Thursday, April 25, 2019

Canopy buys US cannabis firm for $3 billion

Federal Marijuana Legalization Is Close, Suggests Canopy-Acreage Deal - Mike Adams, Forbes:

April 22, 2019 - "]W]hen the largest cannabis company in the world enters into a multi-billion dollar deal with a well-known American cannabis firm -- one that is set to take effect only after the federal government repeals marijuana prohibition -- it is hard not to consider the possibility that someone knows something and that maybe, just maybe we are closer than we think to living in a time when marijuana is taxed and regulated nationwide in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco.

"[L]ast week ... Canopy Growth signed a $3.4 billion agreement to acquire the medical marijuana firm Acreage Holdings.... The basis of the agreement is that as soon as the U.S. government finally musters up the guts to end marijuana prohibition once and for all, Canopy will ... assume the Acreage properties and hit the ground running as the most powerful cannabis seller in the United States....

“'Our right to acquire Acreage secures our entrance strategy into the United States as soon as a federally-permissible pathway exists,' Bruce Linton, co-CEO for Canopy, said in a press release. 'By combining Acreage’s management team, licenses and assets with Canopy Growth’s intellectual property and brands, there will be tremendous value creation for both companies’ shareholders....

"Constellation Brands, maker of the beers Corona and Modelo, owns 37 percent equity stake in Canopy, and has an opportunity to take controlling interest in the next few years.... Constellation is already working with Canopy to devise THC-beverages for the Canadian market ... in experimental preparation for when the United States goes fully legal....

"John Boehner ... former House Speaker sits on the board of Acreage Holdings and is also the honorary chairman for an enthusiastic gang of pot lobbyists known as the National Cannabis Roundtable (NCR). This group is reportedly heavily funded by the cannabis trade, with foot soldiers in DC right now, persuading federal lawmakers to show support for issues ranging from medical marijuana research to getting the federal government to fall in line with the marijuana standards of today. One piece of legislation that this group is particularly motivated to get on the books is the STATES Act, which would allow states to legalize marijuana any way they see fit without the possibility of federal interference. It’s the one cannabis-related bill that President Trump has said he would 'probably' sign if Congress can come to terms....

"Boehner has also indicated that full-blown legalization is already a hot topic of discussion and on its last leg. 'I have a strong suspicion we won’t be waiting five years to see the federal government legalize cannabis,' he said. 'I’ve got to choose my words carefully. What I’m hearing behind closed doors is pretty sensitive'.... But the latest deal between Canopy and Acreage suggests that a timeline for nationwide marijuana legalization may already be established."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeadams/2019/04/23/federal-marijuana-legalization-is-close-suggests-canopy-acreage-deal/#372f8d01cce3
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