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Ontario Cannabis Store releases first annual report covering legalization

March 5th, 2020The government-owned Ontario Cannabis Store released its first annual report covering the period marijuana was legalized in Canada, roughly 17 months ago, for a fiscal year that started almost two years ago. The report for the April 2018 to March 2019 period was issued almost a full calendar year after the agency’s fiscal year concluded. […]

Investors target distressed cannabis companies for new opportunities

March 5th, 2020Could it be a win-win deal? An increasing number of investors – including mainstream investment banks new to cannabis – have begun seeking out cash-strapped marijuana companies with the aim of pumping money into them to provide a financial lifeline. The investments offer the distressed companies a chance to get back up on their feet. […]

New Michigan rule could increase business for cannabis growers

March 5th, 2020Michigan regulators agreed to phase out medical marijuana caregivers, a move that could generate more business for the state’s licensed cannabis growers and processors. Authorized caregivers who grow cannabis have been the biggest supplier of marijuana products to retailers. Starting Oct. 1, medical cannabis caregivers will be prohibited from selling product to licensed businesses, the Marijuana Regulatory […]

Investing in distressed marijuana businesses: Q&A with Trava Capital’s James Parker, former MedMen CFO

March 5th, 2020James Parker is no stranger to the marijuana industry or distressed-asset investing, and he’s aiming to combine both with a private equity firm he founded in December – California-based Trava Capital. A former chief financial officer at MedMen, Parker made headlines in 2019 by suing the company for breach of contract. Parker began Trava Capital […]

Mexican Senate commissions approve marijuana bill legalizing recreational use

March 4th, 2020Three Senate commissions in Mexico acting together passed legislation on Wednesday to legalize all forms of cannabis, bringing the Latin American county one step closer to launching the world’s largest adult-use program by population. The bill now goes to the full Senate and, once approved there, the lower legislative chamber. The measure might well be […]

Cannabis greenhouse retreat continues as Canopy closes two facilities, sheds 500 jobs

March 4th, 2020Another Canadian cannabis producer is slashing jobs and closing greenhouses in the wake of a years-long expansion drive that resulted in an oversupplied market and underutilized facilities. Canopy Growth, one of the world’s biggest cannabis producers, on Wednesday announced the closure of two British Columbia greenhouses, in Aldergrove and Delta. The closures will result in […]

Massachusetts’ capital city gets new marijuana board

March 4th, 2020With Boston about to see the opening of its first recreational marijuana store, the mayor on Wednesday staffed the city’s new Cannabis Board. Mayor Martin J. Walsh appointed five members to the panel that will issue marijuana business licenses and advise his office on cannabis regulations and policies, The Boston Globe reported. The Cannabis Board […]

Ontario received 450 cannabis store applications on March 2

March 4th, 2020Approximately 450 cannabis stores applications were filed in Ontario on March 2 – the first day Retail Store Authorization (RSA) submissions were accepted under the province’s new open-market process. The strong interest demonstrates pent-up demand for regulated recreational marijuana stores, experts say. Ontario is pivoting to an open-market store-allocation process after relying on two lotteries to […]

Arkansas can resume issuing medical cannabis licenses, judge says

March 4th, 2020A medical marijuana dispensary applicant in Arkansas lost a legal challenge to obtain an MMJ license, which means the state can restart the permitting process. In response to Medicanna’s lawsuit contending regulators had broken Arkansas rules by awarding an MMJ license to a company that had scored lower on its application, a Pulaski County Circuit […]

Maine’s recreational marijuana launch delayed until June

March 3rd, 2020Adult-use cannabis sales in Maine will likely kick off in June, three months later than initially anticipated. Recreational sales were expected to begin in March. But a state revenue forecasting committee telegraphed the delay by changing the date it projects the first sales tax revenue from marijuana to arrive, the Portland Press Herald reported. The process to […]

More than 35,000 in Missouri approved to buy medical cannabis

March 3rd, 2020In a sign of strong demand that bodes well for the nascent medical marijuana market in Missouri, regulators already have approved more than 35,000 patient registrations. Medical cannabis sales won’t begin in Missouri until late summer at the earliest, but 35,532 patients have successfully registered to use MMJ to treat certain qualifying conditions. The number of registered […]

Green Growth Brands returns its focus to marijuana

March 3rd, 2020Ohio-based Green Growth Brands is exiting the CBD market to focus exclusively on running its marijuana operations. Green Growth Brands agreed to sell an 80% stake in its chain of CBD kiosks in malls to The BRN Group of New York for an undisclosed price. Green Growth Brands CEO Peter Horvarth told analysts the company can […]