Virtually everyone expects massive industry growth in coming years. But layoffs at prominent companies, difficult business conditions and sagging stock prices all point to a rough patch for the industry.

Leafly revisits New York City’s attempts to eradicate wild pot plants. Quoting an earlier article in NPR it says:

“Weed grew everywhere, with seven-foot high plants sprouting in fields from Williamsburg to Cobble Hill to East New York. In 1951 alone, a division of the Department of Sanitation called the ‘White Wing Squad’ confiscated and destroyed 41,000 pounds of the plant.”

The U.S. Air Force is investigating whether an airman smoked pot while assigned to oversee nuclear intercontinental missiles. News of the allegations first became public on a social media post.
Task and Purpose

The sky didn’t fall. Amirite people?

Some interesting new research:

Meanwhile, MED using students are starting to challenge college drug policies.
AP

While virtually all projections for the cannabis industry are optimistic, the path remains challenging for even established companies:

Just about every Halloween there are alarmist stories about candy spiked with illegal drugs. This week on LinkedIn a well-known figure in SoCal cannabis circles shared a more plausible– in the generic sense* — story about edibles spiked with date rape drugs.

On LinkedIn, Kristen Yoder recounted a situation at an illicit L.A. session, which she learned about on Instagram:

“A woman was roofied via edible, directly from the edible manufacturer, as was her friend. She woke up hours later in the backseat of her car without her shorts or underwear and obvious signs of rape. Her drug test came back positive for Rohypnol.”

Yoder added:

“If you’re at an underground/illicit cannabis event, be especially wary. Not only are they getting raided by the police often, the vendors are selling untested, unregulated products, and the “security guards” are usually nonexistent or incompetent(or criminals!).”

*I was not able to read the text in screenshots Yoder posted and don’t know if they identify any individuals or companies.

With REC going on sale in January, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is lowering expectations for pot tax revenue. However, she recently backed down from a proposal to ban dispensaries in much of downtown. Under the new proposal dispensaries will be able to open much closer to Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile.
Chicago Sun-Times

The number of new VAPI cases “appears to be leveling off or even declining,” according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Warnings from health officials and actions by authorities may be partly responsible.
CNBC

According to a new Gallup poll, the vape crisis appears not to have dampened public support for REC legalization.
Tom Angell–Forbes

Related: Leafly found contaminated vapes to be rampant in illegal California shops.????WeedWeek California has more!

An investigation by the Cincinnati Enquirer found multi-state operators(MSOs) have moved to acquire or created partnerships with 25 out of 129 Ohio MED licensees. State law requires changes in ownership to be approved by regulators. As yet, none of these deals have received such an approval.

The MSOs which have made deals in Ohio– according to their public statements, securities filings and similar documents — include big names like MedMen (since dropped), Sea Hunter Therapeutics (part of Tilt Holdings), Curaleaf and Harvest. The deals are not yet finalized and could still potentially be held up by regulators.

The New York Times looks into Russian influence and money in the cannabiz. Curaleaf, it notes, “is led by one of Russia’s most influential financiers and backed by another, allowing the company to pursue rapid expansion and hefty acquisitions.”

In other MSO news: Charges were dropped against two former executives at Vireo Health who were accused of driving $500,000 of MED oil from Minnessota to New York in an armored car.
LoHud

California delivery app (and WeedWeek advertiser) Eaze won a court victory which could help solidify the standing of cannabis business contracts.

A federal district court judge dismissed a class action lawsuit which alleged the app had violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unsolicited text messages.
MJBiz