Institutional Cannabis Money Is Starting To Shift
In our latest Trade To Black presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell look at two very different parts of the cannabis industry: where the institutional money is going, and where cannabinoid medicine may be heading next. Matt Hawkins from Entourage Effect Capital returns to the show to discuss what investors are looking at now. Then in segment two, Trade To Black continues its Vantage Standard series presented by Vantage Hemp with Harv Johal, Chief Revenue Officer, and Sean Karl, Program Manager.
Matt Hawkins of Entourage Effect Capital, who has deployed over $200 million in cannabis over his 12 years in the space, joined to share an institutional perspective on the industry. While cautiously optimistic, Hawkins was measured about the timeline for large institutional capital entering the market, arguing that uplisting alone would not be sufficient. He identified the approximately $6 billion in industry debt coming due at year-end as both a significant challenge and a compelling buying opportunity for well-positioned investors, particularly on the distressed side.
On socials, Senator Ted Cruz has been echoing what Michael Bronstein had outlined the day prior — that reversing the federal hemp THC ban before the November 12th deadline faces an extremely difficult path through Congress. We share our thoughts.
In the second segment, Harv Johal, Chief Revenue Officer, and Sean Karl, Program Manager, of Vantage Hemp joined for the show’s weekly Vantage Standard feature, offering a detailed look at what the U.S. can learn from international pharmaceutical-grade CBD frameworks in the EU, Australia, Germany, and Canada.
The pair emphasized that European regulators have already established standardized monographs for both CBD and cannabis flower, a foundation the U.S. still lacks, and warned that many domestic cannabis facilities would face cost-prohibitive retrofits to meet pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing standards. They argued that the emerging Medicare pilot program and eventual pharmacy distribution channels would naturally favor CGMP-certified producers, with major pharmaceutical distributors like McKesson and Cardinal Health seen as likely conduits for getting compliant products to consumers.
Lastly, we discuss new Pew Research data showing 88 percent of Americans support some form of cannabis legalization, with the hosts speculating that the Trump administration would grow increasingly vocal on cannabis reform heading into the midterm election cycle.
