💰 Trulieve claims $113M in tax refunds to date
CA DCC shows market smaller than originally thought. Nabis acquires Blackbird to enter NV. Curio Wellness fined. Elevated Signals Raises $7.9M. Earnings: Trulieve, GTI, Verano, Grown Rogue, Cronos.
💬 I’ll be in Ventura next week for Hall of Flowers—if you’re going as well and want to meet up, please let me know!
🌿 Industry
New California Database Shows The Legal Market Is Smaller And Weaker Than We Thought. — MM Op-Ed, By Hirsh Jain, Ananda Strategy
Per the DCC, California did just $4.9 billion in legal sales in 2022, and was on pace to do far less in 2023
It is often mistakenly described as a $6 billion cannabis market
The state has, by far, the lowest per capita sales of any mature cannabis market. If California’s legal market was simply performing on par with Michigan’s or Montana’s, it would be generating a staggering $13 billion in annual sales
Curio Wellness fined $26,000 for selling cannabis that had been dug out of a dumpster. — The Baltimore Banner
According to the consent order from the Maryland Cannabis Administration, 224 grams of cannabis product were thrown in the trash and were outside, in the dumpster at Curio’s Far & Dotter dispensary, for 41 hours and nine minutes
Just before 10 a.m. on July 27, 2023, three employees can be seen on video footage “leaning over the dumpster” and recovering the missing, pre-packaged cannabis product. Later that day, around 7:30 p.m., an employee is seen repackaging the products
In addition to paying the fine, the company was ordered to submit its green waste logs for monthly reviews, submit its scale calibration and cleaning logs for monthly review, and retrain staff on green waste procedures
Loan Applications Open for Illinois Licensed Social Equity Cannabis Dispensaries. Through the program, $12 million is available through Direct Forgivable Loans fully financed by the State. Loan amounts, up to $240,000, will be provided to qualified, licensed social equity dispensaries. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) provided ~$22 million through Round I of the Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program to infusers, transporters and craft growers.
Canadian cannabis producers unpaid taxes up 72% Y/Y to $202M. ~259 licensees were behind on their tax commitments as of Dec. 29, the CRA told MJBizDaily.
Vangst releases 2024 Salary Guide with data from over 1,000 cannabis professionals and companies. 86% of surveyed cannabis companies are planning to expand hiring in core areas. Within the technology organization, 69% of companies plan to hire 1-5 new hires with 31% not expecting to make a hire.
Headset explores cannabis consumption trends in New York, revealing differences between NYC and the rest of the State. While NYC shows a strong preference for Edibles & Pre-Rolls, the rest of the state echoes the national market preferences. In addition—millennials are driving the market in the city, while older patrons are leading the way in the rest of the state.
Iowa medical cannabis program has leveled off as consumers flock to cheaper, largely unregulated consumable hemp products. The number of cardholders in Iowa’s medical pot program nearly doubled in 2022 and still was rising in early 2023. But since September, cardholder numbers have flattened at around 18,000.
💵 Deals
Nabis acquires Blackbird, Entering Nevada’s Wholesale Cannabis Market. Blackbird’s operations and infrastructure currently services ~25% of Nevada’s cannabis market, and is a trusted partner for a multitude of reputable brands, operators, and MSOs. This transition will bring Nabis’ technology, infrastructure and exclusive brands to Blackbird’s network of Nevada operators and retailers.
Elevated Signals Raises $7.9M Series A. Elevated Signals serves a growing list of sectors ranging from controlled environment agriculture to natural health product manufacturing, critical minerals recovery, mining, and more. Its technology was pioneered in one of the most regulated industries in the world, setting it apart in the market with its real-time precision and flexibility to support new process innovation. The investment was led by Yaletown Partners, with participation from Third Kind Venture Capital, WGD Capital, Colin Harris, Raiven Capital, and Pareto Holdings.
Agrify $2.6M Public Offering. The company sold 6,723,684 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) at a public offering price of $0.38 per share.
📄 Company Updates / Earnings
Trulieve Q4 & FY2023 Results. Q4: Revenue of $287M increased 4% sequentially (54% GM), Net Loss of ($33M), CFO of $131M and FCF of $122M, EBITDA of $73M (25% margin) / Adjusted EBITDA of $88M (31% margin). 2024: Revenue of $1.13B (52% GM), Adjusted EBITDA of $322M. Cash of $208M.
🧾Filed amended federal tax returns for 2019, 2020, and 2021 claiming $143M of refunds, also filed corresponding amended state returns claiming $31M of refunds. Received $62M in refunds in Q4 and a total of $113M in refunds to date alongside one rejection notice in the amount of $1.2M. However, it does not mean the refunds are secure as there may be an audit and their auditors, Marcum, do not agree that the position would survive scrutiny.
