Further expansion to the East Coast also in the cards
In the next few weeks, U.S.-based cannabis giant Green Growth Brands is expected to complete the purchase of Toronto’s Xanthicc Biopharma, prior to beginning public trade in the Canadian stock exchange.
The company has also raised $65 million, in preparation for the Canadian expansion as well as for its plans to acquire licenses in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Florida.
CEO Peter Horvath, who previously headed Victoria’s Secret and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., said that his experience in the apparel segment would help greatly in Green Growth’s expansion plans.
“There are some critical differences, but 90% of what customers experience and what they expect is the same,” Horvath told Bloomberg. “There’s a lot of interest in leveraging our skill set.”
Read more: Is the weed segment overvalued at the moment?
While Canada’s cannabis industry has entered what many consider to be a notable boom period, Mike Niezgoda of Buffalo’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection office warned that investors and users alike should take care whenever they are anywhere near the border.
“Working or having involvement in the legal marijuana industry in U.S. states where it is deemed legal or Canada may affect an individual’s admissibility to the U.S.,” Niezgoda told Bloomberg, adding that border officers have the authority to ask people about their current and past drug use.
These officials are also empowered to ban cannabis users from entering U.S. territory for life.
“Although medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in some U.S. states and Canada, the sale, possession, production, and distribution of marijuana remain illegal under U.S. federal law,” Niezgoda explained.
Weed company executives, in particular, are at high risk as they might be accused of trying to promote the pot industry within U.S. states where such trade is forbidden.
