The California Attorney General’s office filed an incendiary brief, ahead of a delivery lawsuit going to trial next month.
MJBiz

• The case centers on whether local jurisdictions can block licensed delivery services from operating within their territory.
• The state’s brief argues that blocking delivery services could collapse the California market.
• ????WW California has more.

Quick Hits

1. Canna Law Blog explains why it “loves” Harborside’s appeal against industry-hated tax rule 280E. The law firm also hosted a webinar on the California market.
2. A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis looks at the economic impact of legalization.

Following months of societal upheaval, WeedWeek business columnist Dan Mitchell checked out the International Cannabis Business Conference’s virtual summit to see how the industry is adjusting:

There was a distinct awkwardness to some of the discussions, particularly those surrounding the new movement for racial justice. One major theme was the industry’s struggle — particularly in California — to reconcile social-justice concerns with the bottom line. Pretty much every California-based guest broached the subject, which — in broad strokes — pits old-school pot people against the newcomer moneybags.   

Read it all.

Quick Hits

1. RedHeaded Blackbelt, a site covering California’s Emerald Triangle, has an extensive post on the “new paradigm” of  transporting legal product around California.
2. To encourage voting, ancillary company KushCo will make Election Day a paid holiday. Are you registered to vote?
   Press Release

A Houston lawyer thinks cannabis or ancillary companies could sue the U.S. Small Business Administration for the pandemic relief funds given to other industries.
WeedWeek

“The current rules bar eligibility for businesses deriving revenue from illegal activities. But in defining illegal activities, [lawyer Shane] Pennington says, the SBA relied on its own guidance on whether ancillary businesses were eligible for relief…

Pennington thinks a court could overrule the agency’s interpretation of its own regulation…[which is now] in the books, “mocking everybody,” he said.

He compared the agency’s rules to how other federal agencies frequently offer guidance with huge financial implications—involving fuel standards, for instance, or pipeline locations. Such regulations routinely face challenges from corporations and environmental organizations.

No cannabis or ancillary businesses have signed on as plaintiffs.

Here’s the story in WeedWeek.

Quick Hit

1. Investing site New Cannabis Ventures explains why not all cannabis revenue is equal.

A state survey of Colorado residents found many believe it’s safe to drive while high.
Denver Post

• It didn’t reveal the exact number.
• In 2018, 13.5% of drivers involved in fatal crashes in Colorado tested positive for cannabis. 

Meanwhile in Michigan, defense attorneys said drivers shouldn’t submit to the state’s new roadside drug tests, which they consider unreliable.

Quick Hit

1. Psychology Today posted a list of five signs you’re using too much cannabis.

Rapper and actor Method Man is the latest celebrity to launch a weed brand.
N.Y. Post

• Tical, which stands for Taking Into Consideration All Lives, went on sale this weekend at four Black-owned dispensaries in California.

Protests on racial injustice have cast a harsh light on the cannabis industry’s overwhelmingly white ownership.

• In Congress, industry allies see the protests as an opportunity to push for cannabis legalization. It’s happening at the state level too.
  Marijuana Moment, WeedWeek
• But at Forbes, Chris Roberts asks whether police should continue to benefit from pot taxes. He finds Black cannabis entrepreneurs want taxes that benefit police to be cut.
• Massachusetts will reserve delivery REC licenses for equity businesses.
  WeedWeek
• Compliance platform Simplifya has a meaty post on equity policy in California, Massachusetts and Illinois.
• Denver found its cannabis industry lacks diverse owners or workers.
  Denver Post
• Amid protests, a post at Medium says the industry’s silence is deafening.
• Elon Musk tweeted that he doesn’t understand why people are still incarcerated for dealing weed.
  Business Insider
• NBA star turned Viola Brands CEO Al Harrington is starting an incubator program to mint 100 Black cannabis millionaires.
  CNBC

WeedWeek ????California and ????Canada have lots more.

Quick Hits

1. At High Grade Hope, longtime cannabis marketing expert Jared Mirsky is offering three free “brand makeovers” to cannabis companies in need.
   Green Entrepreneur
2. Portland, Ore. appointed entrepreneur Dasheeda Dawson (a.k.a. The Weed Head) as its new cannabis program supervisor.
3. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) announced a plan to pardon tens of thousands of low-level cannabis offenders.
   CNN

Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder determined that  high-THC flower and concentrates do not appear to get users higher.

• The survey, conducted in mobile labs dubbed “cannavans,” found that 121 cannabis users didn’t self-report being more intoxicated after using the more potent products and performed about the same on balance and cognition tests.
• The results raise questions about the validity of drug tests that record THC levels in the blood.
• “People in the high concentration group were much less compromised than we thought they were going to be,” said study co-author Kent Hutchison. “If we gave people that high a concentration of alcohol it would have been a different story.”

WeedWeek published my story, “What’s Brewing at Province Brands?”, about the much-hyped cannabis beer company:

“Before Canada legalized cannabis drinks in late 2019, [CEO Michael “Dooma” Wendschuh] said Province beers would be available once it could legally sell them. Post-legalization, [during a January presentation], he didn’t specify when they would reach shelves. The company has announced at least six product partnerships for an array of beverages. As far as I’ve been able to determine, none have gone on sale.

“…Dooma often said Province sought to “change the world,” but none of the [six] company insiders [spoken to for the story] expressed confidence he would bring its flagship beer to market. Anyone thinking of investing in the company “just needs to ask the right questions, and they will see it is all smoke and mirrors,” a former employee wrote.

Dooma did not respond to requests for comment.

Read the whole thing.

This week’s Power Players interview is with Dennis Hunter, co-founder of California company CannaCraft, which has a stable of prominent brands. Hunter, who spent six and a half years in federal prison, recently started the Farmer and the Felon brand in partnership with Steve DeAngelo’s Last Prisoner Project.

Here’s Dennis on:

Whether Social Justice is good for business:

We really see [Farmer and the Felon] as, one, being a differentiation between us who have been in the industry for 30 years and a company that sees this as a way to make a quick buck. Two, we think the history is entertaining and interesting. It’s also important for people to know the part that’s not so pretty, that so many lives have been affected by the prohibition of cannabis.

The California market:

There’s definitely challenges. The market seems to change every three months. So there’s no shortage of obstacles and changes of strategy and things like that. But overall, we’ve been a pretty agile company.

On his transition from the illegal to legal industry:

It’s odd. It’s still hard for me to not have a little bit of PTSD from running and hiding from law enforcement. It’s much different to step out there and be completely transparent and not feel like somehow there’s going to be some negative effect for it.

Read it all.