According to Politico, we'll get our first look at the much-anticipated Senate cannabis reform bill at a press conference on Wednesday. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) will release a discussion draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act — the Senate's take on comprehensive reform.
Illinois Tracker
Inferior medical numbers dragged down total Illinois sales. Sales for medical cannabis fell by 7% sequentially, while adult use also fell but only .8%. Both medicinal and adult-use is up year over year. One major item to note for Illinois is that IL has the highest average revenue per dispensary in the USA out of all states at about $16 Million per dispensary. The annual run rate for IL is $1.65 Billion and the largest players in the state are Cresco, Green Thumb and Curaleaf.
Michigan Tracker
Showing a similar trend to other states with both recreational and medical data, Michigan medical sales were down while recreational sales were up. Recreational, which makes up the majority of revenue of Michigan, was up 2.8% sequentially and 140% YoY. Medical was down 6.4% sequentially and 8.8% YoY. This brought total sales up just slightly sequentially and 64.9% YoY. The largest increases in sales were shown by Shake/Trim and Infused Edibles. The annual run rate for Michigan is $1.88 Billion.
SweetWater Expansion to West Coast
SweetWater Brewing, owned by Tilray, announced it would be expanding to the West coast of the US into Colorado. SweetWater is currently the 11th largest craft brewery in America and will build a 32,450 sq. Ft. facility in Colorado. It will also be opening a bar located at the Denver International Airport, its second airport location (SweetWater has one in the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport). Freddy Bensch, founder and CEO of SweetWater said "The general vibe throughout Colorado aligns perfectly with who we are as a brand and SweetWater's passion for the great outdoors, embracing a 420 lifestyle and our motto - Don't Float the Mainstream! We have a lot of respect for the beers and brewers from Colorado and look forward to raising a glass in this great state. There's not a more perfect location to expand our brand and help grow the reach of our heady, high-quality brews with beer drinkers throughout the West Coast." Year-to-date through June 13, off-premise dollar sales of SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale have declined -12.6%, to nearly $8.7 million, according to market research firm IRI. Those numbers come against the backdrop of tough year-ago pandemic-driven comps and a largely reopened on-premise channel. As a result, 420’s dollar share of the craft beer market so far this year has declined -0.05%, to 0.39%, the firm reported. SweetWater produced 226,639 barrels of beer in 2020, a decline of -13%, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer magazine. That made SweetWater the 11th largest BA-defined craft brewery by volume. Regional craft brewers expanding on-premise locations far from their hub have had mixed results. The most memorable example is Constellation Brands' $1B write-downs of Ballast Point.
This expansion to the west coast will give Tilray a distribution channel to a greater footprint of the US market when full legalization occurs for cannabis. Tilray has been struggling in Canada and will need revenues coming from internationally to be able to turn a profit. TLRY was up .7% on the day yesterday which was when the announcement was made.
