The White House under President Joe Biden has pushed out and sidelined come staffers for disclosing their past recreational use of marijuana, including in states that have legalized recreational use of the drug, the Daily Beast reported Thursday.
Three sources told the outlet that several staffers have had their employment status affected – including unexpectedly being asked to resign, pushed aside, or relegated to remote-work positions – after voluntarily disclosing recreational marijuana use.
While 14 states and the District of Columbia have now legalized recreational use of the drug, marijuana possession is still a federal crime and is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“It’s exclusively targeting younger staff and staff who came from states where it was legal,” one person told the outlet.
Some staffers felt like the White House pulled a bait-and-switch after the Biden administration indicated it, unlike past administrations, would waive the requirement for some high-level White House staffers who had used marijuana in a “limited capacity” to receive a top-secret security clearance.
In order to qualify for a top-secret security clearance, staffers must fill out the SF-86, a detailed form that asks about past drug use, among other things. Making false statements on the form is a felony.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on Friday morning that “as a result” of the White House changing its posture on marijuana use for top staffers, “more people will serve who would not have in the past with the same level of recent drug use.”
She added: “The bottom line is this: of the hundreds of people hired, only five people who had started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy.”
It is unclear how many were asked to resign or pushed aside for other factors or discrepancies on their background check in addition to their admitted marijuana use.
A White House spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the administration is “committed to bringing the best people into government-especially the young people whose commitment to public service can deepen in these positions.”
“The White House’s policy will maintain the absolute highest standards for service in government that the president expects from his administration, while acknowledging the reality that state and local marijuana laws have changed significantly across the country in recent years,” the spokesperson added. “This decision was made following intensive consultation with career security officials and will effectively protect our national security while modernizing policies to ensure that talented and otherwise well-qualified applicants with limited marijuana use will not be barred from serving the American people.”
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Insider.
Cannabis stocks moved higher on Monday after Governor Andrew Cuomo said New York is “very close” on legalizing the drug for recreational use.
Shares of Tilray and Aphria traded up as much as 14% and 12%, respectively, while marijuana ETFs like the ETFMG Alternative Harvest and AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETFs were up as much as 4%.
“I think this [cannabis legalization] should’ve been passed years ago,” Cuomo said in an afternoon news conference, before adding “we have to get it done.”
“I think too many people have been imprisoned, incarcerated, and punished. Too many of those people are Black, Latino, and poor. It’s exaggerated the injustice of the justice system,” Cuomo added.
Like many other states that have considered the benefits of marijuana legalization, Cuomo said the measure could help raise revenue for the state’s deficit, which surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But one analyst from BTIG thinks Cuomo is pushing hard for marijuana legalization to distract from recent sexual harassment allegations made against him. BTIG thinks a vote on the measure could come before the April 1 due date for the state’s budget.
If New York does legalize cannabis, it would likely represent a seminal moment in the cannabis reform and investment movement, as the fourth most populous state would grant its residents permission to consume the drug legally.
Welcome to Insider Cannabis, our weekly newsletter where we’re bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom.
There were lots of major, market-moving deals in the industry this week – and with Mexico becoming the fourth country (and the one with by far the largest population) to legalize cannabis, there’s lots of room to be optimistic about the future.
British American Tobacco agreed to pour $175 million into a 20% stake of Canadian cannabis producer Organigram, a portend of future tobacco and cannabis tie-ups, according to analysts. I spoke with Organigram’s CEO, Greg Engel, about the deal yesterday.
He told me that while the focus is on US CBD – that’s so far the largest legal addressable market – he said “the majority of the work we do is transferrable to THC.”
“We’re tackling the big near-term market opportunity first, and then we’ll be able to pivot,” Engel told me.
As a reminder, if you want to get in touch with a confidential tip, reach out to us at jberke@insider.com, or ylee@insider.com. Signal number for encrypted messages upon request.
Acreage Holdings laid off 11 corporate employees last week as part of a restructuring, two sources familiar with the matter told Insider.
