The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved proposed rules for cannabis consumption lounges in a Dec. 2 meeting.

According to the proposed framework, adult-use or medical operators looking to operate a consumption lounge would have to receive approval from its municipality and the CRC. The consumption lounges, limited to individuals aged 21 years and older, could be built indoors or outdoors but must be enclosed.

RELATED: UPDATED: Lotteries on Deck for Nevada’s Cannabis Consumption Lounges

Alcohol and tobacco and food sales would not be permitted onsite; however, consumers could bring in their food or deliver it to the consumption lounge.

The application fee would be $1,000 for all businesses, $1,000 for micro-businesses, and a standard licensing fee for other operators would be $5,000, according to the proposed rules.

According to NJBIZ, CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said in the meeting, “I truly believe that this rule proposal–like everything else we’ve tried to do–adequately balances both equity and safety.”

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec. 6, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Delta 9 Cannabis is pleased to announce the grand opening of its 39th retail store and 17th cannabis store in the Province of Manitoba. Delta 9's newest retail store is in the heart of the busiest shopping district in Dauphin.

"Delta 9 is Manitoba's cannabis store, and we're excited to further expand our retail footprint in rural MB. We will continue to expand our retail portfolio across Canada through organic growth and strategic acquisitions in the coming months," said John Arbuthnot, CEO of Delta 9. "We started 2020 with four retail stores and now have 39 cannabis retail stores across the Canadian Prairies. The company has an aggressive growth strategy to roll additional cannabis retail stores into the Delta 9 retail network over the next year."

Delta 9's welcoming retail cannabis concept, combined with a focus on convenient and high-traffic shopping destinations, has been a successful part of the company's overall vertical integration strategy. Within a 3 km range, the area tenants include Walmart, Shoppers Drug store Canadian Tire, Dollar Tree, and Liquor Mart, along with several restaurants.

The new store is located at 1351 Main St. in Dauphin and is part of a recently built mall. The location offers plenty of free parking spaces and easy access from the street. The new store offers customers a modern shopping décor, highly trained staff, and a wide range of products, including dried cannabis flower, cannabis oil, edibles, drinkables, vape pens, and concentrates. Store hours are 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Delta 9 is pleased to provide online and click-and-collect services for the Dauphin location, like most of our other cannabis stores in Manitoba. With the click of a mouse, customers can browse and sort through a complete inventory of cannabis products and reserve any product. Delta 9's online platform features allow an order to be ready in two hours or less. 

When Jason Sanders first started cultivating cannabis in Mendocino County, California, he thought outdoor, sun-grown cannabis was the industry’s future. But the intervening years triggered a significant shift in his thinking.

“What really caught me by surprise is how the market has gone toward quality, rather than field-grown quantity, and how much the controlled environment dictates quality,” Sanders says.

Now director of cultivation at Austin-based Texas Original, Sanders oversees the medical cannabis company’s controlled-environment cultivation facility and R&D, with an environmental focus that transcends seasons.

“It’s a lot more about the environment every day within the crop’s lifecycle and being able to try to control and optimize that environment in order to create a better quality product,” he says.

Advancing with Controlled Environments

Now approaching four years with Texas Original, Sanders has seen the push for quality drive quantum leaps in indoor and greenhouse environmental controls. “The big thing that’s really changed for us in the industry is data collection. We have a lot more data from control companies now,” he explains.

ROCKLAND, Maine, December 6, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Sweet Dirt, a Maine-based, vertically integrated cannabis company, today announced the opening of a new location at 305 Main Street, Rockland, Maine. The new recreational cannabis store opened its doors at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3.

The Rockland location is the company’s fourth recreational cannabis store and its first store in Knox County. The company’s other adult-use stores can be found in Portland, Waterville, and Bridgton. The 1,800-square-foot Rockland retail store has undergone extensive renovations, transforming the space into a warm and beautiful showroom with nods to Rockland’s coastal surroundings.

Located in the heart of mid-coast Maine, Rockland is the gateway to Penobscot Bay and home to a vibrant downtown featuring unique shopping experiences, cafes, restaurants, and renown art museums and galleries.

