High Rise: Cannabis MSOs, Products & Market Analysis

Happy Pi Day! Speaking of numbers, banking in the cannabis industry is still a total mess. In light of the recent collapse of Silicone Valley Bank, Cy and Emily felt compelled to talk about the ever persistent banking issues that plague the industry, as well as the historic (now 10 years old) Cole Memo.  Headset

If any category has the ability to differentiate and innovate itself more than most others, its Vapor Pens. Give this episode a full stream to hear Cy and Emily’s data backed analysis on this highly adaptive product category. https://www.headset.io/industry-reports/a-look-at-cannabis-vapor-pen-sales-trends#form https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-02-27/vape-ip-center-of-attention-as-bl...

This week on the High Rise, Cy and Emily dive into the topic of pricing trends around the industry at large. MJBizDaily recently published an article that scratches the surface on cannabis sales in California falling in 2022. Our hosts decided it would be a good idea to drill into this story much further and look at the pricing data in each market to find out why dollar sales are falling amid thes...

Twitter has just announced that they will now open up advertising on its platform to cannabis companies. This is huge news for an industry that's been previously prohibited to advertise on mainstream social media channels. Cy and Emily get into all the interesting details and data points around this positive news, as well as kindly critique a Marvel movie or two along the way. Headset

Welcome back to the High Rise! We’ve got another great episode for you as Cy and Emily welcome a very special guest, Kyla Sirni CEO and co-founder of Dispense.  Dispense is an e-commerce software that empowers cannabis dispensaries to list and sell products on their own website, giving owners the ability to utilize their online menus to increase SEO, drive sales, all while creating and owning thei...

Missouri wasted absolutely no time in setting up its legal cannabis program — the state even opened its doors ahead of schedule! Cy and Emily marvel at this refreshing example of how a new adult use market can legislatively get out of its own way and get things done — unlike many other states that shall not be named here.   https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/thc-infused-red-hot-riplet-brownie...

On this episode of the High Rise Cy and Emily talk about Emily's recent winter trip to New York where she had a chance to visit a couple of the new fully legal cannabis shops in NYC. Our hosts also get into the top of interstate commerce from California and how that ties into other markets on the East Coast.  https://twitter.com/mkarnes/status/1620215988519313409 https://www.syracuse.com/mari...

Already at the top of the year we’re seeing 4 new states that will soon take us to 25 total states in the US with legal cannabis programs—almost halfway there! Stream the whole episode as Cy and Emily reveal who’s on the docket for legalization and some interesting insights that only the High Rise can give ya.  Headset

Now you can legally buy recreational cannabis in New York! The first legal sale of recreational weed took place in a dispensary in Manhattan, just meeting the state’s deadline to open a store in 2022. Housing Works Cannabis Co., on Broadway and East 8th Street, and the dispensary’s first customer before the doors were opened to the public at 4:20 p.m. Cy and Emily dig into the all the details behi...

Welcome back to the High Rise! On this episode we wanted to share a Q&A session from a webinar series produced by Trailblazers, a cannabis content community that seeks to advance the industry, unified by a shared ethos and vision of the future. We hope you enjoy hearing from Cy and Emily while they field some great questions around a 2022 recap and some forward looking predictions for 2023  ht...

This week on the High Rise we are very excited to have two great guests join us on the pod. Sara Stewart CEO and Co-founder of Ritual Cannabis Hospitality and Scot Rutledge Partner at Argentum Partners who'll be breaking how cannabis consumption lounges will work in the great state of Nevada.  https://ritualteam.com https://www.instagram.com/mssarastew/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mssarastew/...

As the holiday season has gotten into full swing, we are starting to take notice of cannabis brands rolling out some festive holiday specific products. Cy and Emily are taking this as a great sign that this small but mighty industry is starting to normalize by slowly taking on some proven tactics that many well established CPG companies have done for decades. https://www.kivaconfections.com/flavor...

Joe Biden turns the Medical Marijuana Research Bill into law, changing how American scientists can do research on the plant. This is another very positive step forward in cannabis legislation getting passed at the federal level. While this doesn’t change things instantly overnight for rescheduling or full legalization, Cy and Emily posit that this will be instrumental in speeding up the machinery...

