REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Welcome to Insider Cannabis, our weekly newsletter where we're bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom.
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It's been a rough start to earnings season for Canadian companies, with Aphria's stock dropping over 14% after losing significant market share and a total of C$361 million in the quarter.
There was a lot of pointing fingers at the COVID-19 lockdowns, but Wall Street analysts say that while the lockdowns caused some of the sales decline, Aphria's issues extend beyond the coronavirus.
Tilray postponed a shareholder meeting to vote on its proposed merger with Aphria until April 30.
What else?
We also updated our ultimate guide to cannabis legalization in the US in light of the news from New Mexico and Virginia.
And keep an eye out for our story on the New York cannabis gold rush coming soon.
- Jeremy Berke (@jfberke) & Yeji (@jesse_yeji)
Here's what we wrote about this week:
A landmark study shows the main compound in magic mushrooms could rival a leading depression drug
Imperial College London scientists just published a report on how psychedelics could treat depression. The study pits psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, against the depression drug escitalopram.
Researchers found that although the reduction in depression occurred more quickly and in "greater magnitude" with psilocybin, the differences between the two treatments was not significant.
5 jobs that can earn you a 6-figure salary in the $85 billion cannabis industry
Insider rounded up the 5 jobs that can earn you a 6-figure salary in what could become a $85 billion cannabis industry based on information provided by cannabis recruiting firm Vangst. The roles include jobs like vice president of retail and director of extraction.
Executive Moves
- Cannabis recruiting startup Vangst hired Jennifer Bedford, previously of Signal Partners, to lead its executive search service.
- Jason Dyck is joining Australis Capital as its new Chief Science Officer. Dyck previously led the research and science team at Aurora Cannabis.
- Tilray has appointed David F. Clanachan, the former COO of Canadian chain Tim Horton's, to its board of directors, per a securities filing.
- TILT Holdings made a slew of hires, appointing Darryl K. Henderson and Roseann Valencia-Fernandez as SVP of human resources and VP of marketing respectively.
Deals, launches, and IPOs
- Cannabis brand Connected closed a $30 million raise, a mix of debt and equity. The round was led by Navy Capital, and includes investors like One Tower Group, Emerald Park Capital, and Presidio View Capital.
- Boston-based cannabis delivery service Zip Run closed a $2.3 million seed round, led by Mollitiam Capital.
- Pamos, a non-alcoholic THC and CBD infused line of spirits, launched for delivery in the Los Angeles area.
- Florida cannabis giant Trulieve announced on Tuesday that it had acquired West Virginia cannabis operator Solevo Wellness in a $650,000 deal.
- Canadian cannabis company Hexo Corp filed for a $1.2 billion base shelf prospectus, per securities filings.
Policy moves
- New Mexico legalized adult-use cannabis this week, though New Mexicans 21 and older will be only able to both possess and grow marijuana starting from this summer. Sales are expected to begin in 2022.
- The cannabis industry is unionizing: Workers at Curaleaf's Hanover, Massachusetts dispensary joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).
- The province of British Columbia will officially request a federal exemption from Health Canada to decriminalize the possession of all drugs in the face of a rise in overdose deaths, Global News reports.
Job board
- Cannabis tech startup Dutchie is hiring for a number of roles, including director of security engineering.
Earnings roundup
- Aphria released its fiscal Q3 results on Monday, reporting C$153.6 million in net revenue and a C$361 million net loss.
- Organigram released its fiscal Q2 results on Tuesday, reporting C$14.64 million net revenue and a C$66.38 million net loss.
- TILT Holdings released its fourth quarter and full year 2020 results on Thursday, reporting $42.3 million in revenue and a $92.2 million net loss.
Chart of the week
Americans are set to spend around $6.3 billion on CBD annually by 2025, according to projections from New Frontier Data. Regulatory movements may have a big hand in shaping the future of this market in coming years, the firm said.
What we're reading
New York will impact global cannabis market like no other region (Axios)
Weed customers are everybody's dream demographic (Bloomberg)
Uber CEO says company could get into cannabis delivery (CNBC)
Who's Getting Rich From Weed Legalization in New York? (New York Magazine)
Under fire on race, the AMA should drop its support for the war on drugs (CNN)
Newly released IRS documents detail efforts to collect taxes from marijuana companies under 280E (MJ Biz Daily)