New York’s reinvestment fund

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
State announces a $5 million grant program

What happened: New York State officials are gearing up to deploy over $5 million in cannabis tax revenue in a series of grants designed to address crucial community needs like housing, job skills, and childcare. 

The state’s Office of Cannabis Management released information about the Community Reinvestment Program on their website. 

Back up: Forty-percent of cannabis tax revenue is set to go back to communities “disproportionately impacted” by the War on Drugs, under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

Now that many dispensaries are finally open in the state — and both city and state officials have been hard at work shutting down illicit sellers — there’s enough tax revenue to make an impact. 

How it works: The grant money will be disbursed in $100,000 grants that will initially focus on mental health, workforce development, and housing.

And more: The New York City Sheriff’s Office said on Tuesday that is has issued nearly $1.2 million in fines against illicit cannabis shops — but only collected $243,500, 

-JB

“They're not spending $70-$80 million for kicks,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said of Trulieve, the largest financial backer of Amendment 3, the ballot measure that would legalize cannabis in Florida.

“They're doing it because they're locking in a captive market for their corporate interest. That's why they're doing it,” he said in a video posted on X.com by the Vote No On 3 campaign. 

Tallahassee-based Trulieve has spent $83 million, out of a total of over $90 million, on the Smart & Safe  campaign to push Amendment 3, per NPR. But opponents say the ballot measure wouldn’t just legalize cannabis — it would hand Trulieve a de facto monopoly on cannabis sales in the state.

Trulieve has the largest presence in its home state of Florida, but only operates about one-quarter of the state’s over 475 medical cannabis dispensaries, per data from late 2022. Though a positive vote would certainly benefit Trulieve, we don’t think economists would call that a monopoly — maybe an oligopoly, if new licenses were to be restricted. 

But we do expect anti-legalization politicians and advocacy groups to continue hammering this talking point.

DEA acknowledges two-part test ⏰

The Drug Enforcement Agency acknowledged the legitimacy of the two-part test used by The Department of Health and Human Services in deciding to push to reclassify cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III. It’s a crucial hurdle for the upcoming December 2 hearing on rescheduling, though the DEA is supposed to abide by the HHS ruling. Anti-legalization advocates have attacked the two-part test as less robust than the traditional five-part test used to classify whether drugs do or don’t have accepted medical use. 

Empire strikes back 🌿

Empire Cannabis founder Jonathan Elfand’s battle against New York City continues to heat up. After his chain of unlicensed ‘cannabis clubs’ were raided in August, the stores have remained shuttered. He’s now suing the city, per Green Market Report, claiming that because Empire is a nonprofit and only “gifts” cannabis to members — rather than sells products for profit — the dispensaries are legal per the law that legalized cannabis in the state. Elfand says that Mayor Eric Adams’ administration will have to pay up for the nearly four tons of illicit cannabis officials burned in August. 

Polls show strong support for cannabis reform in swing states 👀

New polling conducted on behalf of Scotts Miracle-Gro indicates that voters in the key swing states of Nevada and Arizona overwhelmingly approve of federal cannabis reform, including legalization, banking access, and rescheduling. Sixty-nine percent of Arizonans and 71% of Nevadans say they support federal legalization, according to the poll conducted by The Tarrance Group, a Republican polling firm. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump support rescheduling cannabis and giving cannabis firms access to the banking system. 

Canada’s cannabis inventory 🏬

Canada released new sales and inventory data for the country’s cannabis industry, and it points to some interesting trends. Dried cannabis (read: flower) inventory declined in the first quarter of this year, while edibles increased. StratCann has everything you need to know. 

Barstool Sports signed a new partnership with Green Thumb Industries to create content with a “GTI-themed weed focus,” on specific brands like RHYTHM and Dog Walker pre-rolls. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy is known to love pot, and recently endorsed Amendment 3 in Florida. 

Jushi Holdings CEO Jim Cacioppo has agreed to waive his $950,000 annual bonus in exchange for a lump sum cash payment of $237,500 and stock options to do what the company says is to assist in managing “near-term working capital requirements.”

Medical cannabis improves quality of life 🌿

A new study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that medical cannabis improved patients’ quality of life within the first three months of use. Patient health was evaluated on a physical, mental, and social level. Read the full study.

California’s cannabis tax revenue is falling precipitously, according to new data from the state’s Tax and Fee Administration.

For the second quarter of 2024, cannabis tax revenue came in at $263 million — almost a $100 million drop from the same quarter three years ago. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently imposed an emergency ban on intoxicating hemp products as a way to help struggling cannabis retailers.

'It's just a part of life': Cannabis use disorder an issue locally alongside increased normalization | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Dems bank on boost from Florida’s abortion and marijuana ballot measures | The Hill

New cannabis legalization bill introduced as Pennsylvania legislature returns to Harrisburg | Pennsylvania Capital-Star

The rise and fall of drug decriminalization in the Pacific Northwest | Brookings

Local marijuana dispensary facing closure due to recreational sales ban | WKBN