Author: Kate Robertson
[ad_1] (This story was edited to add details about the new ownership of a cultivation and retail outlet in Aurora, Colorado.) Sun Theory Holding Co., a Denver-based vertically integrated cannabis operator, acquired five of Terrapin Care Station’s retail locations in Colorado for an undisclosed sum. The sale will allow Boulder, Colorado-based Terrapin Care Station to focus on growing its operations in Pennsylvania, according to a news release. Terrapin headquarters will remain in Boulder, and Sun Theory will now have eight retail locations in the state. “This expansion in Colorado underscores our objective of aligning with businesses that have demonstrated sound business…
[ad_1] Publicly traded marijuana multistate operators exited regulated cannabis markets through late 2023, continuing a pattern fueled by increased capital costs, high taxes and the slow pace of federal reform. New York-based The Cannabist Co., for example, recently exited Missouri and Utah after what CEO David Hart called an “arduous year.” Meanwhile, Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp. wound down its presence in Massachusetts. (This map pinpoints where the large MSOs are operating.) While some companies may have invested too heavily in expansion plans or tried to spread themselves too thin across fragmented markets with different regulations, the industry is also young…
[ad_1] An analysis of smokable hemp products found that 93% of tested samples contain more than 0.3% THC, which is the federal legal limit as outlined in the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill. Researchers at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, analyzed 53 smokable hemp products in the study, which was published in the March edition of the Forensic Chemistry journal. The study was first reported by Marijuana Moment. The products were analyzed for delta-8 THC, delta-9 THC, THCA and total delta-9 THC using liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection and methanol extraction. The number of products…
[ad_1] New Mexico set a monthly record for recreational and medical cannabis sales, selling more than $52 million in products in March. Licensed retailers totaled more than $39 million in adult-use sales and $13 million-plus in medical marijuana transactions through the month, according to data from the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department (NMRLD). The second-largest cannabis sales month in New Mexico was December 2023, when combined transactions reached more than $50 million. Total New Mexico marijuana sales since the adult-use program launched in 2022 surpassed the $1 billion mark earlier this year. The state had 1,050 total retail marijuana…
[ad_1] Iowa will restrict hemp-derived cannabis products and expand its medical marijuana program under a bill headed to the governor’s desk. House File 2605 will double the number of MMJ dispensary licenses available once Gov. Kim Reynolds signs it into law, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch. The bill also: Limits consumable hemp products to 4 milligrams of THC per serving. Limits consumable hemp products to 10 milligrams per package. Requires warning labels on hemp-derived products containing THC. Limits sales to people 21 or older. Creates penalties for possession, sale and manufacturing of hemp. Iowa is among the state governments…
[ad_1] Total delinquent payments by U.S. cannabis operators have exceeded $3.8 billion and could balloon to $4.2 billion in 2024 without some intervention. The problem stems, in part, from poor cash-flow management and the heavy tax burden of Section 280E, according to a report by Oregon-based Whitney Economics. “The pressures created by current macroeconomic factors and regulatory policies have incentivized operators to stop paying their suppliers,” Whitney founder Beau Whitney said in a statement. “This data further affirms the fact that the cannabis industry is struggling. “Unless there is some form of federal and state regulatory intervention, the issues associated…
[ad_1] Marijuana delivery company Smoakland is acquiring Sublime, a fellow California operator that manufactures pre-rolls, vaporizers, extracts and edibles. The acquisition includes Sublime’s employees, its manufacturing facility and license, according to a news release. Both companies are based in Oakland. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but it was an all-cash deal in exchange for 100% equity, Chang Yi, Smoakland’s CEO and chief legal officer, told MJBizDaily via email. “No debt service involved. Not a (leveraged buyout) situation at all,” Yi noted. “Clean purchase.” The acquisition will allow Smoakland to expand its manufacturing and distribution capabilities, according to the release. Smoakland already offers…
[ad_1] Nine of the 48 marijuana social equity licenses issued by Missouri regulators last fall have been revoked because the applicants were deemed ineligible. Eight of the revoked licenses were issued to out-of-state operators and one was a wholesale facility, nonprofit news outlet Missouri Independent reported, citing the state’s Division of Cannabis Regulation. Regulators warned last December that 11 winners of social equity licenses might have been ineligible. One of the companies that lost its license Wednesday, Frankenstein Enemy in Columbia, worked with Michigan-based Canna Zoned MLS in obtaining its permit. Canna Zoned allegedly submitted 104 applications and won two…
[ad_1] Colorado’s marijuana cultivators now have freedom to procure genetics from a wider variety of sources. Senate Bill 23-271 went into effect in January, part of a larger effort to improve conditions for Colorado operators while also protecting public health and safety. Some hope the new opportunities set out by the rules will also help boost sales, which have slumped since the record-breaking sales of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colorado cultivators previously could source new genetics from other licensed cultivators in the state. That meant growers could either breed genetics that were already in the system or take the risk of bringing…
[ad_1] Marijuana industry lender AFC Gamma provided $34 million in debt capital to Florida-based dispensary operator Sunburn Cannabis. The funds are being disbursed to Sunburn Cannabis through High End Holdings and its subsidiary Green Sentry Holdings. West Palm Beach, Florida-headquartered AFC Gamma will hold the $34 million across the two credit facilities, which consist of a first-lien term loan secured by all assets of Sunburn, according to a news release. Sunburn, a vertically integrated operator, will use the funds to refinance debt, provide working capital and expand its cultivation, processing and dispensary presence in Florida “and beyond,” the release noted.…
[ad_1] The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a genetically modified hemp strain without THC or CBD that could help hemp farmers reduce waste. The Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed the strain, called Badger G, according to Benzinga. Badger G was designed to have high levels of the cannabinoid CBG but no CBD or THC, which scientists eliminated through gene-editing technology. The University of Wisconsin said Badger G could eliminate up to 25% of crop waste that occurs when samples have more than the .03% THC limit on hemp. It’s the second genetically modified hemp…
[ad_1] Maryland county governments could have less control on where recreational cannabis stores set up shop if a bill that moved ahead in the state General Assembly is passed into law. House Bill 805 would make it more difficult for county governments to create zoning restrictions for adult-use retailers, according to Chevy Chase, Maryland-based radio station WTOP. Del. C.T. Wilson, the bill’s sponsor, said counties restricting where marijuana shops can operate will lead to unwanted clusters of stores. “The goal is not to cluster them in one area so they feed off each other. It makes zero sense to somehow…