At New Cannabis Ventures, Alan Brochstein echoes many analysts when he anticipates the pandemic could accelerate legalization.

• States and cities could legalize to “combat falling tax revenue, higher expenses and high rates of unemployment…Certain markets will be extremely pressured.”

New Zealand, which says it has effectively eliminated the coronavirus, has turned its attention to REC legalization.

• The country released language for the referendum on REC legalization set for September. Check out the summary here.
  MJBiz
• The proposal includes licenses for microgrowers, prioritize indigenous-run businesses and allow for public consumption.
• If approved, the law would enable potency limits and likely put a cap on the total market size.

Leafly investigates the strange case of Pink Kush, a Canadian strain celebrated for its potency, which is not well known south of the 49th parallel.

“After a solid decade of popularity with no sign of stopping, does Pink Kush reflect a uniquely Canadian preference, like that for bagged milk and ketchup chips? Or does our love of this strain reveal nothing more than market naïveté?”

????WW Canada is the best way to keep up with the Canadian cannabis world.

Slate reminds us strain distinctions aren’t real.

Beleguered media and events company Hightimes Holding Corp. is now in the cannabis industry.

• The company acquired 13 California dispensaries from MSO Harvest Health and Recreation in an $80M cash and stock deal that leaves Harvest a “significant” shareholder in Hightimes. 
  AP
• Not all the dispensaries are open yet.

????WW California has more.

The Growth Op shared five classic High Times stories, most of them several decades old.

Quick Hit

1. Hadley Ford, CEO of MSO iAnthus resigned after a review found he had “misused iAnthus resources to his benefit.” The stock is trading around 19 cents per share.

WeedWeek business columnist Dan Mitchell delved into the nuances of cannabis’ new status as an “essential” industry. But what does essential mean?

“The answer has legal, political, cultural, scientific, and medical implications. It will help determine, among other things, how it will be regulated and taxed in the future. Should we treat it like booze? Like food? Like pharmaceuticals? All of which are essential. Like spa treatments, which are not essential? Is it a pastime? A vice? A health elixir? It is to some extent all of those things, which is why some local governments have struggled to decide what to do about dispensaries amidst the lockdown.”

Read the whole thing.

In a nice scoop, MJBiz‘s John Schroyer obtained Weedmaps’ federal grand jury subpoena. The Yelp-like service is based in Orange County, Calif.

Key details from the MJBiz story:

• The subpoena delivered to Weedmaps-owner Ghost Management Group, demands extensive documentation about the business and financial operations, as well as communications with nearly 100 cannabis businesses, both licensed and not.
• “The bottom line is the feds are showing they’re not done investigating cannabis, not done prosecuting cannabis,” California attorney Matt Kumin said.
• It’s not clear who or what the investigation, which appears to be ongoing, is targeting. “This could be a million things,” California attorney Jessica McElfresh said.
• Attorney Henry Wykowski, who represented dispensary Harborside in cases against the federal government, speculated that the feds seemed to be focused on “recordkeeping and financial affairs, so that would gravitate toward some type of tax or financial misreporting type of offense.”
• The investigation originates from California’s more conservative Eastern District. U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott has previously indicated that he is not prioritizing state-licensed businesses.
• MarketWatch first broke the story that the September 2019 subpoena existed, but didn’t obtain the document. 
• Weedmaps says it is cooperating, but didn’t say whether it has submitted the requested documents.

Weedmaps provoked the ire of California’s industry when it continued to accept advertising from unlicensed dispensaries, despite a cease and desist letter from the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control.
Los Angeles Times

• In August 2019, a month before it received the subpoena, Weedmaps said it would stop accepting unlicensed ads in 2020. It appears largely to have done so.
• Weedmaps was often essential for unlicensed businesses to reach consumers.

????WW California has more.

Quick Hit

1. In another action, the Federal Trade Commission sued a California CBD business for making unproven claims about COVID-19.
   Marijuana Moment

A newly released 2018 U.S. Justice Department memo helps explain why advancing MED research has been such an ordeal for advocates.
NBC 

The legal issues are complex and obscure. In a very-thorough blog post, lawyer Shuki Greer explains how the memo revealed Justice’s “predetermined bias” against research.

• The document marks a victory in psychiatrist Dr. Sue Sisley’s long legal battle to test MED on PTSD sufferers. Among the other issues involved, Sisley has said the cannabis grown at the University of Mississippi, the country’s only federally legal pot-farm, is inadequate for her study. 
• This NBC story does a good job contextualizing the issue within the broader fight for MED access. Politico has more.
• The NBC story also includes a great interview with University of Mississippi Professor Mahmoud ElSohly, who defends what is surely the world’s most maligned pot crop. He called the disparagement “propaganda” by legalization supporters.
• The memo involves whether a system of independent universities producing MED crops is compliant with America’s international treaty obligations. “We suspect that coming up with a legal memo that he could use to justify his delay tactics certainly gave [then-Attorney General Jeff] Sessions some sly satisfaction,” Greer, the lawyer, writes.
• Greer suggests this will bring more openness to future federal memos involving cannabis, though it’s not clear whether it will accelerate MED research.

In another complex legal case, Canna Law Blog looks at the bankruptcy filing of United Cannabis Corp. , a Colorado company involved in a closely-watched intellectual property dispute. 

For this week’s Power Players interview I spoke to Ryan G. Smith, CEO of wholesale marketplace LeafLink. LeafLink facilitates more than $175M in transactions monthly across 25 states, accounting for roughly 20% of the legal U.S. market.

We talked about the pandemic, when he’ll take LeafLink public and why he thinks brick and mortar dispensaries will be around for a while.

A few highlights:

On the industry’s ongoing strength:

[Business] has bounced back in an even stronger way. Sales continue to be higher than even we projected heading into and through 420. Now we’re seeing a lot of reordering post 420 as people restock their shelves.

On the industry maturing:

People are beginning to, basically, create margin through heavy branding. That’s great for the industry because it shows we’re mainstreaming. I think it’s also a reflection of some of the people entering the space from Kraft, and Starbucks and the liquor [industry].

On curbside pickup:

What could be interesting is whether regulators and governors will be able to keep it temporary. Once people have experienced the convenience of that, the simplicity, efficiency of purchasing in that way, it will become a more common theme.

Read the whole thing.

Vice visits cartel-ravaged Sinaloa, Mexico where a population of independent farmers is growing “blood-free” cannabis.

• None of the farmers who spoke to VICE had to ask permission from the cartels to go it alone. “We’re independent and doing it for ourselves,” Lazaro, a farmer, said.
• “There are pros and cons to the cartel-free business. Without the help of drug trafficking organizations, producers can’t rely on their infrastructure and have to create their own logistical networks, making contact with dealers and then getting their produce to them in cities around Mexico.”

In Mexico, the pandemic has pushed back anticipated REC legalization once again.
MJBiz

????WW California has more.

Marijuana Moment has a fun round up of how some mainstream brands played 4/20.

• Ben & Jerry’s made a full-throated call for equity.
• BarkBox released a series of pot-themed pet toys, including a joint and a bong.
  Mashable
• Other brands that felt compelled to participate included Del Taco and Insomnia Cookies, but also Tidal, Netflix, Impossible Foods and, in Canada, H&R Block and Turbo Tax.

Separately, I wasn’t able to immediately determine if the quest to set a world record for most cannabis consumers on one video chat was successful. It also wasn’t clear if there was a previous record to break. Hope it was fun!

Quick Hit

1. Children’s book “It’s Just a Plant,” celebrated its 15th anniversary.
   High Times