Lone Star Shuffle

Texas expands MMJ, moves hemp to special session.

Daily Recap

The governor of Texas approved a bill that significantly expands the state’s medical cannabis program. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the legislation from Rep. Ken King (R) into law on Saturday, making Texas the 40th “medical” state in America (aka 80%).

The new law expands the state’s qualifying conditions to include chronic pain, TBI, Crohn’s disease, and glaucoma, while allowing end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care to use cannabis.

"Following in the footsteps of 39 other states, Texas embraced commonsense policy that will ensure Texans facing serious medical conditions have access to a medicine that's already successfully improving lives nationwide. This law is a direct result of overwhelming public support, acknowledging the medical cannabis as a valuable, scientifically supported option for managing chronic pain and debilitating illnesses."

In a separate act, Gov. Abbott also vetoed a bill that would have banned consumable hemp products with any traces of THC, jettisoning the SB3 legislation that advocates and stakeholders said would have decimated the state industry.

Abbott called for a special legislative session to begin on July 21, saying that SB3 and other vetoed bills would be placed on the agenda for further consideration.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was not pleased. In a surprise public rebuke, Lt. Dan lamented…

“It puzzles me why my friend—Governor Abbott—would at the last minute, decide to veto this bill. One can only come to this conclusion, which surprises me: the governor of Texas wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas. That’s the headline, folks, because that’s what his proclamation does—unintentionally, or intentionally.”

Perhaps. The special session begins July 21st, and below we’ll delve into where some of those details and particulars might land.

Majority Rules

Seven in 10 American voters want to see the end of federal cannabis prohibition and nearly half said they’d view the Trump administration more favorably if it acted.

70% of respondents said they back “reforming federal cannabis law, thus ending the federal prohibition on cannabis for adult-use,” and 69% said they support “allowing individual states to decide whether cannabis will be legal in their state.”

Bank Shot

The GOP senator who is set to take the lead on sponsoring a cannabis banking bill this session says his tentative timeline for moving it forward is “hopefully in the fall.”

He said Congress is preoccupied with passing a budget reconciliation package known as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Asked if that meant he intended to take cannabis legislation up after lawmakers finalize that current priority, he said “exactly.”

Terrapin Truth

The governor of Maryland has issued another mass pardon for people with past canna possession convictions, granting clemency to about 7,000 more people on the holiday Juneteenth that commemorates the end of slavery.

Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) latest move followed mass clemency actions that he took last year when he pardoned 175,000+ convictions for low-level cannabis offenses.

Stocks & Stuff

Wall Street stocks rallied today after the weekend blitz on Iran’s nuclear facility failed to ratchet up the rhetoric—in fact, China and others called on Iran to not weaponize the Strait of Hormuz. While Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in the Middle East, they gave advanced warning, which was taken straight from “the de-escalation playbook.”

Crude oil futures fell 7%, as hopes of ‘peace through strength’ spread, at least for the time being, as gold, bitcoin and treasuries gained. Cannabis stocks, mired in the five-year status quo sans regulatory reform, could only watch from the sidelines.

Below, we’ll top-line industry happenings, dance through the weekend Texas two-step—including what the special session might hold in store for hemp—see which current operators are well-positioned for Lone State cannabis, and chew through those UTPs.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $10M

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