Republicans mount opposition to cannabis reform 🥊

REPUBLICANS PUSHING PROHIBITION
RFK Jr.’s confirmation brings out Republican prohibitionists

Driving the news: One of the big questions the industry is asking is just how far and wide President Trump’s tepid support for cannabis reform will seep into rank-and-file Republicans. 

Political support for cannabis reform can be, well, unpredictable. While it is still too soon to tell, we have a new glimpse of where Republicans are at. 

Two unrelated clues: Yesterday provided two clues as to how establishment Republicans are reacting to the push for cannabis reform — first on the federal level, then on the state level. 

Clue 1 - Pence Against Kennedy: Just as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was heading over the the Senate for a confirmation hearing, the Political Action Committee controlled by former Vice President Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom (AAF) PAC, sent a letter to Republican Senators noting that Kennedy’s support for legalization of cannabis and psychedelics would, “...undermine public order, increase nuisance, and massively increase the size of government…” 

Clue 2 - Revising Trump’s Support in Florida: Florida Republican State Senator Jonathan Martin is convinced that President Donald Trump was “tricked” into supporting Amendment 3 in Florida last year. 

You have to hear it/watch it to believe it, but Martin believes that if Trump was fully-informed about Amendment 3, he wouldn’t have supported it. 

The takeaway: What are we to make of the push to move Republicans in Washington and Florida away from Trump’s support of cannabis reform? 

We aren’t 100% certain. 

As we’ve written previously: Unknown unknowns in cannabis and Trump’s cannabis policy is ‘unknown,’ researchers say — what’s about to happen in Washington on cannabis reform, if anything, is anyone's guess.

So we wait.

-JR 

On Wednesday, Jeremy and Jay were joined by MedMen co-founder Adam Bierman on Cultivated Live. 

You can see the full interview on Cultivated’s LinkedIn page. (And follow us while you’re there…)

Jeremy asked Bierman about taking accountability for MedMen’s rise and fall. The company was worth nearly $3 billion in 2018, and now it’s effectively worth zero. 

Bierman replied: 

“ I was accountable for everything. I was the founder of that company. I started it out of my apartment and my beach cruiser bicycle. I think that it's important as a founder, CEO, as an entrepreneur to never lose sight of that. There is nobody else accountable other than yourself. Good, bad and ugly.”

Home grow on-again-off-again-on-again in Florida 🪴

For those following the cannabis versus hemp battle in Florida, there’s late-breaking news. First, Republican State Senator Joe Gruters introduced a home grow bill for medical cannabis that also banned hemp-derived cannabinoids. But, remember that the hemp industry in Florida recently helped fund the No on 3 campaign, and clearly have a big sway in Florida politics. Today Gruters stripped the hemp provisions from the bill. Marijuana Moment has the full story from the Sunshine State.

Legalization effort in Pennsylvania could help with state budget gap 💰

Last year, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sought to legalize cannabis to help fund much-need services in his state. The state’s legislature did not comply with passing a legalization bill in 2024, but perhaps 2025 could be different. Shapiro is expected to push for legalization again this year, starting with his budget speech next week, to help plug the sizable budget shortfall in PA. If it sounds like you’ve read this all before, it’s probably because you remember our newsletter from last February: Pennsylvania Governor on Cannabis: It’s Time to Catch Up. 

Bill Gates’ smoked weed to “look cool” 🕶️

Bill Gates smoked weed and used LSD, according to his upcoming memoir. He said he smoked because he thought it would make him look cool to women. In a very self-aware quote, he said: “It didn’t work out. But I tried.”

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Whether you are a pre-license cannabis business or have been operating for years, this webinar is for you.

Registration for this 30-minute webinar is free on LinkedIn.

San Francisco dispensary owner shot 

In a terrible story out of San Francisco, Martin Olive — the owner of Vapor Room dispensary in San Francisco — was shot several times outside of his dispensary. There’s a Go Fund Me set up by his best friend and the full story can be found on SF Standard.

Cannabis insolvency conference in Toronto 📉

While this loosely falls under “deals,” there is a cannabis insolvency conference happening in Toronto. Let’s hope this doesn’t become a fast-growing trend. More from StratCann on distressed assets in the Great White North.

Safe Harbor Financial’s new CEO

Terry Mendez will become the next CEO of Safe Harbor Financial after Sundie Seefried steps down 30 days, the company said. Mendez previously served as CEO of Amos Advisory Solutions. Seefried will remain on the board.

Cannabis earnings season continues:

• High Tide Holdings reported its fourth quarter and full fiscal year results. The company achieved an all-time high revenue of $522.3 million, a 7% increase from the previous year's $487.7 million. Net loss significantly decreased to $3.8 million compared to $41.0 million the previous year. 

• C21 Investments reported third quarter results. The company reported a $130,000 net loss on $7.9 million of revenue. 

• Canadian extraction and brand company Nextleaf Solutions (CSE:OILS) increased in revenue this past fiscal year. The bad news? Losses widened. More from Nextleaf on their increasing market share in the Canadian market and their full 2024 FY results.