👨⚖️ Judge dismisses Verano’s lawsuit against Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission
👨⚖️ Judge dismisses Verano’s lawsuit against Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission
Natura temporarily shut down. Raw Garden avoids shutdown. MO dispensaries challenging local taxes. CA could eliminate Metrc tag requirement. GA to offer medical cannabis at independent pharmacies.
🌿 Industry
A Montgomery County judge has dismissed one of the multiple lawsuits against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. Circuit Judge James Anderson dismissed the case brought by Verano Alabama LLC. — WSFA
According to the ruling, Verano alleged the commission “exceeded its authority as a state agency and violated the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act” when it rescinded the business licences it awarded on June 12th
The judge said the business licenses issued by the commision are not a property right and stated the commision has the power to void or correct licenses it awards and that Verano “failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” He dismissed Verano’s lawsuit with prejudice
The city of Sacramento has temporarily shut down Natura. Citing fire code violations that makes it unsafe for its 450 employees. — The Sacramento Bee
A temporary closure could result in the facility closing for good, said Craig Powell, Co-founder/SVP. “There are tens of millions of dollars of plant and product that will rot and decay, to the demise of our company”
When Natura opened in 2020, the city repeatedly extended the amount of time allowed to complete construction, taking COVID-19 into account. The city’s interim chief building official, Bob Latz, in consultation with city Fire Marshal Jason Lee, made the decision to stop granting extensions
The buildings on the 11½-acre campus could be reopened on a case-by-case basis as violations are corrected. The campus has 22 structures
Raw Garden (Central Coast Agriculture) narrowly avoided a shutdown order in Lompoc for allegedly polluting the air and failing to comply with state and federal clean air rules. The company’s manufacturing, extraction, storage, and distribution lab are located in Lompoc. — Santa Barbara Independent
According to Aeron Arlin Genet, the Air Pollution Control Officer of Santa Barbara County, Central Coast has been manufacturing cannabis products in Lompoc since the Fall 2019, without the required permits and best available control technology for controlling air pollution, despite multiple warnings and notices
Central Coast staved off a shutdown by submitting the final components for a complete permit application to the district. The APCD Hearing Board, a quasi-judicial body, agreed to the company’s request for a 60-day extension, voting unanimously to postpone the abatement hearing to December 6
Missouri dispensaries challenging local taxes. The state’s 6% tax is one of the lowest rates in the U.S. — MJBizDaily
Additional municipal taxes of up to 3% are allowed if voters approve such a levy via a ballot initiative. But several counties in the state are illegally “stacking” a 3% county tax on top of the 3% municipal tariff
According to two recent lawsuits challenging the county taxes, that extra 3% tax is expressly forbidden under the adult-use legalization measure approved by voters in November 2022
Vertical Enterprise and Robust Dispensary argue in separate lawsuits that the 3% county tax can be applied only in unincorporated areas where a 3% municipal tax doesn’t apply, and that cannabis buyers can’t be charged both
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Bill that could eliminate 43M Annual Metrc Tags. SB 622 no longer requires plastic unique identifier tags at base of each plant. — CBT
According to a June 15 Senate floor analysis of the bill—which was introduced Feb. 15 by Senator Ben Allen and co-authored by Assemblymember Juan Alanis—“Information provided to the [bill’s] author indicated that 43 million plant tags were issued to licensed cultivators and microbusinesses in 2022 for a total cost to the state of $15 million. This [bill] may help reduce the number of plastic tags required and reduce expenditures”
Opponents of the bill argued “that this bill could result in the proliferation of the illicit cannabis market by removing the UI from the base of the plant”
New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) awards $12 million of grant funding to 48 cannabis businesses. This is an increase from the originally planned 24 awards, thanks to a further allocation of available funding by Governor Phil Murphy. — NJEDA
This funding initiative is designed to eliminate long-standing barriers to entry and provides the startups with a $250,000 grant, the largest cannabis social equity grant of its kind in the nation
