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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.

We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming after last week’s 4/20 holiday.

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

• Delaware becomes the 22nd state to legalize adult-use cannabis ✅

• Singapore executes a man over a cannabis charge 🇸🇬

• SAFE Banking is back…again 🏦

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 Roll Call

Policy

The First State becomes number twenty-two. Delaware, the first state to ratify the Constitution, officially became the 22nd state to legalize cannabis for recreational use. This comes as Governor John Carney let two bills — House Bill 1 and House Bill 2 — become law without his signature this week.

World

Singapore executes man over cannabis charge. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was hanged on Wednesday in Singapore over a plot to smuggle cannabis. Suppiah was convicted in 2017 of "abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic" about 1kg of cannabis from Malaysia to Singapore in 2013. Activists argued he was convicted on weak evidence, while his family begged for clemency. The United Nations Human Rights Office pleaded for Singapore to "urgently reconsider" and British billionaire Sir Richard Branson spoke out against the move as well.

Policy

SAFE Banking is back in business. A bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act on Wednesday. The bill was put forth by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley along with Montana Senator Steve Daines and U.S. Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), and aims to ensure that legal cannabis businesses have access to critical banking and financial services.

🇺🇸 State of the Industry

Louisiana: Lawmakers voted against a bill to legalize recreational cannabis.

Minnesota: The Minnesota House passed a recreational cannabis bill. It now moves to the Senate.

New Jersey: About one-third of New Jersey adults have used cannabis since it was legalized for recreational use, according to a new poll from Stockton University.

New York: Governor Kathy Hochul launched a public education campaign called “Why Buy Legal New York” to encourage people to purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries.

📊 Business

Twitter: The social media giant provided an update on its Cannabis Ads policy. Notable changes for certified advertisers include: they may feature packaged cannabis products in ad creative, and they may continue responsibly linking to their owned and operated web pages and e-commerce experiences for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services.

💻 Tech

Dutchie: The cannabis technology company experienced a significant outage that impacted its eCommerce platform on 4/20. CEO Tim Barash pledged to credit dispensary partners “an amount equivalent to our estimate of your lost profits” to compensate for the service interruptions.

💨 Quick Hitters

• U.S. track and field Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall was stripped of a national title and suspended one month after a positive cannabis test.

• The National Association of Realtors released a report examining the impact of cannabis legalization on various aspects of real estate.

• Cresco Labs board member and former executive director of the National Basketball Players Association says NBA players could be a source of capital for cannabis companies.

• Keurig co-founder Peter Dragone joined the executive team of Convenient Cannabis, which fittingly makes single-serve cannabis pods.

• STIIIZY, a California-based cannabis company with a retail and production presence in Michigan, offered jobs to more than 400 laid-off Burger King employees in the Metro Detroit area.

📚 What We’re Reading

• How Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Pushed Through Asia’s First Cannabis Legalization (TIME)

• How Nike’s 4/20 sneakers went from experiment to an iconic tradition (Input)

• Locked up for cannabis, locked out of work (The Chicago Reader)

• A vegan cannabis lounge in West Philly hoped to be a stoner oasis. Then it was raided by police. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

📼 Video of the Week

🗓 Upcoming Events

May 19-20: CannaCon West Albuquerque is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

🔎 Job Board

• Director of Sales

  • BDSA

  • $100,000—$115,000

  • Louisville, CO / Remote

• Counsel, Regulatory and Licensing

  • Cresco Labs

  • $115,000—$130,000

  • Remote

• Director, Communications

  • LeafLink

  • $140,000—$215,000

  • New York, NY

Also, Cann co-founder Jake Bullock says the company is hiring a SVP of Marketing to run the marketing and brand team. NYC or LA candidates are preferred, but open to remote as well. Apply by sending your resume to [email protected].

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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