against primary sources and correct confirmed errors within 5 business days. material corrections are noted on the corrected page with the date of the correction, so readers can see what changed and when. we do not silently rewrite pages to hide mistakes.

mellow is an independent commercial-finance information and referral website, not a lender. third-party providers control underwriting, approvals, and terms. submitting an inquiry does not guarantee a match or offer.

operating shop? start an inquiry