No cannabis in the House policing bill
According to the latest reports from Capital Hill the latest version of the House policing bill will not include any cannabis provisions. A Democratic representative said that they did not want to give Republicans any excuses for not voting for the bill. That statement says a lot about how cannabis laws are still seen by members of both parties.
Massachusetts recreational market reopens at lower level
Recreational marijuana stores reopened in Massachusetts in late May after the state mandated a two-month shutdown due to COVID-19. Sales during the first week were well off the growth rate pre-pandemic. The lower rate of growth could be in part due to travel into the state being down considerably. The Massachusetts recreational market is limited in size by having only 60 stores currently operating.
Canadian companies buying US cannabis companies
Since January 2019 Canadian companies have purchased 54 American cannabis companies ranging in size between $775k to more than $300M. Due to the much larger size of the US market, Canadian companies are looking to the much larger market. Last year the Canadian legal market's size was $1.2B, less than half the size of California's $3B market alone. 51 of the 54 transactions were done by companies listed on Canadian stock exchanges. Some of those companies listed in Canada are US based companies that because they sell or produce cannabis in the US can not list on US stock exchanges, but can list in Canada. Most recently Aurora purchased Reliva, a CBD brand, in May. Canopy's agreement to purchase Acreage upon the legalization of marijuana is another example. The shopping spree likely continues due to capital access and market size.
