Cannabis Co. On The Move: Green Thumb Industries Debuts In Virginia With Acquisition Of Dharma Pharmaceuticals

Green Thumb Industries Inc. GTII GTBIF, the owner of Rise dispensaries, has closed the acquisition of Dharma Pharmaceuticals LLC.

Based in Chicago, the cannabis consumer packaged goods company announced in May that it was looking to purchase one of the five licenses in Virginia's medical cannabis market, which would enable it to cultivate, process and sell directly to customers.

Under the purchase agreement, GTI agreed to obtain an existing production facility and retail dispensary located in Abingdon. In addition, the company also has an opportunity to launch up to five additional retail locations in the Commonwealth.

The purchase price remained undisclosed.

“We are excited to officially welcome Dharma Pharmaceuticals to the Green Thumb team and look forward to serving Virginia’s current medical patients and future adult-use consumers,” Ben Kovler, founder and CEO of GTI, told Benzinga. “Change is happening in America, and we are seeing cannabis reform sweep across the country. This is a huge milestone not only for Virginia but also the Southeast, and we are proud to be one of the first operators to expand access to cannabis in this emerging market.”

GTI currently operates 59 stores across 13 states.

Cantor Fitzgerald’s Pablo Zuanic thinks GTI, alongside Curaleaf Holdings CURLF, are both poised to benefit the most from the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in Connecticut. Both companies are vertically integrated in CT. In fact, they are the only ones. 

Zuanic projects that total cannabis sales in Connecticut (medical and recreational) will reach $500-600 million by the end of 2023.

“Medical retailers and producers will be grandfathered into the program,” Zuanic added.

Photo by Ryan Lange on Unsplash