đż Germany Unveils Bill to Legalize Cannabis
đż Germany Unveils Bill to Legalize Cannabis
Big Plan Holdings partners with Silver Therapeutics (ME, MA, VT) in $35M RE+Cannabis transaction. Greenlight acquires NV dispensary/WV cultivation. MO regulators target "lab shopping"
[update] TILT has also kept Toast
đŹ Thanks to everyone who replied for the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference ticket drawingsâwinners are Vien Trinh (Cova Software), Harris Damashek (Damashek Consulting) and Frank Hayes (PAX). For those that still need ticketsâuse âHIGHLYâ for 20% off.
đď¸ Also, check out the lastest podcast with Curio Wellness if you want to learn more about the Maryland market and how the familyâs background & experiences have laid the foundation for a one of a kind family-run Cannabis business.
đż Industry
Germany's Cabinet set to approve a plan to liberalize rules on cannabis. This sets the scene for the European Union's most populous member to decriminalize possession of limited amounts and allow members of âcannabis clubsâ to buy cannabis for recreational purposes. â TIME
The government's approval, expected on Wednesday, is billed as the first step in a two-part plan and will still need approval by parliament. But it's a stride forward for a prominent reform project of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's socially liberal coalition
That's far short of its original plan last year, which foresaw allowing the sale of cannabis to adults across the country at licensed outlets. It was scaled back following talks with the EU's executive commission
WA signs onto normalizing interstate cannabis commerce. During this yearâs legislative session, Washington state lawmakers passed a bill â and Gov. Jay Inslee signed it into lawâto expand the cannabis market across state lines as part of an interstate compact. â The Center Square
Given that Oregon and California already have similar laws, SB 5069 represents another step toward normalizing commerce in the legal cannabis industry
Even if Washington, Oregon and California signed onto a multi-state marijuana market, it could only go into effect after one of three things takes place:
The U.S. Department of Justice issues an opinion stating that it will allow interstate transfers of cannabis between states where it is legal;
Congress votes on and ratifies the interstate compact; or
Congress removes or directs the DEA to remove Cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, ending federal prohibition entirely and allowing for interstate commerce
Missouri cannabis regulators target âlab shoppingâ in new rules. Cannabis testing labs face pressure to say products have higher THC potency results or lose business. DHSSâ new rule aims to prevent the practice. â Missouri Independent
Missouri has implemented an extra layer of âround robinâ testing or auditing of Cannabis productsâwhere the state regulating agency can instruct the stateâs certified testing labs to double check each otherâs work
Up to 10 times a year, the state will instruct the licensed testing labs to pick up Cannabis samples from another lab and perform a test. Then the state will review all the results to make sure they have similar results in THC potency â and that one lab isnât passing a sample for pesticide residue while another one is failing it
Adult-use marijuana legalization qualifies for Ohio ballot. Adult-use marijuana legalization will appear on Ohio votersâ ballots in November. â MJBizDaily
If voters approve the measure, Ohio would be the third state to legalize marijuana in 2023, following in the footsteps of Delaware and Minnesota
Settlement talks broke down promptly in the high-profile legal battle over the future of dispensary licenses in New York. The case on track to be decided by a judge later this month, court records show. â Democrat and Chronicle
The state Attorney General's Office has withdrawn from settlement negotiations that began following a court hearing, according to a statement from the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis, which represents several medical marijuana companies in New York interested in expanding into the state's adult-use market as well as several social equity applicants
Alabama medical cannabis licensing process on pause for second time. The process to bring medical cannabis to Alabamians is paused again. â WSFA
A judge granted a temporary restraining order pausing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commissionâs process to issue a business license
The order will stop the commission from issuing business licenses. This time, Alabama Always and others who werenât awarded a medical cannabis license, claimed the commission violated the open meetings act
California cities, counties cut Cannabis taxes to aid struggling companies. At least 14 cities and counties have reduced or eliminated local sales, business or cultivation taxes, according to research compiled by Hirsh Jain of Ananda Strategy. â MJBizDaily
Cannabis sales in California are subject to a 15% state excise tax as well as state sales taxes, which range from 7.25% to as high as 10.75% in some areas
Thatâs on top of any local taxes that cities and counties might choose to impose.
