321,000 AMERICANS WORK IN CANNABIS

More than 320,000 Americans work in cannabis, according to a new report from Leafly. As the pandemic devastated entire sectors of the economy last year, the legal cannabis sector added 77,300 jobs, more than twice as many as it added in 2019.
WeedWeek

The country has more than twice as many cannabis workers as dentists. The job growth, which includes plant-touching and ancillary companies, is all the more remarkable since only about a dozen states account for close to 90% of legal U.S. cannabis sales. 

  • There’s an asterisk: Marijuana’s federal illegality probably inflates the number of jobs in the industry. Without interstate trade, and the economies of scale it allows, companies that want to operate in more than one market essentially have to duplicate their operations in each. 
  • For comparison, Marlboro’s canna-curious parent company Altria, generates almost 50% more revenue than the cannabis industry with fewer than 9,000 employees. 

Read the whole thing.

INDUSTRY, ACTIVISTS JOSTLE OVER FEDERAL REC BILL

A consensus is emerging that equity measures to atone for the war on drugs should be included in the cannabis legalization efforts under consideration in Congress. However, as social justice advocates and industry jostle for position, it remains unclear what kind of bill can win the likely 60 votes necessary to pass the evenly split U.S. Senate.  
WeedWeek

  • Social justice activists want a bill that follows the rough contours of the progressive MORE Act, which passed the House of Representatives in December.
  • A new group called the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC), which has several large MSOs as members, is also calling for equity, but it hasn’t disclosed its priorities for what the bill should say. 
  • Variables in the forthcoming bill could be worth billions to some of the big pot companies which have joined the USCC.

Read all about it.

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Don’t get too excited. Despite the current momentum, federal legalization faces “stiff challenges.”
MJBiz

Quick Hit

  1. An executive at Terrapin Care Station argues red states will shape cannabis policy.
    WeedWeek

“PROJECT MONGOOSE” HUNTS CANNABIZ “SNAKES”

There’s every reason to believe that a federally illegal industry with nearly endless money on the table, is going to attract some unscrupulous characters.

  • In recent weeks, Marines veteran Brett Puffenbarger has attracted attention on LinkedIn for Project Mongoose, a social media campaign under the hashtag #grassattractssnakes to root out bad actors in the space. (Mongooses eat snakes.)  
    WeedWeek
  • Since Project Mongoose launched in early January, Puffenbarger says it has collected 400 stories from people who felt they’ve been maltreated and used. The plan is to publish them alongside expert commentary. 

Read the whole thing.

IN THE NEWS — 2/13/21

What’s happening:

WILD WEEK FOR POT STOCKS

Pot stocks including Tilray, Sundial and Aphria had a wild week as they caught the attention of investors on Reddit’s WallStreetBets. It’s the same forum that recently sent GameStop’s stock to stratospheric heights. (Paywall)
Barron’s

  • After skyrocketing early in the week, several stocks plummeted more than 20% on Thursday. (Paywall) 
    Business Insider
  • Before the catching the attention of social media day traders, industry stocks had been having a good year as federal legalization becomes more plausible. Barron’s weighed in on how to play the market with options. (Paywall)
  • After a brutal 2019, three hedge funds with significant cannabis exposure saw “eye-popping” returns in 2020. (Paywall)
    Business Insider 

INDUSTRY, ADVOCATES TEAM UP FOR LEGALIZATION PUSH

As federal cannabis legalization gains unprecedented momentum in the U.S. Senate, a new group of more than 40 prominent companies and advocacy groups has coalesced to support the cause.
WeedWeek

The group calls for 1) Descheduling cannabis 2) “Social justice and equity” and 3) a “sound regulatory environment” for the industry.

  • The particulars of what regulation ends up looking like in terms of taxes, interstate trade and numerous other policy areas are questions worth billions to USCC’s members, which include several of the country’s largest cannabis companies.
  • In interviews, Hawkins has revealed few details about the group’s specific regulatory priorities, or where there may be differences within the coalition.

Read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Senate watchers say a bill to end federal prohibition could emerge within weeks. Marijuana Moment talked to legalization supporters who met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) to discuss the forthcoming bill.

INSIDE THE LEAFLY/JANE PARTNERSHIP

On Monday afternoon, Los Angeles consumers thirsty for some Kikoko-brand infused tea could have looked on Leafly and found eight Kikoko SKUs available at a dispensary in West Hollywood. Folks who browsed rival portal Weedmaps at the same time would have found only four Kikoko SKUs available at the shop. The dispensary’s website also listed four Kikoko products, but not all of them were the same ones listed on Weedmaps.

Brands, dispensaries, online platforms and consumers all want online menus to accurately reflect what pot shops have in stock. A head turning new partnership between Leafly and Jane Technologies thinks it can help.
WeedWeek 

Here’s how.

ON BRAND: DIGITAL BUDTENDERS ON THE RISE

In her new On Brand column, Jackie Bryant looks into the rise of digital budtenders.
WeedWeek 

“Now that online sales have skyrocketed, companies are moving their marketing efforts into the digital realm. And while DMing, may not create the same sense of intimacy as an in-person interaction with a budtender, it may be just as effective.”

Read the whole thing.

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

Quick Hit

  1. More cannabis companies are using product drops to hype-up their offerings. (Check out our previous story on California-based Connected, a master of FOMO.) 
    MJBiz, WeedWeek

IN THE NEWS — 2/10/21

What’s shaking:

HOW WEEDMAPS THINKS ABOUT MARKETING

For much of its 13-year history, Weedmaps had little competition for the title of most important marketing platform in cannabis. The “Yelp of weed” was often the only way dispensaries and their customers could find each other.

  • The company has evolved into a diversified cannatech player and late last year, its parent company filed to go public on the NASDAQ at an anticipated $1.5B valuation. 

Weedmaps continues to be among the most prominent, and occasionally brash, advertisers in cannabis, even as lack of access to mainstream channels like Facebook and broadcast television remain limited at best. 

In an interview with WeedWeek, chief marketing officer Juanjo Feijoo discussed the company’s recent sponsorship of Mike Tyson’s return to the ring, advertising in airports and who he’s trying to reach.

Read the whole thing.

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Meanwhile, Weedmaps competitor Leafly partnered with Jane Technologies in a bid to improve the e-commerce experience.

  • And in another retail-oriented deal, loyalty marketing platform SpringBig acquired fast-growing BudTender, which enables dispensaries to collect feedback from customers.
    TechCrunch