This week's cannabis business news | The Bengal Bite 🐯
Cannabis retailers see sleeper hit with CBN products (MJ Biz Daily) | While delta-8 THC is certainly stealing the spotlight, CBN might just be the sleeper cannabinoid of the summer – pun intended. CBN products provided $16.1 million in sales for the second quarter of this year in the state, up 6.6% from the previous quarter and 120% from the third quarter of 2020.
Destination Dispensary: Wonderbrett Wows With Its First Storefront In Hollywood (Forbes) | Brett Feldman’s namesake cannabis brand, Wonderbrett, is a favorite flower among connoisseur circles and known for its rare genetics, exotic terpene profiles, and meticulous cultivation techniques. The company, which has been selling Wonderbrett cannabis to stores across California since 2012, finally opened its first storefront in Hollywood in July and celebrated with a star-studded grand opening.
Wonderbrett co-founders Brett Feldman (L) and Cameron Damwijk (R) with Snoop Dogg at the Wonderbrett grand opening on July 8, 2021 in Hollywood. Source: VIVIEN KILLILEA/GETTY IMAGES
Marijuana use at historic high among college-aged adults in 2020 (National Institutes of Health) | Annual marijuana use has continued to increase over the past five years for college students, reaching the highest level in over three-and-a-half decades in 2020. Among college students, 44% reported using marijuana in the past year, compared to 38% in 2015. We are quickly reaching the point where any young person who drinks also uses cannabis. (56% of students used alcohol in the past 30 days in the same survey).
Merrill Lynch Mellows Approach to Marijuana-Related Businesses (Advisor Hub) | Merrill executives unveiled plans for “streamlining” and adding more “flexibility” to the process of onboarding clients who own or invest in marijuana-related businesses, as part of the new initiative, according to an internal message sent by the executives to advisors on Wednesday. Advisors will now be able to seek approval for clients with marijuana-related businesses at the divisional level in “lower risk situations,” the message said, meaning they will no longer be required to secure a blessing from a New York-based executive in those instances. The policy change provides flexibility for clients who have a small part of their overall net worth connected to marijuana-related businesses, according to the company.