A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION
Is the forthcoming cannabis legislation vote all talk, no action?
Between SAFE Banking, the MORE Act or Chuck Schumer’s forthcoming Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), what has the strongest chance of passing in the near future?
According to Entourage Effect Capital managing partner Matt Hawkins, all will be tough to pass. “…the reality is that even though this is becoming a bipartisan issue and almost 2/3 of Americans live in a legalized state right now, there’s still a lot of political posturing going on and it’s about whether it was a Republican or Democrat that drafted the bill and submitted it,” he told Yahoo Finance. “It’s unfortunate because it’s being used as a political pawn right now.”
That said, it will be interesting to see which Republicans show support for the MORE Act in this week’s debate. In addition, Hawkins predicted SAFE Banking could pass within the next 18 months, while broader cannabis reform could still be “years away.”
Enjoy Cannabis Daily each morning at 7 a.m.
RIGHTING WRONGS
Canadian cannabis partners with Cannabis Amnesty
Two new initiatives by Canadian cannabis companies will support Cannabis Amnesty, a not-for-profit group committed to righting the wrongs of prohibition:
- Toronto-based TOQi launched its Fellowship for Cannabis Amnesty, a paid internship program supported by Aurora Cannabis “designed to create economic opportunities for people from communities harmed by decades of cannabis prohibition” (Yahoo Finance)
- Southwestern Ontario’s Entourage Health (formerly WeedMD) has launched Joints for Justice, which will $3 from each pack of pre-rolls to Cannabis Amnesty (London Free Press)
“Many of these people are actually the foundation of what we have today,” Entourage chief executive George Scorsis said, referring to Canadians with cannabis-related criminal records. “And if we forget that these were the individuals that really put this industry on their shoulders and really challenged the regulators, challenged certain stigmas and were able to drive this into a regulated (industry), then I think that all of us who are currently in place right now shouldn’t be here as a result.”
This comes on the heels of US-based, cannabis technology company Dutchie pledging $100,000 to the Last Prisoner Project and matching donations up to a million dollars.
CANNABIS IOU
Canadian cannabis companies owe $1 million in regulatory fees
Possibly a symptom of tough times in the cannabis industry, unpaid regulatory fees have increased “more than tenfold,” according to Health Canada data reported by MJBizDaily.
- As of Dec. 31, cannabis companies owed $914,000
- The previous year, just $72,000 was owed
“I wish I could tell you that it was the beginning of an industry withholding of the fees pending improvement to the processing times and service standards at Health Canada,” said George Smitherman, president and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada. “I could only muster that it is a reflection on the very challenging times that producers are facing and may reflect a prioritization of paying (Canada Revenue Agency) excise fees.”
