The 2021 wave of cannabis legalization may pick up another surge of momentum when the Connecticut House of Representatives reconvenes for a special session. Legislators were backed into this last-minute maneuver after House Republicans threatened to filibuster the legalization measure and stomp on its prospects for passage.

“[It’s] very unfortunate that the House GOP chose to stay on the sidelines all session long on this issue and then, at the 11th hour, deny a vote in the regular order. But make no mistake, legal cannabis will become law,” Democratic Rep. Steve Stafstrom, who co-chairs the Joint Judiciary Committee, tweeted earlier this week.

It’s a good reminder, yet again, that legalization efforts are far from a done deal—even in states facing the mounting geographic/political pressure of neighboring cannabis markets. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts: This phalanx of legal cannabis is enough to drive legislative advocacy, but not enough to finish the job on its own. States like Connecticut and many others need willing, engaged participants on both sides of the aisle.

We’ve rounded up some of the major cannabis headlines from the week right here:

As states across the U.S. offer various incentives for residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the cannabis industry has lent its support to the cause. Read more After a series of Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower features on delta-8 THC, Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto now addresses delta-10: “Delta-10 is typically produced more predominantly through extraction or converted from delta-9 through isomerization, he says. Transforming delta-9 to delta-10 (or delta-8) is possible because they have the same chemical compounds, just different structures.” Read more Less than a month after debuting on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Colombia-based cultivator Flora Growth is connecting its cannabis pipeline to Europe through a manufacturing and distribution partnership with Hoshi International. Read more After House Republicans threatened a filibuster, lawmakers are now poised to take up the legislation in a special session to legalize cannabis. Read more Associate Editor Tony Lange reports: “The NFL and its players association will provide $1 million to fund up to five research studies to investigate pain management and the effects of cannabinoids on athletic performance in elite football players.” Read more 

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

NJ.com: “Lawmakers are working to ease the high costs of medical cannabis for New Jerseyans enrolled in financial assistance programs for children, seniors and crime victims.” Read more Marijuana Moment: “Marijuana legalization is set to go into effect in Virginia at the beginning of next month—and now the state is taking a step to educate residents about the rules of the new program.” Read more Fox8: In Ohio, “Huntington’s disease, terminal illness and spasticity were added to the list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions on Wednesday.” Read more Fox13: “After the Wyoming State Legislature declined to advance a bill to legalize medical cannabis this year, advocates are turning to voters with a pair of ballot initiatives for 2022.” Read more Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara County has filed its first public nuisance lawsuits against cannabis businesses—targeting the odor and citing neighbors’ complaints—naming Island View Ranch LLC and Island Breeze Farms LLC as defendants. Read more 

 

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WASHINGTON, June 9, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) joined the steering committee of the Cannabis Freedom Alliance (CFA), a coalition that launched in April to end the prohibition, criminalization and overregulation of cannabis in the United States. The CFA aims to end cannabis prohibition and criminalization in a manner consistent with helping all Americans achieve their full potential and limiting the number of barriers that inhibit innovation and entrepreneurship in a free and open market.

LEAP will be represented on the CFA Steering Committee by retired Lt. Diane M. Goldstein, LEAP executive director. Steering membership includes prominent national advocacy organizations Americans for Prosperity (AFP), Mission Green/The Weldon Project, the Reason Foundation and the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC).

“Supportive law enforcement voices are crucial for advancing cannabis legalization,” Goldstein said. “LEAP is proud to join this committee, continuing our decades-long history of lending our public safety expertise to this important issue.”

CFA co-Coordinator Randal John Meyer said, “Law enforcement is a critical voice in the conversation about ending cannabis prohibition. We are honored to have LEAP join our work at the Cannabis Freedom Alliance to provide that voice and perspective as we pursue second chances, stronger communities and better business for all Americans.”

