Cheddar's weekly series CannaBiz tracks the latest trends and news in the expanding marijuana market. Cheddar's Brad Smith and Hope King explore how marijuana advocates are taking on the legality of the drug at the federal level, and how companies are capitalizing on this market in Canada.
Five plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the DEA and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. It challenges the listing of marijuana as a schedule I drug, which classifies the drug as having no medical use and it cannot be legally prescribed. Jose Belen, U.S. Army combat veteran and one of the plaintiffs in this case, and attorney Joseph Bondy explain why they were inspired to fight for this cause.
"Cannabis for me has allowed me to feel emotion again--to just simply function," says Belen who has suffered from PTSD. "It's not a cure, but it's allowed me to find my smile again. For me Cannabis is life-saving."
Marijuana legislation in Canada is going to take a little longer than expected. The nation's health minister says the law will go into effect closer to August. Alan Brochstein, Founder of New Cannabis Ventures and 420 Invest, explains the market opportunity he sees in this emerging market.
"I think its actually a positive because right now there's not a lot of inventory out there," said Brochstein. "If we want this to be a really good transition these companies need to be built up."
This week a major Canadian insurance company announced plans to add medical marijuana coverage. Sun Life Financial will cover this type of treatment in group plans starting in March.
"The world is their oyster right now," says Brochstein about the market opportunity for Cannabis in Canada. "I wish we'd (United States) would move toward Canada, but slow progress is better than no progress."
Adam Spiker is executive director of the Southern California Coalition, which is an organization dedicated to helping organizations, advocacy groups, and businesses coalition build and understand the cannabis industry.
Spiker sits down with Alyssa Julya Smith in Los Angeles to talk about how to implement responsible policies in Los Angeles, the state of California, and at the federal level. He explains that the city of Los Angeles is the biggest cannabis market in the world, but has been slow to roll out licenses across the city.
Spiker also discusses the need for more resources to go through all the applications, both for distributors and cultivators who are trying to legally expand their business. Spiker also emphasizes that he believes the state will do everything in their power to protect business from the threat of federal regulations and roadblocks.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
