We have a timeline for the rescheduling hearings 👀

SCHEDULE III
Judge releases timeline for rescheduling hearings

Driving the news: The Administrative Law Judge hearings on reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug will reconvene on January 21 and will wrap on March 6, the judge said on Wednesday.

Here’s the timeline, per Marijuana Moment:

• 1/21/2025 Government

• 1/22/2025 Hemp for Victory (HFV)

• 1/23/2025 Cannabis Bioscience International Holdings (CBIH)

• 1/28/2025 Connecticut Office of the Cannabis Ombudsman (OCO); Ellen Brown; and The DocApp (collectively, OCO. et al.)

• 1/29/2025 National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA)

• 1/30/2025 Village Farms International (VFI)

• 2/4/2025 The Commonwealth Project (TCP)

• 2/5/2025 Veterans Initiative 22 (VI22)2/6/2025 Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum

• 2/18/2025 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI)

• 2/19/2025 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

• 2/20/2025 Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents (DEAFNA)

• 2/25/2025 Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and State of Nebraska (NE) (collectively, SAM, et al.)

• 2/26/2025 Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)

• 2/27/2025 Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators (CIVEL)

• 3/4/2025 Dr. Kenneth Finn

• 3/5/2025 National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA)

• 3/6/2025 Dr. Phillip Drum

Read more: Our December 3 newsletter has everything you need to know about rescheduling.

-JB

Federal cannabis case gets another day in court 👀

A high profile case filed on behalf of a group of cannabis companies including Verano Holdings will get another day in court today at 9:30 AM. You can watch it here.

The case, which centers on the federal government’s ability to regulate intrastate cannabis commerce, was dismissed by a Massachusetts judge last summer but now heads to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. It’s possible the appeals court affirms the lower court’s decision — but that may be the first step in taking cannabis all the way to the Supreme Court. The top attorney on the case, Josh Schiller joined Cultivated Live in November to discuss the case and next steps. Watch that here. 

Advocacy groups call out Hochul and New York cannabis regulators 🌿

A group of advocacy organizations including the NAACP and cannabis organizations wrote an open letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, outlining concerns that the state’s cannabis market is shifting toward “corporate interests” at the expense of small businesses. They say that the original law legalizing cannabis in the state, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, should be fully implemented and reject the Office of Cannabis Management’s less toothy job description for the next chief equity officer of the agency. Read the full letter here. And in other New York news, the deadline to apply for the Community Reinvestment Program has been extended to December 18.

Poseidon invests in two NJ companies 🌿

Poseidon Asset Management, a cannabis-focused firm, announced on Wednesday two investments in New Jersey dispensaries: BLKBRN and Dogwood Green. Financial terms of the transactions weren’t disclosed. 

More debt deals for cannabis 🤝

Debt deals continue to flow in the cannabis industry. Safe Harbor Financial partnered with Collective Clean Energy Fund and Partner Colorado Credit Union to loan $500,000 to a Colorado cannabis company, Natty Rems LLC, to help build energy-efficient upgrades for the company’s facility.

Snoop Dogg launches DTC marketplace 🐕

Snoop Dogg on Wednesday launched SWED.com (smoke weed everyday), a direct-to-consumer marketplace that offers Snoop and Death Row Records-branded hemp-derived cannabis products, accessories, and merch, based off of his physical SWED retail locations. Check it out. 

And more:

Ayr Wellness’ brand Kynd launched its annual charitable campaign, Season of Kyndness. 

CBD can help counteract cannabis exposure in dogs 🐶

CBD can help counteract the ill effects of cannabis exposure in dogs, reports Marijuana Moment citing a study yet to be published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine

Ben & Jerry’s is joining The Last Prisoner Project’s call for President Joe Biden to free more federal cannabis prisoners:

Court documents in cannabis lottery lawsuits show how one large company drew attention of state regulators | MinnPost

Are casinos losing revenue by not allowing cannabis consumption? | Las Vegas Review-Journal