Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music | Castbox | Deezer
HIGHLIGHTS: NJ Sets Dates to Start Accepting License Applications
GOLDEN NUGGET: Mysterious Powerpoint Leaks from Lobbying Group + MORE!
+ MORE: TX Judge Puts Pin in Delta 8 Ban + Republican Fed Legalization Bill En Route + MORE?!?
Hybrid News/Analysis Extract from 420+ Sources: Featuring all the developments this past week in the cannabis world on the federal level, state legalization/implementation, science/technology, business deals, international scene, social equity, celebrity cameos, and miscellaneous ridiculousness.
DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own, and not those of my law firm Zuber Lawler. Even though I drop knowledge bombs, the show is NOT legal advice.
Advertisement
Send comments to: jp@globalcannabistimes.com
Transcription
WE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING TRANSCRIPT WAS CREATED BY A ROBOT THAT MAY NOT HAVE APPRECIATED THE FINE POINTS AND NAMES SPOKEN BY JON, SO PLEASE FORGIVE ANY TYPOS, OR BIAS IN FAVOR OF OUR FUTURE ROBOT OVERLORDS:
Welcome to the November 6th, 2021 episode of cannabis. Last week hybrid news analysis extracts from 420 plus sources. And our highlight stories this week, new Joisey is going to start accepting marijuana, business license applications, and spring big, got a bit of spare section and in our golden nugget story and mysterious PowerPoint leaks from the United States cannabis council tied to MSOE.
I’m your host, John Purow. Now, before we get down to business, I got to make my usual disclaimer. By day, I practiced cannabis and IP law at the law firms, Uber Lawler. So I need to note that any opinions that I express are mine and not the law firm. For example, if I was to say that, regardless of what you think about Aaron Rogers being unvaccinated, can we all agree that he’s a little bit of an a-hole for saying that he was quote unquote immunized when someone asked if he was vaccinated and he wasn’t.
So that, for example, that would be my. Uh, not that of my law firm. So if you have any feedback as always, please send it to jp@globalcannabistimes.com and feel free to subscribe because I just look at those subscriber numbers day in, day out, feed my for patients ego, all right. Onto the news and our first highlight story.
HIGHLIGHTS
So New Jersey is now opening. For applications for adult use on December 15th, applicants for cultivation or manufacturing licenses can begin submitting applications. And on March 15th, 2022 applicants for retail stores can begin submitting their applications. Now, a couple of things to keep in mind about my current state or residents, they have a role in.
Advertisement
Application process. And the way that the priority is structured is that priority is first given to conditional license applications. Where are you to have some of your boxes checked, but not necessarily have a property locked in, or they get priority over annual license applications and micro business applications always take priority over standard cannabis business applications in every category.
So you’re going to be submitting on a rolling basis. And people who come in after it might be hopping the line ahead of you if they check certain boxes. And another little piece that’s interesting is that the CRC, the cannabis regulatory commission is going to issue a final list, identifying impact zones in the state, which is important because you could hit certain requirements to be, you know, jumping earlier in the line.
If you employ a certain number of people from impact zones, or if you’re located in an impact zone, your intended licensed. The other thing that’s interesting is that in their haste to get this done, there were apparently some errors in the notice which laid out the requirements for applications. For example, it is impossible to add up to the maximum point score because certain points are only a lot of, to certain licenses.
So there were some in Congress sections in the materials that the CRC. Actually I have a confession guys spring big thing. Wasn’t really a highlight story. Didn’t really earn that very, very high label. I was just so damn proud of myself for coming up with the puns faction that I had to parade it front and center.
So please don’t think that I’m as you know, misleading as Aaron Rogers, for example.
GOLDEN NUGGETS
All right. Moving over to the golden nuggets.
A PowerPoint that was presented to the United States cannabis council and organization. That caught my attention when it recently staged an event where minority business owners pushed for the safe banking act to pass.
But apparently it was funded by a certain major MSOE multi-state operators and major cannabis players. A PowerPoint was leaked to the daily beast. And I do want to say that the us cannabis council said that this was presented to them. It was not their position by any means. And the PowerPoint was called intentional federal legislation or something of the like, and basically talked about a strategy in which certain parties would like to see less licenses awarded in each state to give a competitive advantage to those who actually earn them.
Advertisement
And also at the same time to potentially not rush for federal legalization because it’ll create additional time for vested interest in the industry right now, to consolidate further and gain more influence. I mean, it was very, you know, cloak and dagger kind of stuff. You guys, for example, you know, the PowerPoint had the insignia, the logo of a certain law firm, or you could look it up if you want.
I’m not trying to trash another law firm, but they had a law firm’s logo on it. And the law firm denied any involvement. So, uh, perhaps they were framed, but there a lot of cloak and dagger elements to this, Dan brown is apparently actually going to be writing another book about it, called the DaVinci. So keep your eyes out for that.
I’m sure it’ll go straight to number one. All right. Uh, yeah, DaVinci took, I don’t know, a little bit of a self grown, but let’s move on to see if I could redeem myself.
FEDERAL NEWS
Moving over. Federal news, president Biden has picked the new head of the FDA. His name is Robert Califf. He apparently served in the same capacity for.
