Bipartisan lawmakers introduce a bill to ‘de-schedule’ cannabis 📃

STATES 2.0
Bipartisan lawmakers reintroduce the STATES Act

What happened: Finally, some action. 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday reintroduced the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act, which would fully remove cannabis from the federal list of Controlled Substances but let states choose their own path as to whether they want to regulate cannabis sales.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Dave Joyce (R), Max Miller (R), and Dina Titus (D). 

What they’re saying: “Whether a state is pro-legalization or anti-legalization, we can all agree that the current federal approach to cannabis policy is not working. As President Trump has acknowledged, the existing policy has caused unnecessary harm and squandered taxpayer dollars by diverting law enforcement resources from combatting violent crimes to making needless arrests and facilitating incarcerations for small possessions of state legal marijuana,” Joyce, the Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said. 

Here’s the full press release outlining the bill. 

Go deeper: It’s not clear whether the fifth time will be a charm, given the political calculus on Capitol Hill with the slim Republican majority in the House. 

But let's dive into the details anyway. 

At the national level, cannabis would be regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It’s the fourth time the bill has been introduced since 2018.

The bill also lays the groundwork for interstate commerce of cannabis, which isn’t allowed under the Controlled Substances Act. That, however, could force big US cannabis companies to shift their business models, as many are predicated on creating mini-oligopolies within states, rather than growing in low-cost areas at scale.

As well, the STATES Act would get rid of 280E, a rule that prevents cannabis companies from deducting regular business expenses, forcing them to pay exorbitant tax rates. 

The news sent cannabis stocks soaring. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), which tracks a basket of US cannabis stocks, closed up over 10%. 

The momentum is building: New results from a Trump-affiliated polling firm, Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, found that cannabis legalization could be a winning issue among Republicans. 

Fifty-three percent of Republicans support legalization, and a further 72% were in favor of allowing states to set their own cannabis policies without federal intervention.

And when GOP voters learn more about industry-friendly cannabis reform, like passing the SAFER Banking Act, a banking bill, or letting US cannabis companies list on domestic stock exchanges like the Nasdaq, support increases.

For example, only 48% of GOP voters support the SAFER Banking Act when asked outright, but when given more context, that number jumps to 57% — and importantly, to 73% for GOP voters aged 18-34, a key part of Trump’s constituency. 

Check out more data from the poll here. 

And more: President Trump himself posted in favor of limited cannabis reform on the campaign trail, including reclassifying cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III.

“Support for things like Rescheduling cannabis, uplisting US state-legal cannabis companies on the stock market, passing a States’ Rights Cannabis bill, and passing a SAFE(R) Banking Act offers an easy way to attract the voters needed to win in 2026, particularly young voters,” the polling firm said. 

-JB

BioTrack responds to reporting about product ‘inversion’ in NY 🥊

Track-and-trace firm BioTrack responded to recent reports about out-of-state cannabis products filtering into New York with a statement to us: “While we recognize the complexity and urgency of the current regulatory landscape, we feel it’s important to highlight the grace and professionalism with which the OCM has approached its technology partners.”

“They recognized that activating mandatory traceability before newer third-party integrators are fully ready — or before they’ve had sufficient time to test integrations end to end — would only place additional burdens on licensees, many of whom have already navigated a challenging rollout. Their decision to take a measured approach protects the bottom line for small businesses and supports long-term market stability.” 

New York selected BioTrack as the industry’s track-and-trace firm in 2022. 

Canadian cannabis market growth slowing 🇨🇦

Growth in Canadian cannabis sales is slowing, according to a new report from Zuanic & Associates. Total non-medical cannabis sales grew 4% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to just over 6% growth for all of 2024, StratCann reports. That’s down from the mid-teens in 2023. Here’s the full report.  

Arkansas Governor vetoes medical delivery bill ✂️

Gov. Sarah Sanders used her veto pen to block a bill that would have allowed medical dispensaries to have a drive-through window, and deliveries could be made with one driver instead of two. In a letter to the legislature Sanders claimed that the bill "would have expanded access to usable marijuana." 

Fluent posts $100 million in revenue for 2024 💰

Fluent announced 6.4% revenue growth for 2024 in its annual financial report. Despite the gains, the company also saw slight decreases in revenue in New York and Florida for Q4 compared to the same quarter in 2023. The announcement comes months after the company completed its acquisition of RIV Capital, which allowed it to enter the New York market through Etain. The company lost $40 million in 2024. 

4Front Ventures to delay annual filing 💸 

The Arizona-based cannabis firm said that it lacks the cash to pay its auditors, meaning that it will not be able to meet the 4/30 deadline for the company's annual financial report. The company also filed for a management cease trade order to temporarily prevent its executives from trading company securities. 

Tilray Brands proposes reverse stock split 📈

Tilray's leadership called for a special shareholders meeting on June 10 to determine whether or not the company should consolidate its common shares in a reverse stock split. The proposed ratio is expected to be between 1-to-10 and 1-to-20. CEO Irwin Simon said the reverse split would ensure that the share price remains high enough to remain on the NASDAQ. In other Tilray news, the company announced it was bringing its edibles, Good Supply Pastilles, to the Australian medical market. 

New York releases a Cannabis Education Library 📚

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management released a Cannabis Education Library, including resources about laws, and safer consumption, just in time for 4/20. Check it out here. 

Mike Tyson is Carma HoldCo's new CEO 🥊

Legendary boxer Mike Tyson is officially in charge of the parent company that owns his Tyson 2.0 cannabis brand as well as non-cannabis brands from retired pro wrestler Ric Flair and musician Future. “This isn’t just a title — it’s a responsibility I take seriously," said the former heavyweight champion.

Headset’s 4/20 tracker 👀

Cannabis analytics company Headset released its new 4/20 Live Tracker. It’s a dashboard that streams real‑time, SKU‑level sales from 3,500 dispensaries across the US. The company says the dashboard is monitoring 34 cents of every cannabis dollar being spent.

It’s pretty cool — you can see minute-by-minute sales spikes and live brand + category leaderboards.

Check it out here.

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