Happy Friday.
Well, you’ve made it to Friday and you’ve made it to May. Congratulations. Later this morning we’ll be back at it with This Week in Cannabis Live at Noon Eastern/9 AM Pacific on LinkedIn and YouTube. We’ll try to unpack what everyone else is trying to unpack: what rescheduling means and doesn’t mean.
Let’s get go it.
-JR
Today’s newsletter is 707 words or about a 5.5-minute read.
💡What’s the big deal?
GOP
Bucking Trump: Congressional Republicans move to undo rescheduling
Driving the News: This week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies released the text of a new funding bill containing a provision that would prevent federal officials from taking any further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling. The language is blunt: none of the funds made available by the act may be used to reschedule cannabis or to remove it from the schedules of the Controlled Substances Act. Obviously, this came days after the DOJ's historic April 23 order moving state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III.
Why It Matters: Aside from the obvious – that the provision would effectively reverse what the Trump administration just did – there’s an intra-party battle brewing, potentially, as some Congressional Republicans are working to undo a policy their own President just signed.
What's Next? The Committee has advanced similar anti-rescheduling language in past appropriations cycles, and it has never become law. The full appropriations process still has a long way to run, and a version of this bill previously had its rescheduling-block language stripped out before final passage. Watch whether Senate negotiators do the same.
But, we can expect some Republicans – many of whom are facing uphill battles in November’s election – to continue to speak out against rescheduling.
- JR
⏪ In case you missed it
Yesterday, Wendy Campbell from Jage Media/MJ Unpacked joined Cultivated Live to talk about their upcoming show next week in Atlantic City. She dropped this gem during the conversation that we should all take to heart: ”I don't think there's a finish line on education and conversation.” Us either.
⏩ Quick hits
Even with strict regulations, Hoosiers enjoy their cannabis
A new RAND Corporation report commissioned by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation estimates that Indiana residents spend approximately $1.8 billion on cannabis each year, with the vast majority of that money leaving the state, as 96% of Hoosiers live within a 100-mile drive of a legal dispensary in a neighboring state. More from the Indianapolis Star.
Three-quarters of Texas voters support medical cannabis
A new poll from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates — the firm behind Trump's 2024 campaign polling — found that 75% of registered Texas voters support legal medical cannabis, including 63% of Republicans, yet only 11% have ever heard of the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), the state's decade-old medical cannabis program. More from Texas.
🚀 Deals, launches, partnerships
Curaleaf takes full ownership of Germany's Four 20 Pharma
Curaleaf $CURLF ( ▲ 7.51% ) has completed the buyout of the remaining 45% stake in Four 20 Pharma GmbH, a fully EU-GMP and GDP licensed German producer and distributor of medical cannabis, making it a wholly owned subsidiary four years after Curaleaf first took a majority position in the company. Read more.
Safe Harbor expands lending platform for cannabis operators
Safe Harbor Financial $SHFS ( ▼ 4.6% ) has expanded its lending platform to offer a significantly broader range of financing solutions for cannabis businesses, including commercial real estate financing, working capital and term loans, equipment financing, revenue-based lending, accounts receivable financing, bridge loans, and loan syndications. More.
💸 Earnings roundup
Verano posts $208M in Q1 revenue, authorizes $20M share buyback
Verano Holdings $VRNO.TSX ( 0.0% ) reported Q1 2026 revenue of $208 million, up 1% sequentially and marking the second consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, driven by strong retail performance in key markets including Florida and Pennsylvania. Full roundup.
📰 What we’re reading
Breaking the Stigma: Veterans and Cannabis Healing | Joint Session Podcast
What Employers Need to Know about the DOJ’s Reclassification of Certain Marijuana Products | The National Law Review