💰 $20.9M in sales from Maryland’s first week of legalization
TerrAscend acquires 4th MD dispensary. botanica raises $10.3M. Cronos confirms buyer interest. Gold Flora/The Parent Company complete Merger. Curaleaf launches app, launches rebrand of Select™.
🌿 Industry
Empire Cannabis Club reopens within 24 hours of raid. Just a day after New York police and state tax agents raided two locations of the Empire Cannabis Club, the dispensaries are back in business. — Bloomberg
The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the Department of Taxation and Finance conducted inspections at 33 storefronts in New York, Ithaca and Binghamton last month, issuing violation notices to 31 of those businesses
Empire has maintained that it’s all legal, because it’s operating as a not-for-profit members-only club. It charges $15 for a daily pass to enter its storefronts and $35 for a monthly membership
Little Green Pharma has quietly been making inroads into Europe from its base in Perth, where its production facility churns out flowers and oils that are already EU-compliant. LGP has several deals with distributors in Germany, one of the world’s largest consumers of medicinal cannabis. — Financial Review
In France, the company is the key supplier to an official clinical trial, taking a loss in the hope of reaping a first-mover advantage if the trials pave the way to legalization
In Italy, LGP has won a government tender to fill shortfalls in the government’s own production. It is also targeting Britain, Poland, Portugal and Sweden
LGP acquired Canopy Growth’s facility Odense, Denmark for $20M—a fraction of the $100M+ that Canopy Growth invested into it, and less than the value of the land and assets
12 California cannabis companies tied to fake unions could lose their licenses. California law requires marijuana businesses to sign a labor peace agreement with a “bona fide” labor organization before they are issued a state license. — MJBizDaily
In an apparent effort to flout worker-friendly marijuana legalization laws and benefit businesses seeking labor cost savings, cannabis businesses across the country are signing these agreements with “labor organizations” that have few or no members and no intent to organize workers, critics charge
Among the California cannabis businesses that signed a labor peace agreement with ProTech is Herbl
Celebrity brands in the California market. MJBizDaily looks at a snapshot of Q1 2023, comparing 20+celebrity brands against a representative sample that included more than 1,300 brands. — MJBizDaily
Traditional brands in the first quarter averaged $26,591 in monthly sales, according to Headset. At least nine celebrity brands exceeded that figure, with five generating monthly revenue well above the $100,000 mark.
North Carolina medical marijuana bill likely dead for this year. House Speaker Tim Moore cited opposition by many fellow Republicans in his chamber. — AP
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission plans to award business licenses at a meeting on August 10, replacing the selections it announced last month. The licensing issues are in court because of lawsuits filed by two companies that applied for licenses but did not receive them. — AL.com
Bipartisan Pennsylvania Senators Unveil New Marijuana Legalization Bill. Pennsylvania state Senators Dan Laughlin, Republican, and Sharif Street, Democrat, introduced Senate Bill 846, a bipartisan measure to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Keystone state. — Marijuana Moment
$20.9M in cannabis sold during Maryland’s first week of legalization. The Maryland Cannabis Administration anticipates the industry will reap $600 million in retail sales during the first year of adult-use cannabis legalization. — Baltimore Banner
Colorado’s regulated cannabis industry suffered its “worst 4/20 in five years,” a ~14% decline in April sales from the same month last year. Monthly figures released by the Colorado Department of Revenue show nearly $131.6M in total marijuana sales for April. That’s down from $153M in sales in April 2022. — MJBizDaily
$151.8M in June Cannabis sales for Massachusetts. The June number includes $132.8M in adult-use sales and $19M in medical sales. Sales increased by ~2.6% over May’s combined sales total. — Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).
Arkansas medical marijuana sales total $141M in first 6 months of 2023, totaling 29,057 pounds of cannabis. The numbers are a slight increase from last year, where the state saw $134M in medical marijuana sales totaling 23,611 pounds of cannabis. There are also 94,373 with an active medical marijuana patient card, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. — Northwest Arkansas Online
CT cannabis sales rise modestly as market hits 6-month mark. Overall sales in June reached $23.8M, up slightly from $22.7M in May. Adult-use sales rose by $1M to $12.5M, while medical sales barely ticked up to $11.3M from $11.2M. — CT Insider
💵 Deals
TerrAscend Reaches Four Dispensary Cap in Maryland with Closing of Herbiculture Acquisition. Located in an ~3,100 sq ft location in Burtonsville, Herbiculture has a loyal customer base and a net revenue run rate of ~$4.3M. TerrAscend expects to achieve significant sales and margin improvement at this location with the recent launch of adult-use sales in the state and by offering a complete selection of its high-quality brands including Kind Tree, Gage, Cookies and Wana. With the close of the transaction, TerrAscend's retail footprint increases to 38 dispensaries nationwide.
botanica, which makes Mr. Moxey's cannabis mints, has raised $10.3M. In addition to Mr. Moxey's, Botanica makes a line of cannabis lemonades and jellies called Journeyman. Botanica sells Mr. Moxey's in Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts and Colorado, and it sells Journeyman in Washington and Oregon. The company plans to start selling Journeyman in Illinois soon. CEO Chris Abbott said the plan is to launch Journeyman in the states that currently just sell Mr. Moxey's.