The tax cuts are welcome but limited relief for a struggling industry desperate to stay afloat amid familiar pressures
Patterson, CA delays vote on Catalyst. The Catalyst cannabis dispensary remains open today following the Patterson City Councilâs decision to delay a vote on the status of the businessâs conditional use permit (CUP). â Tracy Press
The City claims that Catalyst owes past due public benefit fees. A representative of Catalyst says itâs more than a million dollars
Anthony Almaz (Catalyst) says the fees havenât been just unreasonable, theyâve been impossible to pay
Another cannabis businessâNucleusâthat also had past due public benefit fees successfully negotiated a payment agreement. Nucleus paid $109,000 and now their slate is clean. The City also set a new fee structure for Nucleus for the future. It will pay $7,000 a month or 5% of its gross receipts, whichever is higher
Germanyâs cannabis insurance payouts hit âŹ51M euros in Q1 2023. â MJBizDaily
Represents a 6.5% increase compared to the same period last year, but a small decline compared to Q4 2022
Germanyâs reimbursement data does not include private prescription sales, which are paid out of pocket by patients
Inc. 5000 List. Appearances from Cannabis-related companies include Azuca (#214), Jane (#223), BLAZE (#916), NABIS (#1,340), Willow Industries (#1583), MATTIO (#1,834), and WĂźrk (#2,179)
đľ Deals
Big Plan Holdings partners With Silver Therapeutics in $35M acquisition of Cannabis, Commercial Real Estate Operations in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont. Big Plan Holdings (BPH) will oversee the acquisition of New England cannabis commercial real estate activities and overarching cannabis enterprise operations, particularly across the Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont marketplaces, however, with a view to expand their reach across the U.S., where market conditions are conducive, with a primary focus on the Northeast. The partnership will see BPH take a shared ownership stake across all of the operations and properties respective to each State, roughly amounting to $35 million. The company has processed over 500,000 transactions from inception to date, and is on track to open its first Boston cultivation, processing, and dispensary facility by the end of Q4 2023 / Q1 2024. The company is also pursuing licenses in New York and New Jersey.
Greenlight has agreed to acquire an operating adult-use dispensary in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a cultivation facility in Buckhannon, West Virginia. Upon approval by the regulatory bodies, Greenlight will have 30 operating dispensaries and over 200,000 sq. ft. of cultivation and manufacturing space in 6 states. The company has 580 employees and $200M+ in annualized revenue. Greenlight has also issued a third seven-figure dividend to its shareholders, following the first-ever issuance of a dividend by an MSO in April of this year. In 2023, Greenlight has returned consecutive dividends that amount to over 13% of the total invested capital in the company.
StateHouse to Provide Project Management, Operational Oversight and Strategic Direction at Humboldt County Cultivation Facility for Pelorus. StateHouse will be paid a monthly, fixed fee for an initial 18-month term. The Humboldt Facilities (Willow Creek) include a 150,000 sq. ft. greenhouse production facility with an additional acre of field production, in addition to nursery licenses that are split between two facilities, including a 1,500 sq. ft. tissue culture laboratory.
Tilray Brands acquires remaining 57.5% ownership of Truss Beverage Co.⢠(Truss) from Molson Coors Canada (NYSE: TAP). This gives the company a pro-forma Canadian cannabis beverage market share of ~36% (+33.2%), with beverage brands that include XMG, Mollo, House of Terpenes, and Little Victory. Molson Coors and joint-venture partner Hexo Corp. (acquired by Tilray) agreed to unwind their Truss USA joint-venture and exit the CBD beverage business in the U.S. in November 2022.
