Hemp beverage brands chart a path forward ➡️

FARM BILL
Hemp beverage brands chart a path forward ➡️

Driving the news: Last week, Cultivated and Grown In held the exclusive Midwest Cannabis Forum in Chicago. We’re bringing you all the takeaways if you couldn’t be in the room.

What happened: Speakers on the hemp beverages and consumer market panel indicated their brands intended to continue producing products leading up to the November ban. 

It was a surprising assessment considering the supply chain sensitivities involved, as well as distribution and shipping, but operators appear determined to wring out as much product sales as possible before the looming ban takes effect.

During the 30-minute session on the Farm Bill, panelists provided the latest updates on the legislation, including challenges meeting the new 0.4% THC threshold and if the consumer market will decline under the much more restrictive language. 

Panelists and some other operators at the forum are hoping for a last minute Hail Mary after mid-terms when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a longtime opponent of hemp-derived THC, leaves office. That provides a short window for legislative action and perhaps a delay in enacting the new requirements.

And more: Multiple bills that would’ve extended the ban or prevented it from being implemented were struck down by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday evening.

-CS

“The fact that we’re going to be talking a little bit longer about how do you set up a retail cannabis market correctly — I don’t see that as something that is a negative,” Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said, of vetoing legislation that would’ve finally legalized sales in Virginia. 

“Do people want me to sign a bill or do people want me to get it right, and as the person doing the implementing, what’s most important to me is get it right.”

While Spanberger has a point, what that argument misses is that the longer Virginia’s status quo remains, the more difficult it will be to push out the entrenched grey market — or change years-long consumer purchasing habits.

Spanberger vetoed the legislation, carrying on a tradition her predecessor started, after the Legislature declined to include all her proposed changes. Numerous avenues still exist in Virginia to get legalization done for next year, but the clock’s ticking.

A veteran-owned Jersey City dispensary is clearing out the store 🪦

The Other Side Dispensary, run by veteran Dr. Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez, announced this week that everything must go. She'd telegraphed the closure in January, arguing the business didn't fail on demand or management but because Jersey City "created a regulatory environment where doing everything right still isn't enough to survive."

Rescheduling won't help truckers and pilots pass a drug test 🚛

The DOT clarified last week that federally regulated workers in safety-sensitive transportation roles are still banned from using cannabis, medical or otherwise. Rescheduling doesn't change the calculus because cannabis still isn't FDA-approved.

New York lawmakers want to set cannabis labor standards by union contract 📋

A bill in the state Assembly would create a Cannabis Industry Wage Board empowered to set minimum wages, benefits, and scheduling rules for cannabis workers statewide, with a floor tied to the highest rates in any existing union contract. Businesses would also be required to publicly disclose ownership structures, compensation ranges, and workplace injury data as part of licensing.

Louisiana AG quietly drops out of rescheduling lawsuit ⚖️

Liz Murrill filed a motion to withdraw from the multistate suit challenging the Trump administration's cannabis rescheduling move, just days after joining it alongside Indiana and Nebraska. No explanation given. The other two states remain in the case.

New York's medical cannabis operators want out of a $15 million fee 💸

The state's surviving vertically integrated medical operators are pushing to reduce or eliminate the $15 million conversion fee required to serve recreational customers, saying market conditions have made it impossible to pay. Three of the original 10 operators have already shut down rather than pay.

Cannabis regulators solicit feedback from young New Yorkers | The Capitol Pressroom