“Rockland is quintessential coastal Maine,” says Jim Henry, chief executive officer of Sweet Dirt. “With its vibrant walkable downtown, reputation as an arts mecca, and community known for supporting locally and carefully crafted goods, Rockland has long been a dream destination for locals and visitors – and for Sweet Dirt.”

Sweet Dirt Rockland sits at the entrance to downtown and will feature a carefully curated selection of Maine-grown and Maine-made products including flower, prerolls, edibles, concentrates, hemp, CBD, and ancillary products. Sweet Dirt, known for its own line of products, will also offer its own family of brands highlighting their organically grown cannabis which is certified clean by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).

Sweet Dirt Rockland will be open daily, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., for adults aged 21 and older. Online ordering is available at www.sweetdirt.com.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 6, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, announced the official launch of Khalifa Kush premium medical cannabis products statewide in all Trulieve branded Pennsylvania retail locations starting Dec. 12, 2022. This is an exclusive partnership with multiplatinum selling, GRAMMY and Golden Globe Award-nominated recording artist Wiz Khalifa.

To celebrate the product launch on 12/12, a date designated as "Wiz Khalifa Day" by the Pittsburgh City Council, Khalifa will be on-site at the Trulieve Pittsburgh-Squirrel Hill and Trulieve Washington locations to meet with medical cannabis patients.

Trulieve will also be hosting pop-up events on Dec. 12 from noon to 6 p.m., where customers will have a chance to receive Khalifa Kush branded swag and educational materials at the following dispensaries:

"It's super cool to be able to sell KK legally in Pittsburgh and because they know it's Wiz's, it's going to be bomb, of course it's gonna drive the city and the state crazy," Khalifa said. "Trulieve is the perfect partner for us because of its commitment to providing the highest quality products and best possible patient experiences." 

Khalifa Kush products are also available in Trulieve owned and operated locations in Florida and Arizona and will soon be available in Maryland.

"Trulieve is excited to expand our partnership with the iconic Wiz Khalifa as an exclusive partner to curate and promote his unique product line exclusively in his home state of Pennsylvania," Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said. "As an artist, he has such a strong vision of how he wants to express himself. Together, we've created a line of products that offer best-in-class medical marijuana to Pennsylvania patients and represent the passion and creativity for which Wiz Khalifa is known."

Cannabis cultivators growing under lights in controlled indoor or greenhouse environments traditionally have relied on top lighting to achieve their goals. But as cannabis lighting research has pushed those goals to new heights, interest in alternative lighting options has grown.

More than half of the participants in Cannabis Business Times’ 2022 “State of the Cannabis Lighting Market Report” research, made possible with support from Fluence, plan to investigate lighting options such as side, intercanopy and subcanopy lighting this coming year. So where’s a grower to start?

For insights and answers, we turned to Fluence principal scientist David Hawley, Ph.D., for more on these still-uncommon lighting types. “Very, very few growers are actually doing this at a commercial scale, although quite a few commercial growers are experimenting with these alternatives,” Hawley says. “So far, anecdotally, I’ve heard very promising things.”

Understanding Lighting Differences

When exploring supplemental lighting options, it’s important to understand their differences and intended roles. For starters, Hawley emphasizes that supplemental lighting alternatives are meant to augment top lighting—not replace it.

“Plants have evolved in a world where light is coming from the top, and the most active photosynthetic area of the canopy is the top,” he explains. That makes top lighting your priority across the board. But intercanopy, subcanopy or side lighting can be valuable additions when you understand their purpose.

RIJSWIJK, THE NETHERLANDS, December 1, 2022 - Today, global testing, inspection and certification (TIC) company Kiwa announced the merger with St. Louis-based ASI LLC to the Kiwa Group to strengthen Kiwa’s U.S. footprint significantly in providing Food, Feed & Farm certifications.

ASI, a leading food safety solutions company located in the Midwest region of the U.S., has provided farm-to-fork food safety solutions since the 1940s. Based in St. Louis, America’s epicenter for consumer packaged goods, ASI offers a full suite of safety and quality services to the food and beverage, dietary supplements and, most recently, cannabis industries.

