MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
When Calvin Johnson Jr. and Rob Sims retired from the NFL at ages 30 and 31, respectively, they both had their entire lives still ahead of them.
But the bumps and bruises from playing nine years in the NFL still remained.
Johnson retired after the 2015 season as one of the most decorated players in NFL history, twice leading the league in receiving yards (including an NFL record 1,964 yards in 2012) and once leading the league in catches, along with six Pro Bowl appearances in nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson finished his career with 731 catches for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns in 135 career games.
Sims, meanwhile, also played nine years in the NFL, his last five as Johnson’s teammate with the Lions. A former Ohio State standout in college, Sims was a stalwart of consistency in the NFL, playing 80 consecutive games during his time in Detroit.
But where football left off, healing began. Johnson and Sims are both open about their cannabis use during their playing days, but it wasn’t until retirement that they realized cannabis was more than just a coping medicine.
“I feel like [cannabis] helped me get through a couple of challenging things in my career, as well as keep me on the field,” Sims says. “I was able to play 80 straight games [and] use cannabis almost every day—not on game days—just to help relax my body.”
The first full (versus conditional) adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses for social equity applicants have been issued in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued the licenses to cannabis retailers Ivy Hall and Green Rose, both located in Chicago, according to a press release. Ivy Hall, located at N. Damen Ave., is 61% African American owned, and Green Rose, located at North Wells Street, is 15% Latino-owned and 2.5% African American owned.
“In the coming months, Illinois is set to more than double the number of cannabis dispensaries, with every single new license holder being a social equity applicant,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “With equity as our north star, today marks the first step for retail cannabis operations to begin repairing the devastating harm caused by the failed War on Drugs on communities of color. Congratulations to Green Rose and Ivy Hall – and we look forward to welcoming many more social equity-owned dispensaries to our great state.”
“This is but the first two of almost 200 new full dispensary licenses IDFPR anticipates issuing in the coming months, and we’re proud to welcome Green Rose and Ivy Hall to the most equitable cannabis market of any state in the country,” IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. stated. “IDFPR is committed to ensuring a diverse and well-regulated cannabis industry in Illinois, and we look forward to welcoming even more entrepreneurs in the time ahead.”
The federally illegal cannabis industry has long been denied services provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA), but that could change under legislation that U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced this week.
The Fair Access for Cannabis Small Business Act, introduced Nov. 17, would ensure state-legal cannabis businesses can access loans and programs provided by the SBA, which currently excludes all small businesses with direct or indirect products or services that aid the use, growth or enhancement of cannabis from accessing its services.
“The unfair barriers to basic federal support and resources have hurt our state’s legally-operating cannabis small businesses,” Rosen said in a public statement. “This legislation will level the playing field so that cannabis small businesses—including those owned by people of color, women, and veterans—have access to the same federal resources and loans that other legal businesses are entitled to.”
Specifically, the bill would ensure that cannabis businesses have access to SBA’s 7(a) loans, disaster loans, microloans, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, and SBA’s resource partners, which include SCORE, Veterans Business Outreach Centers and Women’s Business Centers.
“For Black and brown communities that have been ravaged by the war on drugs for decades, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as the end of cannabis prohibition comes near,” Khadijah Tribble, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, said in a public statement. “But without access to capital through financing tools like SBA loans, most Black and brown cannabis entrepreneurs won’t get the chance to profit from an industry that was once used to stigmatize them—even in states where the plant has been legalized.
Hemp Innovations Foundation (HIF), a nonprofit sister organization of the National Hemp Association (NHA), has awarded a grant to fund the Hemp Recycles research project.
The goal of the project is to determine the viability and sustainability of using hemp fibers for paper making versus traditional wood paper pulp, and to create “regional hemp fiber and pulp supply chains with local farmers, thereby invigorating the domestic economy from field to sheet,” according to a press release.
Hemp Recycles is conducting the project in partnership with Western Michigan University (WMU) through its Paper Pilot Plant, a large-scale recycling facility.
