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StaffJune 7, 2023
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BusinessDaily Hit

Daily Hit: June 7, 2023

5min00

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for June 7, 2023.

On the Site

Red White & Bloom to Buy Financially Troubled Aleafia

Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB)(OTC: RWBYF) is buying Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: AH)(OTCQB: ALEAF) in a deal that gives RWB 76% of the combined company, leaving Aleafia shareholders with 24%. The company believes there will by $10 million in synergy savings. Read more here.

No New Cannabis Business Licenses in San Francisco Until 2028

Under the terms of the measure approved unanimously by the city Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, no new cannabis business license applications will be eligible for consideration until New Year’s Eve in 2027 at the earliest, and that will only be if the board that year decides to let the new moratorium expire. Read more here.

Allegations of Ponzi Scheme, Forged Documents Plague Cannabis REIT IIPR

Cannabis real estate investment trust Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR) is facing more legal fury from its shareholders. The plaintiffs in the latest case allege that the REIT’s directors neglected to properly vet two of its largest tenants, Southern California-based Kings Garden and Parallel, resulting in considerable financial losses when the tenants became embroiled in scandal. Read more here.

Investor Money Continues to Flow into Troubled California, New York Markets

Despite the dire situation in California and criticism of the New York adult-use market launch, investor money continues to flow into those states. As of June 2, Viridian Capital Advisors reported that in the last 12 months California led in the total number of investments with 28 total raises, and it still posts up at third place with $294 million in invested capital. Read more here.

Rhode Island Cannabis Growers Plead for More Retailers

During a Rhode Island state Senate hearing this week, some of the 60 licensed marijuana farmers begged regulators to increase the number of licensed dispensaries, since the current number of seven is far from enough to handle the amount of cannabis the farms have ready to sell. Read more here.

In Other News

Thrive Social Equity Manager XVIII LLC

A Los Angeles cannabis entrepreneur has agreed to settle her suit claiming she was duped into a deal that would saddle her with debts, having purportedly been pressured into an unfair contract with little time to read it before a deadline. Jami Burrows and Thrive Social Equity Manager XVIII LLC filed a notice Friday letting the Los Angeles County Superior Court know they’ve entered a settlement resolving the dispute. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the notice. Read more here.

Flora Growth Corp.

Flora Growth Corp. (Nasdaq: FLGC), a global cultivator, manufacturer, and distributor of cannabis products, will effect a reverse stock split, effective June 9, at a ratio of 1-for-20. Read more here.

Florida Adult-Use Initiative

The executive director of the Suncoast NORML chapter fears a proposed recreational marijuana initiative may be doomed because it offers little change for consumers, but provides a bigger market for the medical marijuana giant backing the proposal. Read more here.

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StaffFebruary 1, 2018
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BusinessLegal

San Francisco To Dismiss Marijuana Convictions

3min00

The San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said on Wednesday in a statement that his office will dismiss and seal 3,038 misdemeanor convictions dating back to 1975  before the state’s legalization of marijuana went into effect. Those who were convicted will not be required to take any action, but if people want to clear their records or expunge them, they will have to petition the court.

Felony convictions will be reviewed and may be reduced to a misdemeanor conviction. That could be as many as 4,940 felony convictions to review.

“While drug policy on the federal level is going backward, San Francisco is once again taking the lead to undo the damage that this country’s disastrous, failed drug war has had on our nation and on communities of color in particular,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “Long ago we lost our ability to distinguish the dangerous from the nuisance, and it has broken our pocketbooks, the fabric of our communities, and we are no safer for it.  While this relief is already available pursuant to Proposition 64 for anyone with a conviction, it requires that they know it is available and to retain an attorney to file the expungement paperwork.  A criminal conviction can be a barrier to employment, housing, and other benefits, so instead of waiting for the community to take action, we’re taking action for the community.”

The move has the support of city residents. The DA’s statement said that the Department of Elections reported nearly 75% of San Franciscans voted to legalize marijuana and nearly three out of every four San Franciscans voted to provide this relief to those convicted of marijuana offenses.

The DA also noted the racial disparities that have occurred as a result of the arrests. “In particular, African American and Latino communities interact with the criminal justice system, including via arrests, bookings, and incarceration, at a rate far higher than their Caucasian counterparts.”

The statement went on to say that according to the city’s Cannabis Equity Report, the jump in total cannabis arrests in 2000 was accompanied by a jump in the disproportionality of African American arrests. “Arrests increased by 160% between 1999 and 2000, from 1,164 to 3,042. The percent of arrests featuring African American went up from 34% to 41% of all arrests, a 20% increase. Despite the high percentage of African American cannabis arrests, Black San Franciscans comprised just 7.8% of San Francisco’s population in 2000. Even as the number of total arrests drastically fell around 2011, after the downgrading of misdemeanor cannabis possession to an infraction, African American cannabis arrests as a percentage of total arrests hovered around 50%. According to census data, African Americans represented just 6% of San Francisco’s population in 2010.”

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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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