Good morning.
Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to work. For those of you who have been following, we’ll have more to share later this week about solving our banking challenges and what it means for the industry.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 619 words or about a 5-minute read.
THIS NEWSLETTER MADE POSSIBLE BY:
📣 Quotable
“I made history when I pardoned 175,000 misdemeanor cannabis convictions, but the real goal was justice. We gave thousands of Marylanders a second chance,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. “Now we have to build a system that delivers that kind of fairness from the start.”
⏪ In case you missed it
On Friday, Jay, Jeremy, and Marc Hauser unpacked the news of the week, including if the industry should pay attention to Roger Stone’s tweets.
Cannabis Finally Has a Credit Tool That Works for Both Sides
Every other industry runs on credit. Retailers order inventory on terms. Suppliers extend net-30s to build relationships. The whole system moves because cash doesn't have to change hands at the moment the deal is made.
Cannabis operators have largely been shut out of that system — until now.
ReadyPaid is a B2B Buy Now, Pay Later platform purpose-built for cannabis and hemp.
For buyers, it means up to six months to pay, predictable cycles, and the purchasing power to capitalize on big moments — like the 4/20 weekend ahead.
For sellers, it means getting paid upfront while offering buyers the flexibility they want. No waiting. No risk. Up to a 45% increase in average order size.
The platform is backed by FundCanna, the leading cannabis financing company in the U.S., with nearly $250M funded to date.
If you're heading into 4/20 constrained by cash flow, there's a better way.
→ Learn more at ReadyPaid.com
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⏩ Quick hits
Michigan cannabis sales hit $255.5 million in March, down 7.8% year over year but up 8.9% from February, per state regulators. Recreational sales drove nearly all of it, while the broader market has now posted back-to-back annual declines. Read more.
A Travis County judge granted a temporary restraining order Friday blocking Texas state rules that took effect March 31 and effectively banned the sale of smokable hemp by changing how THC levels are calculated, with a hearing on a longer-term injunction scheduled for April 23. Read more.
The Retail Cannabis Council of Ontario is organizing a coast-to-coast boycott of Mastercard after the payments giant doubled its annual fee for cannabis retailers from $500 to $1,000 USD with no explanation, citing a "high-risk" designation the industry says is unwarranted given Canada's strict regulatory framework
🤝 Deals, launches, partnerships
KANHA is launching Dream, a sugar-free, doctor-formulated sleep gummy made with allulose, monk fruit, chamomile, and reishi, the brand's second product release in a week, a company spokesperson told Cultivated.
🔬 Science & research
A new narrative review published in Cureus finds that cannabis policy in sports is shifting away from punishment and toward harm reduction, with the NFL, MLB, and UFC all loosening restrictions in recent years, even as WADA continues to ban THC in competition amid inconclusive evidence that it enhances performance.
📰 What we’re reading
A cheap, 3D-printed device could become the marijuana breathalyzer police have been waiting for | The Oregonian
North Carolina should choose order, not surrender, on cannabis | The Charlotte Observer
The Real Cost of Cannabis Prohibition | High Times