History Chimes

Alcohol prohibition ended 91 years ago today.

Daily Recap

It was a perfect day for the oral arguments in the repeal of Prohibition 2.0 in Boston, as the first prohibition—that of alcohol—came to an end precisely 91 years ago today.

Presiding over the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit was Judge Barron, who wrote the opinion for the NE Patients Grp case and is already familiar w the CSA and Rohrabacher-Farr (Obama appointee), Judge Montecalvo (Biden), who is a former public defender and Judge Rikelman (Biden), a former reproductive rights litigator.

The timing of a ruling is “likely Jan/Feb” per those close but hopefully ASAP as this was widely seen as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court. 🙏 Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Jason G. Wild, E-Pax at Poseidon, the leadership at Verano Brands and anyone else who is able to help support this effort to stand on the right side of history.

Imagine an even playing field

The US cannabis industry is experiencing rapid growth, with retail sales projected to exceed $32B in 2024 and wholesale sales reaching nearly $12B—and don’t get us started on what that number might be without intoxicating hemp bogarting sales.

A decade of expansion has transformed the sector from a single-state market into a nationwide industry supporting 500,000 jobs and over 25,000 businesses across 41 states with some form of cannabis legalization.

As more states implement legal frameworks, the market is poised to grow to $55B by 2030, driven by new licensing, retail expansion, and evolving policy landscapes. Oct. 2024 saw retail sales reach an annual run rate of $33bn, a 7% year-over-year increase.

Hat and Cattle

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced today that a new bill will be introduced to the state legislature banning the sale of "all forms of consumable Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)" anywhere in the state.

Patrick said retailers in Texas have been selling "life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public" and argued some of these have been targeted at children.

In 2019, Texas legalized the sale and consumption of hemp containing a maximum of 0.3% THC, bringing the state in line with a federal law (while cannabis remains illegal). The legislation produced a large legal hemp industry in Texas, with the product being sold in a range of forms, including vapes, gummies, drinks and creams.

Brown Paper Bag

The ass-backward rollout of New York’s legalized canna market is facing yet another potential setback after a lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of the $20M fee required for medical cannabis operators to enter the retail marketplace.

The lawsuit contends the “punative” regulation requiring MMJ companies to make four payments of $5M as a condition of entering the retail market is so “onerous” that it essentially constitutes a “regulatory taking” of their business (and they’re right).

Stocks & Stuff

It was a whippy day in Cannland with early strength, a midday lull and some afternoon volatility after traders read into meme-type things that they shouldn’t be reading into.

U.S. cannabis ETF MSOS finished the session up a percent but mostly pay-no-mind.

Below, we’ll top-line the landscape, talk through the news, map the DEA ALJ timeline, listen in on the canna case, and finger an all-time low in sentiment—and what it will take to shift it.

All that and more, just scroll down.

Note: I’ll be offline Dec. 20th - New Year’s. Healthy & safe holidays to you and yours.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $92M

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