The Weekly Roll - February 14th 2025

Happy Valentines Day!

Welcome to The Weekly Roll, your go-to roundup of cannabis and art news. Here are some of the big stories this week:

New York Banking Directory : New York's Office of Cannabis Management has launched a Cannabis Banking Directory featuring 10 banks to help licensed cannabis businesses access financial services. The initiative aims to reduce barriers and promote financial stability for operators in the state's rapidly growing legal cannabis market. Banking executives from participating institutions praised the directory as a positive step forward amidst the larger federal debate surrounding the SAFER Banking Act. Article

The People Have Spoken : A Colorado Springs judge has blocked an attempt by the City Council to overturn the voter-approved recreational marijuana sales measure. This comes just months after voters approved the recreational market with 54% of the vote. With this legal hurdle removed, the city is expected to begin processing recreational cannabis license applications this month, with sales scheduled to commence on April 14. Article

Interesting Number : $17 Million. The amount a Massachusetts cannabis farm, River Valley Growers, is suing neighboring Nourse Farms for damages, claiming pesticide drift contaminated its crops. The lawsuit alleges that pesticide overspray from the blueberry and vegetable farm ruined 47,000 pounds of cannabis in 2022 and affected subsequent harvests. State investigators confirmed that pesticides had drifted onto the cannabis crop and found that Nourse Farms "did not operate in a careful manner," when spraying their crop. This is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind in the cannabis industry and could set an interesting precedent moving forward. Article

From the Streets to the Museum : The police sentry box that Banksy transformed into a piranha aquarium during his nine-day London art spree last summer is heading to the new London Museum. City officials voted to donate the graffitied police box to the museum, which is slated to open in 2026 as part of a £222 million development project expected to draw two million annual visitors. Despite speculation about deeper meanings behind Banksy's animal-themed murals, including rhinos mounting cars and monkeys swinging from bridges, the artist's organization has suggested the works are essentially "meaningless". Article

Have a great weekend! 

Aidan