New York cannabis Archives - Green Market Report

StaffJune 8, 2023

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for June 8, 2023.

On the Site

TerrAscend to Acquire Maryland Dispensary For $22 Million in Mostly Stock Deal

Toronto-based TerrAscend Corp. (CSE: TER) (OTCQX: TRSSF) announced Thursday that it will acquire a Maryland medical marijuana dispensary for $22.1 million in a mostly stock deal, less than a month before adult-use cannabis sales are set to launch in the state on July 1. Read more here.

New York Launches Enforcement Crackdown on Unlicensed Marijuana Shops

New York state authorities have begun what they say will be a sweeping crackdown on the 1,500 or more unlicensed marijuana businesses that have sprouted up over the past year, with surprise inspections and cease-and-desist orders issued at seven retail shops in New York City on Wednesday. Read more here.

Sunderstorm Acquires Abide Brands

California-based Sunderstorm has purchased the vape company Nevada-based Abide Brands, the maker of Bounti Vapes, for an undisclosed amount. It is the first acquisition by Sunderstorm with the intent to expand the company’s product offering line. Read more here.

Exclusive Interview: MariMed Leadership Talks Path to Profitability

Massachusetts-based MariMed Inc. (CSE: MRMD) (OTCQX: MRMD) posted a profit in 2022, an anomaly among U.S. publicly traded cannabis companies which combined for billions in losses. CEO Jon Levine and CFO Susan Villare recently sat down with Green Market Report to talk about how the business positioned itself to weather the headwinds under which the national marijuana industry labors and what they think it will take for the broader sector to reach sustainable profitability. Read more here.

In Other News

Colorado

Colorado’s marijuana businesses could soon see higher licensing fees as state regulators deal with their first cannabis cash shortage. The majority of the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division’s funding comes from licensing fees and fines on dispensaries, growing operations, and other legal pot businesses. As Colorado’s marijuana industry suffers through a recession and more businesses shut down or leave the state, however, the MED is running out of money. Read more here.

John SchroyerJune 8, 2023

Regulators promise that this move is the first volley in stepped up enforcement against the illicit market.

StaffJune 2, 2023

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Agency wants to rein in the roughly 1,500 unlicensed shops in New York City.

StaffJune 1, 2023

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for June 1, 2023.

On the Site

Trulieve to Shutter Operations in Massachusetts, California

Florida-based giant Trulieve Cannabis Corp. is bowing out of two mature cannabis markets – California and Massachusetts – citing turbulent conditions for legal cannabis businesses. The company said in a press release that the decision is part of a wider plan to save money and improve financial health. Read more here.

Tilray’s Withdrawal from Bob Marley Licensing Deal Triggers Lawsuit

Docklight Brands Inc. filed a complaint against cannabis giant Tilray Inc., accusing the company of backing out of a deal to sell Bob Marley-branded cannabis products in Canada. Docklight alleges that the move cost it licensing fees, royalties, and eventually the Bob Marley license itself, according to an amended complaint filed on May 3. Read more here.

Last-Minute Lifeline for New York Cannabis Supply Chain

The New York Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul swooped in at the last minute – quite literally – to give the state’s nascent marijuana supply chain a critical deadline extension. Lawmakers approved the bills late Wednesday, which pushes back a midnight expiration for conditional processor and distribution permits by a year, to June 1, 2024, and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed both bills into law early on Thursday. Read more here.

Illinois Cannabis Legislation Fizzles at Finish Line

Hopes for wide-ranging legislation that would fix a bunch of nagging issues in the Illinois marijuana industry fizzled at the last minute. Instead, the state General Assembly made just a few changes. Read more here.

SNDL Hints at Plans for Skymint

SNDL (Nasdaq: SNDL) has deployed capital into a portfolio of six cannabis-related investments of approximately $579.9 million, including $535.9 million for the SunStream joint venture. Now, two of those properties, Skymint in Michigan and Florida-based Parallel Cannabis, are both experiencing extreme financial stress. Read more here.

In Other News

The Lexi Hotel

The Lexi Hotel, which has billed itself as the first “cannabis-inclusive property” in Las Vegas, is set to open its doors on Friday, June 2. The small, 65-room boutique hotel will allow any guests staying on its fourth floor to consume cannabis inside their rooms. Read more here.

Smart & Safe Florida

Florida’s Department of State reported that the proposed ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot in 2024. The constitutional amendment, proposed by Smart & Safe Florida, gathered 967,528 valid signatures — more than 70,000 above the requirement to reach the ballot. Read more here.

