Marijuana Business Magazine - January 2017

Tim Keogh AmeriCann, CEO Age: 38 BACKSTORY: It’s ironic that a guy who first earned a living managing marinas and yacht clubs would seek his fortune with a land-based pursuit: marijuana cultivation. In 2014, Tim Keogh became CEO of AmeriCann, which buys real estate and develops it with state-of-the-art greenhouses and processing facilities and then leases space to growers. Among other projects, AmeriCann is develop- ing a massive 2.26-million-square-foot site in Massachusetts that previously belonged to the Boston Beer Co.The Massachusetts Medical Cannabis Center is slated to be AmeriCann’s crown jewel. WHY TO WATCH: AmeriCann is not the only real estate firm trying to break into cannabis through leasing and not touching the plant. But it is among the biggest. How the firm fares, particularly with its Massachusetts facility, will shed light on whether the leased-growing-space model can succeed. BIGGEST GOAL IN 2018: “Our goal is to establish the Massachusetts Medical Cannabis Center as the new standard for cultivation and processing canna- bis and expand the system to new markets,” Keogh wrote in an email.Those markets include California, New Jersey and Michigan. “The legacy model for cultivation and processing, in an indoor environment, is not efficient from a construction standpoint nor is it sustainable to operate at scale.” January 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 63 congressional leadership or even the White House on marijuana policy, it’s prob- ably Rohrabacher. ENRIQUE PEÑA NIETO: The president of Mexico signed off on medical marijuana legal- ization in his country in June 2017. Andwhile hemay have done so reluctantly, given his previously anti-marijuana public stances, his change of heart may signal that Mexico – and Latin America in gen- eral – could be much more open to marijuana reforms and legalization moves in the near future. In particular, cannabis advocates would prefer to see the nation’s MMJ program allow full- strength cannabis instead of only low-potency products, and that’s an arena in which Peña Nieto could have sig- nificant influence. JEFF SESSIONS: Donald Trump’s attorney gen- eral hasn’t clar- ified what he intends to do, or not do, about federal mari- juana policy. That means 2018 could be another year of the status quo – with marijuana remaining ille- gal at the federal level but the Department of Justice simply choosing not to enforce federal law – or it could see the start of a real court fight between states that have legalized and the Trump administration. JUSTIN TRUDEAU: In November, Canada’s House of Commons approved the government’s bill to legalize recreational marijuana. But significant hurdles remain in the Senate and there is opposition from some prov- inces. Whether the federal government hits its July implementation deadline depends largely on how Prime Minister Trudeau han- dles those challenges. DONALD TRUMP: More than a year after win- ning the presi- dency, the U.S. commander in chief has still not spelled out a marijuana policy. While Trump said on the campaign trail he believed marijuana legali- zation or prohibition should be left to the states, he also hasn’t closed the door on federal enforcement by Attorney General Sessions. – John Schroyer and Matt Lamers