Dems Order A Code Red

Treasury urged to revise "out-of-date" guidance.

Daily Recap

Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to revise “out-of-date guidance” related to state-legal marijuana businesses and the Bank Secrecy Act, according to a letter obtained by Punchbowl News. Democrats argue that guidelines published in 2014 predate “action by many states to legalize marijuana possession and sales” and must therefore be updated.

“The updated guidance should clarify that if a marijuana-related act has been expunged, pardoned, is no longer illegal under state law, or is not disqualifying for obtaining a state marijuana license or permit,” lawmakers wrote, “then financial institutions should not consider that offense a ‘red flag’ when conducting customer due diligence of marijuana businesses.”

Slow Your Roll

A top GOP Ohio lawmaker says there’s no need to rush changes to the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law, despite the governor’s insistence on getting revisions enacted before possession and cultivation become legal next month.

House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) said the areas they’re looking to change won’t come into play for another year, meaning there’s no reason for lawmakers to jam proposed changes through before legalization provisions become effective on December 7th.

The K-Street Shuffle

The Cannabis Freedom Alliance has hired its first lobbying firm, the Bose Public Affairs Group, to work on issues related to marijuana reform. The coalition, which includes the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity and the R Street Institute, aims to end federal prohibitions on and criminalization of cannabis, according to its website.

Out of Africa

A bill to allow personal cannabis use in South Africa was approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday, according to a report from The Citizen. The measure was first proposed in 2018 after the Constitutional Court decriminalized cannabis for private use.  The measure doesn’t legalize cannabis sales so if individuals wanna consume it legally, they’ll have to grow it themselves.

Stocks & Stuff

The specter of the government staying open for another few months was welcome news for a U.S. cannabis sector starved for federal reform. Price action across the space remained choppy and thin and when the dust settled, U.S canna ETF MSOS snuck out a one percent gain.

Below, we’ll talk through today’s trading, chew through a few CEO thoughts on the potential timing of the DEA, delve into why that Red Flag could potentially turn into a checkered flag for SAFE and we’ll take the latest temperature on sector earnings.

All that and more, just scroll down.

Correction: Last night we shared that NY MSOs might be able to begin selling into wholesale channels this week; that date is now early December, we’re told, but has yet to be announced.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ PT Notional: $68M

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