Welcome to TDR’s review of the Top 7 Cannabis Developments for the week of December 4. Aside from presenting a synopsis of news events, interviews and closing market prices for publicly-listed companies.
7. Curaleaf Announces Receipt of Conditional Approval to List Subordinate Voting Shares on the TSX
Curaleaf Holdings announced that it has received conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to list its subordinate voting shares on the TSX.
Final approval of the TSX Listing is subject to the Company meeting certain customary conditions required by the TSX. The Company will issue a press release once such TSX listing conditions are satisfied and the TSX confirms the date that trading of the Subordinate Voting Shares will commence trade.
A coalition of military veterans organizations is pushing President Joe Biden to ensure that the ongoing administrative review into marijuana’s scheduling status is completed in a “timely manner” and also take steps to “counter” misinformation while pursuing broader reform.
In a letter sent to the president last week, multiple veterans-focused groups expressed appreciation for his directive initiating the marijuana review last year, which led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to recommend that cannabis be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
5. Medical Cannabis Gets Go-Ahead For Pain Relief In French Hospitals
The general authorization of medical cannabis has moved a step closer with the French government granting it temporary status for five years – and scope for this to be renewed indefinitely. The price, prescription criteria and reimbursement rate are still to be defined.
In the meantime, patients who are already using medical cannabis as part of an experiment will be allowed to continue.
Under the new proposals, products will be authorized on a case-by-case basis and will remain restricted to a last-resort treatment, prescribed only in hospitals.
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Chart Of The Week—How Important Events Have Previously Moved MSOS
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Podcast Of The Week—New Industry Rumors From Vegas MJBizCon
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Widely Held MSOs & LP Weekly Performance
| Company | Symbol | Previous Week Close | End Of Week Close | % Change On Week |
| AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF | MSOS | 6.93 | 7.46 | 7.64 |
| Aurora Cannabis | ACB | 0.4683 | 0.5176 | 10.52 |
| Ayr Wellness | AYRWF | 2.23 | 2.54 | 13.90 |
| Canopy Growth | CGC | 0.6180 | 0.80 | 29.44 |
| Cresco Labs | CRLBF | 1.74 | 1.80 | 3.44 |
| Curaleaf Holdings | CURLF | 3.59 | 4.17 | 16.15 |
| Green Thumb Industries | GTBIF | 10.54 | 11.40 | 8.15 |
| High Tide Inc. | HITI | 1.61 | 1.63 | 1.24 |
| Marimed Inc. | MRMD | 0.2976 | 0.3011 | 1.17 |
| TerrAscend Corp. | TSNDF | 1.61 | 1.56 | -3.10 |
| Tilray Brands | TLRY | 1.90 | 1.92 | 1.05 |
| Trulieve Cannabis | TCNNF | 5.55 | 6.05 | 9.00 |
| Verano Holdings | VRNOF | 4.29 | 4.55 | 6.06 |
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4. Japan Enacts Legislation to Lift Ban on Cannabis-Derived Drugs
Japan’s parliament enacted legislation on Wednesday to revise the cannabis control law to lift a ban on the use of medicines containing cannabis-derived substances. The House of Councillors, the parliament’s upper chamber, approved the legislation with support mainly from the ruling coalition.
The legislative change comes as calls have been growing in Japan to enable the use of a medicine for treatment of intractable epilepsy that contains a cannabis-derived substance called cannabidiol. The revised law imposes a ban on narcotic use of cannabis and makes offenders punishable with an imprisonment of up to seven years.
In the news…
Alabama regulators have issued 20 medical cannabis business licenses to dispensaries, cultivators, processors, transportation providers and testing labs.
AYR Wellness announced the relaunch of its flagship kynd brand via the ‘Season of Kyndness’ initiative, a campaign designed to spread positive impact and connection during the holiday season through hyperlocal charitable giving.
Cannabis Bioscience International Holdings announced that its registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-267039), filed under the Securities Act of 1933, was declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on December 5, 2023.
Cannara Biotech announced its fiscal fourth quarter 2023 financial and operating results for the three and twelve month periods ended August 31, 2023.
Charlotte’s Web Holdings announced that CBD experts and advocates joined the ONE HEMP coalition in Washington DC yesterday to meet with members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill.
Christina Lake Cannabis announced its fourth consecutive successful outdoor harvest.
Connecticut’s adult-use marijuana market has hit some potholes less than a year after launch, with overall sales of recreational and medical cannabis dipping in October – an uncommon development for a new market.
