Freaky Friday Pot-Pourri

News & views across the canna landscape.

Daily Recap

Current and former state officials, advocates and representatives met to discuss the legal landscape around hemp-derived cannabinoid products, including what led to the explosion of intoxicating products across the country, the potential harms of the largely unregulated market and how policymakers are moving forward.

Since Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp nationwide, largely unregulated products containing not only CBD but also intoxicating THC—which the Farm Bill attempted to limit in hemp products—have proliferated across the country.

That allowed minors to broadly access intoxicating products, caused confusion among law enforcement, who struggle to tell legal hemp products apart from federally illegal cannabis, and undercut state-regulated medical and adult-use cannabis markets.

Serenity Now

A powerful GOP-led congressional committee amended a report for a spending bill containing provisions that hemp stakeholders say would upend the industry, clarifying that the panel does not intend to prohibit non-intoxicating cannabinoid products with “trace or insignificant amounts of THC” that were federally legalized in 2018.

About a week after passing a subcommittee, the legislation was taken up in the House Appropriations Committee, where members adopted a manager’s amendment that provides the clarifying language in the report attached to the bill.

Study Hall

Congress passed a bill that is primarily focused on permanently banning analogues of fentanyl, though it also contains provisions that one GOP lawmaker said will remove barriers to conducting research into the risks and benefits of cannabis.

The bill is virtually identical to a House version that was approved by the chamber in February, drawing criticism from advocates who voiced concerns about the primary intent to criminalize people over a wider array of controlled substances.

Stocks & Stuff

It was a volatile session on Wall Street after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion on Iran, targeting their nuclear facilities. Crude finished 7% higher, while equities closed lower, albeit off their worst levels. The dollar, meanwhile, was little changed.

Canna? A fart in the wind on a Summer Friday given most investors have tapped out.

Below, we’ll chew through the landscape, finger fresh institutional interest, share the Weldon Angelos-Kim Rivers BZ fireside chat, spy catalysts for the rest of June, offer up some random thoughts, and get ready for the important stuff.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $12M

Top Stories