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🍃 Green Shoots Are Showing 🍃

🍃 Green Shoots Are Showing 🍃

Anthony Varrell
June 25, 2024

GM Everyone,

We had a green Monday yesterday to everyone's surprise, and no one could really put a finger on what caused the move to the upside. We will take it, though. Absolutely no justification is needed. Dare I say these are green shoots coming out of the frozen ground from the last few weeks? I sure hope so because it looks like we have some wind at our backs, and things could get spicy coming out of the comment period, as we expected.

Let’s get it.

Today’s letter can be read in 7 minutes and 52 seconds.

What's Driving the Market Today?

Stock futures are down across the board, here is what traders are focused on today:

Nvidia's market cap drops by $430B, affecting overall market.
Nasdaq falls 1%, while Dow Jones hits a one-month high.
Bitcoin drops over 7% in two weeks, recovering slightly.
China's CSI300 index nears wiping out yearly gains.
U.S. consumer confidence and Fed surveys in focus today.

💸 High Impact

UN Advocates for End to War on Drugs

The What - The United Nations (UN) has issued a report advocating for an end to the “War on Drugs” and a shift toward alternative regulatory approaches. This report, led by Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to health, emphasizes that criminalization is an extreme option within a regulatory system and urges a more balanced and humane strategy.

Mofokeng’s report highlights that drug regulation models should be “more or less restrictive depending on scientific evidence and considering power asymmetries.” The report argues that permitting and regulating access could reduce overall harms associated with drug use. It calls on countries to decriminalize the use, possession, purchase, and cultivation of drugs for personal use and to adopt alternative regulatory approaches that prioritize health and human rights.

Mofokeng, also a medical doctor and professor at Georgetown University’s Law School, insists that leaders “move from a reliance on criminal law and instead take a human rights-based, evidence-based, and compassionate approach to harm reduction in relation to drug use and drug use disorders.” This approach aligns with the UN’s broader goal of protecting public health while upholding human rights.

The Why - The UN report also draws attention to the disproportionate impact of drug enforcement policies on marginalized communities. “The enforcement of drug laws and policies compounds other forms of discrimination and disproportionately affects certain individuals, such as persons in situations of homelessness or poverty, persons with mental health issues, sex workers, women, children, LGBTIQA+ persons, Black persons, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, persons who are incarcerated or detained, persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV, tuberculosis or hepatitis, and persons living in rural areas,” Mofokeng stated. These individuals often face harsher penalties and limited access to overdose reversal drugs and other vital healthcare services.

My .02 - It's time to end the failed war on drugs. Drugs won; the establishment needs to just admit it and move on. Taking a more sensible approach to rehabbing people and a humanistic angle would benefit pretty much everyone, except the private prison industry. They have made enough money, and let's face it, if we're being honest, the drug war in America was largely perpetuated by systemic racism. That's a hill I will die on.

📈 Dog Walkers

Pennsylvania Is Getting Fast Tracked

Holy sh*t, the state of Pennsylvania might have finally gotten it together. Lawmakers announced an “imminent,” sorry their words not mine, advancing of legislation to roll out an adult use cannabis market in the state. Ohio is really rubbing off on them in a good way. Rep. Aaron Kaufer suggested that they are close enough to get something done before the budget deadline this week. This could be YUGE.

Curaleaf Goes “Live”

Curaleaf made it official yesterday with the announcement of the launch of TheHempCompany.com. This will be the e-commerce platform selling the hemp-derived beverages and gummy lines for the Select brand, as well as offering what they see as third-party “top tier hemp brands.” They are definitely ahead of the curve on this trend compared to their MSO peers. Let’s see how this ages.

North Carolina Adavances Bill

A bill in North Carolina advanced out of the Senate and into the House that would legalize medical marijuana. However, the bill faces opposition from the Republican caucus within the House. Go figure. So, it's bound to get caught up there or shot down as per usual. Link to the full MM story is down below.