Ahead of the DNC, the Biden-Sanders joint task force proposes their plans for cannabis
Earlier this week, the joint task force formed between Biden and Sanders released a slew of policy recommendations ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention. Their recommended key policies on cannabis are as follows:
- Decriminalize marijuana use, legalize marijuana for medical purposes at the federal level, and reschedule it through executive action on the federal level.
- Allow states to make their own decisions about legalizing recreational use.
- Automatically expunge all past marijuana convictions for use and possession.
The official release confirms much of what was mentioned in our Tuesday note.
In Pennsylvania, Senate Democrats turn to adult-use legalization for economic relief
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Senate Democrats sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and legislative officials were pushing for adult-use legalization to generate state revenue to offset the economic fallout from COVID-19. The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office anticipates that the state’s General Fund revenues would take a $3.9 billion hit due to COVID-19 in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, of which $2.1 billion would be shifted to the next fiscal year and $1.8 billion would be permanently lost from a contraction of economic activity.
The letter states, “Through legalizing adult-use cannabis, we can protect Pennsylvanians from harmful tax hikes and spending cuts and raise new revenue to continue providing vital services and assistance for our constituents. We urge you to consider this issue during this year’s budget negotiations, and work with us to enact a responsible budget that will benefit all Pennsylvanians.”
Currently, Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana market is thriving – The Marijuana Business Factbook estimates that sales in the nation’s fifth-most populous state could double YoY to $400-$500 million in 2020.
The troubled Hexo (NSYE:HEXO), announced yesterday that it plans to start selling medical cannabis in Israel. This will be the first time that Hexo will sell its products outside of Canada. Their medical marijuana products will be distributed and sold through a local Israeli company, Breath of Life International, under a two-year contract. Hexo’s flower products will be made available to patients in a packaged 10-gram format. In response to the news of Hexo creating an international footprint, U.S. listed shares of Hexo surged 18% in premarket trading on Thursday. We have seen a number of companies make announcements about selling products in Israel since CRON mentioned how important the market is on the last earnings call. CRON is the best-positioned company in Israel. In April 2020, Cronos completed its first export of bulk dried flower to Cronos Israel to sell its PEACE NATURALS branded cannabis products. Cronos Israel is working with its JV partners at Kibbutz Gan Shmuel to build a distribution network and brand presence in the rapidly growing medical market.