Brent Gardner, chief government affairs officer at Americans for Prosperity, said “This movement to end the criminalization of cannabis is bringing organizations together from across the ideological spectrum who recognize the status quo has damaged communities and upended hundreds of thousands of lives. We are excited to welcome Law Enforcement Action Partnership into our coalition as we work together to increase community safety through policy reform that is good for both law enforcement and the communities they’re sworn to serve and protect. Together, we can help end a senseless cycle of incarceration for thousands of Americans and ensure law enforcement is focusing on preventing and solving serious crime.”

For more information on the CFA or to join our efforts, please visit cannabisfreedomalliance.org or email us at info@cannabisfreedomalliance.org.

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BOULDER, Colo., June 8, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Surna Inc., operating as SurnaCultivation Technologies, introduced the addition of heat recovery chillers toits EcoChill product portfolio.

“Surnacontinues to add technological options to our product lines to meet the growingdemands of indoor agriculture climates,” said Troy Rippe, Surna CultivationTechnologies vice president of operations and development. “We understand thatone of the biggest challenges for our customers is to be more energy efficientand drive down operational costs. This new product is part of our strategy torespond to that challenge.”

Two multistate operators (MSOs), in an effort to drive downoperational costs, recently installed the EcoChill heat recovery chillers. Thefirst MSO has a 90,000-square-foot facility in Illinois and the other is a40,000-square-foot facility in Ohio.

Becausethey produce both chilled and hot water simultaneously, EcoChill Heat RecoveryChillers can reduce the capacity requirements and energy consumption versustraditional four-pipe chilled water systems. They are also modular, with thecapability of each unit being installed inches apart. For easy maintenance,each unit can be serviced from the front of the unit or removed from the bankof chillers for servicing without disruption to the other units.

TheEcoChill family of chillers also includes small-tonnage chillers designedspecifically for indoor cultivation applications, delivering benefits thatother cooling systems cannot provide. Using a Surna Cultivation Technologieschilled water system with ductless fan coils eliminates ductwork and helpscultivators to seal their environment against outside contaminants.

To learnmore about Surna Cultivation Technologies’ full line of EcoChill chillers,visit www.surna.com.

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By now, many in the industry are aware of the recent craze surrounding delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a natural component of cannabis that has burst into popularity over the past several months.

And it seems as soon as the industry has gained a solid understanding of delta-8, another THC compound has come into the spotlight: delta-10 THC. 

Similar to delta-8, delta-10 is a minor cannabinoid that exists in trace amounts in hemp and cannabis, according to ACS Laboratory, a cannabis, hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) testing laboratory in Florida.

As previously reported by Hemp Grower, delta-8 is said to have a relaxing effect and produces some psychotropic effects that are believed to be less potent than delta-9.

Roger Brown, the president and founder of ACS Laboratory, describes the effects of delta-10 to be the opposite of delta-8, based on his personal experience.

"For myself, I don't utilize or smoke marijuana, but I tried delta-8 and delta-10 products that we tested as an experiment, and for me, delta-10 had no psychoactive effects; it was more like a mood enhancer," he says.

The Connecticut Senate passed legislation on Tuesday to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, but the measure might be at risk as the current legislative session ends Wednesday night. 

The NFL and its players association (NFLPA) will provide $1 million to fund up to five research studies to investigate pain management and the effects of cannabinoids on athletic performance in elite football players.

The league announced the funding opportunity to explore alternatives to opioids on Tuesday as part of its collaborative effort with the NFLPA through their joint Pain Management Committee (PMC) that was established in 2019 to provide players and league medical staffs information on pain management.

According to the league’s announcement, the funding opportunity is intended to facilitate, at minimum, the following three lines of potential inquiry:

The effects of cannabinoids on pain in elite football players (post-surgical and/or in daily pain management);
The effects of non-pharmacologic treatments on pain in elite football players (postsurgical and/or in daily pain management); and
The effects of cannabis or cannabinoids on athletic performance (e.g., psychomotor, reaction time, cardiorespiratory function) in elite football players.

NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills told The Associated Press there are a lot of great ideas and important research that need to be funded.

