The Texas Tramp Stamp

Lt. Gov. whips the senate to snuff out THC.

Daily Recap

The Texas Senate has approved a bill that cannabis advocates and stakeholders say would effectively eradicate the state’s hemp industry by prohibiting consumable products derived from the plant that contain any amount of THC.

Despite a new poll that shows overwhelming public support for keeping consumable hemp products legal—albeit strictly regulated—Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) held a press conference criticizing the hemp market, and the hemp ban legislation passed the full chamber in a 24-7 vote.

Red Green Apples

New York’s cannabis market has finally blossomed—from 16 licensed dispensaries in NYC in ‘23 to over 200 currently, and from 40 across the state in ‘23 to 325 in March ‘25—and it is expected to remain the fastest growing cannabis market in the U.S.

“New York is now a billion dollar a year cannabis market, ranking as the 10th-largest by February sales and is likely to continue climbing the ranks through year-end as new stores come online,” said Ben Burstein of LeafLink, who expects 2025 sales to come in at $1.8B ($150M/mo.; or +108% vs. 2024).) largely driven by new store openings.

“Dispensary offerings will become increasingly varied, like high-end restaurants, each one worth its own visit for whatever circumstance. With new product offerings and marketing campaigns, cannabis will appeal to a broader audience and spur an uptick in users.” Lauren Rudick, Managing Principal at Rudick Law Group.

30th Street Station

A key Pennsylvania lawmaker said he’s optimistic that cannabis legalization legislation could be approved as early as this summer, calling the policy change “inevitable” as the commonwealth is “bleeding out revenue” to other states.

Rep. Dan Frankel (D), who chairs the House Health Committee, said Pennsylvania is “literally surrounded by states that have legal adult-use cannabis,” including Ohio, New York and Maryland and he will be “putting out a proposal” to enact legalization “in the next few weeks.”

Florida Gaters

For the third year in a row, Florida lawmakers have begun debating a proposal to regulate THC-derived hemp products, which have evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry in the Sunshine State.

In addition to banning Delta-8 products and restricting the amount of Delta-9 THC levels in hemp products, the latest proposal would restrict the amount of THC per bottle or can to no more than 5 milligrams and restrict where they can be sold.

Stocks & Stuff

There was one? Cannabis stocks continued to drift in the wind as volumes evaporated in the absence of news. Someone once said that the opposite of love isn’t hate—it’s apathy—and it was hard not to think of that as the ETF posted less than $3M notional.

Below, we’ll update the space, as we do, but we’ll also dive deeper into the other side of globalization, which is a discussion that is several decades in the making.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $3M

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