Cannabis Briefs for July 30, 2024
July 30, 2024•Billion-dollar multistate player Curaleaf has expanded its presence in New York, opening two new medical dispensaries and adding adult-use retail at two existing medical shops. The first new medical location is now open in Rochester with Curaleaf’s new Syracuse outpost set to open within the next few weeks, pending regulatory approval. The two stores adding adult-use retail are in Plattsburgh and Forest Hills with adult-use sales already underway. SNDC recently caught up with Curaleaf CEO Matt Darin.
•Ohio has finalized and approved 15 more cannabis businesses as the state prepares to bring its retail market online. The approvals—issued on July 24 in the second wave of certifications issued by the state—cover eight growers, six processes, and a testing laboratory, and follow the initial wave of growers and processors approved on July 19. These licenses will allow existing medical cannabis companies to enter the retail market as soon as it is established and include approvals for multistate operators Verano and Cresco. The next move for the state is to begin approving adult-use retailers. The state has until September 7 to begin licensing retailers.
•A new survey from Whitney Economics shows that only 27% of the legal cannabis industry is profitable, with the largest share of businesses indicating that they are just breaking even. With profitability uncommon, 41% of respondents said they are breaking even and 32% are in the red. The report also indicated racial disparities within the industry with 34% of white business owners reaching profitability while only 18% of minority-owned businesses reported profits.
•Canada’s retail cannabis market grew 5.8% in May to C$434.5 million ($313.6m), according to new data released by Statistics Canada. Per-day sales for the month were also up, showing a more modest 2.4% rise. While still growing, these figures are down compared to past reporting, with April showing the slowest growth in Canada since legalization. Sales declined in Ontario, while British Columbia’s market is also down, but Alberta and Quebec both reported growing sales for May. In full-year 2023, Canada’s cannabis sales grew 13% to C$5.1 billion ($3.7b), but they’ve slowed to a growth rate of 2.4% so far this year.
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