🛑 Alabama puts hold on licensing
HERBL shuts down. TPCO + Gold Flora deal approved. AWH raises $7M for M&A. Uncle Arnie's raise. TerrAscend receives regulatory approval for Peninsula. Trulieve hires ex-Jack in the Box CFO.
Update: HERBL officially shut down this past Friday (June 16, 2023). Employees (Melissa Burgstahler, Mike Beaver, Roy McDonald) have been posting goodbye messages on Linkedin. A good time to pick up talent from HERBL if your company is hiring.
🌿 Industry
Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission puts hold on licensing, cites ‘potential inconsistencies’. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission held an emergency meeting Friday and put a hold on the licenses it issued last Monday, saying it had found “potential inconsistencies” in how applicants for licenses were scored. — AL.com
During this pause in proceedings, the commission will seek an independent review of all scoring data
AMCC is suspending all current procedural timelines until the matter is resolved
AMCC officials have said they expect medical cannabis products to be available by late this year or early next year. They have also said lawsuits could delay that
The Maryland Cannabis Administration has temporarily shut down Cookies dispensary in Federal Hill. Notice of the suspension came less than a week after Cookies held their grand opening on May 27. — WMAR
The suspension lists a slew of violations, stemming from an unannounced inspection one day prior to opening
Inspectors specifically describe one particular violation, a video that shows large plumes of smoke being blown from a large gun apparatus into the mouths of persons outside the dispensary
The Company also refused to provide inspectors with material needed for their investigation including surveillance footage, despite being asked multiple times
The hidden cost of legal weed in N.J.: big electric bills, diverted water and plastic trash. Smrita Choubey is hoping to get approval to grow cannabis outdoors using sunlight at Veda Farms in Frelinghuysen Township. But, she has faced challenges obtaining local and state permits. — NJ.com
One year into the legal cannabis industry, there are still no outdoor cannabis farms in New Jersey
Indoor cannabis cultivation facilities in Massachusetts, where recreational marijuana has been legal since 2016, are responsible for 10% of all the state’s industrial electricity use, according to the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project
NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports supports removing cannabis from the Association's banned drug list and testing protocols. The committee will gather input from the membership this summer, with final action expected in the fall. — NCAA
The rationale for considering the change was largely informed by the December 2022 Summit on Cannabinoids in College Athletics and includes the consensus opinion that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level
The buildings constructed from cannabis. In search of sustainable materials, architects are turning to an unusual source: hemp. — BBC
The fast-growing plant is a renewable resource, with carbon-capturing properties
Buildings and construction are responsible for ~37% of energy and process-related global CO2 emissions. This is due to the industry's heavy reliance on fossil fuels, including carbon-intensive materials such as concrete, steel and glass, as well as the greenhouse gasses emitted in heating and cooling buildings
Although other countries may be slower to embrace hemp as an agricultural product and building material, things may soon accelerate. In November 2022, the UN published a report outlining the benefits of industrial hemp
💵 Deals
The Parent Company Shareholders Approve Proposed Business Combination with Gold Flora. The Business Combination is expected to close in early July 2023, following the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions including, among others, the approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and the approval of the NEO.
AWH Intends to Complete Private Placement with Large Existing Debt and Equity Investor, Raising $7M in Additional Equity. The Company intends to sell an aggregate of 9,859,155 shares to a large existing debt and equity investor at a price of $0.71 per share. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement to pursue potential acquisitions of debt or equity in, or the assets of, certain companies in the cannabis industry consistent with the Company's current business strategy. "We are seeing a lot of attractive acquisition opportunities that Ascend believes could be significantly accretive," said CEO John Hartmann.
Uncle Arnie’s raises an Undisclosed round. Investors include Harry Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid, who co-founded Boston Beer Co. (SAM) in 1984 with Jim Koch and Rhonda Kallman. Other investors include Michael Carpenter, the former CEO of Ally Financial and his son, Nick Carpenter.