During the Obama administration. And of course, as soon as he was announced, everyone in the industry combed through everything that this man has ever said, like they’re using one of those giant Combs in the sand and the desert from Spaceballs. So the two things that people found that were worth reporting is that he has recognized marijuana has medical benefits and that at some point, Robert Califf prescribed a cannabinoid drug as a doctor.
And other very, very interesting news on the federal level. There’s actually a Republican draft legalization bill being circulated that is going to be introduced later. This month is sponsored by representative Nancy mace out of South Carolina, and some notes on it are that it would deschedule cannabis from the CSI.
Advertisement
It would allot regulatory power to different agencies, just shooting different things in different things, different agencies, different things and different things. Yes. It would a lot certain responsibilities to different agencies, just like Chuck Schumer’s bill. And this would also have a 3.7% excise tax, and it would include some expungement for federal nonviolent cannabis crimes, but unsurprisingly, it does not go anywhere near as far in terms of social equity as the draft Dem bills in terms of the house more act or Chuck Schumer’s legalization, bill moving forward.
And the next piece of federal news. 22 governors from both parties sent a letter to house and Senate leaders to push them to pass the safe banking act as part of the national defense authorization act, including the governor, Kathy Hochul and to rim New York, governor of Chuck Schumer’s own state. So let’s see if this has any effect whatsoever, but I do enjoy in covering the news week two.
Talking about letter writing. It makes me feel like I’m describing or narrating a Jane Austen novel, but who knows, maybe these letters will actually add up to something. Fingers crossed. Now I want to circle back to a story I talked about last week a little bit, and it’s the DA’s position on whether or not Delta eight is a federally controlled substance.
One thing I mentioned was a letter that was written to an Alabama regulator and going back, I actually took a peek at it and it’s interesting. There’s been a lot more official than I thought I thought, perhaps, Hey, this is some lone Wolf that the da writing something, but this was written by Dr. Terrance booze, chief of the booths that might not have been the easiest name to grow up with.
Um, when you were young. So Dr. Terrence booze, chief of the DA’s drug and chemical evaluation section and its diversion control division wrote this. And the step-by-step basically said, like you’ve heard before from Delta, April opponents, that Delta eight THC can be naturally occurring and the cannabis plant or synthetically produced from non-cannabis materials.
Now, we also explained that the CSA doesn’t control. THC, you know, Delta different varieties of it outside of Delta nine, THC and hemp. And so accordingly, he said, cannabinoids extracted from the cannabis plant that have a Delta nine THC concentration of less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis meet the definition of hemp.
So the implication is that if Delta eight is extracted from hemp, then it’s okay. But the thing that pops up in my head is the fact that the vast majority of Delta eight that is not actually extracted from hemp, the CBD is extracted from hemp and then is converted into Delta eight. So the question is, in order to meet this requirement, do you need to have hemp that is artificially, you know, genetically modified to have higher levels of Delta eight.
And if he was extracted from that. Then bingo Bango you’re okay. But that’s just a little bit of potential speculation on my part. Don’t consider that knowledge bomb and don’t consider that legal advice just because I’m attorney moving on. Unfortunately it is a little bit upsetting that HUD, the department of housing and urban development has actually denied federally assisted housing to people who use marijuana.
Because of its federal illegality. And so a representative Eleanor Holmes, Norton Democrat from DC sent a letter to the HUD secretary, pushing them to change their position. And unfortunately the letter came back, Jane Austin styles saying, sorry, our hands are tied by federal illegality. So thinking in the Congress should possibly step in on this.
STATE NEWS
Moving over to state news, state of play and Texas, the saga over Delta eight continues a Texas judge actually put in a preliminary injunction, barring the state from listing Delta ATG as a schedule, one drug and their CSA equivalent. So right now, People can continue selling Delta ATFC products while this case works its way to a conclusion.
And just to give you an idea, what are the people want? Well, a survey in Texas, uh, 500 residents found that 94% of them oppose the Delta eight THC ban most agreed that it should be allowed for recreational purposes, but 27% think it should only be used for medical, which is internal. But bottom line is in a state where there is no adult use program.
And there is a limited medical program that only opened up slightly more this past year, the overwhelming majority of people are down for, uh, you know, it’s a psychoactive THC substance moving over to Virginia. There is a lot of concern as to how. Past election, where there is now a Republican governor and Republican house of delegates would affect the fact that the adult use market is not going to commend sales until 2024.
And so the interesting thing is the Republicans who took power, including the house leader, Todd Gilbert tried to assuage concerns and said, wait, the way that this is working out right now is that there’s decriminalization. Some of these things hit in the bill right now, people lobbied and you had them effective immediately.
But sales, aren’t going to start until 20, 24. So his point effectively was that, well, if everyone’s getting off the hook, but we’re not selling legally, then this is just going to feed a rampant black market. And so they’re saying that they’re going to move to try and set up the adult use market prior to 2024 as planned though, don’t expect as many social equity provisions as the Democrats in power were pushing at the time.
