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Florida-based marijuana retailer is now the largest in the nation
BY DARA KAM, NSF
Trulieve, the state’s largest medical marijuana operator, is now the nation’s biggest cannabis retailer, after closing on a $2.1 billion deal to acquire former competitor Harvest Health & Recreation Inc.
The transaction marks a major development in Florida, where Harvest held one of 22 licenses to cultivate, process and sell medical marijuana to a growing patient population, and in the nation’s rapidly expanding pot industry.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers called the closing of the deal a “transformational milestone” in her Gadsden County–based company’s brief history.
“When we really started five short years prior, I wasn’t taking a salary and I was in the back making capsules and ensuring that shipments went out on time. Obviously, there’s been incredible growth. We started this company with patients in mind and with an absolute dedication to a steadfast focus on providing access and medical cannabis to patients in the state of Florida, specifically. So that mission hasn’t changed,” Rivers told the News Service of Florida in a phone interview.
Trulieve was one of the state’s first medical marijuana operators, launching after Florida lawmakers in 2014 approved non-euphoric cannabis for patients with severe epilepsy. The company blossomed after Florida voters in 2016 passed a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. Harvest, which got its start in Florida as Gainesville-based San Felasco Nurseries, was also an early entrant in the state’s cannabis industry, receiving a license from the Florida Department of Health in 2016 as the state geared up for the anticipated passage of the constitutional amendment.
With the acquisition of Harvest finalized, Trulieve will have 149 retail locations in 11 states including Florida, more than 3.1 million square feet of cultivation and just over 8,500 employees. Before the deal closed, Trulieve had 85 retail sites in Florida.
“We’ll have approximately 37 percent more retail locations than the next closest competitor and 50 percent more, or a million square feet more, cultivation than the next closest competitor,” Rivers said of Trulieve’s national footprint.
Because Florida law does not allow medical marijuana operators to hold more than one license, Harvest auctioned off its license to pave the way for its sale to Trulieve. Planet 13, which operates in Nevada and California, paid $55 million in cash for the Harvest license. Meanwhile, Harvest’s 14 retail locations in Florida will be closed temporarily in October as they are converted to the Trulieve brand and Harvest employees undergo Trulieve training.
“It will be the same faces when they go back. We’re keeping all of those folks on board,” Rivers said.
Trulieve is establishing a “regional hub strategy” across the U.S., with hubs in Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona, Rivers said, to be better positioned as more states approve medical marijuana and others legalize adult recreational use of marijuana. The regional focus should offset patient concerns about the “big boxing” of the marijuana business, according to Rivers. She also said Trulieve — which operates in states where recreational use of marijuana is legal as well as others where marijuana is restricted for medical use — has a 75 percent retention rate among customers. According to a news release issued Friday morning, Trulieve reported revenues of $215.1 million in the second quarter of 2021 and net income of $40.9 million, while Harvest reported revenues of $102 million. Combined, the companies — traded on the Canadian Stock Exchange — had the highest reported revenues among U.S. publicly reported cannabis companies, the release said.
The marijuana industry has skyrocketed throughout the country over the past few years. But as other states move ahead with legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, such efforts in Florida have flailed. The Florida Supreme Court twice this year rejected proposed constitutional amendments aimed at allowing people to use recreational marijuana. In April, justices said the ballot summary of a proposal put forward by the committee Make It Legal Florida would mislead “voters into believing that the recreational use of marijuana in Florida will be free of any repercussions, criminal or otherwise.” The conclusion of it being misleading stemmed from marijuana remaining illegal under federal law.
Supporters of recreational use have been pushing Congress to legalize marijuana, which would make it easier for states to authorize recreational use. But recreational use isn’t the only way for Trulieve and other marijuana companies to continue to expand.
“I think it’s important to note that there are a lot of states surrounding the state of Florida that are just now onboarding medical programs. So we do think that there’s a significant runway ahead on the medical side,” Rivers said. “So, the landscape across the U.S. is going to continue to evolve … kind of regardless of what happens in D.C.”
news@orlandoweekly.com
¶ Orlando Magic star rejects anti-vax label, remains unvaccinated
Orlando Magic power forward Jonathan Isaac was already a compelling story this season. His return from a terrible ACL injury last season made him a player to watch. Unfortunately, all of that has been overshadowed by his reluctance to take the coronavirus vaccine. Isaac railed against what he viewed as shoddy journalism during this week’s Magic media day after being included on a list of anti-vax NBA players put out by Rolling Stone.
“I was pretty badly misrepresented,” Isaac said. “I appreciate [the journalists] who try their best to share the thoughts, ideas and the heart of the people they are asking questions of.”
Isaac said that he has nothing but respect for healthcare workers, noting that his mother worked in healthcare. And he stressed that he’s happy the vaccine is available for those who want it.
“I’m not anti-vax. I’m not anti-medicine. I’m not anti-science,” he said. “I didn’t come to my current vaccination status by studying black history or watching Donald Trump press conferences.”
In spite of all that, Isaac is not sold on the vaccine. He admitted he has already contracted COVID-19 and trusts his own age, fitness and natural immunity to protect him from severe reactions. He also said he was worried about the rare chance that he might have an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
“I’ve had COVID in the past,” he said. “Our understanding of antibodies, of natural immunity has changed a great deal from the onset of the pandemic and is still evolving.” —Alex Galbraith
¶ Orlando Mixtape returns with a ’90s benefit concert for youth literacy
The Orlando Mixtape series of benefit concerts hasn’t been around long enough to remember the ’90s on its own, but that won’t stop the literacy-supporting charity gig from throwing back to the age of irony and alt-rock feeding frenzies.
Orlando Mixtape: ’90s Edition will feature a night of ’90s hits played by Anti-Idol, a supergroup of sorts featuring members of Seven Mary Three and L.A. Guns. The eighth edition of the show will take place at Ace Cafe on Friday, Oct. 15, with 100 percent of ticket sales and donations going to the Page 15 literacy program.
Across the years, the Mixtape has taken on everything from Skynyrd to Brit rock. The last version of the benefit threw a spin on the ’80s, pre-pandemic.
Advance general admission tickets are just $15. VIP tickets that include a tumbler and admission to a pre-show event with themed cocktails start at $100. The event will also include a silent auction for vacations, tickets and art. Tickets are on sale now. The venue is encouraging attendees to wear a mask. —AG
¶ Florida approved for more than $1B in food stamps for kids
After weeks of pressuring Gov. Ron DeSantis to apply for a onetime pandemic food-stamp program, this week Florida became the last state to apply and get approval for more than a billion dollars in Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer federal funding.
The program was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April to aid those children that depend on the school meals distributed during the summer. More than 30 Democratic state lawmakers and 80 advocacy groups urged the governor to apply for the program.
Nikki Fried, Florida agriculture commissioner, said it was shameful for the state to take so long to apply.
“I don’t know if it was politically motivated, I don’t know if DCF dropped the ball, and then when we called them out on it, they had to come up with some excuse,” Fried asserted. “But regardless, at the end of the day, the money is coming down to our families across the state.”
A spokesperson for the governor once said Floridians did not need the program because kids were back in school. The program is aimed at helping an estimated 2.7 million children in Florida. Families with children in poverty will receive an additional $375 in benefits over a 30-day period beginning Nov. 15.
Fried said every penny counts for those who are food insecure.
“$375 may not sound like a lot to some people, but for many Floridians, it will make all the difference in the world,” Fried contended.
Children younger than age 6 who went to childcare and whose families already were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can also apply for the added benefit. —Trimmel Gomes, Florida News Connection
