Marijuana financier Pelorus lends nearly $17M to Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals

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Marijuana real estate lender Pelorus Equity Group announced debt financing worth nearly $17 million to specialty-drug company Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals.

Royal Emerald will use the capital to buy a new facility in Desert Hot Springs, California, where the company is based.

The 94,000-square-foot building, which formerly housed a Kmart, “will undergo an extensive renovation and remodel … into a high-tech cannabis cultivation and medical research facility,” according to a Pelorus news release issued Tuesday.

California-based Pelorus did not specify the terms of the debt financing, except that it will be nondilutive.

According to the release from Pelorus, Royal Emerald is registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and “working to research and produce federally compliant THC and CBD based medicine for veterans and first responders.”

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The release also noted that Royal Emerald “will be able to ship its medical cannabis products across state lines and into international jurisdictions upon completion of the Desert Hot Springs facility.”

Ordinarily, shipping cannabis products that contain more than 0.3% THC across state lines currently is illegal. Hemp, which is defined in the U.S. as containing 0.3% THC or less, is permitted to be shipped across state lines.

In a statement, Royal Emerald founder and Chair Mark Crozier said the company expects to hold a job fair later this year.