“This is really not an NFL issue or a sports issue,” Sills said. “This is a societal issue, which is how can we better understand and treat pain and what are the alternatives that may be out there for treatment in addition to opioids which have long been used.”

In 2020, PMC conducted two informational forums on cannabidiol (CBD) to learn about the state of the cannabinoid’s science and manufacturing in North American. And earlier this year, the PMC issued a request of information to identify researchers studying pain management alternatives.

OTTAWA, Ontario, June 8, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – HEXO Corp. is proud to announce a commitment to offsetting the company’s operational carbon emissions and the personal emissions of all 1,200 employees*, making HEXO 100% carbon neutral from September 2021 onward. The company is also committing to offset the plastic used in its pouch packaging through Plastic Bank in partnership with Dymapak, HEXO’s primary packaging supplier. These concrete actions highlight the company’s early steps toward a long-term commitment to leading the cannabis industry on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) action.

“We have always taken our responsibility for sustainability seriously. Now, as we are on the verge of becoming the top Canadian LP by recreational market share and continuing down the path towards top three globally, it’s more important than ever to take meaningful action to protect our planet—and this is just the start,” HEXO CEO and co-founder Sebastien St-Louis said. “We are challenging ourselves and the rest of the industry to do better, so in addition to becoming carbon neutral by offsetting our operational emissions, we feel it is our obligation to offset our employees’ emissions as well.”

Through a partnership with Canadian carbon management solutions company Offsetters, in support of the Great Bear Forest Project, HEXO will be measuring and offsetting the company’s corporate carbon emissions starting with its 2020 calendar year, making HEXO 100% carbon neutral by September 2021, as well as offsetting its employees’ personal emissions. The GreatBear Forest Carbon Project reduces carbon emissions by protecting forests previously designated, sanctioned or approved for commercial logging. Carbon finance supports the local First Nations communities by generating stewardship jobs protecting the Great Bear Rainforest—the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest remaining in the world—and offsets the equivalent of one million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

“On top of their own commitment to carbon neutrality, HEXO has raised the bar by committing to purchase offsets to mitigate their employees’ personal emissions,” said Dawn Hancock, director of client engagement at Offsetters. “This is the first time we’ve seen a company of this size make this kind of commitment and we hope that it helps to spur stronger commitments from other companies.”

In conjunction with HEXO’s primary packaging supplier Dymapak and its partnership with Plastic Bank, the company has offset 63,000 kilograms of plastic in 2021—the equivalent of over 3.15 million plastic bottles. HEXO will continue to counteract the use of all plastic in its packaging. Plastic Bank builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocesses the materials for reintroduction into the global manufacturing supply chain. Collectors receive a premium for the materials they collect to help them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, school tuition and health insurance.

“Ocean plastic is a critical issue with increasing challenges,” Dymapak CEO Ross Kirsh said. “Environmental consciousness has never been more important and we’re proud to partner with Plastic Bank and HEXO to mitigate the impact of child resistant bags and other plastic packaging. It’s our hope that other businesses will turn interest into action by committing to plastic neutrality.”

Less than a month after debuting on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Colombia-based cultivator Flora Growth is connecting its cannabis pipeline to Europe through a manufacturing and distribution partnership with Hoshi International.

Headquartered in Toronto, but with 95% of its operations in Colombia, globally motivated Flora Growth made a 2-million-euro ($2.4 million) strategic investment to become a preferred supplier to Hoshicap Portugal—a subsidy of Toronto-based Hoshi International—the company announced June 7.

Luis Merchan became the CEO of Flora Growth in December as the company worked toward a public listing. 

The investment will provide Flora access to extraction facilities in Malta and Portugal to process its cannabis derivatives from Colombia and distribute them through Hoshi’s channels throughout Europe. The transaction is the first of many steps intended by Flora to launch its seven brands and 300-plus products across the world, President and CEO Luis Merchan told Cannabis Business Times. Flora’s cultivation practices to supply cannabis derivatives also include business divisions in cosmetics, hemp textiles, and food and beverage.

