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.