Nevada marijuana regulators announced on Wednesday that they will be holding lotteries at the end of the month to select 20 independent cannabis consumption lounge licensees. The state’s Cannabis Compliance Board anticipates the first lounges to be licensed and able to open during the first half of 2023.  Cy and Emily can barely contain their excitement around all the potential upside, hospitality...

New York issued its first 36 cannabis dispensary licenses on Monday which is great right? Absolutely.  There are a quite a few things around the state’s regulations however that has Cy and Emily wondering how this is all going to play out.  Are we looking at fiasco similar to what happened with California in 2016, or will things be totally fine? Stream this information dense episode of the High Ri...

House Democrats and Republicans have co-published a ‘joint memo’ ahead of a congressional subcommittee meeting on cannabis this Tuesday.  Here at the High Rise Cy and Emily dig into the details of what will be presenting at this meeting and why it’s taking so long to seize the day on cannabis reform ahead of the upcoming lame duck session in congress, the answers will simply amaze you. https://www...

It’s a big week here in the US with the midterm elections wrapping up soon. So it makes sense that Cy and Emily would do a little state-by-state run though of the various cannabis legislation on the docket this election cycle.  For industry veterans that’s seen many a cannabis legislation come through during past election seasons, expectations are definitely tempered. However there are a few state...

Welcome back to another great episode of the High Rise! Today Cy and Emily got to catch up with longtime industry friend Kyle Sherman. Kyle started his cannabis retail platform back in 2015 and continues to innovate on solutions that help cannabis retailers elevate the shopping experience for their customers.  Sit back and go with the flow as we get into the nitty gritty details of basket sizing,...

Zee Germans have signaled that adults will soon be able to purchase and possess up to 30 grams of cannabis for recreational use. Just imagine what future Octoberfests will be like.  It’s still early innings for bringing this program to life, but it looks like the nation has its sights set for 2024. As always Cy and Emily break down the details and explore how things might play out for this burgeon...

A couple recent headlines from Canopy Growth has the industry buzzing lately. Cy and Emily dig into what CGC’s recent move of closing all of their Canadian retail doors could mean to US cannabis markets. Too early to tell, but one thing seems clear, there will be more big moves coming soon in  this fast moving industry!  https://www.canopygrowth.com/investors/news-releases/canopy-growth-us-cannabi...

We are very excited to bring a couple of special guests onto the podcast for you this week. Brian Vicente and Mason Tvert from the powerhouse law firm Vicente Sederberg will be taking all things cannabis reform with Cy and Emily on this episode.     Vicente Sederberg has been at the leading edge of cannabis law and policy since the inception of the regulated cannabis industry. Brian took part in d...

MSO Verano Holdings Corp. terminated previously announced deal to acquire Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. last Friday. The acquisition was valued at $413 million when the deal was first announced last February, what went wrong? Tune in to hear Cy and Emily’s analysis of why M&A in this industry can be a major challenge. https://mjbizdaily.com/goodness-growth-vows-to-take-legal-action-after-vera...

It’s kind of hard to believe, but the High Rise has made it to its 100th episode already! This industry is constantly on the move and always evolving, so it makes sense that our weekly coverage of each news cycle has brought us to this point already.  Because the High Rise has hit this sweet little milestone, Cy and Emily thought it would be pertinent to reflect on how far the industry has come an...

Last Thursday President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of individuals convicted of possessing marijuana, saying the current system “makes no sense” and sending pot stocks soaring on the news. This is a good step forward for criminal justice, but how much does this move the needle for federal decriminalization and legalization? Cy and Emily break this down a little further on this episode of the High...

We are delighted to bring you a special guest to this episode of the High Rise, Suzan Nickelson owner and CEO of Holistic Solutions in New Jersey.  Suzan’s family come from the bloodline of escaped slaves who landed on the shores of Jamaica. The women in her family were herbalists and passed down generational knowledge of working with various herbs for healing and spirituality. Today she is using...