Investor
Ideas #Potcasts, #Cannabis News and #Stocks on the Move: (NASDAQ: $SNDL) (TSX:
$FAF.TO), NY Cannabis and Swiss Pilot Program
Delta, Kelowna, BC, May 15th, 2023
(Investorideas.com Newswire), investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors
including marijuana and hemp stocks and its potcast site
release today’s podcast edition of cannabis news and stocks to watch plus insight
from thought leaders and experts.
Listen to the podcast:
https://www.investorideas.com/Audio/Podcasts/2023/051523-Cannabis.mp3
SNDL
Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL) reported its financial and operational results
for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. The results for the first quarter
of 2023 include the operating results of The Valens Company Inc. subsequent to
the acquisition on January 17, 2023, and the results for the first quarter of
2022 include one day of Alcanna Inc. operations subsequent to the acquisition
closing on March 31, 2022.
SNDL has also posted a supplemental
investor presentation on its website, which can be found at https://sndl.com.
"We are pleased to report progress
towards key milestones in all of our operative segments against the backdrop of
expected seasonally moderate sales in our retail networks," said Zach
George, Chief Executive Officer of SNDL. "The integration of Valens is
proceeding with pace, and we are actively identifying new revenue streams and
cost reduction opportunities. The first quarter was impacted by a number of
one-time items including $13.5 million to replenish liquor inventory following
the seasonal holiday draw in the fourth quarter of 2022, $2.7 million in
severance and restructuring costs, and $17.5 million to stabilise Valens and
bring overdue accounts payable up to date. We expect additional restructuring
charges to impact the second quarter and the results of our team's hard work to
become clear in late 2023. We are focused on improving all aspects of our
business with the objective of generating strong free cash flow. The relocation
of all cannabis processing activities to our Kelowna complex will drive
improved capacity utilisation, and we are aggressively reducing our exposure to
higher-cost cultivation as we seek low-cost producer status in all relevant
product categories. In our retail segments, we are carving a path to higher
margins and are excited about the recent launch of our data service programs
and the potential for improved consumer engagement through new e-commerce and
loyalty capabilities. We look forward to updating investors on our intended
dividend of Nova shares, and events related to our SunStream portfolio in the
coming weeks. 2023 is shaping up to be another transformational year for our
company."
Fire
& Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX: FAF) (OTCQX: FFLWF), announced its financial and operational
results for the fiscal 2023 first
quarter ended March 31, 2023.
"Our first quarter of 2023 is a clear
demonstration of our continued discipline on delivering positive improvements
in our overall operational results. Once again, we saw same-store sales and
gross margin growth. As we look towards 2023 as a transformational year, the
Company is focused on our core retail business, supported by Hifyre which
enables us to deliver higher gross margin percentages and the best available
products to our customers," shared Stéphane Trudel, Chief Executive
Officer of Fire & Flower.
"Our continued innovation and
long-term focus is demonstrated through the recent launch of the Spark
Marketplace mobile app that allows customers to shop with ease and has already
produced significantly larger transaction amounts than in-person
transactions."
"Consolidation opportunities in the
industry that are fully accretive to our business are a key priority as we look
to a long-term goal of achieving 10% market share. While keeping our eye on our
long-term vision, our teams are working diligently to generate savings in
SG&A expenses by simplifying our business and building value in core
assets," concluded Mr. Trudel.
A recent news story from CNBC focussed on the
rollout of legal weed within the Tri-State Area has been called slow and
cumbersome, allowing for the proliferation of “gray” market storefronts and
businesses to sell marijuana without going through the regulatory process. In
New York City, for example, the mayor’s office estimates the city is home to
1,400 illicit businesses selling marijuana without a licence.
“Those legitimate businesses face stiff
competition from shops that are not following the rules,” said Manhattan
District Attorney Alvin Bragg during a Feb. 7 news conference. “It is time for the
operation of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries to end.”
At the same time, state officials are
trying to right the historical wrongs brought about by the decades-long “War on
Drugs.” New York, Connecticut and New Jersey all have social equity components
in their recreational marijuana programs, focusing on granting licences to
applicants with previous marijuana-related criminal convictions.
“Every cannabis company should be focusing
on hiring people who have had previous cannabis charges and people who have
come from communities that have been impacted by the war on cannabis,” said
social equity applicant Tahir Johnson, who’s about to open Simply Pure Trenton,
in New Jersey’s capital city.