The Portugal license will allow for the cultivation and import of cannabis produced through good agricultural and collection practices (GACP)—guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization for medicinal plants—and also enable the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-certified processing facility to export indoor and outdoor medical cannabis throughout Europe.

In Malta, Hoshi is completing its GMP facility to produce, process and package cannabis products, including oil derivatives, to be distributed throughout the European Union (EU). Hoshi’s Maltese entity received a provisional medical cannabis license covering cultivation, processing and importation/exportation under Malta’s Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Research Purposes Act. 

“Those assets, the cultivation in Portugal as well as the facility in Malta, opened the door to us for completing the supply chain into the European Union,” Merchan said. “That’s very important to us because the market in the European Union is significant. Obviously, the No. 1 economy (in Europe), Germany, is very attractive and clearly is open for the import of cannabis derivatives. And having a partner as Hoshi as a critical partner and preferred distributor for the European Union became a no-brainer.”

As outside players continue to show interest in and support of the cannabis space, Amazon is the most recent actor to flex its voice in a favorable reform statement that could have major implications moving forward.

This past week, we covered news about how the second-largest private employer in the U.S. plans to eliminate drug testing for its workers. Amazon also announced its support of the reintroduced Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill to legalize cannabis at the federal level.

One of the most powerful companies in the U.S.—and the world—Amazon isn’t the only outside actor providing an influential voice. In April, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said his company would “absolutely” consider cannabis delivery when the road is clear to do so.

When some of the most prominent business leaders in the world show an interest in cannabis reform, people take notice, including those who legislate our public policies in Congress. That momentum could be contagious and carry its weight to benefit those who have already invested all of their chips into the industry.

We’ve rounded up some of the major cannabis headlines from the week right here:

“Cannabis industry associations applauded Amazon’s decision to eliminate drug testing for marijuana and the company’s support for the MORE Act,” Senior Editor Zach Mentz writes in his coverage of the company’s policy change. Read more
Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto reports that “cannabis consumption lounges could finally be making their way to Nevada,” after two previous attempts by Las Vegas never became a reality because of “setbacks and political debates from the rival gaming industry.” Read more
National Cannabis Roundtable co-founder Christopher Jensen explains what the trade association is focusing on next “now that the SAFE Banking Act is on its way to the Senate, where there is hope it will finally pass after making its way through the House multiple times,” Editor Michelle Simakis writes in her Q&A feature, which details other challenges holding the industry back. Read more
“Organic living soil allows a plant to easily access which essential nutrients it needs when it needs them,” contributor Allison Troutner writes in her column that includes five tips to maintain a healthy soil for indoor cannabis facilities. Read more
Harborside Inc. announced Tuesday that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Sublimation Inc. (Sublime), an award-winning cannabis manufacturing company in Oakland, Calif., for a total consideration of $43.8 million. Read more

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

The Seattle Times: “As the medical community witnessed the efficacy and heard more from the public about their interest in cannabis-based medicine, more providers became willing to have an open conversation.” Read more
The Spokesman-Review: “The National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health published a joint notice in the National Institutes of Health Guide to establish a standard THC unit [5 milligrams] to be used in research studies funded by these institutions.” Read more
NPR: “Since 1968, U.S. researchers have been allowed to use cannabis from only one domestic source: a facility based at the University of Mississippi, through a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).” Read more
Forbes: “A young boy and his single mother are in the midst of a 1,000-mile walk across the United Kingdom, a journey they are making to raise awareness and funds to provide medicinal cannabis to chronically ill patients.” Read more
The Associated Press: “The leader of the organization that sponsored the voter-approved Mississippi medical marijuana initiative that was recently blocked in court says the program should be changed and improved by the state Legislature—but not by too much.” Read more]]>

After four years of setbacks, cannabis consumption lounges could finally be making their way to Nevada.

