In the latest Trade To Black Podcast, Shadd Dales, financial writer Benjamin A. Smith and millennial entrepreneur Anthony Varrell are tackling some of the big news from this week: Ron DeSantis, Slang Worldwide, and whether it’s finally a good time to invest in Nvidia. First up, of course, is DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch in Twitter Space – or at least his attempt at it. Elon musk’s Twitter Spaces failed to scale sufficiently to meet demand and buckled, crashing apps and logging out users. But DeSantis did finally manage to launch his campaign there nevertheless, only about 25 minutes ..read more

Canada’s licensed cannabis producers are facing a dire financial crisis as their unpaid federal excise tax skyrockets. In the most recent fiscal year, the outstanding tax debt owed by these struggling companies has more than tripled, reaching an alarming CAD 192.7 million ($141.2 million). Federal tax debt is rapidly accumulating among licensed cannabis producers, with the number of companies owing excise debt rising from 68 in March 2020 to 213 in March 2023. Tax Burden The burden of high excise taxes, which extract up to 30% of revenue, is overwhelming licensed cannabis producers as th ..read more

We’re back to talking cannabis in our latest Trade To Black podcast, and if you’ll excuse the pun, the latest news is pretty dope. The state of Minnesota just passed a bill to legalize cannabis, and shortly it’ll be headed to the governor’s desk to be signed into law. It goes into effect on August 1, 2023, and under it, up to two ounces of recreational marijuana will be able to be purchased and possessed by adults over the age of 21. The bill also allows for cultivation of up to eight plants at home, four of which can be mature. Minnesota senators passed the cannabis legislation from Sen. Lin ..read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an emergency order to halt an alleged ongoing offering fraud and Ponzi-like scheme by Integrated National Resources Inc. (INR), which does business as WeedGenics, and its owners, Rolf Max Hirschmann and Patrick Earl Williams, who have raised more than $60 million from investors to expand their cannabis operations, but have instead used the majority of funds to make $16.2 million in Ponzi-like payments and to enrich themselves. @SECGov shuts Down WeedGenics $60 Million Cannabis Offerin ..read more

Cannabis smoking is not associated with an elevated risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) even among those possessing a clinically high risk for developing the disease, according to a study, Impact of Marijuana Smoking on COPD Progression in a Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Persons, published in the journal of the COPD Foundation.  COPD, which refers to a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, makes breathing difficult for the 16 million Americans with ..read more

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Minnesota’s Senate approved a 300-page cannabis legalization bill by a vote of 34-32. Once Gov. Tim Walz (D) signs the legislation as he has promised to do, Minnesota will become the 23rd to have legalized adult-use cannabis. “Legalizing adult-use cannabis and expunging cannabis convictions is good for our economy and the right move for Minnesota. When the bill reaches my desk, I’ll be proud to sign it into law.” Gov. Walz tweeted in April. After Thursday’s approval by the House of Representatives a ..read more

By Cristian Baral via El Planteo — El Planteo presents the first episode of its new audiovisual project: Cannabis x Cannabis, a documentary series about conversations between the plant references from all over Latin America. Cannabis x Cannabis is a series of talks between two people who have totally different trades or professions, but who find communion with the cannabis plant. The 5 chapters that make up the first season feature DJs, actresses, singers, doctors, politicians, influencers, activists, and entrepreneurs, among other personalities that cover this broad ..read more

Minnesota is just one Senate vote and a governor’s signature away from legalizing recreational cannabis for adults following Thursday night’s 73-57 vote in the Democratic-controlled House. The Senate could take up the bill as early as Friday. WATCH LIVE: The Minnesota House is debating & voting on final passage of a marijuana legalization bill that's been negotiated with the Senate It's expected to go to the governor's desk within days—making the state the 23rd in the US to legalize cannabishttps://t.co/EVHuq6eI6D pic.twitter.com/rtB4k2TJie — Tom Angell ⓥ (@tomangell) Ma ..read more

In this Trade to Black podcast, host Shadd Dales, lead financial writer Benjamin A. Smith, and millennial investor Anthony Varrell get together to look deeper on the latest earnings report of the major cannabis companies. Not only is it earnings season, the recent SAFE Banking hearing is also already making waves, and we’re debating how it might impact the industry and affect its overall health. We’ve directly heard from cannabis companies recently on Trade to Black podcasts over the last two weeks and examined others – Verano, MariMed, Truelieve, and Cronos Group are among them. Which compan ..read more

Tier-1 cannabis multi-state operator Curaleaf Holdings (CNSX: CURA) (OTCMKTS: CURLF) announced first quarter 2023 financial results ending on March 31, 2023 after market close on Wednesday. Much like investors have witnessed this past sector earnings season, results came-in near analyst forecasts and there were few outlier metrics to cause alarm. Curaleaf Reports First Quarter 2023 Results $CURLF $CURA – Net Revenue of $336.5 million – AEBITDA of $73.2 million or 22% of revenue – Net loss of $54.4 million or net loss per share $0.07 – Cash position ..read more