The layoffs included several senior employees, such as the director of compliance and VP of communications, among others. The move was billed as a corporate-wide restructuring effort, the people said.
Curaleaf will become the first US cannabis company to expand into Europe through its acquisition of European cannabis company EMMAC Life Sciences in a $285 million deal. CEO Joseph Bayern told Insider he believes Europe will evolve to become a cannabis market that will rival the US.
Within the past two years, around half a dozen universities have established centers focused on researching the use of psychedelic substances as medical treatments. The trend, researchers say, is in large thanks due to increasing evidence around the compounds as well as wealthy philanthropists have caught the “psychedelic bug.”
Lawmakers in Mexico passed a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis on Wednesday night. The legislation is expected to pass the Senate before landing on President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s desk.
On March 1, the actor Seth Rogen announced the US launch of his marijuana company, Houseplant, and said the brand’s strains would soon be available in California.
In addition to its cannabis offerings, Houseplant also sells lighters, ashtrays, and ceramic goods. On Thursday, the brand launched.
By midafternoon, the Houseplant site experienced so much traffic that it crashed, and the brand set up a “waiting room” for customers looking to get access to the site.
Less than an hour later, Rogen tweeted that the site had been taken offline to get it in better shape to support all the traffic. He told fans that many of the Houseplant products were still available.
Houseplant initially launched in Canada in May 2019. The launch on Thursday marked a move to the US market for Rogen and his longtime writing and business partner Evan Goldberg, as well as the brand’s CEO, Michael Mohr, a venture capitalist.
The brand sells bespoke strains of cannabis, which are packaged to look like vintage records. Rogen shared photos of a block-shaped lighter and ceramics from the brand on his social-media accounts as well.
Rogen told Architectural Digest that Houseplant was “trying to really consider people who smoke weed in a way that they have not been considered before.”
“Just like alcohol has martini shakers, wine glasses, and corkscrews. If you are someone who smokes weed, there is really none of that,” he said.
Peter Novosel/Houseplant
A press release said that after Houseplant’s launch, the brand would be releasing new products from the “Housegoods” line “every few weeks.”
“We are thrilled by how insanely positive the response has been so far – we have been completely inundated with interest and requests, and our site has been overwhelmed with the amount of traffic,” a Houseplant spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Insider. “We are working hard to get the website back up and running again, and will be in communication with our customers all along the way to provide the best experience possible.”
The strategic investment will accelerate Organigram’s research and development and product pipeline development, with both companies entering into a product collaboration agreement. The two firms’ first collaborative product venture will be in the CBD space.
Both companies will contribute scientists, researchers, and product developers to the collaborative product initiative. The cash infusion into Organigram will also strengthen its balance sheet and put the company in a better position to compete in US markets.
“[The deal] is instrumental in advancing our commitment to offering consumers innovative cannabis products and to furthering our long-term international strategy, ” CEO Greg Engel said in a press release.
Big tobacco has had its eyes on the cannabis industry for years, as it represents a potential new avenue for growth given that cigarette sales continue to broadly decline. Altria was the first big tobacco company to invest in the space after buying a stake of Cronos for more than $2 billion in 2018.
Welcome to Insider Cannabis, our weekly newsletter where we’re bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom.
Never a dull week in the cannabis (and psychedelics industry). The biggest headline news this week is Atai’s monstrous $157 million raise. CEO Florian Brand told Yeji the company is “doubling down” on its strategy – you can read her report here.
Beyond that, I asked Jason Wild of JW Asset Management for his top cannabis picks for 2021. In short, he’s bullish on US cannabis.
And last, I had the chance to chat with five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber about his new $100 million cannabis equity fund and his push to make cannabis more inclusive from the start.
“I don’t know of any other industry where this type of vested interest has been made to make change,” Webber told me. “It hasn’t been in tech – tech is lucrative. It damn sure wasn’t in cotton, it wasn’t in transportation.”
Just months after breaking the record for the largest funding round in the psychedelics field, Atai Life Sciences has raised another $157 million to continue to develop treatments for mental illnesses like depression, addiction, and anxiety. CEO Florian Brand told Insider the money will be used to “double down” on the company’s strategy.
