Investing

Hightimes Holding Corp. chairman Adam Levin has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud charges involving undisclosed payments to promote the company’s stock. According to the charges, Levin participated in a scheme to pay over $150,000 to an investment newsletter analyst who promoted the stock without disclosing the compensation.

London-based Beckley Waves — a psychedelics startup incubator focused on therapies, education, and software — has raised $3.3 million in seed funding.

Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group Inc. — which is backed by cigarette maker Altria Group Inc. — is reportedly in discussions to sell the company.

A federal grand jury in California has indicted Mark Roy Anderson — a previously convicted conman who served 11 years in prison for an oil investment scam — of defrauding $9 million from investors for a nonexistent hemp farm.

Colorado announced the launch of its statewide Cannabis Business Loan Program, established through a partnership between NuProject and the administration of Gov. Jared Polis (D).

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week issued fraud charges against cannabis company American Patriot Brands, its CEO, and five others for allegedly funneling investor funds into personal accounts and expenses.

The cannabis B2B tech firm LeafLink announced it raised $100 million in its Series D financing round.

Canopy Growth Corporation announced it will look to fast-track its expansion from Canada into the U.S. cannabis market. 

DEA pharmaceutical cannabis license-holder Biopharmaceutical Research Company has raised $20 million in its Series A funding round. 

Longtime cannabis advocate, author, entrepreneur, and investor Steve DeAngelo published an op-ed this week that decries the cannabis industry’s drive for “scale” and calls for the widespread return of small, artisan operators.

As cannabis industry operations become more and more costly, female-led cannabis companies are finding it more difficult to raise capital than male-owned firms.

Researchers at California Polytechnic State University and The University of New Mexico found that stock market returns for major pharmaceutical firms were 1.5-2% lower 10 days after the passage of cannabis legalization reforms.

Two people were convicted in a cannabis-and-cattle Ponzi scheme last week on charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and five counts of wire fraud; they are facing multiple decades in prison for the $650 million scam.

Cannabis equity funding has all but dried up — unfortunately, it’s the small to midsize cannabis companies who will be suffering for it.

A recent memo from the Biden Administration suggests that White House applicants who have invested in the legal cannabis industry may be denied security clearances.

Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. is calling off the deal to take over MedMen New York due to concerns about MedMen’s allegedly ‘deteriorating’ assets.

The global medical cannabis industry is predicted to reach a value of $24.86 billion by 2027, according to a new report.

George Allen is Chairman of the Board for California-based Lowell Farms and founder of the cannabis industry investment firm Geronimo Capital LLC.