Canopy Growth to sell Hershey Drive facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario to Hershey for CAD$53M. Canopy Growth will retain its Smiths Falls-based post-harvest manufacturing facility. Upon the completion of the Transaction, Canopy Growth will have sold a total of seven properties for an aggregate gross amount of approximately CAD$155M since April 1, 2023. Net proceeds received from the sale of the Facility will be used primarily to pay down the Companyâs senior secured credit facility.
đ Company Updates
AYR Wellness reports Q2 2023 Revenue up 18% Y/Y to $116.7M, Adjusted EBITDA of $29.4M (25% margin), $60M cash, $75.9M current debt, $112.9M long-term debt, $244.3M senior secured notes, $69.7M income tax payable.
4Front Ventures Systemwide Pro Forma Revenue totaled $35.2M, compared to $34.8M in Q2 2022. GAAP revenue increased 8% Y/Y to $30.7M. Adjusted EBITDA of $2.0M compared to $3.5M in Q1 2023. $5.4M cash, $50.1M of related party long-term debt not due until May 2026. The Company also issued 750,000 share purchase warrants to an arm's-length consultant under a consulting services agreement.
Green Flower launches Cannabis Education Certificates with UNF.
đŹ Retail
Verano scraps plans for Stratford, CT dispensary. Verano won approval in April from zoning officials to convert an old bank into a dispensary, but was unaware that the beauty supply store that currently occupies that building has a multi-year lease. Verano attempted to negotiate a compromise with the beauty supply store to take over the lease, which is in effect for around another seven years. However, the two sides were ultimately unable to reach an agreement and the company is exploring other locations across Connecticut.
Embarc stopped by residents from coming to Pinedale (Fresno County). Residents of Pinedale successfully blocked Embarc from opening a second dispensary in the area. The store's proposed location at Blackstone and Alluvial Avenues had met all the requirements previously but residents at the meeting felt it was too close to schools. The location is in a direct path for Clovis West and Kastner students as they walk to and from school, as well as to major entertainment and shopping outlets.
Red Lake Nation in northwestern Minnesota plans to roll out mobile cannabis dispensary. The dispensary, which will resemble a food truck, will allow the tribe to expand its cannabis business into other markets, but only on tribal lands. The on-reservation NativeCare dispensary saw big crowds when it first opened on Aug. 1, but the long lines have shrunk drastically since then with estimates around 300 customers a day currently visit the dispensary.
Off The Charts becomes second social equity dispensary to open under Sacramento.
Cookies opens dispensary in Harrison, NJ.
GTI opens Fruitland Park, the Companyâs 8th dispensary in FL and 85th nationwide
Curaleaf Launches Adult Use Sales at Manchester, CT Dispensary. Curaleaf Manchester is the Company's fourth dispensary in Connecticut (Stamford, Hartford, Groton) to commence adult use sales.
Jushi opens Sixth Beyond Hello⢠Dispensary in Woodbridge, Virginia.
MSOs expand Florida retail, betting on adult-use legalization.
đą Product
TILT Holdings ends licensing agreement with Her Highness, Highsman, and Black Buddha, while keeping Old Pal.
BLOOM enters NY market and will initially be available at four dispensaries.
Tyson 2.0 enters Mississippi with Southern Sky Brands
Missouri recalls cannabis products for Delta Extraction
Treez to Leverage Metrc Connect. Treez is rolling out new features within their compliance management module, allowing customers to better manage data validation, prevent errors in sending delivery ledgers to Metrc, and reduce reporting errors and missing sales data.
đ§ People
Sean Arroyo joins Nabis as President. Arroyo previously served as VP Operations at Nomi Health, which operates 200+ static & mobile clinics across 13 states. He had P&L responsibility for the business unit, accounting for 90% of corporate annual revenue of $500M+. Prior to that he served as Head of New Initiatives at Lime.
đď¸ Interviews
How Fig Farms Became One Of CAâs Best Selling Cannabis Brands | Forbes
Cannabis Brands and Their Thirst for Beer Ventures | High Rise
SafeTiva Labs Aims To Make Cannabis A Safer Industry | Business West
Less performative & more substantive cannabis policy | Cannabinoid Connect