FDA Finally Talks Hemp & An Ashtray Gap
Plus: Dream packaging.
The Broccoli Report
Monday, January 30, 2022
Time to read: 4 minutes, 38 seconds. Contains 929 words.
Good morning!
Whew, just a month into 2023, and so much to process already.
My thoughts are with those in California still recovering homes and businesses following the chaotic weather earlier this month and now with everyone impacted by the recent mass shootings. With all this terrible news, I’ve been finding comfort in being kind to others—taking a moment to chat with a stranger at a bus stop; sincerely wishing someone a good morning on my walk to get coffee. So many people feel alone, and you never know what small gesture will make someone feel more like a meaningful part of their community. Also, Knocked Up. Comfort watching millennial stoner movies helps, too.
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I’ve got a sweet, savory, multifaceted group of One-Hitters ready for y’all today—let’s get to it.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
Curaleaf’s announcement that they are closing operations in California, Colorado, and Oregon is big news. They’re also consolidating in Massachusetts, narrowing down to one facility. This is the largest cannabis company—by market cap—in the country deciding that mature markets aren’t worth it, acknowledging the “difficult operating environment in these investment states and instead placing a laser focus on cash generation in core revenue-driving markets moving forward.” Given recent reporting in Oregon on seemingly successful cannabis companies large and small owing vendors hundreds of thousands of dollars and all of the dark news about California’s saturation point, Curaleaf’s decision isn’t a complete surprise, but it’s a freaking huge, fluorescent yellow canary in the coal mine for the near future of West Coast cannabis.
New York’s social equity licenses aren’t rolling out as fast or as smoothly as we’d hoped, and the state’s booming gray market continues to muddy the newly legal waters. Still, the state’s regulators are notching positive accomplishments: Roland Conner, who was charged with cannabis-related crimes while growing up in Queens, opened the state’s second dispensary. New York’s equity program isn’t out of the woods yet, but regulators should be proud of this start. 🍎
The Food and Drug Administration dropped long-awaited updates on hemp regulation last week—and not everyone will be thrilled. The agency announced that they will not be categorizing CBD as a dietary supplement or food item and that they anticipate a totally new regulatory pathway for CBD. I don’t disagree with this approach, but it is an interesting twist—in my chat with the general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, it was clear that they had invested a lot of time and money lobbying for CBD to be classed as a dietary supplement. It may be time for me to check in with the Roundtable on their next move.
The latest development in the opiate crisis maelstrom is the emergence of xylazine, a highly addictive veterinary tranquilizer being used to cut fentanyl doses on the illicit market. It’s dangerous to humans and has some nasty side effects, including severely damaging skin tissue. Why am I bringing this up in a cannabis newsletter? Because a lab in Wales found xylazine in multiple THC vape cartridges collected in the UK.
After reading this NYT op-ed about vets treating dogs for consuming toxic amounts of cannabis through roaches tossed on sidewalks, I started wondering who out there is making portable ashtrays—the market opportunity is out there. I picked up a Kiipr pouch at a gas station years ago, but they seem to be out of operation now, and no other brands creating flameproof pouches for butts come to mind.
In less portable but still contained ashtray news: Mister Green dropped a stately lidded ashtray made from brass.
One for the science shorties out there: Google Research spinoff Osmo wants to use AI to find substitutes for hard-to-source aromas, and the perfume market is buzzing. Future of Smell (a.k.a. my favorite smell scientist) broke this confusing tech down in IG slides. My first thought is how this could help people shop for flower in states that don’t allow open containers at the counter. I barely understand how it works, but I’m intrigued by the possibilities.
Hospitality clientele across the Las Vegas strip are likely celebrating the news that a cannabis-friendly hotel is opening this spring. At last—somewhere for all of those fragrant MJBizCon attendees to congregate.
I was thrilled to see Irish glassmaker J. Hill’s Standard received a Wallpaper* Design Award for Best Spirit Lifter for their HopStep vessel designed by Aldo Bakker. I wrote a piece for Disegno about the unique device, which isn’t actually a pipe without a specific add-on piece, inspired by the “hop skip” feeling of cannabis and the look and function of pipes.
Also of note from the Wallpaper* Design Awards—these impossibly beautiful perfume bottles by crystal artist James Turrell for Lalique. The cannabis tincture packaging of my dreams.
For those who love to get baked and bake (or binge The Great British Baking Show), there might still be a few eclair joint cases left from Fake Cakery’s Valentine’s drop.
Accessory e-shop Best Friend’s House has made any and all stoned Sherlock Holmes fantasies possible with their wood-detailed Maxwell pipe and amber ashtray set. Now, to solve the mystery of the missing lighter!
The Woman With The Dirty Bong,
Lauren Yoshiko