What else is happening:

• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed the bill legalizing REC.
  Reuters
• Rhode Island’s senate passed a REC bill, though the house won’t take it up until later this year.
  Marijuana Moment
• The trucking industry is thinking about the implications of legalization.
  Cannabis Wire
• Since REC was legalized, operators are on the prowl for New York real estate. Meanwhile, delays in picking regulators could postpone the REC market’s open.
  MJBiz, Politico
• A study raised concerns about the effect of teenage cannabis use on neurodevelopment.
  Journal of the American Medical Association Network
• A study which claims to be the first peer-reviewed work on the subject, found weed helps chronic insomniacs get some sleep.
  Regina Leader-Post
• For Juneteenth, employees at retail platform Dutchie wrote about what it’s like to be Black and work in cannatech. 
• David Hua, CEO of cannatech shop Meadow, wrote about what it’s like to judge the Emerald Cup. 

A series of three recent stories in the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat discusses hundreds of previously secret text messages between Scott Maddox (D), a lobbyist and politician, and John “J.T.” Burnette, the husband of Kim Rivers, CEO of powerhouse MSO Trulieve.

Burnette, a wealthy real estate developer, is scheduled to go on trial next month for federal racketeering, bribery and extortion charges.

• A federal indictment alleges Burnette bribed Maddox “to take official actions favorable to Burnette’s business interests” while Maddox was an elected city commissioner. 
• Burnette has denied all of the charges, which as far as I could determine, are not related to cannabis. Neither Trulieve nor Rivers has been accused of any wrongdoing.

The Democrat‘s reporting claims an exchange from January 2017 involves discussions where Maddox fought to preserve a moratorium on dispensaries in Tallahassee, which benefitted Trulieve since it was already operating one in the city.

• “Keep fighting,” Burnette texted to Maddox.

A spokesperson for Trulieve said the reporting included a serious factual error since the company has always opposed dispensary moratoriums, which it considers bad for patients and Florida’s MED-only industry.

• According to the spokesperson, Burnette is not involved with Trulieve except as a minority shareholder in a construction company that Trulieve does business with. “J.T. had no formal role.  As the significant other to our CEO he was a confidante and informal advisor prior to Trulieve attaining its MMTC license.”
• Reporter Jeffrey Schweers did not respond to requests for comment. 

The texts were inadvertently revealed and then taken down on the federal court records site PACER.

• Maddox, who has plead guilty to charges from a four-year FBI probe of corruption at Tallahassee city hall, is expected to testify against Burnette. 
• Burnette’s lawyers have called for the texts to be ruled inadmissible as evidence. 

An undercover FBI agent involved in the investigation called Tallahassee “the most fucked up place I’ve ever come to.”

Trulieve recently announced it would acquire MSO Harvest for $2.1B.

Quick Hits

1. Two former consultants for delivery service Eaze received federal prison sentences for their involvement in duping banks into handling more than $100M in payments to the service. Eaze was not charged and said it co-operated with authorities.
   Reuters
2. Companies Ayr Wellness and TILT Holdings each agreed to pay Massachusetts nearly $300k in fines to settle separate allegations of regulatory violations.
   MJ Biz

AdWeek meets cannabis brand Smarty Plants which advertises its weed without mentioning weed.

The idea is to promote the product without violating “community standards,” and it seems to be working. Smarty Plants is one of the fastest growing flower brands in California:  

“[The campaign] will take you down a time-sucking rabbit hole of vintage commercials, ’80s pop culture, fantasy, music and sci-fi on its colorful website, which is decorated with digital UFOs. And through its packaging, it promises “free knowledge” to anyone who scans a QR code.”

• Smarty Plants founder Ryan Goldstein, who’s also CMO of cannabis marketing/branding firm Petalfast, said, “The reaction to us not talking about the plant or THC—and not including photos of grow rooms and ‘nugg’ shots—has been overwhelmingly positive and a huge help to our marketing efforts.”

FYI, Smarty Plants recently bestowed the title “director of cool shit” on L.A. rapper and producer Open Mike Eagle.  

Read the whole thing.

Quick Hit

1. The WSJ says the latest pot stock crash, along with declines in other trendy sectors, evokes the dot-com era.

The parent company of cannabis advertising and tech platform Weedmaps raised $579M in its debut on the NASDAQ stock exchange Wednesday. The company’s ticker symbol is MAPS.
MJBiz

• The company went public via a SPAC deal with Silver Spike Acquisition Corp., which changed its name to WM Technology. The deal, announced in December valued the company at $1.5B.
• The stock closed the week at 19.97 after popping to reach $21.72 per share on Wednesday.
• In an interview with Insider, Weedmaps CEO Chris Beals explained why he’s not afraid of Amazon. 
• Analysts Cornerstone Investments shared their thoughts on the stock in March.
  Seeking Alpha 

Quick Hit

1. Canadian operator Cronos paid $110.4M for an option to acquire a 10.5% stake in privately-held PharmaCann, which operates in New York.