RELATED: Hemp Pilot Part of USDA Grant to Remediate Soil in Illinois
“This is an exciting and timely investigation into the potential benefits of an alternate fiber source (hemp),” said Lon Pschigoda, WMU’s Paper Pilot Plants director. “We are honored to be the chosen technical partner for this study and very much look forward to the execution of the study as well [as] the sharing of the results. Non-wood pulps are continuing to grow in popularity, but there is still much we can better understand.”
Researchers will test various wood pulps and hemp pulp provided by Hemp Press, a hemp paper company, to determine the number of cycles each can withstand. The research results will provide “scientific data regarding the durability of hemp fiber pulp for paper and the implications of its recyclability on the environment at large,” according to the release.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) is now accepting hemp grower and processor/handler applications and renewals for the 2023 season.
Individuals applying for a cultivation license or renewing their license must apply by March 15, 2023. Processor/handler license renewals must be completed by Dec. 31; however, new processor/handler license applications can be submitted year-round, according to a KDA press release.
The KDA issued 240 cultivation and 93 processor/handler licenses in 2022. The department licensed the 240 growers to cultivate up to 5,530 acres; however, only 70 licensees planted hemp this year—growing a little over 1,300 acres, according to the release.
Kentucky’s declining hemp production numbers this year align with national trends, according to the release.
For example, recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency show there are 21,879 reported acres of hemp planted this year as of Nov. 1. That number is down 38% from 2021 (35,364 acres) and down 85% from 2019 (146,780 acres).
“Regulatory inaction toward cannabinoids by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to hamper the nation’s hemp industry,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Ph.D., said. “As we enter the 10th growing season, we still believe this could one day be a valuable crop for Kentucky farmers, but we also encourage all hemp growers and processors to carefully consider all of the factors in this industry."
The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) released guidance last month limiting the sale of medical cannabis prerolls and liquid concentrates, but Attorney General Aaron Fry said this week that he will not enforce the rules.
Regulators clarified in October that medical cannabis caregivers without a storefront cannot sell prerolls or liquid concentrates, while dispensaries must treat them like tobacco products that can be sold to adults 21 and older.
Former OCP Director Erik Gundersen issued the guidance before leaving his role to launch a cannabis consulting firm. Previously, prerolls and liquid concentrates could be sold to registered medical cannabis patients 18 and older with no such restrictions.
Fry announced Nov. 16 that the existing law is ambiguous, according to the Associated Press, and he said he will not prosecute registered caregivers for selling the products.
Instead, Fry urged the Maine Legislature to provide clarity on the policy when lawmakers reconvene for the 2023 legislative session, AP reported.
A former naval officer with a law background is the next leader of Florida’s medical cannabis regulatory agency.
Gov. Ron DeSantis named Christopher Kimball as the director of the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), the oversight authority within the Florida Department of Health (DOH), the News Service of Florida first reported Nov. 16.
According to his LinkedIn page, Kimball served as a U.S. Navy surface warfare officer from 2001-2008, earned his law school degree in 2008 and served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. for nearly 14 years. He will lead the OMMU team after serving as a policy adviser to Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, News Service of Florida reported.
Kimball succeeds Chris Ferguson, who served as director since 2019 and has transitioned into the role of statewide services administrator for county health systems, according to the news outlet.
Taking over the directorship role, Kimball will oversee a program that includes 22 Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs), 494 dispensaries and 770,041 qualified patients, according to a Nov. 18 weekly update from the OMMU.
Kimball’s appointment comes on the heels of being admitted to the Florida Bar, where he is a member of the Young Lawyers, Government Lawyers and Administrative Law divisions, Florida Politics reported.
Weedmaps named Randa McMinn as the company’s new chief marketing officer.
McMinn joins Weedmaps after previously serving as chief marketing officer for Reali, a real estate and financial technology startup.
In her new role, McMinn will be responsible for leading Weedmaps’ marketing team, including brand and product marketing, global partnerships, corporate communications and public relations, lifestyle and events, and user acquisition. She will also work with the company’s executive team to advance Weedmaps and Weedmaps for Business, a set of compliance software solutions for cannabis brands and retailers.
“Randa brings an immense wealth of experience to Weedmaps, and her leadership will be critical as we work to further enhance our marketplace experience for consumers while also building innovative and critical technology solutions for our retail and brand partners,” said Doug Francis, co-founder and executive chair of Weedmaps. “I am confident that the value Randa will bring to our organization will only propel us forward as the cannabis industry enters a critical phase of growth.”
