Inspector Gadget

Making sense of the nonsensical.

Daily Recap

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who famously authored the Cole Memorandum in 2013 and guided the federal government to not intervene in state-legal cannabis programs, said yesterday, “The DOJ proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III is of tremendous importance and substance and should be applauded.”

Former FDA Deputy Commissioner Howard Sklamberg also weighed in, sharing, “The FDA and HHS analysis is solid,” and he would be “very surprised” if a final rule was not issued this year “before the administration ends, and probably before November.”

Who’s Schuming Who?

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has signaled that he hasn’t given up on attaching SAFER Banking to the upcoming must-pass FAA legislation despite the opposition from Republican leaders in both chambers.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has made it clear that he’s opposed to that option and anti-cannabis House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that he’s against adding any unrelated measures to the FAA legislation.

“There are lots of people who have different amendments that aren’t relevant to the FAA that want to get them on—I’m one of those, but we have to get this done in a bipartisan way and we’ll figure out the best way to get it done.” Sen. Chuck Schumer

He Said, She Said

John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that chances are “very strong” Congress passes cannabis banking reforms before the end of the year.

vs.

John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that adding [SAFER Banking] to the FAA legislation is "a non-starter" and called Republican opposition "very strong." There’s some hope, though, it could become law later this year.

👆 Bloomberg in the same article, after a thisquick correction.

Which Exit?

As the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission marks its second anniversary, the agency is taking stock of its efforts to advance the state’s legalized cannabis market.

Among the notable factoids:

• More than 130 dispensaries are open in 20 of the state’s 21 counties.

• Sales are expected to eclipse the $1 billion mark this year.

• NJ dispensaries netted $12.5M in sales over the 4/20 weekend.

• Ancillary services supporting the industry will net $1.5-$2B in tax revs.

• Between 2022-2023, AU sales grew from $329M to $676M.

• Edibles are 14% of the market share (third behind flower, vapes).

Stocks & Stuff

It was another volatile session in Cannaland as early strength gave way to late selling as the quants bears made another successful defense of $10. U.S cannabis ETF MSOS was up as much as 5% before limping into the close with a 1% gain.

Below, we’ll chew through today’s price action, compare U.S. cannabis normalized free cash flow and growth rates to other CPG categories, preview upcoming earnings and dig deeper into the reasons behind the Hump Day dump ahead of Freaky Friday.

All that and more, just scroll down.

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