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- Canada Ditches Booze for Bud, Texas’ THC Fight & New York’s Market Meltdown
Canada Ditches Booze for Bud, Texas’ THC Fight & New York’s Market Meltdown
Plus, THC rules & workplace rights
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Hey, Benzinga Cannabis community! Maureen Meehan here, coming in hot with Monday’s top cannabis news.
Lots to talk about in the cannabis world: Canadians are swapping booze for bud, Texas’ hemp scene is in the crosshairs and New York’s cannabis industry is gasping for air. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers want to move intoxicating hemp into dispensaries and Cresco Labs is making big moves in Kentucky.
Let’s dive in.
In today's issue:
🇨🇦 CANADA: BOOZE DOWN, BUD UP
Big news from our neighbors to the north - cannabis is winning the consumption battle. A fresh report from Statistics Canada shows that while alcohol sales still outweigh cannabis, drinking is on the decline while cannabis sales keep growing. The study, covering April 2023 to March 2024, confirms what we’ve all been seeing: people are swapping their pints for pre-rolls.
And if you ask Canadians about Justin Trudeau’s biggest accomplishment? It’s not the economy, foreign policy, or anything else—52% say it’s cannabis legalization. A recent Angus Reid Institute poll found that among all of Trudeau’s policy moves, legalizing weed was the most popular.
🏛️ STATE POLITICS: THC RULES & WORKPLACE RIGHTS
Texas' booming hemp market is under fire. Lawmakers are trying to shut down a loophole that has allowed retailers to sell delta-8 and delta-10 THC products legally. With House Bill 1325 opening the floodgates in 2019, THC-heavy products have flooded Texas stores. But now, a proposed THC ban has drawn huge crowds to Austin, as business owners and consumers push back hard against the potential crackdown.
Good news for medical cannabis users in New Mexico—lawmakers are moving forward with a bill to protect patients from workplace penalties over off-duty cannabis use. The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill 7-3, while a Senate companion bill passed its own committee vote. If this goes through, employees can no longer be considered “impaired” just because they test positive for THC metabolites.
Ohio lawmakers are looking to clamp down on hemp-derived THC products, and fast. Senate Bill 86, introduced by state Sens. Steve Huffman (R) and Shane Wilkin (R), would require all intoxicating hemp products to be sold at licensed dispensaries—no more gas stations, smoke shops, or convenience stores. They also want to slap a 15% tax on these products and ban sales to anyone under 21.
“Currently, intoxicating hemp products are untested, unregulated psychoactive products that can be just as intoxicating, if not more intoxicating, than marijuana,” Wilkin said during testimony.
📉 NEW YORK'S CANNABIS CHAOS
New York’s recreational cannabis industry is struggling, and according to trade group leaders, it’s nearing financial collapse. Many license winners are either flipping their permits or selling equity stakes just to stay afloat. With financing challenges and price compression hitting hard, it’s a make-or-break moment for the Empire State’s legal weed market.
💼 INDUSTRY MOVES: CRESCO EXPANDS IN KENTUCKY
Cresco Labs Inc. (OTC: CRLBF) just locked in a Tier 3 cultivation license in Kentucky, giving them up to 25,000 square feet of canopy—the biggest medical cannabis grow in the state. With this deal, Cresco becomes one of just two operators holding a coveted Tier 3 license. Big moves in the Bluegrass State!
🤨 DEA RESCHEDULING DRAMA: IS THE FIX IN?
For those keeping an eye on cannabis rescheduling, new court documents suggest what many suspected: the DEA might have rigged the process to keep marijuana locked in Schedule 1 instead of moving it to Schedule 3. If true, this would confirm that the agency had already made up its mind before the public process even started. Not a good look, DEA.
That’s your daily cannabis update! Stay tuned for more industry news, and as always, puff, puff, pass the knowledge.
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