TerrAscend Receives Regulatory Approval for Acquisition of Peninsula Alternative Health. The closing on track to occur before the start of Maryland’s adult use program on July 1st. As a $14M revenue run rate medical dispensary, the 8,500 sq ft location near the border of Delaware, with no other dispensaries within a 25 mile radius, is expected to quickly become one of TerrAscend’s top performing locations nationwide. Executive Chairman, Jason Wild adds that the company hopes to sign definitive agreements to acquire two additional dispensaries in Maryland in the coming weeks. And fully expects the same level of success in MD that the Company achieved in NJ during the first 14 months of their adult use program.
Body and Mind divests Muskegon, MI dispensary. The Company has received all regulatory approvals to complete the transaction as outlined in a press release on April 18, 2023 and 8-K filings.
Canopy and Indiva closes $2.1M Private Placement. The Private Placement was completed in connection with the entering into of a license assignment and assumption agreement and a contract manufacturing agreement, whereby Indiva assigned to Tweed all of its rights and interest in its exclusive license to manufacture and sell Wana™ branded products in Canada and Tweed granted to Indiva an exclusive right to manufacture and supply Wana™ branded products in Canada for a period of five years, with the ability to renew for an additional five-year term upon mutual agreement of the parties.
📄 Company Updates
Safe Harbor Financial Originates $6.7M First-Lien Secured Loan for Global Real Estate Investment Firm. With a market-leading interest rate, amortization, and repayment schedule, the loan is secured by a first lien on a Class A multitenant cannabis industrial property located in Oakland, CA.
Metrc Gets Government Contract Renewal with Ohio. Metrc was contracted by the Ohio Department of Commerce in August 2017 to help state officials develop and administer the program’s track-and-trace infrastructure.
Acreage Further Streamlines Leadership and Oversight in Preparation for Expected Acquisition by Canopy USA. Katie J. Bayne, Patricia Lopez, Douglas L. Maine, and Steven Strom have elected to resign from the Board, effective immediately. Acreage’s Board will now be comprised of: Kevin P. Murphy, Bill Van Faasen, John A. Boehner, Brian Mulroney and Peter Caldini, who will step down from the role of CEO on June 30, 2023, as previously announced on June 2, 2023, and will resign from the Board on the same date. Dennis Curran, current COO, will assume the roles of CEO and Board member on July 1, 2023.
🏬 Retail
FlynnStoned Cannabis opens Central New York's first legal cannabis dispensary. Co-owner Angela Flynn expects the dispensary will do $12M in sales in the first year of operation. According to Syracuse.com, the state’s OCM confirmed that the three-story, 13,000-square-foot shop in Syracuse is the state’s biggest to open so far.
Velvet Cannabis opens Napa dispensary, formerly owned by Harvest of Napa. With Harvest reducing their west-coast presence, Velvet saw a unique opportunity to expand their dispensary experience to the Napa region. This is the company’s third location (Martinez, Eagle Rock) with a fouth in Brentwood opening soon.
LIV Cannabis Detroit Dispensary opens. LIV Cannabis opened its first location in Ferndale in 2020, the city’s first adult-use dispensary. The company also recently opened a location in Grand Rapids, following others in Lansing and Lake Orion, with plans to open another in Westland later this year.
Cookies to open first Arizona location in Tempe, AZ. The dispensary is opened in partnership with Andrea Deals, recipient of one of 26 social equity cannabis sales licenses issued by the state of Arizona as the result of Proposition 207.
GTI opens RISE Dispensary Las Vegas on Nellis, its 81st Dispensary. RISE Las Vegas on Nellis is the first RISE Dispensary to open in North Las Vegas. The Company operates other dispensaries that include RISE stores in Reno, Carson City, Henderson, Spanish Springs and Las Vegas (formerly Essence Dispensaries) on South Durango, South Rainbow, and West Tropicana. Additionally, in 2021, Green Thumb partnered with Cookies to open the brand’s first location in Nevada, Cookies on the Strip.
