Private Archives - Green Market Report

StaffJune 30, 2022

Cannabis advocate and former boxer Mike Tyson’s cannabis brand Tyson 2.0 announced the close of its oversubscribed $9 Million Series A round led by JW Asset Management. Additional investors in the round include K2, Ambria Capital, Tress Capital, and Patrick Carroll. The company said that the new funds will be used to acquire more celebrity intellectual property, scale marketing efforts, accelerate distribution, and further invest in the development of Tyson 2.0’s house of brands strategy.

Tyson 2.0 Co-founder, President and Chairman, Chad Bronstein said, “Mike Tyson and our team believed early on that building high-quality cannabis brands and products backed by A-list celebrities would be a winning combination. Our model has shown early validation with robust sales and expansion of the brand to more than 20 states including several of the world’s leading operators. The next step in our journey will require us to put more capital to work, and I couldn’t think of a better set of partners than the group of investors we have assembled, highlighted by Jason Wild and the team at JW Asset Management.”

In addition to raising the capital, Tyson 2.0 announced the appointment of Nicole Cosby as its Chief Legal and Licensing Officer. Cosby also served as Chief Data and Compliance Officer of Fyllo Group and prior to this, held the position of Senior Vice President of Standards at Publicis Group. Cosby is an attorney by trade and has a background in digital advertising/data policy and brand strategy/licensing.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with and knowing Chad and Adam for many years. I am impressed with how quickly they have scaled the business becoming one of the leading national cannabis brands on the market today. With the ability to develop additional products from celebrities like Mike Tyson, Ric Flair, and more to come, I am confident the strong momentum can continue,” said Jason Wild, President and Chief Investment Officer, JW Asset Management.

Bronstein concluded, “This is just the beginning, Tyson 2.0 is being sought out by some of the hottest pop culture icons who are cannabis advocates and users, and want the opportunity to share their love of the plant with their fans.”

Washington

Earlier this month, Tyson 2.0 said that a collaboration with Mammoth Labs has resulted in its cannabis products being available at sixteen dispensaries across the state of Washington. Tyson 2.0 products will be in dispensaries including Cannabis & Glass, Herbery, Zips, The FireHouse and The Station locations starting June 2. Through its production partnership with Washington-based Mammoth Labs, Tyson 2.0 premium products offered will include eighths (3.5g) jars of flower in Desert Toad, Southern Toad, Tiger Mintz and Dynamite Cookie; and exclusive concentrates: diamonds and sauce in Viper Cookies, Orange Punch, Cake Crasher; and badder in Southern Toad.

“Tyson 2.0 x Mammoth Labs products will pack twice the punch for Washington cannabis consumers with our high THC strains and superior terpene profiles,” said Mike Tyson, Chief Brand Officer and Co-Founder of Tyson 2.0. “Cannabis of this craft can truly elevate the mind and spirit. I look forward to sharing my cannabis healing journey with fans across Washington.”

StaffJune 15, 2022

shutterstock_757996678.jpg?fit=960%2C641&ssl=1

Radicle Science, an AI-driven healthtech B-corp company reported strong positive results from one of the largest clinical trials on pain treated with cannabinoids. The study involved over 1,600 participants from across the U.S. It was a randomized and controlled clinical trial done in partnership with Open Book Extracts (OBX). All the formulations in the trial led to statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in pain after just 4 weeks—all with minimal side effects.

The companies said it was the first of its kind to examine the synergistic impact of rare cannabinoids like Cannabichromene (CBC) and Cannabigerol (CBG) on pain. All formulations in the pain study on Cannabidiol (CBD) and Rare Cannabinoids were supplied by OBX, which is a NSF-certified manufacturer and distributor of cannabinoid ingredients and finished products.

“We at OBX are fundamentally dedicated to supporting all consumers in their endeavor to feel their best from the inside out through a holistic universe of effective, evidence-based cannabinoid products of the highest quality,” said OBX CEO Dave Neundorfer. “While existing studies suggest that cannabidiol and rare cannabinoids, including CBG and CBC, have considerable potential to support wellness, there has been a glaring gap in scientifically valid research dedicated to guiding effective product development. That’s why we collaborated with the renowned medical experts and data scientists at Radicle Science to better understand the potential of rare cannabinoids as an ingredient and, in particular, their ability to support better quality of life outcomes relating to pain.”

