Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming

Ohioans vote to free the plant.

Daily Recap

Ohioans are voting as we speak and if they approve adult-use cannabis, the Buckeye State could reach $2B in annual sales. In addition to being a huge swing state ahead of next year’s presidential election, it also borders Pennsylvania and it’s 13 million residents, where another $4B in annual adult-use sales likely awaits.

A forecast of Virginia’s election predicted that Democrats are likely to win control of both chambers of the legislature today—a result that some advocates believe will open the door for lawmakers to legalize retail cannabis sales in the state. 58% of the voters polled in the Old Dominion State support a legal framework for sales.

Government Mule

President Joe Biden is trailing in many battleground states and “needs all the help he can get to appear younger and more in touch with the times,” said an industry insider who spoke with Will Yakowicz at Forbes today, “Biden needs weed.”

The Marijuana Justice Coalition and the Cannabis Freedom Alliance sent a letter to the President, arguing that the administration’s plan to federally reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III “would maintain the federal criminalization” of state-legal cannabis programs.

Still, the DEA is likely to sign off on the HHS’ recommendation and issue a proposed rule change, possibly as early as the end of the year, per a former enforcement official at the FDA who is now a partner at a Washington DC-based law firm.

“I don’t think that will take terribly long as they’re wanting to get this done… they’ll want to have the final rule done certainly by 2024—and probably not too late in 2024 given the political cycle.”

German Shepherds

German lawmakers took comments from experts on Monday during a parliamentary Health Committee hearing on the government’s proposal to legalize marijuana. The measure would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use, and create social clubs. Officials said a second phase of legalization will launch a pilot program for regulated commercial sales of cannabis.

Market Makers

As broader market risk appetites continue to dance across Wall Street, Cannaland remains an afterthought. A grand total of $35M notional volume traded across all U.S. plant-touching stocks + ETFs as the sector remains stuck between technical toggles.

Below, we’ll explore said toggles, review and preview sector earnings, peer ahead into the political spectrum, and check in with TerrAscend’s executive chairman as he talks on cost-cutting, transitioning to adult use and markets he sees the most opportunity.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ PT Notional: $35M

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