Happy holiday weekend everyone!

This week’s issue comes in a bit late, but the big story is available to all subscribers. I hope you find it interesting:

• America doesn’t have 40,000 cannabis prisoners

Alex

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The idea that ‘No one should be locked up for a plant’ is both a cherished belief in cannabis circles and a central argument for the legal industry’s existence. 

Since its founding in 2019, Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit brainchild of industry pioneer Steve DeAngelo, has become of the most prominent cannabis charities by pledging to free the 40,000 people locked up for cannabis in this country.

However, a WeedWeek analysis of publicly available data suggests the number of cannabis prisoners could be substantially lower. For example, the 40,000 figure includes 11,730 federal cannabis prisoners, but two other non-profits put the number at roughly 3,000.

Read the story

Federal:

• A new bill, CLIMB, would open up more financial services to the cannabiz.
  Cannabis Equipment News
• Language inserted in a bill would allow cannabis tv ads in legal states.
  MJBiz

Business:

• Tech shop Akerna (formerly MJFreeway) priced a $10M public stock offering as its share price dropped below 20 cents.
• Crunchbase has a deep dive into the dismal funding climate.
• MSO Curaleaf moved to dismiss a lawsuit over stolen employee tips by saying it never agreed to pay the tips to workers.
  Law360
• Plaintiffs withdrew their lawsuit involving the acquisition of CannaRegs by Fyllo.
  Green Market Report
• Marketing company Surfside predicted yesterday could be the busiest sales day of summer.
• Flower continues to be the most important product category.
  NORML
• A study found residents of legal states pay less for car insurance.
  Beard Bros. Pharms

State and local:

• Investors have tough questions about New York’s equity fund.
  Grown In
• The California state fair awarded its first awards for weed. 
• The Texas Supreme Court upheld a ban on smokeable hemp.
  Canna Law Blog
• Oregon became the first state to ban synthetic cannabinoid products, such as Delta8 THC which is made from plant-derived cannabinoids.
  Oregonian

Health and safety:

• A Leafly investigation determined fentanyl-laced weed is a myth.

International:

• Smokers have found a loophole in Japan’s strict pot laws.
  Vice

Fun and interesting:

• SportsHandle explores the concurrent rise of legal pot and online sports betting.
• Cannabis-fed chickens are fetching better prices in Thailand.
  Cannabis Equipment News

• Through partnerships, SC Labs is expanding to Oregon, Colorado and Michigan. Jeff Journey is the company’s new CEO.
• Northeast platform Urban Aroma named Kanye West’s former manager John Monopoly CEO.
• Garden Society has a new product line: pre-roll THC-V-rich Rosettes. (Pictured)
• Jones Soda‘s Mary Jones brand debuted over the weekend in California.
• As it shuttered, Colorado retailer owed about $500,000 in back taxes.
  Westword