His hedge fund, JW Asset Management, returned over 146% in 2020 – buoyed by significant investments in the cannabis industry. In an interview, Wild shared the six cannabis stocks he’s betting on, including Trulieve and TerrAscend, Green Thumb Industries, and more.
Former five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber has a new mission: Helping minority entrepreneurs access the economic boom created by the wave of cannabis legalization sweeping the US.
Webber is launching a $100 million fund to invest in Black and other minority cannabis entrepreneurs. He told Insider he has a unique opportunity to ensure that the cannabis industry is inclusive from the start.
Executive Moves
Private MSO Parallel announced on Monday that Walgreen’s veteran Jeremy Kunicki would be coming aboard as the company’s new CFO.
California cannabis distributor HERBL said on Wednesday that it had appointed Chemistry Holdings founder Josh Held as chief strategy officer.
Green Thumb Industries is partnering with Cann, a startup that makes low dose THC and CBD beverages, to distribute Cann products in legal states across the US.
OTC-listed cannabis company MariMed closed a $46 million financing facility with Hadron Healthcare Fund to help repay the company’s debt, among other goals.
Legalization in South Dakota appears in trouble after facing opposition from Gov. Kristi Noem and other lawmakers. In February, South Dakota’s attorney general abandoned his effort to defend the voter-approved bill. On Thursday, the state’s House State Affairs Committee voted to kill the current version of the bill.
Marijuana and methamphetamine seizures plummeted in the early part of the pandemic, according to a study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Those seizures peaked in August 2020, pointing to how the illicit drug supply chain shifts.
Chart of the week
Psychedelics companies saw a rush of private funding in 2020, according to data from CB Insights. In 2020, private psychedelics startups raised $448 million globally, compared to just $95 million in 2019. Insider rounded up the 14 psychedelics startups that raised the most capital in 2020:
The Biden administration will overlook past recreational drug use to open up the pool of prospective applicants for key White House roles.
Biden officials recognized that potential applicants might have difficulty securing positions without a waiver dismissing pot consumption, NBC News reported.
Previous users must not use pot during their tenure in office and undergo random drug tests.
The White House on Friday said it would begin to permit people who’ve used marijuana recreationally to apply for roles within the Biden administration.
The new policy means that some people who’ve used pot on a “limited” basis” will not be penalized by being denied the chance to work in the White House, NBC News reported.
A White House official told NBC News that the policy changed after “intensive consultation with security officials.”
The change will be implemented on a “case-by-case basis,” NBC News reported. Only individuals applying to positions that don’t require a security clearance can receive a waiver overlooking past marijuana use.
Marijuana is not legal under federal law. But there’s a growing movement to legalize pot, and multiple cities and states have been taking the lead on it. In the latest development, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York signaled in January that he intends to make marijuana legal in the state.
“I think this should’ve been passed years ago,” Cuomo said during a January press briefing. “I think too many people have been imprisoned, incarcerated, and punished. Too many of those people are Black, Latino, and poor. It’s exaggerated the injustice of the justice system.”
Biden officials recognized that potential applicants might have difficulty securing positions without a waiver overlooking recreational marijuana use, NBC News reported.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
But in a statement to NBC News, a White House official said that President Joe Biden “is committed to bringing the best people into government – especially the young people whose commitment to public service can deepen in these positions and who can play leadership roles in our country for decades to come.”
“The White House’s policy will maintain the absolute highest standards for service in government that the President expects from his administration, while acknowledging the reality that state and local marijuana laws have changed significantly across the country in recent years,” the statement continued.
Individuals who are granted a waiver and secure a White House position must agree to not use pot during their tenure in office. They also must undergo drug testing at random intervals, according to NBC News.
These guidelines would “effectively protect our national security while modernizing policies to ensure that talented and otherwise well-qualified applicants with limited marijuana use will not be barred from serving the American people,” a White House official told NBC News.
