Summer Breeze

Canna stirs beneath the surface.

Daily Recap

The governor of Texas offered fresh context regarding where he stands on a renewed push in the state legislature to ban intoxicating hemp products.

Governor Greg Abbott (R) made headlines last month after he vetoed a bill that would have banned intoxicating hemp and convened a special session for legislators to take the issue back up.

Hemp advocates say a new measure from Sen. Charles Perry (R), SB5, that cleared the Senate State Affairs Committee Tuesday, would effectively create the same prohibition the governor vetoed. The issue is expected to be resolved by month-end.

“The only hemp product that’s going to be out there is non-intoxicating hemp, which is below 3 milligrams of THC.” Gov. Greg Abbott (R)

Myth Busters

A leading researcher threw cold water on the myth that legalizing cannabis leads to increases in youth use. He also discussed problems with roadside assessments, the risk of testing positive for THC after using CBD, and the need for more cannabinoid regulation.

Ryan Vandry, an experimental psychologist, and professor at Johns Hopkins University noted that cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. While self-reported consumption by adults has risen as more states have legalized in recent years, use by youth has generally remained flat or fallen.

Furthermore, remember the narrative that cannabis use increases Schizophrenia? That is evidently bullshit, as well, as evidenced by the chart below.

Mas MASS

Massachusetts officials announced a new milestone in the state’s adult-use cannabis program, with total adult-use sales exceeding $8 billion since the market launched.

Just about seven months after marijuana sales reached $7 billion, the state added another billion by the end of June. The industry also set monthly gross sales records in January ($133.2M), April ($134.5M), and May ($142.3M).

Look Forward

Congressmember Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, has officially signed on as a cosponsor of the STATES 2.0 Act, which is a federal proposal that would end cannabis prohibition in states where it has been legalized.

The STATES 2.0 Act was reintroduced earlier this year by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Max Miller (R-OH) and Dina Titus (D-NV), with Greg Steube (R-FL) joining as a cosponsor a couple months later.

Stocks & Stuff

The Wall Street rally continued as reports of progress on trade deals made the rounds and the unbridled optimism continued. Cannabis was a mixed bag on light volume, with U.S. cannabis ETF MSOS ending the session 1% lower.

Below, we’ll top-line the latest, chew through the breadcrumbs—and why it’s time to pay attention—simplify the canna-hemp conundrum, share thoughts on Texas, and (again) spy bullish option flow.

All that and more, just scroll down…

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $11M

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