Michigan's Green Rush: The Unexpected Leader In America's Cannabis Evolution

Michigan (state) is #1!

With my wife (niece, nephew) having graduated from Ann Arbor —and with our daughter now settled into her sophomore year at Ohio State— I can’t tell you how much it pains me to write that but facts aren’t insults: Michigan’s state cannabis industry is now the top market in the nation.

It might not be a fair compare for others in the region given the Sparty head start so we’ll preview the potential beneficiaries among the publicly-traded plant-touching companies if Buckeye Nation secures the 24th spot in this historic adoption of state-legal adult-use cannabis—an issue that is already dividing GOP leaders in that state.

Colorado brought in more money in canna taxes than they brought in through alcohol or cigarette taxes last year, while a Kansas (state) lawmaker said legal canna is unlikely to pass in the next legislative session + we sniff at what’s hot (MD) and what’s not (NY).

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In other news, senior citizens are now the fastest-growing demographic using canna…

…MMJ has been linked to an improved quality of life/better job performance for peeps with neurological disorders and medical cannabis lowers health insurance premiums; bipartisan lawmakers are again pushing the VA Secretary to end detrimental policies blocking doctors from recommending MMJ to veterans; the number of young adults who report using marijuana the last 12 months reached the highest level ever; Chicago is hosting the Super Bowl of smoking bowls (jelly); we’ll chew through the set-up into summer’s end and noodle the potential for a government mule, all while trying to keep Debbie down where she belongs. All that, and more, just scroll down…

SPY -0.14%↓ QQQ 0.24%↑ IWM -0.84%↓ MSOS 1.41%↑

Top Stories

• Michigan's marijuana industry is now the top market in the nation
• In November, Ohio Could Become the 24th State To Legalize Marijuana
• Colorado’s Marijuana Tax Brought In More Revenue Than Alcohol Or Cigarettes Last Year, New State Report Shows
• New York Judge Grants 'Limited' Preliminary Injunction Against State's CAURD Program
• Senior citizens are the fastest-growing cannabis clientele
• Medical Marijuana Use Linked To Improved Quality Of Life And Better Job Performance For People With Neurological Disorders
• How Maryland's Adult-Use Rollout Stacks Up?
• GOP Congressman Says He’ll Vote For Legal Marijuana On Ohio Ballot, As Governor Calls The Reform A ‘Real Mistake’

Kansas lawmaker says legal cannabis unlikely to come next session
note: Kansas collects $6M/mo. taxes on sports betting while neighboring Missouri collected $23M/mo. on MMJ before adult use was legal (now 2-2.5X)

• Bipartisan Lawmakers Push VA Secretary To End ‘Detrimental’ Policy Blocking Doctors From Recommending Medical Marijuana To Veterans

The Watched Pot

A technical target remains on the back of beleaguered U.S canna ETF MSOS < $5.05 given the churn under resistance (vs. basing > support). We do know that recent sell-side flows have emanated from another ETF (MJUS)—as a function of rebalancing or otherwise—which may be abating, depending on who you talk to.

From the look/ feel of things—a grand total of $21M notional volume traded today in plant-touching U.S cannabis stocks—nobody seems to be in a rush to save this sector from itself. Not in the dog daze of August and perhaps not with the saber-rattling of a potential government shutdown growing louder.

After 919 straight days of getting punched in the nethers, nobody can blame them.

Masked by the malaise, however, is the stuff of legend: diamonds being forged by the incredible pressure of being wedged bw an unsustainable Status Quo and a comedy of policy errors. We walked through some of the chosen few positioned to win this war of attrition last weekend and we’ll share some more in the days ahead.

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Government Mule

There are only 18 days left until the U.S. Senate is back in session and U.S. Cannabis bulls, who are sorely feeling for a federal pulse, will be watching for SAFE to move through the banking committee as soon as September gets started…

…which is why we remain uber-wary of the specter of a government shutdown, as that would not only diminish the odds of SAFE Banking finally passing but also delay the HHS /DOJ scheduling process/ recommendation/ decision. So when I woke up to this…

…courtesy of Punchbowl News, I immediately thought of this, or should I say her…

...because wouldn’t it be the most cannabis-industry-thing-ever if, after the SVB crisis last Spring likely pushed the ‘SAFE will be through the senate by the Summer’ crowd to the side, our broken government manifests by actually breaking.

We have no special insight on whether or not this will happen and remain of the view that we’ll see real, albeit incremental, federal progress by year-end as long as a nation divided can mend, or at least extend, the fences that are currently holding us together.

It makes intuitive sense that President Biden would wanna notch a much-needed win before next year’s elections—some would say the shittier things get, the more in need he is —and cannabis may be the single-most unifying issue this country has ever seen.

Stems & Seeds

ATB looked at the looming Ohio ballot and the potential ramifications for publicly-traded plant-touching companies if the Buckeye State swings green.

Here’s the full grid that they referenced, as well:

US: Medical cannabis lowers health insurance premiums: a just-released study suggests national legalization of MMJ could see savings of more than $16.8B.

Meanwhile, the number of young adults who reported using marijuana in the last 12 months reached the highest level ever in 2022 (47% of 27-28 year olds).

It's the Super Bowl of Smoking Bowls! (←actually happens to be a great interview by CBS Chicago that touches on so many salient points currently in play across canna).

Enjoy your weekend and please remember to consume responsibly.

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If you’d like to help Mission [Green] change federal cannabis policies, please click here.

CB1 has positions in / advises some of the companies mentioned and nothing contained herein should be considered advice.