March 31, 2025  l  Sign Me Up

Take the stage at the largest cannabis conference — Apply to Speak!

F E A T U R E D  S T O R Y

How a Colorado operator stumbled onto 'blueprint for laundering marijuana'

Photo by Morgan Miller for MJBizDaily/Emerald

Justin Trouard thought he was doing a favor when he agreed in January to look at the books of a struggling, licensed Colorado marijuana cultivation company to see if he could help turn the business around.

Instead, the CEO of licensed outdoor cultivator Mammoth Farms stumbled onto "the blueprint for how to launder marijuana" in and out of the state's regulated industry, he told MJBizDaily.

The business reported buying $3.4 million worth of cannabis flower that it then resold for $70,000, a claim Trouard's Mammoth Farms alleges in a March 10 lawsuit filed against Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division.

Trouard doesn't believe the business struggled because it chose to lose millions on repeated bad deals in which it bought expensive source material and converted it to a lower-priced product.

Instead, according to the Mammoth Farms lawsuit, the business likely diverted legally grown cannabis flower to the illicit market - and then inserted unlicensed hemp-derived THC oil into the flower's place that was then sold in vaporizer cartridges at licensed Colorado marijuana stores.

That's a practice known in the $32 billion regulated marijuana industry as "inversion," and it's one that operators in several states say is a growing problem in the sector. Read story >

More Headlines

• Humboldt County extends deadline to pay cannabis cultivation taxes. Read story >
• Thousands vie for Minnesota adult-use marijuana licenses; 2025 launch possible. Read story >
• Canadian cannabis operator Entourage adds CA$3 million to credit line. Read story >

Sponsored

Weekly roundup of MJBizDaily's most-viewed stories

F I N A N C E

What's causing the decline in M&A in the cannabis industry?

Courtesy photo

Mergers and acquisitions in the cannabis industry in 2024 totaled $1.169 billion, a decrease of $579 million – or 33% –  from the $1.749 billion of industry M&A the previous year, according to Viridian Capital Advisors.

What's behind the decline?

There are several factors, according to Frank Colombo, managing director at Viridian, a New York-based, cannabis-focused investment banking and data analytics firm.

In addition to speaking with MJBizDaily about the cannabis industry's decreasing M&A activity, he addressed what it means moving forward, whether merging companies typically integrate well and a glimpse inside activity in the hemp-derived THC sector. Read story >

L E G A L

OK loses nearly 40% of licensed operators in 12 months

Photo by chokniti/stock.adobe.com

A reckoning is under way in the Oklahoma medical marijuana market.

Over a 12-month period through July 2024, the number of commercial MMJ businesses in the state decreased by nearly 40%, according to a fiscal year 2024 annual report recently published by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority.

Through July 2024, the total number of licensed MMJ operators totaled 6,937, down from 11,330 a year earlier.

Licensed medical cultivators, dispensaries and processors all experienced significant shifts over the 12-month period. Read story >

R E T A I L

DC's medical market set for shake-up as 'gifting' shops pivot

Photo by Taylor Fausett Photo/stock.adobe.com

Medical marijuana dispensaries are multiplying rapidly in Washington, D.C., as regulators convert "gifting" shops that were operating under Initiative 71.

Initiative 71, approved in November 2014 by District of Columbia voters, legalized the recreational possession, consumption and sharing of marijuana among adults while outlawing sales of the drug.

But the measure allowed stores selling non-marijuana items to include a "gift" of cannabis.

Now, however, cannabis retailers operating under the measure have only until March 31 to open as licensed medical marijuana dispensaries, or they'll be shut down. Read story >

P O L I C Y

Pennsylvania might tighten medical MJ access rules

Photo by asafaric/stock.adobe.com

Pennsylvania is considering tightening the rules for physicians providing medical marijuana recommendations.

The state's MMJ program has been a success with total sales nearing $7 billion from 2020 through 2024, but lawmakers are starting to question whether it's too easy to obtain a patient registration.

The proposed limitations could negatively impact the bottom line for Pennsylvania's 186 medical marijuana dispensaries, which are operated by roughly 40 companies, including multistate operators. Read story >

Sponsored

R E S O U R C E S

• Notify me when MJBizCon registration opens – Pre-Register
• Get the MJBizCon Buzz – Subscribe
  
• Make informed decisions with MJBiz Factbook – Get data
• MJBiz Free Cannabis 101 Course – Sign up and start learning
• MJBizDaily Reports and Buyers Guides – Download
• MJBiz Media Kit – Advertise with us
• Exhibit or Sponsor at MJBizCon – Inquire how

MJBizDaily is the leading resource for the cannabis industry, cited by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Harvard Business Review. MJBiz also produces the No. 1 cannabis business conference, MJBizCon.

Share MJBizDaily

Forward this email to friends and colleagues to keep them on the up and up with the latest cannabis business news and insights from MJBiz.

MJBizCon 2025

Dec. 2-5, 2025  l  Las Vegas  |  Learn More