Merida Capital raising $250 million

Jeremy Berke,Yeji Jesse Lee

Jun 11, 2021, 23:09 IST

Marijuana plants for sale at the ShowGrow dispensary, a medical marijuana provider in downtown Los Angeles.AP Photo/Richard Vogel

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Happy Friday,

I had an interesting chat with Cronos Chairman Michael Gorenstein and Gingko Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly about their new cannabinoid partnership.

I'm far from a Ph.D. - and my knowledge of biosynthesis is scant-to-nonexistent - but what struck me about the partnership is that we could be moving into a world where we don't need actual marijuana plants to produce the active compounds known as cannabinoids.

The partnership will first focus on synthesizing CBG, a rare cannabinoid that's thought to have benefits for sleep and pain relief. Regular old marijuana plants produce CBG in low quantities, so if you are a consumer company - or a pharmaceutical giant - and you want to mass produce CBG, you need to find cheaper ways to do it.

That's where brewer's yeast comes in.

"You need to grow a big field of cannabis plants to get this vanishingly small amount of these key cannabinoids," Kelly told me. "And we said: Why don't we take that DNA code from the cannabis plant and move it over into an easier to grow organism like brewer's yeast."

From there, Kelly says you put in a tank, brew it up, "and instead of beer coming out, you get CBG."

Expect to see more scientific developments and patents coming out of this space. And, if you've been paying attention to our reporting, you'd know that IP is a hot commodity for acquisitions.

Other cannabis happenings from around the wide world:

If you missed my chat with Sundial CEO Zachary George at last week's Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, you can watch it here. I also spoke at the GCI Summit with a panel of excellent folks about the changing face of drug policy in the US and the collateral consequences of cannabis convictions.

New York Magazine asked mayoral candidates how much weed they smoke regularly in an Instagram video. It's hilarious and worth a watch.

Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Politico's cannabis policy reporter Natalie Fertig: "Are you stoned right now?" To which Fertig responded: "I am not stoned right now." Listen to the exchange here.

Freelance cannabis writer and Insider contributor Andrew Ward released his new book, The Art of Marijuana Etiquette, this week. I'm super excited to get my hands on a copy, and you can get yours here.

Let's get to it.

- Jeremy Berke (@jfberke) & Yeji (@jesse_yeji)

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Here's what we wrote about this week:

The CEO of hot cannabis firm Sundial shares how he capitalized on a wave of interest from Wall Street Bets to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and turn the company around

Sundial Growers, a midsized Canadian cannabis cultivator, has become one of Reddit's favorite pot stocks. The company's CEO told Insider that intense interest from retail investors on Reddit's Wall Street Bets forum helped Sundial raise money and pay down debts.

7 top cannabis lawyers dish on the deals, disputes, and policy decisions shaping the $104 billion industry's future

Insider spoke with top cannabis lawyers who've worked on the industry's biggest deals. They told us to expect more M&A and more SPAC offerings in the coming months as well as increased clarity around the legal status of cannabis in the US.

Troubled cannabis-media startup Civilized is relaunching. The cofounder says she's trying to make good with unpaid workers and the company's biggest creditor.

Civilized, a media startup in the cannabis industry, is relaunching this month after shuttering its doors in 2019 when a takeover offer fell through. CEO Terri Riedle said she was working to pay employees and satisfy the company's largest creditor.

Prolific cannabis investment firm Merida Capital is raising $250 million for a new fund. Managing partner Mitch Baruchowitz shares why he's betting big on medical cannabis and the 'normalization' of the industry.

Cannabis private-equity firm Merida Capital is raising a $250 million fund. Managing partner Mitch Baruchowitz told Insider that he's pursuing three key themes in Fund IV: medical cannabis, supply chain companies, and companies that address what the normalization of cannabis means for consumers.

Executive Moves

JR Rahn, the cofounder and CEO of psychedelics company MindMed, is leaving his role as CEO, the company announced. Robert Barrow, chief development officer, will take over as CEO.

Deals, launches, partnerships, and IPOs

Aphrodite Health, a company focused on developing psychedelic medicine to address women's mental and physical health, launched last Friday.
Cannabis company Vireo Health is changing its name to Goodness Growth Holdings. It is also launching R&D efforts to develop psychedelic medicines.
California cannabis company HEBRL is acquiring Blackbird, a Nevada-based cannabis distributor. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the transaction.
Cronos Group is partnering with Boston-based biotech Gingko Bioworks to produce cannabinoids at scale using yeast. The first target for the partnership will be CBG, the companies said.
Tilray is launching a medical cannabis brand called Symbios.
Cannara Biotech is buying The Green Organic Dutchman's cultivation facility in Quebec for $27 million plus $5.7 million funding of certain deposit requirements, the companies said.
Toronto-based psychedelics company Field Trip Health has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq. Read our past coverage of Field Trip.
Eoin Keenan, formerly of Prohibition Partners, is launching Goodrays, a UK CBD-infused seltzer brand.

Research and data

The NFL is offering $1 million in grants to fund up to five research proposals into alternatives to opioids for pain management, including studies on cannabis, Bloomberg reports.
A study of 20 healthy individuals published in the Journal of the International Association of Pain found that 800 mg of orally administered CBD did not affect perceptions of pain compared to a placebo.

Policy moves

Connecticut is convening a special session to vote on marijuana legalization before the end of June, The Hartford Courant reports.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill on Monday that would require the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to create a working group to "study the health benefits of psilocybin." Read more at Marijuana Moment.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a bill on Monday that would allow for consumption lounges in the state. The new law will take effect on October 1.
Two-thirds of Americans say they support the decriminalization of possession of most drugs, according to a report from the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance and ACLU.