SAFE Gets Through the House, But what about our vets.
Last week, a House of Representatives committee passed many amendments to get several research bills and SAFE Banking into the National Defense Act. This week, that same committee voted down several other cannabis-related amendments, including efforts to promote veterans' medical access to cannabis and protection for residents in public housing for being evicted over cannabis. "The initial plan was to attach measures to a large-scale appropriations bill that would block the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from enforcing its current policy of prohibiting VA doctors from recommending medical cannabis to veterans, as well as a directive that currently bars the department from covering medical cannabis costs." Hopefully, these amendments will become stand-alone bills in the coming months.
Cannabis Monthly Q&A + Industry Sales Tracker Update Call REPLAY
CLICK HERE for the webcast replay and materials.
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Yesterday, Howard Penney and JT Taylor hosted a call going through the different legislative scenarios that could occur before the midterm with respect to the cannabis industry, what to expect from the midterms, and different items which could be passed during the lame duck period. There is growing optimism in the industry that something will get done before the next congress takes session, but the question remains how impactful will that legislative be. During the presentation, we also went through some of the industry trends in which we are seeing. The above chart shows cannabis sales within the U.S. (out tracker accounts for roughly 75% of the industry and incorporates all the major markets in the U.S.), and you can see that the industry has been in decline. This decline is not due to consumer volume but instead pricing power. Some states like California and Washington look to have reached a point of pricing normalcy while other less mature markets are still working through these dynamics. The chart below shows cannabis prices in Canada, which is seeing similar trends as the U.S., and the number of products/brands over time. As you can see, the increased number of products on the shelf has driven prices down. Eventually, these markets will hit a point of normalcy, and only then (or with increased legalization) will we see the market dynamics shift to reflect the growth in the cannabis industry from a consumption standpoint.
cannabis on the hill.
We have discussed at length for the past week about different measures that the House has taken to pass legislation on cannabis reform and the president's comments on this matter. We have also discussed a timeline to see the release of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer a long-awaited cannabis bill. House legislators are getting impatient with the Senate due to their inaction on the subject, and they have every right to be so if you consider that SAFE Banking has now been passed roughly seven times in their chambers. "The frustration's been there for a long time. They've got to figure out what it is they want, and they can pass. Those two things aren't necessarily the same thing, so they've just got to talk among themselves – Democrats and Republicans – over there," said U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Colorado Democrat. It would be a big blow to Senate members and the cannabis industry if they couldn't agree on some type of cannabis reform before the midterms. Still, at this point, it is hard to be optimistic about the dynamics occurring in the Senate on this topic.
