📰 Schumer, other Democrats to unveil draft bill for cannabis decriminalization on Wednesday

HERBL becomes Exclusive Distributor of Henry's Original. Copperstate Farms terminated CEO, board member becomes interim COO.

Dai Truong

Jul 14, 2021

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Colin Landforce @landforce

The black market moves incredibly fast

🌿Industry

Schumer, other Democrats to unveil draft bill for cannabis decriminalization on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and two other top Democratic senators plan on Wednesday to roll out a “discussion draft” for a bill that would deliver federal decriminalization for cannabis, according to published reports citing unnamed sources. “Don’t expect details. The idea is to lay out broadly what they want the bill to accomplish,” said Cowen Washington Research Group analyst Jaret Seiberg in a note.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, along with Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ron Wyden of Oregon, called in February for “ending the federal marijuana prohibition” and promised “comprehensive cannabis reform legislation.” The trio now are slated to unveil a preliminary outline for such legislation on Wednesday, according to reports from Marijuana Moment and Politico. Seiberg warned that it’s still a long road to potentially getting to decriminalization. “We continue to be surprised it took until mid-July for Schumer to put anything on paper. The delay reinforces for us that the majority leader plans to drag out this process,” the Cowen analyst wrote on Tuesday.
“Cannabis hearings are not scheduled for July and it would seem difficult at this point to get them on the docket before September,” he added.

Dispensaries in Toronto already up for Sale as market reaches saturation. There are 4x as many legal weed dispensaries (213) as there are dedicated liquor stores (50) in Toronto right now, according to the OCS and LCBO websites. That's 213 licensed cannabis retailers across 630 square kilometers of space, with dozens more in the application process awaiting authorization from the AGCO to launch. People in neighborhoods where new pot shops now crop up faster than "for lease" signs can be installed have been asking these questions for more than a year — ever since the provincial government scrapped its license lottery and removed the cap on how many legal dispensaries could operate. To walk down Queen Street West, Queen Street East, Ossington Avenue or any number of hip strips in the 6ix right now, it's almost hard to believe that only 25 brick-and-mortar weed stores were initially allowed to open across Ontario (just five of them in Toronto) after the federal government legalized recreational marijuana. Toronto's first five weed stores were given the green light to launch in April of 2019, more than half-a-year post-legalization, and subsequent rounds of license lotteries saw at least 42 more approved by the end of that year. The AGCO lifted store number caps (among other restrictions) for pot retailers in January of 2020. The ability to apply for new store authorizations was opened up to everyone on March 2, prompting a flood of interest and applications.

Canadian producers destroyed over 500 tons (1M pounds) of cannabis since 2018.

Canadian cannabis destruction, Canadian producers destroyed over 500 tons of cannabis since 2018

Industry experts suggest the large-scale destruction reflects a variety of factors, ranging from low-quality product to a lack of retail outlets and stockpiling ahead of the 2020 launch of Cannabis 2.0 products such as edibles and concentrates. The destroyed production underscores the woes licensed producers have faced the past three years and sheds light on the sheer amount of cannabis that has gone unsold in Canada since the launch of recreational marijuana sales in the country in October 2018. Roughly 447,118 kilograms—or nearly 500 tons/1 million pounds—of unpackaged dried cannabis was destroyed by licensed producers between 2018 and 2020, according to the data provided to MJBizDaily by Health Canada, the federal body tasked with regulating cannabis production in the country. However, the actual amount in tons of destroyed cannabis is believed to be much higher because the unpackaged figure doesn’t account for packaged cannabis—defined by Health Canada as marijuana held in stock and ready for sale. In addition to the nearly 450,000 kilograms of destroyed unpackaged cannabis, almost 6 million packages were destroyed in 2019 and 2020.

