• Danny Trevino, 47, had been convicted of multiple federal charges, but no state charges. The sentence he received was at the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
• “Federal law has not changed,” U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said. He noted that Congress has eliminated the mandatory minimum sentence for crack cocaine, but not for marijuana.

• “What you saw is a travesty,” Detroit resident Richard Clement said.

• An AAA study found that five years after Washington state legalized REC, the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes who had THC in their system has approximately doubled. (A KIRO radio report suggests the study was flawed.)
• A study in Oregon found REC legalization is “positively associated” with teen use.
  American Journal of Preventive Medicine

• “In the United States, fear and confusion often provoke dramatic and counterproductive drug policies. Whether we consider an intoxicant to be medicine, to be socially acceptable, to be legal, has always been a matter of morality, race, and class — not just science and evidence. This makes sifting through the contradictory claims about vaping difficult.”

• The short version: The store encourages customers to use instagram for them.

• There’s broad agreement on three related causes: 1) The lack of access to legal cannabis in much of the state; 2) The state’s illegal market still dwarfes the legal market; 3) High taxes drive consumers to the illicit market.

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the best and most likely way to legalize REC is in the state’s budget agreement. “I think if they get it done, it will be in the budget and if it’s not in the budget, it’s not going to get done,” he said. Gothamist talks to Norman Birenbaum, New York’s first “Weed Czar.”
  N.Y. State of Politics
• In Connecticut, REC legalization is “alive again.”
  Patch
• Missouri activists are pushing for a REC ballot initiative this year. And thwarted MED applicants in the state are griping about the company which scored the applications.
  Marijuana Moment, KansasCity.com
• In Arkansas, the surgeon general and church groups launched a campaign against a possible REC ballot initiative.
  AP
• Colorado is rolling out a sustainability initiative in which carbon dioxide produced during beer brewing is used to cultivate cannabis.
  Marijuana Moment
• Canna Law Blog checks in on the Washington state market.

• Of the leading Democratic candidates, Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders have endorsed legalizing marijuana. WeedWeek believes Warren has the best chance of winning in November.
  HuffPost, Chicago Tribune, Vox
• Warren has demonstrated concern for rectifying the injustices of the war on drugs, while also showing that she’s willing to act pragmatically to normalize the industry. Notably she is a co-sponsor, with Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) of the bipartisan States Act, which would protect state-legal REC and MED activity.
• Candidates Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg have not endorsed legalization, though both seem resigned to endorse states’ rights. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) says she supports legalization but has barely discussed it.
• For lots more reasons to support Warren, see the New York Times endorsement of her and Klobuchar.

• Trump has largely continued President Obama’s policy of benign neglect towards the marijuana industry. It’s one of very few areas where there has been consistency between the two administrations.
• However, this policy has become increasingly tenuous as more states have legalized, and many aspects of marijuana policy — from banking to pesticides to medical research and veterans access — demand federal attention.
• Trump reportedly supports states-rights and a majority of Republicans nationwide support legalization. However, influential Trump allies in Washington from Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, have pushed back against legalization. Trump is not known to have pushed for cannabis reform.
  Politico, MarketWatch, Reddit
• While some in the cannabis industry have suggested Trump will legalize in order to secure his re-election, I’m not aware of any evidence suggesting this is likely or that he has seriously considered it. It would certainly attract loud criticism from parts of his base.

Quick Hit

1. John Boehner’s successor as Speaker of the House, former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said he opposes legalization.
   Marijuana Moment

• The email, apparently from a senior executive, touts several achievements and says the company is currently involved in a financing effort that is “critical to ensure that the Company is on solid footing for the balance of 2020 until we are cash flow positive.”

• The post also includes an anonymous “take away” which suggests the company is struggling with operational issues and a “toxic” work environment.

• An Acreage spokesman confirmed the email’s authenticity to WeedWeek. He declined to comment on it or the “take away.”

• Acreage stock was at $5.81 yesterday, down from $24.13 in May.

• WeedWeek interviewed Acreage CEO Kevin Murphy last Summer. I also discussedd whether John Boehner is good for weed.
• Canopy did not respond to a request for comment.

Quick Hit

1. Leafly laid off 18% of its workforce.
   GeekWire
2. High Times gave up on a NASDAQ listing.
   New Cannabis Ventures
3. Despite all the gloom, global cannabis sales jumped 48% to $14.4 Billion in 2019, according to a new report from BDS Analytics.
   Grizzle

• A wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by former CFO James Parker in 2019 alleges financial mismanagement and a hostile work environment. MedMen has called the suit baseless.
  MJBiz
• MedMen recently had to back out of the promising Arizona market and scrap a deal to acquire Illinois player PharmaCann.
  Phoenix New Times, Motley Fool
• Under Bierman the company has had to borrow money under “onerous terms.”
  Barron’s
• Vivien Azer, Cowen’s influential pot stock analyst called Bierman’s departure “welcome.”

• With typical brutality, Equity Guru writes, “In a sector rife with terrible CEOs, … none come close to Bierman in terms of self enrichment, entitlement, and outward facing douchery.”