Staff members work inside MedMen, a California-based cannabis company store serving medical prescription patients with cannabis products, on the store’s opening day on 5th Avenue in Manhattan in New York City.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
Struggling cannabis companies with licenses in New York are likely acquisition targets.
Ascend Wellness said it would take a majority stake in MedMen’s New York assets.
There may be other deals to come as New York moves toward cannabis legalization.
As New York looks to legalize cannabis, companies are already making deals to enter what could be one of the largest markets in the US.
On Thursday, MedMen and Ascend Wellness said that they’d reached an agreement for Ascend to take a majority stake in MedMen’s New York operations. Following the $73 million deal, Ascend will hold an 86.7% stake in MedMen’s New York assets and have an option to acquire the rest.
Struggling companies that operate in New York’s medical cannabis market could be attractive acquisition targets for companies looking to enter New York, experts told Insider.
MedMen has struggled to turn its operations around in recent years and analysts have pointed to the possibility of such a sale as the company looks for ways to stabilize its balance sheets. Recently, MedMen hired investment bank Moelis & Company to look at “strategic alternatives.” Moelis served as the financial advisor to MedMen in this deal.
Several other cannabis companies are also likely targets.
Since 2012, 15 states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana for adults over the age of 21. And 36 states have legalized medical marijuana – meaning that a majority of Americans now have some form of access to marijuana, whether medically or recreationally.
Four more states – New Jersey, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota – voted to legalize recreational cannabis in November. On top of that, voters in Mississippi backed the creation of a medical cannabis program.
In February, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation officially legalizing marijuana in the state.
Though Canada legalized marijuana federally in 2018, the US has not followed suit, forcing states to chart their own courses. As it stands, marijuana is still considered an illegal Schedule I drug by the US federal government.
Cowen analyst Vivien Azer said in a January 6 note that with a Democratic-controlled government, cannabis-related legislation – like the STATES Act or MORE Act – has a better chance of passing through Congress, creating big opportunities for the US industry.
“[W]e expect Congress will give cannabis companies access to commercial banking and insurance,” Azer wrote. “We also see medical cannabis being protected. Capital markets access is largely dependent upon enactment of either the STATES Act or the MORE Act.”
Biden has said he would support federal decriminalization of the drug. Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris sponsored a previous version of the MORE Act in the Senate. And, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that marijuana reform would be a priority for the Senate this year.
Despite the political back-and-forth, most Americans want legal marijuana, according to recent polls. Sixty-seven percent of Americans polled by Pew Research said marijuana should be legal, with only 32% in opposition.
All the states where marijuana is legal:
This article was first published in January 2018 and has been updated with new information about where cannabis is legal and the results from Georgia’s runoff elections. Melia Russell contributed to an earlier version of this report.
AlaskaA cannabis-testing laboratory in Santa Ana, California.
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
Adults 21 and over can light up in Alaska. In 2015, the northernmost US state made it legal for residents to use, possess, and transport up to an ounce of marijuana — roughly a sandwich bag full — for recreational use. The first pot shop opened for business in 2016.
Alaska has pounced on the opportunity to make its recreational-pot shops a destination for tourists. More than 2 million people visit Alaska annually and spend $2 billion.
Arizona
Nate McDonald, General Manager of Curaleaf NY operations, talks about medical marijuana plants during a media tour of the Curaleaf medical cannabis cultivation and processing facility Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in Ravena, N.Y
The ballot measure was backed by a number of cannabis giants, including Curaleaf, Cresco, and Harvest Enterprises.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is required to lay out adult-use cannabis regulations by April 5, 2021.
California
A MedMen store in West Hollywood, California, on January 2, 2018.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana. California became even more pot-friendly in 2016 when it made it legal to use and carry up to 1 ounce of marijuana.
The law also permits adults 21 and over to buy up to 8 grams of marijuana concentrates, which are found in edibles, and grow no more than six marijuana plants per household.
Colorado
A marijuana leaf.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
In Colorado, there are more marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. The state joined Washington in becoming the first two states to fully legalize the drug in 2012.
