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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.

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

• Dutchie goes down again

• Biden & Harris send 4/20 tweets

• Total Wine takes cannabis beverages nationwide

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 Roll Call

Tech

Dutchie goes down. For the second year in a row, customers of cannabis technology behemoth Dutchie experienced outages on 4/20. This time the problems were related to the point-of-sale; last year it was connected to the eCommerce solution.

Retailers were rightfully frustrated.

According to cannabis business intelligence firm Cannabiz Media, Dutchie currently controls 34.5% of the cannabis POS market. Other providers, including Flowhub which owns about 10% market share, took the opportunity to promote their products and try to entice dispensaries to switch.

Policy

Tandem 4/20 tweets. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both took to Twitter at exactly 4:20 p.m. on 4/20 to tout their support of cannabis reform.

The move is yet another indication that the current administration will continue to prioritize the issue, which is popular with voters, ahead of the upcoming election.

Business

Cannabis beverage craze. Total Wine & More, an independent alcohol retailer with nearly 270 locations across 28 states, is making CBD and THC-infused beverages available for delivery nationwide. The “Do it Fluid” drinks will come from Hill Beverage Co. in collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records.

The company has four flavor options available:

• Blue Razz

• Blood Orange

• Peaches N Honies

• Cherry Limeade

Customers will also be able to find them in stores in California.

🇺🇸 State of the Industry

Kentucky: Governor Andy Beshear says businesses can start applying for licenses on July 1, with the first round of licensing slated for October based on a lottery system.

North Carolina: The state’s first medical cannabis dispensary opened last weekend.

Utah: A health department report showed a spike in the number of medical cannabis cards distributed.

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🤝 Deals

Sun Theory scoops up several stores

The Colorado-based vertically integrated cannabis operator acquired five Denver-area dispensary locations, expanding its presence across the state.

🏆 Awards & Honors

Cannabis 42.0 (Forbes): The business publication released the third-annual list, identifying the 42 leaders who are paving the way for the cannabis industry.

🌏 Around the World

Germany: Authorities in Bavaria announced they will officially ban cannabis at Oktoberfest in Munich.

💨 Quick Hitters

• A Europol-led investigation led to 9 arrests in the JuicyFields investment scam case with damages of at least €645 million.

• Trym Co-Founder and CEO stepped down and moved into an advisory role.

• The Harris Poll published a “State of Marijuana” report for 2024.

• Cannabis banking trailblazer and Safe Harbor Financial CEO Sundie Seefried has been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

• Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem released a cannabis strain “40 OG” in partnership with dispensary The Flowery.

📚 What We’re Reading

• How Private Equity Trumped Social Equity in State Cannabis Deal (THE CITY)

• The Cannabis Civil War: Hemp vs. Marijuana (Forbes)

• Cannabis Funding Is Still Way Down From Its Highs (Crunchbase News)

• Don't Compete--Collaborate. How Cannabis Partnerships Are Driving Growth (Inc.)

• Budding Behaviors: Insights Into the Modern Cannabis Consumer (Numerator)

📼 Video of the Week

In the briefing linked above, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre states that HHS has concluded its independent review “guided by the evidence” and the scheduling review is now with the DOJ which “can speak to where rescheduling is at this point.”

🔎 Job Board

• Strategic Finance Associate

  • Nabis

  • $105,000—$120,000

• Ad Operations Specialist

  • Jane

  • $85,000—$105,000

• Technical Data Implementation Specialist

  • Sweed

📨 Puff, Puff, Pass Reeferal Program

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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