“Kiwa and ASI share similar customer-first business values and follow the same business model when it comes to testing, inspection and certification. By joining the Kiwa family, we’re combining their wide portfolio of accreditations and services (BRC, IFS, FSSC, PrimusGFS, GLOBALG.A.P., Rainforest Alliance, MSC/ASC, Organic/USDA and many others), their global business network and expertise with our client network in farm-to-fork food safety to assist our growing client base in North America even better,” said Charray Williams, CEO of ASI.

“Not only is this merger increasing our notoriety as a historically family-owned operation, it also strengthens ASI being privy to the evolving certification needs of emerging industries. Our accredited CSQ (Cannabis Safety and Quality) standard for the legalized use of cannabis ingredients into (food) products in the US market is an example of us capturing evolving certification needs. We are excited to share these types of cutting-edge insights with the Kiwa team, as well as supporting them globally with our SQF expertise in various countries across the globe, especially in Australia,” said Tyler Williams, CTO of ASI. Tyler Williams will officially succeed Charray Williams as CEO Jan. 1, 2023, and will lead the expansion of Kiwa and ASI in the Food, Feed & Farm sector in North America.

From pre-harvest to retail, ASI offers inspections, accredited certifications, training, consulting, and standards development. Standards covered include various global schemes recognized by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) like SQF (the Safe Quality Food Program), and cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices), cGAP (current Good Agricultural Practices) complimented by custom second-party audits.

Kiwa is investing in ASI’s growth as a new member of the international Kiwa Group, and its global Food, Feed & Farm network. Together, the companies will collaboratively expand their reach and strengthen services both regionally and globally.

A two-day hearing over the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency’s (CRA) decision to suspend a Flint-based cannabis retailer’s license has resulted in a judge upholding the suspension.

As previously reported by Cannabis Business Times, state regulators suspended the medical and adult-use licenses for GC Flint LLC, which does business as Green Culture, Nov. 15 after issuing a health and safety bulletin the same day to alert consumers about allegedly unregulated and contaminated cannabis products sold by the company between Feb. 10 and Sept. 30.

The affected products included prerolls labeled as “Moonrock Blunt” that did not have identifying tags through Metrc, Michigan’s seed-to-sale tracking system.

CRA investigators received a complaint Aug. 27 that claimed Green Culture sold caregiver product that did not have test results or Metrc tagging, and during a Sept. 28 visit, the Green Culture team told CRA investigators that the MoonRock prerolls were 100% hemp-extracted CBD containing less than 0.3% THC.

The following day, investigators conducted an audit of all untested product reported in Metrc to be at Green Culture’s Flint dispensary and allegedly discovered that roughly 58 pounds of caregiver product entered into Metrc could not be located at the facility.

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission revoked a medical cannabis cultivation license last week following a Nov. 3 court ruling, but the state’s Supreme Court weighed in Dec. 1, blocking regulators from acting on the initial court orders.

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission Director Doralee Chandler revoked the license, which was issued to Fort Smith-based River Valley Relief in July 2020, in a procedural action Nov. 28. The move came after Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright ruled Nov. 3 to uphold a claim by 2600 Holdings that regulators granted the license in error.

2600 Holdings filed the lawsuit in January 2021, asking the court to disqualify River Valley Relief based on claims that the license was issued to the company’s owner, Storm Nolan, in error during the state’s second round of cultivation licensing.

The plaintiff alleged that the incorporation in Nolan’s first application was no longer valid and that the proposed cultivation site was too close to Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Center, violating a provision in Arkansas’ medical cannabis law that requires the operations to be at least 3,000 feet away from a school, church or daycare.

While Wright blocked Nolan from participating in the case, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, which houses the Medical Marijuana Commission, filed a 36-page rebuttal. At the Nov. 28 hearing where Chandler revoked River Valley Relief’s license, Nolan and his attorney, Matthew Horan, claimed that there is no evidence to suggest that the juvenile detention facility is operated by a public school.

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) has issued a mandatory recall for cannabis extracts that potentially contain pesticides.

The products were manufactured by OLCC-licensed businesses operating under the names Bobsled and Quantum Alchemy, and the contamination stems from the companies’ failure to follow OLCC and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) regulations for tracking and isolating cannabis products that tested positive for the presence of pesticides, according to an OLCC news release.

