🏬 $10.4M in sales across 95 dispensaries for Maryland's first weekend of adult-use

Chicago Atlantic commits $150M to NY Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund. Cresco Labs + Columbia Care deal stalls. TerrAscend lists on TSX, acquires 3rd/4th dispensaries in MD.

Dai Truong

Jul 6, 2023

Maryland Cannabis sees $10.4M in sales for the first weekend of adult-use, a 161.7% increase from same weekend in 2022. — Maryland Cannabis Administration

2023 total retail sales (medical and adult-use) of $10.4M vs. 2022 total retail sales (medical-only) of $4.0M
Saturday July 1, 2023: Total retail sales (medical and adult-use): $4,518,377 (medical sales: $959,430, adult-use sales: $3,558,947)
Curio Wellness started the year with 250 employees and now have 320 with 30 openings right now, and anticipates hiring up to 60 people by year end
Long lines were reported at pretty much every dispensary for opening day
Demand may soon outstrip supply—in 2020, an eighth of flower retailed for $65. By the end of 2022, those prices fell to $15-$20/eighth. In the last eight weeks, those prices have edged back up to $40/eighth

$150 Million Investment in New York Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund from Chicago Atlantic. — NY Governor

With Chicago Atlantic's investment, the Fund will receive support to reach its funding goal of up to $200 million, which Governor Hochul and the Legislature sought when it adopted legislation to create this first-of-its-kind support for individuals affected by the unequal enforcement of cannabis prohibition

Ohio has plenty of Medical Cannabis but not enough buyers. Wholesale prices on cannabis sold from cultivators to independent processors in Ohio plummeted 78% from an average of about $769/lb in Q1 2021 to $168/lb in Q4 2022. — Crain’s

More than 14,500 pounds of flower on hand for sale at dispensaries across the state, up 125% compared with midyear 2022
Another 53,000 pounds of bulk flower and 40,000 pounds of plant shake/trim are being held in inventory by suppliers. That amounts to increases of 91% and 41%, respectively, compared with this time last year
About 168,000 pounds of flower alone have been purchased by consumers since retail sales first began in January 2019

Missouri cannabis operators discuss the landscape of supply and demand. Prices and supply seen this October are expected to remain relatively consistent through mid-2024. — Greenway

The overall estimate on when prices will go down as well as more products on the stores is fall of 2023
As cultivation facilities around the state complete the construction of expansions, supply will continue to grow, gradually driving wholesale prices lower. By fall of 2024 Missouri is expected to have a surplus of flower and biomass once again

New Mexico cannabis businesses ask state regulators to pause issuing more licenses. Nearly 100 cannabis businesses signed a letter asking for Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Linda Trujillo and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s help to stabilize New Mexico’s 15-month-old adult-use market. — SF Reporter

The Cannabis Control Division had issued more than 1,000 retail licenses, with the number of licenses issued increasing by 65% in just the last three months alone, coupled by just a 10% increase in sales during the same time period
Ultra Health President and CEO Duke Rodriguez says it’s the regulators’ fault for not creating a more rigorous application process, essentially weeding out those who are not prepared for the expensive world of running a dispensary

NBA Officially Signs Contract Removing Marijuana From Banned Substances List And Allowing Players To Invest In Cannabis Companies. Players can also invest in Cannabis companies, as long as the investment is passive and the player’s ownership is less than 50% of the business. — Marijuana Moment

NBA players have expressed enthusiasm at this change in policy—who see it as a positive step toward destigmatizing Cannabis use and embracing new opportunities for sponsorship and branding

Germany’s first cannabis bill to reach Cabinet this summer. The first draft law is currently being hammered out by numerous ministries, including the agriculture and health ministries. — MJBizDaily

Two of the expected features are: 1) Nonprofit associations would be allowed to jointly cultivate cannabis for adult-use purposes and distribute it to members for their own consumption. This plan is expected to be implemented this year 2) Regional pilot projects with commercial supply chains would be rolled out for a limited period of time. These “trials” would be to collect data to support future public policy.
Germany is now pushing ahead with “Plan B”, a combination of “everything they could find” that was permissible by EU and UN agreements

💵 Deals

Cresco Labs and Columbia Care will not be able to complete the divestitures necessary to secure all necessary regulatory approvals to close the pending transaction. At this stage, Cresco and Columbia Care are working amicably with respect to the next steps in relation to the transaction and will provide further updates in the near future.

