The Talking Hedge

CannaVerde Pharma's CEO Michael Nistorescu, is a strategic executive experienced in global corporate strategy and an advanced knowledge of business and financial risk as a chartered financial analyst. The directors and executives at CannaVerde have built a business plan focused on delivering cannabis-based extracts and products in Colombia and the international marketplace. Through its wholly-owne...

Virginia became the first state in the South to legalize adult-use cannabis. Last week, the governor proposed amendments to the legislation to allow the personal use provisions of the law to take effect on July 1st, 2021, instead of January 1, 2024, which was originally passed by lawmakers. This means that, starting July 1st, adult residents of Virginia can legally own up to one ounce of cannabis...

The Benzinga Cannabis Hour is a weekly online show bringing together top executives, entrepreneurs, and experts in the cannabis industry. This one-hour show is streamed live every Thursday at 4:00 PM (EDT), tune in at BZCannabisHour.com. Cannabis Hour is also published on most major podcasting platforms, including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and more. Show Notes: Benzinga Cann...

This year's $600 million is the 2nd highest total capital raised since Viridian began tracking the cannabis industry in 2015. The average transaction size has also accelerated to near record levels and is the proximate cause for the upswing in total capital raises. The number of capital raise transactions, although rising slightly from the doldrums of 2020, has actually been trending downward sinc...

California's 28% YOY sales growth equates to over $413.7MM in total monthly sales, trending towards a record half-trillion dollar year. Nevada saw a much needed 46% jump in year-over-year sales growth, more than double the previous month. Illinois' market may be normalizing with "only" 85% YOY sales growth, down from 343% in February. Total sales in the Windy City are still strong at $110MM last m...

A Chicago-based marijuana cultivator and dispenser that has rapidly grown into one of the nation’s biggest pot firms is under federal investigation for possible pay-to-play violations during its push for coveted state licenses, sources said. Investigators have been scrutinizing campaign donations and other steps Green Thumb Industries took as it sought to secure growing and distribution licenses i...

The 2018 farm bill legalized the production of hemp as an agricultural commodity and removed it from the list of controlled substances. In October 2019, USDA released its IFR for establishing a domestic hemp production program. This week, the USDA published the final version of the rule clarifying regulations for the production of hemp in the US. Key provisions of the final rule include: *Negligen...

New Mexico legalizes recreational marijuana, joining a national movement to rethink antidrug laws that are increasingly seen as impediments to racial justice and the economy. Under the New Mexico law, residents can have up to 2 ounces and 6 plants at home, or up to 12 per household. Sales would begin no later than April 2022 and be taxed at 12%, eventually rising to 18%, plus gross receipts taxes....

New York became the 17th state to regulate cannabis, paving the way for a potential $4.20 BILLION industry, creating jobs and becoming one of the largest markets in the country. The deal would allow for delivery and lounges or “consumption sites,” as well as allow cultivate of up to six marijuana plants for home grow. The deal was crafted with an attempt on making amends in communities impacted by...

Since 2015 we've been hearing something along the lines of "beverages are about to take off." Yet over the last five years the beverage market share has maintained about 1% of total recreational cannabis sales, growing at roughly the same pace as the total market. There have been different trends increasing in the US and Canada that indicate future growth. In Canada, for example, infused beverages...

2021 has seen a record amount of capital raised by cannabis companies, with cash funding an acceleration of M&A activity. US companies have been the targets of 41 of the 56 closed transactions tracked in the first quarter of 2021. The US is expected to continue to be the dominant target for M&A activity given its far greater growth potential and profitability, however, Europe could see increased f...

The fiercely anti-marijuana South Dakota Republican governor attempted to delay the state’s MMJ program, now is trying to add restrictions to the voter-approved law. New Mexico's governor, however, is calling for a special legislative session to try and legalize cannabis. So where in America is cannabis still entirely illegal? Fewer than 7M Americans live in places without some degree of cannabis...

#consolidation #capitulation The smaller, less-covered MSOs have outperformed their larger counterparts by approximately 9%, however the gap has been as wide as 22%. Smaller MSOs are more volatile, generally rising faster in up markets and declining faster when pricing weakens, which is consistent with the markets for these stocks being less liquid. Investors focusing on lesser known but still sol...

