cannabis Archives - Green Market Report

Dustin WalshMay 4, 2023
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4min00

This story was republished with permission from Crain’s Detroit and written by Dustin Walsh

It’s no surprise Michigan’s marijuana industry is undergoing rapid process improvements.

For one, low prices have all but decimated margins. Cost-cutting measures are paramount in a tough business.

Secondly, this is the home of automakers and automation.

In truth, the roots of the continuous improvement approach — which is not only being embraced by the burgeoning marijuana industry but a staple in health care and many other industries — were born in Japan.

Kaizen is core to lean manufacturing and was first implemented at Toyota (NYSE: TM), which historically manufactures the highest-quality vehicles with the fewest defects with fewer workers in smaller factories than its competitors. Kaizen itself was created by American engineer W. Edwards Deming, who was assigned by the U.S. Army and General Douglas MacArthur to aid in the rebuilding of the Japanese economy following World War II.

Kaizen is the compound of two Japanese words that translate to “good change.” Today, kaizen means continuous improvement through the use of airtight processes and principles. Each member of a workflow is responsible for improvements, and those improvements are studied, tested and implemented to lower costs and eliminate waste.

Kaizen and continuous improvement operate in seven cyclical steps:

  1. Involve employees
  2. Identify problems
  3. Create a solution
  4. Test the solution
  5. Analyze the results
  6. Standardize the solution
  7. Repeat the cycle.

It’s as complicated as designing a factory floor to as simple as minimizing a worker’s movement on that floor to improve efficiency. Everyone in a company is accountable to those principles under the “Toyota Way.”

The principles of kaizen came to the U.S. in 1984 — an era when American automobiles were known for poor quality as compared to their Japanese competitors — when General Motors and Toyota opened a joint venture production plant called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) in Fremont, Calif.

GM got access to the “Toyota Way” of lean manufacturing to better build small cars and Toyota got its first manufacturing presence in North America, freeing it of import tariffs.

Under Toyota’s management, consensus decision-making was implemented and many of the hierarchical structures of GM were eliminated — all factory employees were given the same uniforms, ate at the same cafeteria and special parking spots were outmoded.

It’s arguable whether the joint venture was ever successful, as both companies abandoned the plant by 2010 — it’s coincidentally now Tesla’s primary production plant.

But the theory of kaizen heavily influenced the creation of Six Sigma, another process improvement strategy invented in 1986 by Motorola engineer Bill Smith.

Today, kaizen and Six Sigma are largely interchanged and used by nearly every corporation across the planet from hospitals to accounting firms — and now marijuana.


Video StaffJanuary 27, 2023

4min00

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) is finally exiting a trio of legacy western states in search for better profits. The exodus will begin this month with the “proactive closure of the majority of its operations” including its production and cultivation facilities in California, Colorado, and Oregon. The company cited the lack of enforcement over the illicit market and price compression as to why it was tapping out of the west coast. The company is also laying off 10% of its workforce. The company said it expects to save $60 million through the moves.

New York-based Ascend Wellness Holdings (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH) announced its expansion into Maryland with its $19 million purchase of Devi Holdings, which runs four operational medical marijuana dispensaries. The move marks the seventh state in which Ascend Wellness has a footprint, according to a press release. The company already has cannabis shops in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan,  New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, according to its website.

Long-awaited federal guidance on cannabis clinical drug trials for humans has finally arrived. The guidance document from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration follows the 2018 federal farm bill, which removed cannabis with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight from the list of controlled substances. The move could dramatically accelerate the value of the CBD industry, which has been waiting on the guidance, and it could also help the industry back up some of the health claims various companies have made, which got them warning letters from the agency.

In state news…

Mississippi began its medical cannabis sales this week. The state legalized medical marijuana just a year ago. 

New York opened its first social equity applicant dispensary and the state approved 30 more retail licenses. 

In legal news this week, Nike is suing a Texas cannabis company for using the slogan “Just Hemp it”. A Michigan developer filed a $60 million lawsuit claiming delays led to a loss of funding and tenants for its project and Helping Hands Wellness Center Inc. in Nevada had its licenses suspended after inspectors “discovered Helping Hands’ employees were diverting product to the illicit market. 

As a reminder, you can now submit applications to the 2023 GMR Women’s Leadership Awards, just head over to the website and there’s a link in our Summits tab.

Next week we expect earnings from High Tide, Scotts Miracle-Gro, and MedMen.


Video StaffDecember 9, 2022

3min00

Basketball star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison in a prisoner swap with the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is known as the “Merchant of death.” President Biden said she was safe and on a plane headed home. 

This week two companies were accused of inflating THC levels for premium-priced products. Both Stiiizy and VO Leasing, which makes Presidential cannabis products were the subjects of lawsuits filed in California. Both sell products that claim to have high THC levels, but when tested, were beyond the margin of error established by the state. Some by over 30%. 

