
New York's adult-use market brimming with opportunity, but it is also showing signs of implosion.
New York's adult-use market brimming with opportunity, but it is also showing signs of implosion.
Just like the old days when cannabis was illegal and Manhattanites got their weed from a guy in a van, Doobie launched a new delivery service that brings products from the licensed Union Square Travel Agency to customers within 60 minutes.
Since there are few licensed operations in the city, many customers may not be near such a store. Doobie also plans to expand into other boroughs.
Shift in tone from OCM has leadership hopeful that enforcement will be stepped up.
The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for March 21, 2023.
New York Cannabis Store Adds Potency Disclaimers to Some Products
One of the five licensed and legal marijuana retailers in New York state just added THC potency disclaimers to a range of its products due to flaws in the current lab testing system, which is supposed to determine cannabis product potency to be displayed on labels for customers to see. Read more here.
Tinley’s Sheds Weight as California Cannabis Beverage Market Tightens
Looking to address growing market challenges, The Tinley Beverage Company Inc. (CSE: TNY) (OTCQB: TNYBF) cut staff and paused some expansion plans while it focuses on its relocation from Long Beach to Blaze Life Holdings’ (BLH) Canoga Park cannabis manufacturing and distribution facility. Read more here.
Another Shareholder Sues Innovative Industrial Over King’s Garden
As the cannabis industry has found itself struggling to compete against unlicensed players, high taxes and falling prices – the ripple effect continues. Late last week, another shareholder filed suit in Maryland against cannabis real estate investment trust Innovative Industrial Properties (IIP) (NYSE: IIPR) for failing to be truthful to investors about its business dealings with Kings Garden. Read more here.
Akerna Wraps Up 2022 With Losses, Exits Cannabis
Former cannabis company Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN) reported its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2022. Akerna is attempting to sell off its cannabis assets and has plans to merge with Gryphon Digital Mining. Read more here.
Posabit Systems Corp.
Ancillary technology company Posabit Systems Corp. (CSE: PBIT, OTC: POSAF) released new financial guidance, and said it expects revenues of $60 million-$63 million for the 2023 fiscal year, with profits in the $15 million-$17 million range. Read more here.
Federal Rescheduling Review
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra this week declined to put a timeline on when his agency would finish an ongoing review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, which could result in federal cannabis legalization. Read more here.
Veritas, Durango Cannabis Recalls
Two recalls were issued this week by Colorado authorities for products made by Veritas Fine Cannabis and Durango Cannabis Co., after testing found potentially unsafe levels of mold. Read more here.
The OCM is revamping its testing protocols.
The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for February 15, 2023.
Twitter Eases up on Cannabis Marketing
Cannabis companies will be able to market their brands and products on Twitter in the U.S., reversing long-standing rules on whether marijuana should be advertised on the platform in the country. U.S. companies also can market their delivery services, labs, growing technology, search engines, and events on at least one platform. Read more here.
Virginia GOP Lawmakers Kill Recreational Cannabis Bill, Again
Republicans in the GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates have again torpedoed a bill that would have launched a recreational cannabis market in the state next year, possibly killing the last chance the existing medical marijuana industry had of starting adult-use sales in the near future. Read more here.
Cannabinoid Drug to Treat Autism Receives Phase 2,3 FDA Trial Funding
Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ZLD) (OTCQB: ZLDAF) received $8.6 million in funding from U.S.-based investment firm Cantheon Capital LLC to conduct phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials for its proprietary and patented protected HOPE-1 product targeting autism spectrum disorder via a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Read more here.
Union Square Travel Agency Dispensary Opens in New York City
UNION SQUARE TRAVEL AGENCY: A CANNABIS STORE, opened on Feb, 13. The store has a robust portfolio of products from New York farmers including premium flower, pre-rolls, edibles, vapes, accessories, and more, many from BIPOC and woman-owned brands. Watch video of the grand opening here.
DEA Rules Synthetic Cannabinoids Not Hemp, Still Banned
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has taken a stance – albeit fairly quietly – that synthetic cannabinoids such as Delta-8-THCO and Delta-9-THCO are still controlled substances and thus illegal, even if they’re derived from hemp. Read more here.
Trulieve Cannabis
Multistate operator Trulieve Cannabis (OTC: TCNNF) donated an additional $5.5 million to efforts to legalize adult-use marijuana in Florida. According to Orlando Weekly, the Tallahassee, Florida-based company has donated a total of $25.5 million so far to the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, which is working to get adult-use legalization on the November 2024 ballot. Read more here.
Pennsylvania Department of Health
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is again suing Spotlight PA in an attempt to keep information about how patients obtain a medical marijuana card secret from the public. This time, the health department does not want to reveal how often individual physicians approve patients for the medical program — information that could help identify outliers who might be bending or breaking the state’s rules. Read more here.