Investors, cannabis companies acquire more social equity licenses as deadline to open dispensaries looms. Private investors and major cannabis companies have continued to wrest control away from the individuals the program was designed to benefit. — Daily Independent
Well-funded dispensaries sought applicants from marginalized communities early on, funding hundreds of applications for a potential stake in their businesses
During the lottery selection from more than 1,300 applicants, three major dispensaries landed partnerships with 10 of the 26 winners. None of the original licensees are still connected to those partnerships today
Just four of the original 26 social equity lottery winners still have an equity stake in the licenses. Existing corporate dispensaries now own half the licenses outright, with private investors holding equity in 10 more
Overproduction of cannabis in New Mexico spells hazy outlook. — KRQE
While the total revenue for the industry continues to grow, the average cart size and the average monthly revenue per licensed retailer continues to decrease
There are 1,021 cannabis retailers—roughly the same as Colorado, which has nearly 3x New Mexico’s population. 40% of dispensaries had less than $25,000/month in revenue, with an average of $11,660/month
New Mexico’s cannabis chamber says there are ten producers in the state supplying almost half of what local consumers are demanding
Georgia is expected to soon become the first state in the nation to offer medical marijuana products at independent pharmacies. The product will not be sold by national drugstores like CVS and Walgreens. — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications and nearly 120 pharmacies have agreed to provide medication from Botanical Sciences, one of the state’s two licensed production companies
About 90% of Georgia’s population will be within a 30-minute drive of a pharmacy selling medical marijuana when they open
Connecticut sales passed $25 million in September.
💵 Deals
The Cannabist Company Partially Redeems 13% Senior Secured Notes Due May 2024. The Company will redeem $25 million of the total $38.2 million principal amount of the Notes currently outstanding. Holders of Redeemed Notes will be entitled to receive payment of $1,010 for each $1,000 principal amount of Redeemed Notes plus all accrued by unpaid interest up to but excluding the Redemption Date.
Aurora Cannabis closes C$38.8 Million Bought Deal Financing. Aurora issued 53,187,500 shares at C$0.73/share. Aurora intends to use the majority of the net proceeds to repay the remaining balance of the Company's convertible notes at or prior to maturity, representing principal outstanding of ~$25 million.
Lowell Farms Repurchase $22 Million of Senior Secured Convertible Debentures. The Company repurchased all of the $22,157,417 aggregate principal amount of outstanding Senior Secured Convertible Debentures of its subsidiary, Indus Holding Company, together with the related warrants to purchase 106,274,830 subordinate voting shares of the Company and 43,248,450 common shares of Indus. The Company has entered into a license agreement with Brandco for the “Lowell” trademarks, logos, and related intellectual property on an exclusive basis in the State of California for a five-year license term, with up to three five-year extensions.
📄 Company Updates
Metrc pivots focus from state governments to companies. As users complained about slow service and outages—as well as a clunky user interface or an onerous experience—Metrc’s focus has shifted to the 39,000 licensed cannabis companies that, more often than not, are obligated to use the software.
Tilray Brands Q1 Revenue of $177 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $11.4 million, loss of ($56 million). Gross margin was 25%, while adjusted gross margin declined to 28% from 32% in the prior year quarter. Operating cash flow of $(16 million) with ~$466 million in cash (including restricted cash) and marketable securities.
POSaBIT Provides Update on PIN Debit Processing. Recently, there has been an industry-wide decrease in debit acceptance rates caused, in part, by the removal of certain payment rails. As a result, industry-wide PIN debit acceptance rates have declined to ~30-40%. While the Company is optimistic that acceptance rates will be restored to historical levels of 90%+ in the near-term, there is no set timetable for such restoration and there can be no assurance that such historical acceptance rates will be restored.
Curaleaf Applies to List Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and begins NY OCM license application process.