As previously reported by Cannabis Dispensary, consumption lounges showed promise as part of a Las Vegas ordinance back in 2017 and again in 2019, but due to setbacks and political debates from the rival gaming industry, the legislation never became a reality.

Now, the measure has a third chance at passing, and this time might be the charm.

Assembly Bill 341 cleared the lower chamber in a 29-12 vote on May 27 and passed the Senate in a 17-12 vote on May 31. The legislation now sits on Gov. Steve Sisolak's desk, awaiting his signature.

The bill would provide the licensing and regulatory framework for cannabis consumption lounges in Nevada, paving the way for an unlimited number of lounges to open across the state.

Assemblyman Steve Yeager, the sponsor of the bill, told 3 News that there would be two models for the consumption lounges once the bill becomes a law (Sisolak is expected to sign the legislation, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.)

Indoor cannabis cultivation facilities in Massachusetts are consuming about 10% of all industrial electricity consumption in the state, according to an estimate from the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project.

The Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project estimates that 10 percent of Massachusetts' industrial electricity is consumed by indoor cannabis cultivation facilities.

The estimate is based on current indoor cultivation lighting standards and the assumption that half of the growing canopy square footage authorized for use is currently in use. Massachusetts' Cannabis Control Commission has authorized more than 1.1 million sq. ft. of indoor cannabis cultivation - compared to 285,000 sq. ft. of outdoor cultivation - according to the commission's licensing data. 

"Since the cannabis sector could triple in size by the time supply and demand level out, the impact is likely to be quite a bit larger," said Sanford Lewis, general counsel for NSCP. "So this means that just as other industries are working hard to curtail their climate impact, energy-intensive indoor cannabis has come along to undermine the Massachusetts goal of reducing greenhouse gasses emitted."

Editors' Note: Information for this article was originally published in Worcester Business Journal. The full story can be read here.

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When the second-largest employer in the U.S. publicly supports cannabis reform, stakeholders take notice. So do the stock markets.

In a statement to U.S. operations employees on Tuesday, Amazon’s Dave Clark, CEO of its Worldwide Consumer business, said the company will be eliminating its drug testing policy for many workers—notably for any positions not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“In the past, like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use,” Clark said. “However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we’ve changed course. We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident.”

Clark went on to say that Amazon supports passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, legislation that aims to legalize cannabis at the federal level while also expunging criminal records and investing in communities most impacted by prohibition. The MORE Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House on May 28.

In the wake of that Amazon statement, Canadian cannabis companies Tilray Inc. and Sundial Growers Inc. embarked on a two-day rally on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

When the market opened Tuesday—the day of the Amazon statement—Sundial’s shares (SNDL) were valued $1.06. Since then, the stock surged more than 38% at its highest point of $1.47 Thursday morning.

Amazon will no longer drug test employees for marijuana and supports the passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2021, the company said in a statement this week.

"We're adjusting our drug testing policy," Amazon says in its statement. "In the past, like many employers, we've disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use. However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we've changed course. We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident."

In addition, Amazon expressed public support for the passage of the MORE Act, which would legalize marijuana at the federal level while also expunging criminal records and investing in communities most impacted by marijuana prohibition.

"We hope that other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law," Amazon says.

Cannabis industry associations applauded Amazon's decision to eliminate drug testing for marijuana and the company's support for the MORE Act.

"As the United States' second-largest private employer, Amazon committing to no longer test those of its 1.3 million employees not regulated by DOT for marijuana - and publicly supporting the MORE Act - is a huge step forward in eliminating one of the main ways the drug war has robbed so many of their livelihoods," says Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Drug testing has never provided an accurate indication of a person's ability to perform their job, and yet this incredibly invasive practice has locked out millions of people who use drugs - both licit and illicit - from the workplace.

