Good morning.
We’ve got a big day of cannabis earnings tomorrow, including Verano, MariMed, Rubicon Organics, and more. We’ll break down what you need to know.
Plus, the MariMed team will be with us on Cultivated Live tomorrow morning at 10 AM Eastern. Join us on LinkedIn or YouTube.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR, ZH
Today’s newsletter is 954 words or about a 7-minute read.
💡 What’s the big deal?
SUNSHINE STATE
Legalization appears to be dead in Florida for another year 🦩
Driving the news: The Florida Supreme Court declined to review Smart & Safe Florida's challenge against the state's disqualification of signatures on the campaign to place legalization back on the ballot this year.
The state argued that Smart & Safe Florida, the group behind the push to legalize in 2024, failed to resolve its legal dispute by the Feb. 1 deadline to be included on the ballot, which left their appeal irrelevant. The state Supreme Court agreed.
What they're saying: "Because Smart & Safe missed the deadline for qualifying its petition for the ballot and the disputed signatures have expired, this case is moot," said the Secretary of State's Jurisdictional Brief filed on March 2.
Earlier this year Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd tossed 41,894 signatures because they were from "inactive" voters, and then tossed an additional 28,752 signatures because they were gathered by people who were not Florida residents. The campaign needed 880,062 signatures to make it onto the ballot.
Smart & Safe Florida appealed the move, but were not successful in court.
Zoom out: Florida is the nation's largest medical-only market, with 932,991 registered patients as of March 6. With a population of over 23 million, Florida could be a major cannabis market if it were to legalize for all adults.
Trulieve, the dominant multi-state operator in the Sunshine State, sank about $145 million into the failed effort to legalize cannabis in 2024. Ultimately, 56% of voters supported the effort, but Florida law requires at least 60% approval to enact a ballot measure.
This time around, Trulieve spent $52.7 million on the effort. Although there was an assortment of individual donors to the cause, Trulieve was the only company that contributed to the campaign.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a vocal opponent to legalization. Unlike last time, he will not have to raid a state opioid settlement fund to publicly combat Smart & Safe Florida. DeSantis will not be running for reelection, so it remains to be seen if Smart & Safe Florida will give it another go in 2028.
-ZH
📣 Quotable
"Legalization is not intended to create new consumers. It's intended to serve over 2.2 million New Yorkers who consume cannabis regularly," said Office of Cannabis Management Acting Director John Kagia in an interview with the Capital Pressroom at WCNY Radio.
Kagia was recently named head of the agency.
⏩ Quick hits
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a stalwart supporter of President Trump and contender to become Florida's next governor, acknowledged that as a teen he used to sell cannabis. In the event that he wins, we may see how that experience shaped his opinion on legalization in his home state.
The Texas Department of State Health Services unveiled new regulations that include lower license fees for hemp operators, but also incorporate THCA into the total THC limit, which is likely to ban most flower products.
Texas hemp operators are reporting an uptick in police raids on smokeshops as the state finalizes new regulations in the wake of the state legislature failing to outright ban hemp products last year.
Vermont regulators are considering an 18-month suspension for Forbins Finest, alleging that the cannabis company grew and sold product on the illicit market.
Lawmakers on Colorado's House Committee on Business Affairs & Laborapproved HB 26-1117 which would create a licensing system for pop-up cannabis events.
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
Ascend Wellness announced the relaunch of its Ozone brand across seven state markets.
👨⚖️ Lawsuits
A group of brewers have sued the State of Ohio over Governor Mike DeWine's line item veto of a portion of a bill that would have preserved the right of beer companies to continue selling THC beverages through the end of the year.
The company that owns Boston arena TD Garden is suing local dispensary The Boston Garden, claiming that consumers will confuse the two brands.
🔬Science & research
In what is not likely a surprise to most seasoned stoners, a study out of Washington State University found that cannabis use contributed to memory disruption, where events that never happened were recalled or participants reported forgetting to follow through on certain daily tasks.
A study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology found that CBD and CBG significantly reduced liver fat, indicating that cannabis could be used to treat liver disease.
😂 One fun thing
Remember that police station where Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George ended up in the series finale of Seinfeld? It's now a dispensary. Here's hoping the business is a better samaritan than the four protagonists were deemed almost three decades ago.
📰 What we’re reading
They Took His Weed. The Court Said They Couldn't. Now his Own Tribe Won't Give It Back. | High Times
Virginia is on the cusp of establishing a long-awaited retail market for marijuana. Will it work? | Richmond Magazine
Mass Regulators To Expedite Receiverships Amid Increasing Business Failures | Talking Joints Memo