You Booze, You Lose

Canna bevs continue to take share.

Daily Recap

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said he’ll defer to the DEA on marijuana rescheduling if confirmed, and said he would “like to review the data” that led to the health agency’s recommendation for the reform before potentially embracing it.

Industry attorney Jeff Schultz had this to say about the late-Friday headline:

“This sounds like a perfectly acceptable political response from someone in the middle of a confirmation process [in a GOP-controlled Senate]. Why would Kennedy give anyone any ammunition to fight his confirmation? He wouldn’t.”

Substitute Preacher

As interest in alcohol alternatives continues to grow and more states move to legalize cannabis, a new study signals there’s a significant market opportunity for beer makers to enter the cannabis space with THC- and CBD-infused beverages.

The transition from alcohol to canna isn’t new—see Cali Sober and High January— but the growth and adoption of intoxicating hemp beverages has surged after the alcohol industry embraced the category in a effort to replace former drinkers (like myself).

Money Ball

Curaleaf donated $250,000 to President Trump’s inaugural committee in yet another example of how the industry is supporting the new administration with the hopes of advancing much-needed federal reform.

“We face a wide range of challenges, including debanking and finishing rescheduling, that our leaders in Washington can address. President Trump has embraced federal cannabis reform and voiced support for the right of states to set their own cannabis laws. We look forward to working with him and his administration to meaningfully move cannabis policy forward.”

Texas Tease

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick listed legislation to ban all consumable products containing any form of THC as one of his top 25 priority bills to push through the Senate this year.

Patrick and other Lone State conservatives argue that unintended consequences have led to a multibillion-dollar market for finished products with intoxicating hemp. Since 2023, thousands of retail facilities selling hazardous products have proliferated across the Lone Star State, according to Patrick.

Stocks & Stuff

Posting early as I head to Jersey to pay my respects to a pal who I wish I was a better friend to. Time continues despite personal struggles for many, and I know that I’ll be reaching out to people that I may have drifted from to check on their well-being.

U.S. canna ETF MSOS made a new all-time low this morning, presumably bc there is so much cross-border canna revenue with sudden tariff risk, before grinding back toward the flatline. From there, we continued to drift on light volume until the time I hit send.

Below, we’ll top-line the landscape, outline this week’s events and items of note, recap a few good earnings, weigh growth vs. valuations, dig deeper into THC bevs, finger a false flag, and sniff out a potential breakthrough in modern medicine.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $9M at 315PM.

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