The recall impacts 13,600 products that were sold to consumers, as well as 9,300 products that were still on dispensary shelves. The recalled products are concentrates ranging from jars of THC extract and vape cartridges to Rick Simpson Oil, according to the release.

Regulators issued the recall to ensure that dispensaries do not sell—and consumers do not consume—the affected products, as OLCC investigators have been unable to determine whether the potential contamination is isolated or widespread through the product lines.

The OLCC has notified cannabis retailers about the recall and provided instructions on how the affected products must be destroyed or returned to a licensed supplier for proper disposal. Regulators plan to follow up with the licensees in possession of the recalled products to ensure they are removed from the market, isolated from other inventory and ultimately destroyed in accordance with OLCC rules.

DENVER, Dec. 5, 2022 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Schwazze, a vertically integrated, multi-state operating cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico, announces the grand opening of its adult-use dispensary, R.Greenleaf, located in Los Lunas, N.M. The new store, located at 2245 Main Street in Los Lunas, officially opened its doors for business on Dec. 1. Store operating hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The Los Lunas R.Greenleaf store opening continues the deliberate expansion throughout the state of New Mexico and comes on the heels of the store opening just one week ago in Sunland Park which followed two store openings in Ruidoso and Clovis in the last 60 days. This brings R.Greenleaf's total number of New Mexico retail dispensaries to 14. All locations serve the needs of medical patients as well as recreational adult-use consumers.

RELATED: Schwazze Opens an Additional Cannabis Dispensary in New Mexico Located in Sunland Park, Brings Total R. Greenleaf Store Count to 13

"We are thrilled to be opening up the second R.Greenleaf dispensary in New Mexico within one week's time. The team has been incredibly hard at work to make this happen," said Steve Pear, New Mexico Division President for Schwazze. "R.Greenleaf, offering a wide variety of quality products serviced by top-notch, knowledgeable staff, has grown from 10 locations to now 14 in New Mexico since Schwazze purchased the retail banner earlier this year."

A grand opening celebration of Los Lunas R.Greenleaf will be held on Saturday, Dec. 17, beginning at 10 a.m. and running until 3 p.m. Swag bags will be available to the first 50 shoppers featuring a tote bag, branded rolling papers and other R.Greenleaf gear. DJ Sonya G will be on site during the event to provide tunes for all in attendance, and Ribs Hickory Pit BBQ will provide free pulled pork sandwiches for the first 50 customers making a purchase.

R.Greenleaf Los Lunas will also offer introductory pricing on flower, edibles, and vapes beginning on the 17th and continuing through Dec. 24. Enrollment in the Gratify Rewards loyalty program is already open. Gratify Rewards members that make a purchase of any amount on Dec. 17 will automatically be entered to win a $100 R.Greenleaf gift card. 

TEMPE, ARIZ. and BOULDER, COLO. (December 2, 2022) – Connoisseur cannabis cultivation and extraction brand Green Dot Labs has announced a planned expansion into Arizona. Marking the premium brand’s first foray into a cannabis market outside of Colorado, the expansion will bring Green Dot Labs’ brand and operating platform–designed to exceed the highest standards for safety, responsibility and quality–to the state.

Known for its extensive library of proprietary strains, unrivaled flower and concentrates that offer a true reflection of the plant’s vivid flavors and effects, Green Dot Labs is the first and longest-running regulated cannabis brand focused on cultivating for concentrates and has inspired a devoted following among marijuana aficionados.

Established in 2014, Green Dot Labs was founded in Colorado and is the longest-running concentrates brand in the state’s legal, regulated cannabis industry. Commanding the No. 1 position in Colorado in the Concentrates category according to BDSA–a prime status among the country’s most discerning cannabis consumers–Green Dot Labs also holds the top position in Colorado for Live Resin and Live Resin Vape and leads the premium state’s premium cannabis segment.

“We are building a first of its kind, fourth generation cultivation and extraction platform armed with cutting edge technology and distinct operational advantages in Arizona,” said Green Dot Labs co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Dave Malone. “Our platform is driven by the unrivaled IP that we have developed over the last decade, allowing us to deliver the consistent, high-quality products that define the Green Dot Labs experience.”

