MJBizMag October 2022 - 12

COMPANY NEWS U.S., Canada & International by MJBizDaily Staff
U.S. DEVELOPMENTS
Workers Unionize
at Cannabis Retailers
in Chicago and Boston
Employees at a Zen
Leaf marijuana store in
Chicago voted to join
Teamsters Local 777.
The store in Chicago's Pilsen
neighborhood follows another Zen
Leaf location in Lombard, Illinois,
which joined the Teamsters in
February. Zen Leaf is owned by
Illinois-based multistate operator
Verano Holdings.
Separately, workers at the
Ascend marijuana store in Boston
voted to join Teamsters Local 25.
The subsidiary of New York-based
multistate operator Ascend
Wellness Holdings is the first
cannabis retailer in New England.
MedMen Completes Florida
Cannabis Exit for $16M
Less Than Original Deal
Cannabis multistate operator MedMen
Enterprises finished its exit
from the Florida market, closing
the sale of its assets for $67 million-$16
million less than when the
sale was announced in February.
Los Angeles-headquartered
MedMen sold all of its Florida
cannabis assets to Green Sentry
Holdings, including its medical
marijuana business license, seven
dispensaries, cultivation operations
and existing inventory.
The deal also calls for the
licensing of MedMen trademarks
in Florida to Green Sentry, which is
based in Fort Lauderdale. The final
transaction was for $63 million
in cash and another $4 million in
liabilities assumed by Green Sentry.
Additionally, Ascend Wellness
Holdings called off its acquisition
of MedMen's New York operation,
citing concerns over the state of
the company's assets. The New
12 October 2022 | MJBizMagazine
York deal was first announced in
February 2021.
DEA Awards Seventh
Cultivation License
for Research
The U.S Drug Enforcement
Administration and the Department
of Justice licensed Maridose for
the bulk manufacture of cannabis
to supply flower, marijuana extracts
and THC to researchers.
Maridose is the seventh company
to receive such a license, the
cannabis-focused pharmaceutical
business in Brunswick, Maine,
announced.
Researchers who work with
DEA-licensed bulk manufacturers
must also be approved by the
federal agency to conduct cannabis
studies.
Weedmaps Lays Off Staff
California-based cannabis
advertising giant Weedmaps said
it laid off about 10% of its workers
because of a widespread slowdown
in the U.S. marijuana market.
In an internal memo dated Aug. 4,
Weedmaps CEO Chris Beals said
that about 10% of its 606 staffers
would be let go because of
increasing gas prices, recession and
market contractions in California,
Colorado and Oklahoma.
XS Financial Signs
$24 Million Line of Credit
Marijuana industry finance
company XS Financial took out
a $24 million line of credit, which
the firm says it will use " to fund
additional (capital expenditures)
and equipment leases with new and
existing customers. "
Los Angeles-based XS Financial
provides capital expenditure
and equipment financing to U.S.
cannabis companies.
Massachusetts-based Needham
Bank, which has focused on the
cannabis industry, committed
$20 million and will administer
the line of credit, which expires in
August 2024.
California Marijuana CEO
Ousted, Fined $2.4 Million
for Illegal Cultivation
A former executive of several
marijuana businesses in California
has been ousted and ordered by a
judge to pay $2.4 million in fines for
unlicensed cultivation.
Paul King, former CEO of
Monterey County-based California
New Wave, a licensed distributor
and cultivator, was found liable for
penalties levied against two other
marijuana companies he ran in 2018
and 2019.
King sold at least $1 million worth
of illegal marijuana while running
two unlicensed grows-Fuji
Farms and Hands on Faith
Association-by funneling sales
through California New Wave, the
district attorney's office said.
The judge in the case ruled that
King was personally liable for the
fines.
Greenlane to Sell Off
Packaging Division
Ancillary
cannabis
company
Greenlane Holdings plans to sell
its marijuana packaging division
and invest proceeds from any sale
" in the company's consumer brands
business, " according to a quarterly
earnings news release.
The packaging business comprises
15%-20% of the company's total
revenue, Greenlane said.
Boca Raton-headquartered
Greenlane merged last year with
KushCo, which specialized in
MJBizMag October 2022

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