AYR Wellness closes $40M refinancing and upsizing of its existing mortgage for its Gainesville cultivation facility with Needham Bank. Proceeds from the Loan will be used to pay down the Company’s existing Gainesville mortgage of $25.3M, which was due to mature in May 2024, and invest further in the Facility and the Company’s Florida business. The new Loan carries an interest rate of 5-year FHLB Rate + 4%, which currently implies a rate of 8.26%.
AYR Wellness acquires 3rd Ohio Dispensary License. The company has entered an option agreement that provides AYR with the future ability to acquire 100% of the equity interests of Twice the Wellness, an entity provisionally licensed to operate a medical marijuana dispensary in Ohio. The Company previously entered into option agreements to acquire Daily Releaf located in Riverside, Ohio, part of the Dayton Metropolitan Area, and Heaven Wellness, located in Clermont County, part of the Greater Cincinnati area. The Company anticipates all three dispensaries to open by year end.
Cronos Group confirmed it is in talks with potential buyers to explore a sale of the company. Cronos is working with a financial adviser to handle expressions of interest in a deal from other companies, including Curaleaf, according to people familiar with the matter. Cronos has total cash, including short-term investments, of $836.4M as of Q1 2023.
Gold Flora and The Parent Company Complete Merger. The merged entity, which now operates as Gold Flora Corporation, will operate cultivation, distribution, product brands, and retail and delivery footprint. The company expects to have 20 dispensaries by year end and projects annualized cost savings of ~$20–25M. Under the terms of the Business Combination, Laurie Holcomb has been named CEO of Gold Flora and Troy Datcher has been named Chairman of the Board. Gold Flora's Board of Directors will be comprised of seven directors, four of whom were nominated by Gold Flora, LLC, being Laurie Holcomb, Michael W. Lau, Heather Molloy and Jeffery Sears, and three of whom were nominated by The Parent Company, being Troy Datcher (Chairman), Al Foreman and Mark Castaneda.
📄 Company Updates
MariMed Stages the “Boston 280E THC Party” in Boston Harbor To Protest Unfair Cannabis Industry Tax Laws. MariMed paid homage to the most famous tax protest in history during the year of the Boston Tea Party’s 250th anniversary. By shining a light on Section 280E’s negative financial impact on legal cannabis operators, MariMed hopes to effectuate policy change geared towards industry growth and advancement.
RISE Dispensaries (GTI) Ironically “Celebrates” Richard Nixon with “Thanks, Dick” Campaign. In select markets, GTI will ironically “celebrate” Richard Nixon’s signing of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. The “Thanks, Dick” campaign recognizes the destructive consequences of the Controlled Substances Act, which effectively initiated the War on Drugs and decades of harm on communities of color. The “celebration” will feature a promotion of 19.70% off storewide from July 14th through July 20th. In addition to the promotion, participating RISE Dispensaries will focus on providing consumers with education on the War on Drugs and the state of cannabis today, along with swag giveaways and in-store activations. RISE also encourages consumers to sign its petition in support of cannabis scheduling reform and watch the informational video on its website.
Safe Harbor Financial Launches Interest-Bearing Commercial Deposit Accounts to Cannabis Businesses Nationwide. This new product offering was launched in response to an unmet need in the industry, as many of the smaller banks and credit unions servicing the cannabis industry do not currently make interest-bearing products available to these clients. Offered through one of Safe Harbor’s proprietary financial institution partnerships, this new account product will provide depositors the opportunity to earn interest income with no maximum balance limitation.
InterCure Voluntary Delists from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and shall continue to be listed on the NASDAQ and TASE. The Company has decided to delist from the TSX after concluding that maintaining the listing does not offer substantial benefits to the Company and its shareholders. After a careful review of the trading volume data relating to the Shares, the Board has concluded that the trading volume on the TSX in insufficient to justify the continued listing.
Springbig Revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2023, are expected to be $7.2M, representing 12% Y/Y growth. Adjusted EBITDA loss is expected to be $1.1M compared with $3.4M in the same three-month period last year. For the first half of the fiscal year, revenues have increased by 14% Y/Y to $14.4M and Adjusted EBITDA loss has been reduced by 58% to $2.5M compared with $5.9M in the same six-month period last year. For the year ending December 31, 2023, springbig expects revenue in the range of $31.0–$32.5M, representing 19% growth at the mid-point, and an Adjusted EBITDA loss in the range of $(1.5)M–$(2.0)M.
