The Broccoli Report
Monday, May 10, 2021
Time to read: 5 minutes, 12 seconds. 1042 words.
Good morning!
I’m feeling those second-shot woozies, so I’ll keep this morning’s hello short and sweet.
I have a fun advertising opportunity to throw your way: the Broccoli team is producing Mushroom People, a single-issue magazine publishing September 2021 celebrating the weird and wonderful world of fungi (follow the IG for visual foraging). There are limited spaces available for print ads (with digital add-ons available). Hit up hi@broccolimag.com for more info; it’s a great chance to get your brand in front of an intelligent, creative audience interested in the mind-expanding potential of mushrooms, both psychedelic and not.
Before we get to the news—it’s been time for us to address the thousands of tons of non-recyclable plastic entering the waste stream due to legal cannabis production. But this Friday’s dispatch is much more than a reality check—it’s about resources. We do have choices, right now, and I’ll be going through the most interesting materials, approaches, and alternatives being implemented across the industry. Only paid subscribers receive Friday Reports, and they also enjoy access to the entire archive of past posts. Thank you for keeping the Broccoli Report in bloom.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
Union news out of the Amazon warehouses has been disappointing, but it’s a different story in cannabis. Workers at the Curaleaf medical dispensary voted to unionize with UFCW Local 328 following a disputed vote that took 10 months to sort out—including a failed attempt by Curaleaf to appeal the decision to the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. Local 328 also picked up new members when workers at Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center in Portsmouth, R.I., voted 21-1 to join, alongside employees at the Ocean State Cultivation Center, where 328 has since finalized a contract that guarantees a living wage, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for career advancement and safe working conditions.
Meadow, the CA-based Y Combinator dispensary software startup, introduced the first cannabis-specific SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), an open-source, highly secure fundraising document created to standardize and streamline early-stage financing for cannabis businesses. Developed in collaboration with multiple law firms, it features a limited set of variable terms so it can be negotiated and entered into quickly, reducing the time and cost associated with fundraising. It won’t be the right document for everyone, but it’s free for all to try out.
MJ Biz Daily ponders whether “carbon footprint” will be the next metric making its way onto the crowded panels of cannabis product labels.
Another tax deadline arrives without progress in the fight for legal cannabis businesses to deduct business costs like everyone else. The U.S. Supreme Court is making a pattern of flat out refusing to hear appeals from cannabis companies seeking a reprieve from exorbitant federal tax bills. Two California-based companies with bills totaling $1.9 million under Section 280E were denied hearings last week. If you recall, Harborside dispensary in California also attempted in the past year, and in their case, the US Tax Court did hear them out, but in the end, they ruled in favor of the IRS. So even legal teams hired by some of the most successful companies in cannabis, with decades of demonstrated ability to conduct a proper business, aren’t enough to get through yet. I know it’s a complicated scenario, but I really wonder if the higher courts understand just how much refusing to even entertain a solution pushes earnest, legal businesses towards more illicit bookkeeping.
Can’t cannabis lovers just have one nice, digital thing? For 4/20, you might recall Miss Grass launched a holiday hotline for people to text their burning weed-related questions, with experts on the other side ready to answer questions and accept donations for the Women’s Prison Association. The cannabis-associated number got shut down within hours. But in ten hours of operation, they received over 2000 texts, with topics ranging from “social justice to sex and strains to how soon we can expect to see federal legalization.” It’s potent proof of folks’ enduring cannabis curiosity—and demonstrates the dearth of organized, readily available information.
An extra incentive for producers to design reusable and covetable packaging: you can sell the empty packaging on your website between restocks. Fire & Jane, a pre-roll brand in Portland, OR, sells joints in an airtight container with a rubber gasket that keeps flower fresh, with a certified child-proof closure to boot. A beloved local muralist designed the colorful cases for the three varietals, and $1.50 of every purchase goes back to the community.
Sundae School announced a rich, multidimensional calendar for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month that aims to document, share and celebrate experiences that are often overlooked. Last week kicked off with candid chats about gender and sex, and the launch of Stoner Asian Dating (SAD). It’s a matchmaking collaboration with @subtleasiandating that highlighted stoner singles on Sundae School’s IG Stories with the hope of finding true stoner love in the responses. Themes in the coming weeks of programming include “Filial Piety” and “Work”—eager to see their creativity flow.
A different kind of glass drop for the weed world: infused aperitif Artet releases a limited edition glassware collaboration with NYC design studio MAMO. The two-sided glasses have a 2 oz side for a measured pour and a 7 oz side for cocktails, and they come in a two-toned, blue-green pair.
CBD brand Potli and CA-based cultivator SF Roots collaborated on a beautiful pre-roll for AAPI Heritage Month dedicated to protecting our elders. The one-gram pre-roll is infused with Paradise Citrus live resin and Al Ajo flower from the legacy talent at SF Roots.
I’m taken with this glimmering gold chocolate bar collab between Sackville & Co. and Portland’s Greater Goods for Mother’s Day. As a recovering addict to Greater Goods’ salted, CBD-chocolate-covered marshmallows, I know this one will be mom-worthy.
Superette launched a Legacy to Legal campaign, working with a few craft licensed producers to donate to Cannabis Amnesty’s efforts to educate and deconstruct stereotypes of individuals with illicit market experience. The campaign includes a Super Strains merch drop of sporty, Champion warm-ups-inspired gear, which looks comfy and cool, and, in my opinion, has a little fun with the metaphor of evening out the playing field.
See you courtside,
Lauren Yoshiko