Last week another news article discussed how the NY
Cannabis Insider will be hosting a full-day “problems and solutions” summit at
the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany on May 18. Learn more and
buy tickets here.
A group of Conditional Adult-Use Retail
Dispensary (CAURD) licensees have documented in a letter
an “alarming and unacceptable” lack of communication and transparency among
state cannabis regulators.
The group of seven CAURD licensees, along
with the Long Island CAURD Coalition and “several others” who signed
anonymously, sent the letter late last Tuesday night to:
●
The Office of Cannabis
Management (OCM) Executive Director Chris Alexander.
●
Cannabis Control Board (CCB) Chairwoman
Tremaine Wright.
●
Dormitory Authority of the
State of New York (DASNY)
President (and CCB member) Reuben McDaniel.
●
A representative from Gov.
Kathy Hochul’s office.
The letter was also sent to NY Cannabis
Insider.
The bulk of the group’s ire is directed
toward DASNY and the structure of its Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, which
was supposed to provide funding for the identification, leasing and build outs
of 150 CAURD sites across the state.
As NY Cannabis Insider has documented repeatedly, the fund – which is overseen by
DASNY and managed by Social Equity Impact Ventures – has failed to raise any
money since its inception.
“In the CAURD program, we are consigned to
a process that is monopolised by DASNY and the Fund by way of financial
information, service providers, and access to real estate,” the authors wrote.
The CAURD licensees cite as grievances
DASNY’s obscure and opaque lease agreements, exorbitantly priced build outs for
CAURD locations “with no ability by the licensees to negotiate,” delayed or
nonexistent site approvals, and more.
“It appears as though we are once again
asked to participate in a market that is fundamentally inequitable and
counteractive to the purpose of the very initiative the government launched,”
the authors wrote.
At the end of the letter, the group asks
for a meeting within the next 14 days between CAURD licensee representatives
“and key representatives of the OCM, DASNY and the CCB” to address the issues
expeditiously.
“As your licensees at the forefront of this
industry, we fully expect you to address these concerns and propose a path
forward so that the original promises made by the state can be upheld. It is
the state’s responsibility to uphold its commitment to social equity initiatives
and the promises made to participants in the CAURD program.”
In response to the letter, DASNY
spokesperson Jeffrey Gordon told NY Cannabis Insider that the agency and the
OCM are committed to providing licensees with the opportunity to succeed
through mentorship and support.
“We look forward to meeting with them to
address the concerns they have,” Gordon said
In other news, The Swiss city of Bern will join Basel, Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva and legally distribute cannabis later
this year.
The Bernese pilot trial for the regulated sale of
cannabis in pharmacies, dubbed the Safer Cannabis – Research In Pharmacies
randomised controlled Trial (SCRIPT), has just been authorised by the Swiss Federal
Office of Public Health (FOPH) and the Cantonal Commission of Ethics and the Ethics
Commission of Northwestern and Central Switzerland.
The three-year study, which will last from
October 2023 to April 2026 and be monitored by the Universities of Bern and
Lucerne, will aim to assess the health and social effects of selling cannabis in
“strictly regulated, non-profit” pharmacies.
It will be carried out in the cities of
Bern, Biel and Lucerne and should start “probably in
the fall”. The experiment plans to recruit 1,091 participants, including
approximately 600 in the federal city.
Only people who already use cannabis for
recreational purposes and who are at least 18 years old will be able to
participate in the study. Furthermore, only half of the participants will be
allowed to buy cannabis products for the first six months.
According to Reto Auer, head of the SCRIPT
study at the University of Bern: “The objective of the study is to test the
health and social effects of selling cannabis in strictly regulated, non-profit
pharmacies”.
Study participants will only be able to
obtain cannabis products, which have been produced specifically for the study,
in selected pharmacies. Revenues generated by the pharmacies will only cover their
expenses, with the study being run on a non-profit basis.
SCRIPT will test regulations that aim for
strict control of supply and demand while allowing risk reduction measures.
This means no advertising will be allowed, while the products will be sold in
neutral and standardised packaging.
Reto Auer explains : “These elements should make the
products less attractive, especially for young people. We know the
effectiveness of these measures from the field of smoking prevention.
“The aim of our study is therefore not a
simple legalisation of cannabis, but consists in testing risk reduction
measures to address the problems caused by a ban and the illicit market while
controlling supply and demand for these products”.
The study should provide data for possible
future regulation of cannabis at the federal level aimed at promoting public
health and social security.
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