Research Findings

The study found that on average, nearly half (44.8%) of participants who received any of the enhanced products experienced a clinically meaningful improvement in their pain, meaning they realized a distinct and palpable improvement in their quality of life through improved pain symptoms.

Overall, the different enhanced formulations performed roughly the same for the improvement of pain, anxiety, sleep quality, and quality of life. However, for people with moderate pain, there was evidence that the addition of 20mg CBC to a formulation containing 40mg of CBD could significantly improve its pain-relieving effects—particularly when this enhanced product was taken for 2 or more weeks. All products tested were deemed safe to consume. Only about 1 in 10 participants reported side effects, and none were severe.

“It’s a privilege to make history with OBX,” said Dr. Jeff Chen, MD, Radicle Science’s CEO and UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative’s founder and former Executive Director. “Rare cannabinoids are present in a variety of health and wellness products containing cannabis and hemp, but there has been virtually no clinical data on their effectiveness for any medical condition, including pain. Radicle Science assessed for the first time in history the potential synergistic effects of certain rare cannabinoids on pain and demonstrated that these natural products can make a measurable positive impact.”

Pelin Thorogood, Radicle Science Co-founder and Executive Chair added, “It was promising to see that the addition of a rare cannabinoid could augment the effects of CBD. We will be further exploring the entourage effect with an upcoming study, Radicle Spectrum, which will be the first head-to-head study comparing full or broad spectrum CBD to isolate and placebo. It is our hope this study will provide data to help the FDA ascertain whether CBD isolate is a drug.”

Debra BorchardtJune 8, 2022

California-based distribution company Hardcar crashed hard as the company was facing a big tax bill and no willing investors. In its death spiral, the company also laid off employees without wages that were owed to them. Yet, the “out of business” company was apparently still making cash drops and deliveries until a co-founder stepped back in to shut the operation down for good.

On The Road

Todd Kleperis founded Hardcar as a way to help cannabis companies move large amounts of cash. The company had security vehicles and relationships with banks and the business was growing. Kleperis though became more interested in another company he was creating on the banking side called Payzel. In order to focus on Payzel, he sold his interest to a group called Apollo. Or so he thought.

Kleperis hasn’t had any involvement with the company on a day-to-day basis for some time and was essentially waiting for the deal with Apollo to close to recoup some of his investment in the company which was hundreds of thousands of dollars. Apparently, an Operating Agreement was never signed which put the deal into question but Kleperis had moved on trusting the buyers would complete the paperwork. The company was on solid ground and he felt that it was in good hands. Apollo had allegedly invested over $300,00 into the company so it seemed like they too were motivated to make Hardcar work.

Sinking Ship

Apollo though didn’t like what it saw after spending some time with the company. The new CEO Joe Zerucha was unable to keep Hardcar going and questions were swirling about his management. At one point, there was a rumored deal that Manifest Seven Holdings (OTC: MNFSF) would buy Hardcar, but that never came to fruition. In March 2022, Manifest Seven filed a notice that it was discontinuing the operation of its cannabis bulk wholesale products and finished goods distribution services. The company wrote, “The discontinued cannabis distribution operations accounted for $3.32 million of revenue and a net loss of $2.76 million during the three quarters that ended August 31, 2021.” Manifest 7 is in default on its loans and most recently announced that its President and Chief Legal Officer had resigned. Zerucha confirmed that Manifest Seven would not be a white knight and that the deal was ended in December 2021.

With no “deal” on the books and a looming tax bill as well, this was apparently what prompted the Apollo group to decide to pull the plug. According to Kleperis, when Zerucha replaced former CEO Salvatore Moccia the excise taxes were up to date and had been paid. Since Zerucha took over, the taxes went unpaid and eventually grew to almost half a million dollars. He was allegedly using the tax money to pay for other items, which isn’t allowed.

Apollo also supposedly felt the company wasn’t in good shape structurally and was a hodge-podge of cobbled together licenses. The company also supposedly operated for a year without a license in good order – another problem that was bound to get caught by regulators. In other words a hot mess, not worth saving or investing any more money into.

