MJBizMag May-June 2023 - 15

COMPANY NEWS
The suit also alleges that
Monogram-branded cannabis
products were illegally sent " to New
York for a Monogram event with
Shawn Carter. "
After filing a whistleblower report
last August, Clay resigned.
A spokesperson for TPCO, which
operates as The Parent Co., called
the allegations " false. "
Curaleaf Grows in Utah,
Pulls Back in New Jersey
Massachusetts-based Curaleaf
Holdings is spending $20 million
to acquire Deseret Wellness, the
largest medical cannabis retailer
in Utah. The cash-and-stock deal
includes three dispensaries in Park
City, Payson and Provo that have a
combined annual revenue run rate
of $14 million, according to a news
release.
Curaleaf Holdings is also
shuttering its cannabis cultivation
facility in Bellmawr, New Jersey, and
will consolidate all of its cultivation
operations at the company's
Winslow facility.
The company did not confirm
how many jobs would be affected
by the Bellmawr facility closure.
Second IIPR Suit Filed
In a federal lawsuit filed in
Maryland, investor Ross Weintraub
accused executives of publicly
traded real estate investment trust
Innovative Industrial Properties
(IIPR) of breaching their fiduciary
duty by either failing to discover
or declining to disclose key facts
about Kings Garden, one of the
company's main investments.
IIPR's business model involves
purchasing real estate from
marijuana businesses and then
leasing the property back to the
companies at a profit.
Southern California-based
Kings Garden operates massive
cultivation and extraction facilities
in the Coachella Valley desert near
Palm Springs.
Last summer, Kings Garden
defaulted on a $2.3 million monthly
lease payment on its Southern
California properties. Kings Garden
and IIPR settled a subsequent
lawsuit out of court.
POSaBit Acquires Hypur
Assets, Won't Match Bid
POSaBit Systems Corp. acquired
marijuana e-commerce and
compliance software assets from
Hypur for as much as $7.5 million if
certain benchmarks are hit.
According to a news release, the
cash-and-equity deal represents a
" purchase price multiple " of
1.4 times Hypur's 2022 revenue.
Metrc was already being used
in Maryland's regulated medical
marijuana market.
State legislators are currently
working on an implementation bill
for the impending market, where
sales could begin as soon as July 1.
Judge Orders Stores
Returned to Skymint
A Michigan judge ordered marijuana
retailer 3Fifteen Cannabis to
relinquish control of several stores
to competitor Skymint after
ruling 3Fifteen violated the court's
receivership order.
According to local news outlets,
Skymint reopened stores in Michigan
towns Battle Creek, Camden
and Grand Rapids on April 1 after an
Ingham County Circuit Court judge
ruled on a legal fight between the
two companies.
The judge ordered 3Fifteen to
Separately, Akerna Corp. backed
out of an agreement to sell its
marijuana software businesses to
POSaBit for $4 million after a new
bidder emerged.
POSaBit, which offers payment
solutions to the cannabis
industry, was notified that Akerna
terminated the deal after a thirdparty
proposal for the acquired
companies is likely to bring in " a
superior offer under the definitive
agreement, " according to a news
release. The third party was not
identified.
POSaBit, based in Kirkland,
Washington, said it will not increase
its offer to match the higher bidder.
Metrc Expands Maryland
Contract to Include Rec
Cannabis seed-to-sale software
company Metrc expanded its
contract with the Maryland
government to track the state's
upcoming adult-use marijuana
market.
return $494,045 in funds that the
Birmingham, Michigan-based company
removed from its accounts at
Live Life Credit Union. Live Life also
was ordered to return access to those
accounts to Skymint employees.
Grassdoor Drivers
and Others Unionize
More workers at Grassdoor, one of
California's largest cannabis delivery
providers, continue to unionize.
According to a news release,
nearly 100 drivers and warehouse
workers from Grassdoor's operation
in Brisbane, California, joined
Teamsters Local 2785, which
already represents a variety of
workers throughout San Francisco
and San Mateo counties.
Paychex Ceases Some
Services to Cannabis Firms
A March 29 memo obtained by
MJBizDaily warned that, effective
May 1, New York-based Paychex
would no longer process direct
deposit payments.
mjbizdaily.com | May-June 2023 13

https://mjbizdaily.com/maryland-adult-use-marijuana-bill-heads-to-senate-after-house-approval/ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230403005260/en/POSaBIT-Acquires-Payments-Solutions-Provider-Hypur-for-US7.5-Million-Adding-Over-US100-Million-in-Annualized-Payment-GMV https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230407005033/en/POSaBIT-Announces-Termination-Notice-from-Akerna https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230407005033/en/POSaBIT-Announces-Termination-Notice-from-Akerna https://mjbizdaily.com/tech-firm-akerna-sells-software-business-exits-marijuana-industry-to-join-crypto-venture/ https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/03/22/2632203/0/en/Metrc-Expands-Track-And-Trace-Government-Contract-with-the-State-of-Maryland-for-Regulation-of-its-Adult-Use-Cannabis-Market.html https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/03/22/2632203/0/en/Metrc-Expands-Track-And-Trace-Government-Contract-with-the-State-of-Maryland-for-Regulation-of-its-Adult-Use-Cannabis-Market.html http://www.mjbizdaily.com

MJBizMag May-June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag May-June 2023