Continuing a trend that’s seeing Colorado cannabis companies consolidate and close operations amid market pressures, a third major Denver cannabis cultivation facility is shutting down after an acquisition.
The latest closure is at Native Roots, a prominent Colorado vertically integrated chain whose retail stores were acquired by equity firm Verdant Capital Partners, which will shut its Denver marijuana cultivation facility and lay off 141 workers, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the state.
Verdant first announced the sale of Native Roots’ retail stores in March. The deal, which saw Verdant acquire 15 Native Roots stores for an undisclosed sum, closed in late July, according to a company press release.
The last day of work for the Native Roots cultivation employees is Oct. 2, according to the WARN notice filed Aug. 4.
Is Colorado cannabis consolidating?
The layoffs came days after Verdant closed the Native Roots deal.
Following a pattern, Verdant kept the retail footprint and closed the cultivation operation. The stores will continue operating under the Native Roots brand, according to an Aug. 4 company news release.
Verdant CEO Julian Michalowski said the company will invest in people, strengthen operations, and expand its product selection.
“Our goal is straightforward – become the retailer customers choose in every market we operate,” Michalowski said in a statement. “That means executing at a high level every day, empowering great teams and creating stores that customers are excited to come back to.”
Now that Verdant has its first retail platform, the company plans to expand by acquiring more marijuana stores in regulated markets, the news release stated.
Why are cannabis grows closing?
Mergers and acquisitions have picked up momentum in cannabis following President Donald Trump’s December 2025 executive order that led to medical marijuana’s reclassification as a Schedule 3 drug.
The economics behind the shutdown are familiar to Colorado operators. Wholesale flower prices have fallen from a COVID-19 pandemic peak of near $1,700 to an average of $574 per pound, according to the most recent figures from the Colorado Department of Revenue.
At those levels, running an in-house grow costs more than buying products on the open market, and vertically integrated companies continue to walk away from cultivation.
Native Roots joins several other Denver-area operators that reached the same conclusion.
In March, Chicago-based PharmaCann exited the Colorado market, closing its Denver cultivation facility and cutting 132 jobs.
That was after PharmaCann agreed to sell its 17 LivWell retail stores, along with intellectual property and inventory to Minneapolis-based Vireo Growth for $49 million in stock.
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Vireo did not buy the grow operations.
In July, The Cannabist Co. moved to close its Denver cultivation and manufacturing site and cut 50 jobs as part of its Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings.
The company filed for federal bankruptcy protections in Delaware in March, facing about $270 million in debt to lenders and the IRS.