Death Spiral

Without the Apollo money or the deal and a co-founder who believed he was no longer a majority owner, the money wasn’t there to keep the company going. Employees weren’t getting paid on time and the situation was only getting worse. The Chief Operating Officer Morgan Dodson resigned on April 29, 2022, suggesting that the company was operating in a manner that wasn’t legal, which made her uncomfortable. Like Kleperis, she was equally confused as to the ownership of Hardcar. She brought her concerns over operations that weren’t within state regulations to Apollo, thinking the company was a majority owner, only to be told to take it up with Zerucha – that he was the owner. Morgan was not only an early employee, but she also invested in the company. Zerucha was in the driver’s seat, not Apollo.

With everyone jumping ship, employee Blake Villa began informing customers the company was closing and to find a new distributor. Then Villa was let go without pay weeks before his wedding. He took to social media and aired his grievances. Zerucha told Green Market Report on May 18, that there was “significant misinformation in the public space and that Hardcar was not closing down.”

Understandably, customers were confused. Was it closed or not? One small brand saw its limited inventory held captive by Hardcar. The brand, that asked to not be named, asked for its inventory back from the company that was allowing Hardcar to share some warehouse space. But the company declined and said that was up to Zerucha. The brand said it was asked to send thousands of dollars on an unpaid invoice, but the invoice wasn’t provided. The company owning the warehouse space did not respond to a request for comment.

Zerucha Terminated

Not long after Zerucha insisted the company was still operating, Kleperis stepped back in and terminated his employment. He has also stated that he is returning all inventory to the companies whose products remain and closing every account. Kleperis along with other investors have lost thousands of dollars with the decision to close the company. Accusations of theft, taking money from non-accredited investors, and other misdeeds are being tossed around and lawsuits are a likely outcome. Kleperis claims Zerucha was found to have comingled the client’s money and not deposited customer payments into the company bank account. All major issues are easily documented by the company. Zerucha denies all of the allegations by Kleperis.

At least the brands will get their products returned, even if they are now once again forced to find another distributor.

Debra BorchardtJune 6, 2022

Maryland cannabis dispensary company Blair Wellness Center is firing back at a disgruntled worker’s allegations according to a report on Law360. The court document filed on 6/2/2022 in the United States District Court in the District of Maryland is counter-suing former employee Kamille Jones.

Jones was employed by Blair Wellness from October 21, 2019, to November 5, 2020. Blair says that during the pandemic, it decided to restructure its business and eliminated Ms. Jones’s job as assistant inventory manager, but offered her a similar job and payment. Blair says that Jones wasn’t happy with the new job offer and began public complaints about the company. They say in their complaint, that Jones, “contacted Jazz Baker, a publisher of a cannabis blog called “Black Cannabis Matters” concerning the operations of Blair Management and Blair Wellness and concerning Mr. Blair including that: (i) in a couple of cases black managers were fired without cause;( ii) it was likely that black managers were fired because Mr. Blair suspected that they were supporters of a recent unionization effort at Blair Wellness and more.” She went on to complain that black employees were talked down to, expected to work for free in short-staffed hours, and were exploited.

Jones sued Blair Wellness and then Blair asked for the case to be dismissed. However, a judge denied the dismissal saying Jones had pointed out multiple instances of discrimination as well as pointing out a white employee who was in a similar situation but was treated better.

Workplace Theft Alleged

Blair says in its complaint that after Jones began talking publicly and negatively about the company, it rescinded its employment offer. The company also said it was going to offer her a severance package, but an audit determined she and other employees had been buying medical cannabis, but grossly undercharging each other. During the month of October 2022, the complaint stated, “For example, a portion of the transactions relating to Ms. Jones established that on October 22, 2020, she purchased $35 worth of medical cannabis for which she only paid $3.50; on September 15, 2020, she purchased $108.50 worth of medical cannabis for which she only paid $10.80; on September 10, 2020, she purchased $219.00 of medical cannabis for which she only paid $11.00; and, on September 3, 2020, she purchased $104.27 worth of medical cannabis for which she only paid $10.42.” There is video surveillance in the store that added to the theft documentation.

Blair says it is required to investigate any thefts and report them to the MMCC (Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission). The MMCC told Blair to report it to the Baltimore police. The complaint states, “As a result of the Baltimore City Police Department’s independent investigation, the Baltimore City Police Department instituted criminal charges against three Blair Management employees, including Ms. Jones.”

