SANTA ANA, Calif., February 27, 2018 - Kush Bottles, Inc., a provider of packaging, supplies, vaporizers, accessories and branding solutions for the regulated cannabis industry, has announced that the company has hired a regional sales director, Kyle Heverly, to expand its physical presence in the rapidly growing East Coast legal cannabis market, according to a press release.

Since joining Kush Bottles in January 2018, Mr. Heverly has been working to create an East Coast division in the Boston, Mass., area. He also has begun the hiring process to further expand the company’s sales program into the East Coast. Mr. Heverly has extensive enterprise sales and marketing management experience from his most recent role as director of business development at Franchise Payments Network, as well as other management roles in the hospitality and consumer services industries.

As part of the expansion plans, the Kush Bottles team has already begun to build new distribution channels and customer relationships in an effort to expand the company’s footprint in the medical and adult-use markets on the East Coast. In addition, the company announced that it is looking to open a new distribution facility in the Boston area in an effort to streamline growth in this emerging marketplace. This also creates an opportunity to reduce shipping costs for East Coast businesses, and provide faster delivery of products.

Following the successful implementation of adult-use cannabis on the West Coast, Eastern states in the U.S. are eager to join in on the action. Cannabis retailers are expected to begin opening in Massachusetts beginning July 1; earlier this year the state of Vermont just voted to lift cannabis prohibition in its state; and New Jersey is expected to legalize recreational marijuana this year; and Maryland and Pennsylvania are continuing to expand their medical marijuana footprint.

“The East Coast is the next exciting frontier in the American cannabis market, and until now, it has been a largely untapped market for us,” said Nicholas Kovacevich, chairman and CEO of Kush Bottles. “With Kyle expanding our sales presence and the building out of our new distribution facility, we are well positioned to become a vital partner for cannabis businesses on the East Coast.”

The expansion announcement is related to last week’s announced news of the partnership with Merida Capital Partners. This opportunity with Merida Capital Partners will allow Kush Bottles to focus on building the Company’s East Coast distribution platform and to develop and its acquisition pipeline.

DENVER — Simplifya, the developer of cannabis industry compliance software, announced Thursday it has closed a $3 million Series B round of funding. It was led by a $1 million investment from Merida Capital Partners, a private equity fund that targets fundamental growth drivers underpinning the rapid development of the cannabis industry, according to a press release. 

"The cannabis industry is expanding rapidly, and so is the breadth and depth of the regulations that these businesses must navigate in order to remain compliant with state and local laws," said Simplifya CEO and co-founder Marion Mariathasan. "This funding round will allow Simplifya to continue to grow, as well.

"We are in the process of expanding our geographic reach and developing tools and services to help companies of all types and sizes thrive in these new markets," Mariathasan said.

Simplifya’s compliance tool distills complex state and local regulations into a simple series of yes-or-no questions to generate management and audit reports, identify areas of noncompliance, and hold employees accountable for remediation. It is being utilized by a wide variety of cannabis companies across Colorado, and Simplifya is in the process of expanding its services to businesses in California.

A Denver coffee shop received city approval Monday for the nation’s first business license to allow marijuana use by patrons under a 2016 voter-approved initiative.

The Coffee Joint soon can allow customers age 21 or older to vape or consume edibles they bring to the cafe, which is already open at 1130 Yuma Court, just east of Interstate 25 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. But the shop will not allow any smoking, which is allowed only outdoors under state law, and can’t sell any marijuana products on site.

The owners of the shop, which has ownership ties to a dispensary next door, had been expecting official approval after a public license hearing Feb. 9 drew no opposition. Now co-owner Rita Tsalyuk is eager to allow consumption sometime in the next couple weeks, pending building and safety inspections, along with a schedule of yoga classes and educational and art events.

“Tons of people already came in,” she said. “We’re offering free coffee and sneak previews” of the shop.

Approved by 54 percent of Denver voters in November 2016, Initiative 300 resulted in the availability of the first-of-its-kind cannabis consumption establishment license under a pilot program.

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State regulators voted Monday to limit the roll-out of recreational marijuana sales in July, postponing licensing of home delivery services and cannabis lounges while allowing retail marijuana shops and their suppliers to open in July as scheduled.

The Cannabis Control Commission had been under pressure to delay delivery and “social consumption” operations from Gov. Charlie Baker and other political figures, law enforcement officials and medical marijuana business interests, who had argued the nascent agency was trying to do too much at the outset and would struggle to oversee so many different types of operations.

“The administration is pleased that the commission has decided to primarily focus on establishing safe and responsible regulated retail sales as Mass. continues to implement this law,” Baker said in response to the vote.

The agency’s five commissioners, however, insisted they were not bowing to the governor, but rather they needed more time to work out rules aimed at preventing impaired driving, underage sales and other complexities.

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