Green Dragon exec says cannabis delivery is a loss leader

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In the newsletter:

An exclusive interview with Green Dragon’s Alex Levine
Will potency caps be a problem?

More on Friday,

Alex

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People magazine recently profiled Colorado mom Laura Stack whose 19-year old son Johnny died by suicide in November 2019, after five years of using concentrates.

Following his death, Stack formed a group called Johnny’s Ambassadors to fight youth cannabis abuse. It then partnered with Blue Rising Together, a Colorado group opposed to high THC products and gun violence.

Their activism led to Colorado’s new law limiting concentrate sales to 18-20 year olds. The law did not include potency caps, which some supporters had called for.

The People article carries more than a whiff of Reefer Madness-style alarmism. But Johnny’s tragedy is very real. If there are more, activists like Stack could gain traction in states that aren’t as 420-friendly as Colorado.

People: “We learned that he’d been sober for weeks,” recalls Laura, whose son — who had a 4.0 GPA in high school and racked up a perfect score on his SAT test in mathematics — had been diagnosed with cannabis-induced schizoaffective disorder and put on an anti-psychotic medication. “But he’d stopped taking his anti-psychotic medications that doctors had prescribed him and his psychosis came roaring back.”

The industry opposes potency caps:

“Our opposition knows we’re winning” said Steven Hawkins, CEO of trade group U.S. Cannabis Council. Rather than stop legalization they want to “neuter [its] effect.”
Hawkins described the Colorado law as part of a “Coordinated attack around the country with several states dropping legislation.”
“We have to take responsibility very seriously in our industry,” Hawkins said. “That means we have to be thinking about responsible consumption. We have to be vigilant on ensuring that underaged use is curbed. And we have to be working at the vanguard around impaired driving.”
The USCC has partnered with anti-drunk-driving group Responsibility.org.

Related: In contrast to studies which have shown legalization doesn’t increase teen use, a new analysis found teen cannabis vaping is way up since 2013 in the U.S. and Canada.
JAMA, Cannabis Wire

Bottom line: Potency caps could emerge as a significant vulnerability for the industry.

Read the whole People story.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

SPOTLIGHT: GREEN FLOWER CEO MAX SIMON

On LinkedIn, Max Simon often engages his 36,000+ followers in conversations about the cannabis industry’s pain points. As CEO of Green Flower, he focuses on one of them: the industry’s lack of standardized professional training.

Several years after Simon founded it in 2014, Green Flower pivoted from consumer to professional facing education content. Simon saw individuals attempting to break into the industry with no formal cannabis background, and companies struggling with high employee turnover and the lack of available skilled talent. “Both of those were real issues. People who didn’t know anything about cannabis were thrown into roles where they need to have a deep understanding,” Simon said. “That’s why the service at retail can be so frustrating, or product quality can be so poor.”

Read the WeedWeek Spotlight.

QUICK HITS

Politics:

Ohio’s 2022 REC ballot initiative faces a complex process.
Grown In
Oakland, Calif. has referred several equity license holders to collections services over unpaid loans.
MJBiz
Business Insider meets 18 lobbyists pushing for federal legalization.
Trade group U.S. Cannabis Council is hosting a Thursday, October 28 webinar, on how “UNSAFE” banking hurts equity businesses.

Business:

The 10th anniversary of MJBizCon in Las Vegas and the new MJUnpacked conference at the other end of the Strip were the two pillars of the cannabis industry’s largest in person gathering since the pandemic began.
A federal court will decide whether $166,000 cash from Missouri MED sales, which was seized by authorities in Kansas on its way to a Colorado credit union, should be returned.
Topeka Capital-Journal
Politico explains why California’s licensed businesses can’t compete with the illicit market.
Wall Street banks are ditching pot tests for job applicants.
Business Insider
MJBrandInsights interviewed Alex Pasternack, at exec at upscale multi-state brand Binske. He predicted the brand would be the Casamigos of cannabis, referring to a tequila brand founded by George Clooney and then sold to Diageo.
A trademark lawsuit has pitted REC brand Breez against CBD brand The Breeze.
New Cannabis Ventures says these three real estate investment trusts (REITs) point to sustained industry growth ahead.

Fun and Interesting:

Are infused substitutes for gin, bourbon and tequila the next big thing? A company called MXXN, pronounced ‘moon’, thinks so.
The Takeout
The N.Y.Times‘ The Argument podcast discussed whether all drugs should be legal.

COMPANY MILESTONES

PE shop Beringer Capital took a majority stake in media company Benzinga for undisclosed terms.
Rapper Lil’ Kim launched brand aphrodesiac in partnership with operator superbad inc.
Forbes
California brand Claybourne Co. announced $17.5M in funding including a $10M Series A. Their loyalty program is called The High AF Club.
Gift card company Birchmount Network raised a $2.5M seed round.
Accessories company Greenlane said it would acquire vaporizer brand DaVinci IQ.

JOB NEWS

MSO Red White & Bloom named alcohol industry veteran Chris Ecken as CFO.
Tilray appointed Bacardi exec Blair MacNeil President, Tilray Canada.
Canadian operator Hexo named Scott Cooper CEO. He was previously boss of Truss Beverage Co., a joint venture between Hexo and liquor giant Molson-Coors.

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