MANITOWOC, Wisconsin, June 2, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE – Dramm now offers 50 and 100 gallon FertiCarts with agitation forlarger fertigation needs. For years, Dramm has offered smaller FertiCart Injector Carts in20 gallon and multi-tank versions. Great for outdoor fields or areas where separate injection isrequired. The new FertiCarts are available with battery-operated recirculation agitation tokeep chemicals and fertilizers in solution. The larger FertiCarts are designed for use with the20 and 40 gpm Dosatron injectors and come complete with all plumbing, including a 200mesh filter and check valve to prevent damage from water hammer.

Dramm was founded in 1941 with the creation of the 400AL Water Breaker. This toolwas developed to modify and improve the water that growers used in growing their plants.Today, more than 75 years later, Dramm still focuses on improving the water growers usedaily, whether it is with one of Dramm's wide variety of watering tools, automatic irrigationsystems, chemical application systems, humidity management systems or watertreatment and management systems.

 

 

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If you scoop your fingers through layers of fresh, moist soil and look closely, you may notice the soil moves, crawls and even seems to breathe with life. There are more living organisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are living people on Earth. Microbes, fungi, bacteria and insects are a few of the billions of hungry critters consuming and excreting their way through a living web of life within the soil. 

This is why some indoor cannabis growers are embracing organic living soil methods. Organic living soil allows a plant to easily access which essential nutrients it needs when it needs them. The microorganisms exchange nutrients and microlife with the plants, creating a symbiosis in the soil that will continue perpetually. Growers mimic this natural balance indoors using a base soil and adding amendments and inoculants filled with fungi, bacteria, beneficial insects and other microlife. Healthy, balanced soil will make available all of the nutrients necessary for an eager, hungry hemp seed while keeping pests and disease at bay without the use of harsh pesticides or herbicides.

Take advantage of the below tips at your indoor growing facility so you can ensure your living soil will continue to give back to your cannabis plants day after day, week after week, and season after season.  

Tip 1: Get a Base

The first step to maintaining a healthy living soil according to Chris Teeters, director of cultivation at Harbor Farmz in Michigan, is to have a good base. He’s not just talking about base soil, but also a base of knowledge and experience about growing organically. Take some time to understand the systems of microbes that are responsible for keeping the soil alive and nutrient-dense for your plant, called the soil food web.  

“Learn how to create a good base soil. Read about it, find a recipe that will work for you,” Teeters said. Research is important, as living soil can be a scientific process. But learning through experience is just as important as reading up. “Don’t get too wrapped up in, what I call, ‘analysis paralysis,’” he said. “A lot of people will get stuck on what they’re reading and what’s going on in their head that they forget to just learn through application and observation.”

Base Soil

Base soil is the foundation of your living soil. You can buy premixed recipes of living soil online, but Teeters recommends finding a local compost or soil business where you can see and touch the soil. They will also have a good understanding of soil mixes that will work well in your local environment. Most living soil recipes are a combination of peat, aeration (like pumice) and compost. 

Louisiana medical cannabis patients may soon have access tosmokable cannabis products, as the state legislature passed a bill May 27 toexpand the program’s eligible product list.

 

This move follows the state taking a step toward decriminalizingcannabis and legalizing it for adult use after the House advanced threeadditional cannabis reforms in early May.

RELATED: Several Cannabis Reforms Advance in Louisiana, Including a Decriminalization Bill

Under the current legislation, medical cannabis patients cannotaccess whole-plant flower, and smoking is prohibited; however, patients canvaporize cannabis preparations using a “metered-dose inhaler.” A “meter-doseinhaler” is a device that is typically self-administered by the patient anddelivers a specific amount of medication to the lungs, according to the bill text. 

The new measure would permit physicians to recommend medicalcannabis to patients in raw or crude form (or flower) and limit dispensing ofcertain forms of medical cannabis. It would also establish medical cannabisrules and regulations for the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the bill textstates. The Senate passed the measure, House Bill 391, in a 23 to 14 vote.

OAKLAND,Calif., June 1, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Harborside Inc., a California-focused, verticallyintegrated cannabis enterprise, announced it has signed a definitive agreement toacquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity of Sublimation Inc. ("Sublime"),an award-winning cannabis manufacturing company located in Oakland, Calif., fora total consideration of U.S. $43.8 million. The acquisition is expected toclose, subject to customary closing conditions, in July 2021.

