Good morning.
We’re still coming down from The Highrise last week in New York City. It was great to see so many of our readers in person! Here’s great coverage of our price compression panel from our friends at CelebStoner. More to come.
Let’s get to it.
-JB, JR
Today’s newsletter is 626 words or about a 5-minute read.
CULTIVATED CALENDAR
November 12 » Pot Policy and Politics → The second installation of the Midwest Cannabis Forum, this time in St. Louis.
COMING EVENTS → Las Vegas & Buffalo
Visit our revamped Events Page »
Quotable
“I think these findings matter more for policymakers than for someone deciding whether to visit a local dispensary,” Dr. Samuel Slavin, a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center and the lead author of a study that links legalized weed to cardiac events. “We should approach legalization policy with the same care we use when evaluating new medications or procedures.”
Thought bubble
The new date for the rescheduling briefs lands on November 5, after the midterm elections. In 2024, after Trump won, I wrote that we shouldn't expect cannabis to be a first 100 days issue, or even a first year issue. It'll now land after the midterms.
His administration should be commended for pushing rescheduling. But Kamala Harris endorsed full-fledged legalization on the campaign trail. Cannabis reform is far more popular with Democrats than Republicans. We’ll never truly know, but the political winds would’ve pushed reform much further and faster under a Harris administration rather than the deliberately slow, byzantine administrative process we’re stuck with now.
We’ll see what the upcoming midterms bring.
-JB
People moves
For our Cultivated Members, Monday means People Moves.
This week, People Moves has 10 roles currently available across a number of regulators’ offices — including Virginia, New York, Minnesota, and Ontario.
Plus, MSOs appear to rounding out their robust staffs in Florida.
Quick hits
Legalization splits New Hampshire governor’s race
At Thursday’s debate, Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) restated her opposition to legalization, citing youth mental health. Democrat Cinde Warmington backed legal sales to keep tax dollars from flowing to neighboring states. New Hampshire is the only New England state without legal recreational cannabis, and Ayotte has threatened to veto any legalization bill.
New York’s 30-day payment rule pushes dispensaries to smaller orders
Since Sept. 15, New York has used Metrc to put retailers that don’t pay suppliers within 30 days on a cash-on-delivery list, which held 87 stores owing $3.9 million in September. Retailers are splitting up orders to protect cash flow and giving up volume discounts in the process.
New York caps first nursery license round at 50 applications
New York regulators will open applications Nov. 5 for nursery licenses to sell seeds, clones and immature plants to licensed growers, reviewing only the first 50 received. Nurseries can’t sell to consumers or home growers, and anyone with a stake in a dispensary is barred from holding one.
New Jersey Senate votes 37-0 to extend hemp drink sales
The bill would push back New Jersey’s Nov. 13 cutoff for liquor and cannabis licensees selling intoxicating hemp beverages to Dec. 11, or later if the federal hemp ban slips again. It still needs an Assembly vote and Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s signature.
Lawsuit
SNDL to pay $200,000 to settle Ontario retail probe
Canadian cannabis retailer SNDL agreed in principle to pay the AGCO a $200,000 fine and restructure franchises the regulator says it effectively controlled. Ontario caps producer ownership of stores at 25%. $SNDL
What we’re reading
Cannabis doesn’t make you violent – despite what recent reports have claimed | The Conversation