Jones had also on June 3, 2021, caused a temporary peace order to be issued against Mr. Blair in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City (Case No. 0101SP049192021). However, she was denied relief because she couldn’t prove the accusation. Blair Wellness was upset because as Jones was filing the peace order it was in the midst of negotiating a sale of the company to Cresco Labs.

Cresco Labs

In August 2021 as the accusations were flying back and forth, Cresco Labs (CSE: CL) (OTCQX: CRLBF) announced it was buying Blair Wellness. The deal was supposed to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, but in January 2022, it backed out of the deal. “We have terminated the purchase agreement with Blair Wellness due to the failure of certain closing conditions to be met prior to our specified termination date,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs’ CEO & Co-founder. “We will continue to look for other avenues to expand our footprint in Maryland, and execute our strategy of going deep in meaningful, material states.”

Blair Goes To Prison

Likely the termination had something to do with the announcement from the Department of Justice that Matthew Blair “pleaded guilty today to payment of illegal remunerations to encourage independent marketers to refer federal health care related business to Blair’s pharmacy.” The charge was unrelated to the cannabis dispensary. It stated, “Blair, the owner and operator of a compounding pharmacy called the Blair Pharmacy, paid illegal remunerations to independent marketers to induce them to refer business to Blair Pharmacy. In order to increase prescription referrals to his pharmacy, maximize reimbursement amounts and thereby increase profits, Blair sought these independent marketers to solicit and refer prescriptions to his pharmacy.” Blair is to pay $3.1 million in restitution and in February 2022 was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison.

Ella Blair is currently listed as the owner of Blair Wellness and the company’s website shows a diverse group of employees. It only has one location in the state. Blair is asking for $5,000 for the cost of the inventory and public relations expenses, along with other damages.

StaffMay 31, 2022

shutterstock_1241494456.jpg?fit=960%2C641&ssl=1

Southern rock band the Allman Brothers Band has become the latest music group to create a cannabis brand. The Allman Brothers Band is launching a strain of flowered in Illinois called Chocolate Chunk. It is an indica dominant strain available in 3.5g and will be exclusively sold at Verilife dispensaries, which are owned by Pharmacann.

“The Allman Brothers Band pioneered the Southern rock sound that is synonymous with cannabis,” said Erika Salgado, Chief Marketing Officer of Verilife. “With this collaboration, our goal is to create cannabis products that capture the essence of the band.”

Dramatic Back Stage Stories

The products are marketed as enhancing life’s simple pleasures through relaxation, connection, healing, and having fun and suggesting this is a hallmark of the band’s music. However, the band was mostly known for its dramatic ups and downs.

The Allman Brothers band was formed in 1969 and was known as a jam band. It was also marred by tragedy when the leader Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971. The Allman Brothers have stopped performing and regrouped several times over the past few decades. The band retired for good in October 2014 after their final show at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Band member Butch Trucks died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 24, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 69. Gregg Allman died from complications arising from liver cancer on May 27, 2017, at his home in Georgia, also at the age of 69. Gregg Allman was accused of being a “snitch” when he got involved in a drug charge with the band’s security manager and took a deal from the state. However, Allman maintained that he was asked to testify by Scooter Herring who agreed to take the fall for the drug charges. He was eventually pardoned by President Jimmy Carter.

Launching with flower and pre-rolls, this new product line will eventually include edibles and vapes. Verilife is operated by PharmaCann Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately held, vertically integrated cannabis companies. The products will be available beginning Saturday, May 28, at all eight Illinois Verilife locations.

“It has been the honor of my life to play in this band and it continues to be an honor to extend our brand in ways my bandmates could never have imagined,” said Jaimoe, founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. “This collaboration with Verilife is an opportunity to share the Allman Brothers Band experience with fans. We cannot wait to hear how people enjoy matter. and what it brings to their lives.” Jai Johanny Johanson (Jaimoe) was chosen by Duane Allman to be in the band as its drummer.

Debra BorchardtApril 11, 2022

Law360 reported that Michigan-based Lume Cannabis also known as Attitude Wellness LLC has lost its battle against the tiny town of Pinckney, Michigan. Lume was pretty annoyed that it didn’t win the sole cannabis license for this little town and sued the town to find out why. Lume already owns 26 stores in the state so the fight for this little town’s license was described by some in the state as a bullying move. Pinckney had originally opted out of the program and then changed its mind.

