In what observers say is a sign that California’s struggling legal cannabis industry is slouching toward a long-predicted “extinction event,” a major Southern California brand in the middle of ambitious expansion plans was recently sued by its landlord after falling behind on millions of dollars in lease payments.
The tenure of Ascend Wellness Holdings CEO Abner Kurtin has been thrown into question after the chief executive of the multistate marijuana operator was arrested in Florida and charged with battery against his domestic partner.
While business around the world shuttered as COVID-19 spread, the marijuana industry was deemed “essential” in nearly 30 states and stood to gain from the pandemic.
But more than two years later, amid rising inflation and fears of a recession, North American cannabis companies are cutting hundreds of jobs, closing retail outlets and cultivation facilities or shuttering altogether.
California’s cannabis program is entering a new chapter.
In a last-minute push that ended in June, hundreds of California marijuana businesses were issued the final significant batch of provisional licenses the state will ever grant.
Voters will decide whether to legalize commercial sales of adult-use marijuana in as many as five states during the November midterm elections, while medical cannabis could get on the ballot in Nebraska.
A recreational marijuana legalization referendum will be on the ballot in Maryland after state lawmakers voted in April to put the question before voters this fall.
With midterm elections around the corner and the U.S. Congress in a rush to clear up unfinished business, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is growing increasingly frustrated that Senate Democrats continue rejecting the SAFE Banking Act already passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Whether you have a promising start-up, an emerging company or an established enterprise, there will probably come a time when investor funding is on your radar.
So, how do you choose who to go after and who to decline?
Whether you’re new to the cannabis sector or a seasoned veteran, here are some terms everyone in the industry should know.
The nation’s largest marijuana multistate operators collectively could tap into nearly $2 billion worth of debt – should any want to borrow money to expand capacity, make acquisitions or buy back stock.
California’s business tax collector is ramping up enforcement against unlicensed and licensed cannabis companies, which owe the state nearly $200 million in unpaid taxes.
Cannabis companies generally have been raising less money this year versus previous years, but not all industry sectors are coming up short.
Marijuana real estate lenders are bucking the trend.
Registration for MJBizCon 2022 is now open, as the world’s largest cannabis business event prepares to welcome cannabis industry professionals back to the Las Vegas Convention Center on Nov. 15-18.
