Good morning.
Today, we’ll be joined by Cantrip founder and CEO Adam Terry. Watch it on Jeremy’s X page, or our LinkedIn and Youtube channels. Give us a follow while you’re there.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH, NM
This newsletter is 1,084 words or about a 7-minute read.
Today’s newsletter made possible by:
💡What’s the big deal?
HEMP
The hemp industry responds to the federal ban 🌿
Driving the news: The funding bill signed into law last week to reopen the government included language that would essentially outlaw all hemp-derived THC, an industry that’s estimated at nearly $30 billion.
But the new rules won’t go into effect for a year — and hemp companies aren’t planning on twiddling their thumbs, Zack Huffman reports for Cultivated.
What they’re saying: “We believe the path forward lies in regulation, not prohibition — one that reflects the ‘one plant’ reality and honors hemp and cannabis as part of the same evolving industry,” Azuca CEO Kim Sanchez Rael said in an interview.
Back up: The split in rules concerning state-legal cannabis and hemp created tension between the two industries featuring the same plant, but with slightly different chemical compositions. Further complicating the divide was the proliferation of synthetic cannabinoids and products such as Delta-8 THC, some which experts say carry health risks, especially when left unregulated.
Some state-legal cannabis companies began to see hemp as a competitor, resulting in lobbying efforts for state hemp bans, while other companies such as Curaleaf, Stiiizy, and Cookies expanded their offerings into hemp, allowing them to spread beyond the few states in which they were licensed to sell cannabis.
What’s next: The One Plant Alliance, which describes itself as a coalition of "industry pioneers" led by cannabis mainstay Steve DeAngelo, announced a campaign pushing for regulations of cannabis and hemp that includes age-gating, mandatory testing, and proper labeling standards.
The alliance argues that the larger goal of cannabis access and legalization has been fractured by two sets of rules regarding hemp at the federal level and state-legal cannabis.
📣 Quotable
“This isn’t about safety — it’s about politics, power and profit. The hemp industry was promised opportunity and fairness; instead, we’ve been handed extinction,” said former NFL athlete and current cannabis activist Kyle Turley in an interview with News Nation. Turley is co-founder of Project Champion which advocates for the medical benefits that have helped many current and retired athletes.
⏩ Quick hits
Michigan lawmakers consider allowing hemp products outside of dispensaries 🛒
Michigan is one of many states that are considering new rules that would allow for the regulation and possible expansion of hemp-derived products outside of the legal cannabis dispensary system. More states are considering similar moves in the wake of a new federal ban on hemp which is set to take effect in a year. Michigan Public Radio has more.
Mass. Senate committee approves CCC overhaul 🪑
The Massachusetts Senate's Ways and Means Committee approved Senate Bill 2722 on Nov. 13 that would reduce the five-member Cannabis Control Commission to three members and would remove the State Treasurer's ability to appoint members. The commission had to function without a full roster for at least two years after State Treasurer Deb Goldberg suspended and then fired CCC Chair Shannon O'Brien. A state court eventually reinstated O'Brien. The bill would also double the legal limit for possession from one to two ounces.
LIT ALERTS’ INSIGHTS
How many SKUs do New York retailers carry in each category?
As a follow up to last week's data insight, this week Lit Alerts is breaking down the median SKUs per store by category in New York.
Note: This is different from share of sales in that this simply analyzes how many slots are available and in what categories. This reveals how many "slots" are available in the market for brands currently operating in or planning to enter this market.
Looking at the median share of shelf (# of category SKUs/Total SKUs), pre-rolls account for the share of SKUs per store with 70 slots. Both increasing popularity of the convenience form of smokeable flower and the singles subcategory makes for the highest share of the shelf. Even though it takes up the largest share of the shelf, it ranks third in estimated sales.
The two largest categories by estimated sales, flower and vapes, are not far behind and are basically neck and neck at 57 slots and 60 slots, respectively, both accounting for approximately 20% of the shelf.
Flower accounts for roughly 35% of sales and vapes account for roughly 28% of sales.
Edibles round out the largest categories with a median of 45 SKUs per store and a 15% share of shelf which is aligned with its roughly 12% share of sales and ranking the fourth largest category.
Lower volume categories like Concentrates, Beverages, Tinctures and Topicals, collectively account for approximately 9% of the shelf and non-cannabis SKUs like accessories and apparel account for nearly 10% share of shelf.
Have a look at Lit Alerts’ exclusive insights into SKU counts among New York cannabis retailers. 👇
To learn more about Lit Alerts and get a special offer only available to Cultivated readers, visit litalerts.com.
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
New York opens 500th dispensary🗽
Green Comfort Dispensary became the Empire State's 500th cannabis shop on Nov. 14 when owners celebrated the milestone with a ribbon cutting in Rochester. Despite a backlog of a few thousand applicants from the end of 2023, The state's Cannabis Control Board continues to steadily approve new licenses with dozens coming online every month.
Safe Harbor debuts new platform 📈
Safe Harbor Financial $SHFS ( ▼ 1.89% ) announced a new financial solutions platform exclusively for the legal cannabis industry. The new platform includes improved access to lenders, banking services and payment processors.
🤔 UH OH!
Tucker Carlson, the guy who urged men to bathe their perineum in sunlight and lost his Fox News gig for ties to white supremacy, says that legal cannabis is a tool of social control on his new podcast. This is what happens when the cannabis policy conversation breaks containment, unfortunately.
📰 What we’re reading