Stocks

Cannabis company stocks soared on Tuesday following reports that the DEA would move to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law.

Phoenix-based cannabis company TILT Holdings Inc. last week abruptly cut ties with three cannabis brands including a social equity entity and paused its partnership with the New York Shinnecock Nation.

The Poseidon Dynamic Cannabis ETF — one of the cannabis space’s leading exchange-traded funds — is set to see its final day of trading on August 25 and will liquidate assets and pay shareholders by September 1.

Multi-state cannabis operators Cresco Labs and Columbia Care announced the cancellation of their planned merger, saying the companies could not complete “the divestitures necessary to secure all necessary regulatory approvals.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has created a blind trust for his assets, which includes about $1.2 million — about 46% of the governor’s assets — in cannabis company stocks.

A top U.S. intelligence officer recently reaffirmed the federal government does not deny security clearances for employees based on their past cannabis use.

The SEC has formally charged Cronos and its former COO with fraud related to alleged accounting misconduct and filing false financial statements.

The case against former executives at CannTrust Holdings Inc. began Monday in the Ontario Court of Justice.

Canada will conduct a legislative review of its landmark cannabis legalization law, its first such review since cannabis became legal for adults nationwide in October 2018.

Researchers at California Polytechnic State University and The University of New Mexico found that stock market returns for major pharmaceutical firms were 1.5-2% lower 10 days after the passage of cannabis legalization reforms.

Dan Bilzerian’s Ignite International Brands is being investigated by the US Security and Exchange Commission and under regulatory investigation in Canada for alleged financial violations.

A recent memo from the Biden Administration suggests that White House applicants who have invested in the legal cannabis industry may be denied security clearances.

Tilray CEO Irwin Simon said the growing U.S. cannabis industry will represent a $100 billion opportunity by the time widespread legalization is achieved.

Hightimes Holding Corp. has purchased a cannabis social consumption lounge in California for $6 million in a mostly stock deal although the current stock value for the media company is essentially zero.

Canopy Growth announced its plan to acquire Jetty Extracts as soon as the U.S. federal government legalizes cannabis.

Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth announced this week it was laying off 245 employees — about 8% of its workforce — in an effort to reduce losses and approach profitability.

In celebration of 4/20 today, the team at Leafly rang the opening bell this morning for the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Leafly Holdings Inc. commenced trading this week on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol LFLY.

Pfizer is making its move into the cannabis space with the acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a $6 billion, all-cash deal.

springbig, a cannabis industry loyalty and marketing company, is planning to go public on the Nasdaq after their merger with Tuatara Capital Acquisition Corp. closes early next year.

Curaleaf has agreed to acquire Tryke Companies, which owns and operates two retail dispensaries in Arizona and four in Nevada, for $286 million in a cash and stock deal.

Two executives for cannabis company CanaFarma Corp. are accused of defrauding investors out of at least $4 million.

Cannabis firms Ayr Wellness Inc., Curaleaf Holdings Inc., and The Parent Company each announced acquisition deals on Monday for $80 million, $67 million, and $65.2 million, respectively.

Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx has made six investments in Marlboro cigarettes’ parent company, Altria Group Inc., which in turn, has invested $1.8 billion into a Canadian cannabis producer.