McMinn joins Weedmaps with more than two decades of marketing leadership experience, according to a press release. She has an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“I could not be more thrilled to join the team at Weedmaps, and I look forward to working in partnership with the executive team as we navigate this still-burgeoning industry and the inevitable change ahead of us,” McMinn said. “Like so many others, I am incredibly encouraged by the shift in perspectives on the utility of cannabis and joining Weedmaps—the market leader and pioneer for access and legalization since 2008—made the decision even easier."
From President Joe Biden’s October announcement on federal cannabis policy reform to voters in Maryland and Missouri approving adult-use legalization in the Nov. 8 election, the industry continues to face rapid change, and it can be difficult to discern the opportunities and obstacles ahead.
So, what’s next for the cannabis industry following the midterm elections?
Election Day Victories
The passage of adult-use cannabis legalization ballot measures in Maryland and Missouri was perhaps the most obvious win for the industry this election cycle.
While both states already have medical cannabis programs in place, officials have plenty of work ahead to draft adult-use regulations and launch a business licensing process.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), which currently oversees the state’s medical cannabis market, released draft rules for the expanded industry Nov. 10—less than 48 hours after voters approved Amendment 3. Officials plan to launch the adult-use market as early as February, and both cannabis programs are now being managed within the department’s Division of Cannabis Regulation.
LEAMINGTON, Ontario, Nov. 18, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Tilray Brands Inc., a leading global cannabis company focused on inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live its very best life, announced that its medical cannabis division, Tilray Medical, has launched Take Back Control, a new platform developed to connect women with free resources on medical cannabis and to help destigmatize the use of medical cannabis in women’s health care practices. The Take Back Control platform connects people with free consultations with health care practitioners focused on women’s health providing expert advice on medical cannabis.
Take Back Control is designed to help women make informed decisions about medical cannabis and assists them along their path to discovering how medical cannabis can play a part in their daily health care practices. Available now in Canada, Take Back Control simplifies the steps to meet with a health care practitioner to help women through their needs and challenges, providing professional guidance to help kick-start their medical cannabis health care journey.
Tilray Medical is the recognized global leader in medical cannabis and is committed to helping people take back control of their health care choices and treatment. Unlike some other alternatives, medical cannabis lets people become an active participant in their health care journey.
For more information on Take Back Control visit www.takebackcontrolnow.ca.
]]>The German government must submit its cannabis legalization plans to the European Commission for approval before formal legislation can be introduced in the Bundestag, or German Parliament, but a senior opposition official has lobbied the European Union executive branch to block legalization efforts.
Klaus Holetschek, the health minister in Bavaria’s conservative-led state government, met the EU’s director-general for migration and home affairs in Brussels Nov. 16, according to the Associated Press. He urged the EU to veto Germany’s legalization proposal, telling EU official Monique Pariat that “the German government’s planned cannabis legalization doesn’t just endanger health, but I am convinced that it also violates European law,” AP reported.
Holetschek argued that two EU agreements force Germany and other member countries to criminalize cannabis, according to the news outlet.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to federally legalize cannabis to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet last month, after the legalization plans leaked to the media the week before.
Results from a Gallup Poll released Nov. 15 reaffirm that more than two-thirds of Americans favor full legalization of cannabis.
For the third straight year, a record-high 68% of U.S. adults support ending the federal prohibition of the plant, Gallup pollsters concluded from a survey conducted Oct. 3-20. The survey included a random sample of 1,009 adults aged 18 and older living in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
When Gallup pollsters first asked Americans in 1969 “Do you think the use of marijuana should be legal, or not?” support was at 12%. It wasn’t until 2013 that a majority of Americans (58%) supported reform—the year after voters in Colorado and Washington passed adult-use cannabis ballot measures.
More recently, support for legalizing cannabis had majorities in 33 of 35 subgroups—with the exception of conservatives (49%) and those who attend church weekly (46%)—according to combined Gallup data from 2018-2022.