Weedmaps (NASDAQ: MAPS) said it was laying off 25% of its staff or 175 people. The move is intended to cut expenses but will cost over $10 million in severance costs. This comes shortly after longtime CEO Chris Beals departed the company and amid continuing losses at Weedmaps. 

The cannabis banking bill, the SAFE Act, did not make it into the defense bill despite efforts by Sen. Chuck Schumer. Now, attention is turning to possible inclusion in the appropriations bill, but even that might not happen. More disappointing for the cannabis industry: comments by minority leader Sen. Mitch Mcconnell tagging the banking legislation as a “pet priority.” The legislation isn’t completely dead and could make it into the omnibus bill or even as a stand-alone bill, but time is running out. 

In state news, Massachusetts said it would allow some pesticides by cannabis cultivators and Illinois said it would be open to cannabis delivery companies. Rhode Island fined one of its new cannabis license holders for winning a cannabis competition in Massachusetts. Mammoth cannabis was fined $10,000 and claimed to have been at the conference but that someone else must’ve entered their product. 

And finally, a lawsuit was filed against the Facebook parent company Meta in connection with the cannabis Ponzi scheme Juicy Fields. Marketing for the investors of the scheme was done through social media, which is why they are going after Meta. The case includes 800 people from 50 different countries. Two billion euros are missing from investor accounts.


StaffOctober 6, 2022
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8min00

The Daily Hit is a recap of cannabis business news for October 6, 2022.

ON THE SITE

Biden To Pardon Marijuana Convictions, Calls For Classification Review

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a sweeping directive that would alter the laws surrounding cannabis and its classification as a dangerous substance, as well as grant pardons to those who suffered from the War on Drugs. In a statement, the president stated that he plans to pardon all prior federal offenses and begin an administrative review alongside Justice Department to process pardons for simple marijuana possession. Read more here.

Floridians Stocked Up On Cannabis Ahead Of Hurricane Ian

Florida operators that had to temporarily shutter last week amid Hurricane Ian’s wrath are coming back online, though some companies are still reeling from its violent landfall. With the Sept. 30 cutoff date for the fiscal third quarter, some companies could see some additional padding to earnings reports, as patients throughout the state flocked to stores early last week to stock up on medicine ahead of the storm’s arrival. Read more here.

Agrify To Help Three Companies’ Grows Go Vertical

Agrify Corporation (Nasdaq: AGFY) said that three companies have decided to operate their cultivation businesses using the company’s rapid deployment packs (RDPs) — a prepackaged, quick-to-deploy alternative to traditional grow facilities. Prairie State Cannabis LLC in Illinois, LowKey LLC in Massachusetts and MediFlora Cultivation LTD in South Africa have all elected to use the tech, which the company said is able to provide “best-in-class” cultivation capabilities in potentially as little as 60-90 days. Read more here.

Recreational Psychedelics Enters The Conversation

The medical psychedelics decriminalization efforts are growing, with now 20 different states (or cities and counties within states) either decriminalizing or working on decriminalizing psychedelics. There have been pushbacks, with complaints that some decriminalization efforts include making them the “lowest law enforcement priorities,” a ruling that still effectively criminalizes psychedelics. That same ruling applied to the decriminalization of cannabis. Read more here.

Zynerba Gets Patent For Fragile X Drug

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZYNE), the leader in innovative pharmaceutically-produced transdermal cannabinoid therapies for orphan neuropsychiatric disorders, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Patent No. 11,458,110, titled “Treatment of Fragile X Syndrome With Cannabidiol,” which includes claims directed to methods of treating Fragile X syndrome with cannabidiol. Read more here.

Green Thumb Industries Sees Board Shakeup

Three of four independent board members of Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF), including Dorri McWhorter, resigned over what the marijuana company said was “a disagreement as to the company’s policies and practices related to personal misconduct.” Read more here.

IN OTHER NEWS

Agrify Corporation

Agrify Corporation (Nasdaq : AGFY), a provider of cultivation and extraction solutions for the cannabis industry, today issued the following statement relating to the default of its customer Bud & Mary’s Cultivation, Inc. under a construction loan facility extended by Agrify to Bud & Mary’s associated with an Agrify Total Turn-Key Solution project and the lawsuit brought by Bud & Mary’s in response to the default notice. Read more here.

Bespoke Extracts, Inc.

Bespoke Extracts, Inc. (OTCQB: BSPK) today announced that the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) has approved Bespoke’s application for “suitability”. This approval enables Bespoke to acquire, subject to final state and local approval, any business licensed by the MED. Read more here.

