Why Tilray Brands may finally enter the US cannabis market

This is part of a regular series of MJBizDaily interviews with major THC industry players. To be considered for an interview, contact editorial@mjbizdaily.com.

Irwin Simon sees the federal rescheduling of medical cannabis as an opportunity to redefine the entire $30 billion industry.

And he’s determined to make sure Tilray Brands is ready.

As CEO of one of the world’s leading medical cannabis companies, but one that’s deliberately steered away from the U.S., Simon envisions a future where cannabis is treated just like any other medicine: prescribed by doctors and tailored to patients’ needs.

How does federal marijuana rescheduling change the game for Tilray?

Tilray currently boasts medical cannabis operations in 20 countries including Canada, where a 7 million-square-foot cultivation facility also supplies that country’s adult-use market. Tilray’s annual medical cannabis sales in Europe are at $100 million and at $50 million in Canada, Simon said.

In the U.S., after a string of major acquisitions, Tilray is the fourth-largest craft beer brewer and the leading branded hemp foods business with Manitoba Harvest.

For Simon, rescheduling isn’t just about finally opening up the U.S. market to his company. It’s about legitimizing cannabis as a vital tool for treating serious medical conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and chemotherapy-induced nausea.

“That’s what’s made me more and more interested in cannabis – there’s enough medical conditions that you’ve got to help people with, and just taking a pill is not the answer,” he said. “There’s enough other things out there to get you high.”

Today, patients visiting a medical marijuana dispensary may describe their symptoms to a staff member and get a general suggestion about what products might work.

But Simon said rescheduling likely will change that.

“What’s important for us is that we have real physicians that can prescribe for the situation or the patient’s need and treat this like a pharmaceutical, not just a general cannabis product,” he said.

Is Tilray finally going to enter the US cannabis market?

The company does not currently operate in the cannabis industry in the U.S. That’s the price of listing on Nasdaq, which to date has been closed to companies that sell cannabis under state license in the U.S.

But rescheduling opens up new market opportunities for Tilray from a medical cannabis perspective.

Tilray Medical is positioned to operate in the U.S. once regulations evolve beyond the April 23 final order reclassifying medical marijuana as medicine.

Simon believes demand for medical cannabis in the U.S. will increase. International companies like Tilray will have to ramp up their supply chains in a big way to keep up.

“If I can supply the U.S. and there’s billions of dollars of sales opportunities, we’re going to need a lot more supply,” Simon said. “From a grow standpoint, we’ll have to build out and add on to some of our facilities.

To that end, Tilray is evaluating every avenue that gives it the opportunity to become a major player in the U.S. market and plans to use lessons learned in Canada and internationally to do it.

What happens in the U.S. doesn’t just stay here — it can set the tone for the whole world. If the U.S. nails its approach to cannabis regulation, other countries are likely to take notice and follow the same path – especially when it comes to medical use.

For Simon, it comes down to making sure people see cannabis as real medicine, not just something for getting high. His goal is to legitimize the industry by focusing on what it can do for patients who need more than just pharmaceutical pills.

By sticking to the medical side and not chasing the recreational market, he believes the industry can truly make a difference in people’s lives.

“If we get it right here, a lot of other countries will say, ‘Look at what the U.S. is doing – we should be doing this,’” Simon said.

Will regulatory delays slow marijuana rescheduling momentum?

Despite the excitement, there are still many unanswered questions.

It remains unclear how companies will be allowed to sell medical cannabis across state lines legally, and that makes it tough to plan the next moves, Simon said.

Other major unanswered questions Simon has include:

• Will a company that’s doing medical cannabis in one state be able to transport its products to other states?
• Will businesses be allowed to run online pharmacies for medical cannabis across the country?
• What kind of approvals will be needed?
• Will major stock exchanges like Nasdaq permit U.S.-based cannabis companies to list?
• What about access to affordable banking services?

Simon acknowledges there are big hurdles ahead, but his main worry is that the U.S. government may take too long to lay out the rules, which could kill the momentum everyone is feeling right now.

“This industry has been dragged out for a long time,” he said. “If this takes another year or two to come to fruition, it’s a big downside.”

Margaret Jackson can be reached at margaret.jackson@mjbizdaily.com.