By Rob Meagher CBE recently had the opportunity to meet with Jason Vedadi, Chairman of Harvest Health & Recreation (CSE: HARV) and Steve White, CEO. This is a story about two driven men, with complimentary skill sets and a shared vision, who have a strategic plan to become the dominant player in the Cannabis Industry while running […]
Spotlight
Curaleaf and CEO Joe Lusardi Pursue Goal to be Largest Cannabis Retailer in US
Like many others in the Cannabis Industry, The CEO of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCBB: CURLF), Joe Lusardi, was a reluctant cannabis pioneer. That is hard to imagine now that Curaleaf currently operates 34 dispensaries, 12 cultivation sites and 10 processing sites and focuses on highly populated, limited license states including Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. After graduating […]
With a Stated Goal To Liberate Happiness in Every Regulated Market by 2030, Native Roots and Ryan Brown Have Their Work Cut Out for Them
Ryan Brown took over the reins as CEO at Native Roots (NR) after joining the company as Chief Revenue Officer in early 2016. Brown, a man with a lot of diverse interests, was chosen to lead one of the largest single state vertical operators at a time when the company sorely needed a different type of […]
The Man Who Just Wants to Build Things: Ben Curren and Green Bits
By Rob Meagher What has been interesting to follow about the cannabis industry is the qualifications and experience that industry leaders bring to the table while chronicling the evolution of their companies and sharing it with CBE’s readers. Let’s face it, nothing ever happens until individuals have an idea and then put the wheels into motion […]
On the Move: The Ever Increasing Domestic Footprint of Columbia Care
Ten days ago, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy Granted Five Pharmaceutical Processor Conditional Permits. The state originally indicated that they had a preference to award in-state operators but, noticeably, included two multi-state cannabis licensees in the permit mix. Columbia Care (CC), which CBE covered back in November of 2016 (Building a Medical Marijuana Footprint One Market […]
You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down: ebbu’s Jon Cooper
Like many of us, it takes time to discover what really gets us going every day. Whether in life or in business, the day-to-day challenges and grind can wear anyone down. But as my father always told me when I turned to him for advice, you need to get-up, put your pants on and begin […]
With an ever Growing Footprint and War Chest, How Will Bruce Linton Lead Canopy Growth Corporation into the Future?
About a month ago, the news of the day was equivalent to an 8 plus earthquake on the seismic scale measuring the progress of the Cannabis Industry worldwide when Constellation Brands invested roughly $5 Billion ($4B USD), yes, with a capital B, Canadian to up its stake to 38% of Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC), […]
Doing it for the Right Reason and Way: Humboldt Apothecary
Humboldt County, CA, the heart of the Emerald Triangle, is known for its ideal climate for producing sun grown cannabis (and arguably the main source of much of the black market marijuana that has made its way across the United States for many years). It has attracted a population of “back to the land” folks […]
The Lone Star State’s Morris Denton Leads Compassionate Cultivation to the Promised Land
Last year, the state of Texas, which has a population of 28 million (second only to California’s 37 plus million), granted 3 vertically integrated licenses from a pool of nearly 50 applicants. Cansortium Texas was licensed on September 1, 2017; Compassionate Cultivation was licensed on October 31, 2017; and Surterra Texas was licensed on December […]
Challenges and Opportunities for Trade in Cannabis
By Andrew Shore and James Jochum Shocking to many is the fact that Canada is consistently one of America’s top trading partners and currently our second largest behind China. Moreover, Canada is the world’s largest purchaser of all U.S. exports and the largest purchaser of American agricultural products. As of April, 18.3 percent of U.S. […]
Fifty Years: How Marijuana Became Re-Legalized In America Part 6 (1988-1992)
By Allen St. Pierre Part 6 of a year-long series, longtime cannabis law reform advocate and historian Allen St. Pierre examines monthly for Cannabis Business Executive the last fifty years of cannabis prohibition and the public advocacy efforts in America to bring about the ongoing and inescapable sociopolitical changes underway first at the state, and soon, […]
This, That and the Other Things
A big shout out goes to Neal Levine, Senior VP of Government Affairs of LivWell Enlightened Health and the Chairman of the New Federalism Fund (NFF) for the work that they have done lobbying Capital Hill and, specifically Senator Cory Gardner to fix the 280 E and banking problem that the Cannabis Industry faces. The […]
Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd., A lot is happening under CEO William Simpson’s watch
It has been a couple of years since CBE visited with William Simpson, CEO of Golden Leaf Holdings. In October 2015, I wrote a piece titled, “In Search of the Holy Grail: Chalice Farms”that outlined his vision for Chalice Farms, one of the first vertically integrated licensees in Oregon and he shared his vision for the […]
With a high school diploma and a degree from the “school of hard knocks”, True Leaf’s CEO has a plan
After reviewing a bunch of press releases issued by True Leaf Medicine International, CBE interviewed CEO Darcy Bomford recently and learned a lot about his company and strategy, Health Canada and the race to become one of its new licensees. As a kid, Bomford already had the entrepreneurial bug. His career started renting beach […]
Aurora Cannabis to Acquire MedReleaf
PRESS RELEASE Transaction to Create Preeminent Global Cannabis Company EDMONTON and MARKHAM, ON, May 14, 2018 /CNW/ – Aurora Cannabis Inc. (“Aurora”) (TSX: ACB) and MedReleaf Corp. (“MedReleaf”) (TSX: LEAF) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive arrangement agreement (the “Arrangement Agreement”) whereby Aurora intends to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of […]
Colorado House Bill 1011 could have ramifications world-wide in the Cannabis Industry
Over the last year plus, industry players in Colorado have been lobbying the legislature hard to allow for out-of-state ownership stakes that could change the capital raise game and allow many of the companies that have built significant cannabis license portfolios to be on a level playing field with other states like California and Nevada […]
Powering The Cannabis Industry: Kush Bottles
A lot of slogans come to mind when I think about Nick Kovacevich and Kush Bottles (KB), particularly “You’ve come a long way baby” or “I would rather fight than quit”. But until CBE interviewed him to catch-up after the story we wrote about the upstart cannabis packaging company three years ago (Torn ACL, Basketball’s loss, […]
Is the end of Prohibition in sight or are we dealing with good old fashioned horse-trading?
Last week ended with a bang when the Washington Post and other news outlets reported on a deal made between Senator Cory Gardner (R) of Colorado and the great deal-maker himself, our esteemed President Donald Trump. The agreement reached was lacking details but basically indicated that Gardner and Trump had agreed to find a path […]
