💸 The Tape

Pennsylvania’s long-simmering push to legalize recreational cannabis is gaining new momentum—this time with bipartisan backing, a looming budget gap, and shifting political winds all converging to finally move the issue toward reality.

State Reps. Emily Kinkead (D-Pittsburgh) and Abby Major (R-Armstrong) are preparing to introduce a legalization bill that would allow the private sector to run dispensaries—deliberately contrasting a competing proposal from Reps. Dan Frankel (D) and Rick Krajewski (D), which would make cannabis sales a state-run enterprise. Major said plainly that privatization is non-negotiable if the bill is going to draw Republican support. “There are zero votes for a state-store model in the Republican caucus,” she noted.

The renewed effort arrives as Gov. Josh Shapiro pushes for cannabis to help close the state’s growing structural deficit. His 2025 budget includes an estimated $250 million in annual tax revenue from adult-use cannabis sales, a figure based on the booming markets in neighboring states like New York and New Jersey.

Despite broad public support—an April Muhlenberg College poll shows a majority of Pennsylvanians favor legalization—opposition in the state Senate has historically been the main roadblock. Republicans control the upper chamber, and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana County) has expressed concerns about addiction and opposed criminal justice provisions tied to legalization, such as expungement.

Still, signs of a political thaw are emerging. Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie), a longtime cannabis supporter, said earlier this year that a bill would likely attract more GOP votes now than ever before. Former state Sen. Mike Regan, also a Republican, believes the economic upside is shifting opinions, even among hesitant colleagues.

Kinkead and Major say their bill isn’t expected to pass as-is but is meant to jumpstart serious negotiations before June budget deadlines. “No one’s bill right now is going to be the final version,” Kinkead said. “The sooner we can get those conversations started, the better.”

Major added that while there’s still work to do with GOP leadership, “I think we are the closest we have ever been, truly.”

With time running short, all eyes are on Harrisburg. If lawmakers can agree on a path forward, Pennsylvania could join the growing list of states where legal cannabis is not just popular—but politically inevitable.

📈 Dog Walkers.

Leef Reports Q1

What’s Going On Here: LEEF Brands Inc. (CSE: LEEF) (OTCQB: LEEEF) reported its Q1 2025 and full-year 2024 financials, highlighting key strategic moves as it scales operations across California and New York.

 Q1 2025 Highlights (vs. Q1 2024):

• Revenue: $9.4M (+19%) — reflecting stronger demand and sales execution

• Adjusted EBITDA: - $0.8M (down from +$1.2M) — impacted by ramp-up costs at new cultivation

• Net Income: $2.0M profit, vs. a $1.8M loss

🔹 Full-Year 2024 Highlights (vs. 2023):

• Revenue: $28.5M (↓7%) — strategic repositioning of product and customer mix

• Adjusted EBITDA: - $2.4M (vs. +$1.2M) — due to infrastructure and scaling investments

• Net Loss: $24.6M (↓29%) — includes $11.7M in non-cash items

Operational Highlights:

• Salisbury Canyon Ranch:
  Planted 65 acres at what will become one of the world’s largest cannabis farms; site valued at $40.8M vs. ~$12M total investment. Expected to drive margin and supply chain gains.

• Manufacturing Expansion:
  Increased ethanol extraction (+66%), solventless (+50%), and hydrocarbon (+38%) capacity to meet demand.

• New York Market Entry:
  Signed LOI to acquire Tier 1 processing license; targeting NY’s projected $1.5B market in 2025.

• New Talent:
  Brought on Jesse Redmond (former hedge fund manager and cannabis analyst) as Head of IR & Biz Dev.

• Bitcoin Investment:
  Acquired ~3.97 BTC at a $88.4K average; expects to increase exposure throughout 2025.

A New Cannabinoid Is Born

South Korean researchers have identified a new cannabinoid, cannabielsoxa, along with 10 other newly reported compounds in Cannabis sativa—some of which showed strong antitumor effects against neuroblastoma, a common pediatric cancer. Seven compounds, including CBD, CBDA, delta-8 THC, and CBG, significantly inhibited tumor cell growth in lab tests.

Meanwhile, a U.S. meta-analysis of over 10,000 studies concluded that cannabis has overwhelming scientific support for managing cancer-related symptoms—surpassing consensus levels for many FDA-approved drugs.

Despite mounting evidence, regulatory inertia remains. A NIH memo reportedly flags cannabis as a “controversial” topic, requiring clearance before federal researchers can publish on it. While Trump’s new drug czar calls medical cannabis “fantastic,” the administration has yet to prioritize action—even as studies spotlight its growing therapeutic legitimacy.

Bottom line: Science is rapidly validating what patients have long known—but politics, not biology, may still be the biggest barrier to medical cannabis progress.

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

Trump’s DEA Nominee Spurs Legal Debate on Marijuana Rescheduling

What we will cover:

✅ Host Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell welcome back attorney Shane Pennington to unpack the legal realities behind the week’s biggest cannabis headline: Donald Trump’s DEA nominee, Terry Cole, stating that marijuana rescheduling will be “one of [his] first priorities” if confirmed.

But what does that actually mean?

Pennington breaks it down in layman’s terms—clarifying where we are in the current rescheduling and appeals process. Is the ALJ hearing dead, or just paused? If it’s not over, can Cole pick up where things left off and move the process forward? And if it is dead, could the new administrator bypass the administrative hearing entirely?

Shane also weighs in on whether Trump’s public support for medical cannabis could influence Cole’s decision-making, and whether cannabis advocates should adjust their legal strategies under this administration.

Plus, Saphira Galoob of the U.S. Cannabis Roundtable joins the show to analyze Congress’s latest moves—SAFE Banking, the STATES 2.0 Act, and the PREPARE Act—and what Trump’s renewed pressure could mean politically.