Category: The Business of Cannabis

  • Stock moves: SNDL lists on CSE, IM Cannabis receives Nasdaq delist warning

    SNDL Inc. (Nasdaq: SNDL) began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol SNDL, while maintaining its Nasdaq listing. Meanwhile, IM Cannabis Corp. (CSE: IMCC) (NASDAQ: IMCC) said it received word from Nasdaq that it no longer complies with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing, giving the company until May 26 to submit a compliance plan.

    SNDL shares were trading up 1.82% at $1.3950 as of Friday morning following the CSE listing announcement, though the stock has struggled with a year-to-date decline of 22.07% and a one-year drop of 33.25%, according to Yahoo Finance data.

    “Listing on the CSE enhances SNDL’s structural flexibility and creates optionality for shareholders while reinforcing our commitment to the Canadian market,” SNDL CEO Zach George said in a statement. “As regulated product markets continue to evolve, this listing positions us to pursue growth opportunities with greater agility and alignment to our long-term vision.”

    The CSE’s regulatory framework specifically supports cannabis companies with U.S. exposure, according to SNDL, which could open doors for future moves as the company continues scaling. Despite a ever-more crowded national market, SNDL, which also operates as Canada’s largest private-sector liquor and cannabis retailer, says it continues to build its consumer-facing cannabis brands as it searches for strategic capital deployment opportunities throughout North America. Its retail banners including Ace Liquor, Wine and Beyond, Liquor Depot, Value Buds, Spiritleaf and Superette.

    For IM Cannabis, which operates in Israel and Germany, the Nasdaq notification came after the company reported stockholders’ equity of $2.2 million in its annual filing, below the $2.5 million minimum requirement for the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company’s shares were down 0.75% to $1.3299 on Friday, with the stock having declined 42.65% year-to-date and 69.51% over the past year.

    IM Cannabis has 45 days, until May 26, to submit a compliance plan, and if accepted by Nasdaq, could receive up to 180 calendar days to regain compliance.

    “The company’s business operations are not affected by the receipt of the Notification Letter,” IM Cannabis stated, adding that it is “looking into various options available to regain compliance.”

    The company also announced plans to acquire the remaining 26% interest in Focus Medical Herbs Ltd. from Ewave Group Ltd., a privately held entity jointly owned by IMC’s related parties. The purchase would be settled through the issuance of common shares rather than cash to preserve the company’s finances.

    The post Stock moves: SNDL lists on CSE, IM Cannabis receives Nasdaq delist warning appeared first on Green Market Report.

  • Scotts cuts Hawthorne Collective loose as it pivots away from cannabis

    Scotts cuts Hawthorne Collective loose as it pivots away from cannabis

    The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) made it official. The gardening behemoth has officially transferred its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Hawthorne Collective, Inc., to an independent strategic partner.

    Scotts established its hydroponic business, Hawthorne Gardening, to enter the cannabis space. In the beginning, it looked like a stellar plan, as the industry was rapidly growing and competing to see who could build the largest grow facilities. Sales of equipment soared and Hawthorne was seen as a leader in the space. The company also saw this as an opportunity to get into the investing side of cannabis as well and created the Hawthorne Collective as an investment vehicle.

    Riv Capital deal

    The company mentioned in its statement that the Hawthorne Collective’s holdings included investments in Fluent, previously Cansortium, a vertically integrated cannabis company with licenses and operations in Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and New York. It did not remind investors that the company gave $150 million to Riv Capital in 2021. Then, in 2022, Hawthorne Collective gave Riv another $50 million and Riv Capital spent $247 million to buy New York medical operator Etain.

    The deal angered the Riv board, which felt it was too high a price to pay and that turned out to be prophetic. New York State delayed the company’s ability to sell adult-use cannabis, which pushed the investment return out by many years. Riv had paid $247 million for a company that was selling only a million dollars of medical marijuana a quarter.

    In December of 2024, Fluent bought Hawthorne Collective’s unsecured convertible notes in Riv for $160  million in Fluent stock.

    Hydroponic dries up

    Hawthorne Gardening fared no better. The bottom fell out as the commodity price for cannabis dropped below or at least close to what it cost to produce cannabis. Large multi-state operators began to scale back on the huge cultivation facilities and sales began to drop at Hawthorne Gardening. The falling fortunes at Hawthorne began to weigh on the overall company and were negatively impacting the company’s stock price.

