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- 🌿 Curaleaf joins hemp craze, NCAA removes cannabis ban, and Brazil decides to decriminalize
🌿 Curaleaf joins hemp craze, NCAA removes cannabis ban, and Brazil decides to decriminalize
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 joins hemp craze, NCAA removes cannabis ban, Brazil decides to decriminalize, and more. Let’s get to it.
Alex Lipnik
June 28, 2024
together with
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 joins hemp craze
NCAA removes cannabis ban
Brazil decides to decriminalize
…and more. Let’s get to it.
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🚨 Roll Call
Business
Source: Curaleaf
Hemp hoopla. Curaleaf, the world's largest cannabis company by revenue, announced the launch of a line of hemp-derived THC products under its Select and Zero Proof brands. The portfolio will include both gummies and seltzer-based beverages.
The American MSO also unveiled a corresponding new direct-to-consumer eCommerce marketplace, TheHempCompany.com. Additional distribution will include strategic partnerships through conventional retail and on-demand delivery in partnership with DoorDash. The products will be available in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
"Our long-term strategic success rests on expanding our brands into as many points of distribution as possible, and in meeting consumers where they are on their cannabis journey. Curaleaf's hemp business represents a pivotal opportunity for our brands to be distributed to, and to compete in, mass market retail locations across the country as well as create an online storefront. We continue to advocate for one regulatory framework for all cannabinoids, and with the launch of both this new product line and direct to consumer marketplace, Curaleaf creates opportunity to generate substantial shareholder value while providing adult consumers with Farm Bill-compliant, responsibly manufactured, high-quality products."
The company emphasized measures being taken to differentiate from the largely unregulated hemp marketplace including:
Age-gating: Selling to adults 21+ only with age confirmation, requiring verification at purchase
Quality: Offering products containing only naturally derived THC from hemp
Manufacturing: Made in a certified cGMP facility with high standards
Labeling: Transparent package labeling listing ingredients, potency, and a QR code that links customers to certificates of analysis from independent testing labs, in addition to other important product-level information
Policy
Source: C. Morgan Engel / Getty
Bye-bye ban. The NCAA Division I Council voted Tuesday to remove cannabinoids from the banned drug class for championships and postseason participation in football, effective immediately. The move will discontinue any penalties currently being served by student-athletes who previously tested positive as well.
"The NCAA drug testing program is intended to focus on integrity of competition, and cannabis products do not provide a competitive advantage. The council's focus is on policies centered on student-athlete health and well-being rather than punishment for cannabis use."
In September of last year, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports recommended, based on extensive study informed by industry and subject matter experts (doctors, substance misuse experts, and membership practitioners), that legislation be introduced and adopted to take cannabis off the list of banned substances.
Policy
Source: Andre Penner / Associated Press
Decriminalization decision. Brazil’s Supreme Court voted to decriminalize the possession of cannabis for personal use on Tuesday. A maximum quantity allowed is still being determined. Selling cannabis will still be illegal.
“The majority of pre-trial detainees and those convicted of drug trafficking in Brazil are first-time offenders, who carried small amounts of illicit substance with them, caught in routine police operations, unarmed and with no evidence of any relationship with organized crime.”
The decision is likely to help reduce Brazil’s substantial prison population.
🇺🇸 State of the Industry
Minnesota: Cannabis odor can no longer be the sole reason for a vehicle search.
South Dakota: The state recently became top in the nation for hemp production.
📊 Business
Hara Supply expands product offerings
The world’s largest manufacturer of cones and combustibles has started selling custom tubes for pre-roll joints and blunts.
Organigram invests in German cannabis company Sanity Group
The Canadian licensed producer of cannabis, cannabis-derived products, and cannabis-infused edibles is making a strategic investment of €14 million into the Berlin-based organization in an effort to expand its presence in the European cannabis market.
💻 Tech
Hoodie Analytics raises $5 million Series A
The U.S.-based cannabis data and technology firm secured the capital to fund the market expansion of its newly launched cannabis market insights and product data management platform.
Springbig and Greenline reveal integration
The cannabis loyalty marketing and communications technology provider teamed up with the Canadian cannabis point-of-sale solution to offer a seamless loyalty connection that enhances the retail experience for cannabis customers by simplifying loyalty redemption and reducing the potential for fraud.
🌏 Around the World
Canada: Cannabis has edged out alcohol as the most common impairing substance detected, according to a six-year analysis of more than 10,000 drivers involved in motor vehicle collisions.
💨 Quick Hitters
Public comments from truck drivers on cannabis rescheduling overwhelmingly support the change.
New research suggests young people view Reddit as a viable outlet for cannabis conversations, but misinformation may still circulate and inadvertently worsen the efforts to reduce cannabis-related harm due to the lack of verifiable information being exchanged.
A City Council member in Detroit is pushing back against cannabis billboards.
📚 What We’re Reading
Future of delta-8 in question as lawmakers and hemp industry square off (USA Today)
New York City’s new luxury cannabis stores are works of high art (Fast Company)
West Hollywood’s Newest Cannabis Lounge Pairs Infused Beverages with Sultry Vibes (Eater)
🎙️ Potcasts
CT cannabis equity program hits road bumps (CT Mirror)
📼 Video of the Week
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💚,
The Pre Roll Team
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