Achtung Baby!

Germany invades green land.

Daily Recap

Germany's cabinet passed a contentious bill to legalize recreational marijuana use and cultivation today, providing further momentum to a global trend to liberalize cannabis laws. Given the United States is also bound by the same United Nations convention as Germany, the read-through may hold valuable clues for pending stateside reform.

Germany had originally intended to fully legalize cannabis but after pushback from the EU, they decided on a two-track approach. A second law is expected, the timing of which is unknown, to facilitate regional pilot projects + commercial supply chains.

“The Cannabis Act marks a turning point in what has unfortunately been a failed cannabis drug policy,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in a thick accent, “The aim is to push back the illicit market and drug-related crime, to curb the dealing in adulterated or toxic substances and to reduce those consumer numbers.”

Closer to home, Cresco Labs reported Q2 earnings, which beat street estimates on the top line and for adjusted Gross Margins and adj. EBITDA. While they guided 2H23 revenues to be down in the high single digits vs. 1H23, they boast the #1 portfolio of branded flower and concentrates, are #3 in branded vapes and #4 in branded edibles.

We dig a bit deeper into Cresco below and preview AYR Wellness, which will report their Q2 tomorrow morning. It’s been our view that AYR has perhaps the most upside torque should their balance sheet continue to improve, which is one of the reasons we have been looking forward to hear what they have to say.

In other sector news, U.S Cannabis Multistate Operators are leaning into Florida and betting on adult-use; Cannabis businesses in Texas may soon make more money than their wine industry, which should lead to less doggies getting punched; Swiss Po-Po can no longer seize small amounts of cannabis; Alabama says to New York, “Hold my gavel” as they ready for their own bevy of lawsuits; NY canna venders are seething for good reason; a Presidential candidate has endorsed cannabis legalization (and this one may actually mean it); States with legal medical marijuana see significant and sizable reductions in health insurance premiums, South Dakota may give canna another look in 2024; and we explore predictions on federal legalization, monitor the new season of Survival: Wall Street Cannabis Analysts, take stock of new dispensary openings, by state, spy on D-Wade’s dank dunk, talk taboo: canna use while preggers (!), and happily share that cannabis users are half as likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes…

All that and more, just scroll down…

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ PT Notional: $22M

Top Stories