Dealflow is accelerating (Paywall) with an eye on the mid-Atlantic’s biggest prize: New York’s REC market. Both  Gov. Andrew Cuomo(D) and more progressive lawmakers are eager to legalize this year, potentially as soon as April 1, when the state budget process ends.
Business Insider

• Ascend Wellness acquired a controlling stake in MedMen‘s New York operations for $73M.
  Benzinga
• Acreage sold its Florida operations to Red, White and Bloom Brands for $60M.
• Business Insider assessed the juiciest acquisition targets. (Paywall)
• Meanwhile, a lawsuit looks at New York’s MED licensing process in 2015 and 2016, during which several MSOs grabbed licenses likely to be eligible for the REC market. It raises the possibility of unsuccessful applicants filing additional suits.
  MJBiz 

Quick Hits

1. In California, Indus Holdings acquired pre-roll brand Lowell Herb Co. for $39M.
   Benzinga
2. After many stops and starts, Hightimes Holdings is targeting 4/20 to go public in an over the counter offering.
   Cheddar

Congressman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), chair of the powerful House Budget Committee, purchased several pot stocks while advocating for legalization, Popular Info reported.

• In November, Yarmuth purchased between $1,000 and $15,000 in Canopy Growth Corporation, Aurora and Tilray, according to a filing. 
• Weeks later he promoted his co-sponsorship of the MORE Act, which would decriminalize federally and passed the House of Representatives.
• In February, he increased his holdings in the three stocks.
• A spokesman for the Congressman said it was ethical because he did so transparently.
• Members of Congress can trade stocks, but not based on inside information.

The details of legalization — how markets are structured, when it happens, how the industry will be taxed and many more — are worth billions to the biggest cannabis companies.

However, much remains unknown about how they envision the future, and what their success will mean for consumers and society. Their thinking also has implications for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who work in the industry. 

As cannabis enters a crucial period, with REC gaining steam in the northeast and federal legalization looking more likely than ever before, WeedWeek sent a list of 12 questions to some of the most powerful CEOs in cannabis.

Some are softballs, others less so, but they all touch on what kind of industry cannabis is going to be.

Here’s what I asked.

On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed laws to decriminalize cannabis and create the mid-Atlantic region’s first legal REC market, projected to be worth $1B in annual sales. The move kicks off a process for the state to create regulations, as companies position themselves to win licenses. It could be close to a year before the first legal REC shop opens.
WeedWeek

WeedWeek spoke to Rob DiPisa, co-chair of the cannabis group at law firm Cole Schotz about what to expect in a state where nothing is ever easy. 

Badda bing, badda boom…

Around the horn:

• U.S. Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland said the feds shouldn’t waste resources on state-legal cannabis activity.
  Marijuana Moment
• Beau Wrigley, billionaire heir to the chewing gum fortune, and CEO of MSO Parallel, is taking his company public through a SPAC in partnership with Ceres Acquisition Corp. and the entertainment and tech entrepreneur Scooter Braun. The deal values Parallel at $1.9B.
  Forbes, Variety
• An unnamed company tried to buy Canadian player Aphria while it was negotiating its merger with Tilray.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• Former Eaze CEO Jim Patterson plead guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The plea comes a week before two of his associates go on trial for an alleged scheme to trick banks into processing more than $100M in cannabis payments. Eaze is not a defendant in the case, denies wrongdoing and says it cooperated with authorities.
  MJBiz
• A California bill would decriminalize psychedelics.
  Canna Law Blog
• MJBiz looks at how genetic editing enables cannabis companies to improve their crops.
• North Dakota’s House of Representatives passed a REC bill. On to the Senate!
  Grand Forks Herald
• Mary investigates the creation of ‘Puff’ the rubber chicken bong.

