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Canopy Growth Pays Nearly $300 Million To Acquire Wana Edibles in the U.S.

Canopy Growth Pays Nearly $300 Million To Acquire Wana Edibles in the U.S.

canopy growth buys wana edibles brand

Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth is (kind of) acquiring Wana Brands, the #1 cannabis edibles brand in North America by market share – per Headset data.

According to information procured exclusively ahead of an official announcement, the deal features a similar structure to the one Canopy struck with Acreage Holdings a couple of years ago. Under the agreement, the Canadian operator will acquire the right to purchase Wana (comprised of Mountain High Products, Wana Wellness and The Cima Group) once THC becomes federally legal in the U.S.

The call option to acquire 100% of the membership interests in each Wana entity is being acquired by Canopy for upfront cash payment of $297.5 million.

When Canopy decides to move forward with the acquisition, it will pay 15% of the fair market value of the entities being acquired. Until the purchase is complete, thought Canopy Growth will have no economic, voting or controlling interest in Wana, which will continue to operate independently.

“Through the agreement with Wana, Canopy is adding another industry leading brand to power our rapid growth across the U.S. Wana has built a successful business using an asset-light licensing model, allowing them to scale across North America,” David Klein, CEO of Canopy Growth, said in an exclusive interview.

Breaking down the key strategic benefits of the acquisition, Klein explained Wana:

  • Strengthens Canopy Growth’s U.S. ecosystem.
  • Provides exposure to one of the fastest growing segments in both the U.S. and Canadian cannabis markets: edibles.
  • Would automatically make Canopy a leader in the edibles category.
  • Increases Canopy’s exposure to the U.S. market upon federal legalization.
  • Represents an opportunity to acquire a profitable and highly scalable business.
Billionaire-backed Denver Ordinance 300 would raise retail cannabis tax by 13%

Billionaire-backed Denver Ordinance 300 would raise retail cannabis tax by 13%

Denver Ordinance 300 would raise taxes on recreational cannabis.

An advocacy organization registered in Delaware and backed by a Bahamas-based billionaire Forbes calls “the world’s richest 29-year-old” is going head-to-head with the Denver cannabis industry — and the mayor — through a proposed city ordinance that would increase Denver’s recreational marijuana tax by 13%.

Initiated Ordinance 300, which will appear on the 2021 ballot, proposes that “Denver retail marijuana sales tax be increased by $7 million” through a 1.5% tariff to fund “pandemic research” at the University of Colorado Denver.

Should a statewide ballot initiative that will also be put before voters in 2021, Proposition 119, pass along with Ordinance 300, Denver cannabis consumers will be paying nearly 25% more for their weed within the next three years. Denver residents currently pay a total of 26.41% in taxes on recreational cannabis: 11.41% to the city and 15% to the state.

The move has Colorado cannabis industry insiders wondering why Colorado, why CU Denver and why their sector.

“Ordinance 300 taxes Denver cannabis consumers to fund, and I’m putting this in big old air quotes, ‘future pandemic research,'” Marijuana Industry Group Executive Director Truman Bradley told Denver Business Journal. “I literally cannot think of a cause that’s going to achieve more attention globally than [pandemic research]. It makes no sense to ask Denver cannabis consumers to foot the bill for that.”

MIG, along with industry advocacy organization Colorado Leads, primarily expressed concern about the impact on cannabis buyers who consume for medical purposes but may not have the means for a medical card — something that requires an often expensive annual physical exam and fees paid to the state — or simply don’t want to be on an official list.

“This measure — funded by a rich, out-of-town carpetbagger — taxes people’s pain relief to pay for a random pandemic preparation program that has no accountability, no oversight, no specific solutions and no connection to the marijuana industry,” Chuck Smith, Colorado Leads board president and CEO of Denver-based cannabis giant BellRock Brands, told DBJ. “If, as the proponents contend, this program is so beneficial, why aren’t all Denver industries asked to pay their fair share?”

