The Cannabist Co. Holdings Inc., once hailed among the elite publicly traded cannabis companies in the U.S., will close up shop later this year in Denver on the heels of gaining Chapter 15 bankruptcy recognition in the U.S.
Formerly known as Columbia Care, the Cannabist Co. filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) on July 14 with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, announcing its plans to close a cultivation and manufacturing facility on Washington Street and lay off 50 workers.
“The entire facility will be closed, and all employees at the facility will be impacted. This closure is expected to be permanent,” Vice President of Talent Kristin Popek wrote. “The expected date of the first separation will be September 11, 2026. All affected employees have been notified of their separation dates and that their separation from employment will be permanent.”
The 50 workers, including 14 production technicians, will continue to receive their base pay and benefits during the 60-day notice period, Popek said.
The facility closure in Denver comes after the Cannabist Co. filed for bankruptcy in March 2026 in Delaware. That filing came after the company closed a deal to sell its ownership interests in Virginia ($130 million), entered an equity agreement for its Ohio operations ($47 million), and entered an agreement for its Delaware assets ($16.5 million).
Still roughly $270 million in the hole to its lenders, the Cannabist Co. and its Canadian subsidiary commenced insolvency proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Ontario, Canada.
In May 2026, the Cannabist Co. obtained Chapter 15 bankruptcy recognition of the CCAA proceedings from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, providing a new roadmap for U.S. cannabis operators who have traditionally been excluded from the U.S. bankruptcy system because of the plant’s Schedule I listing under the Controlled Substances Act.
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Before the U.S. bankruptcy recognition, the Cannabist Co. announced its intention to sell certain production, manufacturing, distribution and dispensary operations – through equity or assets – in six of its remaining state markets: Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and West Virginia.
On July 20, 2026, Vireo Growth Inc. announced that it entered into a $35 million definitive purchase agreement to acquire certain of those operations in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and West Virginia in a transaction that’s expected to include up to 25 dispensaries, one cultivation and one production facility.
The Cannabist Co.’s footprint in Colorado stems from its $140 million acquisition of The Green Solution in 2020, a deal that included 21 dispensaries, more than 250,000 square feet of indoor grow space and 140 acres of outdoor cultivation.
In 2021, the Cannabist Co. (still Columbia Care at the time) expanded its Colorado footprint through a $42 million acquisition deal with Medicine Man, adding four dispensaries and a 35,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility to its portfolio.
That was near a peak in Colorado’s cannabis market.
The state’s licensed dispensaries recorded more than $2.2 billion in cannabis sales in 2021, before the retail market shrunk 41% to $1.3 billion in sales in 2025, according to the state’s Department of Revenue (CDOR).
Colorado’s average market rate for wholesale bud also peaked at more than $1,700 per pound in early 2021, before nosediving 67% to $574 per pound in today’s market, according to the CDOR.
The Cannabist Co.’s forthcoming facility closure in Denver follows a string of similar struggles for state operators.
In January 2023, Curaleaf announced it was proactively closing the majority of its operations in Colorado to streamline its business.
In October 2024, Green Dragon filed a WARN notice listing 59 workers at a 92,000-square-foot cultivation facility in Denver, also announcing its plans to close 17 dispensaries in Colorado amid a legal dispute with parent company Eaze.
And in March 2026, Pharmacann Inc., one of the largest privately held cannabis companies in the U.S., announced its plans to close its nearly 190,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility in Denver, laying off 132 workers.
According to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, the state has approximately 470 licensed adult-use cannabis cultivators, down significantly from 817 licensees in mid-2022.
