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It’s time for your Daily Hit of cannabis financial news for September 22, 2020.

On the Site

Auxly

A trip to the grocery store in fall is a trip down pumpkin spice land. Like Cinderella’s carriage, it seems like every product is impossibly turned into pumpkin spice. Thank goodness one cannabis company has opted for maple instead. Foray is a Canadian cannabis brand that is rolling out a line of infused maple candies and it feels like a cruel joke on us poor Americans. Foray is owned and operated by Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSX.V – XLY).

El Planteo

El Planteo, a Spanish-language media outlet dedicated to delivering news on cannabis, hemp, CBD, psychedelics, gender issues, ecology, investing, local culture, trends, and more, announced its official launch in partnership with Benzinga, a dynamic and innovative financial media outlet that empowers investors with high-quality, unique content, coveted by Wall Street’s top traders.

In Other News

MindMed

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (NEO: MMED)(OTCQB: MMEDF)(DE: MMQ), the leading drug development company for psychedelic inspired medicines, is evaluating an expanded United States investor base through an up-listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. MindMed has appointed Canaccord Genuity Corp. (“Canaccord Genuity”) as financial advisor to assess the viability of a potential up-listing to NASDAQ and also help to evaluate M&A opportunities available to the company.

MindMed Co-Founder and Co-CEO JR Rahn said “The psychedelic medicine industry is maturing and expanding rapidly, and we want to grow with it. We look forward to working with Canaccord Genuity to evaluate the opportunity for an up-listing on NASDAQ and help us navigate M&A opportunities now available to the company.”

ETF

ETFMG, leading thematic ETF issuer behind the first U.S. and world’s largest cannabis ETF, MJ, the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (NYSE Arca: MJ), has declared a $8,226,000 quarterly dividend, which equates to $0.18 cents per share. Across 2020, investors in MJ received a cumulative $24,620,000 in quarterly dividend payouts. This quarter’s dividend projects an annualized yield of 6.42%,1 or 5.67% after deducting the Fund’s 0.75% expense ratio. The dividend will be paid September 18, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business, September 16, 2020. MJ remains the first U.S. and world’s largest exchange-traded product targeting the global cannabis industry, uniquely positioned to benefit from medicinal and recreational legalization initiatives.

Vermont

The Vermont Senate cast a final vote (23-6) in favor of S. 54 — legislation that would legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis sales. Last week, the House of Representatives approved S. 54 in a final vote of 92-56. The bill now proceeds to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott, who has not said whether he will sign it. You can find a summary of the bill here.

The Senate is also expected to pass S. 234, a bill that would require the automatic expungement of all criminal records for past low-level cannabis possession offenses, and send it to the governor’s desk. In addition to expunging records, the bill would decriminalize possession of cannabis in amounts that are up to twice the legal limit for adults and reduce some cannabis penalties. You can read a full summary of S. 234 here.

If S. 54 is enacted, Vermont would become the 11th state to regulate and tax cannabis sales for adult use. Currently, Vermont remains one of only two U.S. jurisdictions where cannabis is legal but where adult-use sales are still illegal and unregulated. The other jurisdiction is Washington, D.C., which has less autonomy than states. Congress has prevented D.C. from legalizing and regulating cannabis sales.

The Daily Hit: September 22, 2020 on Green Market Report.