Hi all,

Running a bit late today so let’s get to it.

In the newsletter:

• SCOOP: Gelato owners withdrew anti-union lawsuit
• GOP Virginia Gov. vetoes REC bill

Read up,

Alex

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SCOOP: Gelato owners withdrew anti-union lawsuit

San Diego operator Urban Therapies Manufacturing (UTM) turned heads last fall when the sued California alleging its cannabis labor law is unconstitutional.

UTM withdrew its suit after the Teamsters filed a counterclaim. But UTM’s owners, father and son team George and Cody Sadler, remain in litigation against MSO Red White and Bloom which bought their previous company Platinum Vape for $60M. Red White and Bloom allege the Sadlers have used the money they received for selling Platinum to “pillage” and “terrorize” the combined company.

In court filings, the Sadlers deny the allegations. They declined to comment further.

Read the story…

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed a REC bill.
Politico

• “The proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians’ health and safety,” Youngkin said in his veto statement. “It also does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety.”

The move is the latest sign of pushback from Republicans wary of Democrats’ efforts to court young voters with cannabis reform.
LA Times

• As the weed world waits for the administration’s announcement on whether it will re- or de- schedule weed, three Republican U.S. Senators called on the DEA to respect the country’s UN treaty obligations on illegal drugs. U.S. allies Canada and Germany, which tend to be far more deferential to the UN than Republicans, have still moved forward with legalization.
  Cultivated

Federal:

• LA Times,
• A coalition of advocacy groups is holding a “420 Unity Day of Action” April 18, in Washington D.C. to legalize, rather than reschedule, weed.

International:

• Germany’s new REC law is official. It takes effect Monday.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• Pot stocks had a good month, even though Q4 numbers were blah.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• Aaron Nosbisch, CEO of hot hemp-derived beverage brand BRĒZ, posted about a visit from the FDA.
• Lender AFC Gamma backed Florida-based Sunburn Cannabis with $34M in debt capital.
  Green Market Report
• After Stripe cancelled the account for journalist Jackie Bryant’s Substack CannaBitch, she fought back, and won.
  High Times
• AFC Gamma backed Florida-based Sunburn Cannabis with $34M in debt capital.

State and local:

• Minnesota is mulling hemp-derived drinks on tap.
  MJBiz
• Arizona sales hit a record $1.5B in 2023.
• Massachusetts is escalating its secret shopper program to ensure compliance with packaging and labeling rules.
  Green Market Report
• Kansas lawmakers killed a proposed MED program.
  Marijuana Moment
• In Delaware, a bill to expand the MED program heads to pot-skeptic Gov. John Carney’s(D) desk.
  CBS
• Colorado loosened the rules for how growers can obtain genetics.
  MJBiz
• Proposed rules in Tennessee could close the “hemp THCA loophole.“

Fun and interesting:

• “Drugs as Demons”
  @weedhumor

State:

• The state auditor issued a report on local permitting processes. Lawyer Dana Cisneros recapped the findings.
• Canna Law Blog discusses the state market’s conundrums and the road ahead.

Business:

• Glass House posted record revenue of $161M last year, and a net loss of $97M.
  MJBiz
• Catalyst CEO Elliot Lewis posted video of a meeting with “all the top retailers…in solidarity and unity.”
• The LA Times reports on MedMen’s fall, and what it says about the industry. The chain’s flagship location in West Hollywood has re-opened under the ownership of dispensary chain One Plant.
  WeHo Times
• Glass House has filed a motion to dismiss rival Catalyst’s lawsuit alleging Glass House is a major diverter to the illicit market. WeedWeek previously reported that Glass House is imploring a judge to alter her decision on what it must turn over in discovery in its related defamation lawsuit against Catalyst.
  Law360
• Cookies, which licenses its brand to operators, has cut ties with the only store in its SF hometown, MJBiz reports. Previously known as Berner’s on Haight, the politically connected equity license will now be known as Blaze on Haight. The nearby Cookies clothing store is still there.
• Eaze drivers in Sacramento joined the Teamsters. WeedWeek previously reported that Eaze drivers organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers are threatening to strike ahead of 420.
• The state fair hosts its third cannabis competition this year.

Local:

• Growing hub Santa Barbara Co. is looking at new tax models.
  Santa Maria Sun
• Costa Mesa (Orange Co.) cops handed back $800K in illegally seized product to distributor Se7enleaf as part of a settlement. The Daily Pilot has more on the related legal storm that prevented the High Seas shop from opening.
  NY Post
• Growers in Santa Cruz Co. are pushing for tours with onsite consumption.
  @jadenectar
• Organizers cancelled SF’s annual 420 Hippie Hill event this year. Meanwhile a new event, SF Weed Week, put together by Leafly editor David Downs, thinks weed can rescue the city. (WeedWeek is a non-paying sponsor of SF WeedWeek.)
• Supernova Women and other advocacy groups held a rally for descheduling in Oakland, attended by Rosario Dawson.
• San Jose accepted a $1M state grant to support its equity program.
• Merced city leaders are figuring out how to divvy up pot taxes.
  ABC

Company milestones:

• Embarc is opening the first dispensary in Fontana (San Bernardino Co.).
• E-commerce provider Jane Technologies announced a new customer rewards program for brands.
• Lowell Farms landed in New Jersey, in partnership with MSO Ascend Wellness Holdings.
• For 420, West Coast Cure is giving away a year’s supply of weed for $4.20.

Upcoming:

• Eaze and Puff DAO are hosting a food-forward 420 party in Hollywood.
• The Emerald Triangle Revealed Tour, at Sol Spirit Retreats in Humboldt, will host tourists in late August.