Trulieve CEO: Southeast is next frontier

In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve got a new section at the bottom of the newsletter, High Society, where we feature pics from around the industry. With thousands of you storming Vegas this week, I’d like to publish a whole bunch. Send yours to hello@weedweek.net

The next issue of WeedWeek will be delayed until Saturday morning, to include my report.

In today’s edition:

Trulieve CEO says American south is new frontier

See you in Sin City,

Alex

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Following its $2.1B acquisition of Harvest, Florida-based Trulieve is the world’s largest and most profitable PotCo. Green Market Report executive editor Debra Borchardt interviewed CEO Kim Rivers at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference.

Rivers has said the Florida-based company is pursuing a regional hub strategy centered on Pennsylvania and Arizona, where Harvest was the market leader. Harvest, Borchardt noted, wasn’t “the prettiest girl in the room,” having accumulated some debt and messy relationships, but Rivers said she and Harvest boss Steve White have similar philosophies and that there are lessons to be learned from Harvest’s resilience.

Unlike Harvest and many other MSOs, Trulieve initially focused on one state, becoming the dominant player in Florida’s MED-only market. Despite pressure from investors to expand sooner, Rivers said the company spent 18 months developing its team, systems and strategy. The company just opened its 150th store.

A few more insights from the conversation:

There’s a “significant lack of diversity and inclusion in the space,” Rivers said. “If we as an industry don’t address it, it’s going to, it should, become a more significant issue.”
Trulieve’s board is now 50% women. Rivers said she believes diversity improves results.
“We think the southeast is the new frontier of cannabis reform in this country,” Rivers said. Trulieve has received a MED production license in Georgia.

This month Trulieve raised $350M in debt capital and Rivers had some advice for those raising money:

“It was very important for us, to me, to make sure that we’re not accepting money from the capital markets to keep our lights on,” Rivers said. “Make sure you have the dollars to run the business.”
“Check yourself on the rates, check yourself on the terms because that’s only getting better.”

Want more? Rivers spoke to Barron‘s two weeks ago.

Borchardt didn’t ask about the recent conviction of Rivers’ husband on federal corruption charges unrelated to cannabis. Neither Rivers nor Trulieve has been accused of wrongdoing.
WeedWeek

Watch the whole interview.

QUICK HITS

States:

After a two year wait, New Jersey awarded 14 additional MED licenses.
NJ.com
Arizona finalized the rules for its equity program.
Tucson.com
Florida moved forward with plans to award one license to a Black farmer.
WLRN
Today a judge is due to decide the fate of 185 Illinois license applications.
Grown In
A developer is eager to start building a $200M grow near Buffalo, N.Y.
Buffalo Business Journal
Overwhelmed by illegal pot, an Oregon county declared an emergency.
AP

Business:

CB1 Capital‘s Todd Harrison shared his thoughts on the high-touch Trailblazers conference in his Cannabis Confidential newsletter: Part 1, Part 2.
Female execs discussed how to achieve gender parity in the industry.
MJBiz
In Forbes, Lindsey Bartlett discusses how California-based The Cure Company became a $100M brand. It involves growing “insanely good weed.”
Almost half of Americans want to live where REC is legal.
Marijuana Moment

International:

Three years into legalization, Canada is initiating an 18-month review of the industry, which the industry hopes will address ongoing issues.
BNN Bloomberg

Fun and Interesting:

The Points Guy explains whether you can smoke pot on cruise ships.
The New York Times profiles Figaro Apothecary, a plant (not cannabis)-inspired wellness brand by creative director Scott Formby.

COMPANY MILESTONES

California retailer Harborside announced a partnership with RNBW, a new brand produced in collaboration with megarave producer Insomniac.
MSO Columbia Care is launching California “heritage” brand Classix in Delaware, Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Achari Ventures Holdings, a new SPAC targeting ancillary companies, priced its IPO at $100M.
Dispensary software platform Jane Technologies is partnering with AeroPay to “enable online payments nationwide.”
European MED company Bloomwell raised a $10M seed round.
Cellibre, which is developing ways to produce cannabinoids through fermentation, raised an $11.5M Series A.

JOB MOVES

Canadian operator Hexo announced the departure of CEO Sébastien St. Louis and COO Donald Courtney as part of a corporate reorganization. Replacements have not been named.
MSO Jushi Holdings announced the appointment of Edward Kremer as CFO. He most recently served as Chief Operating and Restructuring Officer of Le Tote and Lord & Taylor.
Baltimore-based Curio Wellness named former Unilever exec Rob Bellezza COO.
Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation promoted William Doolan to VP product operations and Jason Sanders to head of cultivation. It hired Meghan Clough as director of product management.
Sean Kelley announced his resignation as COO and president of Bay Area retailer Sparc.
MSO Ascend Wellness Holdings named attorney T. Andrew Brown president for New York.
Dosist promoted CMO Anne-Marie Dacyshyn to President and CMO.

Kaleidoscope edition

WEEDWEEK HIGH SOCIETY -- 10/19/21

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