💸 The Tape

After years of legislative dawdling, political pot-stirring, and watching tax dollars waft across state borders like secondhand smoke, Pennsylvania lawmakers are finally rolling up a serious adult-use cannabis bill—this time with bipartisan backing.

Enter Senate Bill 120, a legislative brainchild of Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin and Democratic Sen. Sharif Street. This new bill doesn’t just propose legalization—it builds a full regulatory structure from the ground up, creating a Cannabis Control Board, clearing low-level convictions, investing in impacted communities, and yes, taxing cannabis like a good government should.

“It’s time Pennsylvania joined the growing number of states that are getting cannabis policy right,” said Laughlin, who’s clearly had enough of Pennsylvanians making border dispensaries in Maryland their weekend getaway.

Street, never one to mince words, called the bill “smart, fair, and realistic,” emphasizing justice, economic opportunity, and the need to finally stop punishing people for something that’s now legal just about everywhere else—including where Pennsylvanians are currently spending their weed money.

Support from industry groups like the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition has been strong, touting the bill as “a transformative step for Pennsylvania’s cannabis policy.” They say SB120 would create jobs, generate tax revenue, and actually allow small and minority-owned businesses to play in the market—unlike some other state monopolization ideas that have recently crashed and burned.

Of course, challenges remain. While Democrats hold the governor’s office and the House, the Republican-controlled Senate has been the legislative buzzkill so far. A House-passed legalization bill with a state-run store model was recently shut down in committee. But SB120’s private retail approach might just win over some free-market-minded Republicans who don’t want government running a dispensary next to the DMV.

Governor Josh Shapiro is ready to sign something—anything—sensible. He’s repeatedly called for legalization, citing the fiscal opportunity and the reality that Pennsylvania is losing out to its neighbors. “It’s an issue of competitiveness,” he recently said. Translation: West Virginia is now our only sober neighbor.

Whether SB120 makes it through remains to be seen, but one thing’s clear: the commonwealth is finally getting serious about ending prohibition. If this bipartisan bill sticks, Pennsylvania might just find itself lighting up both economically and politically.

And for lawmakers? It’s high time.

📈 Dog Walkers.

$GLASF ( ▲ 1.62% ) ICE Raids Facility

What’s Going On Here: Federal agents with ICE reportedly raided two cannabis farm sites operated by Glass House Brands Inc., one of California’s largest state-licensed operators, on Thursday. While Glass House confirmed “visits” from federal agents and said it complied fully with warrants, details remain murky — and tensions are rising.

Early reports, including from local advocacy groups, suggested that both ICE and the National Guard were on the scene, though the action may not have specifically targeted cannabis operations. Instead, it appears to be part of broader regional immigration enforcement.

Still, the optics are explosive. With ICE’s known stance on immigration and cannabis-related employment jeopardizing legal status for noncitizens, the raids sent immediate shockwaves across the California cannabis and immigrant communities.

Local groups like the 805 Immigrant Coalition rallied supporters to “protect workers,” amplifying concerns about the vulnerability of undocumented employees in the legal weed sector. For now, Glass House is staying tight-lipped, and ICE hasn’t commented. But the message is loud and clear: federal immigration enforcement and the cannabis industry continue to exist in a tense, unresolved legal gray zone.

Hemp Gets Potential Death Blow With One Year Sentence

In a twist that feels straight out of D.C. satire, the Senate Appropriations Committee just advanced a bill that could devastate the hemp-derived cannabinoid market—then gave it a one-year stay of execution. The bipartisan Agriculture-FDA spending bill includes language that would ban all consumable hemp products with any “quantifiable” amount of THC, intoxicating or not.

The mastermind behind the move? None other than Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—yes, the same guy who championed hemp’s legalization in the 2018 Farm Bill. Now, he’s apparently out to “correct” what he sees as a loophole, targeting psychoactive derivatives like delta-8 THC that have flooded shelves nationwide.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) pushed back, warning that the bill’s language is too broad and risks outlawing non-intoxicating CBD products too. In a rare show of rational policymaking, senators agreed to delay implementation for a year—allowing “time to prepare,” but not necessarily to fix.

The bill mirrors a similar House effort led by prohibitionist Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), but the Senate version includes a reporting mandate from FDA and USDA on the likely carnage.

So for now, the hemp industry lives—but the guillotine is assembled and the clock is ticking.

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

Crypto Momentum Could Unlock Cannabis Banking Reform | TDR Cannabis in 5

What we will cover:

✅ Now that the $3.3 trillion ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is signed, cannabis banking could finally move forward—by aligning with crypto legislation.

In this episode of Trade To Black, Shadd Dales explains how the passage of the OBBB opens up space in Congress for new priorities. One of the biggest? Crypto regulation. With Senator Tim Scott pushing for a market structure bill by September 30, there’s a growing strategy to attach cannabis banking to that same effort.

It’s a simple equation: both sectors deal with compliance, licensing, and financial transparency. If crypto can move forward, cannabis reform could follow the same path.

President Trump has already used an executive order to launch a Bitcoin Reserve. Reform advocates now believe similar action could support SAFE Banking—especially with Trump looking to score quick wins before the election.