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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:

• HHS recommends rescheduling

• Surfside launches new product offering

• New York market on hold

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 Roll Call

Policy

Recommended Rescheduling. In a much anticipated announcement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is recommending for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) at 4:20pm EST confirming the report.

If the move were to take effect, it would have massive implications for the cannabis industry. Most notably, it would remove IRS tax code 280E which prohibits cannabis businesses from writing expenses off their federal tax returns. This would have a “widespread material impact on the financial performance of every company in the industry, large and small, public and private,” said Jeff Schultz, a cannabis attorney at law firm Foley Hoag.

The news also sparked a surge in share prices for cannabis companies.

This process was initiated in October of last year at the direction of President Biden.

Tech

Surf’s Up. Cannabis AdTech company Surfside announced this week the national launch of its new Commerce Media product offering, which gives cannabis brands the ability to advertise directly within a retailer’s eCommerce websites and marketplaces.

More than 500 dispensaries are using the platform.

Policy

NY on hold. The fledgling New York cannabis industry is at a complete standstill after a judge ruled he will not exempt any Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licensees from an injunction put in place because the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) failed to comply with a court order.

A New York Supreme Court judge initially issued a temporary restraining order at the beginning of August blocking the OCM from issuing and approving new retail licenses. The decision came after a lawsuit was filed by a group of military veterans alleging the agency’s process for prioritizing applicants violated the state’s Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

An injunction blocking the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) from issuing and approving new retail licenses was extended two more weeks in a later decision as the judge urged the sides to come to a settlement.

🇺🇸 State of the Industry

Alabama: A Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge extended a temporary restraining order putting the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission licensing on pause for at least another week.

Missouri: The first round of cannabis microbusiness applicants was selected by the Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) in a random lottery.

Texas: Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller, an eight-generation farmer and rancher who won his third term in office last November, discussed the challenges facing agriculture and the legalization of medical marijuana in the state.

📊 Business

Medigrowth secures $3.44 million in funding

The cannabis biotech firm raised the capital in an equity crowdfunding campaign from nearly 2000 investors.

🤝 Deals

Planet 13 acquires VidaCann in Florida

The vertically-integrated multi-state operator is adding 26 dispensaries, and a fully-operational cultivation and processing facility in the deal.

🌏 Around the World

Bahamas: Attorney General Ryan Pinder and Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville introduced legislation to decriminalize cannabis for medical, research, and religious use.

💨 Quick Hitters

• Metro Detroit Art, Beats, & Eats festival will have a cannabis consumption area this year.

• Four arrests were made after £1.2 million in cannabis was found in a raid in Warwickshire.

📚 What We’re Reading

• This town owns part of a weed company. It wants a fair share of the pot. (The Washington Post)

• Thailand’s Weed Industry Is Poised to Grow Fast (The New York Times)

• ‘This is a medicine’: the Australians prescribed cannabis but left fighting to keep their jobs (The Guardian)

• The Really High Housewives of MetroWest Boston: Out with the chardonnay, in with the gummies—why a new generation of Greater Boston parents are choosing cannabis to cope (Boston Magazine)

📼 Video of the Week

🔎 Job Board

• Business Systems Manager

  • Kiva

  • $120,000—$140,000

• Accounting Manager - Retail

  • Urbn Leaf

  • $115,000

• Account Executive

  • Cresco Labs

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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