First rising in prominence for its Live Resin products showcasing the plant’s distinctive exotic terpenes and flavors, Green Dot Labs recently launched its top-shelf flower line, respected for its meticulous cultivation processes to maximize terpene and cannabinoid content.

PRESS RELEASE - Helius Therapeutics has received Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP) certification at its purpose-built medicinal cannabis facility in East Tamaki, Auckland.

Recognized globally, GACP is a leading certification standard for medicinal cannabis. It outlines minimum requirements for growers in creating high quality, consistent flower.

“Achieving GACP is another key milestone for the Helius team in our journey to full site certification. GACP is a well-recognized requirement for medicinal cannabis in many countries. Gaining this certification will only open more doors as we now unleash our export strategy,” says Carmen Doran, chief executive of Helius Therapeutics. 

October was a month of audits for Helius. Notification of New Zealand’s largest medicinal cannabis company gaining GACP is the first in a series of announcements.

“This certification reinforces that Helius is a medicines company first and foremost. We are unleashing the power of cannabis to improve lives. Our research team’s primary focus is to unlock the global potential of medical-grade cannabis therapeutics, developed from New Zealand,” she says.

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 5, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Planet 13 Holdings Inc., a leading vertically integrated multistate cannabis company, announced that its subsidiary MM Development Company Inc. has received approval for a Nevada consumption lounge from the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board. The Planet 13 Entertainment Complex will be the first-of-its-kind space where consumers can watch products being made, purchase and consume all under one roof. This luxurious, tourist-friendly lounge, close to the Las Vegas Strip, is expected to elevate the already incredible Planet 13 experience.

RELATED: Lotteries on Deck for Nevada’s Cannabis Consumption Lounges

"We are thrilled to be moving forward with our plan to bring a world-class cannabis consumption lounge next to the Las Vegas Strip," said Larry Scheffler, co-CEO of Planet 13. "Planet 13 has always been about offering new and one-of-a-kind immersive experiences for customers. We look forward to once again pushing the envelope and expanding people's minds about what cannabis can be."

For more information on Planet 13, visit the investor website.

International cannabis-infused edibles company Wana Brands’ mission is “to enhance people's lives through the power of cannabis.”

Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Wana Brands, says the company is living up to its mission even further through its recently developed $50-million charitable organization, Wana Brands Foundation (WBF).

WBF focuses its funding on initiatives such as research, education, food security, shelter, safety, mental health, sustainability, connection and social justice, Cannabis Business Times previously reported.

In October 2021, Canadian LP Canopy Growth Corporation announced its plan to acquire Wana Brands for $297.5 million in cash, and money from that deal was used to fund WBF, Whiteman says.

RELATED: Wana Brands, Six Months After the Canopy Deal: Q&A With Nancy Whiteman

"I really wanted to take a big chunk of that [money from the deal] and put it into something that allowed me to, first of all, give back to the industry, but give back to the world," Whiteman says.

Legislation to prepare for federal cannabis legalization now has a foothold in the U.S. Senate.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., formally filed the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment (PREPARE) Act on Dec. 1 in the upper chamber. The bill directs the U.S. attorney general to develop a regulatory framework for when the federal government legalizes cannabis.

The bill is a Senate companion to an identical House version Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Brian Mast, R-Fla., filed in April. 

RELATED: Trio of U.S. Representatives Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Prepare for Federal Cannabis Legalization

“A decade after Colorado pioneered marijuana legalization, Americans overwhelmingly support the same at the federal level,” Hickenlooper said in a press release. “This bipartisan, bicameral framework, based on Colorado’s Amendment 64 Task Force, will replicate our success nationally.”

While Colorado was a guinea pig for adult-use cannabis legalization, with voter approval of Amendment 64 in November 2012 and the state’s subsequent January 2014 launch of commercial sales, lessons learned have served as a benchmark for legislators and regulators who have implemented adult-use reform measures in those footsteps.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Brian Hanna has been promoted as executive director of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA)

Hanna previously served as acting executive director for the CRA since September, and spent five years managing field operations, inspections and investigations, according to a press release.

