Almost six years after the first recreational dispensaries opened in Colorado, big cannabis companies continue to get bigger, as they acquire mom-and-pop stores and smaller outfits. Medicine Man Technologies, in particular, has been on a buying binge.
Is this what Coloradans envisioned when they passed Amendment 64 back in November 2012?
Says Joe:
Consumers can vote with their cash.
Explains Jason:
Capitalism is still in effect here. Your budtender has white girl dreds and drives a used Honda. The dispensary owner drives a Mercedes, and probably lives out of state. The next step is making sure dispensary and grow employees aren’t be eligible for health insurance or other benefits. They’re already getting their lawyers and lobbyists ready.
And no one will care because they’re high.
Responds Ron:
To be honest, the owner was driving a Mercedes long before he opened a dispensary. You had to have 250k in the bank to even get a license for one.
Adds Garrett:
The race to the bottom of quality and heights of profitability continues.
Urges Alexander:
Support your local drug dealer. Fuck the corporate hags.
Concludes Michael:
There’s always gonna be a niche for high-grade marijuana, more so if it’s organic. You just gotta find and cater to it.
On August 12, Medicine Man Technologies announced plans to acquire Dabble Extracts, a Colorado Springs marijuana extraction company. According to the terms, the publicly held Medicine Man Technologies will pay $3.75 million for Dabble: $750,000 in cash and $3 million worth of Medicine Man Technologies stock holdings.
This is the sixth acquisition Medicine Man has announced over the past three months, although none of the deals can be completed until new laws take effect on November 1, giving publicly held companies a greater role in Colorado’s marijuana industry.
What do you think about the changes in Colorado’s cannabis scene? Post a comment or email your thoughts to marijuana@westword.com.