    The board of directors decided it was time to part ways for both subsidiaries.

    “The Hawthorne Collective transaction is the initial step in our plan to move our cannabis-adjacent subsidiaries into a separate and independent company as we further our strategic focus on our core lawn and garden business,” said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro. “For our shareholders, this will reduce the impact of the cannabis sector’s volatility on our Company’s stock and provide opportunities to drive meaningful and immediate value creation through increased investments in our consumer business. As we further advance this plan, we next will look to separate The Hawthorne Gardening Company from ScottsMiracle-Gro by the close of fiscal 2025.

    According to the company statement, Scotts Miracle-Gro transferred The Hawthorne Collective to a strategic partner in exchange for an interest-bearing promissory note. Scotts said it retains an option to buy back The Hawthorne Collective or its assets should cannabis legalization and other measures to positively impact the industry be approved at the federal level.

    Hagedorn continued, saying, “The Hawthorne companies were intended to capitalize on the legal cannabis sector, but the ability to achieve sustained growth within this industry has been challenged by four years of unkept promises resulting in total inaction at the federal level on cannabis-related issues.”

    The post Scotts cuts Hawthorne Collective loose as it pivots away from cannabis appeared first on Green Market Report.

  • Cannabis industry navigates tariff shakeup with resilience akin to COVID days

    Cannabis industry navigates tariff shakeup with resilience akin to COVID days

    As markets whipsaw in memecoin-fashion since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs against various other nations, cannabis executives are navigating the recent surge in U.S. levies, particularly on Chinese goods.

    Marijuana businesses have been reacting with relatively less alarm than other sectors, partially due to the industry’s domestic…

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  • Study: Medical Cannabis Provides “Meaningful Improvements” in Patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life

    Study: Medical Cannabis Provides “Meaningful Improvements” in Patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life

    A man sits on his couch in a sunlit room and lights a legal cannabis jointA man sits on his couch in a sunlit room and lights a legal cannabis jointPatients with chronic conditions experience statistically significant improvements in pain, fatigue, sleep, and overall health.

    The post Study: Medical Cannabis Provides “Meaningful Improvements” in Patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life appeared first on NORML.

  • Survey: Adults Frequently Acknowledge Using Cannabis Products for Sleep

    Survey: Adults Frequently Acknowledge Using Cannabis Products for Sleep

    A smiling woman eats one square of a legal cannabis chocolate barA smiling woman eats one square of a legal cannabis chocolate barSixteen percent of respondents acknowledged using cannabis to help them sleep. Another ten percent of respondents said they used CBD as a sleep aid.

    The post Survey: Adults Frequently Acknowledge Using Cannabis Products for Sleep appeared first on NORML.

  • Dutch coffee shops kick off government-sourced cannabis sales

    Dutch coffee shops kick off government-sourced cannabis sales

    The Netherlands launched a new phase in its cannabis regulation initiative this week, requiring participating coffee shops in various cities to sell only marijuana products sourced from government-authorized growers.

    The expansion, first announced in 2022, aims to eliminate a long-standing legal loophole in Dutch policy, where selling cannabis was mostly tolerated…

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  • Tilray continues closing breweries

    Tilray continues closing breweries

    Breweries seemed to be the answer to balance its cannabis business, but Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) is continuing to shutter businesses it recently bought.

    The latest is Hop Valley Brewing in Eugene, Oregon. The company announced the move internally a couple of days ago and confirmed to the outlet BrewBound that…

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  • New administration causing more cannabis consumption says survey

    New administration causing more cannabis consumption says survey

    The 2025 survey of Americans 21 and older, conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Royal Queen Seeds (RQS), asked Americans about their personal cannabis use. Half of cannabis consumers (50%) said the new presidential administration will lead them to consume more cannabis than they did before, including…

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  • Connecticut launches new state agency to oversee marijuana trade

    Connecticut launches new state agency to oversee marijuana trade

    Connecticut has joined many of its peers and established a new state agency devoted solely to regulating and overseeing its marijuana industry.

    The new office, which has yet to be formally named, will still be housed within the state Department of Consumer Protection, but will be set apart from another wing…

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