GTI opens RISE Dispensary Philadelphia, its 82nd Dispensary. GTI entered the Pennsylvania market in 2017 and currently operates a cultivation and manufacturing facility in Danville where the company produces its branded products including RYTHM premium flower and vapes, Good Green flower, &Shine flower and vapes, and Doctor Solomon's medical-grade drops and lotions.
Trulieve Opens Dispensary in Phoenix, AZ. Harvest and Trulieve-affiliated dispensaries in Arizona are in Apache Junction, Avondale, Casa Grande, Chandler, Cottonwood, Glendale, Guadalupe, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sierra Vista, Tempe, and Tucson.
Cresco Labs opens Sunnyside Destin and St. Petersburg Florida Stores, Expanding Nationwide Retail Footprint to 66 Locations. The Company has 31 dispensaries in FL.
🌱 Product
PAX Expands Cannabis Portfolio with Launch of Brand’s First Edible Product. PAX Live Rosin Gummies deliver consumers with a naturally balanced, full flower experience, made with full spectrum live rosin — the purest cannabis extract, rich in cannabinoids, terpenes and other whole plant compounds. PAX Live Rosin Gummies will launch in Massachusetts in June, with each individual serving package featuring 5mg THC and each package containing 20 servings for a total of 100mg THC. PAX Live Rosin Gummies start at $28 MSRP. PAX Live Rosin Gummies will roll out to California, Colorado and New York later this year.
Verano Introduces On The Rocks, New Multi-Format Brand Anchored Around Solventless Extraction Methods, Across Core Markets. On The Rocks offers small batch solventless extracts, including live rosin cartridges, concentrates and gummies, hand-crafted for the most pure and flavorful expression of the plant.
Miss Grass signs up with Petalfast Partners for MA Sales & Field and Trade Marketing. The partnership represents Petalfast’s first flower products in its Massachusetts portfolio. Other Petalfast portfolio companies include Freshly Baked and High Tide. Miss Grass is sustainably grown and terpene rich, and is available in MA, CA, NV, IL, and NJ.
Tilray Brands Expands Beer Portfolio and Launches Good Supply Light Beer. Good Supply Beer is a new light beer brand and premium lager brewed for easy-drinking at a refreshing price. Good Supply beer is now available year-round in 16-ounce cans across Georgia, Connecticut, and New York with added distribution rolling out this summer. Good Supply is also Tilray’s Cannabis brand in Canada.
🧔 People
Trulieve Appoints Tim Mullany as CFO. Mullany has over 20 years' experience in accounting and finance including prior CFO roles at publicly traded companies Jack in the Box and RAVE Restaurant Group. Mullany announced he was leaving Jack in the Box for personal reasons in December 2022. The Company has accepted the resignation with immediate effect of Alex D'Amico, the Company's CFO, and has appointed Ryan Blust, the Company's VP, Finance, as its interim CFO, effective immediately, to serve until Tim Mullany assumes the role.
Columbia Care Director Philip Goldberg Resigns. Goldberg was appointed to the board in connection with Columbia Care’s acquisition of Green Leaf. The Company does not intend to appoint a new director to replace Goldberg.
MedMen CFO Ana Bowman resigns. Bowman has served as CFO since February 2022. She was previously VP, FP&A at Tilray.
AFC Gamma appoints Jim Fagan to Board. Fagan is currently an Executive Managing Director in the Stamford, CT office of Cushman & Wakefield, having joined the firm in 2003. He has been responsible for the oversight of several hundred millions of dollars in transactions annually and provides strategic counsel to a wide range of corporate clients in the Connecticut/New York Area market.
🎙️ Interviews
Looks like medical marijuana has a sweet home in Alabama! | High Rise
NY’s women in cannabis: Claire Moloney (Leaflink) | Syracuse.com
The Strategic Mindset of AVD with CEO Alex Kwon | The Dime
Headwaters' Nick Brandis | The Cannabis Investing Podcast
John Mueller, CEO, Greenlight Dispensary | Here Weed Go!