Wasted on the Way

Cannabis limps into earnings.

Daily Recap

For months now, both the US and global cannabis industries have been attempting to determine where President Trump and his cabinet stand on cannabis and wider drug reform, with speculation entering overdrive thanks to ongoing rescheduling efforts.

Last week, the President urged governors to enact the death penalty for drug dealers, suggesting his administration was positioning to take the traditionally conservative hardline position on drug regulation.

This week, Trump appointed Alice Johnson, a former incarcerated woman whose drug-related life sentence he commuted in 2018, as his pardons czar, an appointment that stands in stark contrast to his call for the death penalty. 👇

Badger Bud

The debate over medical marijuana legalization in Wisconsin is “not going to go away,” and there’s hope it can be resolved this session, top Republican leaders say.

While there’s still serious skepticism that the state will enact adult-use legalization in 2025, as the Democratic governor again requested in his latest budget request, recent comments from GOP leaders signal medical cannabis reform is on the table.

“I don’t think anyone is naive enough to think that marijuana and THC products aren’t present in the state of Wisconsin when they are readily available over state lines, so I think we need to come to an answer on this and I’m hopeful we can.”

Assembly Majority Leader Rep. Tyler August (R)

Stink Bugs

A provision in a NY budget proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) would allow police who say they smell marijuana to force a driver to take a drug test. The plan has drawn pushback not just from reform advocates but also from the state’s Assembly majority leader and the governor-appointed head of the Office of Cannabis Management.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Senate is considering a bill to prevent police from searching a vehicle based on the odor of raw or burnt cannabis if the driver is at least 21 years old. The bill would also remove a provision that requires cannabis to be transported in an odor-proof container when in a vehicle.

44% of US adults over 21 years use cannabis (BDSA)

"44% of US adults use cannabis and 73% either consume or are open to consuming in the future—Acceptors present growth opportunity." (BDSA)

Stocks & Stuff

It was another day of leakage for public cannabis stocks as the U.S. kind ticked at new all-time lows and the Canadian kind continues to digest the implications of the recent German election on their burgeoning cannabis market.

U.S. cannabis ETF MSOS lost another 3%, and is off 18% YTD with earnings on tap.

Below, we’ll explore why some view federal reform as DOA while others are certain it’s simply a matter of time, ponder how much of the post-election carnage is priced-into the looming Q4 numbers and sniff out some stealth strength in Canadian cannabis.

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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