🌿 Snoop Dogg launches DTC cannabis marketplace, NFL tweaks cannabis testing policy, and Yale gives cannabis grants

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:

• Snoop Dogg launches DTC cannabis marketplace

• NFL tweaks cannabis testing policy

• Yale gives cannabis grants

…and more. Let’s get to it.

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🚨 ROLL CALL

Business

Drop It Like It’s Pot. Global rap and cannabis icon Snoop Dogg launched a direct-to-consumer cannabis eCommerce marketplace. The online shop is an extension of his Smoke Weed Every Day (S.W.E.D.) brand, which already has a dispensary in Los Angeles and a coffee shop in Amsterdam. The site offers a Snoop-approved selection of hemp-derived products, smoking accessories, premium tobacco cigars and wraps, as well as limited-edition lifestyle merchandise to consumers nationwide.

The announcement also mentions other physical retail locations are on the way.

Policy

Super Bowls. The National Football League and the NFL Players Association are tweaking the league's substance abuse policy, increasing the THC concentration threshold for a positive test. The allowable limit will move from 150 ng/ml to 350 ng/ml.

Associated fines are also being reduced, as follows:

• First violation: from 50-percent of a game check to $15,000

• Second violation: from a full game check to $20,000

• Third violation: from a two-game suspension to a single game

• Fourth violation: from a three game suspension to two games

The move is sure to be met fondly by players. In an interview with Vanity Fair last year, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he estimates 50 to 80 percent of NFL players use cannabis. This came shortly after former NFL running back Le'Veon Bell admitted to using cannabis before games.

These changes, while significant, don’t go as far as some other organizations. Last year, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which included the removal of cannabis from the league’s prohibited substances list. The NCAA made a similar change earlier this year when it voted to remove cannabinoids from the banned drug class for championships and postseason participation in football.

News

Access granted. Yale University’s Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids announced grants over $600,000 to 14 Yale School of Medicine researchers for projects to understand the impact of cannabis and cannabinoids on neurodevelopment and mental health.

The inaugural awards come less than two years after the Yale School of Medicine — one of the country’s top medical schools for research — announced plans to open a research center to study the science of cannabis and cannabinoids, funded by the Department of Psychiatry.

🇺🇸 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

California: The state brought in more than $250 million in cannabis tax revenue in the third quarter of 2024.

Massachusetts: The candidate selected to be the next executive director of the Cannabis Control Commission turned down the offer.

Minnesota: The first cannabis business license lottery for the recreational market has been delayed due to legal challenges; the Office of Cannabis Management announced the medical cannabis program will not expand delivery methods (the form in which a medication is taken) for 2025.

Oklahoma: A state-run medical cannabis testing lab will open in Oklahoma City in early 2025.

Pennsylvania: Lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation to legalize cannabis for recreational use at the beginning of next year.

💼 BUSINESS

PharmaCann shuttering Michigan grow operation

The Chicago-based cannabis company is closing the 207,000-square-foot LivWell cultivation facility and laying off close to 200 people amidst falling prices and worker unionization.

💻 TECH

Würk puts out analytics tool

The cannabis HR software platform expanded its offering with the new solution aimed at helping companies identify trends and develop data-driven, cost-effective strategies that maximize productivity and improve efficiency.

🌏 AROUND THE WORLD

Denmark: The government is preparing to make the medical cannabis program permanent following a pilot that has been running since 2018.

💨 QUICK HITTERS

• Coastal Sun Farm sued Gold Flora over more than $200,000 in nonpayment.

• Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) said rescheduling cannabis is “a very good move” in an interview.

• Good Day Farms opened what it is calling the largest medical dispensary in the South.

• Curio Wellness appointed a new Medical Director.

• The Colorado School of Public Health unveiled a first-of-its-kind public awareness campaign entitled The Tea on THC.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

• How a California pot company went from $575 million in cash to a 'debt death spiral' (SFGATE)

• Cannabis helped Greta Gaines and Ricky Williams find meaning after sports (MJBizDaily)

• After eight-year wait, cannabis regulators see potential in social consumption licenses (Worcester Business Journal)

🎙️ POTCASTS

• Building a Lasting Cannabis Brand with Tiffany Chin from Death Row Cannabis (Cannabis Law Now)

• Cause for concern in cannabis with a few rays of light (The Cannabis Investing Podcast)

📽️ VIDEO OF THE WEEK

🔎 JOB BOARD

• HR Manager

  • NorCal Cannabis

  • $94,000—$120,000

• Director, Demand Marketing

  • WholesomeCo Cannabis

• Manager, Communications

  • Green Thumb Industries

📨 PUFF, PUFF, PASS REEFERAL PROGRAM

Stay tuned for more cannabis industry news next week!

💚,

The Pre Roll Team

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