“An overwhelming majority of Americans have consistently opposed our failed prohibition of marijuana for years now, and it defies common sense that our elected officials at the federal level have yet to take any meaningful action,” NORML’s Executive Director Erik Altieri said in a public statement. “Voters of every age and in virtually every region of the country agree that marijuana should be legal. It is well past time that Congress finally takes action to reform our nation’s laws to reflect the people’s will and relegate our disastrous prohibition policies to the trash bin of history.”
The Gallup Poll comes at a time when 21 states have legalized adult-use cannabis following Maryland and Missouri voters passing ballot measures earlier this month.
NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. (AWH), a multistate, vertically integrated cannabis operator focused on better living through cannabis, announced that Ascend Fort Lee, located at 461 West St., in New Jersey will begin selling adult-use cannabis beginning Nov. 17.
Strategically situated near New York City in a densely populated area of northern New Jersey, Ascend Fort Lee is the company’s flagship location in the state. Ascend Fort Lee is the company's third dispensary to open for adult-use sales in New Jersey following the Rochelle Park and Montclair locations earlier this year. The location features 45 parking spots and over 4,000 square feet of retail space. Ascend Fort Lee will open for adult use on an appointment-only basis, which can be made at letsascend.com.
As with other Ascend locations that sell both recreational and medical cannabis, medical patients at the Fort Lee location can enjoy special services to accommodate their needs amid heightened customer demand. Patient services include a dedicated medical express lane, direct access to the front entrance, private consultation rooms, designated parking spots and medical cannabis shopping hours.
"We are thrilled to open our doors to a wider audience as we commence adult-use sales at Ascend Fort Lee," said Frank Perullo, interim co-CEO, president, and co-founder of Ascend Wellness Holdings. "Ascend Fort Lee is a uniquely positioned flagship location, only a 9-iron away from the George Washington Bridge, which will greet existing medical patients and incoming recreational consumers with exceptional product and service."
]]>A standalone cannabis bill is heading to the U.S. president’s desk.
That’s right: The U.S. Congress passed the bipartisan Medical Marijuana Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act with the Senate’s voice vote Nov. 16 after the House passed the bill via a 325-95 vote in July.
The Senate passed H.R. 8454 (Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act) by voice vote.
— Senate Periodicals (@SenatePPG) November 16, 2022RELATED: US House Passes Cannabis Research Bill
Pending President Biden’s signature, the legislation will be the first piece of standalone federal cannabis reform enacted since the Controlled Substances Act of 1971 notoriously designated a plant as a Schedule I drug, according to U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who sponsored the research bill with Andy Harris, R-Md., in the lower chamber.
“After working on the issue of cannabis reform for decades, finally the dam is starting to break,” Blumenauer said in a press release Wednesday. “The passage of my Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act in the House and Senate represents a historic breakthrough in addressing the federal government’s failed and misguided prohibition of cannabis.”
“Mr. chairman, just briefly before I answer the congresswoman’s question—words matter—and while I’m on record, I just would like to say to you directly, and your committee members, that putting cannabis and slavery in the same category is patently offensive and flagrant. So, I wanted to state that.” – Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Randall Woodfin
The U.S. House’s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee on Nov. 15 hosted a rare opportunity in the political and cannabis reform realms: a bipartisan congressional hearing calling for an end to federal prohibition.
With subcommittee Chair Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Ranking Member Nancy Mace, R-S.C., working across the aisle for a common cause—to reverse course from a plant’s listing on the Controlled Substances Act for more than half a century—the legislative body welcomed seven expert witnesses to help shed light on the effects of criminalization, incarceration and discrimination, among other consequences of the federal government’s refusal to recognize the medicinal values and recreational purposes of cannabis.
“Descheduling is necessary in order to close the growing and untenable divide between state and federal cannabis laws,” said Paul Armentano, executive director at NORML, one of the witnesses who has worked professionally on cannabis policy reform for nearly 30 years.
Various subcommittee members used their time to ask the witnesses about myriad issues in state-legal markets, such as barriers to entry, why equity provisions are important, why banks are reluctant to take on cannabis clients, how veterans currently get their cannabis, packaging and marketing standards, and so on, and how conflicting federal law has fallen behind.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is currently seeking nominations for an Agriculture Worker member on its 15-person Pesticide Advisory Committee (PAC), which is tasked with advising the department in developing pesticide regulations.
