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SEC VS Weedmaps: Is The Company Going Down?

By Shadd Dales On Sep 27, 2024

Welcome to the Friday Trade To Black podcast. Hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell recap the latest cannabis headlines from the last full week of September, 2024. Hot in the topics of discussion are the SEC’s charges against the cannabis technology platform Weedmaps’ parent company and former leadership. We’ll also explore Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s recent comments on marijuana legalization, the latest plans for Arizona and Verano Holdings, and some of the recent political action involving hemp and the Wyden bill.

This week, the SEC issued a press release regarding the charges against WM Technology (Nasdaq: MAPS), the parent company of Weedmaps, the former CEO, Christopher Beals, and former CFO, Arden Lee. The charges were for making negligent misrepresentations in the company’s public reporting of the “monthly active users” metric of their online cannabis marketplace. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Beals and Lee have each consented to the entry of judgments against them and both agreed to pay $175,000 in fines. WM Technology also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million.

There’s been an issue with unsafe, unregulated cannabis products in the market since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) introduced a bill called the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act (CSRA) to fill the gaps and loopholes in regulation.

Changes to hemp regulation—or rather, deregulation—is also the goal of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act on Thursday. The HEMP Act would relax federal constraints on hemp by tripling the allowable THC content from 0.3% to 1%. Paul’s deregulatory approach would lessen the burden for testing for psychoactive compounds

Tim Walz, Democratic vice-presidential candidate, believes marijuana legalization should be left to individual states. He also added that electing more Democrats could facilitate federal reforms, including cannabis banking protections.

Verano Holdings (OTC: VRNOF) is expanding with the announced opening of Zen Leaf Arcadia in Phoenix, AZ, today. This expanded Vareno’s operational footprint in Arizona to eight retail locations. Hear our takes on these headlines and more, in this episode.

Shadd Dales is the Founder and President of The Dales Report and has an extensive background in the business media industry.

His work translates into over 15 years in mainstream media that included roles with BNN Bloomberg, CTV Properties and the iHeart Radio Network.

Shadd is considered one of the leading on air talents in both the cannabis and psychedelic space and has interviewed some of the most notable CEO names in the industry.

Shadd’s vision is to establish a content platform that is equivalent to a mainstream broadcast produced in a format that is relevant for today’s investor.