The Means Project Wins

In Michigan, if a town chooses to limit its licenses it has to create a standard for scoring and ranking the applicants. Pinckney received three applications for its single cannabis retailer license. The Means Project received a perfect score under the Matrix, whereas QPS Michigan Holdings LLC obtained 66 points, and Lume scored last with 65 points. Lume lost points for not presenting the Village with a clean energy plan and choosing not to operate its retail business in a vacant and distressed building. Neither Lume nor QPS Michigan Holdings received any residency points.

Lume argued that the residency requirement was discriminatory, but it lost that argument. Lume argued that favoring local merchants was an illegitimate public purpose, but the court decided the village would probably win this argument as well. Lume also complained that the town’s desire to move into a vacant building had nothing to do with the state’s cannabis law. However, the court said that local municipalities can make decisions like this if they want to.

Up In Smoke

The judge decided that Lume faced no harm in not receiving the license, however, the town did since the licensing process has been delayed due to the lawsuit. Plus, the winner The Mean Project has spent $2.2 million on its plan to open its dispensary and the delay has caused it to fall behind other markets. The judge wrote, “Without a viable MRTMA claim, Lume’s case goes up in smoke.”

What was odd about the whole complaint is that Lume is already fairly large and the license is in a tiny town of just 2500 people. Lume began business in the fourth quarter of 2019 with 75 employees and by the fourth quarter of 2021, had reached 1,000 employees. The company has said that revenue grew 2.6x from 2020 (the first full year of business) to 2021, and is on pace to at least double again next year.

Lume was started by and is still owned by, Michigan natives. One of Lume’s minority owners has since moved out of state, however, and is now a citizen of another state. The CEO/founder Dave Morrow was also the founder of Warrior sports – lacrosse and hockey gear.

Debra BorchardtMarch 21, 2022

At the beginning of March, a complaint was filed in the New York County Supreme Court and the Southern District of Florida. Then almost immediately the court documents were heavily redacted. It seems some investors of privately-owned Surterra Wellness, now known as Parallel are pretty angry about what happened to their investment dollars. While some portions remain unclear, there is still a lot that can be gleaned from the complaint and allegations. Both cases suggest that Wrigley loaded up Parallel with excessive debt and misrepresented the health of the cannabis company. The complaint alleges that his goal was to get the company taken public through the Ceres Acquisition Corp SPAC and then exiting with a profit.

The Players

Parallel is a cannabis company formerly known as Surterra Wellness and has been building its market share in Florida among other states. According to Florida’s OMMU, Surterra’s market share in flower the medical-only state has ranged between 9% and 5.9% over the past year. SH Parent is the parent company of Parallel/Surterra.

William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr. is the chewing gum company heir and had been the CEO of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company until its 2008 sale to Mars Inc. for $23 billion. He is the Chairman and CEO of WWJR Enterprises and has controlled PE Fund during all relevant times. Wrigley had initially invested in the company in 2017 and assumed day-to-day operations as Chairman and CEO in late 2018. Wrigley resigned as CEO effective November 19, 2021, after disclosure of the defaults under the Note Purchase Agreement. James Whitcomb is the current CEO of the company and is named in the Florida case.

The Florida Case

The Florida case lists the plaintiffs as Tradeinvest Asset Management Company (BVI) Ltd., First Ocean Enterprises SA, and Techview Investments Ltd. and the defendants as Wrigley, Jr., James “Jay” Holmes, James Whitcomb, SH Parent Inc. d/b/a Parallel, Surterra Holdings Inc., Green Health Endeavors (another Wrigley family fund), PE Fund LP, and Robert “Jake” Bergmann. That case alleges that Wrigley convinced the plaintiffs to invest in a Simple Agreement for Future Equity or SAFE. A SAFE is a relatively new type of security in which an investor’s cash investment generally converts to equity in the issuing company under conditions specified in the SAFE. They are often issued to provide a company with bridge financing until it can complete an additional capital raise or a sale of the company, and will often convert to equity upon the occurrence of that future, specified event. They say they sent the money to the company on September 27, 2021. Although much is redacted, it does allege that the investors were misled and had they been told the truth would likely not have made the SAFE investment.

