Happy Saturday everyone,

If you were in Vegas, you’re probably looking for a restful weekend. Submit your party pics to High Society at hello@weedweek.net and look out for some favorites in a coming issue.

Let’s get to it,

Alex

*

The new WeedWeek Careers Center uses the same job board software trusted by thousands of organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the Society for Human Resource Management to ensure a strong value prop for employers. Get a 15% discount on the $299 Job Flash Package with promo code: WeedWeek15.

Reach the most influential audience in cannabis by advertising in the self-serve WeedWeek store. For a limited time you can get a 30% discount with the code WeedWeek30. 

Want to learn more about email blasts, sponsored content and other promotional opportunities? Contact hello@weedweek.net.

Our advertising policy.

*

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram!

WeedWeek regularly links to paywalled content.

Marijuana wasn’t part of my life seven years ago when Fast Company magazine sent me to MJBiz Con. The story of this outlaw industry going corporate so enthralled me that I moved to Denver and started writing this newsletter. So, even beyond the isolation imposed by the pandemic, I was in a reflective mood before this year’s revelries.

In 2014, MJBizCon attracted about 3,500 people and took place at the neglected, off-Strip Rio hotel. Just like everyone predicted, there’s been extraordinary growth. In some respects, progress has been slower than Thought Leaders expected or at least predicted. Nonetheless, this week the industry was flush with confidence, and cash. It’s outgrowing the awkward phase. At the same time, white men of a certain age still predominate almost everywhere money is on the table. There’s more diversity than seven years ago, but also more “Chads.”

Read my whole dispatch

States:

• Seven years after voters approved it, REC sales may be coming to D.C.
  Forbes
• A REC bill may be close in Rhode Island.
  Marijuana Moment
• Florida gubernatorial candidate, agriculture commissioner and legalization advocate Nikki Fried (D) is calling for an investigation into possible discrimination against Black farmers seeking MED licenses. 

Business:

• Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Pelorus Equity Group upped its offering from $250M to $1B.
• In lieu of federal recognition, independent organic certification bodies are forming.
  USAToday
• Psychedelics company Compass Pathways was granted a U.S. patent for crystalline psilocybin.
• New Cannabis Ventures calls deals across the U.S.-Canada border, such as Canopy Growth‘s recent announcement that it would pay nearly $300M to acquire edibles brand Wana when it legally could, a “very risky strategy.”
• MJBizCon keynote speaker, Shark Tank’s Daymond John, delivered his fives pieces of advice for business success, without mentioning cannabis.
  MJBiz
• After Bank of America shut down the bank account of a well-known cannabis research institute, Jackie Bryant goes deep on banking reform.
  MarketWatch, The Dales Report
• Axios summarizes the pot policies of major sports leagues. 
• Muse by Clio talked to marketer Josh Karchmer about his favorite brands and his former careers in music and advertising.  

Regulatory:

• The FDA released plans to expand cannabis data collection.

International:

• Luxembourg became the first country in Europe to legalize growing and selling.
  Guardian 

Fun and interesting:

• Jackie Bryant reviewed Justin Bieber’s new brand, Peaches by Palms. She also called the massive Volcano vaporizer “the best way to get stoned on Earth.”
  UPROXX

• Wholesale marketplace Leaflink posted its monthly flash data report. 
• Canna Law Blog says 50/50 cannabusiness ownership is a “terrible idea.” 
• The blog also weighed in on a long awaited ruling from the U.S. Postal Services “pulling no punches” on its policy about mailing CBD.
• The libertarian Reason Institute published a paper on gun rights for MED patients. 

• Trade group Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation, a lobby is hosting an October 28 webinar on what the federal government can learn from the states about legalization.
• Cannabiz Media dropped a new report on point of sale software in the industry.
• Recruiter CannabizTeam has a new cultivation salary guide.
• A new report from data shop Headset dives into the Arizona market.
• Edibles brand Luchador is presenting a Halloween Live Lucha Libre show in California’s far southeast on October 29.
• Drag queen Laganja Estranja will face off against other Lip Sync Assassins in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires in November.

• Blacklist California calls colored concentrates — blue, pink etc. — a tantalizing trend.
• Andrew Ward asks which social media platform is most 420-friendly?
  Benzinga
• Cannabis Life Network found the top five cannamoms to follow.

*

WeedWeek High Society will return soon. Send your pics to hello@weedweek.net