Here’s What You Missed in Cannabis This Week

N.J. CRC board approves Curaleaf adult use renewal as InterCure enters partnership LOI with Tyson 2.0

In this week’s "Rising High," The Fly’s recurring series focused on cannabis and psychedelic stock news, The Fly looks back on an adult-use approval, partnerships and a master licensing agreement.

NJ CRC BOARD APPROVES CURALEAF ADULT USE RENEWAL: Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF) announced Monday that the Board of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission reversed itself and voted to approve Curaleaf’s adult use cannabis licenses.  The CRC Board’s decision came after first voting to vacate their decision from Thursday, April 13, when they attempted to deny Curaleaf’s adult use license renewals.

"Today’s decision by the CRC Board to vacate their unprecedented action last week is an incredible victory for our 500 NJ team members and vindication for what we knew all along: Curaleaf is in good standing with the CRC and has fulfilled every requirement necessary for the renewal of our licenses,” said CEO Matt Darin. “I am incredibly proud of and grateful to every one of the hundreds of dedicated team members who showed up today, not just for their jobs and livelihoods, but for a better, safer cannabis industry in New Jersey."

As part of the approval, Curaleaf will be providing the Commission with additional information regarding its labor practices and confirm its ongoing compliance with New Jersey law.

Following the news, Alliance Global Partners analyst Aaron Grey said the firm sees this as a "win for not only [Curaleaf], but other MSOs and the industry, as broad interpretations of rules cannot be used as justification to shut down operations." For Curaleaf, the company will be able to continue to service the New Jersey adult-use market as "the leader with a 22% share" and there will be no disruption in operations, said the firm, which reiterated a Buy rating and C$8 price target on the shares.

INTERCURE ENTERS LOI WITH TYSON 2.0: InterCure (INCR) announced Thursday that it has entered a binding letter of intent for a partnership with TYSON 2.0. InterCure will be granted an exclusive distribution license to cultivate, manufacture, sell, market, and distribute all approved products and brands of TYSON 2.0 in Israel, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany and other EU countries such as Switzerland. InterCure will also have the right to use the name, the marks and the TYSON 2.0 intellectual property in these territories.

"This strategic partnership is an exciting opportunity for us to expand our presence and offerings in key international markets," said InterCure CEO Alexander Rabinovitch. "TYSON 2.0’s innovative products and reputation for purity and precision makes them the perfect partner for us as we continue to grow our business."

The partnership also includes a license for InterCure to use TYSON 2.0’s intellectual property and genetics for cultivation and production of products.

CLEVER LEAVES PARTNERS WITH HYPERA: Clever Leaves (CLVR) announced Tuesday that it has entered into a five-year agreement with Hypera Pharma, a pharmaceutical company in Brazil, to supply Clever Leaves’ CBD-dominant oral solutions with the aim of treating various medical conditions and prescribing to Brazilian patients. CBD products manufactured under this partnership have been registered under RDC 327 framework and are already being sold into distribution channels such as pharmacies and drugstores. The companies plan to continue the process with additional products.

“Hypera Pharma’s history, innovative vision, capabilities, focus on high-quality, and commitment to sustainable growth is aligned with Clever Leaves’ values, making them an ideal partner to promote and scale patient access to safe, pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products in Brazil. Expanding our presence in Brazil, a market that prioritizes patient treatment by enabling research and development to ensure technical and quality standards, will open doors for potential new developments and is further evidence of how our platform can support the global pharmaceutical industry by allowing it to engage in the world of cannabis-based therapies with patient safety and product quality at the forefront,” said Clever Leaves CEO Andres Fajardo.

COLUMBIA CARE, BUTACAKE ENTER COLLABORATION: Columbia Care (CCHWF) announced Thursday a collaboration with the minority-owned baked goods and infused edibles company, ButACake. The initial launch includes Peanut Butter & Jelly brownies as well as ChocoChunk and Oatmeal Raisin cookies at all three Columbia Care Delaware locations in Wilmington, Smyrna and Rehoboth Beach. The relationship will expand to additional markets, pending regulatory approvals.