While it’s difficult to truly know what is in the complaint, it seems to infer that Parallel was aware that the Ceres SPAC deal was in trouble while it was convincing the SAFE investors to send the money. The case notes that “On October 1, 2021, the company sent an e-mail, on behalf of Wrigley, to the company’s investors explaining that the Company was no longer pursuing the SPAC transaction. Among other things, he noted that the Company would “focus on alternative financing avenues to pursue a vast array of growth opportunities,” and that, the Company had ”just raised and closed a significant initial equity financing through the private markets,” referring to the SAFE.” In other words, Parallel would have likely known on September 27, that the Ceres deal was in trouble since the company announced just days later that it was over.

The complaint alleges that once the Ceres deal fell through that Wrigley and Parallel tried to tell investors that the deal fell through because the company was worth more and that “cannabis industry players were lighting up their phones.

The investors say in the complaint they finally got access to company documents in December and learned the details were inconsistent with what they were told for the SAFE investment. The case says, “The practice of raising funds under false pretenses, is the essence of a Ponzi scheme.”

The New York Case

This case involves John and Ultima Morgan, TGHI II LLC, Prime Overseas Investments and Enterprises Ltd., and Techview Investments Ltd. and they are alleging that Surterra Holdings Inc. dba Parallel, SH Parent Inc., PE Fund LP, WWJr. Enterprises Inc., William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr., SAF Group, and GLAS Americas LLC allowed Wrigley to falsely build up the company in order for it to be taken over by a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, and then he could cash out. The plaintiffs all hold Senior Notes in the company.

PE Fund is an investment vehicle within Wrigley’s family office empire. It is directly or indirectly controlled by Wrigley and is under common ownership with other Wrigley-controlled entities. WWJR Enterprises is the general partner of PE Fund. WWJR Enterprises is named for Wrigley’s initials and is controlled by Wrigley. SAF is a global alternative investment manager based in Canada and owns a junior note.

Excessive Debts

The complaint alleges that ever since Wrigley took over the leadership of the company, it has incurred substantial debts. The amount of Parallel’s debt is redacted in the court documents. The case states, “The Company’s current capital structure consists of multiple tranches of debts with different priorities.” The case also alleges that Wrigley inappropriately placed himself on both sides of the debt negotiations. The investors complain that Wrigley “repeatedly botched his own projections, ultimately ruining the company’s credibility and chance of going public.”

Street Insider has posted a copy of the Parallel deck associated with the Ceres SPAC deal and it came with some pretty lofty projections. The projected 2021 net revenue was $447 million. The presentation said that the company had $348 million in debt. The company also said in the presentation that it had a net loss of $140 million in 2020. Growjo.com estimates Parallel’s annual revenue at $65 million a year, but since the company is private this number can’t be verified.

The court document goes on to say, “ On February 22, 2021, the company had announced that it planned to go public by merging with Ceres Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation or SPAC. After numerous failed efforts to keep the deal alive, on September 30, 2021, the deal was called off due to investors’ concerns in “Parallel’s ability to deliver on lofty financial projections it provided in February.”

The case also suggests that Holmes, PE Fund, and Wrigley were negotiating terms of the company’s debt that would benefit them and described as terms that would “Make a loan shark jealous.”

The lawyers in the group did not respond to a request for comment.

Video StaffNovember 18, 2021

Palo Santo’s Co-founder and Partner Tim Schlidt talks about the ways this psychedelic investment chooses its companies. While psychedelics are a hot emerging market, Schlidt compares it to more traditional bio-tech. The horizon for investments is much longer than it is in the cannabis industry. Palo Santo is a privately-owned biotech investing firm with a focus on psychedelic drug companies. It has raised over $35 million and invested in over 20 companies.

StaffAugust 4, 2021

Robin Arnott is the CEO of Entheo Digital, a digital therapeutics company developing and distributing experiences to support psychedelic therapists at all stages of journey work. Robin has been recognized as an early maverick of Virtual Reality since the re-emergence of the field in the early 2010s. His VR experience “SoundSelf: A Technodelic” has been measured to produce states of consciousness comparable to psilocybin, and is currently being ported to mobile VR solutions.

GMR Executive Spotlight Interview Q&A:

Full Name: Robin Arnott

Title: Founder and Lead Link

Company: Entheo Digital

Years at current company: Since Company Founding in Q1 of 2021

Most successful professional accomplishment before psychedelics:

Robin was the lead developer and designer of the VR experience “SoundSelf: A Technodelic.” Measured to produce psychedelic states of consciousness, SoundSelf was originally distributed as an entertainment on VR platforms under the Andromeda Entertainment label. Robin’s new company, Entheo Digital, is continuing to develop SoundSelf as a protocol for psychedelic therapy.

