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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:

• States smash cannabis sales records in 2023

• Senate Democrats urge DEA to deschedule cannabis

• Tilray acquires cannabis beverage brand from Molson Coors

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 Roll Call

Business

Soaring sales sums. Numerous states hit record cannabis sales in 2023, blowing past figures from 2022 and before.

• Arkansas: Medical purchases hit a record $283 million in 2023, besting the previous record of $276 million in 2022.

• Illinois: Recreational sales exceeded $1.6 billion, up 5% from 2022.

• Maine: Adult-use sales reached a new high at nearly $217 million, up for the third straight year.

• Massachusetts: Adult-use and medical sales together achieved another all-time high in 2023 at $1.8 billion.

• Michigan: Combined recreational and medical sales topped $3 billion — an average of over $300 per resident, the highest per capita cannabis spend in the United States — and outpaced the $2.3 billion sold in 2022.

• Missouri: The state brought in over $1 billion in recreational sales in 2023, easily surpassing other years.

• Ohio: Total medical sales have increased every year since dispensaries opened in 2019, nearing $500 million in 2023.

Numbers should pick up in 2024, as the industry continues to grow and new markets open up.

Policy

Democrats descheduling demand. A group of twelve Senate Democrats, in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, urged the Biden administration to deschedule cannabis. This included Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and John Fetterman (D-PA).

Such an action would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act entirely, and goes a step further than the recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.

As the 2024 election lingers, it will be interesting to see how the reschedule vs. deschedule debate plays out…if at all.

Business

Big beverage bet. Global cannabis CPG company Tilray has completed its acquisition of cannabis beverage brand Truss Beverage Co. from multinational brewing giant Molson Coors, a deal first reported in August of last year.

The move gives strengthens Tilray’s top position in Canada with ~40% market share in cannabis beverages.

🇺🇸 State of the Industry

Connecticut: Liquor stores and markets have been selling THC beverages legally using a ‘loophole’ that has to do with adjusting the listed serving size.

New York: Governor Kathy Hochul called the rollout of the state’s cannabis program a ‘disaster’ and noted the proliferation of unlicensed shops.

Texas: Attorney General Ken Paxton filed lawsuits against five cities due to local policies decriminalizing cannabis.

West Virginia: A plan has been introduced to legalize recreational cannabis and use revenues to fund the health plan for state employees.

TOGETHER WITH THE TRAVEL AGENCY: A CANNABIS STORE

🗽 Retail

Union Square Travel Agency, the premier New York City legal cannabis retailer, is excited to introduce a new, unified name — The Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store — as it opens its dispensary in Downtown Brooklyn across from the Barclays Center.

The Travel Agency Union Square and The Travel Agency Downtown Brooklyn are each owned by different CAURD license holders.

• USQ: Over 50% of Union Square’s profits go to supporting The Doe Fund, an incredible not-for-profit that's been working in NYC for more than 30 years with a mission to break the cycles of poverty, homelessness, and recidivism through economic opportunity, housing, and support services for people who are homeless or were formerly incarcerated (for things like cannabis possession).

• DTBK: A commitment to community and social responsibility continues with the Downtown Brooklyn store, owned by CAURD licensees who have experienced cannabis-related injustices, which will operate with a community-centric ethos and actively support initiatives remedying the destructive impacts of the failed War on Drugs.

📊 Business

Curaleaf sells massive farm to Mammoth Farms

The cannabis MSO sold the 36-acre plot, one of Colorado’s largest vacant farms, to the wholesale cannabis production company after it sat empty through most of last year.

Houseplant and OCB partner on papers

The cannabis lifestyle brand founded by actor and comedian Seth Rogen teamed up with the 106-year-old, family-owned French-made rolling paper company to create a line of sustainable, meticulously crafted rolling papers and cones in bamboo, brown rice, and classic varieties.

Willow Industries introduces innovative air filtration system

The cannabis decontamination technology company announced the release of a new product called WillowAir, an air filtration system designed to capture and remove airborne contaminants, and support plant health and employee safety in the cannabis industry.

💻 Tech

Flourish debuts new wholesale portal

The cannabis supply chain and seed-to-sale software company unveiled its B2B eCommerce menu, strategically designed to empower brands and manufacturers, facilitating seamless and direct online wholesale transactions with retailers.

Nabis reveals revamped payment solution

The cannabis wholesale platform launched Nabis Capital, an updated and streamlined payment solution that supports brand partners by helping to simplify cash flow and provide a form of working capital that is otherwise unavailable to licensed operators.

Petalfast picks up $8 million in funding

The cannabis sales, marketing, and distribution platform secured the non-dilutive strategic equity financing from a group of family offices with extensive and diverse holdings, including beverage alcohol distribution, to support accelerated growth and U.S. expansion.

🌏 Around the World

Czech Republic: The government’s economic council has recommended a legal regulated cannabis market.

Germany: Despite opposition, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach assumes cannabis legalization will be passed in February and come into effect starting in April.

💨 Quick Hitters

• A golf club in California’s Central Valley was found to be operating as an illegal cannabis business.

📚 What We’re Reading

• How Do You Make a Weed Empire? Sell It Like Streetwear. (The New York Times)

• Make THC-Infused Chicken Wings With a New Cannabis-Spiked Sauce (Eater)

• Major Florida GOP Donors Stand to Make Windfall Profits If Recreational Cannabis Is Legalized (The Intercept)

🎙️ Potcasts

• The Entrepreneurial Journey from Pharma to Cannabis (Proud to Work in Cannabis Podcast)

• What's Next for Cannabis Investors? (Cannabis Investing Network)

📼 Video of the Week

🔎 Job Board

• Sales Account Manager

  • Wyld

  • $80,000—$125,000

• Customer Service & Advocacy, Lead

  • Kiva Brands

  • $65,000—$75,000

• Associate Brand Manager

  • AYR Wellness

📨 Puff, Puff, Pass Reeferal Program

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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