States Are Pressuring the DEA for Answers
In our latest Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell kick off the week with Trulieve’s new licensing deal. They then welcome Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH), for his weekly Insiders Edge segment. State officials are putting on the DEA for clearer communication on how the Schedule III medical framework is supposed to work. We’ll share our thoughts.
Trulieve (NYSE: TRLV) announced an exclusive master licensing agreement with Connected for the genetics, trademarks and know-how to produce and sell Alien Labs and Connected products in Florida and Texas. Trulieve has carried both brands in Florida since 2022. The new license is perpetual and royalty-free, with the Texas launch pending licensure. Varrell calls a royalty-free deal almost unheard of and suggests Trulieve may have won a sale process and is waiting on full rescheduling to close an acquisition. He adds that Kim Rivers wouldn’t license adult-use brands unless she expected adult use to come.
The hosts turn to Pennsylvania, where Republican Senator Dawn Keefer plans to introduce the Pennsylvania Hemp and Cannabinoid Act. It would keep hemp THC legal with registration, testing, labeling and 21-and-over sales. Varrell calls the framework sound but says it amounts to legalization, coming from a senator who cast the lone vote against the state’s cannabis control board bill. Bronstein notes it is only a co-sponsorship memo, with no text yet and few session days left.
Bronstein also weighs in on House Speaker Joanna McClinton’s claim that adult use could pass next year if Democrats flip three state Senate seats. He says a Democratic Senate would make legalization one of its first priorities as a revenue item. He points to polling that favors Democrats in two southeastern seats and shows Governor Josh Shapiro leading by about 20 points.
The group then tackles complaints from the Cannabis Regulators Association and California’s top regulator that the DEA hasn’t provided Schedule III implementation guidance. Bronstein calls this an exploratory period, with the DEA fact-finding through inspections. Varrell argues Schedule III doesn’t map neatly onto state markets. He expects guidance, possibly including a memo from Attorney General Todd Blanche, to arrive alongside rescheduling.
To close, Varrell attributes Glass House’s recent slide to a valuation stretched well beyond those of Trulieve and Green Thumb.
