One Of America's Largest Cannabis Companies Exits Pennsylvania Amid Financial Troubles, Lays Off 76 Employees

Goodblend Pennsylvania LLC, a subsidiary of the privately held, vertically integrated company Parallel Cannabis, opted to exit the medical marijuana market in the Keystone State.

What Happened

The cannabis operator announced this week that it's closing its two cannabis dispensaries in Friendship and Erie and a processing facility in Pittsburgh, which cost its 76 workers their jobs, reported Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"In connection with a strategic review, we have made the decision to withdraw from the Pennsylvania market in order to serve patients in our other, more established markets," Sam Schwartz, a Parallel spokesman, told the Post-Gazette.

What's Next

Goodblend notified the state that it would discontinue its operations effective September 15.

In an emailed statement, the company said they seek to provide their personnel "with support during this transition."

"Parallel/Goodblend is working with regulators to establish and execute a closure plan over the next 60 days," the company said.

The Background

According to Green Market Report, the move comes on the heels of financial difficulties that prompted a lawsuit from the company's landlord, Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. IIPR.

Parallel and Innovative are entangled in a legal dispute in the local court this month. Parallel allegedly breached a 20-year lease agreement for its Beaver Avenue facility, having failed to make the monthly rent since November of 2022, owing roughly $6 million in total.

MMJ Research Partnership With Pitt

On a more positive note, Parallel also announced it has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh over a clinical research program. The deal was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in 2020.

The 10-year collaboration between the medical school and Parallel, and its subsidiary Goodblend, will provide $3 million to study the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis. Their efforts will be focused on sickle cell disease, chronic pain and generalized anxiety disorders.

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