The new AMRs will be effective beginning on July 1 and run through Sept. 30, representing the median market price in seven cannabis product categories.
DENVER, Colo. - June 22, 2020 -PRESS RELEASE- The Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) today released the Average Market Rates (AMR) for retail marijuana effective July 1, 2020 until Sept. 30, 2020.
Five of the seven AMR categories decreased this quarter, specifically bud ($1,000), trim ($300), bud allocated for extraction ($599), trim allocated for extraction ($202) and seed ($4). The immature plant rate ($9) and whole, wet plant rate ($176) stayed the same.
The AMR is the median market price of each category of unprocessed retail marijuana that is sold or transferred from retail marijuana cultivation facilities to retail marijuana product manufacturing facilities or retail marijuana stores. CDOR’s Office of Research and Analysis, in coordination with the Taxation Division and the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED), calculates AMRs quarterly for use in levying the excise tax as required by Colorado statute.
The July 1 AMR was calculated based on retail marijuana transactions from March 1, 2020 through May 31, 2020 in MED’s marijuana inventory tracking system. AMR is an estimate of the typical prices of each category of unprocessed retail marijuana that is sold or transferred from marijuana grows to product manufacturers or stores.
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -PRESS RELEASE-Jushi Holdings Inc., a multi-state cannabis and hemp operator, has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the equity of Pennsylvania Medical Solutions LLC, a Pennsylvania grower-processor owned by Vireo Health International Inc.
PMS operates a 90,000 square-foot facility which will have approximately 45,000 square-feet of indoor cultivation space when construction is complete. PMS’ property can further accommodate an additional 25,000 square-feet of indoor cultivation bringing the total to 70,000. The company expects the facility to produce between 800 and 1,000 pounds of dried flower per month.
The proposed acquisition will solidify Jushi’s position in Pennsylvania by adding equity ownership of PMS, with its large-scale indoor cannabis cultivation and processing capabilities, to its other subsidiaries’ collective rights to operate up to 15 dispensaries.
“This acquisition allows Jushi to expand its presence in one of the most attractive medical cannabis markets in the country,” said Jim Cacioppo, chairman and chief executive officer of Jushi. “Upon completion Jushi will be able to provide high-quality, indoor flower and concentrates to our Pennsylvania patients who continue to experience constrained supply and high prices. Furthermore, we will be well-positioned to support an increase in demand and maintain the ability to further scale up the facility if required.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Jushi will pay Vireo $16.3 million in cash, a $3.8 million seller note and assume a $17 million facility associated with a long-term lease obligation. No equity will be issued in connection with this acquisition. Jushi intends to fund the cash portion of the agreement with the proceeds from the debt financing, which Jushi announced concurrently with this announcement. The parties anticipate closing the agreement by the end of August 2020.
As part of the agreement, at closing, Jushi will have an assignable purchase option to acquire 100% of the equity of Pennsylvania Dispensary Solutions, LLC, a Pennsylvania medical marijuana dispensary permittee in the Commonwealth’s Northeast region. PADS currently operate two medical marijuana dispensaries in Scranton and Bethlehem, with the right to operate one additional dispensary in the region.
The proposed acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions, including approvals from regulatory authorities.
Ask the Experts: Retail Virtual Conference to Provide Technology & Solutions Education on July 16
This free event will include half-hour sessions dedicated to the industry’s latest products, with live Q&A.
The Ask the Experts: Retail Virtual Conference—hosted by Cannabis Dispensary and Cannabis Conference, and sponsored by IndicaOnline, Dama Financial, Frank Mayer & Associates, and Jupiter Research—is a free, sponsor-exclusive virtual event to be held Thursday,July 16 beginning at 12 p.m. ET. The Ask the Experts: Retail Virtual Conference will bring together retailers with industry-leading companies to share technologies and solutions for the state-legal dispensary market.
The educational program will include in-depth presentations on point-of-sale software, vaporization cartridges, financial services, displays and kiosks, and more.
“In the absence of in-person events, it’s important that we continue to offer ways for our audience to connect with products and solutions providers that can improve their operations,” said Cassie Neiden, director of conference programming. “This Ask the Experts: Retail Virtual Conference is just another way we’re able to deliver not only valuable content from industry-leading providers, but also a platform for interacting with these providers in real time.”
Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to speakers during a live Q&A discussion at the end of each session. Video recordings of each Ask the Experts: Retail Virtual Conference session will be available approximately five to 10 business days after the event.
More information, including session descriptions, speaker line-up and registration, can be found here.
Nearly Two-Thirds of Cannabis Cultivators Say COVID-19 Has Impacted Their Businesses
According to Cannabis Business Times’ 2020 State of the Industry Report, 63% of participants reported that the pandemic has affected their companies, resulting in decreased sales and staff cuts for some, and a jump in sales for others.
