Vireo scoops up The Cannabist assets in a bid to expand 🤝

MSOs
Vireo scoops up The Cannabist assets in a bid to expand 🤝

Vireo Growth scooped some of the bones of The Cannabist Co., as the Minnesota-based multi-state-operator continues to expand. $VREOF ( ▲ 0.7% )

Vireo Growth agreed to acquire cultivation, manufacturing, and retail operations from The Cannabist Company across Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and West Virginia for up to $35 million, adding 25 dispensaries and pushing its network to roughly 230 locations nationwide. 

The deal expands the company's footprint to 15 states, and makes it the second largest dispensary network in the country, behind Trulieve which operates 170 dispensaries in Florida alone.

What they’re saying: “This transaction reflects our disciplined and strategic approach to industry consolidation as we continue building one of the most capital efficient, vertically integrated cannabis platforms in the United States,” Vireo CEO John Mazarakis said in a release announcing the deal.

Hitting the gas: Vireo was among the smaller-to-medium sized multi-state operators less than two years ago when it was operating in Minnesota, Maryland and New York. 

Then the company announced a partnership with Chicago Atlantic in Dec. 2024, involving a $397 million plan to start buying into numerous additional states. As part of that deal Mazarakis, who co-founded Chicago Atlantic, was appointed CEO and Chairman of Vireo.

Slamming the brakes: The Cannabist Co. fell quite a bit from its peak in 2022, when the company announced a proposed $2 billion merger with Cresco Labs that would have created the largest MSO in the United States. The merger was ultimately scrapped when neither side was able to secure mandatory divestment deals in states with license caps where both companies had assets.

At one time, before it changed its name to The Cannabist Co., Columbia Care operated in 18 different states.

Zoom out: The Cannabist Co. recently became the first cannabis operator in the United States to receive approval for federal bankruptcy approval under Chapter 15, which protects businesses with ongoing debt protection cases in other countries, like Canada, where the company is liquidating its remaining assets.

Aside from what Vireo Growth scooped up, the Cannabist Co. announced in March that it was working on deals to sell off assets in Virginia, Ohio, Delaware, and Maryland. The company also surrendered its New York license and announced it would wind down in Pennsylvania.

-ZH

"Our Hemp Bill keeps hemp products out of the hands of kids by establishing a nationwide 21+ age requirement, puts consumer safety first with clear, commonsense federal standards, and gives America’s domestic hemp industry the certainty it needs to grow and thrive," said U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R) in a social media post about a bipartisan bill he submitted on Wednesday with Rep. Angie Craig (D) to create a regulatory framework that would keep intoxicating hemp legal.

A spokesperson for cannabis industry trade group ATACH pushed back against the bill: “Congress doesn’t want to legalize knock-off marijuana and synthetic THC, and that's exactly what Rep. Barr's new bill would do.”

VT regulators say the two-ounce limit is working, but the illicit market math is complicated 💰

Vermont Cannabis Control Board Chair James Pepper told VTDigger that doubling the purchase limit to two ounces should pull consumers toward licensed retailers by removing a friction point that was pushing bulk buyers to the illicit market or across state lines. One dispensary co-owner told the paper flatly that an ounce was already "a good quantity to buy" and the real effect will be larger ticket sales and less travel, not illicit market conversion.

Massachusetts cannabis industry lost its last shot to keep repeal off the ballot 🗳️

The State Ballot Law Commission rejected the industry's final signature challenge Tuesday, clearing Question 8 for the November 3 ballot after finding challengers invalidated only 10 signatures when they needed to knock out at least 123.

Parallel cuts 211 jobs after shuttering two Florida facilities 📉

Atlanta-based Parallel eliminated 211 jobs after closing cultivation and processing sites in Lakeland and Wimauma, with workers on paid leave since July 6. The catch: the company hasn't said why the facilities closed or whether more cuts are coming

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Señorita pours into Lollapalooza 🎪

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Nate Flax has joined Verano as VP of Supply Chain. He previously spent about eight years working for Curaleaf. $VRNO ( ▲ 1.08% )

Massachusetts's cannabis opt-outs cluster by county, not by attitude

Under Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2026, signed by Governor Healey in April, cannabis delivery became the statewide default, and towns can only block it by requesting a waiver from the Cannabis Control Commission if they don't allow retail. So far only 13 towns have gotten one, and eight sit in just Middlesex and Norfolk counties, the Boston suburban belt, while the rest of the state hasn't touched the option.

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