Green Health Colombia is a company from Colombia dedicated to sustainable agriculture and to promote research for the development of new products. Their goal is to structure and develop a high-performance, low cost company for the extraction of cannabis oil and the manufacture of innovate cannabis-based products, taking advantage of Colombia’s regulation and our team knowledge in developing and ma...

Dozens of White House staffers have been suspended, relocated, or asked to resign over past cannabis use. Staffers were initially told the administration would likely overlook past marijuana use, only to later be asked for their resignation after they revealed past marijuana use in an official document they filled out as part of the lengthy background check for a position in the Biden White House....

North American legal sales of cannabis are estimated to reach US$39.1 billion by 2025, with adult-use cannabis sales reflecting a growth rate of 144% between 2020 and 2025. The projected is primarily fueled by the introduction of US states legalizing adult-use cannabis sales, product innovation in the Cannabis 2.0 segment and the increase of North American cannabis consumption. Prohibition Partner...

Nic Easley is the CEO and founder of 3C, providing strategic and tactical consulting to cultivation, manufacturing, retail, delivery, distribution, and other ancillary commercial cannabis operations. Nic and 3C also own cannabis operations throughout the world including the US and Denmark.   Nic is also the CEO and Managing Partner for Multiverse Capital. Multiverse is a broad-based set of cannabi...

While everyone will have an opinion on what will or will not happen in the future regarding smoking weed, as opposed to eating it, vaping it, drinking it, or putting it under our tongues, the Cannabis 2.0 consumer is speaking loud and clear about how they plan on smoking weed in the future. Two data points are starting to emerge about the future of smoking marijuana, the consumer does not want the...

Pre-rolls have become the second-fastest-growing product category, with pre-roll sales increasing by 47% from $640M in 2019 to $941M in 2020. In 2020, pre-rolls had a 10% category market share by total sales, up from 9.5% in 2019, according to Headset. Why have they performed so well?: 1) A good way for consumers to experiment with flower strains 2) Smaller joints are gaining popularity 3) Easy to...

Grassroots grows, processes and sells medical cannabis products through its vertically integrated business model in Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Dakota. Curaleaf acquired Grassroots in July 2020, creating the world’s largest cannabis company with a market presence across 23 states and over 135 dispensaries. “Both Grassroots and Curaleaf are driven by a similar, positive...

California is still leading the pack with $400.5MM in total monthly sales and a 37% YOY growth compared to Michigan at 154%. 6.1MM of CA customer's purchased on average $65.57 of cannabis per visit versus 1.1MM transactions in Illinois averaging $108.54 per customer. Brand concentration was the most competitive In Washington State at 22%, were Smokey Point Productions (SPP) introduced Regular - Ca...

Based in Denver, CO the American Cannabis Company was founded to meet the needs of the rapidly developing regulated cannabis industry. Their cannabis industry specific advisory and consulting services are built to meet the needs of companies entering or currently operating in the regulated cannabis markets. They provide end-to-end consulting and product solutions for MMJ, adult use and low-THC reg...

$4.3 billion of total capital was raised in 2020 with election producing the turnaround spark. Newly legalized states created capital needs to stand up grows and roll out dispensaries, and most importantly, the Senate flip provided the first real hope for federal legalization. The cannabis capital markets have responded vigorously. The $2.8B raised in the first 9 weeks of 2021 is 36% higher than t...

Caution~ do not watch this podcast. It may cause you to want to try this product, which we can safely say is THE worst cannabis product we've ever reviewed! Once a month the Chronic Club meets up to review a cannabis product sold somewhere in Washington State. Join The Talking Hedge, Aging Ent, and Cannabis Legalization News as we judge Zkittles purchased at Craft Cannabis in Vancouver, WA. Last t...

#PSA Federal prosecutors charged former Eaze CEO, who allegedly duped banks into processing $100 million in credit card-based cannabis sales. In 2019, Eaze was sued by another in-state delivery brand, Herban Industries, over claims that Eaze gained a market advantage using routed transactions and shell companies in Europe for credit payments. The case was eventually dismissed, but now it's the Fed...