“This is an amazing opportunity to bring a unique product to our patients, as we know that edibles are becoming a more popular way to consume cannabis discretely, giving our patients more control around dosing, and as an alternative to smoking. Our goal is to provide these options to our patients who have a wide variety of needs and preferences. We know that our collaboration with ButACake will be wildly popular with our patients, especially because Matha Figaro and her team at ButACake bake the most delicious cookies with the most unique flavors. We can’t wait to see this partnership grow,” said Volley Hayhurst, VP Operations, Columbia Care.
ButACake will bake the brownies and cookies on-site at Columbia Care’s Delaware production facility and infuse the products using Columbia Care’s cannabis oil.

FIRE & FLOWER, COUCHE-TARD ENTER MASTER LICENSE AGREEMENT: Fire & Flower (FFLWF) announced Monday advancements in the relationship between the company’s strategic partner, Alimentation Couche-Tard (ANCTF), and Fire & Flower through the completion of a Master License Agreement with MC Cannabis, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Couche-Tard. Fire & Flower will have the exclusive right of first opportunity to negotiate with Couche-Tard with respect to entering new retail cannabis businesses and franchise arrangements in Canada, as well a potential retail expansion to additional legal cannabis markets outside of Canada. Couche-Tard has exclusively committed to developing Fire & Flower branded retail cannabis stores in Ontario under the Master Licensing Agreement. The first five Fire & Flower branded retail cannabis stores will be recently opened co-located stores, adjacent to Circle K convenience stores in the Greater Toronto Area that are currently operating as MC Cannabis Inc. and will be re-branded to Fire & Flower.

"With the signing of this agreement, we have achieved another important step forward with our strategic partner, Couche-Tard. We continue to work closely together to build a sustainable growth engine, leveraging Couche-Tard’s high quality real estate assets, retail operations expertise and capital, accelerating our path to profitability and goal of free cash flow," shared Stéphane Trudel, Fire & Flower CEO. "Successful retail is built on delighting our customers with great locations, people and products. Today, we have expanded our ability to grow the Fire & Flower network, in Canada and other international legal cannabis markets by adding this scalable building block that we can further refine together in the first federally legal cannabis market in the world."

CANNABIS/PSYCHEDELIC STOCKS: Publicly-traded companies in the space include Acreage Holdings (ACRHF), Aleafia Health (ALEAF), Atai Life Sciences (ATAI), Audacious (AUSAF), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Avant Brands (AVTBF), Awakn Life Sciences (AWKNF), Ayr Wellness (AYRWF), Body and Mind (BMMJ), Cannara Biotech (LOVFF), Canopy Growth (CGC), Chicago Atlantic (REFI), Compass Pathways (CMPS), CordovaCann (LVRLF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Cronos (CRON), CURE Pharmaceutical (CURR), CV Sciences (CVSI), Cybin (CYBN), Delic Holdings (DELCF), Delta 9 (DLTNF), Entourage Health (ETRGF), Flora Growth (FLGC), General Cannabis (CANN), BZAM (BZAMF),Greenlane (GNLN), Green Thumb (GTBIF), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Goodness Growth (GDNSF), Hemp (HEMP), HEXO (HEXO), High Tide (HITI), India Globalization Capital (IGC),  Indiva (NDVAF), Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), IM Cannabis (IMCC), Wellbeing Digital (KONEF), Khiron Life Sciences (KHRNF), Lowell Farms (LOWLF), Lotus Ventures (LTTSF), MediPharm Labs (MEDIF), MedMen (MMNFF), NewLake Capital (NLCP), Organigram (OGI), Planet 13 (PLNHF), Reunion Neuroscience (REUN),  Revitalist (RVLWF), RIV Capital (CNPOF), Relmada (RLMD), RYAH Group (RYAHF), Safe Harbor (SHFS), Small Pharma (DMTTF), SNDL (SNDL), Sproutly (SRUTF), Skye Biosciences (SKYE), Stem Holdings (STMH), Sunniva (SNNVF), TerrAscend (TRSSF), Tetra Bio-Pharma (TBPMF), Tilray (TLRY), Tryp Therapeutics (TRYPF), Trulieve (TCNNF), Verano (VRNOF), Village Farms (VFF), Wesana Health (WSNAF), Zynerba (ZYNE) and 4Front Ventures (FFNTF).

Keywords: cannabis, weed, stocks, marijuana, cultivation, legalization, CBD, THC, hemp, psychedelics, ketamine, psilocybin, LSD, MDMA