Welcome to
$4.
We're back!
Hope everyone had a restful holiday.
It was disturbing to watch pro-Trump rioters storm the US Capitol this week, but we'll leave coverage of Wednesday's shameful display to our colleagues in DC.
We're back to our regularly scheduled programming here on Business Insider's cannabis industry team. Instead of our usual weekly roundup, last week we put together a list of our best stories from 2020. If you missed it, $4.
In December, signs pointed to a rebound for the cannabis industry after a tough 2020. The blockbuster, $4 seems to have taken the lid off of M&A and the rest of the industry quickly followed suit, with both US and Canadian cannabis companies jockeying for market share - and bankers and investors are again looking to make some money.
The industry got another boost this week after Democrats won a pair of victories in Georgia, tilting the balance of the Senate and $4. Cannabis stocks $4, and some traders told me that it was an "epic" day for the sector.
We've got lots of exciting stories on deck for this year, but we also want to hear directly from you about what you're watching, deals you're working on, and what we're missing and should be covering.
As a reminder, here's how to get in touch: jberke@businessinsider.com, or ylee@businessinsider.com. Signal number for encrypted messages upon request.
Here's what we wrote about this week:
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Wall Street analysts say Democrats' pair of victories in Georgia will boost the prospects for federal
Analysts from Cowen said the most likely course is the passage of legislation that would protect states that choose to legalize marijuana but stop short of federal legalization.
The 5 top cannabis startups that VCs can't stop talking about>$4
We asked 17 top cannabis VCs to name startups in the industry that they think are poised for major growth in 2021. Each investor was asked to recommend one startup they invested in and one they hadn't. In total, investors gave us 27 names - here are the five that came up most often.
See the 20-slide pitch deck a psychedelics startup used to raise funds to build out a network of ketamine clinics>$4
Democrats' big victory in Georgia is the best possible outcome for the cannabis industry. Here's the ultimate guide to marijuana legalization: the key dates to know, and which stocks could benefit the most.>$4
We've updated our ultimate guide to cannabis legislation after both Democratic Senate candidates in Georgia won their special runoff elections, sequentially cinching a Democratic majority in Congress. Here's a look at what this means for the cannabis industry.
A top Wall Street analyst says New York has a 'very good chance' of legalizing cannabis and lays out the companies that are poised to profit>$4
Though New York has tried - and failed - to legalize cannabis twice already, Cowen analyst Vivien Azer wrote in a January 6 note that the state has a "very good chance" at succeeding in its efforts this year. If this happens, Azer writes that the companies best positioned to benefit from New York turning recreational are the ones that are currently operating in the state, according to Azer, like Green Thumb Industries, Curaleaf, and Cresco Labs.
Executive Moves
- Harborside $4 that co-founder Steve DeAngelo would be leaving the company.
- Terry Booth, the former CEO of Aurora Cannabis, is$4 as CEO.
- Indus Holdings $4 that Kevin Lawrence would be joining the company as chief revenue officer.
- MedMen $4 as interim CFO. The company said Zeeshan Hyder will be stepping down in January.
- Rapper TI is $4 as the company's social justice and reform advisor.
Deals, launches, and IPOs
- Cannabis company AYR Strategies is expanding to New Jersey and Florida via $4 of the CSE-listed Liberty Health Sciences.
- Curaleaf raised $275 million (CAD) $4, in anticipation of what chairman Boris Jordan called "newly enhanced opportunities in the sector."
- Columbia Care will $4 in a $240 million cash and stock deal.
- HempFusion Wellness $4 in an IPO that raised $17 million on Monday.
- Vancouver-based psychedelics company $4 on the CSE on Monday.
- Canopy Growth is $4. As part of the split, Canopy Rivers will $4 and Canopy Growth will increase its stake in TerrAscend and Vert Mirabel.
- Cannabis industry VC fund Casa Verde capital closed $4 in December.
Policy moves
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would - once again - try to legalize adult-use cannabis. Read about his announcement $4.
- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker $4 that the state had expunged nearly half a million cannabis-related arrest records since legalizing adult-use cannabis in 2019.
- New Jersey, which voted to legalize recreational cannabis in November, went into cannabis limbo on January 1 when the state's constitutional amendment would have taken effect. Murphy $4 because he wanted a change in the bill to fine underaged individuals found with the drug. The new bill is set for a vote on Monday.
- A lawmaker in Virginia introduced a bill to legalize marijuana in the state after Gov. Ralph Northam $4 in the state's budget and indicated he would support the legislation.
- Both of Georgia's Democratic Senators won their runoff special elections earlier this week, securing a Democratic majority in Congress and $4.
- Canopy Growth is $4, the maker of the CBD-based epilepsy drug Epidiolex, over patent infringement.
Chart of the week
The US has become the epicenter for big mergers in the cannabis industry over the past two years, according to data from Viridian Capital Advisors. In the second half of 2020, cannabis companies in the US accounted for over 90% of M&A worldwide:
What we're reading
$4 (Wired)
$4 (Business Insider)
$4 (Wall Street Journal)
$4 (Curbed)
$4 (Phoenix New Times)
$4 (Searchlight New Mexico)