Marijuana Business Magazine - February 2018

California’s First Torrey Holistics, a licensed medical marijuana collective in San Diego, received what it said was California’s first state recreational retail busi- ness license on Dec. 12. Torrey, which launched in 2015, opened its doors Jan. 1 to a long line of adult-use customers. Privateer Acquires Edibles Firm Seattle-based Privateer Holdings , a cannabis-focused private equity firm, has acquired The Goodship , a Seattle-based edibles company. It is Privateer’s first infused products company. The purchase price was not disclosed. The two companies plan to develop new products and expand the availability of The Goodship’s brands across North America – including Canada, which is preparing to launch adult-use sales this summer. Redwood Cheech Redwood Cultivation – the exclusive distributor of Wil- lie’s Reserve cannabis products in Nevada as well as its own line of cannabis – rolled out another new celebrity brand in January, Cheech’s Private Stash. Named after cannabis comedy icon Cheech Marin, the brand will be released in 20 southern Nevada dispensaries and avail- able in eighths, grams and pre-rolls. Plant Cycles Oregon cultivator Grown Rogue has decided to spon- sor the Portland-based Olympia Beer Cycling Team. The move is designed, in part, to “encourage a new perspec- tive on cannabis” and to help associate marijuana “with healthy active lifestyles,” Grown Rogue founder and CEO Obie Strickler said. The company also said in a news release it has ambitions to “expand nationally in 2018.” Surna Raises $1.8 million Surna – a Denver company that makes a proprietary line of lighting, environmental control and air-sanitation systems for cannabis growers as well as traditional indoor agricultural facilities – raised $1.8 million through a private placement of its stock. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand operations. Green Bits Breaks Into Maryland Green Bits , a California-based provider of retail and compliance- management software for cannabis businesses, rolled into a new market, Maryland. The company expects more than 20 retailers to use its subscription-based platform. The software is designed to help dispensary owners record and manage customer trans- actions. It also allows retailers to automatically report purchases to Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Commission to satisfy seed-to-sale tracking and other state rules. Green Bits also operates in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state and has plans to expand in 2018 across all states with legalized marijuana. Financial Legal Partnership San Francisco-based cannabis capital advisory firm Mazakali is partnering with Denver-based Hoban Law Group , a marijuana business law firm, to offer services involv- ing financing, mergers and related areas. The two firms have executed more than $200 million in cor- porate, M&A, private equity, venture capital and debt transactions. Ben Curren CEO, Green Bits Bob Hoban, Managing Partner 102 • Marijuana Business Magazine • February 2018