SEC Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Green Market Report

Adam JacksonFebruary 16, 2023

The scheme included a cannabis startup.

Debra BorchardtJanuary 20, 2023

Costello agrees to pay $35 million in restitution.

Video StaffOctober 28, 2022

Green Market Report is launching a new morning newsletter called the Morning Rise. Subscribe to it now if you haven’t already. It will be original content first thing in the morning and not just an aggregation of headlines. So, get ready to wake and partake of the Morning Rise.

This week Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC) surprised the markets with news that it was creating a Canopy Holding company for its U.S. properties. The Canadian company has options to acquire some American cannabis companies like Acreage Holdings and Wana Brands, but those deals weren’t supposed to happen until cannabis was federally legalized. Now it seems Canopy has decided not to wait until that happens. The question though is whether the Nasdaq will allow the company to continue to trade on its exchange. The exchange has been firmly against trading plant-touching cannabis companies and so far it looks as if they aren’t on board with Canopy’s plans.

The SEC has been busy this week with bad actors in the cannabis industry. Cronos Group settled with the SEC for some accounting errors. The company agreed to pay over $1.3 million and the company’s accountant was also fined and barred from serving in that capacity for the next 3 years. NewAge Beverage also found itself in hot water with the SEC for continually making false statements about the company The CEO was ousted and the stock was delisted from the Nasdaq. The SEC also targeted CannAwake for not filing its financial statements.

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE: TPB) announced its third-quarter sales fell by 1.9% to $107.8 million. However, it beat analyst estimates. The company is seeing good growth in ZigZag sales products, but vape products keep sliding.

Verano is being sued by Goodness Growth over the company’s decision to walk away from the planned acquisition. In addition to that, Verano has refinanced its debt and pushed out its maturity dates. The company is also going to lean harder on debt secured by its real estate holdings.

And finally, the state of Florida threw cold water on the plan to combine medical dispensaries with Circle K convenience stores. GTI has recently announced that it had arranged to work with the store chain that is owned by Alimentation Coutard, which already owns 20% of Fire & Flower. GTI said the dispensaries are next door to Circle K, not inside, but regulators don’t seem amused with the thought of gas station grass.

Debra BorchardtOctober 26, 2022

CannAwake just withered away, but the SEC rules haven't.

Debra BorchardtOctober 25, 2022

SEC claims years of misleading statements from the CEO.

Debra BorchardtOctober 25, 2022

Chief Commercial Officers charged with aiding and abetting.

Adam JacksonOctober 5, 2022

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 company received its second round of funds from its recent $10 million financing deal 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.

“We are delighted that our newest institutional investor clearly values the vision and tremendous growth potential that we see for OWP,” said Thomas, OWP’s chairman and CEO. “Furthermore, one of our original investors in OWP has increased his investment enabling us to restructure our debt with much more favorable terms.”

Upon filing an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of its recent common stock purchase agreement and registration rights agreement, an institutional investor made its second fixed-price follow-on equity investment of $150,000.

The fixed-price equity investments were priced at $0.15 per share.

Thomas noted that the second equity investment provides additional capital that will be used to continue to scale company operations in Colombia, enhance industrial sales of hemp products to customers and expand its carbon credits program.

“Of tremendous importance to us has been the faith and enthusiasm this institutional investor has demonstrated, evidenced by their $300,000 investment that is priced approximately 50% higher than our recent share price,” he said.

“Even more supportive long term, they are allowing us control over the timing and amounts of future equity capital, which allows us to take advantage of sudden increases in our stock price.”

OWP is the largest Black-controlled hemp and cannabis producer with offices in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as offices and operations in Bogota and Popayan, Colombia. The company planted its first crop of cannabis in 2018 at its cultivation site in Popayan, Colombia, and began harvesting commercially in the first quarter of 2020.

“What I see in Colombia is the opportunity to become the green capital of carbon capture by working with the indigenous farmers, growers and the Afro-Colombian community,” Thomas said in a May interview with Radio W Colombia, “…because this is a unique opportunity in a unique time where the environment is calling for us to change our behavior. And not only change our behavior, but make sure that we continue to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Great meeting with business partners today in Colombia 🇨🇴 – @IsiahThomas CEO and Chairman, One World Products #colombia #hempisthefuture pic.twitter.com/2PioF8ow8E

— One World Products (@OneWrldProducts) April 27, 2022

Thomas’ international holding company, Isiah International, as well as OWP and the remaining business consortium controls approximately 1.2 million acres of land in Colombia focused on the licensed production of industrial hemp for integration into sustainable, carbon-reducing products.

OWP expects to supply its global clients with industrial and commercial applications for cannabis, hemp, and hemp products — including derivatives in crude oil, distillate, and isolate forms — with industrial-scale production to serve global cannabis and hemp demand. Its products will be produced and tested according to GAP, GMP, and ISO standards.

“I would also like to highlight that I am personally investing an additional $500,000 at $0.15 per share in $100,000 increments over the next five months,” said Thomas. “As an ascendant international hemp and cannabis company focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, we believe that these latest rounds of investment and refinancing position us well to elevate the company to the next level.”

Cover Photo: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

Debra BorchardtOctober 3, 2022