September 29, 2021 – NEW YORK – PRESS RELEASE – Columbia Care Inc. announced today it is partnering with three organizations – BIPOCANN, Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition (VMCC) and Nolef Turns – to offer social equity-driven resources for the developing cannabis community in Virginia.

This group of partners is dedicated to ensuring that Virginia’s BIPOC community has viable, competitive opportunities in the market, and supports three elements critical to effective social equity initiatives—justice reform, entrepreneurship and mentorship, and equitable representation. Columbia Care will be providing financial and educational resources to reach as many individuals across the Commonwealth as possible. 

• Justice reform: Nolef Turns provides direct services to justice-involved individuals; advocacy that raises awareness of the need for resentencing, ending the war on drugs, probation and parole reform; and an expedited path to automatic expungements. Learn more about their program offerings. 
• Entrepreneurship and mentorship: VMCC is committed to providing training and economic opportunities for individuals, especially those impacted by cannabis arrests, interested in pursuing a career in cannabis. Learn more about their upcoming boot camps for aspiring social equity entrepreneurs.
• Equitable BIPOC representation: BIPOCANN is working to make the cannabis industry more accessible and profitable for BIPOC and other under-represented populations through their growing membership network designed to connect cannabis industry companies to diverse businesses and suppliers. Learn more about their network and upcoming webinars.

“The emerging Virginia cannabis market presents a new, unique, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for historically marginalized communities to build economic wealth through entrepreneurship and business ownership,” said Ernest Toney, founder of BIPOCANN. “I am excited to partner with Columbia Care to make the industry more accessible for the next wave of minority cannabis business leaders in Virginia, and look forward to BIPOCANN being a vehicle for change in my native state.”

“This type of social equity work is not just about getting a job, it’s about leveling up lives,” said Paul McLean, founder of VMCC. “This is an opportunity for the Commonwealth to create a cannabis ecosystem that is built around economic inclusion. With this network of partners, we are accelerating work that I thought would take years and implementing it in just months.”

“We are a grassroots group and our work is heart to heart. It was significant to get involved in the cannabis conversation to ensure people who have been disproportionately impacted by the failed war on drugs are at the center of the end of prohibition,” said Sheba Williams, founder of Nolef Turns. “We want to make sure this legal process actually benefits the people who need it. This partnership will have a lasting impression on our work. We’ll be able to reach more people who have been impacted by criminal legal systems and want to learn more about expungement and cannabis.”

“Undoing the harms of prohibition requires more than laws--it takes community, outreach and resources,” said Ngiste Abebe, Vice President of Public Policy at Columbia Care. “As the market leader in Virginia, we want to see a thriving cannabis economy in which everyone can take part, especially those who have been disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition. While Virginians wait for adult use laws to be finalized, partnerships like this can help prepare impacted communities to benefit from economic opportunities that have been explicitly created for them. We look forward to working with these partners and local officials to support an expanded, more diverse, more impactful cannabis community in Virginia."

CHICAGO – September 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Verano Holdings Corp., a multi-state cannabis company, today announced the opening of its newest MÜV dispensary located at 7263 Park Boulevard North, Pinellas Park, Florida. At 10 a.m. local time today, the dispensary will open and begin seeing patients, with a grand opening planned for Friday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m., pending all required approvals.

Verano’s 38th MÜV Florida dispensary is centrally located on the Pinellas Peninsula, in one of the state’s most densely populated counties. The new MÜV storefront is accessible from both Park Boulevard North and Belcher Road, as well as from 74th Street North through neighboring businesses. Patients can, based on preference, order ahead at muvfl.com for express pickup in-store, or take advantage of home delivery service that is available across the state within a 20-mile radius of MÜV storefronts.

“Pinellas County has a lot to offer, which explains why nearly one million residents have made their homes here and why it has been an area of focused development for us,” said John Tipton, president of Verano. “The opening of each new MÜV dispensary furthers our resolve to make premium medical cannabis and care available to all patients across the State of Florida.”

MÜV offers one-on-one consultations both in-store and virtually, at no cost to patients. MÜV’s comprehensive product selection includes chocolates and lozenges, flower, pre-rolls, an array of vaporizer pens, concentrates, metered-dose inhalers, topicals and oral sprays, along with patented encapsulation formulations in its EnCaps capsules, tinctures, 72-hour transdermal patches and transdermal gels.

For more information about the new ADA-compliant MÜV Pinellas Park medical cannabis dispensary, including hours and available MÜV products, visit muvfl.com.

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Jushi Holdings Inc., a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the equity interest of an entity operating an adult-use and medical retail dispensary under the name The Apothecarium in Las Vegas, Nev. The Apothecarium Nevada acquisition, together with the April 2021 purchase of Franklin Bioscience NV, LLC, a holder of medical and adult-use cannabis cultivation, processing and distribution licenses, will enable Jushi to become vertically integrated in Nevada, as well as provide significant branding exposure for Jushi’s high-quality product lines, including The Bank, The Lab, Tasteology and Sѐche. This will be the company’s fourth vertically integrated state, accompanying Pennsylvania (by way of its affiliated subsidiaries), Virginia and Massachusetts.

Jushi’s chief executive officer, chairman and founder Jim Cacioppo commented, “The acquisition of Apothecarium Nevada represents an attractive opportunity for Jushi to establish its first retail store in this large, strategic Western market. Apothecarium Nevada is well aligned with our best-in-class retail approach and will continue to provide patients and consumers with the same elevated in-store experience they have come to expect from our other BEYOND / HELLO retail locations. Together with the expansion of our cultivation, processing and distribution facility that is currently underway, the acquisition of Apothecarium Nevada will extend our reach with a convenient location off the strip in downtown Las Vegas. We look forward to working with Apothecarium Nevada’s management team and talented workforce as we further expand our footprint in this high-growth, limited license market.”

Located at 7885 W Sahara Ave #112, Las Vegas, NV, Apothecarium Nevada is approximately 6.5 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas is one of the top tourist destinations in the U.S. drawing over 42 million tourists each year, making Nevada one of the most popular states for tourism. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned resort city known for gambling, entertainment, shopping, and nightlife, attracting visitors worldwide year-round. Apothecarium Nevada neighbors Summerlin, a master planned community with nearly 100,000 residents that currently prohibits dispensaries from operating. The dispensary is also located approximately 20 minutes from popular resorts and attractions, and serves customers in-store and online through convenient curbside pick-up and at-home delivery. Apothecarium Nevada is also constructing a drive-thru lane, which is expected to be available to customers later this year.