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Happy New Year 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:

• DEA conducting cannabis scheduling review

• UFC eliminates cannabis ban

• Ghana legalizes cannabis cultivation

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 Roll Call

Policy

DEA has final say. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is in the process of conducting its review with regards to cannabis scheduling, according to a letter sent to Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Earl Blumenauer(D-OR). The letter also notes that the DEA has final say in any scheduling decisions, regardless of input from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In August of last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made a recommendation for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

Business

Cannabis breaks out of a chokehold. Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, commonly known as UFC, dropped cannabis from its prohibited substances list as part of its new anti-doping policy.

The new rules went into effect at the end of last year. UFC wasn’t the only sports organizations to change its tune on cannabis last year.

In June, the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which notably removed cannabis from the league’s prohibited substances list. In March, 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

Africannabis. The Parliament of Ghana legalized cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes. In doing so, it gave Interior Minister Ambrose Dery the authority to begin issuing licenses.

The licensing covers a range of activities including cultivation, processing, distribution, sale, import, and export, but comes with strict THC limits of 0.3% on a dry weight basis.

Dery made it clear this does not make cannabis legal for recreational use.

Experts believe the cannabis industry can help solve some of Ghana’s economic issues, particularly benefitting the employment sector.

🇺🇸 State of the Industry

Nevada: A major cannabis reform bill is set to more than double the personal possession limit and ease market entry for new licensees.

New Mexico: Regulators revoked the licenses of two cannabis farms for a series of violations including exceeding plant count limits and not utilizing the mandatory track and trace system.

New York: The Office of Cannabis Management released its Annual Report for 2023, highlighting over 40 dispensaries opened and more than $137 million in sales (as of publication) in the first year.

Oklahoma: A new law will send secret shoppers to medical dispensaries to buy cannabis products, then have them tested in labs.

📊 Business

Trulieve gets $25 million in financing

The Florida-based multi-state operator announced the closing of a commercial loan of $25 million to use for general corporate purposes.

💨 Quick Hitters

• A police officer in Oakland, California was fatally shot while responding to a burglary at a cannabis dispensary.

• Healthcare industry veteran Donald M. Casey Jr. joined cannabinoid biotech company FloraWorks as Board Director.

📚 What We’re Reading

• A timeline of what’s happened since Colorado’s first legal recreational marijuana sales began (The Denver Post)

• What lowering federal restrictions on marijuana could mean (NPR)

• Why fears about Biden’s marijuana moves are overblown (POLITICO)

• New cannabis businesses face a years-long queue in California. Lawmakers will weigh cutting the wait (The Hill)

🔎 Job Board

• Corporate Associate; Cannabis Practice

  • Holland & Hart

  • $190,000—$250,000

• Engineering Manager

  • Dutchie

  • $165,000

• Community Manager

  • Connected Cannabis

  • $75,000—$100,000

📨 Puff, Puff, Pass Reeferal Program

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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