Moving over to Oregon, Oregon’s announced that it’s actually going to start accepting and processing new marijuana license applications for the first time in three years. So during this past three years that there are no new licenses being generated. And so there was a huge market for transferring licenses, but now they’re finally going to be some new parties coming to the table, moving over to
BUSINESS NEWS
Green new deals, the business section spring bag, circling back to.
Spring big, got a bit of spare action. Right? So cannabis tech companies spring big is going to become publicly traded. Through these back to a Tara capital acquisition corporation. And if you don’t realize how bad-ass that name is a two Atara is actually a 3i lizard. Well, I guess I sell the phone myself cause yes, little Johnny didn’t have that many friends, but he was seven, but he had books about animals and goddammit.
He really thought the two of tour, coolest shit. All right, moving on. So the post-transaction valuation for spring day. 500 million. They’re going to have 200 million cash on hand. And it’s interesting. One article noted in terms of the valuation considering Springbank is only on track to report 24 million in revenue this year.
But obviously adult use is going to ramp up across the country. Moving on Cura leaf has acquired multi-state Western operator Tri-C for $286 million. So Tri-C operates mostly is well-known for the reef dispensary brand. They operate in Arizona, Nevada, always going to note the fact that I know to pronounce it Nevada properly because of the show Veep.
If you haven’t watched it, you should. And then you should watch the rest of the development and anything that Julia Louis Dreyfus has ever touched. And also they’ve been in. And they’ve actually pushed legalization adult use in Arizona, Nevada. And so the cash and stock deal is expected to close in the second half of next year, following regulatory approvals.
Now moving on former NBA player, Al Harrington’s Viola brands, which is my favorite brand name. Not because it’s fun to say, like Jewishy because is named after his grandma and the story about his grandmother and how she experimented with medical marijuana. Like almost made me cry. So I really liked the brand name.
So he is launching his products in Canada through a partnership with Avi, Canada, Inc. The Canadian bio-pharmaceutical company based out of Toronto. Moving on, speaking of Jewishy juicy, which is probably my favorite brand named say just for the fun of it outside of schwas right? Both of those, just roll off the tongue.
They plan to raise 400 million by way of a new preliminary, short form based shelf perspectives filed in Canada. I shocked that I was able to say that on the first try without issue preliminary short-form base shelf protect. Yep. Yep. Okay. All right. Well at least I nailed it the first time moving on MSO multi-state operator Verano is making a bunch of moves in Connecticut and events of the adult use market opening in 2022.
They’ve acquired. Caring nature, LLC and Connecticut pharmaceutical solutions, as well as Willowbrook wellness. And when yes, stack them up like Legos, you have vertical operations and the state and last but not least, phylo the cannabis compliance software company raised another 40 million in capital.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Moving on to international news. Germany’s next coalition governments, right? It will go into power in December. As nearing a deal on legalizing marijuana. So hydroponics. We are talking here about a market, a country of 83 million people, perfectly situated in many respects as a prominent nation in the EU about to potentially legalize marijuana.
So the impact of this cannot be understated, moving on to Mexico. Which, you know, continued saga. I appreciate solely for the fact that legislators are gifting each other marijuana and various forms on the Senate floor, Senate, majority leader, Ricardo Monterey alveola of the ruling Moraine. The party said that the political coordination board, which figures out the legislative priorities for the Senate.
It’s saying that for the upcoming session, they are prioritizing legalization. So they’ve led me down before, you know, these , but I got a gut feeling that this might actually happen and let’s not discount the fact that this is a market of a country of 130 million people, which will be the largest, even if Germany tips to legalization scale at the same time.
And. Last, but not least Malaysia will start to allow the import and use of medical cannabis.
PSYCHEDELICS NEWS
Moving over to psychedelics news. COMPAS pathway is a major company in this realm, released data from stage two of its clinical trial, which was testing psilocybin from mushrooms for treatment of. Treatment resistant depression.
So the company ran a controlled randomized double-blind study over 10 countries, 22 sites and 209 patients. So this really was a fantastically constructed study and the data revealed that a single 25 milligram dose, you know, with therapy supervision. Showed a significant reduction in severity of depression after three weeks, but the 10 milligram dose was not quite as good.
And there are definitely some negative side effects, which I think there is why there’s an impact on the stock. But I think people, you know, thinking that this is a silver bullet, but keep in mind, we’re talking about treatment resistant depression. So I don’t think it should be so surprising. When there are some negative outcomes, correlation, and causation is a difficult thing to assess in this situation.
CELEBRITY CAMEOS
And in celebrity cameos, the us cannabis council, there’s that name again, and listed Seth Rogan, Sarah Silverman, and other celebrities to launch the cannabis and common initiative where they have funny videos calling out the fact that the vast majority of the country wants legalization and the legislature needs to cap.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
And miscellaneous last silly news. The Michigan professional ethic board took exception to a doctor who issued. Wait for it. How many, how many, you know, medical marijuana cars do you think they issued in one year? If you guessed 21,000 under prices, right? Rules of course, then you would be correct. So this person made the doctor who gave Johnny drama prescription in entourage, looked like the surgeon general.
And with that, I say, stay grassy my buds, and I’ll see you next week.
Copyright 2021 Global Cannabis Times, All Rights Reserved
