Dai Truong's Cannabis Newsletter - Issue #24
Cannabis
Counterfeit pot products fuel black market for California weed
Earlier this year, a Times report found there were at least 220 illegal cannabis dispensaries in Los Angeles, more than the number of licensed operators in California’s largest marijuana market. Though the state’s above-board weed businesses are on track to record more than $3 billion in sales this year, a rebound after 2018 revenues fell well below projections, that figure still lags far behind the $8.7 billion expected to be spent on unregulated cannabis in California in 2019.
Weedmaps announces it will stop advertising unlicensed cannabis retailers 'later this year'
Online advertising giant Weedmaps.com announced Wednesday in a press release that it will begin requiring a state license number for all marijuana retail listings on its site, indicating it will cease carrying ads for illegal unlicensed cannabis shops and delivery services.
MedMen opens St. Petersburg location
Calling it the Apple of weed shops is no exaggeration. The designer behind the first 80 Apple stores, Allen D. Moyer, designed the building for Blake Investment Partners. It’s the most sophisticated structure in St. Pete, in terms of building methods, according to Blake Whitney Thompson.
ManifestSeven Launches Retail Omnichannel “Weden”
The launch of Weden rebrands M7’s recent strategic acquisitions and legacy retail portfolio under one identity, including a 7,200 square foot flagship dispensary in Santa Ana, California; delivery service M Delivers, which serves more than 30,000 retail customers throughout California; and telephone number 1-800-CANNABIS, connecting customers to M7’s full suite of products and solutions.
Missouri to Issue 348 Cannabis Licenses from 2,000+ Applicants
The Missouri DHSS said that it received more than 1,200 applications in the last three days of the application period, including more than 800 in the final 24 hours.
In addition to the more than 2,000 applications for medical marijuana facilities, the state has already approved more than 6,500 applications for qualified patients and caregivers.
42 Ontario retail licences awarded in 2nd lottery, 13 in Toronto
The new stores, when approved, will more than double the number of marijuana outlets in the province. The latest lottery and the on-reserve stores mean the number of pot shops in Ontario will eventually rise to 75, but some observers said that still wasn’t enough.
HerbaBuena Launches As ‘Conscious Cannabis’ Retailer
alifornia’s first ‘conscious cannabis’ retailer offering a carefully curated selection of best-in-class products defined by rigorous quality standards. Advocating sustainability and well-being for people and planet, HerbaBuena supports beyond organic ingredients, sun grown and regenerative cultivation, craft production and full spectrum products, while rejecting the now commonplace industrialized practices such as indoor cultivation, hydrocarbon extraction processes, distillate, and using corn syrup and non-organic product ingredients.
BigCommerce Green-Lights Online Hemp and CBD Sales
BigCommerce, the leading open SaaS ecommerce platform for fast-growing and established brands, today introduced a streamlined way for merchants to sell hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products online with BigCommerce.
Deals
Kiva Sales and Service (KSS) Acquires Jetty Extracts for Distribution and Sales
The partnership is a unique combination of industry leading brands coming together signifying KSS’ high level of influence and integrity. KSS welcomes Jetty, one of the largest vape brands in California, to the platform alongside top edible brand KIVA Confections (Kiva) and other popular brands.
Gotham Green Leads $33M Raise For Cannabis Vaporization Company
Airgraft revealed it has closed a multi-round financing of more than $33 million, as well as the launch of a line of products including the Airgraft Clean Vaporizer, cannabis concentrate pods, and an app to control the actual vaporizer.
Harvest Health & Recreation acquires Grover Beach Dispensary
805 Beach Breaks serves the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Monterey County markets. The dispensary marks the tenth location in California for which Harvest has rights.
Green Growth Brands Closes C$50.2M Bought Deal Financing
Under the Offering the Company sold a total of 20,500,000 Units at a price of C$2.45 per Unit. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and one half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company( at a price of C$3.50 per Underlying Common Share).
KushCo Holdings Secures $50M Credit Facility
The credit facility consists of a $35M revolving line of credit and an accordion of up to $15M that will be available subject to covenant compliance and borrowing base availability.
Hound Labs Raises $30M in Series D Financing to Boost Commercial Manufacturing and Accelerate General Market Availability of First Marijuana and Alcohol Breathalyzer
This announcement arrives on the heels of peer-reviewed research from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) that validates breath as a viable medium for measuring marijuana use within three hours of smoking. Additional investors include NFP Ventures – the investment arm of one of the largest U.S. insurance brokers – and Main Street Advisors, as well as existing investors Icon Ventures and Benchmark.
Curaleaf Completes Acquisition of Glendale Greenhouse
Glendale Greenhouse operates a 20,000 square-foot, multi-level cultivation center capable of producing 3,600 pounds of flower annually. Its 1,500 square-foot dispensary, located directly off the Agua Fria Freeway with 90,000 cars passing daily, can be expanded to nearly 5,000 square-feet. The facility also operates a state-of-the-art CO2 extraction lab and a kitchen, which is already producing various edible lines such as mints, gummies, brownies and ice cream, with additional products expected to launch later this year.
People
Namaste Technologies Announces Permanent CEO and Appointment to Board of Directors
Meni Morim named as CEO and appointed to the Company’s board of directors. Meni has served as the Company’s interim CEO since February 4, 2019 and the Company’s Chief Product Officer since May of 2018.
Body and Mind Announces Expansion and Changes to Management Team
The Company has decided to split the roles of CEO into two roles, a US-based CEO and a President. The newly created role of President will carry out the responsibilities of capital markets functions, investor relations, marketing and public relations from the head office in Canada.
CBD
CBD Companies Positioning Themselves For Cannabis Legalization
CBD products are establishing brands and cash streams that can act as an onramp to marijuana businesses
CV Sciences announces Distribution Partnership With The Vitamin Shoppe
PlusCBD™ Oil products will be available beginning on September 22, 2019 at 383 Vitamin Shoppe stores in 30 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. This expansion brings CV Sciences’ PlusCBD™ Oil distribution to more than 5,300 retail locations throughout the U.S.
Rob Gronkowski (Gronk) Becomes an Advocate for CBD and Partners With Abacus Health Products, Maker of CBDMEDIC
The agreement with Gronkowski and related agreements include payment of an upfront fee, royalties to be derived from a new sports-oriented nutrition & wellness brand that is planned to be launched, and an issuance of 302,835 subordinate voting shares in the Company and warrants to acquire 35,666 subordinate voting shares at a price of US$15.00 per share. Additional warrants are issuable on an annual basis during the term of the agreement.
Willie Nelson’s Cannabis Company Is Getting Into the Pet CBD Market
As the head of his own cannabis company, Willie’s Reserve, the singer and marijuana activist is releasing CBD products for “furry friends.” Willie’s Rescue is the company’s new line of hemp-derived pet products, according to a release by parent company GCH.
The CBD Market Is Red Hot, But Buyer Beware When It Comes To Product Safety And Efficacy, Experts Argue
CBD has become a multi-billion dollar business in short order, but solid evidence on product efficacy and safety is still in short supply, suggests a new paper from Mayo Clinic researchers.
NewLeaf Brands to Launch CBD Probiotic and CBD Wellness Proprietary Line
NewLeaf Brands Inc. (CSE:NLB) (OTC: NLBIF) (FSE:0NF) announced that the Company has been working to develop a proprietary line of fully water soluble, CBD and probiotic mixtures. The company has been working with world renowned PHD scientist and seven time Nobel Peace Prize nominee to develop this line of proprietary CBD and probiotic powder formulations.