You’re reading this week’s edition of the New Cannabis Ventures weekly newsletter, which we have been publishing since October 2015. The newsletter includes unique insight to help our readers stay ahead of the curve as well as links to the week’s most important news. We no longer send these by email as we did in the past, but we post this and all of the newsletters on our website here.
Friends,
This week began with some big news from my state, Texas, where Governor Abbott vetoed legislation that the legislature had passed. He waited until almost the very last minute as the potential veto period was ending before vetoing the legislation that would have made all THC products from hemp illegal in the state.
While Abbott perhaps supported it or seemed to do so, it was his Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, that was pushing the ban hard. He called it one of the most important things the he had done in his political career and was quite excited by its passage. He shared a video with the public that was full of bogus statements:
I think that Dan Patrick, a former sportscaster here in Houston, had some good observations, but his prohibition plan was the wrong thing to do. He had said many times and in this video too that properly regulating the industry would be too much. No!
He expected it was going to be challenged for violating the Texas constitution
He set a special session beginning in July for Texas legislators to better regulate the industry
He shared some potential regulations that might be included
Patrick was furious and held a press conference the next day, Monday. He alleged, I think incorrectly, that Abbott is pushing for “marijuana legalization.”
Texas is just one state fighting against hemp cannabinoid challenges, and the tide has been tough for the hemp cannabinoid manufacturers in many states. The federal government had no idea what would happen when it legalized hemp in the Farm Act of 2018, and the market has been plagued by lots of untested products and synthetic products too. The retailers are abundant and not always working to improve the health of their customers. With that said, there are some good producers in Texas, and there are also some excellent retailers.
The good news from Texas is that it upgraded its horrible medical cannabis program, adding more qualifying conditions and also a plan to quintuple the number of companies providing it to 15. The current three providers include a solid private company, Texas Original, and two very weak publicly traded MSOs. The new program is set to begin in September, and it could benefit Village Farms, which has assets in the state and has expressed a desire to get involved.
I discussed here two months ago how the three largest MSOs have gotten involved with hemp cannabinoids in THC beverages, and I first raised the issue in August last year. Last week, I pointed out how insane the price of Agrify (AGFY) was (and still is). The hemp beverage company controlled by GTI declined by 13.2% subsequently during this past week.
The “cannabis industry” is hard to define. Is it the state-regulated companies or is it the hemp product makers and sellers? Yes. It is both. I am all for uniting the industry. It should not be an “us vs. them” situation, though I am not at all impressed by the efforts that Curaleaf, GTI and Trulieve have made so far. The world will be a better place with well-regulated cannabinoid products that are widely available, and the federal government can and should move in this direction. This battle in Texas caught a lot of attention, but the battle is actually much larger.
Sincerely,
Alan
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we published this past week:
To get real-time updates, like our Facebook page, or follow Alan on Twitter. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest cannabis investor and entrepreneur group on LinkedIn.
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email
You’re reading this week’s edition of the New Cannabis Ventures weekly newsletter, which we have been publishing since October 2015. The newsletter includes unique insight to help our readers stay ahead of the curve as well as links to the week’s most important news. We no longer send these by email as we did in the past, but we post this and all of the newsletters on our website here.
Friends,
This week began with some big news from my state, Texas, where Governor Abbott vetoed legislation that the legislature had passed. He waited until almost the very last minute as the potential veto period was ending before vetoing the legislation that would have made all THC products from hemp illegal in the state.
While Abbott perhaps supported it or seemed to do so, it was his Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, that was pushing the ban hard. He called it one of the most important things the he had done in his political career and was quite excited by its passage. He shared a video with the public that was full of bogus statements:
I think that Dan Patrick, a former sportscaster here in Houston, had some good observations, but his prohibition plan was the wrong thing to do. He had said many times and in this video too that properly regulating the industry would be too much. No!
Governor Abbott issued a memorandum explaining why he vetoed the legislation. His main points:
He expected it was going to be challenged for violating the Texas constitution
He set a special session beginning in July for Texas legislators to better regulate the industry
He shared some potential regulations that might be included
Patrick was furious and held a press conference the next day, Monday. He alleged, I think incorrectly, that Abbott is pushing for “marijuana legalization.”
Texas is just one state fighting against hemp cannabinoid challenges, and the tide has been tough for the hemp cannabinoid manufacturers in many states. The federal government had no idea what would happen when it legalized hemp in the Farm Act of 2018, and the market has been plagued by lots of untested products and synthetic products too. The retailers are abundant and not always working to improve the health of their customers. With that said, there are some good producers in Texas, and there are also some excellent retailers.
The good news from Texas is that it upgraded its horrible medical cannabis program, adding more qualifying conditions and also a plan to quintuple the number of companies providing it to 15. The current three providers include a solid private company, Texas Original, and two very weak publicly traded MSOs. The new program is set to begin in September, and it could benefit Village Farms, which has assets in the state and has expressed a desire to get involved.
I discussed here two months ago how the three largest MSOs have gotten involved with hemp cannabinoids in THC beverages, and I first raised the issue in August last year. Last week, I pointed out how insane the price of Agrify (AGFY) was (and still is). The hemp beverage company controlled by GTI declined by 13.2% subsequently during this past week.
The “cannabis industry” is hard to define. Is it the state-regulated companies or is it the hemp product makers and sellers? Yes. It is both. I am all for uniting the industry. It should not be an “us vs. them” situation, though I am not at all impressed by the efforts that Curaleaf, GTI and Trulieve have made so far. The world will be a better place with well-regulated cannabinoid products that are widely available, and the federal government can and should move in this direction. This battle in Texas caught a lot of attention, but the battle is actually much larger.
Sincerely,
Alan
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we published this past week:
Exclusives
Canadian Cannabis Sales Bounced Again
To get real-time updates, like our Facebook page, or follow Alan on Twitter. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest cannabis investor and entrepreneur group on LinkedIn.
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In This Article:
Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, Hemp, Texas
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