Curaleaf International subsidiary to acquire Clever Leaves' EU-GMP Certified Processing Facility in Portugal. The facility measures over 900 square meters of GMP factory space and 750 square meters of warehousing, will process flower grown at Terra Verde, Curaleaf's Cultivation facility located in Alcochete, Portugal. These changes will allow Curaleaf to expand its cultivation capacity at Terra Verde to meet the expected growth across Europe (UK and Germany).

TerrAscend Increases Footprint in Maryland to Four Dispensaries with Agreement to Acquire Herbiculture, shortly after closing on Blue Ridge. TerrAscend will acquire Herbiculture for $8.25M, composed of $3.0M in cash, with the remainder in a seller’s note. Blue Ridge Wellness is on a revenue run rate of ~$4.3M.

TerrAscend pays down $37M of Senior Secured Term Loan in Pennsylvania. The Term Loan bears a fixed interest rate of 12.875%. The paydown reduces the Loan outstanding in Pennsylvania to $78M and reduces annual interest expense by $4.8M.

Jushi completes amendments to 12% Second Lien Notes and Warrants. The Amendments include the removal of a covenant in the trust indenture giving the right to holders of Notes to require the Company to repurchase the Notes for 105% of outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest upon a change of control, and a reduction of the exercise price of the Warrants for each subordinate voting share from US$2.086 to US$1.00.

📄 Company Updates

TerrAscend (TSX: TSND) Commences Trading on the TSX. “We believe our TSX listing will provide the Company greater access to a broader group of institutional and retail investors looking for attractive opportunities in the cannabis space. With all of the fundamental progress that we have made over the past twelve months, combined with this TSX listing, we believe we have achieved our goal of truly becoming independent of the need for regulatory reform” said Jason Wild, Executive Chairman of TerrAscend.

🏬 Retail

The Greenery Spot opens 16th adult-use cannabis dispensary to open in New York state. Other dispensaries in the state that are opened can be found here.

Catalyst Cannabis Co. opens 18th dispensary in CA. This is the third dispensary in Watsonville.

🌱 Product

LEUNE Launches in New Mexico with Stash House NM. LEUNE branded cannabis products are now available in five US markets. With over 30 stores placing opening orders during the first week of sales, LEUNE branded products are expected to hit the shelves at over 100 licensed cannabis dispensary retail locations within the first 60 days of launch.

Sweet Flower & A Golden State launch first ever collaboration for A Golden State, named, Sweet Flower. Delight your senses with this dynamic, specially-curated cultivar that boasts bright notes of citrus and diesel. The lively, immediate effects present the perfect combination of sharp cognitive presence and physical serenity.

🧔 People

Würk Appoints Jennifer Meadows as COO. Meadows joined Würk January 2020 as HRIS Product Lead. Most recently, she served as Director of Operations.

MedMen adds Ellen Deutsch as CEO and Amit Pandey as CFO. Deutsch most recently served as SVP, Market Development and Shared Services at Acreage Holdings. Before joining Acreage, Deutsch served as EVP/COO at Stem Holdings, following two decades in the C-suite of Hain Celestial (Nasdaq: Hain), predominantly as its SVP/Chief Growth Officer among other leadership roles. Pandey joins MedMen after serving as EVP/Interim CFO at Clever Leaves. Previously, Pandey served as CFO of PayCommerce, LLC, a PE-backed B2B cross-border payments platform.