The state’s Pesticide Act and Pesticide Applicators’ Act authorize the State Agricultural Commission to appoint members to the advisory committee, which is currently made up of the following members:
Tina Booton, representing registered public applicatorsJuan Navarro, representing registered public applicatorsRand Merchant, representing pesticide formulatorsLisa Blecker, representing Colorado State University, PSEPDavid Warsh, representing the general publicKent Carlson, representing the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE)Kristina R. Williams, representing the state/national Beekeeper AssociationWilliam Woodhouse, representing commercial applicators, structuralTerry Moreland, representing commercial applicators, agriculturalJennifer Grimes, representing commercial applicators, turf and ornamentalJoyce Marie Van Horn, representing qualified supervisory - registered limited commercial applicatorsDuncan Cameron, representing the general public - urban agriculturalPAC members must serve three-year terms from the date of appointment, according to a news release, and they must attend quarterly meetings and assist the commissioner in the promulgation of rules.
The CDA maintains a list of approved pesticides that can be used on cannabis under the state’s Pesticide Applicators’ Act.
RELATED: How Colorado Maintains Its List of Approved Pesticides for Cannabis Crops
A medical and adult-use cannabis dispensary in Flint, Mich., was shut down by state regulators Nov. 15 for allegedly selling untagged products with unacceptable levels of a banned pesticide, heavy metal, mold and/or bacteria.
Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) officials issued formal complaints and summarily suspended the medical and adult-use licenses for GC Flint LLC, which does business as Green Culture. A “prompt post-suspension hearing” must be held to determine whether the suspensions should remain in effect, according to CRA.
In addition, CRA officials issued a health and safety bulletin Nov. 15 to alert consumers to the allegedly unregulated and contaminated cannabis products sold by Green Culture between Feb. 10 and Sept. 30, including prerolls labeled as “MoonRock blunt” that did not have identifying Metrc (statewide seed-to-sale tracking system) tags.
“This conduct is a risk to public health and safety and is completely unacceptable,” CRA Acting Executive Director Brian Hanna said in a news release. “Today we issued a suspension of their licenses, and it is my intention to pursue revocation of these licenses. Other marijuana licensees should take note—we will not stop investigating until we clear the regulated market of this type of activity.”
The disciplinary action comes after CRA officials received an Aug. 27 complaint alleging Green Culture sold caregiver product that did not have test results or Metrc tagging.
During a Sept. 28 visit, the Green Culture team told CRA investigators that the MoonRock preroll products in question were 100% hemp-extracted CBD containing less than 0.3% THC, according to the CRA release. Investigators also observed packages of flower and “several other” ACF Labs products without Metrc tags on the sales floor during the visit, according to CRA.
Tallahassee, FL – November 16, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Insa, Inc., an independent, Massachusetts-based medical and adult-use cannabis company, has announced its third medical cannabis dispensary in the Florida market. Following the store opening schedule announced in late summer, Insa is adding the new, state of the art, medical dispensary in Tallahassee, Fla.
Committed to offering the broadest selection of crafted, premium cannabis products, Insa is uncompromising about the quality of its products and dedicated to best-in-the-industry staff training. Insa first entered the Florida market with the Tampa location. Shortly after, Clearwater followed and now Tallahassee – all part of the company’s plan to open ten stores in Florida by early 2023. Insa’s newest locations at 640 W Tennessee St. in Tallahassee and 28540 US-19 in Clearwater, welcome Florida medical cannabis patients to further their education about cannabis and help them have better days more often. All locations are open to patients from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
“We are thrilled to announce the openings of our Tallahassee and Clearwater locations; we look forward to continuing to bring the highest quality flower and cannabis products to medical patients in Florida,” said Pete Gallagher, Insa co-founder and CEO. “Our team is intent on leading the cannabis industry by advancing all aspects of the patient experience using cutting-edge science and technology to develop innovative new products. Cannabis has become a competitive industry and we’re determined to compete with any large corporate cannabis producer.”
