TDR’s Top 7 Cannabis Developments For The Week Of November 20
Welcome to TDR’s review of the Top 7 Cannabis Developments for the week of November 20. Aside from presenting a synopsis of news events, interviews and closing market prices for publicly-listed companies.
7. High Tide Announces Purchases Of Shares By Insiders
High Tide announced that certain officers, directors, and consultants led by the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, in the aggregate, acquired 125,917 common shares in the capital of High Tide on the open market between November 20 and November 21 at an average price of $1.88 per Common Share.
With these purchases, insiders and certain consultants, in the aggregate, now own or control 7,289,391 Common Shares, representing approximately 9.37% of the Company’s issued and outstanding Common Shares as of November 21, 2023.
6. Missouri Marijuana Businesses Have Sold More Than $1 Billion In Cannabis Products In 2023
Missouri marijuana businesses have now sold more than $1 billion worth of medical and adult-use cannabis products so far in 2023, according to new numbers released by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHHS).
Retailers sold about $95.5 million worth of cannabis products to adults in October, plus another $17.6 million in medical marijuana. While both those represent slight declines from the month before, they brought the state’s total amount of marijuana sold in 2023 to more than $1.1 billion.
5. MariMed Closes $58.7 Million Debt Refinancing
MariMed Inc. has closed a $58.7 million secured credit facility with a U.S. chartered bank on November 17, 2023. Highlights:
- A 10-year, $58.7 million Construction to Permanent Commercial Real Estate Mortgage loan
- Interest at a lower fixed rate. After the first five years, the rate will be reset for the remaining 5 years
- Interest only payments for the first 12 months. After the first 12 months, payments will be based on a 20-year amortization schedule
- The loan is secured solely by the Company’s Maryland and Massachusetts operating assets and real estate holdings
- The Company’s other operating assets and key brands such as Betty’s Eddies and Nature’s Heritage are now unencumbered with the payoff of the Chicago Atlantic term loan.
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Chart Of The Week—Full Month Cannabis Sales In Missouri Since Legalization
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Podcast Of The Week—TDR Speaks With The Cannabist CEO Nicholas Vita
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Widely Held MSOs & LP Weekly Performance
| Company | Symbol | Previous Week Close | End Of Week Close | % Change On Week |
| AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF | MSOS | 6.91 | 6.75 | -2.31 |
| Aurora Cannabis | ACB | 0.4623 | 0.4779 | 3.37 |
| Ayr Wellness | AYRWF | 2.15 | 2.09 | -2.79 |
| Canopy Growth | CGC | 0.5495 | 0.5581 | 1.56 |
| Cresco Labs | CRLBF | 1.78 | 1.61 | -9.55 |
| Curaleaf Holdings | CURLF | 3.63 | 3.52 | -3.03 |
| Green Thumb Industries | GTBIF | 9.67 | 10.23 | 5.79 |
| High Tide Inc. | HITI | 1.19 | 1.49 | 25.21 |
| Marimed Inc. | MRMD | 0.3190 | 0.3032 | -4.95 |
| TerrAscend Corp. | TSNDF | 1.575 | 1.586 | 0.69 |
| Tilray Brands | TLRY | 1.83 | 1.80 | -1.63 |
| Trulieve Cannabis | TCNNF | 5.61 | 5.58 | -0.53 |
| Verano Holdings | VRNOF | 4.46 | 4.39 | -1.56 |
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4. Senator Pushes DEA To Act With ‘Great Urgency’ To Reschedule Marijuana
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to act with “great urgency” to reschedule marijuana in line with a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In a letter sent to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram last week, the senator said that while she remains “under the strong conviction that marijuana should be descheduled entirely,” the agency should, “at a minimum,” move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
In the news…
4Front Ventures announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.
Auxly $4 million payment to FSD Pharma, as the former was accused of leaving out important details about a project with the latter.
California residents have until Monday to comment on a proposed ballot measure that would create a statewide right to obtain and use psychedelics for medical, therapeutic and spiritual purposes with the recommendation of a doctor.
Colombian Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, sending it the full chamber for consideration.
Germany: International Forum for Sustainable Cannabis Regulation (IFSCR) will be held at Lübbenau Castle. The focus will be on the international cannabis policy framework and new initiatives for the protection of human rights, alternatives to drug cultivation and health protection.
Hawaii Attorney General’s Office defends marijuana legalization proposal from law enforcement attacks…
Hawaii’s attorney general has released a comprehensive proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis.
