• In an email obtained by MarketWatch, MedMen offered a supplier three options: 1) The full amount owed in non-voting stock, 2) A payment plan for the full amount or 3) A cash payment for half the amount owed.
• On Sunday MedMen stock was worth 44 cents per share, down from $6.49 in October 2018 and 64 cents on January 17. The company's current market cap is $92.6M according to Yahoo Finance.
• In a separate story, Green Market Report notes the company had $671M in total liabilities in September, and $43.9M in revenue for the quarter ending that month. Report called it "a fairly lopsided situation."
• In an interview with Green Market Report, CEO Bierman said "our cash position is very healthy, our balance sheet is strong."
• This comes after MedMen renegotiated terms with Gotham Green Partners and at least one other backer last year. Bierman said the restructuring will probably be done in a month. (Gotham Green Partners has close ties to Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group.)
• The restructuring has involved substantial layoffs and forced the company to exit Arizona.
• Bierman said MedMen is working with restructuring firm FTI Consulting to get its finances in order.

• Bierman said he bought 1M shares of MedMen stock in December and January and has never personally sold a share of MedMen stock. "I am all in on this company." Bierman has been criticized for paying himself lavishly, but is now receiving a salary of $50,000.

• "No amount of money could secure the [store] locations we have today. "
• "I regret not implementing this cost cutting sooner," Bierman wrote.

Quick Hits

1. MedMen competitors CuraLeaf and Cresco Labs have recently closed on $300M and $200M in debt financing, respectively.
   MJBiz

1. U.S. marijuana companies are not eligible for bankruptcy protection. In December, National Law Review discusses this thorny issue.
2. "Bargain hunters" have pushed up the value of some Canadian pot stocks.
   Reuters

• The industry figures “wanted Jared to be more involved, maybe help push the agenda with the president because they felt that that was something he needed to be more lenient on,” Parnas said. 
• A dinner attendee said Trump and Kushner recognized that "the tension between federal and state marijuana laws needs work."

• Trump said the drug makes people "lose IQ points" and that they "have more accidents" in Colorado.

• Trump seemed to express surprise that cannabis companies can't access banks, adding, “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
• Regarding legalization, Parnas said "It's so far out you're not going to stop it" and suggested federal reform could help with the midterm elections. Trump did not respond directly.
• In the recording, Donald Trump Jr. can be heard saying "alcohol does much more damage" than cannabis and that "You don't see people beating their wives on marijuana...It's just different."
• Parnas' lawyer Joseph Bondy is also involved in a case challenging cannabis' federal illegality.
  Marijuana Moment

• Also last week, WeedWeek's Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) made the case for removing Trump from office.
  @RepAdamSchiff

1. MJBiz looks at the prospects for federal reform in 2020. The short version: Banking has the best shot. Marijuana Moment has more on the banking situation.

• Cybersecurity site VPNMentor names dispensaries in Maryland, Ohio and Colorado where customers were affected. The story also goes into the risks for customers and businesses.
• The leak shows how the cannabis industry is "a privacy nightmare waiting to happen."
  The Daily Beast

• REC won't be legalized in Ohio or Florida this year. Marijuana Policy Project's Matthew Schweich said campaigns cost less money in smaller states and each comes with two U.S. Senators.

• The company says it has sold 150,000 cans of its "social tonics" since they debuted in May.
• Investors include Imaginary, an early stage VC fund started by the founder of the Net-a-Porter group, and cannabis company JM10.

• The study "found heavy cannabis users using a driving simulator hit more pedestrians, missed more stop signs and red lights, drove faster, and left their lane more often than non-users, even after abstaining from the drug for at least 12 hours."
• However, those who took up cannabis after age 16 didn't exhibit the same behaviors.
• It was the first study to find poor driving performance by cannabis users when they are not actively high.

• The tribe is based in Oklahoma, which has a freewheeling MED industry.
• The Paiute are the only U.S. tribe I'm aware of which has entered the industry. It runs the NuWu Cannabis Marketplace in Las Vegas, one of the world's largest dispensaries.

Quick Hit

1. After several delays, Mexico could legalize REC in April.
   Marijuana Moment

• The company has backing from Silicon Valley tycoon Peter Thiel.

• “In some circles, psychedelics are still associated with escape from the real world and irresponsible extravagance,” Thiel said in an email. “With FDA-controlled studies, we will come to see that their most powerful use brings people to mental health and sober sanity in a medical setting.”
• Studies have found ibogaine reduces symptoms of opioid withdrawal more effectively than methodone.
• "Patients have described their experience as a sobering trip that visualizes the negative consequences of drug abuse," an executive with Atai partner DemeRx said. The procedure requires 24 hours of clinical monitoring since ibogaine has been linked to heart side effects.

Quick Hit

1. An Oregon company called Silo Wellness has designed a "magic-mushroom nasal spray" intended for medical uses.

• LPP estimates there are 40,000 people locked up for non-violent cannabis offenses.
• The program also aims to train returned offenders for jobs in cannabis.

Quick Hit

1. In Massachusetts, aspiring equity entrepreneurs say the system isn't working.
   Boston Globe

• Silicon Cali is accepting pre-orders for a different $5,000 "laser bong" called the B-Laze (pictured above).
• The company also sells a "plasma portal" lighter for $70.

Quick Hit

1. Christian-themed cartoon series "Veggie Tales" created a cannabis character, Cannabis Carl, jokes satire site Babylon Bee.
2. Following negotiations with the player's union, the NFL appears likely to adopt a more lenient cannabis policy.
   Washington Post