Before developing SoundSelf, Robin was a multi-award-winning sound designer for independent video games. He led the audio design for Antichamber, The Stanley Parable, Capsule, and Duskers

Company Mission: Entheo Digital is growing the accessibility and scalability of psychedelic therapy with immersive virtual experiences.

Company’s most successful achievement: Entheo’s first experience SoundSelf has been measured to reliably stimulate psychedelic states of consciousness. They are integrating it into psychedelic therapy protocols as a preparation tool, to ease first-time-journeyers into deep medicine work.

Has the company raised any capital (yes or no): Yes

if so, how much?: As of this writing (July 28, 2021) Entheo is in the middle of it’s $1.5M Series Seed. It has raised $700k thus far.

Any plans on raising capital in the future? Yes.

Most important company 5 year goal: Integrate SoundSelf and other immersive experiences as FDA Cleared protocols to assist in all aspects of psychedelic therapy, for assisting therapists and their clients with deep psychological healing.

StaffJuly 20, 2021

Jamie-Evans-CEO-Co-Founder-Herbacee-Horizontal-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1

Cannabis beverages are a hot ticket item these days. In the last year alone, cannabis beverage sales have shot up by 40%, totaling $95.2 million. Over the next four years, sales are projected to grow at a CAGR of 17.8%, topping out at $2.8 billion in sales by 2025.

Hoping to stake out a slice of this rapidly growing market, brands have been searching for ways to provide consumers with a unique cannabis beverage experience. favorite Jamie Evans, author and founder of the leading cannabis blog The Herb Somm, thinks she has found it.

Evans is a cannabis beverage expert and Certified Specialist of Wine. Studying viticulture in Champagne and Alsace, Evans has an extensive background in winemaking, having most recently earned the Wine Scholar Guild’s French Wine Scholar (FWS) certification with highest honors. She has also authored several bestselling cannabis books, including Cannabis Drinks: Secrets to Crafting CBD and THC Beverages at Home and The Ultimate Guide to CBD: Explore the World of Cannabidiol.

Earlier this week, Evans announced the impending launch of Herbacée, the nation’s first nonalcoholic cannabis-infused sparkling wine honoring French-inspired wine blends

“Herbacée was created to inspire the senses,” says Evans. “As a nonalcoholic cannabis-infused wine, each product will showcase the divine connection between cannabis and the grapevine.”

Herbacée, which means “Herbaceous” in French, is aimed at honoring and showcasing French-inspired wine blends and draws inspiration from the legendary French winemaking regions of Bordeaux, Rhône, Provence, Champagne, and Loire.

“Herbacée is also a term we use in the wine industry to describe the herbal characteristics in a glass of wine,” adds Evans. “While you won’t be able to smell or taste any familiar cannabis notes, your nose and palate will be greeted with a curated melody of aromas and flavors, very similar to a traditional glass of wine.”

Though inspired by French wines, the initial batch of wine sourced for Herbacée will come from premier Central Coast wine regions in California and not France. According to Evans, this is not necessarily by done design but rather necessity. Because of COVID-19, import regulations are still incredibly strict. As those restrictions are repealed, however, Evans says that Herbacée will include French wines as the base for their boutique cannabis-infused products moving forward.

Set to launch in the California market later this Fall, Herbacée will first feature a sparkling rosé inspired blend made primarily from Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault. Herbacée will be made available in single-serve cans and four-packs, and Evans says she plans to release a line sparkling blanc next year, and as well as a line of still cannabis-infused wines.

Older Posts

Flower One’s Revenue Drops In Fourth Quarter, Restructures Debt Payments

SPACS Losing Their Mojo As Deals Get Pushed Out

In other news

The Daily Hit: June 30, 2022

Beau Wrigley at Center of Litigation over Failed Chicago Cannabis Deal

Curaleaf Pushes Back on Tip Jar

Private Archives - Green Market Report

Tyson 2.0 Raises $9 Million With Plans To Expand Celebrity Property

Washington

Large CBD Pain Study Delivers Positive Results

Research Findings

Hardcar Crashes Hard

On The Road