🌿 Curaleaf acquires assets in Virginia, Medicare considers covering CBD treatments, and Canada cashes in on cannabis taxes

Happy Friday Pre Rollers! Welcome to another edition of The Pre Roll, the cannabis newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the industry happenings you need to know.

Here’s what we’re rolling up this week:

• Curaleaf acquires assets in Virginia

• Medicare considers covering CBD treatments

• Canada cashes in on cannabis taxes

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 ROLL CALL

Business

Asset acquisition. Curaleaf has agreed to acquire the Virginia cannabis business of The Cannabist Company. The assets include five active retail locations, one additional retail location in development, and approximately 82,000 square feet of cultivation and production capacity.

The move expands Curaleaf’s national footprint and supply chain control, positioning it for growth in Virginia’s cannabis market.

In total, Curaleaf is paying $110 million, consisting of $80 million in cash at closing, $20 million deferred cash, and a $10 million promissory note.

Policy

Policy pilot. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, is planning a pilot program that would allow some Medicare beneficiaries to receive coverage for treatments using cannabidiol (CBD).

The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register, comes just two months after President Donald Trump posted a video promoting the health benefits of hemp-derived CBD for seniors and suggesting it should be covered by Medicare.

The video called it a “gamechanger” and “the most important senior health initiative of the century.” The move sent cannabis and CBD-related stocks soaring. Despite the strong market sentiment, researchers urged caution.

News

Cash crop. Canada has collected over $5.4 billion in cannabis-related taxes since recreational legalization in October 2018, with $1.2 billion going to the federal government and $4.2 billion to provinces and territories.

Ontario received the largest provincial share at $1.5 billion, followed by Alberta with just over $1 billion.

Alberta leads in per capita tax revenue, bringing in roughly $210 per person, well ahead of the Northwest Territories in second at slightly above $135. The Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador round out the top five. Quebec ranked the lowest at around $55 per person.

🇺🇸 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

Missouri: A new investigation revealed that most products sold as “hemp” in unlicensed shops were actually cannabis or synthetic THC.

Virginia: Legislators are set to release a final plan for a regulated adult-use cannabis market that includes eliminating local opt-outs, boosting local tax and licensing powers, and designing the system to favor small, independent businesses.

🌏 AROUND THE WORLD

New Zealand: The country is rolling out roadside saliva testing for drugs, including cannabis; drivers using medical cannabis with a prescription have a a legal medical defense even after a positive test, but may face an automatic 12-hour driving ban as it does not apply immediately at roadside.

💨 QUICK HITTERS

• Kent State University is expanding its partnership with Green Flower to launch a new suite of six online cannabis certificate programs.

• A new study found that dogs given CBD supplements tended to show less aggressive tendencies compared to those that never received CBD.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

• How the Fortunes of a Struggling Village Became Tied to a Weed Company (New York Times)

• Could Massachusetts Become the First State to Undo Legal Weed? (The Free Press)

• What a federal ban on THC-infused drinks and snacks could mean for the hemp industry (Associated Press)

• They Built a Hemp Business in Good Faith but Washington Is About To Crush It (Reason)

• What to know about the looming federal ban on THC-infused drinks and snacks (PBS)

• New Top California Cannabis Regulator Appointed By Newsom Must Fix The Program’s Failures (Op-Ed) (Marijuana Moment)

• Buy Low, Stay High: Dispensaries Are Selling for Pennies on the Dollar (High Times)

📽️ VIDEO OF THE WEEK

🔎 JOB BOARD

• Director Of Manufacturing

  • Curio Wellness

  • $170,000—$200,000

• Account Executive, Upstate New York

  • Green Thumb Industries

  • $65,000—$85,000

• Deputy Director of Sales

  • Sunset Lake Cannabis

  • $60,000—$80,000

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Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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