Hi all,

This week was wild even by cannabiz standards. The newsletter’s a bit delayed, so let’s get to it:

• SCOOP: Former Green Dragon owners sue Eaze
• Herbl’s for sale

Hope you find it valuable,

Alex

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SCOOP: Former Green Dragon owners sue Eaze

The family that previously owned Colorado operator Green Dragon sued SF-based delivery company Eaze and several of its investors and executives. The complaint alleges the company, one of California’s largest retailers, “fraudulently acquired and raided Green Dragon for their own personal gain.”

• Eaze CEO Cory Azzalino, a named defendant, declined to comment. 

Read the story

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On Thursday, Santa Ana-based (Orange Co.) business brokerage WeCann emailed its network to say it’s handling the court-ordered receivership sale of Herbl, the major California distributor that ceased operations last month.

The email estimates the company’s value at $20M and offers the “buy it now” price of $9M. Buyers can also choose from several buckets of assets including vehicles, permits, equipment, accounts receivables, Herbl’s Nevada logistics business Blackbird and a breach of contract lawsuit.

WeCann has to vet buyers and sales must eventually be approved by a court.

• “We want to serve the industry as best as possible,” said WeCann agent Miklos Campuzano. “If it’s sold to the right group, it’s going to help everyone.”

The quick sale WeCann hopes for would take 20-30 days he said, but regulatory and contractual issues can cause delays. He expects to have a stronger sense of prospective buyers in a week.

Read the email

Federal:

• Despite high hopes, SAFE Banking won’t move forward in the Senate Banking committee during the summer session.
  Marijuana Moment
• SoCal entrepreneur Kenny Morrison has a thought-provoking post on the red state vs. blue state models for legalization.

Business:

• MSO Curaleaf wants to follow rival TerrAscend to Canada’s largest stock exchange.
  Cultivated
• Curaleaf laid off 49 in New Jersey citing the legal market’s slow roll out.
  ROI-NJ.com
• Philip Morris said it would acquire Syqe Medical for $650M. The Israeli start-up, in which the tobacco giant previously invested, developed a metered dose cannabis inhaler.
  CTech
• Cookies faces another investor lawsuit.
  MJBiz
• MSO Parallel is exiting Pennsylvania.
  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• MSO Trulieve sued partner Harvest of Ohio alleging $24M in unpaid loans. Harvest responded that the suit undermines Trulieve’s “pledge to DEI in a bid to gain control of the businesses built by women and people of color, kicking them to the curb.”
  Dayton Daily News
• Teamsters Local 777-organized workers at two Zen Leaf dispensaries in Illinois reached a tentative contract agreement with parent company Verano. Workers with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 approved a contract with a Cannabist shop. It’s the first unionized workplace for MSO Columbia Care.
  MJBiz
• Teamsters 777 cited WeedWeek reporting on the death of Illinois factory worker Julie Devinney to call on MSO Green Thumb Industries to address worker safety concerns.  

State and local:

• The CEO of Massachusetts-based testing lab MCR accused regulators of responding to public health concerns he raised by investigating his business. Regulators said their inspections are routine.
  Boston Herald
• New Mexico regulators revoked a store’s license for selling products from California.
  Beard Bros. Pharms
• The Florida Chamber of Commerce opposes a proposed 2024 REC ballot initiative that’s now before the state supreme court.
  Cannabis Business Executive
• Oregon ethics watchdogs are investigating former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s work as a consultant for one of the state’s largest operators. She’s also under investigation by federal prosecutors. Fagan resigned after Willamette Week revealed the gig.
  Oregon Capital Chronicle

Criminal justice:

• After a pot arrest in the Cayman Island, Gigi Hadid and a friend celebrated their release by posting thirst traps from the beach. 
  L.A. Times

Job moves:

• Gia Morón is stepping down as president of professional network Women Grow. 

Fun and interesting:

• Are older NPR listeners more likely to light up?
  Washington Post
  
• “Who’s a stoner?”
  East Bay Express

State:

• Fire season is underway.
  The Hill
• The DCC collected consumer data at the state fair.
  North Bay Biz Journal
• Agencies including the DMV are conducting a study on how to detect cannabis-impaired driving.
• A psilocybin legalization campaign got the green light to start collecting signatures.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• Dispensary The Artist Tree is offering a 25% discount to striking SAG and WGA members. (Flyer above.) 
• Restructured, Unrivaled reported steady revenue and growing margins.
  Green Market Report
• Statehouse got another extension on its Series A debt obligations.

Local:

• San Diego officials backed town from an expansive proposed dispensary map that would open shops in La Jolla and other neighborhoods.
  La Jolla Light
• Berkeley is giving the industry a two-year tax break.
  CBS
• Sacramento is creating youth wellness and violence prevention programs with funding pegged to pot taxes.
  KXTV
• Residents of Pinedale (Fresno Co.) held a vigil to block a second shop.
  KMPH
• SF’s moratorium on new cannabis businesses is beginning.
  CBS
• Yreka (Siskiyou Co.) is ready to think about dispensaries.
  Siskiyou Daily News

Health and science:

• San Diego’s Rady Children’s Hospital has seen an increase in child admissions for “cannabis poisoning.”
  San Diego Union-Tribune

Company milestones:

• Lime joined Petalfast‘s stable of brands.
• Rodedawg Intl Ind. Inc. announced a binding letter of intent to expand its California presence.