What else is happening:

• A group of state regulators sent their policy priorities to Congress.
  MJBiz
• A key Senate committee advanced a new version of New Jersey’s REC bill, which has been in limbo.
  Marijuana Moment
• Tobacco giant Altria remains bullish on cannabis and its investment in Canadian player Cronos Group. (Paywall)
  Cannabis Wire
• The maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes is canna-curious, particularly about CBD.
  CNBC
• Canix, an enterprise software start-up with a blue-chip team, raised $2.5M. (Paywall)
  Business Insider
• Lawmakers might limit product potency in the hot Florida MED market.
  Orlando Sentinel
• There’s a land rush on in states that legalized in November. (Paywall)
  WSJ
• A report projects the global cannabis industry will grow to $90.4B — $90.4B!!! — by 2026.
• Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said fixing the state’s equity license lottery is a “key priority.“
  Chicago Sun-Times
• A growing number of edibles cater to special dietary requirements.
  L.A. Times
• Former WeedWeek California editor Donnell Alexander learned the paparazzi who stalked Britney Spears have no regrets.
  Business Insider

A new law buried on page 5,136 of December’s federal stimulus bill appears likely to create significant burdens for vape hardware manufacturers and has the potential to disrupt the cannabis vape supply chain. 
WeedWeek

Taking effect March 28, the law requires companies that ship vapes to businesses to register with the U.S. Attorney General and state tobacco tax administrators in every state where a company sells products, among other bureaucratic hurdles, according to an analysis from Pittsburgh law firm Tucker Arensberg shared with WeedWeek.

• Companies must then report their sales to state administrators monthly. The law “will certainly make business more difficult,” the document says.
• Read the analysis.

Read the whole story: “It’s a jobs killer.”

Pot commercials aren’t really a thing yet, but brands are turning to video promotions to get the word out. In her new On Brand column, Jackie Bryant reports:
WeedWeek 

Covid has made maintaining staff more of a challenge for pot shops. And with fewer customers shopping in person, dispensaries are leaning on their stocked brands both for added marketing and for onboarding new employees, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Video helps to alleviate both of those concerns.

The story features videos from California brands Big Pete’s and Space Coyote.

Check ’em out.

*

“On Brand” is brought to you by Mattio Communications.

What’s going on:

• Hedge fund JW Asset Management and former NBA star Chris Webber launched a $100M private equity fund to support equity cannabis businesses.
  Reuters
• A SPAC backed by Tuatara Capital raised $175M to acquire PotCos.
  MJBiz
• Court filings said a former CEO of Eaze will face federal charges in a case accusing two businessmen of tricking banks into processing $100M in cannabis credit card payments. It’s not clear what charges he will face. Eaze has not been charged, denies wrongdoing and says it cooperated with investigators. (Paywall) 
  Law360  
• Court filings suggest who invested $100M in MSO Green Thumb Industries.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• Cannabis Wire scoops that plaintiffs suing the city of Los Angeles over equity have proposed a settlement in order to accelerate the licensing process. (Paywall)
• 2020 pot sales in Colorado fell just short of $2.2B.
  Westword
• An equity oriented REC bill advanced in New Mexico.
  KOB
• Some suggest the Biden administration could be supportive of the medical psychedelics agenda. 
  Rolling Stone
• It’s not surprising that some early cannabis titans have fallen writes lawyer Robert Hoban.
  Forbes
• A cannabinoid company backed by David Beckham plans to list in London.
  Sky
• A SoCal mother’s search for her missing budtender son showed her the dark side of the cannabiz.
  L.A.Times

For several years, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and progressives in the Democrat-controlled state legislature have supported legalizing REC. 

Now, with New Jersey poised to begin sales to all adults, and the state facing a Covid-related budget shortfall, observers speculate that the Empire State could legalize in 2021.  However, passage could be delayed by tensions over dueling bills, one of which promises significantly more money and benefits for equity. 
WeedWeek

• This week Cuomo, who hopes to legalize through the state budget process, which ends April 1, committed more pot tax revenue to an equity fund and announced support for delivery, a business relatively accessible to mom and pop entrepreneurs.

Start spreading the news…

Next door, New Jersey’s REC bill hit another snag.
Asbury Park Press