MedMen shutters NY stores

MEDMEN
MedMen pulls out of New York

What happened: Once the hottest cannabis company on the block, MedMen continues its fall from grace by closing the rest of its New York medical cannabis dispensaries as of this month. 

In an email sent to customers, the company said that effective July 20th, it closed its Buffalo, Lake Success, Syracuse, and its flagship Fifth Avenue location. I reached out to the company to confirm but didn’t immediately hear back. We’ll update if they do. 

Back up: In May, the embattled cannabis retailer sold off its New York assets for $88 million to Ascend Wellness, formerly a competitor. It’s part of a plan to rescue what’s left of the brand after it was driven into bankruptcy by its former leadership. 

Once valued at well over a billion dollars, MedMen declared bankruptcy in April. 

Its founders, Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin, were the subject of multiple lawsuits over their in-office conduct and allegations of self-dealing before they were forced out of the company. Multiple rescue attempts by its biggest backers and outside executives were unable to dig the company out of the financial hole it put itself in. 

Our take: MedMen’s fall from grace is emblematic of the cannabis industry roller coaster, from dreams of world domination in 2018, to a distressed asset, to (mostly) closing up shop by 2024.  

But the brand — and real estate — still have value. The stores themselves were great, it was the corporate leadership that seemed to have screwed things up. We’re interested to see if the turnaround is successful. 

And more: Back in 2018, everyone thought MedMen would be the next big thing. Mea culpa, here’s how I covered the Fifth Avenue store’s opening that year. Ugh. 

-JB

“It’s like taking candy from a baby,” notorious short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research allegedly texted a friend in 2018 about how he profited from manipulating shares of Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group, per reporting from MarketWatch. 

Left is facing a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $16 million fine for manipulating shares of Cronos and other companies heavily traded by retail investors. 

GOP hates cannabis part 1,000 🌿

California Rep. Doug LaMalfa excoriated President Joe Biden’s push to reclassify cannabis in a floor speech last week as well as the SAFER Banking Act, a bill that would let the industry access the financial system. He said reclassifying cannabis would “prop up this immoral industry,” and give a “green light” to the evils of drug use. Read more. 

And, two other GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland criticizing the rescheduling process, questioning what they call the “unusual” process carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Read more.

Ontario addresses glut 👍

To address a supply glut in Canada’s biggest cannabis market, the provincial Ontario Cannabis Store is reducing the number of products it carries in its warehouse by half, reports StratCann. 

Trulieve pumps $5 million into FL 🦩

Cannabis giant Trulieve, the biggest backer of the Smart & Safe campaign to legalize cannabis in Florida, is chipping in another $5 million to the cause, reports Florida Politics. The campaign has raised over $66 million so far, outraising the other side by millions. Around 64% of voters support Amendment 3, the ballot measure that would legalize cannabis in the state. 

EPA pushes for hemp 🏗️

The Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $6.2 million grant to a nonprofit, the Nashville-based Hemp Building Institute, to explore the use of hemp in construction. Read more.

New York cannabis operators bullish 🗽

Seventy-one percent of New York cannabis operators say they expect sales to increase, according to a survey from The Cannabis Association of New York. But, they’re dealing with supply chain issues: 78% of dispensary owners say their suppliers told them they’d be limiting the amount of products shipped. Read more.

Cannabis company Curaleaf is expanding in New York. The company opened a store in Rochester, and will soon open Syracuse. It also said recreational sales began in their formerly medical-only Plattsburgh dispensary, and will start recreational sales in their Forest Hills, Queens store this Friday.

This thread on X from the nonprofit Last Prisoner Project debunks some claims about Vice President Kamala Harris’ time as a prosecutor and her stance on cannabis:

Top staffers flee NY cannabis regulator after Gov. Kathy Hochul dumps agency’s head | New York Post

Nearly 43,000 people commented on the DEA reclassifying cannabis. What did they say? | The Guardian

New York urges federal officials to legalize medical marijuana | Albany Times Union

Editorial: California’s cannabis regulator is failing the legal marijuana market | Los Angeles Times

Raucous cannabis store grand opening has Cookies franchisee in trouble | MJ Biz Daily

SCOOP: DCC shutters lab alleging numerous violations | WeedWeek