“In my previous experience with the agency, I developed a deep appreciation for what makes the Michigan cannabis industry and CRA so special,” Hanna said. “I am excited to serve the residents of Michigan in this role and am honored to work with Governor Whitmer during her next term. My commitment to the CRA, and its many stakeholders, is to stay laser-focused on establishing Michigan as the national model for cannabis regulations. I am lucky to lead such a fine team that works very hard to serve this legitimate industry and its consumers.”

Hanna also previously served as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and worked as a criminal intelligence manager and analyst with Michigan State Police and as a deputy sheriff in Kalamazoo County, according to the release.

Shelly Edgerton, board chair of the Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers Association, said Hanna is the “right choice” for the role.

“His expertise in law enforcement, military background, and entrepreneurial spirit will serve the agency well as it looks to meet new goals in the future,” Edgerton said. “We are excited to see all he will accomplish.”

The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) adopted a bevy of new rules for the state industry, most which became effective Dec. 1. (See below for a full list.) Two specific rules—granting the ability to redesignate medical cannabis for adult use and requiring use-by dates and storage conditions—won’t be implemented until 2023 and 2024.

While enacted legislation led to the rules, the formal adoption comes after a summer and fall of “extensive” stakeholder engagement led by the division, which operates under the state’s Department of Revenue.

“As in previous years, the MED tackled significant topics during this year’s rulemaking session. While much of the MED's rulemaking is legislatively driven, we appreciate how the MED’s rulemaking design provides opportunities to hear from and collaborate with our diverse set of stakeholders,” MED Senior Director Dominique Mendiola said in a news release. “The significant contributions of our team and members of the public have been critical to informing both regulatory updates and improvements to existing rules and processes.”

Under the adopted redesignation rule, which will be implemented Jan. 1, 2023, a medical cannabis cultivation facility may transfer medical cannabis to an adult-use cannabis cultivation facility or accelerator cultivator in order to change the product’s designation from medical cannabis or adult-use cannabis. The rule was directed from Senate Bill 22-178, which clarifies that the adult-use cultivation facility is required to pay any retail cannabis excise tax on that transferred cannabis.

That rule comes on the heels of 2021 legislation allowing a licensee to change the designation of adult-use cannabis to medical cannabis under certain circumstances.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, meanwhile, all regulated cannabis products in Colorado must be labeled with a use-by date and storage conditions before selling to a patient or adult who is 21 or older.

Cannabis Business Times regularly interviews cannabis cultivators to learn more about how they manage their growing operations, including top tips for success, tools and technologies they couldn’t live without, and how they deal with perennial challenges like burnout. In this installment, Joe Gibson, head grower at Gibby's Garden, details how he took his skills from home growing to a professional level. Read more about Gibby's Garden in CBT's December issue.

Name: Joe Gibson

Company: Gibby's Garden

Location: Uxbridge, Mass.

Title: Head Grower

TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – TerrAscend Corp., a leading North American cannabis operator, announced the appointment of Ira Duarte to its board of directors, effective immediately. In addition, Duarte will serve as the chair of the Audit Committee of the board.

Duarte is an accomplished senior finance professional with more than 25 years of experience in a variety of finance, accounting and auditing leadership roles. She currently serves as chief financial officer of Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the global development and commercialization of medications utilized by organ transplant patients.

Prior to joining Veloxis, Duarte served as senior director of corporate finance for Chiesi USA Inc. and director of accounting and financial planning for Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., where she was a core member of the team that guided the sale of Cornerstone to Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. Duarte previously held various roles from staff to senior manager at Ernst & Young Global Limited, where she was responsible for managing audits, Securities Exchange Commission filings, and initial public offerings services for clients. A certified public accountant, Duarte holds a bachelor’s in accounting from Florida Atlantic University.

"I'm delighted to be joining TerrAscend's board of directors at this exciting moment in the company's evolution," Duarte said. "The TerrAscend team has quickly established a reputation as a leading operator with strong growth potential. I look forward to supporting the Audit Committee on the financial reporting process and helping TerrAscend execute against its business strategy."

Jason Wild, executive chairman of TerrAscend, added, "We are thrilled to add Ira to TerrAscend's board and look forward to leveraging her extensive corporate finance experience as we continue to execute on our financially disciplined growth strategy."