In celebration of the Tallahassee and Clearwater store openings, both locations will be hosting grand opening events where patients can experience the stores, have an opportunity to learn about the Insa brand, its commitment to the craft and quality of its flower and products, and its focus on customer service. The Tallahassee Grand Opening Event will take place on Friday, Nov.18 and the Clearwater Grand Opening Event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19 – both from 11:00 a.m. – 3 p.m.
"Insa’s unique approach to educating and providing a tailored experience for every customer is what sets us apart from any other dispensary,” said Sara Sullivan, Director of Retail Development & Experience. “Shopping at a dispensary can feel intimidating, no matter the level of cannabis experience. Insa associates take pride in forming relationships with customers and are focused on providing an educational and welcoming in-store experience that is easy for patients to navigate, explore and learn.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed two executive orders Nov. 15: one to allow Kentuckians who meet specific requirements to possess and consume small amounts of legally purchased cannabis to treat qualifying medical conditions and another to regulate the sale of delta-8 THC.
“The executive orders come after Gov. Beshear formed the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee in June to travel the state and listen to Kentuckians’ views on the topic after the state legislature failed to pass legislation earlier this year,” according to a press release.
The committee found that 90% of Kentucky adults support legalizing medical cannabis.
“Our committee met good people all across the commonwealth who are suffering from terrible chronic conditions that are relieved by medical cannabis,” said Kerry Harvey, co-chair of the committee and secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. “This is real-world experience, not conjecture. The Governor’s action will improve the quality of life for these Kentuckians, but more should be done in the coming legislative session.”
Beshear also signed the executive order to help the opioid epidemic within Kentucky.
“For more than two decades, the opioid epidemic has plagued the Commonwealth of Kentucky, wreaking havoc on Kentuckians and their families. The epidemic arose in part from Kentuckians suffering from chronic pain turning to highly addictive opioids, from opioid medications to fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin,” Beshear wrote in the executive order.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida., Nov. 16, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Green Sentry Holdings, LLC., a Florida-based private cannabis operator, announced that it has rebranded three of its retail locations across Florida as Sunburn Cannabis (Sunburn), where it will exclusively offer Sunburn products.
Sunburn is a premium cannabis brand and retail experience authentically grounded in Florida's distinct cannabis culture and brings an unyielding commitment to growing and selling only the highest quality cannabis flower, concentrates, edibles and related products. Starting Nov. 16, the company's first three rebranded locations in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville Beach will offer Sunburn products, including an initial eight new strains of hand-trimmed flower, edible gummies, solventless rosin, broad-spectrum cannabis-derived terpene vapes and pre-rolls. In addition to the initial three stores, the company's Tallahassee location will be opening as Sunburn on Nov. 25, and the Sarasota location is expected to open on or before Dec. 15. Green Sentry's eight additional retail locations are expected to open as Sunburn stores before the end of Q2 2023. Dispensary openings remain subject to the receipt of all required governmental approvals from the Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use.
Sunburn Cannabis was created by the teams that built and sold Bluma Wellness and One Plant Florida. After bringing premium flower and concentrates to Florida in 2018, the team has reunited with Sunburn, and plans to harness its collective experience to continue providing Floridians with the most high-quality premium cannabis. In response to the arrival of significant California operators in the Florida market, Sunburn celebrates Florida's distinct cannabis culture and history.
"I'm thrilled to launch Sunburn and re-introduce my family's passion for, and knowledge of the plant to cannabis patients and consumers in Florida," said Brady Cobb, CEO and founder of Sunburn Cannabis. "Sunburn is a brand for Floridians by Floridians, and we've proven that a Florida-centric company can produce top-tier quality flower and concentrates. Now, we're excited to offer Sunburn's premium products paired with our authentic Sunburn retail experience to consumers across the state at several of Florida's elite retail locations.
"Our team's commitment starts and ends with our farm. During cultivation, we focus on ensuring that each strain we curate brings out the truest expression of each plant. Passion for cannabis and an unrelenting desire to cultivate and dispense the highest quality product runs deep in our team. We embrace all of cannabis' unique history and are committed to honoring and celebrating the plant along with Florida's culture."
To celebrate the launch of Sunburn, grand opening events will be held at Sunburn retail locations across Florida starting Nov. 17 and continue through Nov. 26. The company will also host and facilitate various after-parties:
