By Rob Meagher, CBE Founder and Editor-in-Chief, and David Hodes, managing editor Last November marked a significant shift in a number of ways. Not only did seven states approve marijuana legalization initiatives, but a new administration came to power in Washington D.C. that has yet to show its cards regarding moves related to the cannabis […]
Spotlight
Landmark Trade Secrets Case to Test Federal Intellectual Property Protections for the Cannabis Industry
A potentially explosive landmark case about a pending federal court ruling on cannabis intellectual property is now in the works, with implications to the entire industry about the enforcement of trade secrets rights in the cannabis industry. The outcome of the case may serve to empower cannabis businesses seeking federal patent protections, among other things. […]
Bhang and Mentor Dispute Takes a New Turn
Since Bhang Chocolate Company, Inc. (Bhang) and Mentor Capital, Inc. (Mentor) originally agreed to Mentor’s purchase of 60 percent of Bhang for $39 million back in 2014, and after Mentor only paid $1.5 million of that amount, the two had an acrimonious split. The ongoing legal claims against each other may have taken a new […]
2017 CBE Ancillary Business 150
We began the process of evaluating companies for The 2017 CBE Ancillary Business 150 back in May, using CBE Week to get the message out to its 30,000 plus subscribers that included a brief survey tracking company revenue performance for the last three years, as well as other proprietary information. CBE then pursued companies […]
The State-of-the Art Path to Success: Curio Wellness
After a long licensing process, Curio Wellness (CW), a vertically integrated, medical cannabis company, was awarded its final license on August 14th. The company hopes to be part of the force that drives a medicinal cannabis ecosystem that results in Maryland becoming a national leader in research, development and commercialization of medicinal products derived from cannabis. […]
Sprinting Out of the Gate With Little Slowing Down On the Horizon: PharmaCann LLC
After The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act went into effect in January of 2014 in Illinois, Teddy Scott, founder and CEO of PharmaCann, a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and a registered patent attorney in the law firm Polsinelli, where he focused on intellectual property issues, began discreetly crafting a plan. He wanted to […]
Keef Cola (CanCore Concepts, Inc.) revisited
CBE caught up with Erik Knutson, CEO of CanCore Concepts, Inc (CCC) and Denver Packaging Company (DPC) and and COO Travis Tharp last week and wanted to share an update on the company, best known for it’s Keef Cola brand. Since we first interviewed Knutson back in December, 2015, a lot has changed. The company now […]
A large capacity boutique brand: Canndescent
By Rob Meagher A member of the Cannabis Business Executive Convention (CBEC 2018) Strategic Advisory Board and programming vetting committees, as well as a successful cannabis entrepreneur and business executive, Chris Boudreau, suggested I talk to Canndescent, a relatively late-comer to the California producer/cultivator scene that is pursuing a unique business strategy. CBE caught up with Canndescent CEO, Adrian Sedlin, a couple of weeks […]
After nearly seven “dog years”, Privateer Holdings racks up a bunch of significant firsts
Brendan Kennedy and Privateer Holdings founding partner, Christian Groh, are childhood friends with blue-chip resumes, who were an unlikely pair of cannabis moguls. After seven years of key acquisitions and start-ups, the Privateer team has blazed a trail of firsts in the industry. They are fueled by the data and intelligence provided by their first […]
The Big Boys bring the A-Team and Game to Illinois and Beyond: Cresco Labs
By Rob Meagher CRESCOlabs™ arrived on the scene with a bang, winning three of the 21 Producer/Processor licenses issued in the great state of Illinois in 2015 with the highest scores of 158 applicants. And like the way three (3) of the founding partners succeeded at their previous company, Guaranteed Rate, a mortgage bank that grew from the ashes of the […]