Both chambers of the Connecticut legislature passed a REC bill after questions of equity and license preferences threatened to derail it. Gov. Ned Lamont(D) is expected to sign the bill.
NBC

• Lawmakers approved the bill in a special legislative session overcoming objections from both parties.
• The bill did not include a provision that would have given special preferences to those previously arrested or convicted of pot crimes. Gov. Lamont had threatened to veto the bill if the provision was included. 
• It’s likely to be a year or more before commercial product goes on sale in what could be a multi-billion dollar market.
  CTMirror
• Gov. Lamont said he’s open to smoking REC, once he signs the bill.
  Marijuana Moment
• On Tuesday June 29, Vicente Sederberg is hosting a webinar with a tri-state update on the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut markets. 

Quick Hits

1. The Florida Supreme Court rejected a REC initiative for the 2022 ballot on grounds that the language was misleading.
   NBC
   
2. A federal judge said Detroit’s cannabis ordinance gave “likely unconstitutional” advantages to longtime city residents and blocked the city from processing REC license applications.
   Detroit News
3. In Illinois, investors anticipate successful applicants for equity retail licenses will sell them to MSOs.
   Grown In

Goings on:

• New Frontier projects $6B in Q2 legal U.S. sales. Annualized, that’s $24B 2021 sales, up about a third from last year. 
• Unlicensed weed, much of it from California, continues to sell well in Illinois. The industry blames high pot taxes.
  Chicago Sun-Times
• The Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation, which has members including tobacco and alcohol interests, released a paper on how the industry can support small and minority owned businesses.
• Headset compiled a list of top selling gummies by flavor.
  MJBiz
• Berlin-based Sanity Group, which has developed a platform for tracking MED therapy digitally, raised a $44.2M Series A. It appears to be the largest European cannabis financing to date.
  TechCrunch 
• Compliance software company Simplifya raised a $6M Series B.
• Society magazine Town & Country profiles the Rockefeller heiress who’s getting into the hemp business.
• Tiger King a.k.a. Joe Exotic is trying to launch a cannabis brand from federal prison. His attorney told TMZ and the Tulsa World that they have a deal “locked” in partnership with Tango Hotel Charlie Group LLC and Cannaxxs LTD. 

An NFL doctor is sounding the alarm about possible risks associated with CBD use. The league also says it wants to see more studies about cannabis and fitness.
Bloomberg

• A league doctor who co-chairs a panel on pain management said he was concerned about “the purity and potency of cannabis products, as well as potential interactions with other drugs that players take. There’s also concern that the high doses of cannabis products needed to treat pain can cause liver damage.”
• Numerous athletes, including former NFL players, have endorsed CBD products.

Quick Hit

1. Insider investigates the world of “Pelostoners,” who like to ride high.

In The Fresh Toast, Mike Adams argues that Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) doesn’t have the votes to legalize federally:

“The U.S. Senate is now split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker. All that was left to do is draft a weed bill, and Americans would live happily ever after. Well, five months ago, Schumer and two other Senators came forward to proclaim how cannabis reform was going to be a priority in the upper chamber. Since then, the nation hasn’t witnessed any action. The main reason, presumably, is because Senator Schumer knows that trying to pass a cannabis reform bill right now will end in failure.”

Read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, to commemorate 50 years since President Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs, two House Democrats introduced a bill to decriminalize all drugs.
Newsweek

Quick Hit

1. Activist/entrepreneur Andrew DeAngelo asks if pot can transcend polarization and save America.
   Forbes

MSO Columbia Care said it would acquire venerable Colorado operator Medicine Man Denver for $42M in cash and stock.
MJBiz

• The deal will enlarge New York-based Columbia Care’s position in the country’s second largest market. Last year the company completed its acquisition of Colorado-based retailer The Green Solution.
• Columbia Care said the deal would be “immediately accretive.” For Q1, the acquisitive company posted revenue of $86M and a net loss of $15.3M. 
• The announcement comes soon after Columbia Care rival Curaleaf acquired Colorado outdoor grower Los Suenos.  
• Medicine Man’s consulting arm, Medicine Man Technologies previously ended its relationship with Medicine Man and rebranded as Colorado operator Schwazze.

RELATED: In a tight jobs market, cannabis companies are scrambling to hire hourly employees.
MJBiz

Quick Hits

1. Within a few weeks, Las Vegas “dispensary complex” Planet 13 is opening what it says will be the largest pot shop in California, in Orange County. It will feature “plenty of shareable Instagram moments, from colorful umbrellas on the ceiling to a large LED waterfall wall and a giant red octopus in the center of the store.” 
   Spectrum News
2. CBD company Charlotte’s Web named a former Molson-Coors exec CFO.

Other goings on:

• Connecticut’s special legislative session, is underway. The state Senate voted, again, to legalize REC.
  Marijuana Moment
• The California legislature approved $100M in relief for the state’s struggling cannabis industry. The money will be used by cities to support businesses transitioning from provisional to regular licenses.
  L.A. Times
• This pot stock is a new favorite of Reddit meme traders.
  CNN
• A man was hospitalized and another was in custody after a shooting at a Cookies dispensary in Oklahoma City. The hot brand’s store on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles has attracted complaints from neighbors. 
  News9, WeHoVille
• After two years on the weed beat, journalist Brad Spirrison shared five observations.
  Grown-In
• Conservative outlet National Review complained about the “skunky air” in New York City.
• CelebStoner reviewed “Silk Road”, a new movie about the darkweb drug bazaar.