🏬 Retail
Statis Cannabis Co. opens first dispensary in Bronx, seventh in New York City. The store owners are Angel Turuseta, 50—jailed for two years after being busted with a pound in 2004—and Emely Chavez, a fifth-grade teacher in North Bergen, NJ.
Strain Stars in East Farmingdale will be the first dispensary on Long Island. The family-owned, 3,500 sq ft dispensary is on Route 110 south of Gazza Boulevard. The store is the 19th legal adult-use dispensary in New York.
Verano opens Zen Leaf Norwich, the Company’s first social equity joint venture location in Connecticut and third cannabis dispensary statewide. Verano’s expanding vertical operations in Connecticut encompass CTPharma, 217,000 sq ft cultivation and processing facility in Rocky Hill, and Zen Leaf dispensaries in Meriden (hybrid), Norwich (hybrid) and Waterbury (presently medical-only). Including Zen Leaf Norwich, the Company plans to open a total of six social equity joint venture dispensaries across Connecticut with its social equity partners in the months ahead, subject to obtaining all customary approvals, which would raise Verano’s total retail footprint to eight stores statewide.
Verano opens MÜV Fort Piece, the Company’s 70th Florida dispensary and 131st location nationwide. MÜV Fort Pierce is located at a busy thoroughfare with an average daily traffic count of 31,000 vehicles. The dispensary is located in St. Lucie County, a growing region with a population of over 358,000. Verano’s active operations span 13 states, comprised of 131 dispensaries and 14 cultivation and processing facilities with more than 1 million square feet of cultivation capacity.
Curaleaf opens third adult use sales dispensary in Groton, CT. Earlier this year Curaleaf started adult use cannabis sales at its Stamford and Hartford locations and began offering adult use products via wholesale to other dispensaries across CT.
Trulieve opens First Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Columbus, OH.
Trulieve opens 4th Medical Cannabis dispensary in Pooler, GA.
FLUENT Cannabis opens 32nd Dispensary in Crestview Florida, 35th Nationwide.
🌱 Product
Curaleaf launches standalone mobile app, now available in all 19 states where the Company operates. The Curaleaf App provides an easy, convenient way for patients and customers to order their favorite cannabis products, receive exclusive updates on new products and discounts, as well as track and manage reward points via the Curaleaf Rewards Program.
Curaleaf Unveils Strategic National Rebrand of Select™ across 15 U.S. States. Additionally, the Company launched Select's all-in-one, two-gram proprietary vape technology, Select Briq, as well as the expanded its Select X Bites edibles portfolio with the launch of Live Rosin X Bites and High Dose X Bites.
Old Pal enters IL in partnership with The 1937 Group. Old Pal will be available in Curaleaf, GTI, AWH, and Cresco Labs location across the state. In addition to Old Pal, The 1937 Group has also partnered with Sherbinskis, Bloom Vapes, Lobo Cannagar, Potli, Kush League, Canna Bella Lux, Sticky Leafs and TerpKings.
SLANG Worldwide launches first line of fast-acting cannabis-infused gummies under its Alchemy Naturals all-natural THC gummy brand with Azuca. Available in Vermont at SLANG's Ceres Collaborative located in downtown Burlington, and soon in dispensaries across Vermont via wholesale--Alchemy Naturals' new fast-acting gummies harness TiME INFUSION® (Thermodynamic Individual Molecular Encapsulation) technology from Azuca, expedites the onset time to between five and fifteen minutes. Azuca's infusion process also provides consumers with a true Delta-9 THC experience-a euphoric high akin to inhaling cannabis. This proprietary formulation gives an uplifting, lighter and more euphoric sensation than the heavy effect of traditional edibles.
Tilray Brands launches SweetWater Gummies, a new line of easy-drinking, high-alcohol craft ales brewed for an endless summer of haze and juicy flavor. SweetWater Gummies Tropical IIPA and Fruit Punch IIPA, both 9.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), will bolster SweetWater’s year-round lineup with innovative, fruit-forward styles that cater to the fastest growing category in craft beer.
🧔 People
Glass House Brands Board Member Hector De La Torre Resigns. Hector De La Torre has stepped down from the Board, due to the time requirements of his recent appointment as Executive Director of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments.
🎙️ Interviews
Chicago Atlantic Talks New York's $150M Commitment | Green Market Report
Focus on State Level Cannabis Progress (ft. Hirsh Jain) | Cannabis Investing Network
Bryan Gerber, CEO of Hemper, Hara Supply | CannabisNow
GTI, CEO, Ben Kovler | MJBizDaily
POSaBIT, CEO, Ryan Hamlin | Planet MicroCap
Trademark infringement, Summer sales trends | High Rise