Good morning.
Happy 4/20 to all those who celebrate. It’s remarkable how, since legalization spread around the U.S. and Canada, April 20 has become one of the most easily recognizable commercial holidays in the world.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 645 words or about a 5-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
📅 CULTIVATED CALENDAR
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💡 What’s the big deal?
STRAIT
Energy price challenges continue for cannabis companies
Driving the news: The weekend’s chaotic developments at the Strait of Hormuz amplified an energy crisis that’s challenging cannabis companies across the globe.
What happened: On Saturday Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps announced it was closing the Strait after two Indian ships were fired upon, The New York Times reported. State media said the straight will remain closed until the U.S. lifts its blockade, reversing course from a day earlier.
On Friday Iran and President Donald Trump announced the key commercial waterway was open, which rallied Wall Street stocks and fueled a 9.4% decline in oil prices to $82.59 per barrel, per the AP.
Why it matters: Prices topped $104 last week, exacerbating financial pressures for cannabis businesses, particularly delivery services and logistics providers. Fuel costs for their fleets have more than doubled in the last year, prompting a Denver cannabis delivery company to shutter earlier this month and an accessory distributor to implement freight increases for the first time, Cultivated reported last week.
Roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas pass through the strait, one of the busiest routes for crude oil tankers. Last year about 20 million barrels of oil and related products passed through the strait daily, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the BBC reported.
The bottom line: It appears the cannabis industry and other business sectors will have to navigate fuel and shipping challenges potentially for months.
It would take several weeks for the strait to be fully operational after reopening without setbacks, NYT reported.
-CC
📣 Quotable
“You’re going to get the rescheduling done, right, please? Will you get the rescheduling done, please?” President Trump said on Saturday. “You know, they’re slow-walking me on rescheduling. You’re going to get it done, right?”
Trump signed the Executive Order directing the Justice Department to reclassify cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III in December, but we’re still awaiting an update.
Trump on Saturday signed an Executive Order aimed at expanding research into psychedelic drugs for mental health treatments, including ibogaine. He was joined in the Oval Office by podcaster Joe Rogan.
⏩ Quick hits
Workers at New Jersey-based cannabis products manufacturer Sun Extractions voted to join The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360, Heady NJ reported.
Colorado health officials warned that cannabis flower sold by Levels IV INC at six dispensaries across Denver, Aurora, Broomfield, Colorado Springs, and Northglenn between September 2025 and March 2026 contained illegal levels of the pesticide chlorfenapyr, reports CBS News.
⏪ In case you missed it
📈 Deals, launches, partnerships
California extraction company LEEF Brands will acquire Himalaya Vapor, a Northern California concentrates brand, in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $2.5 million. $LEEEF ( ▼ 0.59% )
🧳 People moves
New York cidery and cannabis brand Beak & Skiff is hiring a social media strategist. LinkedIn.
📰 What we’re reading