Cannabis Musings - July 21, 2023

Yet another post about SAFE Banking.

Friends, do we need to keep talking about the SAFE Banking Act?  It’s one of my least favorite topics in all of cannabis, but it’s also the gift of newsletter content that keeps on giving.  The latest news is kind of the lack thereof – reportedly, the Senate Banking Committee will not be voting on SAFE before the summer recess on July 31, which was signaled about a week ago.

Certain populations (i.e., retail stock investors who like to post on Twitter and Reddit) consider SAFE to be the deus ex machina that will singlehandedly rescue the industry (and stock prices) from the dreck.  We’ve talked before about how SAFE really won’t do as much as people seem to think or suggest, although it wouldn’t surprise me at all if investors bid up stocks dramatically upon SAFE’s passage, because investors are really looking for any catalyst to do so.

Who’s to blame for the continued failure of SAFE to finally make progress and get to a vote? It’s nearly impossible to tell because politicians are politicians and they each blame the other side.  Are there enough votes to get past a Senate filibuster?  Depends upon whom you ask.  May we still see a vote at some point?  Your guess is as good as mine (alomancy would probably give you better odds than I could), but my healthy skepticism on its passage has unfortunately remained correct for years now.

Groups like the newly-formed Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform are working towards broader changes in federal policy.  Made up of many of the biggest participants in the industry, this is exactly the kind of collaboration that we discussed recently that’s necessary to take control of the narrative, something that will benefit the industry across the board.  Perhaps they’ll have better luck influencing policy because they’re not targeting the legislative branch, where SAFE resides.  (We’ll be talking in the near future about the hilariously complex topic of cannabis rescheduling – stay tuned.)

The federal government moves incredibly slowly, when it moves at all (i.e., the FDA and CBD).  Everything that’s happened to date is progress for cannabis, even when very little has yet actually been accomplished.  The mere fact that we’ve seen proposals for cannabis legalization introduced into Congress is simply remarkable.  It takes a lot of time to change minds.

In the poignant words of William Bruce Rose Jr., take it slow and it’ll work itself out fine/all we need is just a little patience.

Be seeing you!

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Hauser Advisory provides advice and strategy on business lifecycle events and cannabis industry navigation, tapping into a deep, national network and twenty-five years of dealmaking and capital markets experience.

© 2023 Marc Hauser and Hauser Advisory.  None of the foregoing is legal, investment, or any other sort of advice, and it may not be relied upon in any manner, shape, or form.