In what Curaleaf CEO Matt Darin called “a historic moment” for the industry, a DEA proposal reportedly seeks to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule III narcotic — a category that includes cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin — to a Schedule I narcotic, which includes ketamine, codeine, and steroids.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers highlighted that the DEA’s decision signifies progress on the issue after President Joe Biden and the Food and Drug Administration requested“The FDA findings were actually that marijuana is safer in many respects than alcohol, which is interesting in terms of having that on the record,” Rivers said. “It really is a critical first step as we think about additional regulatory and policy changes for the industry.
“No other industry in America is subject to this type of punitive tax rate,” Darin said. “Freeing up that cash flow to reinvest in expansion, in personnel, in new business development I think is getting the attention of institutional investors and is going to continue to attract interest.” “That would level the playing field as it relates to banking,” Rivers continued, “and, importantly, would allow for us to take credit cards so we wouldn't have to have as much cash on-hand, which makes us a target, of course, for crime, as there have been some horrific reports of robberies that have happened at dispensaries across the country.”