Austin City Limits

Texas takes a two-step back.

Daily Recap

Key players in the U.S. canna industry are pushing the White House to reform federal laws that continue to harm homegrown American entrepreneurs while helping illegal international crime rings to launder money in plain sight.

Without access to U.S. capital markets and banks, U.S. operators cannot compete with criminal enterprises like Mexican cartels. Criminals send cannabis —and fentanyl—into the U.S. and then use those windfalls to keep their organizations flush with cash.

“I’m aware of the good cannabis can do. I’m also aware of how bad guys are making a move in the industry in the absence of a regulated, taxed US cannabis business that can get bank financing.” Investor Marc Cohodes

Recent efforts included a White House trip by cannabis advocate Weldon Angelos, the founder of the criminal justice non-profit The Weldon Project, who was pardoned by President Trump in 2020 and then worked with him to pass The First Step Act.

He told Marijuana Moment that his meeting with Alice Johnson—whose drug-related sentence was commuted by Trump and who has since been named the nation’s first White House pardon czar—left him “feeling incredibly hopeful.”

All Hat, No Cattle

Texas lawmakers are considering proposals to kill a multibillion-dollar industry.

The nationwide proliferation of intoxicating hemp products has spurred a booming industry in the state but also sparked public health concerns and drawn the ire of Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Some Texas lawmakers wanna turn over a new leaf on cannabis, while others want to keep it firmly in the weeds—and a showdown is looming at the Not-so-OK Corral.

Senate Bill 3 passed on the Texas Senate floor last month and is moving toward the Texas House of Representatives. The initiative aims to prohibit all cannabinoids other than CBD and CBG, which includes banning all THC products.

Separately, a Texas appeals court blocked a voter-approved canna decriminalization law from being implemented in Austin, temporarily restoring the law enforcement’s authority to arrest people over low-level possession in the state’s capital city. 👀

Rehoboth Birth

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer (D) nominated attorney and government regulations expert Joshua Sanderlin to serve as the state’s next cannabis commissioner. The selection represents a significant shift in the governing ideology.

Former Gov. John Carney (D), who long opposed to the legalization of adult-use cannabis, chose a longtime law enforcement leader to head the office, while Meyer has now selected a longstanding proponent for a legal and regulated industry.

Use Patterns

New research published by the American Medical Association found that while the frequency of cannabis use among adults in Canada increased slightly in the years following legalization, problematic misuse in fact saw modest decreases.

Regarding product preferences, the study period saw statistically significant decreases in the use of flower, concentrates, oil, tinctures and topicals. Increases were observed in the use of edibles, beverages and vape cartridges.

Stocks & Stuff

A volatile week on Wall Street came to a close with broader market averages finishing at or near their best levels. U.S. cannabis ETF MSOS was up all session—as much as 9% in late afternoon trading—before a rug pull in the final hour erased those gains.

Below, we’ll top-line today’s price action, quantify what reform would mean if it ever actually arrives, update the charts as a step-function of price, spy more examples of the replacement theory, and watch New York canna grow up before our very eyes.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $54M

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