Residents and tourists over the age of 21 can buy up to 1 ounce of marijuana or 8 grams of concentrates. Some Colorado counties and cities have passed more restrictive laws.
Illinois
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Illinois lawmakers in June 2019 passed a bill that legalized the possession and commercial sale of marijuana in the state starting on January 1.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who made marijuana legalization a core component of his campaign for the governor’s office, signed the bill into law.
For its part, Illinois is the first state to legalize marijuana sales through a state legislature, rather than a ballot initiative.
Maine
Harvested cannabis plants at Hexo Corp.’s facilities in Gatineau, Quebec, on September 26, 2018.
REUTERS/Chris Wattie
A ballot initiative in 2016 gave Maine residents the right to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, more than double the limit in most other states.
Recreational-marijuana dispensaries are set to open in Maine in October.
Massachusetts
Medicinal cannabis cigarettes on July 12, 2018, at a cultivation facility in Milford, Massachusetts.
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Massachusetts was the first state on the East Coast to legalize marijuana after voters approved the measure in 2016.
Marijuana dispensaries opened their doors to consumers in November 2018. Adults over the age of 21 can purchase up to 1 ounce of marijuana but cannot consume it in public.
Michigan
The Far West Holistic Center dispensary on November 7, 2018, in Detroit.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Voters in Michigan passed Proposition 1 in 2018, making it the first state in the Midwest to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for adults over the age of 21. Adults can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, and residents can grow up to 12 plants at home.
The law is more permissive than other states with legal marijuana: Most allow residents to possess only up to 1 ounce at a time.
Marijuana dispensaries in Michigan opened on December 1.
Montana
A CPlant employee organizes a box of hemp for export at the company’s farm on the outskirts of Tala, Uruguay, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020.
Montana residents will officially be allowed to use marijuana as of January 1, 2021. A year later, the state would begin to open up applications for dispensaries.
New Jersey
A CPlant employee trims a hemp flower for export at the company’s farm on the outskirts of Tala, Uruguay, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020.
AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico
New Jersey in 2020 voted to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older, opening a market that could near $1 billion given New Jersey’s proximity to New York City and Philadelphia.
In February, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legalization legislation, after months of back-and-forth arguments about criminal penalties for minors possessing marijuana and the proper way to set up a licensing framework for cannabis sales in the state, among other details. Sales of cannabis for adult use could start in the second half of this year, analysts at Cowen said.
Nevada
The Essence cannabis dispensary on July 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.
John Locher/AP
Residents and tourists who are 21 and over can buy 1 ounce of marijuana or one-eighth of an ounce of edibles or concentrates in Nevada. Less than two weeks after sales of recreational weed began on July 1, 2017, many stores ran out of marijuana to sell.
There’s bad news if you want to grow your own bud, though. Nevada residents must live 25 miles outside the nearest dispensary to be eligible for a grower’s license.
Oregon
Oregon’s Finest medical-marijuana dispensary in Portland, Oregon, on April 8, 2014.
Anthony Bolante/Reuters
Oregon legalized marijuana in 2015, and sales in the state started October 1 of that year.
Sales in Oregon pot shops have exploded since legalization: They’re expected to top $1 billion by 2020, Portland Business Journal reported.
South Dakota
A team member of Aurora Cannabis works in the grow room at Aurora Sky cannabis growing greenhouse in Alberta, Canada, in this 2018 handout image.
State lawmakers have until April 2o22 to create rules around cannabis, including regulations around dispensaries.
Vermont
Cannabis plants in a laboratory.
REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Vermont became the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislature, rather than a ballot initiative, when Republic Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill into law in January 2018.
Adults in the Green Mountain State can carry up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow no more than two plants for recreational use. The law went into effect in July 2018. But it is limited in scope. It doesn’t establish a legal market for the production and sale of the drug, though the Vermont Legislature is working on adopting rules to create a recreational market.
Washington
A medical-marijuana plantation on March 21, 2017.
REUTERS/Nir Elias
Marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Washington in 2012.