John SchroyerJune 1, 2023

Conditional distributor and processor licenses were set to expire at midnight.

StaffMay 30, 2023

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for May 30, 2023.

On The Site

Two Dozen Publicly Traded U.S. Cannabis Companies Lost $4 Billion Last Year

Two dozen of the top plant-touching publicly traded marijuana companies in the United States posted a cumulative financial loss of more than $4 billion in 2022 against nearly $9 billion in revenue, according to analysis of filings by Green Market Report. Read more here.

New York Cannabis Regulators Propose Settlement for Lawsuit Hindering Retail Licensing

New York marijuana industry regulators on Tuesday gave initial approval to a settlement deal that is intended to end a legal fight that has stalled retail cannabis permits in the Finger Lakes Region. Read more here.

Numinus Wellness Shares Soar as Landmark Clinical Study of Psilocybin Therapy Begins

Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX: NUMI) announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary, Cedar Clinical Research, has begun studying a potential new therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) using COMP360 psilocybin. As a result, shares of NUMI jumped more than 30% to lately sell at 19 cents on the news as of the Phase 3 trial was released on Tuesday morning. Read more here.

Entourage Health Revenue Rises on Pre-Rolls, Medical Marijuana

Entourage Health Corp. (TSX-V: ENTG) (OTCQX: ETRGF) announced Tuesday a 24% sequential increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2023 ending March 31, with a significant contribution from its medical cannabis stream and adult-use pre-roll sales. Read more here.

YourWay Cannabis Can’t Find An Auditor For Filings

YourWay Cannabis Brands Inc. (CSE: YOUR)(OTC: YOURF) has been delayed in issuing its financial reports because it can’t find an auditor. The company said that since the resignation of its previous auditor Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP in December 2022, it hasn’t been able to find a replacement. Read more here.

In Other News

Minnesota

Surrounded by dozens of cheering people in green clothes, Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana for people over the age of 21, making Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize the substance for adults. Read more here.

Ohio

Ohioans 21 and older would be able to cultivate, purchase and possess marijuana if a bipartisan bill passes in the Ohio Statehouse, possibly circumventing a ballot measure campaign to force legalization through. Read more here.

North Carolina

A North Carolina state House of Representatives committee has taken up a medical marijuana legalization bill already approved by the state Senate, and activists are hopeful this year the state may embrace MMJ. Read more here.

John SchroyerMay 30, 2023

New York marijuana industry regulators on Tuesday gave initial approval to a settlement deal that is intended to end a legal fight that has stalled retail cannabis permits in the Finger Lakes Region.

The New York Cannabis Control Board voted unanimously to support the settlement – details of which have yet to be fully disclosed – with Variscite NY One, Syracuse.com reported. The deal would “guarantee an adult-use license” for Gay once as soon as the CCB opens cannabis permitting to the general public, but further particulars were not released, the outlet reported.

The full settlement deal is expected to be filed with the U.S. district court this week, Syracuse.com reported.

If the deal is approved by the district judge overseeing the lawsuit, the move will likely allow the CCB to move ahead with retail cannabis licensing in the Finger Lakes, which has been stalled for months due to the suit.

The suit, filed last year by Variscite owner Kenneth Gay, alleged that he was unlawfully excluded from the New York social equity program, under which Gay was not eligible for the first round of conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) permits because he lives in Michigan and doesn’t have a “significant presence” in New York, unlike the mostly longtime residents who applied for the CAURD permits. The social equity program in New York reserves the first retail permits for “justice-involved” entrepreneurs who have some sort of criminal track record tied to cannabis prohibition.

The suit originally resulted in a court injunction last November that prohibited CAURD licenses from being issued in five regions across New York, which was then narrowed to just the Finger Lakes Region.

CCB members said during the Tuesday meeting they were only supporting the settlement deal for the sake of issuing more CAURD licenses, to help get the state cannabis industry fully operational, instead of fighting the court battle to its conclusion.

“I’m very pleased that we’re considering this today … not because I think that this lawsuit has any merit, but our CAURD licensees need to be in the Finger Lakes, as well, getting to work,” CCB member Reuben McDaniel said.

Variscite has filed similar lawsuits against cannabis regulators in Los Angeles and Sacramento, which also have social equity programs tied directly to marijuana licensing.

At its meeting Tuesday, the CCB also approved new emergency industry regulations aimed at cracking down on the burgeoning unlicensed cannabis trade in New York.

The board also moved to allow the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) to accept credit investors, in an attempt to help the agency raise $150 million to spend on CAURD dispensary sites, Syracuse.com reported.