NABIS raises $23 Million Series B
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NABIS raises $23 Million Series B
GTI — Closes on Acquisition of Dharma Pharmaceuticals; Enters Virginia
News
Apple Now Allows Marijuana Businesses On Its App Store, While Google Maintains Ban. Apple will no longer prohibit marijuana delivery services from being hosted on its App Store—one of the latest pro-cannabis developments to come out of the tech industry. The policy was updated last month to remove the ban, with some restrictions. A marijuana app must be geo-restricted to jurisdictions where cannabis is legal, and the program must be “submitted by a legal entity that provides the services, and not by an individual developer.”
America’s Pot Labs Have A THC Problem. Keegan Skeate was working the night shift when he first heard about the scam. The 26-year-old was only a few months into his new job at Praxis Laboratory, a Washington state lab that conducts consumer safety tests and THC potency analysis for legal cannabis products. During one quiet shift in 2018, a fellow lab technician walked over to Skeate and told him that she thought someone was manipulating her test results. She said that the numbers in her spreadsheets looked irregular and the recorded THC potency values were higher than she remembered measuring. Over multiple interviews with FiveThirtyEight about his time at Praxis, Skeate explained what happened next. When he reexamined his own test results, he saw a similar pattern.
Even non-plant touching companies get banned from Instagram.
LA Times visits Planet 13 Santa Ana.
Union Electric launches Regulation CF equity crowdfunding campaign on Republic. Regulation CF is an opportunity for community-rich brands like Union Electric to access substantial financing from thousands of people, starting at a $100 minimum, as well create a union of stakeholders comprised of lifelong cannabis consumers. Union Electric plans to use funds from this round to expand into new product categories, like pre-rolls and edibles, as well as introduce new flower strains.
HERBL — retirement of COO, Art Smuck, and the appointment of Robert "Bobby" Turner as the incoming COO. Turner joins HERBL with over three decades of management experience at Whole Foods Market and will oversee operations, transportation, purchasing and product security throughout the organization. Turner will assume the role of COO starting July 5, 2021. Prior to HERBL, he worked through every level of Whole Foods Market, from in-store management to Vice President, where he grew the company’s retail footprint by nearly 170%, and most recently served as the Regional President in the South (Atlanta). Turner will apply his expertise in business development, driving revenue and profit growth, team building and community engagement to HERBL’s expanding operations.
🎙Jason Wild (JW Asset Management) x Benzinga
Deals
NABIS — $23 Million Series B. The Company distributes more than $350 million (10% of California's legal cannabis market) worth of cannabis products annually. Series B investors include FJ Labs, Artemis Growth Partners, Silverleaf Venture Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures and Stanley Tang (Co-Founder, DoorDash). Investors in the company's $5 million Series A raise, which closed less than a year ago, include Y Combinator and Babel Ventures.
GTI — Closes on Acquisition of Dharma Pharmaceuticals; Enters Virginia Cannabis Market. As one of only five licenses in the Virginia medical cannabis market, Dharma is licensed to grow, process and retail cannabis directly to patients. The acquisition includes an existing production facility and retail dispensary located in Abingdon, Virginia. Green Thumb will also maintain the opportunity to open up to five additional retail locations in the Commonwealth. Virginia became the first Southeastern state in the United States to legalize adult-use cannabis after the Virginia General Assembly approved legislation on April 7, 2021. The law went into effect on July 1, 2021 with adult-use sales expected to commence in January 2024. With a population of nearly 8.5 million, Virginia is expected to generate over $1.5 billion in legal cannabis sales.