Green Thumb (GTI) Q4 & FY2023 Results. Q4: Revenue of $278M, up 7% Y/Y, Adjusted EBITDA of $91M (33% margin), GAAP Net Income $3M, CFO of $71M. 2023: Revenue of $1.1B, up 4% Y/Y, Adjusted EBITDA of $326M (31% margin), CFO of $225M, GAAP Net Income of $36M. Cash of $162M.
Verano Q4 & FY2023 Results. Q4: Revenue of $237M, up 5% Y/Y, and down (1%) Q/Q. Adjusted EBITDA of $73M (31% margin), Net loss of $(73M), FCF of $23M. FY2023: Revenue of $938M, up 7% Y/Y, Adjusted EBITDA of $305M (32% margin), Net loss of $(113M), FCF of $73M. Cash of $175M and total debt of $446M.
Grown Rogue FY2023 Results. Revenue of $23.4M compared to $17.8M in 2022, up 32%, FCF of $2.8M, after maintenance and growth investments of $3.5M.
Cronos Group Q4 & FY2023 Results. Ended 2023 with ~$862M in cash and short-term investments. Net Loss of $(45.2M) in Q4 and $(70.4M) in FY2023.
Aurora Completes Final Repayment of Convertible Senior Notes. Representing ~$465M in total repayments since 2021; cannabis operations are now debt free. Following the completion of this repayment, Aurora's remaining debt of $47.9M relates to Bevo Farms, a propagated vegetables and ornamental plants company that it acquired 50.1% of in August 2022.
BZAM Obtains Creditor Protection to Pursue Restructuring and Sales Process. In an affidavit filed with the application for creditor protection, CEO Matthew Milich said the company had accumulated $83.2M in consolidated liabilities. Court filings say BZAM had excise duties payable of CA$9.5M. BZAM enters creditor protection only two months after it completed the purchase of Final Bell Canada Inc. – whose subsidiary, Final Bell Corp., is a Health Canada licensed cannabis cultivator and processor. Final Bell said in a statement it intends to challenge BZAM’s application seeking creditor protection.
Grasslands Marketing + PR Agency Expands to Wellness CPG. The agency is leveraging its expertise propelling brands to success in rapidly evolving, highly competitive consumer product categories—along with the ability to influence broad public discourse surrounding emerging CPG spaces—to uniquely position Grasslands for success in the broader natural health and wellness PR and marketing arena.
🏬 Retail / Cultivation
Stok'd gets around restrictive ad laws with clever campaign. Commercials promote nearby businesses (NuNail, Cliffside Bookstore) that mentions Stok'd.
Gynsyng Cannabis Dispensary opens in Merchantville, NJ. The dispensary in Camden County is also among the first in the region to be situated in a walkable downtown context. It’s also just 4 miles from the Ben Franklin Bridge (Philadelphia).
AuraLight becomes third dispensary to open in Aurora, IL. Aurora has two other dispensaries—Zen Leaf, opened in 2020 and NuEra, opened in 2021.
Bloom Montana opens dispensary in Missoula, MT. The company has 24 dispensaries across the state.
Matawana becomes Brooklyn’s first black-and-woman-owned Dispensary. It is the sixth legal dispensary to open in Brooklyn.
GTI opens RISE dispensary in Dunnellon, FL, its 15th Location in the State.
Mille Lacs Band building large facility on tribal land in MN. A company owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is building a 50,000 sq ft cannabis cultivation facility behind Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, MN. The grow operation is the latest cannabis development on tribal land following the decision by Red Lake Nation and White Earth Nation to open the state's first recreational dispensaries last year.
🌱 Product
MariMed Introduces Vibations™ Cannabis and Electrolyte Drink Mix and Ache Away Eddies PM. Vibations, the cannabis and electrolyte drink mix that delivers advanced hydration, has released several new flavors and has been re-formulated to deliver a faster acting 15-minute onset. Ache Away Eddies is a blend of organic fruits and vegetables, CBN, CBC, Chamomile, Turmeric, and Piperine.
Bayou City Hemp Company and Silver Eagle Distributors Houston are introducing legal cannabis-infused, non-alcoholic beverages and products to the Greater Houston market. Bayou City Hemp Company (BCHC) recently acquired Houston's 8th Wonder Brewery, Distillery, and Cannabis to develop a captivating line of cannabis-infused products.
🧔 People
Gold Flora Chairman Troy Datcher passed away on February 26, 2024, following a brief hospitalization. Datcher served as CEO of The Parent Company from September 2021 until its merger with Gold Flora in July 2023, following which he continued in his role as Chairman of the Board. Prior to his time with The Parent Company, he served as an executive at The Clorox Company for twenty years, as well as three years with NASCAR.
BellRock Brands CEO, Brian Jansen, to depart. The Company is commencing a search for his successor.
🎙️ Interviews
Rick Bashkoff: Why Cannabis Needs Unique Software Solutions | The Dime
GTI, Trulieve and Verano Q4 Earnings Reviews | Higher Exchanges
Navigating the Wild West of California Cannabis | Proud to work in Cannabis