Florida Tracker
Sales in Florida have been showing some slowing in the past few weeks. This past week, sales were down 11% from the week prior. Qualified patients increased .63%, however. This week, no new dispensaries were added to the state compared to last week when eight were added. Tracking market share gains and losses, Trulieve and Surterra continue to lose while Verano, Curaleaf, Ayr, and Harvest gain share in the state. In addition, Columbia Care has rebranded its Florida business and will operate as Cannabist moving forward.
Heating up
Over the next few months, the Senate will be working thru another draft of the Cannabis Opportunity and Administration Act. There are several issues across both sides of the aisle, but some groups asked for a ban on involvement from the tobacco industry, despite Altria making one of the biggest investments in the space to date in CRON. Interstate commerce being the biggest issue for the industry, as some would argue that immediately allowing interstate commerce could quickly undermine existing social equity businesses. Instead, looking for a gradual approach to opening up the market, allowing state markets to remain siloed from other states at least for the initial few years. Former Massachusetts Cannabis Commissioner Shaleen Title suggests creating benchmarks for social justice and tying federal funding to those benchmarks. They also suggest allowing interstate commerce gradually and prohibiting vertical integration (as the alcohol industry does). “As the bill sponsors have rightfully put it, legalization isn’t about making corporations richer or letting Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol take over,” Shaleen said. “Some of these companies have a long and undeniable history of defrauding the public and causing devastating harm and millions of deaths. We are deeply concerned that they may already be designing a similar model for cannabis.” The Minority Cannabis Business Association, meanwhile, did not ask for a slowdown of interstate commerce but rather that the federal government creates additional policies that would “promote minority participation in the federally regulated market” and “strengthen provisions to economically restore and empower the individuals and communities most impacted by the War on Drugs.” Others ask for a cap on marijuana potency of 10 to 15%, which the industry will fight hard.
Sweetwater Brewing
SweetWater Brewing (TLRY) announced Friday that it had launched a new non-dairy almond milk stout. "The new brew offers an authentic stout taste balanced with delicate almond sweetness. SweetWater's latest tasty brew is crafted for all beer drinkers and stout lovers with plant-based ingredients. In addition, it is blended to achieve a light-bodied taste. Our goal with crafting a dairy-free brew was to brew a milk stout for today’s consumer, one that breaks the mold from what we’re used to seeing on the market,” Brian Miesieski, chief marketing officer at SweetWater, stated. “We’re very excited to introduce an innovative new stout that stays true to the tasty flavoring of traditional full-flavored authentic milk stouts, but future-forward given the non-dairy milk that consumers have taken to today.”