Curaleaf Holdings announced that, in connection with the previously announced conditional approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange to list the company’s subordinate voting shares on the TSX, the company proceeded with the necessary internal reorganization of its U.S. operations.
Feds release 250+ pages Of Redacted Documents On Marijuana Rescheduling Recommendation, Detailing Cannabis’s Medical Value—Marijuana Moment
Florida medical marijuana certification company is seeking to block an adult-use cannabis legalization ballot initiative in the state Supreme Court, arguing that the reform “disproportionately prioritizes” profits from recreational sales.
Germany cannabis legalization vote delayed until next year…
GOP federal lawmaker says that if Washington, D.C. wants to legalize marijuana sales, it should be allowed to do so without congressional interference.
Green Thumb Industries announced the retirement of Richard Drexler from its Board of Directors, effective December 8.
Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has finally released a tranche of documents related to its recommendation and the detailed review it undertook on cannabis’s accepted medical value.
Humble & Fume was unable to file the following periodic disclosure documents by the filing deadline of November 29, 2023.
Marijuana legalization would lead to sharp increases in problematic use, newly published data from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Missouri lawmakers will consider a bill that would add marijuana to existing law that reduces or eliminates workers compensation eligibility for injured workers who are found to be under the influence of alcohol or nonprescribed controlled drugs.
MSOS catalyst list (and component stocks) as we head into 2024…
Multistate cannabis operators with medical marijuana licenses in New York could begin adult-use sales as soon as this month.
New Hampshire has issued its final report, capping off months of meetings at which members failed to agree on a way forward for cannabis policy in the state.
New Israeli cannabis regulation, facilitating access for many new patients, scheduled for December 29, 2023, has been postponed by three months; Israeli Ministry of Health published a new report showing a surge in new medical cannabis patients in November 2023.
New York Office of Cannabis Management’s executive director is hosting a virtual town hall with retail license holders on Wednesday afternoon to outline “what’s next” after New York recently settled two lawsuits that had hindered the embattled rollout of the industry.
Republican House Rep. David Joyce to introduce new cannabis legalization bill.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who leads the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, acknowledged the barriers faced by Washington, D.C. in establishing a commercial cannabis market.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) pressed the heads of major financial institutions on their commitments to marijuana banking reform and social equity.
The Cannabist Company obtains approval of adult-use wholesale distribution and retail sales in New York…
U.S. employers required to revise cannabis testing procedures to comply with new laws in Effect Jan, 1. 2024.
Virginia Legislature changeover spurs hopes for adult-use marijuana sales.
Wisconsin lawmakers will soon be introducing a bill to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession—an incremental reform that they hope will break the logjam on cannabis policy in the GOP-controlled legislature.
Yooma Wellness has filed an assignment in bankruptcy pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Richter Inc. was appointed as Trustee of the estate.
3. DEA Issued Warnings Georgia Pharmacies; Cautions Against Dispensing Medical Cannabis
A federal government agency has stepped in an attempt to exert authority over the burgeoning medical cannabis program in the Peach State. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued warnings to pharmacies in Georgia, cautioning against the dispensing of the drug due to its illegality under federal law. This comes approximately two months following to the Georgia Board of Pharmacy’s groundbreaking decision allowing independent pharmacies to distribute THC oils.
Matthew J. Strait, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the DEA’s Diversion Control Division, conveyed in a memorandum last month that DEA-registered pharmacies are authorized to dispense controlled substances only within Schedules II-V of the Controlled Substances Act. Neither marijuana nor THC can be legally possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy.
2. Six Governors Push Biden To Ensure Marijuana Is Rescheduled By The End Of This Year
The governors of six U.S. states—Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Louisiana—sent a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on Tuesday urging the administration to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act by the end of this year. The move, they say, will provide economic and tax benefits for cannabis businesses, protect public health and more closely align government policy with public opinion.
The governors noted that the recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommendation to reschedule marijuana “comes on the heels of 38 states creating their own state markets” and regulatory systems.
In a stunning reversal, Ohio’s GOP-controlled Senate passed a revised bill that in many ways would expand the voter-approved marijuana legalization law that goes into effect on Thursday—by allowing adults to start buying cannabis from existing medical dispensaries in as soon as 90 days, maintaining home cultivation rights and providing for automatic expungements of prior convictions, among other changes.
Just days after the Senate General Government Committee advanced legislation to fundamentally undo key provisions of the cannabis initiative voters passed at the ballot last month—proposing to eliminate the home grow option and delaying legalization for at least one year until adult-use retailers started sales, for example—the panel dramatically walked back the measure and passed it in a unanimous bipartisan voice vote on Wednesday.
