The Boston Beer Company is bullish on THC drinks — but it’s not ready for the US yet

NY, NY
New York Cannabis Control Board gives the green light to farmers markets 🚦

Driving the news: New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) met on Tuesday. 

The board, which oversees the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), met to discuss the long-awaited December queue applications, shared market performance data, and approved a new farmers market license type.

Let’s dive in. 

The meeting minutes: The state says it approved 1,726 adult-use cannabis licenses. 

The breakdown includes 377 retail dispensaries, 274 Conditional Adult Use Retail (CAURD) licenses — a form of license awarded to social equity-aligned applicants — and 195 provisional retail licenses. 

While new dispensaries are opening up almost every day, the hopes for retail applicants from December 2023 grow ever more bleak amid court orders and the board considering if there should be a cap on the total number of retailers in the state.

The state has 2,706 retail applications that were submitted in December 2023, or the December queue, awaiting a final determination. At the same time, the OCM has hundreds more applications from November 2023 that it has to reconsider.

Market dynamics may be a factor in the delay. The average sales per dispensary is continuing to decrease, per data the CCB presented — meaning the market could become saturated. 

What they’re saying: “Given consumer demand and staying very much on top of the illicit market, we can support, likely on the retail side, between 1,600-2,000 open retail dispensaries. As to the supply side, the numbers are not definite, but again New York has to pay close attention to the supply side challenges that have devastated other markets,” The OCM’s Acting Executive Director, Felicia AB Reid, said.

Applicants in the December queue have had to retain property leases, leaving many of them struggling and frustrated.

And: “I come with 20 years of cannabis cultivation and industry experience. In those 20 years, I unfortunately have had to deal with an array of gangs, cartels and crime syndicates, yet dealing with the Office of Cannabis Management has been the hardest and most challenging,” Paul Steinbruckner, a retail applicant from the December queue, said. 

Farmers markets and pop-up events: The CCB voted to approve regulation for a cannabis showcase license and permit type.

These would allow retailers, with a permit, or cultivators and producers, with a license, to sell directly to customers in a public event like a farmers market. 

The state allowed cultivators to sell at farmer’s markets back in 2023, after the first round of licenses had been issued. At the time, the state was struggling to approve retail licenses quickly enough to keep up with the growing supply of New York cannabis, so the events were seen as a temporary solution.

Based on their success, the legislature decided to create permanent regulations that would allow these types of events to continue to take place. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation in December that would allow for the farmers market program to return.

“They proved to be a particularly compelling way for the fast growing, newly regulated cannabis market to get out there in the community and build relationships with consumers,” OCM Director of Policy John Kagia said.

The CCB meeting by the numbers:

• 52 new licenses approved this week.

• 1,726 total licenses approved.

• 575 total brands in the market.

• 18% market share of top five brands.

• 83% market share of top 100 brands.

• 74% increase in store count from Sept. to April.

• -37% decrease in sales per store from Sept. to April.

-ZH

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Jeremy and Jay chatted with The Boston Beer Company’s Head of Cannabis Paul Weaver on yesterday’s Cultivated Live. Weaver probably has the most enviable job title in the industry.

The Boston Beer Company is most famous for Sam Adams lager. But it’s also been one of the most innovative beer giants when it comes to cannabis — the company hired Weaver in Toronto and launched TeaPot, its line of cannabis-infused iced teas in the Canadian market. 

And now, the company is looking toward THC drinks in the US — if, or when, federal regulations are ready. 

“It is a loophole that allows these products to exist,” Weaver said, of hemp-derived THC products. “Personally, I’m quite bullish on the category. But as a responsible, publicly traded company, Boston Beer would really like to see some kind of federal acknowledgment regarding the long-term viability of this space.”

Watch it here:

Alabama Cannabis' legal debacle keeps going 🧑‍⚖️

The Alabama Court of Appeals stayed a lower court's ruling against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Committee (AMCC) on Monday. The AMCC has struggled to issue its inaugural round of medical licenses amid frequent court challenges, four years after the state legislature legalized medical cannabis. Last month, a state district court ordered the commission to halt all efforts to license. Now the appellate court has stopped that order, pending further anticipated action from the appellate court. 

Rhode Island opens now cannabis regulatory office 👮

The Rhode Island Cannabis Office has taken over from the state's Department of Business Regulation in overseeing the state's cannabis market. The new office, which was created by regulations that the Cannabis Control Commission approved last month, will oversee licensing of up to 24 new dispensaries.

LA dispensary owned by Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher burglarized 🚔

A Los Angeles-area marijuana shop owned by comedian Bill Maher and actor Woody Harrelson was burglarized over the weekend in what appears to be part of a string of crimes targeting cannabis businesses in the region, per Marijuana Moment.

Utah patients surpass 100,000 💯

Registered medical cannabis patients in Utah hit the 100,000 mark this year, five years after the launch of the state's medical market. The growth continues despite a recent ban on pop-up events at pharmacies that were intended to encourage patient registration.

A few product launches and dispensary openings worth your attention today:

• Conifer Insurance Services increased its available coverage for cannabis companies in its new Cannabis Select program. Under the new program, Conifer is covering up to $25 million in property and $5 million in general liability. The company said it hopes to attract more MSOs with higher liability coverage. 

• Fluent launched its flower brand KNACK in Florida’s medical market. 

• Union Chill opened its Corning, New York dispensary last week. 

• Goldflower opened its seventh dispensary in Miami, Florida.

The team at Level sent Cultivated HQ (Jeremy’s 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn) a sample pack of their products. It’s slick packaging, and the company seems to be taking a more scientific approach to cannabis products by putting the desired cannabinoids in a zero-calorie pill you can swallow, rather than wrapping them in a beverage or sugary snack. 

We’ve enjoyed them so far, and if we had to guess — it seems like these will be the form factor of choice for the medical market because of the specific dosing, as well as experienced consumers who want a little more oomph out of their edibles (some of the tabs contain 100mg of THC each).

Check it out:

New sleep aid jumps 525% in market share in 5 years. But does it work? | SF Gate

Criminal investigation launched related to Hope Florida, prosecutors say | Tampa Bay Times