🌿Industry

Akerna Releases 2021 Cannabis Industry Mid-Year Review. Report captures trends in cannabis business, markets, and consumer habits in 2021; shows interesting category change in female product preferences.

Link to report

Denver grants first cannabis delivery license to Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields, a marijuana cultivation company with five Colorado dispensaries was awarded Denver’s first cannabis delivery license. The service will not be immediately available, however. Retail cannabis outlets must contract with companies that have obtained a cannabis transportation license, and none of those have been issued, although city officials told BusinessDen those applications could be approved within the next couple weeks. The city of Denver will only allow people who qualify as a “social equity applicant” to apply for medical and retail cannabis transportation licenses until July 1, 2024. Transporters can contract with multiple cannabis stores for their services. Deliveries must take place between 8 a.m. and midnight. Existing retail and medical cannabis stores must contract with transportation licensees until July 1, 2024. After that, licensed dispensaries will be able to conduct deliveries themselves.

Why one of Canada's largest vegetable producers has entered the cannabis industry. Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis is majority-owned by Sunrite Greenhouses Ltd., an established cultivator of greenhouse-grown produce. Before the family behind one of Canada’s longest-running and most successful greenhouse vegetable growing operations got into cannabis, they had two concerns. The first was fears about how some of their U.S. competitors might react and if they would use the company’s cannabis position against them, says Jamie D’Alimonte, the CEO of Ontario-based DelFrescoPure, which grows and markets greenhouse tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries. Two, and more pressing, was the matriarch of the family’s position. “My grandmother actually was with our company right up until she passed away four years ago,” D’Alimonte says. “She was really, you know, the typical old-fashioned Grandma and she really wanted nothing to do with the industry or the product. She was really kind of the last reason why we decided not to do it. When she passed, we thought it was just the right time to get into the industry.” In 2018, Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis was incorporated and D’Alimonte was named CEO. The company is majority-owned by Sunrite Greenhouses Ltd., an established cultivator of greenhouse-grown produce. D’Alimonte likens the company’s entry into cannabis to when he first joined the family business in 1990. “Back then, our industry had about 100 acres of greenhouses, and today we’re almost pushing 4,000,” he says. “So it’s really in its infancy within Canada and maybe, hopefully, the U.S.”

💵Deals

Vibe Growth — Acquires Monterey County cultivation for $5.1M Cash. The Company has entered into a purchase agreement for the acquisition of a 10-acre parcel of land in Monterey County, California for +/- 254,000 sq ft of potential greenhouse cannabis cultivation. Vibe's Monterey acquisition will serve as its flagship greenhouse cultivation facility. The Company will commence its 66,000 square foot Phase 1, with the future potential to develop 188,000 additional square feet in future Phases 2 and 3. The Company anticipates the construction cost of Monterey Phase 1 to be $1.1 million per 22,000 sq ft of greenhouse, including building and site costs.

Ayr Wellness — upsized Equipment Lease Facility. The $5.3 million equipment lease, as previously announced on November 2, 2020, has been increased to $21.4 million with XS Financial. Ayr Wellness has fully utilized the original lease facility and, with its recent drawdown, has received a total of $11.8 million across 21 lease schedules.

📄Company Updates / Earnings

GTI — Calls for Nonprofit Grant Applications as Part of Good Green Brand Launch. Good Green, a line of cannabis products dedicated to creating professional opportunities for marginalized communities impacted by the War on Drugs. Good Green grant applications are now open to nonprofits that support the brand’s three pillars, including education, employment and expungement. The Company will proactively commit at least $1.3 million from Good Green brand sales over the next year and a half.

🏬Retail

Trulieve — opens 87th Florida dispensary in Winter Haven. The 3,200 sq ft dispensary expands access throughout Central Florida, joining nearby locations in Lakeland and Sebring.

Gage Growth — Adds Two Retail Locations to Portfolio and Eleventh Contract Grower. The Company has added two more provisioning centers (dispensaries) to its portfolio, which will be located in Flint and Burton, Michigan. The Company now has 15 provisioning center locations in its retail portfolio. The Company also announced it has entered into a contract grow agreement with a third-party Michigan cannabis license holder, adding its eleventh expected Contract Grower to the Company's portfolio for the 2021 calendar year. The Company expects to receive product from the Contract Grower in the fourth quarter of this year in an amount of ~250 pounds of dried cannabis per month. As previously disclosed, the Company anticipates adding several more partners and expanding its total cultivation facilities by year end to fourteen locations.

🌱Product

Keef Brands — breaks new ground with THCv, CBG and CBN. The Company unveiled its new series of cutting edge purpose-driven beverages with alternative cannabinoids. Going beyond the traditional THC and CBD to develop products, Keef’s innovative formulations push the cannabis industry envelope by offering more functional effects ranging from stimulation, relaxation to possible neuropathic benefits. The product line is now available for the first time in Colorado, with launches into additional states scheduled later this year. An expansion of Keef Brands’ low-calorie and low-sugar Life H2O beverage line, the three newly released drinks highlight lesser known yet promising compounds found in the cannabis plant: THCv (studies have shown this cannabinoid to produce energizing effects, as well as the potential for suppressing one’s appetite); CBG (non-psychoactive with reported antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory qualities); and CBN (reportedly can be used as a sleep aid). The new formulations of Keef Life H2O are still infused with the phenome specific cannabis strains with which the line was originally developed, but now contain these added cannabinoids alongside the THC to further their functional purposes. Keef Brands’ new beverages formulated with alternative cannabinoids include:

Cranberry Lime ENERGIZE +THCv: *Respected for its stimulating effects, THCv can now be found as an added cannabinoid in the Life H2O Cranberry Lime. The THCv pairs seamlessly with the original sativa dominant base providing a daytime beverage that is intended to keep you both motivated and focused.
Strawberry Kiwi BALANCE +CBG: *Long admired for its ability to help regulate the body’s muscular and mental tensions, the newly added CBG to the Life H2O Strawberry Kiwi pairs perfectly with the hybrid dominant base.
Blueberry Lemon SNOOZE +CBN: *Idolized for its sleepy time effects, Keef Brands added extra CBN cannabinoids to the Life H2O Blueberry Lemon. With the same taste and indica dominant base, CBN simply brings it to the next level of relief.

The new products come on the heels of Keef Brands’ expansion into three new states – Missouri, Ohio and Maine. The company currently operates in eight markets. The brand has also partnered with BevCanna to position Keef Brands’ expansion into Canada later this year.

🧔People | 💻Hiring

PAX — General Manager, eCommerce (SF)

710 Labs — Director of Operations (LA)

Airgraft — Controller / Director of Finance (Montreal)

🎙️Interviews

Sen. Cory Booker on legalizing marijuana: “We’re on the right side of history in America.” Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss legalizing marijuana, injustices in the U.S. system regarding marijuana usage, and the bipartisan infrastructure deal.

Cory Booker @CoryBooker

We can both address the pressing need for cannabis businesses to access financial institutions and provide real restorative justice for those harmed by the War on Drugs. This is not a zero-sum game. #MarijuanaJustice

Jason Spatafora @WolfOfWeedST

How can you block #SafeBanking when Safe is desperately needed to hurt black markets & be inclusive to minority communities + usher in social justice reforms? Safe has GOP sponsors & there is an urgent need to protect small business owners being robbed for cash. #MarijuanaJustice https://t.co/X7Z5H0n9rT

Seth Rogen goes on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote Houseplant.

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Highly Objective

💬 Sen. Cory Booker on legalizing marijuana…