Foundedin 2016, Sublime is best known for its expansive line of high-potency,high-quality and affordable, Fuzzies branded pre-rolls, a leading brand ofpre-rolls in the state of California, as well as vapes and roll-your-own flowerkits. Since 2019 Sublime has delivered a revenue compound annual growthrate (CAGR) of approximately 70%, and ended 2020 with 7.9% California pre-rollmarket share, according to BDS Analytics.Sublime is strategically positioned for continued growth as pre-rolls are thefastest growing cannabis sub-segment within the California market since thebeginning of 2020.

Uponcompletion of the acquisition, Harborside expects to realize significantsynergies by bringing together Sublime’s brands, production capabilities androbust distribution system with the high-quality cannabis grown at the company’sSalinas, Calif. cultivation facility, which is anticipated to result inadditional gross profit and earningsbefore interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) byextending the reach of Sublime, Harborside and Key branded products throughoutthe state. Harborside also expects to bolster Sublime’s marketing capabilities,which is expected to drive higher retail margins for the company as an ownedbrand within its portfolio. Finally, Harborside will seek to license theFuzzies California lifestyle brand in additional legal adult-use markets acrossthe country, particularly those that do not currently have high potency infusedproducts.

“Thisacquisition adds an iconic, award-winning California brand, with an exceptionalproduct offering and consumer following, to our growing brand portfolio,” HarborsideInterim CEO Peter Bilodeau said. “Harborside has been a customer of Sublime formany years, and we know the quality of their products. With the existingproduction capacity and soon to be completed upgrades at our Salinascultivation facility, we are well-positioned to support the continued growth ofthe Sublime brands while expanding the reach of Harborside’s existing brandedproduct portfolio in both the retail and wholesale markets, which we expect toultimately drive increased profitability across our entire business. We’re veryexcited to continue to provide consumers with innovative, high-quality productswhile delivering strong value for our shareholders. The company will issuenew guidance in due course.”

SublimeCEO Ahmer Iqbal said, “Harborside is known for being an innovative pioneerwithin the California cannabis market and has garnered a long-term reputationacross the state for being a leading retailer and producing high-qualityproducts. As a leader among California brands, we are thrilled that Sublimewill join the Harborside owned-brand portfolio, leveraging their production andretail capabilities to further expand the distribution of Sublime productsthroughout California.”

TransactionDetails

We have all read the headlines and press releases touting an acquisition with a fit so seemingly perfect it feels predestined. It may be true in some cases that two businesses just “found” each other. However, it is more likely that a solid acquisition is the result of a calculated process on both sides of the deal. To put it bluntly: Good acquisitions do not materialize out of thin air. 

Do not depend upon your amazing product or service offering, no matter how revolutionary, to reel in the deals alone. Do not believe that your own hype will raise the interest of potential buyers. Do not feel that you will be one of the rare companies that just “finds” its perfect match. If you are pursuing an exit strategy of acquisition, you had better be thinking with an acquisition mindset and planning to make it occur.  

Developing a roadmap to acquisition may seem a little daunting, but the process can actually be fairly simple—if not easy. It can be summed up in four critical steps which, when followed, will dramatically increase your chances of success. These are the signs that say you are serious about being acquired.

Step one: Create a strategy

It might seem like an obvious first step, but you would be surprised by the number of business leaders who do not follow, or even possess, a clear, articulated strategy. I am convinced that without one, any success a company meets is purely by chance. The power of a great idea or an incredible product can only take you so far. You need a North Star to guide you.

But creating a strong strategy that accurately reflects what your business offers and how it can be leveraged for acquisition is not always easy. The temptation to exaggerate strengths and downplay weaknesses can be strong. Your strategy must address what makes your business attractive while honestly acknowledging where it falls short, and how the business can make up for these perceived shortcomings. When developing a strategy that will take you to acquisition, pie-in-the-sky thinking must be tossed aside in place of stone-cold reality. 

