Its crunch time for cannabis Reform
The cannabis industry is pushing lawmakers to get a marijuana reform bill to President Biden's desk before the November midterms, fearing that a Republican takeover of Congress could doom its chances. In an in-person lobbying blitz last week, more than 20 chief executives of top cannabis companies urged lawmakers in both parties to pass the SAFE Banking Act, a bill to allow them to work with U.S. banks that the industry is confident will win enough GOP support to pass the Senate.
Gorenstein is back
CRON is a LONG
Cronos Group (CRON) yesterday announced that the Board of Directors had appointed Mike Gorenstein as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, effective March 21, 2022, in connection with Kurt Schmidt's retirement. "I am excited to return as CEO and accelerate progress by leveraging the innovative and daring approach that Cronos was built on," said Mike Gorenstein, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "We positioned Cronos to have the best tools to succeed in this market with our evolving asset-light supply chain, an organically growing brand in Canada, differentiated IP with a focus on rare cannabinoids, and one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry. Now it is time to use those tools to deliver meaningful shareholder value."
Mike Gorenstein's immediate areas of focus include:
- Delivering accretive margin growth focusing on adult-use product formats;
- Continuing to drive rare cannabinoid development and commercialization strategy;
- Cutting costs and focusing investments on the highest ROI opportunities, specifically "borderless" investments that can create incremental revenue as new markets come online
- Leading a successful transition from Peace Naturals Campus to a more agile supply chain; and
- They are positioning Cronos to win in the U.S. cannabis market.
N.H. LAWMAKERS CONSIDER STATE-SPONSORED STORES
New Hampshire is considering a bill to legalize adult-use marijuana and set up state-run cannabis retailers. The proposal is based on New Hampshire's existing system for regulating alcohol sales and recently won praise from New Hampshire's anti-legalization GOP Gov. Chris Sununu. No other U.S. state has legalized marijuana in this way which creates some hurdles for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. "We'd have everybody who worked on cannabis completely separate from anybody who worked on liquor," Commission Chair Joseph Mollica told lawmakers during a Ways and Means Committee hearing on Friday — just in case the federal government ever cracked down on state marijuana laws. All the "dollars [are] accounted for separately." New Hampshire is bordered by marijuana-legal states Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The committee will continue working on the bill this week, with plans to do away with a 15-license cap on cultivators. "There are 650 growers in Maine now, and they cannot keep up with the amount of cannabis being sold," Mollica said. "I think [the license cap] would be a mistake."