British Soccer Coach Jailed for 25 Years in Dubai for Cannabis Oil

British Soccer Coach Jailed for 25 Years in Dubai for Cannabis Oil

British soccer coach arrested in Dubai for cannabis oil

A British football coach has been jailed for 25 years in Dubai after four small bottles of vape liquid containing cannabis oil were found in his car.

Billy Hood from from Notting Hill, West London, was given the harsh sentence despite being able to prove the vape liquid belonged to a visiting friend who had mistakenly left them in his car.

The 24-year-old fitness fanatic, who is anti-drugs and doesn’t smoke, was convicted by a court of drug trafficking with intent to supply.

Police in Dubai are thought to have singled out Hood after monitoring WhatsApp messages and looking for key words related to drugs. A week before his arrest the friend who owned the vape liquid sent a message telling Hood he had mistakenly left it behind in his car.

The ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed was last week revealed to have used spyware to hack into the phone of his ex-wife and her lawyer Baroness Shackleton while a custody hearing was taking place at the High Court.

The United Arab Emirates are known to be users of the Israeli made spyware known as Pegasus.

Hood, who played semi-professional football for Kensington and Ealing Borough FC, was stunned when police unexpectedly turned up at his flat in January and demanded to search his home and company car.

Four small vials of vape liquid containing cannabis oil (CBD) and a vape pen were later found in the passenger door compartment.

After his arrest Hood volunteered to take a urine test for drugs which came back negative.

Massachusetts town charges local cannabis companies “Impact Fees”

Massachusetts town charges local cannabis companies “Impact Fees”

The news this week that a small Massachusetts town is charging more than $1.3 million in “impact fees” to the three cannabis companies operating within its city limits has reopened the debate over the true impact of cannabis businesses on local communities.

In a recently filed lawsuit, the cannabis retailer Stem revealed that the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts, is charging its three cannabis businesses a total of $1.3 million in annual impact fees—and $866,930 of that total is earmarked for the town’s police department.

Those impact fees are being charged despite the fact that myths about cannabis businesses boosting crime have been debunked time and time again. In fact, there’s evidence that cannabis legalization can actually improve local crime clearance rates.

Even as they operate as positive law-abiding forces in their communities, cannabis companies still have to combat the negative stereotypes perpetuated by America’s War on Drugs.

Without any evidence of negative community impact, we’re left to wonder why some towns and cities are allowed to charge cannabis businesses for additional policing.

Cannabiz impact in Massachusetts

Massachusetts’ legalization law allows local communities to charge impact fees that are “reasonably related to the costs imposed upon the municipality by the operation of the marijuana establishment.”

Unlike most other legal states, Massachusetts law forces cannabis companies to sign Host Community Agreements (HCAs) with the town in which they operate. This gives local communities enormous leverage over cannabis companies—which encourages them to tax the daylights out of the local weed stores.

Many Bay State towns use HCAs to create their own mitigation fees based on how they imagine cannabis businesses will impact their townships.

The law was put in place in 2018, when there was little data about the impact of cannabis companies on rates of local substance abuse, intoxicated driving, and crime.

California State Fair to hold first marijuana competition

California State Fair to hold first marijuana competition

Cannabis is coming to the California State Fair.

For the first time, the fair in 2022 will host a competition — open to all licensed cannabis cultivators in the state — to judge the finest flower in California.

Entrants will be divided into three divisions: indoor, mixed light and outdoor. Judges will evaluate the cannabis flower, with seven individual cannabis plant compounds being tested and identified for awards. That includes two cannabinoids — CBD and THC— and five terpenes, which are naturally occurring aromatic compounds that give the plant its characteristic smell and which are a source of plant essential oils and resins.

The California State Fair will hand out 77 bronze, silver, gold and double gold medals to the winners, as well as seven Golden Bear trophies for the “Best of California” in each category.

“We are pleased to celebrate California’s legal and licensed cannabis industry as part of the California State Fair in 2022,” said Jess Durfee, chairman of the California Exposition and State Fair Board of Directors, in a statement. “For the past 166 years, the California State Fair has always been a first mover, leading the state fair circuit with innovative programming and large-scale competitions that celebrate the best the state has to offer, making the addition of cannabis cultivation a natural new category.”