Good morning and happy Monday.
A quick programming note: Jeremy’s off this week but you’ll be in good hands with Jay and Zack.
Let’s get to it.
-JR, ZH
Today’s newsletter is 708 words or about a 6-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
🗨️ Quotable
"You went on a cruise recently," I said, "and I know it didn’t bother you a bit not to have pot. It’s not your thing. But you love beer, and maybe some other booze on a special time like a cruise. What would you do if you booked a cruise and found out later it was strictly alcohol-free?" Jack Brennan, a 74-year-old former sports journalist and Cincinnati Bengals PR director writes in an op-ed for the Cincinnati Enquirer, lamenting why it’s so easy to find alcohol on vacation but not cannabis.
“Just the slightest of pauses, a full breath at most, then they said, "I wouldn't go."
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⏪ In case you missed it
Friday’s This Week in Cannabis Live was a fun one. The crew from Cultivated, High Spirits, and Cannabis Musings broke down a busy week in cannabis news, including what’s next for the DEA, Vireo’s dealmaking spree, and much more.
⏩ Quick hits
Congress floods the zone with cannabis bills again 🗳️
U.S. senators filed three new cannabis bills, an insurance safe harbor, a hemp regulatory framework, and full descheduling, in the weeks after DEA's rescheduling hearings wrapped, joining SAFE Banking's latest refile. None has a floor vote scheduled, and with post-hearing briefs due August 17 and multiple lawsuits challenging the process, real movement still depends on DEA, not Congress.
Catalyst tells a judge how to fix Metrc ⚖️
California retailer Catalyst Cannabis handed a judge a proposal for reconfiguring Metrc to flag cannabis diversion, including objective criteria for suspicious activity and a 180-day DCC report-back deadline. DCC insists nothing's broken, and the fight traces back to a 2021 lawsuit, the latest chapter in a seed-to-sale tracking saga since Metrc's rollout.
Cannabis becomes the state fair's biggest attraction 💰
The California State Fair's cannabis exhibit, once exiled to a far corner, is now the fair's biggest single exhibit, moved to a central spot by the main gate with sales, consumption, and a music stage. The catch: it's one of the industry's few bright spots as California cannabis businesses keep failing under heavy taxes and no federal banking relief. (See 👇)
Over 100 cannabis jobs cut in Santa Rosa 💼
CannaCraft's manufacturing arm and NorCal Cannabis Company's staffing affiliate filed WARN notices to lay off roughly 109 workers combined this fall, as California sales fell over 12% last year. "It was sized to a scale of industry that didn't materialize," said Groundwork Holding CEO Bret Peace, whose company owns CannaCraft.
Cop tells worried Ontario town: cannabis stores aren't the problem ⚖️
A York Regional Police sergeant told Aurora, Ontario's cannabis retail task force that licensed cannabis stores in the town aren't driving crime, arguing fast food joints cause more trouble and that alcohol remains the dominant factor in local impaired driving. The catch: the task force is pushing the province for tighter zoning, shorter hours and heavier patrols anyway, over one board member's objection that the police are "ignoring the issue."
📰 What we’re reading
Slumber in the grass: What weed before bed actually does to your sleep | The New York Post
Chris Faraone Interviews Chemdog at the Flower Expo | Talking Joints Memo