Louisiana
Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said Louisiana residents will see a government clampdown on unregulated THC products that can cause a person to get high. The governor and legislators may also seek to tweak a related law about hemp products during the Louisiana Legislature’s spring session. Read more here.
UNION SQUARE TRAVEL AGENCY: A CANNABIS STORE, opened on February 13. The store has a robust portfolio of products from New York farmers including premium flower, pre-rolls, edibles, vapes, accessories, and more, many from BIPOC and woman-owned brands.
President Arana Hankin-Biggers said, “I’ve spent my career committed to creating economic opportunities for communities of color, and am proud to be involved in the legal cannabis industry which is finding ways for the private sector, public sector and not for profits to collaborate to empower marginalized communities.”
“This is an example of New York State getting it right,” said John McDonald of The Doe Fund. “For three decades, The Doe Fund has lived on the cutting edge of innovation, relentlessly pioneering ways to restore racial, economic and criminal justice to communities disproportionately impacted by systemic failures and inequity. Over 90% of the men we serve are BIPOC and 67% have been incarcerated. Upon their release – without successful reentry programs – they face the same marginalization from the mainstream, the same lack of economic opportunity that led them to resort to crime in the first place. Cannabis licensing; partnerships with nonprofits serving these impacted populations; and, most importantly, the revenue generated by this industry (which will go toward ending intergenerational poverty and enhancing programs like ours) can inspire systemic change and advance racial and economic justice.”
Hankin-Biggers and CEO Paul Yau expect to create 50 new jobs at the UNION SQUARE TRAVEL AGENCY. Hankins-Biggers and Yau also announced it has hired cannabis retail veteran Michael Conway to be their VP of Retail. Conway comes to the company following a successful tenure helping multiple state operator Ascend Wellness in their New Jersey and Massachusetts launch and oversaw the transition from medical to adult use in its NJ locations. Prior to that, he was Director of Retail Operations for Curaleaf NY where he managed the opening of four retail locations that led the NY medical market in sales and service.
Since 1985, The Doe Fund has helped nearly 30,000 individuals break the devastating cycle of poverty, homelessness, and incarceration. Its Ready, Willing & Able program provides paid work, housing, and comprehensive support services to homeless and formerly incarcerated men in New York City. In addition, The Doe Fund operates a portfolio of nearly 900,000 square feet of permanent affordable and supportive housing.
A second New York dispensary is set to open in Manhattan more than two weeks after the state saw its first legal adult-use sale.
The “Union Square Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store,” will be located at the former home of an old Chase bank on the corner of Broadway and East 13th Street, across from the Union Square subway station.
The store plans to open in February, but have a soft opening on Friday at a facility with an entrance at 62 East 13th St. while the main 5,000-square-foot space is being built out.
Of the proceeds, 51% will go to the Doe Fund, which provides housing, career training and counseling to marginalized populations in New York City. Additionally, the store will only sell products cultivated in the state with a focus on women and BIPOC-owned businesses.
The dispensary will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends, seven days a week.
The first legal adult-use dispensary opened Dec. 28 at a former Gap retail store in lower Manhattan near Astor Place. The historic opening marked a long-awaited launch of a state marijuana market that many analysts project could become one of the country’s most promising.
Despite the proliferation of numerous illegal shops throughout the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Dec. 21 that Housing Works, is a minority-controlled nonprofit that focuses on helping those with HIV and AIDS, would be the first of 36 recently licensed dispensaries to begin selling cannabis to the general public. Housing Works has been known for running a small chain of charitable retail outlets.
The state is expected to issue an additional 139 licenses in the coming months for about 900 applicants. The state reserved its first round of retail licenses for applicants with marijuana convictions or their relatives, plus some nonprofit groups.
It also planned a $200 million public-private fund to aid social equity applicants with real estate, though its status and how much progress has been made is not exactly clear. Industry stakeholders told Green Market Report in November that there’s been little news on how much progress has been made by fund managers in actually raising capital or getting state monies deposited, so that actual retail spaces can be leased for social equity cannabis companies.
The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York then missed its Dec. 30 deadline to report to the governor, the legislature and the public on its status and details about the social equity program and its relationship with the firm it selected as a fund manager. A DASNY spokesperson told NY Cannabis Insider last week that the agency “will have the report out soon.”
The New York Office of Cannabis Management, also extended the license application window for marijuana testing labs to March 31, from its originally scheduled closure of New Year’s Eve.
Chris Alexander, the executive director of the OCM, told the Cannabis Control Board at a public meeting in December that adding that the state is still looking for top-notch lab candidates.“That is a cornerstone of the market that we’re building,” he said.
Alexander also said that the state is rolling out more resources to support the legal marijuana market and to suppress the thriving illicit trade, including:
Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.
Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.