Three years after the launch of California’s legal marijuana market, cannabis tax experts warn the industry should expect state regulators to ramp up tax enforcement, noting that several audits of MJ businesses are already underway. As a result, …
Featured Marijuana Business & Cannabis Industry News
Aphria-Tilray cannabis merger talks overcame pandemic pause, rival bidder and other hurdles, proxy reveals
On-again, off-again merger talks between rival cannabis producers Tilray and Aphria had their genesis in October 2019 when an unidentified investment bank active in the marijuana space pitched a meeting between the company’s respective CEOs, acco…
Sales of cannabis pre-rolls up nearly 50% in 2020 despite pandemic
Marijuana pre-rolls are the second-fastest growing product category year-over-year despite conventional wisdom that the often-shared product would suffer during a global pandemic caused by a respiratory-related virus.
Sales of cannabis pre-rolls up nea…
Genetic editing offers marijuana and hemp companies a way to improve plant strains
The development of new genetic-editing technology offers cannabis companies a cost-effective way to make specific changes to marijuana and hemp plants – such as more disease resistance – without creating a genetically modified organism (GMO…
Wrigley chewing gum heir to take cannabis MSO Parallel public via $1.9B deal
Chewing gum heir William “Beau” Wrigley Jr., the CEO of Atlanta-based Parallel, struck a mammoth deal with an entertainment mogul to take the cannabis multistate operator public through a transaction that values the company at $1.9 billion. Ceres Acqui…
New Jersey recreational marijuana implementation law signed, setting stage for $1 billion market
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday finally signed a law to implement a projected $1 billion recreational marijuana market, hours after lawmakers agreed on a “clean-up measure” that had held up the process for months. Adult-use Sales could begin befo…
A tale of two cannabis social equity programs: Los Angeles and Oakland
Social equity programs are a relatively new phenomenon in the U.S. cannabis industry, with the aim of getting more minorities and those with marijuana-related convictions involved in the legal sector. But so far, no city or state has come up with the p…
Mainstream businesses are bracing for minimum-wage hike, but many cannabis firms already pay more
Half the states across the country have increased – or will raise – the minimum wage paid to hourly workers this year, but many cannabis businesses, including retailers, are unlikely to feel much of an impact. That’s because most say they a…
How a $100M global cannabis deal came together over Zoom: Q&A with IMC’s Oren Shuster
Negotiating an international cannabis merger worth roughly $100 million is hard enough – but doing so during a global pandemic is downright daunting. That’s what Israel’s IM Cannabis had to do when it agreed in late 2020 to acquire To…
Marijuana foes deploy new ‘playbook’ to thwart state legalization, upend election results
Efforts to thwart voter-approved marijuana legalization in Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota are evidence of a “playbook” that reflects new legal strategies and greater willingness among local government officials to nullify election results, exper…