Glass House Brands follows Trulieve in bid to list on NYSE 📈

NYSE
Glass House Brands follows Trulieve in bid to list on NYSE

That was fast: Glass House Brands on Wednesday applied to list on the NYSE following the path laid by Trulieve.

It’s a complex transaction, so I’ll simplify it as much as possible: 

Glass House said it would “deconsolidate,” its medical cannabis and recreational businesses. The recreational or dual-use business will become a direct subsidiary, Glass House Retail. 

Voting control sits with an unnamed third-party investor, and Glass House's non-voting units only convert to voting units once the NYSE allows listings of companies that consolidate US recreational cannabis operations.

Glass House will then be “clean” enough to hopefully satisfy NYSE regulators and list.

Back up: President Trump directed the Department of Justice to reclassify medical cannabis to Schedule III last year. That move was made official in April. 

Premier domestic exchanges like the Nasdaq or NYSE prohibit cannabis companies that cultivate or sell recreational cannabis to list — but under Schedule III, medical-only cannabis firms are allowed. 

The DEA is set to begin a hearing on June 29 that will rule whether the Schedule III ruling that now applies to medical cannabis will apply to all state-legal cannabis.

Why it matters: Like we’ve written before, Trulieve figured out a pathway that many cannabis companies will follow to move from trading over-the-counter to the deeper, more liquid NYSE.

Glass House is next. But still, other cannabis companies will prefer to wait for the results of the DEA hearing. 

Cresco Labs told me last week while they’re prepping for an uplisting like every other cannabis company, they’d prefer the whole business be able to. Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan said at the IgniteIt conference in Chicago that he’d prefer investors value the whole business, rather than just the medical side. 

But, but, but: Trulieve and Glass House are both already on Robinhood, meaning millions of retail investors have access to buying and selling shares. The NYSE listing will supercharge interest.

There may be value in going first. $GLASF ( ▲ 0.69% ) $TRLV ( ▲ 0.53% ) $CRLBF ( ▼ 2.29% ) $CURLD ( ▼ 0.31% )

-JB

"Consumers have made it clear that they want hemp-derived THC beverages," said Sean Kennedy, Chief Advocacy Officer of the National Restaurant Association. 

"The only question is whether Washington will create a way they can enjoy them safely or if they will allow a thriving market supporting small business owners to disappear because they wouldn't create a sensible regulatory framework."

The National Restaurant Association sent a letter to Congressional leadership calling for a regulatory solution to the impending federal hemp THC ban ahead of its November deadline. 

Washington says federal rescheduling may not reach its cannabis businesses ⚖️

Washington's cannabis regulator said this week that the DOJ's rescheduling of medical cannabis to Schedule III likely does not apply to its operators, since the state runs everything through one recreational license and issues no standalone medical license. The catch: that could shut Washington businesses out of the 280E tax break flowing to medical operators elsewhere, even as the board admits the DOJ, not the state, will probably make the final call.

DC Council hears cannabis bills 👂

A D.C. Council Committee will host a July 2 hearing on a trio of cannabis bills that would extend the life of conditional licenses, allow retailers to prepare certain products, such as pre-rolls, on sight, and allow local breweries to partner with cannabis producers to manufacture THC beverages. 

GOP state Senate candidate pushes for local control over public cannabis use 🗳️

Anthony Merante, the Republican candidate for New York's 35th state Senate district, is calling for legislation that would give municipalities broader authority to regulate public cannabis consumption and impose fines for violations. That one’s going to be tough to enforce. 

Maine regulators issue pesticide warning 🛑

Maine's Office of Cannabis Policy issued a warning to medical patients concerning Klouds Society Dual Chamber Vapes. Tests on the vape detected unsafe levels of pesticides including bifenthrin, chlorfenapyr, cypermethrin, malathion and permethrin.

Colorado was the first state to open a legal cannabis market. Just 9.7% of high schoolers used cannabis in the state in the last year, per survey data. 

The national average is 17%. If you measure the success of legalization by youth use, the conclusion is legalization works, much to the chagrin of Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s press releases. It’s a far more effective way to reduce teen use than outright Prohibition. 

Of course, there’s much more involved with legalization: economic growth, jobs, legal market capture. But teen use is important and this is an encouraging sign.

You can play with the data yourself »

Minnesota lab leaves the state 

Legend Technical Services, Minnesota's first cannabis testing lab, announced it would leave the industry a month after it failed to meet updated regulatory requirements for the state's nascent adult-use market.

CA judge allows suit over cannabis raids 

A federal judge will allow a lawsuit from the Round Valley Indian Tribes to proceed against Mendocino County, California following a series of raids on cannabis farms that they claim were carried out under local ordinances that do not apply to tribal land.

Corey Haggard announced on Linkedin that he is joining Weedmaps. He previously served as Design Lead for Dutchie.

Older adults are reaching for edibles to get off their meds

A new JAMA Network Open study of 169 Colorado adults aged 60 and up found the top reason they turned to edible cannabis was wanting to avoid pharmaceuticals, often after other options failed for pain, sleep, or mental health. Most chose THC-CBD combination products and hesitated for different reasons: fear of getting high with THC, doubts that CBD does much at all.

Teens say compliant cannabis edibles still look made for them

A new WSU study in the International Journal of Drug Policy found more than 80% of 454 Washington teens and young adults thought some fully compliant cannabis gummies and candies would appeal to under-21s, pointing to colorful logos and food-like imagery over warning labels.

Missouri cannabis sales reached a record $135.07 million in May, the state's highest monthly total ever and its strongest daily average at $4.36 million a day, driven almost entirely by recreational demand. The catch: medical sales fell 29% year over year and overall growth has slowed to under 2%, a sign the once high-flying market is maturing.

Upcoming hemp-THC ban will tank some Minnesota breweries, drink distributors | MPR News

The case for cannabis businesses being good neighbors | Berkshire Eagle 

Cannaleaks: Nearly One Million Cannabis Club Users' Data Was Exposed | High Times

The Motion to Stay DEA's Schedule III Rule: Strong Enough to Stick? | Canna Law Blog

A New Generation of Moms Who Get High | The Atlantic