The state allows people to carry up to 1 ounce of marijuana, but they must use the drug for medicinal purposes to be eligible for a grower’s license.
Washington, DC
AP
Residents in the nation’s capital voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana for adult use in November 2014.
The bill took effect in 2015, allowing people to possess 2 ounces or less of marijuana and “gift” up to an ounce, if neither money nor goods or services are exchanged.
Welcome to Insider Cannabis, our weekly newsletter where we’re bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom.
This week’s volatility was brought to you by the WallStreetBets forum on Reddit. As “meme stocks” like Gamestop and AMC fell back to Earth, the forum’s users turned to a new target: cannabis stocks.
The trading frenzy saw shares of Canadian cannabis companies like Sundial and Tilray surge on Wednesday, and slump on Thursday.
Beyond that, we have a look at how hedge funds with significant investments in cannabis weathered the crash of 2019, and profited in 2020. One fund, JW Asset Management, ended the year up a whopping 146%. You can read that story here.
A year ago, there were just a handful of publicly traded psychedelics companies.
Today, the landscape looks drastically different as psychedelics companies have made the jump into public markets, seeking more capital to develop drugs for regulatory approval, build out networks of clinics, or cultivate and extract psilocybin from mushrooms.
Insider identified the biggest companies in the industry, most of which have gone public within the past year. Here’s what to know about them, including a guide to their business models and when they expect to sell medications
Three hedge funds that have significant holdings in the cannabis industry, including dedicated cannabis funds, shared returns exclusively with Insider. The documents show that after steep losses in 2019, investors who held on were rewarded as the industry recovered.
JW Asset Management led the pack, gaining a whopping 146% in 2020.
The biggest cannabis stocks had a wild week. They got slammed on Thursday, after soaring on Wednesday, in part thanks to retail traders spurred by Reddit forum WallStreetBets.
Insider talked to analysts who said that the stocks that are currently experiencing volatile trading aren’t the right companies to bet on. Instead, they said, look to US MSOs.
Executive Moves
HEXO Corp announced that it has appointed Charles Bowman as General Manager of its US operations.
Former Clever Leaves Global Head of B2B José María Forero will be joining Blueberries Medical Corp. as President of Latin American Operations. He will start his role next Tuesday.
Cannabis PR firm Mattio Communications is launching Confluence, an influencer marketing agency. Victoria Baek will serve as CEO. Mattio also appointed Nicole Walsh as its first chief culture officer.
A group of cannabis companies and organizations, including startups like Eaze and publicly traded companies like Canopy Growth, launched the US Cannabis Council. The organization says it will push to end federal cannabis prohibition in the US as well as advance social equity and racial justice in the industry.
Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joined the National Cannabis Roundtable as co-chair. Sebelius, also the former Democratic governor of Kansas, will be heading the industry group alongside former Republican House Speaker John Boehner. Read more here from Politico.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers unveiled a plan this week to legalize marijuana through the state budget, reports Marijuana Moment.
Canopy Growth reported Q3 earnings on Tuesday, reporting C$152.5 million revenue and an C$829 million loss. CEO David Klein said on a call with investors that he expects Canopy to enter the US market later this year and said that he predicts the company will turn a profit by 2022.
Aurora Cannabis reported its Q2 earnings on Thursday, reporting C$67.7 million in revenue and an adjusted EBITDA losses of C$16.8 million.
cbdMD reported its Q1 earnings on Tuesday, reporting $12.3 million in net sales and a $9.4 million loss.
Canopy Rivers reported its Q3 earnings on Wednesday, reporting net income of C$1.4 million. The company said its revenue increase was driven by its investment in US cannabis company TerrAscend.
MedMen and Green Thumb Industries are scheduled to announce earnings next week.
Science and research
Cannabis is associated with a reduction in blood pressure among older adults, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine.
Chart of the week
The largest cannabis markets in the US will be California, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, and Colorado, by 2025 according to data from New Frontier Data. The data assumes no additional states pass legalization measures and there are no significant federal policy changes:
