California Governor approves changes to marijuana banking and labeling laws
Earlier this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed several marijuana laws bills into law; notably, one of the bills signed, AB 1525, removes state penalties against banks that work with marijuana clients. Newsom commented, "This bill has the potential to increase the provisions of financial services to the legal cannabis industry, and for that reason, I support it." The governor also directed state regulators to establish privacy rules for cannabis operators seeking financial services, emphasizing the need for that data to be kept confidential.
In Ontario, legal pot makes up 25% of sales in Q2 (CGC, HITIF/META, FFLWF)
In a new quarterly report from Ontario's government-operated Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), legal sales in the province made up 25% of all cannabis sales for the quarter ended June 30. This marks a 40bps share uptick sequentially. The OCS also reported that it beat illicit marijuana prices with an average price per gram of CA$7.05 versus illicit costing CA$7.98. Retail store count more than doubled QoQ. This comes as the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is set to double its cannabis retail store authorizations in-licenses per month heading into the fall.
The province has a population of 14.7M people or roughly 40% of the country's population; however, as of the most recent Health Canada date, Ontario made up just 26.0% of total legal sales. Meanwhile, Alberta has a population of 4.4M people or roughly 12% of Canada's population – its sales made up 22.4% of the nation's total legal sale. The unit growth in the province will provide operators with a retail presence there (CGC, HITIF/META, FFLWF) with an expansion opportunity. It will hopefully help in narrowing the illicit market.
Columbia Care expands in Florida with two dispensary openings (CCHWF, TCNNF)
Yesterday, Columbia Care, Inc. announced two dispensaries in Florida – Miami Pinelake and Brandon. The Miami dispensary began officially serving the community's medical cannabis customers starting September 30, 2020. The Brandon will open its doors today, October 1, 2020. With these additions, Columbia Care will have an operational total of 12 dispensaries in the state. Florida is one of the company's largest markets. The MSO's Lakeland cultivation facility is now producing at 100% bloom capacity.