Verano Receives Conditional Approval to List on the Cboe Canada. Upon listing the Shares on Cboe Canada, the Company plans to delist the Shares from the CSE.
4Front Ventures issues 1,283,425 subordinate voting share purchase warrants to extend the maturity date of its loan. The loan has a principal amount of $2M with an extension fee of C$65,000, which is payable in Warrants. Each Warrant will be exercisable at US$0.20 into one share of the Company for a period of four years.
Unrivaled Brands Files S-4 Corporate Reorganization to become Blüm.
🏬 Retail
Cresco Labs Expands Sunnyside in Central Pennsylvania with Altoona dispensary.
Verano opens MÜV Apopka, 71st Florida Dispensary and 133rd Nationwide.
GTI opens RISE Dispensary in Brandon, Florida, its 9th FL Retail Location.
MariMed opens Thrive dispensary in Casey, Illinois. This opening marks the fifth operational dispensary in Illinois, and the 12th dispensary that MariMed owns or manages across five states.
Higher Collective opens dispensaries in Dayville, CT and Willington, CT.
Budr Cannabis opens Danbury, CT’s first recreational cannabis dispensary.
Organic Farms opens Camden, NJ’s first adult-use dispensary.
🌱 Product
Crabcakes & Cannabis told to stop selling Old Bay-like sticker. James Astrachan, a partner at Goodell DeVries who represents clients in intellectual property and litigation, said this situation, if it were to go to court, would involve the traditional test of trademark infringement based on whether a likelihood of confusion exists.
Hound Labs launches first commercial product offering, the HOUND® CANNABIS BREATHALYZER – Collect + Send. The Hound® solution enables employers to deter workday use by isolating the detection of recent cannabis use. Employers within the oil and gas, hospitality, and tourism industries are among the first customers to adopt the solution and receive the HOUND® CANNABIS BREATHALYZER.
Cresco Labs Launches Good News Brand in Pennsylvania with Sweet Troches. Sweet Troches (troh-kees) is a sublingual offered in six flavors with 10mg THC.
Dymapak launches “Squeeze and Turn Tin,” a 100% curbside recyclable child-resistant CPG packaging solution. The Squeeze and Turn Tin keeps products fresher for longer thanks to its airtight seal and metal-on-metal construction.
PathogenDx Launches industry's First AOAC Certified Rapid Semi-Quantification Test for Total Yeast and Mold with Results in a Single-Shift. The Quantx-Fungal has a unique built-in capability of discriminating which twelve (12) different cannabis fungal species—Candida Albicans, Golovinomyces, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Saccharomyces Alternaria, and five specific species of Aspergillus (A. fumigatus, A.flavus, A.niger, and A. terreus, A. Nidulans) are contributing to high levels of Yeast & Mold values. This will help labs provide more meaningful information to their customers on the grow and cultivation side.
Kingpen (Statehouse Holdings) drops three limited time offer 1.3g Kingrolls, kief-coated and infused with oil. Available in California dispensaries this month: Cinderella 99 Flower x Glass Slipper Cannabis Oil, Melon Brainz Flower x Zombie OG Cannabis Oil, Black Widow Flower x Durban Poison Cannabis Oil.
🧔 People
Shannon O’Brien, suspended chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission drops lawsuit. The lawsuit was seeking to block the suspension after being granted a hearing over the matter.
Charlotte’s Web appoints Angela McElwee, Former CEO of Gaia Herbs, to Board of Directors. Prior to her tenure at Gaia, she led the US sales organization at Nature's Way Products. She also currently serves on the Board of Cyanotech.
🎙️ Interviews
Ethos Cannabis, CEO, Gibran Washington | The Philadelphia Inquirer
Jerry Krecicki, Owner of Quickies Wraps | Lasagna Ganja
Christine Hodgdon, COO, Highway Cannabis | Proud to Work in Cannabis
Marc Hauser, Cannabis Musings | High Fidelity