HERBL’s demise shows how cannabis companies in California are forced to abide by a more difficult set of rules than other industries.
Indiva Limited announced its financial and operating results for the third fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023.
Japan recently took a major step towards reform, potentially providing a major boom for the country’s CBD industry and opening the door for the establishment of a medical cannabis and industrial hemp industry in the country.
New Hampshire commission set to propose a bill to legalizing marijuana sales through a system of state-controlled stores by the end of this month, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said last week that the reform is “inevitable” and said the state has “an opportunity to do it right.”
New York City’s first drug overdose prevention centers (OPCs) where people can use currently illicit substances in a medically supervised environment have not led to increased crime.
New York Governor has signed legislation that attempts to make it slightly easier for financial institutions to work with state-licensed cannabis clients.
Ohio: State Senate President Matt Huffman says he is coordinating bipartisan efforts to modify Ohio’s recently approved cannabis legalization law before its main provisions take effect on Dec. 7.
Ohio Democratic lawmaker wants to see people who’ve been criminalized over marijuana, as well as those with industry experience, involved in any efforts to amend the state’s voter-approved legalization law, arguing that it shouldn’t be left up to “anti-cannabis” legislators alone to revise the statute.
Red White & Bloom Brands provides an update on matters relating to Aleafia Health Inc.
Representatives of about 10 counties, including the U.S., are meeting in Germany to discuss international marijuana policy issues as the host nation works to enact legalization.
Shiny Health & Wellness announced that Ms. Meris Kott, a current Director has been appointed to the role of interim Chief Executive Officer.
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SLANG Worldwide is putting itself up for sale. The decade-old cannabis company announced that it has retained PGP Capital Advisors, LLC, to assist in a review of its strategic alternatives.
SLANG Worldwide announced details of its planned release of its third quarter 2023 financial results and conference call.
The Cannabist Company Holdings announced its new partnership with Airo Brands, a company focused on proprietary inhalation products.
Tilray Brands annual meeting of stockholders webcast.
U.S. Virgin Islands Governor is asking people with prior marijuana convictions to “proactively” reach out and see if they’re eligible for expungements under the territory’s cannabis legalization law that was enacted early this year.
Vext Science announced that it plans to release its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023, before market open on November 28, 2023.
Wisconsin Governor has granted another round of pardons, including dozens issued for people with prior marijuana convictions.
Wisconsin’s top Senate Democrat is asking the public to put pressure on the state’s GOP-controlled legislature to hold a hearing on a bill to legalize marijuana that she’s sponsoring.
YourWay Cannabis Brands provides notice pursuant to National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations of a change of auditors from Semple, Marchal & Cooper, LLP effective November 16, 2023.
Medical marijuana and opioids are “equally efficacious” at mitigating pain intensity in patients with chronic pain, according to a new study in the Journal of Cannabis Research—but cannabis also provided more “holistic” relief, such as by improving sleep, focus and emotional wellbeing.
The nine-person Finnish team, led by Åbo Akademi University psychology professor Jussi Jylkkä, looked at a sample of 201 chronic pain patients, 40 of whom used medical marijuana and 161 of whom used opioids to treat pain. There was some crossover, with about 45 percent of medical marijuana patients reporting also using opioids for their pain and about 4.3 percent of opioid users having used medical cannabis.
2. More Republican Support Needed To Pass Marijuana Banking, Schumer Says
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he is still wrangling Republican support for a much-awaited marijuana banking reform bill. Schumer has spent significant political capital trying to pass the SAFER Banking Act.
If passed into law, the SAFER Banking Act would bar federal regulators from penalizing financial institutions for offering basic services such as bank accounts, payroll services and credit-card transaction processing to state-legal marijuana businesses.
The bill did receive two Senate hearings this year, including passage during a much-awaited markup hearing in September. But before Schumer calls the bill to a floor vote, he needs support from “10 or 11 Republican” senators, he told Yahoo News.
After nearly three months, multiple public records requests and a lawsuit, the U.S. federal government has still not released an unredacted version of the widely reported letter detailing the U.S. Health and Human Services recommendation to reschedule cannabis.
HHS confirmed in an email Aug. 30 to Cannabis Business Times that it “expeditiously responded to President Biden’s directive to HHS Secretary [Xavier] Becerra and provided its scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] on August 29, 2023.”