💵Deals

HERBL — Becomes Exclusive Distributor of Henry's Original. Henry's Original grows their own flower across multiple farms in Mendocino County to bring small-batch, craft cannabis to the California market. All Henry's Original flower is sun-grown using sustainable, organic methods and is Clean Green Certified. HERBL’s catalog will now feature a full line of Henry's Original craft and value-priced flower and pre-rolls in a variety of convenient offerings. This includes flower available in eighths, half ounce, and 1 gram jars as well as eighths and half ounce mylar pouches. Pre-rolls come in 1 gram singles and 2 gram multi-packs with 4 half gram pre-rolls.

🏬Retail

Verilife (PharmaCann) — Opens New Cannabis Dispensary in Schaumburg, IL. This is the company's eighth Illinois dispensary. Other Verilife dispensaries in the state are located in Arlington Heights, Chicago's River North neighborhood, Galena, North Aurora, Ottawa, Romeoville, and Rosemont.

🌱Product

CANNDESCENT — Baker's Cannabis Co. Launches Infused Pre-Rolls. Baker's Cannabis Co., part of CANNDESCENT's house of brands, expands its product portfolio with a line of potent infused pre-rolls at a budget-friendly price-point. The pre-rolls extend Baker's promise to marry high quality with affordability for the daily cannabis consumer by delivering consistent 30% potency at a price below many non-infused pre-rolls. The infused pre-rolls are filled with Baker's strain-specific cannabis, available in either indica, sativa, or hybrid varieties, including Peach Ozz, Meat Breath, and Garlic Breath. Once rolled, Baker's infuses the pre-rolls with high-potency oil and blend-specific terpenes to enhance both potency and flavor. Next, each joint is rolled in THC-rich kief for the ultimate entourage-effect and a dynamic, full-body high.

Curaleaf — Partners with Bernard Noble and Fab 5 Freddy Partner to Launch B Noble Brand. B Noble was founded by well-known visual artist, filmmaker and hip-hop pioneer, Fab 5 Freddy, to raise awareness and create funding to defend people from cannabis-related criminalization. The brand is dedicated to telling the story of namesake Bernard Noble, who was arrested in Louisiana and sentenced to 13 years hard labor in prison for possessing the equivalent of two joints. In 2017, Bernard's case began to draw attention across the country, and he quickly became a national symbol for the need to reform the country's unjust drug laws, sparking advocacy and a movement to free him. As a result, Bernard was released seven years into his sentence. To call attention to Bernard's harsh sentence, the B Noble brand will partner with Curaleaf today, on 7/13 (a date representing the 7 years of a 13-year sentence that Bernard served), to release two-packs of high-quality one-gram pre-rolls, symbolizing the two grams of cannabis for which Bernard was arrested.

🧔People

Copperstate Farms — Leadership Changes. The company recently terminated CEO Pankaj Talwar and made additional leadership changes at its facility in Snowflake, AZ. Board member Kevin Burdette was appointed as interim COO and, earlier this year, installed Siobahn Carragher as Vice President of People. Copperstate Farms is home to the largest indoor cannabis cultivation facility in the U.S. and operates four dispensary locations under the Sol Flower banner in Arizona. The company has developed a robust brand portfolio including, Copperstate, Good Things Coming, and DNA Genetics.

Unrivaled Brands — Eric Baum and Dallas Imbimbo join Company’s Board of Directors. Dallas Imbimbo is a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of KushCo Holdings (OTCQX:KSHB). Eric Baum currently serves as Managing Director of Acquis Consulting Group and Managing Director / Co-Founder of its affiliate company, Solidea Capital, he guides companies in areas such as corporate strategy, market positioning, growth and scale strategies, trajectory management, M&A, partnering frameworks, risk evaluation, and more. He also serves in several advisory and Board of Director roles for public and private companies such as KushCo Holdings, Starton Therapeutics, Big Rentz, Tenant Tracker, B Great, and Trip Kicks.

🎙️Interviews

Tilray CEO Irwin Simon on potential for growth in CBD/THC beverages

Holistic Industries — Founder and CEO Josh Genderson w/ NCV

Teal looks to make a splash in the Missouri cannabis industry.

Highly Objective