Cannabis Business Times conducted research for its fifth annual “State of the Cannabis Cultivation Industry Report” between April 15 and April 29, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that the world is still very much grappling with. The report, made possible each year with the support of Nexus Greenhouse Systems, included the question “In what ways, if any, has the COVID-19 outbreak impacted your cannabis operation?” Although at that time and even now, it may be too soon to understand what the long-term business impacts will be, 63% of participants indicated that COVID-19 has already affected their operations, with the following ramifications: “decreased sales” (23%), “staff reduction/hours cut” (22%), “suspension of some operations” (21%) and “suspension of all operations” (4%).
However, cannabis cultivation operations and dispensaries, deemed essential in most places, could continue operations during state shutdowns, which may have explained some of the positive outcomes for some during what was a difficult time for many. Nearly a fifth of participants (18%) reported increased sales, and 5% said the increased staff/hours. Another 35% said the pandemic had no impact on business.
Read more insights from CBT’s 2020 “State of the Cannabis Cultivation Industry Report” by following the links below:
BeLeaf Medical Launches Missouri’s First Medical Cannabis Cultivation Operation with More to Come: The Starting Line
President Kevin Riggs shares insight into the company’s Sinse cultivation facility, what he hopes will set the vertically integrated company apart in Missouri’s market and predictions on sales trends.
St. Louis-based BeLeaf Medical became the first medical cannabis cultivator in Missouri to launch operations June 11, and as a vertically integrated company with 10 total licenses in the state, President Kevin Riggs says there is much more to come.
BeLeaf’s Sinse cultivation facility in St. Louis County was the first grow operation to receive approval from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services after passing all required inspections. The company holds a total of three cultivation licenses, two manufacturing licenses and five dispensary licenses in the greater St. Louis area.
Photos courtesy of BeLeaf Medical
BeLeaf’s Sinse cultivation facility in St. Louis County was the first grow operation to receive approval from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services after passing all required inspections.
The team behind BeLeaf held a license from the Missouri Department of Agriculture for the past five years to grow industrial hemp for CBD, which makes for a natural transition to the medical cannabis industry, Riggs says.
“We’re very blessed and comfortable to be able to win the ten licenses when those were announced in December and January of this year,” he tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “The first one’s out of the box with more to come.”
The company’s five-year head start as a CBD company has allowed it to build a talented team, which Riggs says is BeLeaf’s strongest asset in Missouri’s nascent medical cannabis market.
“Our group of owners [has] a very deep business background as well as a cannabis business background, so we feel very comfortable that we’ll be able to ensure that our products and our business model [are] successful,” he says.
Overall, Riggs says he is pleased with Amendment 2, the initiative voters passed in 2018 to legalize medical cannabis in the state.
“It’s very friendly to the business community, it’s very friendly to the consumption community [and] it’s also very friendly toward home growers,” he says. “I think it’s a really nice amalgamation of different things that have worked in other states, so I’m very pleased with that.”
BeLeaf's five-year head start as a CBD company has allowed it to build a talented team, which Riggs says is the company's strongest asset in Missouri’s nascent medical cannabis market.
Missouri’s patient count has been on a steady climb, and Riggs hopes the number of registered patients will reach 100,000 by the time sales launch, which he estimates will be in about 90 days, when the state has its first cannabis harvest and product is distributed to dispensaries.
BeLeaf plans to open its first dispensary in St. Peters under the Swade brand, and Missouri’s medical cannabis law allows licensed cultivators, manufacturers and dispensaries to buy and sell product within the supply chain.
One of the biggest unanswered questions, Riggs says, is what sales trends will look like in the early days of the market and how these trends will evolve as the market matures.
As more cultivators receive approval to operate and begin ramping up production, the market will need time to find its footing, Riggs says, and he expects it to be at least a year before supply and demand find their balance.
“I think we’re looking [at] probably a one-year maturation where, at that point, all of the licensees should be up and running [and] people will familiarize themselves with the brands and the locations and the people that they want to do business with,” he says. “I think in a year, that’s when you’re going to start to see answers to some of those questions.”
Another big question mark right now, Riggs adds, is the COVID-19 pandemic. When the coronavirus crisis first reached the U.S. earlier this spring, the BeLeaf team was focused on fundraising and building out its cultivation facility, which were unique challenges in the wake of an unprecedented pandemic.
“None of it qualified for the paycheck protection plan,” Riggs says. “There are a lot of things that the cannabis industry has had to overcome and has to deal with because of the federal laws that we’re all living under.”
Still, these unique obstacles have kept the BeLeaf team nimble, allowing them to adapt to everchanging regulations and challenges, which Riggs says will ultimately serve the business well as it continues building out its operations in Missouri.
“You almost have to assume that whatever business model and whatever plans you have, that you leave enough opportunity to be flexible moving forward."
Legislative Map
Cannabis Business Times’ interactive legislative map is another tool to help cultivators quickly navigate state cannabis laws and find news relevant to their markets. View More
Michelle Simakis
Melissa Schiller