Merchants & Marine Bank, CannaFirst Financial

Merchants & Marine Bank, a century-old Mississippi-based banking institution, has launched CannaFirst Financial, the first banking division dedicated to business owners in Mississippi’s quickly emerging cannabis industry. CannaFirst will serve clients in platform integration, online and mobile banking, cash transport, and treasury solutions. It is overseen and staffed by seasoned banking professionals with significant experience and certifications in emerging markets and industries. Read more here.

Neuraxpharm Group, Panaxia

Neuraxpharm Group, a European specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the central nervous system, and Panaxia (TASE: PNAX), a global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets advanced medical cannabis products of pharmaceutical quality, today announced the signing of two addendums to their agreement to expand their collaboration into the Czech and Swiss markets. Read more here.

F1SeedTech, NewBreedSeed

F1SeedTech and NewBreedSeed (NBS) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, with F1SeedTech acquiring 100% of the shares of NBS. The merger creates the industry leader in F1 hybrid varieties of cannabis, combining the day-neutral breeding activities of NBS and the short-day breeding activities of F1SeedTech in Israel and the Netherlands, respectively. Read more here.

Optimi Health Corp.

Optimi Health Corp. (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN), a Canadian-based company licensed by Health Canada to produce and supply natural, EU-GMP grade psilocybin and other psychedelic substances, most notably MDMA, is applauding the government of Alberta’s decision to regulate some psychedelics for therapeutic use in the province. Read more here.

Cybin Inc.

Cybin Inc. (NEO:CYBN) (NYSE AMERICAN:CYBN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on progressing Psychedelics to Therapeutics®, provided an update on its intellectual property progress in support of its research and development strategy. The company continues to prioritize the development of in-house IP and licensing opportunities that support its active development programs and future novel drug candidates. Read more here.


StaffOctober 5, 2022
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5min00

The Daily Hit is a recap of cannabis business news for October 5, 2022.

ON THE SITE

NBA Legend Isiah Thomas Hopes To Score In His International Hemp Venture

One World Products (OTCQB: OWPC), a fully-licensed hemp and cannabis producer in Colombia — owned by former Detroit Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas — is one step closer to commercialization. The news comes as OWP recently found $10 million in financing to help scale industrial hemp operations and work its way into the capital markets by 2023. Thomas has previously said that he wants the auto industry to trade plastic for hemp. Read more here.

DEA Licensed BRC Raises $20 Million

An active Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) pharmaceutical cannabis license holder, Biopharmaceutical Research Company completed a $20 million Series A fundraise. BRC said the raise will help it aggressively scale its operations and increase its product offering, conduct sponsored research, and execute its go-to-market strategy. Read more here.

Nevada Cannabis Sales Drop For Fiscal 2022

The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) and the Nevada Department of Taxation (DoT) released figures showing more than $965 million in taxable sales reported by Nevada’s legal cannabis industry over a 12-month period. Read more here.

Croptober Not Feeling So Celebratory

National cannabis wholesale prices continued their multi-month plunge at the end of September, likely not a good sign for outdoor marijuana farmers heading into harvest season known in the industry as ‘Croptober’. According to Cannabis Benchmarks, for the week that ended Sept. 30, the company’s spot index decreased 2.2% down to $966 per pound of cannabis flower, down from over $1,050 per pound two months ago. Read more here.

The Marriage Of Herbal Nutriceuticals and Psychedelics

Nutraceuticals have been getting a bad health and wellness rap for years. Most of the chatter is about them not being “real”; doctors ignore them in part because they have not gone through any FDA-approved clinical trials—even as their patients rave about the health benefits they get from taking them. Now there’s a movement to team up nutraceuticals with psychedelics and apply the science developed around psychedelics to advance nutraceuticals as more credible health and wellness products. Read more here.

IN OTHER NEWS

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., Tryke Companies

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF), an international provider of consumer products in cannabis, today announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Tryke Companies (dba as Reef Dispensaries), a privately held vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator. With the close of the transaction, Curaleaf’s national footprint has reached 29 cultivation sites and 144 dispensaries nationwide. Read more here.

atai Life Sciences N.V.

atai Life Sciences N.V. (Nasdaq: ATAI), which is developing VLS-01, a form of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression (TRD), announced today the dosing of the first subject in their Phase 1 SAD trial of VLS-01. Read more here.

Zylorion Health Inc.

Zylorion Health Inc., a precision mental health care and psychedelic therapy focused company, today announced the filing of a composition of matter patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the company’s novel second-generation lead psychedelic compound. Read more here.


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The Green Market Report focuses on the financial news of the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Our target approach filters out the daily noise and does a deep dive into the financial, business and economic side of the cannabis industry. Our team is cultivating the industry’s critical news into one source and providing open source insights and data analysis


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