Christopher Jensen, cofounder and treasurer of the National Cannabis Roundtable (NCR), says the work the trade association has done on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act is just one example of the behind-the-scenes efforts the industry group does on a regular basis to push cannabis reform.

“It’s not just a trade association that monitors what’s happening on the Hill and reports back to their members. We’re doing a lot of the work,” says Jensen, who is also co-founder and CEO of Mana Supply Co., a medical cannabis company based in Maryland with locations in Missouri and Colorado. “And that was really attractive to me, to be able to sit down and not only spend the time explaining, educating, doing tours, doing things to help legislators understand what the issues were, but I really liked the notion that we were going to be so involved in policy itself.”

Now that the SAFE Banking Act is on its way to the Senate, where there is hope it will finally pass after making its way through the House multiple times, Jensen explains what NCR is focusing on next.

Michelle Simakis: What has been the National Cannabis Roundtable’s (NCR) priority most recently?

Christopher Jensen: We’ve done a lot of work on the SAFE Banking Act over the past couple of years. It’s come out of the House and we’re looking for a place for a place for that bill in the Senate.

[NCR helped] legislators with all the background information, and we got an alliance with the American Bankers Association … getting them all the information they needed to get to the place [the bill] is now, which is a banking bill that with bipartisan support very easily made it out of the House, and we do expect bipartisan support out of the Senate side.

More and more, colleges and universities are jumping into the cannabis space and offering some sort of pathway to a new career. This past week, we covered the news out Syracuse University that Green Flower is helping to power a certification program for students interested in the industry.

It’s a sign of normalization, that key word that means so much.

As the wave of cannabis legalization continues, so too will the number of job opportunities continue to rise. And that translates to more businesses helping to propel the cannabis market to a better, more inclusive arena.

We’ve rounded up some of the major cannabis headlines from the week right here.

Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto reports on how “University College at Syracuse University, the academic college of continuing education and professional studies, has partnered with Green Flower, a cannabis education association, to offer four programs where individuals can receive non-credit certificates in Cannabis Education.” Read more “Founded by co-CEOs Michael Horner and Chris Leonard in 2019, Cannavia is vertically integrated and fully owned by its farmer and producer members. It’s pillared to help smaller farms own their brands, build equity and retain the legacy culture that helped create the cannabis space in the first place,” Associate Editor Tony Lange writes in his feature on Cannavia’s recent work. Read more CULTA, in Maryland, launched its tissue culture program this week. “Plant tissue culture is not a hard process to do, but it takes a lot of knowledge and skill to master,” CULTA Tissue Culture Lab Supervisor Isaac Fisher said. Read more “Rural New Mexico will soon be the home to one of the nation’s largest cannabis manufacturing and research facilities, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Bright Green Corp. announced Monday.” Read more Keef Brands announced that Travis Tharp will be taking over as CEO, so we talked with him about where he sees the beverage market segment going. Read more 

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

Santa Ynez Valley News: “Arguments a community organization has used to challenge Santa Barbara County cannabis cultivation permits suffered a minor blow Tuesday when a Superior Court judge rejected them in a petition for a writ of mandate focused on a Buellton area operation.” Read more GreenState: “Thanks to the legalization of medical marijuana, cannabis-related arrests in Missouri’s state parks have dropped by 60% last year.” Read more Syracuse.com: The recent NY Cannabis Insider Live event featured a number of speakers from New York. “If there was one recurring theme to the entire presentation, it was the importance of the law’s social equity provisions.” Read more WSBT: “Green Stem in Niles, Mich., is aiming to help small businesses by working with them and getting the community involved. It's an initiative to help other businesses and also defeat the stigma surrounding cannabis.” Read more Denver Post: “Workers at two Longmont, Colo., cannabis companies unionized this week, a move the labor organization hopes sets a precedent as the first-ever national union contract for CBD workers.” Read more ]]>