Cronos exits US • Australia’s adult use push • UC Berkeley launches oral history series • & more …
In late April, we reported in this newsletter that of $20 million awarded by California’s Department of Cannabis Control to cannabis research projects, the biggest award ($2,699,178) went to a project called “Legacy Cannabis Genetics: People and Their Plants, a Community-Driven Study.”
Now, one piece of that project has come into view: UC Berkeley Oral History Center’s California Cannabis Oral History Series.
The series will be spearheaded by Todd Holmes, a historian at the Center, and he plans to conduct “nearly a hundred hours of interviews” in the next two years as part of the aforementioned multipronged genetics study.
The first published interview is with Oliver Bates, president of the Big Sur Farmer’s Association.
In the Legislative Council, which is the upper house of the NSW Parliament, Greens MP Cate Faehrmann is spearheading adult use with Cannabis Legalisation Bill 2023, “an Act to legalise cannabis and cannabis products; to regulate the sale, supply and advertising of cannabis and cannabis products; and for other purposes.”
The bill text isn’t out, but Faehrmann outlined her plan in March. And, more broadly, the Greens Party is pushing for adult use legalization nationwide, not just in the state of NSW. In January, the party commissioned an estimate on adult use revenues from the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Cronos, which is behind brands like Lord Jones, announced this week that it plans to exit the US, into which it had expanded with CBD products, and to refocus on Canada.
This move is an effort to “improve its cash flow in the near term and position itself to directly enter the U.S. THC market when the necessary changes in U.S. regulatory conditions occur,” according to the announcement.
“We believe that one day, the U.S. will be one of the most important cannabis markets in the world,” said CEO Mike Gorenstein. “But we also believe our resources are best spent on staying laser-focused on becoming cash flow positive.”